FOOTBALL

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

It’s Christmas and maybe USC’s loss last week was a present of sorts for those who want better for the football program.

Those who have standards. Those who see things clearly. Not the willfully blind who pretend everything is getting better.

For the first five games, there was some dissatisfaction over the unimpressive performances but it got muffled because USC actually won the games.

However, the loss to Oregon has broken the dam. The fans have been complaining all week on social media and the Los Angeles Times even had a couple tough takes on the program.

Can you imagine what would have happened if USC beat Oregon?

There would have been smug cries from the administration and sideline groupies that pretend to be coaches about how USC deserved to be in the College Football Playoff. Or how USC as undefeated (never mind the easy schedule). I don’t double some in the media would have parroted this argument too.

In short, it would have been insufferable. And it would have obscured the truth about the state of the program.

  • One player told me it didn’t help last week that a staff member kept going around telling everyone USC should not have been forced to play in the Pac-12 title game once Washington opted out.
  • USC safety Talanoa Hufanga was named an All-American by ESPN. Good thing they didn’t watch the Oregon game.
  • Some people want Helton to fire some assistant coaches. He’s fired 13 assistants since he took over the program. Will one-or-two more make a difference now?
  • And now for some history:

In my annual Christmas tradition, here is my all-time favorite USC picture.
Hollywood screen legend Greta Garbo was sent to USC in 1926 to pose for some publicity photos with the track team.

Garbo initially refused until MGM deducted $25 from her salary, which convinced her to head to campus and don a USC track singlet.

She is posing with a USC track assistant coach. And here she is below with the now-notorious USC track coach Dean Cromwell.

  • Speaking of track and field, USC discus thrower Joe Antunovich, who came from New Zealand in 1970, was believed to be the first Trojan athlete allowed to major in architecture.

Antunovich’s interest in architecture was even obvious during a track road trip to Arizona.

“Everyone else on the team would go sightseeing for Indian ruins,” USC assistant coach Ken Matsuda said. “But not Antunovich. Joe went to see exhibits by Frank Lloyd Wright and other architects.”

23 thoughts on “If It’s Christmas, It’s Time For A USC Notes Column”

  1. Merry Christmas everyone! Yes, the loss to Oregon may be a present of sorts, because it showed the real truth that nothing has really changed! But now the real question. Will anything be done about it?

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. “USC safety Talanoa Hufanga was named an All-American by ESPN.”

      “Good thing they didn’t watch the Oregon game.”

      Or the game vs Arizona when Tanya Hufanga got trucked by a 5 foot nothing 175 lbs. no star RB and knocked senseless for a week.

      Tanya Hufanga an All-American?

      LMFAO!

      OH MY SIDE HURTS FROM LAUGHING SO MUCH!

      Like

      Reply

  2. I don’t think anything will happen in the near future. There will be the usual reasons and excuses. The bottom line is, of course money. It was nice to see the Times actually make a reasonable evaluation of the situation. Perhaps that and poor attendance will force the issue. I wonder what the current assessment of what the cost of a buy-out is.
    P S Merry Christmas

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  3. Gomer has a huge buyout
    Any coach that is worth hiring will cost a lot of money
    If said coach is already employed, he’ll have a huge buyout
    USC is paying out how much for all of the scandals ?
    USC could go cheap but what will that solve ?

    Good assistants get offered jobs elsewhere, aside from the RB coach a few years ago and Gomer’s dopey brother, have any of Gomer’s coaches gotten other jobs somewhere else ? And don’t say Kingsbury, he never worked a game under Gomer.

    Bottom line, it’s about money, not all of it, but most if it. USC is not going to fork over a ton of dough for a new football coach with the prospect of having 10,000 fans or less due to COVID restrictions not to mention that, in my opinion, the BOT and Folt could care less about USC football.

    Merry Christmas
    Happy Hanukkah
    Merry Festivus
    Happy Kwanza, black lives matter, except in South Chicago

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. And don’t forget $315 million SC paid for Pat Haden’s Folly…we could have used that to hire Urban Meyer and all his assistants and had plenty left over to play in the Rams new billion dollar stadium a few miles from the SC campus.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. You must live in outer Siberia. So-Fi stadium is a lot more
        distance from the L.A. Coliseum than a few miles. You are
        as lame as your buddy Trump who will have a very long
        drive to MarLago on Jan. 20th, 2021.

        Like

  5. I am beginning to think that USC is in love with failure. Look at the recent past. The coaching situation is another example. Oh, and by the way they decided to cut the contribution they make to the 401k. And, under the last president they decided to arrange deps and schools in a way that would hurt low level workers, janitors, food workers , secretaries ,etc. No prominent university does that. Penny wise and pound foolish. And, without class. Not even UCLA does that. Stanford and others would not even entertain such low level thinking.
    A major university behaves with class. The coaching is a good example of this low level thinking also. I love the school but am embarrassed. The hiring of Folt was another example. She was fired by UNC and we picked up the left overs. Hope I am proven wrong. How do you fire Swann and leave Helton in . They both should have been fired. Equally, incompetent. What gives there?

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    1. I love you, professor1 —-but I’d delete all references to “hope” when you’re talking about the Folt presidency…
      #WhatYouSeeIsWhatYouGet….
      #…AndWhatYou’llKeepGetting….

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    2. I love that you were outed once again, Charlie Bucket! BWWWWWWWWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Trojandude207 1d ago Well this IS interesting. I am not sure if this site is for me anymore. Each email address used generates a unique symbol that represents the email address. One person on this page has 10 such symbols generated for his username. That is some next level trolling. And none of messages upon this thread has anything to do with the the purpose of the thread. It has developed into a prepubescent name calling.

      Like

      Reply

  7. Greta Garbo looks good in the photo. And she was obviously a big star. Wonder which actress with the good looks and stature of Garbo could be sent to USC today to pose for photos with members of the athletic department?

    #DoYouAllKnowTheStoryOfClaraBowAndUSCFootball?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Merry Christmas, pt!
      btw, We need to hear from Pudly and 67….NOW!
      InsideUSC requests…nay, it demands they both report in!
      #TheENTIREBrotherhoodMustUniteForChristmas…
      #[HowElseCanWeFaceTheIn-Laws]?

      Like

      Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.