FOOTBALL

If It’s Friday, It’s Time For A USC Notes Column

Imagine how unhappy Lynn Swann must be that he spent this week in Los Angeles instead of wearing his green blazer as a member of the hospitality committee at the Masters.

Swann was at Augusta last week but that was for the women’s tournament, which is not the same as rubbing elbows with Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.

He obviously finally figured out the optics of being at Augusta would be terrible. Last week, his excuse was he accompanied three USC golfers to the tournament.

Wonder if he will show up at the final USC practice/scrimmage Saturday morning at Howard Jones Field. He could probably charter a private flight to Georgia on Friday night . . . if he thought he could get away with it.

  • New USC president Carol Folt sent out a message Thursday that included the following passage:

“I also spoke with the coaches and Athletics Department staff, and was on the sidelines for two Trojan victories, one in women’s lacrosse and the other in men’s volleyball.”

Folt’s probably been to more USC games in the past month than Swann.

There was also this: “I participated in the USC Board of Trustee’s annual conference, where we discussed critical governance issues. The Trustees have high expectations and a clear grasp of our university’s strengths, opportunities, and challenges. It was a pleasure to join them in planning for our future.”

That was the trustee’s conference Swann did not believe he needed to attend. So he went to an autograph show.

  • When USC coaches moved athletic sophomore Palaie Gaoteote from middle to weakside linebacker, it was a sign they didn’t want him to deal with the complex nature of the middle.
    “It’s much simpler,” Gaoteote said of his new spot. “There’s definitely a lot of thinking taken out on my part. It allows me and the other guys to play fast.”
  • John Houston and Jordan Iosefa are now splitting time at middle linebacker. I can’t imagine Houston being too thrilled playing a new spot his senior year that he is probably not the right size to play.
  • Speaking of USC middle linebackers, Cameron Smith worked out with the Chargers on Thursday. He is pictured below with former USC-turned-UCLA player Caleb Wilson at the workout.
  • If you want a bright spot in USC’s baseball season, look at pitcher Connor Lunn. He was the Trojans’ closer last season but USC rarely had a lead to hold this season so he was moved to the starting rotation. Lunn’s responded with a 5-1 record and 2.76 ERA. He has beaten UCLA, Arizona State and Utah the past three weeks in the opening game of each three-game series.
  • I mentioned a couple weeks ago USC played a great schedule in 1963 and ran a picture of it on a letter from then-athletic director Jess Hill.

“That was normal for USC,” said assistant coach Dave Levy. “We lost three games and thought we had a better team than in 1962.”

USC won the national title in 1962. But the Trojans returned stars like quarterback Pete Beathard, running back Willie Brown and wide receiver Hal Bedsole. There was also sophomore tailback Mike Garrett, who led the team in rushing with 833 yards.

“We all felt we would be better (in 1963),” Levy said.

USC opened the season ranked No. 1 but lost to No. 3 Oklahoma, 17-12, in Game 2. The Trojans lost to No. 7 Notre Dame at South Bend, 17-14, in Game 4. And they lost at Washington, 22-7, in Game 7.

They were only 4-3 before reeling off wins against Stanford, Oregon State and UCLA to close out the season.

 

18 thoughts on “If It’s Friday, It’s Time For A USC Notes Column”

  1. they missed Bill Nelson from the ’62 team,Beathard only had an ok year…plus some seniors along the line, remember they had to play offense and defense back then,no wholesale platoon subs…they were 7-3 and the loss to wash sent huskies to the RoseBowl…the aawu was a small conf and SC only conf loss…they only lost to ranked teams

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  2. Pendergast was asked by Helton to make the defense easier for the players. He waited an awfully long time to bring this up. Same mistake Kiffin did with Monty. Too little too late perhaps.

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    1. Chances are Gomer didn’t ask CP to simplify the defense. Like all other coaching personnel decisions, Gomer is too clueless to see that change was needed and was ordered from above to make changes. After the UCLA game, Swann probably told CP & Gomer, “to stop the f$&king run”. How’s that for simplicity?!?

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      1. Calabasas —Yes, “stop the fricking run” seems like a pretty simple directive….
        #…ButWe’reStillNotAbleToDoItInSpringPractice…
        #…IsThereAnEvenSimplerWayOfSayingIt?…..
        #[e.g.,”Run:No!”]…..

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      3. I could see that.

        But I guess in all Pendergast was making it too difficult for our defense at least with NFL schemes and making it more simplified to the college game (USC) was the hope it. Swann probably had his say.

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      4. We’ll be able to stop the run against any team in the country in my opinion………………..If Urban Meyer is the next head coach.

        But seriously Pendergast is overrated on a historical scale when you put him next to the rest of the big programs he’s an average DC. He doesn’t make tackling a high priority i know that. Clay just made a really stupid hire. Meanwhile Dave Aranda is the highest paid DC in CFB at LSU. Helton must’ve been unimpressed when Aranda beat USC in San Diego as the Badgers DC.

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  3. I keep hearing about the retooled offence and the retooled defense as if it matters. I used to have a friend who worked an auto mechanic. If a car wasn’t worth fixing he’d take the radiator cap off and hold about waste high. He would then say to the customer “you are going to need a lot of parts, we’ll have to drive a new car under this radiator cap.” But one day a customer shot back, “what good will that do if the car has the same driver?”
    Without a new driver, will the team be a better team? I know I have to wait for the answer to that question, but sometimes the radiator cap is the problem and a new car isn’t needed.

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  4. Daryl Strawberry 🍓 used to say, I’m the straw that stirs the drink 🍷…or, was that Reggie Jackson? Who’s the one player that can stir the drink at USC?…….Jack Sears….

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  5. John Houston will be in the right position to make the play. He might not bring the physicality needed to make the play, and that is where Gaoteote and the D- line will have to come in and make the play as they will have more free range.

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    1. All the Bozo’s that played at your inept Westwood High school. What did they ever win while being there? Get real the ‘ruins are yesterday’s
      trash that top Coaches are not interested in being the leader for any
      money.

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