FOOTBALL

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

USC ranks No. 67 in strength of schedule this season per ESPN. And people think Lincoln Riley wants to play in the Big Ten?

  • Former USC tennis coach Peter Smith, who won 5 NCAA titles, will be inducted into the ITA Men’s Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame.
  • Former USC tailback Aaron Emanuel has joined Taft High School in Woodland Hills’ coaching staff to coach running backs.
  • The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game between Oregon and Georgia is officially a sellout.
  • Football coaches being overpaid was an issue 100 years ago too.
  • And now for some history (with an emphasis on 1965):

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

  • USC vs. UCLA in 1965. No. 10 is QB Troy Winslow of Inglewood High School. It’s hard to make out some of the other numbers. It looks like the center is Paul Johnson of St. Anthony. And all in glorious color!
  • In the spring of 1964, John McKay taught his good friend, Arkansas coach Frank Broyles, the intricacies of the “I” formation offense. Arkansas went 11-0 in 1964 and 10-1 in 1965.

There was a difference, though. McKay’s ” I” was a two-back offense. It split an end to the weak side and placed a flanker to the strong side.

Broyles ran a three-back I, which featured a star end, Bobby Crockett. They also had wingback Harry Jones (pictured above), who led the NCAA with 7.7 yards per carry in 1965.

McKay had a circle of coaching buddies like Broyles and maybe most notably, Bear Bryant. Here’s a classic McKay-Bryant story. And another one.

  • Here’s a tradition that fell by the wayside. Wide receiver Rod Sherman (sporting the U-bar) and tailback Mike Garrett speak to the crowd after the Trojans defeated Pitt, 28-0.
  • A fight stopped play during the 1965 USC-Stanford game. The Trojans won, 14-0.
Mike Garrett is overcome with emotion at his press conference after winning the Heisman Trophy.
  • The USC basketball team celebrates a 74-72 upset over No. 2-ranked Vanderbilt after John Block made 2 free throws with 19 seconds left at the L.A. Classic Tournament at the Sports Arena.
  • In 1965, USC athletic director Jess Hill hired Bob Boyd as men’s basketball coach.
  • In October, 1965, broadcast legend John Chancellor made an appearance on radio station KUSC.
  • Talk about a different world. The Daily Trojan won the CIPA Newspaper Sweepstakes Award, which was presented to them by 1965 Playboy Playmate of the Year Jo Collins! Editorial director Steve Harris and editor Mary Garber accepted the award.
  • Did Traveler or Richard Saukko ever look more glorious?
Another tradition that disappeared are Homecoming Week decortations.
  • The Homecoming Queen and her court ride to the Coliseum. That’s Cathy Crosby, who became known as Cathy Lee Crosby when she became an actress.
  • Otto the ice cream man was a fixture on campus, here taking advantage of long registration lines.
  • Speaking of ice cream, last week I mentioned the Currie’s Ice Cream at USC. I since found out it was located on University Ave. and Jefferson St., which was a great location.
  • USC students play bridge in the Grill.
  • In concert news, violinist Jascha Heifetz and pianist Lillian Steuber performed at Hancock Auditorium.
  • A young-looking Tom Kelly calls a USC basketball game for KNX-AM (1070).
  • So here’s a harmless photo of the USC-Cal game in 1965. But that sure looks like Tom Selleck on the far left.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Here’s a wonderful video with first-class musicians and it’s live! The Old Grey Whistle Test show ran on the BBC from 1971-88. It featured top live performances and this one features Al Stewart’s “Year of the Cat” in 1976. The band can all handle solos but don’t overplay and work together perfectly.

And then there’s the lyrics:

On a morning from a Bogart movie
In a country where they turn back time
You go strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorre
Contemplating a crime
She comes out of the sun in a silk dress running
Like a watercolor in the rain

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

    1. USC is ranked #67 in strength of schedule? 😂 Lincoln Riley better take advantage of his first two years of his contract, because he’s going to have to be a well rounded recruiter after that. And why is Aaron Emanuel coaching running backs at the high school level, he was the biggest bust for the Trojans ? He looked like Tarzan, but played like Jane, and ran upright like a big stiff 😂

      Like

      Reply

    1. The Pitt cheerleaders were leading a cheer, “Save Some Touchdowns for UCLA!”
      #OneFewerVsPitt,OneMoreVsUCLAWould’veDoneTheTrickThatYear
      P. S.
      Old Ed is right: We really don’t deserve a Friday column this Great!

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      2. Thanks so much, 67. This has been an unbelievable 2 weeks —everything seems to be breaking down — computer, scanner, kitchen appliances ….and, most sadly of all, old friends. They all needed attention at once.

        Liked by 2 people

    2. And one of those losses, to sucla, is remembered to this day, nearly 57 years later.

      And that, by the way, is the beauty of college football. Some games’ memories you carry with you to the grave.

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply

  3. I do not understand why Scott thinks the Big 10 is such a formidable foe. They have their big two perennial performers and the rest. A normal USC team wouldn’t have a problem being in the pack.
    I have heard and read that Graven Gruesome wants Ucla to explain its move to the Big 10 without consulting the big daddy. I’d love to hear their response. “Well Mr. Gubernor it’s like this we hired a big (named) coach for lots of money, but he didn’t bring in the fans. Doughnut sales have soared, but no fans. We can barely afford the rent at the oldest cement building in Los Angels county and need cash now. You didn’t blink when landed our whale of a coach, and didn’t think you gave two shits about football ( you’re more of a roller disco guy) so we pulled the trigger. It’s all good…you know what they say, better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

      1. “Better to ask for forgiveness than permission”– I’m going to try that line on my wife (probably to my detriment)

        And Michael, it sounds like you have a lot on your plate. I don’t know where you find the energy.

        Liked by 2 people

    1. Yes indeed, somehow Scottie is insinuating that Riley broke through the space-time continuum and engineered the schedule before he was hired.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. You kid, 67. But upon reading your reply, Chip Kelly was heard to remark, “Why didn’t I think if that?!”
        #”Hello,NCAA…
        #…I’mFromTheFuture…
        #…AndWhenIWaveMyFairyWand…
        #…OklahomaWillBeRemovedFromChipKelly’sUCLASchedule…”

        Liked by 1 person

  5. 1965, my first live SC-sucla game, and Troy Winslow has to go and blow the Rose Bowl by being a glory-hog and running with the ball, which he then promptly fumbled in the last 4-minutes, giving Gary Beban a chance at stardom. I asked Mike Garrett years later about Winslow and he just looked to the sky with a disgusted look. Garrett never made it to the Rose Bowl.

    Another observation about that 1965 picture is that the players look like normal size human beings, not the Neanderthals that they have turned into in today’s game

    SC-Stanford fighting. John McKay never liked that school. What was the famous cartoon of McKay leading Stanford by something like 998-0, and he tells his quarterback to go for 2.

    And still another 1965 picture of primarily SC males with short haircuts and big smiles. The hair was to become longer and suddenly we all could find Viet Nam on a map.

    Lastly, you know there is a God in heaven because he gave us women, but Playmate
    Jo Collins, as cute as she was, sure had big hair.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    1. Who was the QB for the game in 1966 in which USC got embarrassed by Notre Dame 51-0? Troy Winslow or Toby Page? Whoever it was —he wasn’t the right guy. One missed throw after another [and when he finally connected with Ron Drake in the endzone, Drake dropped the ball]….
      #….ItDidn’tGetBetterTillO.J.ArrivedIn1967

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      1. It was Winslow again. He completed about 80 of 140 passes for slightly more than 100 yards, with 6 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. The game has changed a bit!

        By the way, Michael, your absence was felt. I was speculating that you might have had to tend to one of your ailing buddies. Hope all is well with you.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. I sat through that game…even worse than the entire 1957 season which I also attended home games…not much difference between sogge and winslow,neither threw or ran well.

        Liked by 2 people

      3. Being a QB today is night and day different. Throwing mechanics have totally changed. Training has totally changed, and QBs today are working pretty much every day all year long, as opposed to the fall season and a bit in the summer.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Watch Troy Winslow on film—he isn’t exactly what you’d call the “spark of the offense.” McKay didn’t require him to do much of anything, in fact.
        Which was fine —unless we were behind in the 4th quarter, as we were in the last 2 minutes of the ’65 UCLA game. As the great Melvin Durslag of the magnificent Herald Examiner put it, “after that Beban bomb you just knew USC wasn’t gonna come back —they weren’t built for it.”

        Liked by 1 person

      6. Yep! Examiner Sports Section was Awesome….. And Melvin Durslag was tops for football and boxing —my two favorite sports.

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Missed a 0 there. He passed for a bit more than 1000 yards. McKay liked to run it down your throat. Besides, 3 things can occur when you throw the ball, and 2 of them are bad.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  7. There are still concepts of the I formation used today. Spread with RPO offense is just the latest version of trying to isolate players on defense. Everything evolves in sports, (kinda not baseball) but there are still nods to the good ol stuff. If McKay, Bill Walsh, and Lavell Edwards sat down to create an offense it would look very similar to todays spread. None of those guys have coached for decades and they are still using their ideas today.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  8. Great video!

    Don’t ask me why, but I was compelled to pull up Living in the Past by Jethro Tull immediately afterwards. Also a great video!

    Happy Friday All, including you Scott!!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. Not at all. Just wanted him to know it was also intended for the blogger himself, not just my fellow posters (and the lurkers).

        Liked by 2 people

  9. Just noticed the guy in the top right portion of the “Tom Selleck” picture looks like a young Tom Brady. Of course, Tom wasn’t born until 1977. But there’s a strong resemblance, at least IMHO.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. …and…oh no….that’s So Cal with the sunglasses….and, look, that’s Gabby standing next to him with the Tommy Trojan decal on his short sleeve white shirt!

        Liked by 1 person

    2. “A fight stopped play during the 1965 USC-Stanford game. The Trojans won, 14-0.” And that was just the fight, Trojans also won the game.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. Entering the Big 10 will be great for USC. We have two seasons to develop the team to compete there. There are some teams USC can beat up on every season and some teams that will be a challenge, but 10-2 and 9-3 seasons are definitely within reach. 12-0 will mean that Riley has solved the issues with physicality.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    2. Some years there will probably be 2 teams from both the Big-10 and SEC,
      making up the “Final-4,” so a loss, may even two losses, won’t be a deal-killer.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. But if you blow up the class a second time you get demoted, and are
      right back where you started from?– I wish I had gone to your school

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      2. Remember all the British kids cheering from a hilltop in Boorman’s “Hope & Glory” when a German bombs hit their school?

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Ha! Don’t know when you went to school, Siggy, but I think the CA schools, particularly in LA, were going downhill beginning in the ’60s. And they haven’t hit bottom yet, sadly.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  14. Watching Aquarius on Hulu with David Duchovny and it is a great snapshot of the change LA was experiencing due to Manson and drugs in the late 60s. 1965 was probably as good as it got.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. 1965:
      Viet Nam was not yet in college students’ vocabulary; “going far” for most girls was allowing her guy to get to second base; and tuition cost my dad about $20,000 for a full ride.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

    2. Not sure about the movie, but another great song!

      When the moon is in the Seventh House
      And Jupiter aligns with Mars
      Then peace will guide the planets
      And love will steer the stars
      This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
      Age of Aquarius
      Aquarius
      Aquarius

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      2. nice song…….about time for the entire cast to get naked & close the show…..
        #NothingLike60’sExploitation

        Liked by 1 person

      4. And don’t forget Part 2, So Cal:

        Let the sunshine
        Let the sunshine in

        I can sing that over and over and never tire of the sound. It is like a chant– how did that one go?–namnyohoringaykeyo, or something like that.

        Liked by 1 person

  15. ‘Brit kids cheering when a German bomb takes out their school.’ And here all along I thought the Brits were scared witless.

    –Seems MG is back in form. Can’t keep a Maui-Zowie down very long

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. Well, I don’t think you are completely back, my friend. I sense you still have got some more “fighting” to do, MG. But if it is any consolation you are in our thoughts.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Thanks, John. I’m good to go. The computer problems (including scanner, printer, etc) cost me a pretty penny to get corrected — but that’s fine —the pisser is the guys I was working with were coughing and wheezing so much I asked “do you guys have covid?”
        #Answer:”We’reGettingOverIt”
        #Today’sMGTemperature:101 –ButActuallyIFeelGreat….

        Like

  16. Well, it all doesn’t sound “great.”– But keep us apprised of developments.
    Here is hoping you come out of it.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment

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