FOOTBALL

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

How much did USC lose in football revenue by keeping Clay Helton?

It’s a question that leads to speculation but you can put a dollar figure on it.

I hear USC estimates it lost $24 million in football revenue because of poor ticket sales, concessions, parking, etc. Was that worth keeping Helton around too long?

  • I hear UCLA coach Chip Kelly wants a big, new contract and to keep defensive coordinator Jerry Azzinaro. I hear UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond is saying no to both.

Who blinks first? If I’m Jarmond, I fire Kelly after Jan. 15 when his $9 million buyout expires.

  • Lincoln Riley has added Oklahoma assistants Jamar Cain (defensive ends, linebackers) and Brian Odom (linebackers). No. 1 staff in America?
  • Earlier this week, I mentioned how Oregon seems intent on hiring recruiters as assistant coaches. Oregon is now trying to hire Drew Mehringer as the school’s tight end coach. He was National Recruiter of Year in 2019 according to Rivals.
  • Clay Helton hired former USC safety Will Harris as defensive coordinator at Georgia Southern.
  • One thing I don’t understand is how USC always says its 1970-71 basketball team was ranked as high as No. 2 in the AP poll. But it never mentions that team was 16-0 and ranked No. 1 in the UPI poll. That seems more relevant and prestigious.
  • I also don’t understand why USC never recognized former football players Steve Riley or Mike Henry when they died this year. Or Bill Nelsen, Manfred Moore or Kenney Moore before that.
  • Former USC tailback Anthony Davis will be at the Rose Bowl tomorrow as part of its latest Hall of Fame class. The other inductees are former Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany and Michigan linebacker Ron Simpkins.

FREEZING COLD TAKES

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  • And now for some history:

This week I have spotlighted some Trojans who died in 2021. Here are a few more:

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TOM LOVRICH

Tom Lovrich, a USC All-American pitcher, died on Oct. 1 at age 91. Lovrich might be best known for giving up a legendary home run to Mickey Mantle when USC played the Yankees at Bovard Field in 1951. The home run supposedly traveled 615 feet. Lovrich won 33 games at USC from 1950-52). He was an All-District and All-Conference first team selection in 1951 and 1952 and an All-American in 1952.

He was 10-2 with a 2.69 ERA in 1950. He was 12-5 with a 3.26 ERA and 69 strikeouts as a junior in 1951 and set a still-standing USC season record with 10 complete games for a USC team that went to the College World Series. In 1952, he went 11-2 with a 2.43 ERA and USC was conference champions. Lovrich, who went to San Pedro High School, served as the official game timer at USC men’s basketball games for more than 50 years.

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Jim Fassel (6), Mike Holmgren (7), Jimmy Jones (8) and Bob Chandler (10) in 1969 USC football team photo.

JIM FASSEL

Former USC QB and NFL coach Jim Fassel died in June of a heart attack. He was 71.

Fassel was the Trojans’ backup QB in 1969 but left USC after the season because he wanted to play and could not beat out Jimmy Jones. Fassel and his high school teammate, fullback Tom Fitzpatrick, left USC and went to Long Beach State.

Fassel played there in 1971. He threw a TD pass to Sam Dickerson in USC’s 48-6 victory over Northwestern in 1969.

Fassel completed 7 of 22 passes for 94 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in 1969. In 1966, Fassel led Anaheim High School to a 12-1 record, Sunset League title and place in the CIF 4-A championship game at the Coliseum.

Fassel obviously was best known as a coach. He was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year in 1997 while coaching the New York Giants. The Giants lost to the Baltimore Ravens, 34-7, in Super Bowl XXXV in January 2001, after going 12-4 and winning the NFC East that season. Fassel was 58-53-1 overall with the Giants.

CHRIS BROWN USC

CHRIS BROWN

Former USC offensive lineman Chris Brown died April 26 after being found unconscious in a friend’s swimming pool during a party in Malibu. He was 24.

Brown attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles and enjoyed his best season in 2017, when he was All-Pac-12 honorable mention and the USC offensive lineman of the year. He played left guard that season.

Brown was the second recent offensive lineman to die in the past year. Max Tuerk died in June, 2020, from an enlarged heart. He was 26.

Dick Enright while head coach at Oregon

DICK ENRIGHT

Former USC offensive lineman Dick Enright died in August at age 86. He had quite a coaching career, winning an L.A. City Section title at his alma mater, Gardena, in 1969; being head coach at Oregon from 1972-73 and winning a CIF-Southern Section title at Capistrano Valley in 1980.

  • When I started out as a reporter, I covered some of his games at Capistrano Valley when his quarterback was Todd Marinovich. He was an intimidating figure but had the No. 1-ranked team in Orange County around that time.
  • Enright resigned in 1987 after he was suspended for the remainder of the season and all of the 1988 season after he admitted he viewed videotape of an El Toro practice a few days before Capistrano Valley’s game against its archrival. A former El Toro player had secretly taped the practice and then shown it to Enright at his house.
  • Enright lettered at USC in 1954-55 and was a member of the team that went to the 1955 Rose Bowl. Among his teammates were Jon Arnett and Marv Goux.

BOB KOLF

  • Bob Kolf, a key figure in USC basketball in the 1950’s, died last December at age 91. He was a player and an influential coach.

Kolf was co-captain of the 1951 team that went 21-6 and won the Pacific Coast Conference Southern Division. He also played a season on the football and baseball teams.

His father, Bob Sr., was a legend at Wisconsin-Oshkosh, where he coached seven sports over a 45-year span (1923-67).

But Bob Jr. really made his mark at USC as an assistant coach to Forrest Twogood and freshman coach from 1957-61.

“He overshadowed Twogood,” said a friend of both men. “Everybody liked Bob. Twogie wasn’t that outgoing.”

Around 1961, a group of players had enough of Twogood and went to see athletic director Jess Hill. They wanted Twogood to be fired and Kolf to become the coach.

But this was an era when a player revolt could not be tolerated and Hill sided with Twogood, even though it probably was a smarter move to promote Kolf. So in 1961, Kolf resigned and entered private business. Twogood remained the coach and as I’ve written before hurt the program with his awful record of recruiting African-American players.

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

  1. writer writes alot abuot dead poeple,i geuss it gives every one some thing to look fore word to if he gonna write abuot them when they aint livin no more,

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    1. Ed, dead people built the school. Some are still lurking around the school. One dead person, at least from the neck up, has moved to a place called Georgia Something. But dead people have a lot to say and sometimes smell better than USC’ s linemen. At midnight it will be a new year, Happy Midnight Ed.

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    2. WHAT A DUMB ASS COMMENT. THESE PEOPLE/PLAYERS WERE THE BEST AT USC IN THEIR SPORT/ POSITION. I’M POSITIVE WE’LL NEVER WRITE ABOUT YOU IN THIS WEBSITE. YOU’RE A COMPLETE TWIT.

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  2. Happy 2022, Scottie and Trojans! Scottie, thx for the memories – nobody does it better. Nobody even close.

    Here’s to continued success in hoops and a big time turnaround in football come Sept, ’22.

    And if ucla has any sense, they will indeed dump chip right after the clock strikes.

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      1. Personally, I’d love to see Bienemy go to UCLA–he is no where near as experienced nor as brilliant at the Offensive game (esp run game) as the Chipper. Face it. Chip knows how to run the ball and set up some high yield pass game.

        So yeah, I’m in with firing Chip and bringing in anyone else.

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  3. Scotty, I feel just the opposite of Ed G.

    No one at SC seems to be keeping any track of the passing of former Trojan greats, if so they appear to be keeping it to themselves. Only a former student (that’s you) with a love/hate relationship towards his alma mater appears to give a damn at all.

    You are performing a service here. Oh, and while I’m at it: What additional “benefits” was Jon Arnett punished for when he had to give up half of his senior season? If anyone can find it, it’s likely you.

    Oh, and a Happy New Year to you. Truly hope ’22 brings you good health.

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    1. well, he could only play a 1/2 season,not 1/2 a game…as I recall stanford complained to PCC sc movie studio heads hired players of sc team to work in summer and stanford claimed they were paid whether they showed up to work or not…sounds like todays Govt …

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  4. PAC-12 is looking bad as advertised in the bowl season. The whole league needs USC to step it up. RIP to the great John Madden and Happy New Year to all!

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    1. Late to the Party —maybe partied a little too late. But —to all my buds —Happiest of New Years!
      Want the answer to ALL questions about why USC is ignoring the deaths of so many Trojans who made huge contributions to the University? It’s easy. No one who graduated before, say, the time Carol arrived matters. I’m not trying to be clever —USC has no institutional memory anymore. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say it’s memory stretches back about 3 years. Any contribution made before that might as well have never happened as far as USC is concerned.
      And that’s why Scott matters. He doesn’t have a love/hate relationship with the old USC –he loves it. It’s the new USC that he hates.
      P.S.
      Can you imagine playing hardball poker with Chip Kelly’s hand?

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      2. They’re probably too dim& shortsighted to realize it, Bourbon — but (1) it would be the easiest way to co-opt Scott (the guy who started the groundswell that eventually got Kiffin fired) and (2) Scott would promote USC in ways that wouldn’t seem so inauthentic —Wolfman sincerely cares about USC’s long term welfare and he knows how to sell an idea he believes in…
        #USCWouldBeSmartToGetHimOnTheirSide…

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  5. Had SC fired Helton after the disasterous 2018 season, they probably would have won a NC by now. There would have been plenty of great coaches who would have been interested in the SC job back then. Maybe even Lincoln Riley. Who knows? He really wanted this job after this season. Who’s to say that he wouldn’t have wanted the job back then. He would have had plenty of time to put his system in. But even more important, they would have gotten Bryce Young. Bryce Young, like Domani Jackson, wanted to go to SC. He was recruiting for SC. That was his dream school. Why did he de-commit and go to Bama. Because he wanted national attention and he knew that under Helton, the best he would get was the Holiday Bowl. So Saban comes along and offers and good bye Bryce Young. Domani Jackson wanted national attention too. Saban comes along and offers and he’s ready to leave too. But then they hire Riley and he decides to stay. Bryce Young is a great QB. With him and an outstanding coach and all the great players they would have brought in, they probably would have won it by now.

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  6. If Carol Folt had green-lighted the hiring of Urban Meyer after 2019, USC would be in one of the CFP games today (and Urban would’ve avoided the Jax cluster-F in 2021). The stench of Clay Helton sticks to Carol Folt and Mike Bohn like dogshit.

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    1. Charles — I enjoyed that last sentence — but isn’t our own “Mrs. Helton” the person who should’ve written it?
      #NoOneKnowsMoreAboutHowHardItIsToDitchThatOdor…
      #[ProbablyInvolvesTakingMultipleBathsInLysol]

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    4. Ultimately, it goes back to golf boy giving him that long extension. Folt and Bohn thought they would save money if they let Helton work off some of his contract but you almost can’t lose money if you are a bigtime college football program. In the long run, they would have made money if they would have just fired him after the 5-7 season and began building a real football program. Unlike most of the people on this forum, I have nothing against Clay Helton. But there were some poor decisions made by the administration to keep him as HC that long. He should never have been hired in the first place.

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  7. Happy New Year to all. Wishing you and your family a year of health and happiness.

    It has been a joy over this pandemic year chatting with all of you.

    Special thanks to Mr. Wolf for bringing out the Heritage.
    We all know how fortunate and special is the Trojan Life.
    Scott reminds us every Friday of what it takes to be a “great” Trojan.

    Fight on (in 2022)!

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    1. Nice thoughts, Bourbon.
      [I’m awfully glad ALL of you are here….and I thank my stars that Scott cares enough to continue doing this —trying to go your own way and tell the truth as you see it ain’t the easiest road to take these days]…..
      #JoanOfArc:”IfYouTellTheTruth,TheyWillSurelyHangYou”

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  8. ….and in closing, I did not enjoy a single drop of fine bourbon after a Trojan FB game this year, but I shall have a nice nipper tonight and toast my Trojan family (which includes you all)

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      1. Enjoying a glass of Lasorda Tuscan at the moment, but will enjoy either some Buffalo Trace or Longbranch later.

        I don’t post often, but enjoy readings the thoughts of REAL Trojans. The ones who said they wouldn’t go to a game until Helton was fired? Not so much.

        HAPPY NEW YEAR, ALL!! Don’t expect 2022 to be much better than 2021, with the current administration still being in the White House.

        Liked by 3 people

    2. Bourbon4Me I think somebody made a Blanton’s reference to you the other day which I haven’t tried. Try Old Forester 86 proof. I like Scotch too, though kinda pricey and have come to appreciate Bourbon more.

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      2. Happy New Year to all of you who make insideusc so fun to read. I only post occasionally but read this site religiously. Fight On and best to you all in 2022.

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      3. …the Blanton’s sits under lock and key, now.
        Saving it for truly epic Trojan “W’s”.
        Impossible to find the Blanton’s.
        I’ll WILL try the Old Forrester 86.

        Costco has some great Scotch Whiskeys at a fair price, and
        there was a time I’d take a sip. I’m kinda “buyin’ American”
        right now, so no French wine and no Irish/Scotts Whiskeys for me.
        Easy to support my artisanal friends in Kentucky right now!*

        *But I’m still not a coal burner.

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  10. Mike Holmgren played high school ball at Lincoln in San Francisco. He was “prep player of the year’ there in ’65. O.J. What’s-his-Name never had that honor in the 1960s.

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    1. O. J. let his demons (jealousy, bed temper) destroy not only his own his life but the lives of many others. Nothing will ever change that. But that said, I still have never seen any tailback do the things he did with the Bills. He’s the best running back I ever saw.

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      2. The Browns didn’t teach their daughter not to sell herself off like a piece of meat. I met several girls who were raised the same way when I was at ‘SC. More interested in the almighty dollar than finding someone who would treat them well. Bad things can happen when you make bad decisions. And no, this has nothing to do with her deserving it. As Clint said in Unforgiven, “deserved’s got nothin’ to do with it”.

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      3. By the way, “bad things can happen when you make bad decisions” is exactly why I laugh & laugh every time a Tesla owner crashes because it was set to auto pilot and he was sleeping or completely ignoring the road.

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      4. Oh my, Michael. why do you raise an issue I will never be able to reconcile. How a seemingly civilized man such as OJ could have committed one of the most vicious and incomprehensible crimes of all-times is incomprehensible. I guess when a man becomes enraged over “his” woman, he is capable of anything, just like a raging out-of-sorts animal.

        Fortunately most men are not in the OJ-camp, or heaven help our women!

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      5. SoCal, I agree with your assessment 100% ofo not only O.J., but the Brown family as well. They all knew that O.J. was verbally and physically abusing Nicole, but it was o.k. as long as O.J. was buying a Hertz dealership for the father and paying for all the fancy vacations the entire family went on. I wonder if any of her sisters ever had a real job? Wasn’t Denise involved with a high level mafia figure? Now they’re all involved with the Nicole Brown Foundation. I’m sure they’re making a pretty penny in that venture.

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      6. so you would have sent him to the death chamber on the over all evidence, beyond any doubt? I could not have.

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      7. When you look at the FB helmet which Orenthal wore for 20 years and look at the carries he took for those 20 years, you don’t need to do a post-mortem brain biopsy to determine that he has CTE. Not an excuse, but it will be the story after he departs. Hopefully that data is secured after his passing.

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    1. What a terrible piece of New Year’s Eve news….something’s very wrong…and that something has a very distinctive smell…..
      and that smells name is “Carol”…..
      #TheOnlyPositiveSpinAnyoneCouldPlaceOnThis…
      #…Is…
      #RileyHasLinedUpASuperstar&ToldCainToGetLost..
      #ButIfThatAnnouncementIsn’tMadeTomorrow…
      #…ACertainBitchPresidentIsFuckingOurProgram[Again]

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      1. If Riley doesn’t announce bigger and better names by, like, tomorrow — we are being outbid by our competitors and USC is demonstrating —loud and clear —that we aren’t committed to shit —just like last year…and the year before it…and …[I could go on —but you get the picture]…..

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  13. Michael: I agree with you on OJ Simpson. Greatest running back I have ever seen- speed, power, vision, and could cut on a dime. Sad, we can say much positive about his adult life after college.

    Happy New Year to Everyone! Let’s hope the Trojans return to championship form in 2022.

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  14. Scott: Great job on the great Trojans of the past who have passed away.!!! USC has some great history, and those players all played a big part in building the USC brand we know today.

    Dick Enright was a tremendous high school football coach. His teams at Gardena High School were tremendous, and after he left to coach at Oregon the program has never been the same. Some of his great players at Gardena included USC greats Charlie Evans (FB) and Steve Sogge (QB).

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    1. 100%.
      For all Carol’s B. S. about “caring” and “righteousness”, her version of USC fails to honor it’s own fallen warriors. Scott is doing what USC should be doing —showing we remember.

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  15. Nice knowin ya

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    1. The coaches who are leaving are leaving after, like, 6 hours on campus. Something’s wrong. And I spell ‘something’ with the letters, C-A-R-O-L.
      #ProbablyAskingCoachesIfThey’llChangeGenders

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      1. Is it possible Cain was only coaching LBs at SC but Kelly offered him D-Line coaching position and that was more of a promotion?
        Originally it was promoted as a bunch of OU coaches hopped on the plane with Riley without contracts, etc.
        Never had Bedenbaugh, but it was floated he was coming. Losing Choice and now Cain?! Pray to God it’s not about Folt not pony-ing up $$.
        Spending my days “refreshing” SC websites for new info is no way to live 😐

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  16. People forget OJ grew up in the projects in SF and likely received behavioral conditioning from a young age on how to treat women.

    USC is at a crossroads as an institution. There is no comparable university that combines the academic prestige and difficulty of classes /major athletic tradition/huge number of degree granting schools/enormous alumni base with wealth and passion/location/private institution. The Engineering School is leading the charge, but the whole university has completely transformed from when I entered in the mid 80s. This was all Sample’s work, which Nikias perverted to his warped vision. The core is intact though, and USC has the chance to establish a brand even greater than Stanford and the Ivies over the next few decades. I am not confident Folt can lead this quest but I will wish her the best and request she dig deep to understand what this university means to those of us that persevered and graduated with a USC degree.

    Happy New Year Trojans!

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    1. So true, RRR!
      It really started when you (and I) were an undergrad with President Jim Zumberge. He toughened the admission standards. Legacies had
      a tougher time getting accepted, etc. JZ (not the rapper) also set out to steal the brightest young professorial talent from UCLA. He has not received quite the credit he deserved. Sample was–of course–legendary.

      The bunch here get sick of me quoting the point–
      USC–the #19 ranked University in America (per WSJ metric, out of 780 colleges and Universities). Number 3 in CA after Stanford and Cal Tech. Not gonna pass them up. They are so small that you can’t pass em up.

      Time for the Athletics (and Arts) departments to regularly achieve top 10 rankings across all sports (and arts). That is easily done in So Cal.
      President Folt can work on retaining the #19.
      Heritage Hall needs to get to work on the Athletics.

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    2. Rita –While you are “not confident Folt can do the job”, I am 100% confident…that…
      #…SheCAN’TDoTheJob…
      #She’sLikeAReallyBadMovie…
      #…YouKnowAfter10MinutesIt’sNotGettingBetter

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