USC coach Lincoln Riley's HOF plea for coach Pete Carroll cannot fall on deaf ears

There was a lot to talk about during the Big Ten Media Days. While the upcoming season is important and had its fair share of airtime, USC coach Lincoln Riley wanted to use the platform in Las Vegas to push for the advocacy of coach Pete Carroll into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Whatever statement or rule change needs to be implemented, this is something that is long overdue. Yes, coach Carroll is short by a year. It is, however, completely silly to continue to exclude the former Trojan head coach from this honor. His impact on the sport and the amount of talent, all-time moments, and games make it impossible to tell the story of college football without him.

Having the criteria makes sense. There should be something for people to be able to look at and point to in regard to Hall of Fame eligibility. While not always agreed to or seen as being so, this attempts to lessen any prejudice and fan bias. Keeping the process, at least in theory, objective makes it so that any player or coach from any school can have a realistic shot of making it into the Hall if their efforts warrant consideration.

Starting to right a past wrong against USC

For coach Carroll, however, his being officially short by one year is something that needs to be acknowledged to either be provided with an exception for or an outright change. They can call it the 'Carroll Rule,' if they'd like.

This is particularly true when considering that it was the NCAA that forced his hand to then leave for the NFL. Considering what he's now doing with the Las Vegas Raiders, there is a good chance that coach Carroll could still be on the sidelines at the Coliseum. Coach Carroll was greatly wronged. This would simply be something that provides something of a consolation for something that coach Carroll has indeed already earned, a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame.