UCLA’s hiring of Norm Chow gives us reason to reflect a bit on the past.

It’s been three years since Norm left, and in that time SC has finished in the Top 5 each year, gotten to 11 wins each year, and played in three consecutive Rose Bowls. All great things—until you look at what happened while he was still here.

It all started slowly in ’01 as Carson needed to get a handle on the complexities of what Norm wanted. Then in ’02, 11 wins and an Orange Bowl and the talk that we were the best team when the season ended. In ’03, a (half) title, and in ’04 the blowout of OU. So now, as our arch-rival tries to get back on top they seem to think that reaching into SC’s recent past will help them quickly get back into the discussion and make LA a two-team town.

Even if “jvhockey01,” a commenter on the ESPN article, may not be exactly right when he says that the “best coaching staff in america is complete,” 2008 should be very interesting.