FOOTBALL

USC Morning Buzz: Alabama Still Factor In Southern California

Four-star cornerback Zabien Brown of Mater Dei High School committed to Alabama on Sunday over USC and Ohio State.

I guess he didn’t believe Donte Williams was the clearest path to the NFL. Alabama cornerbacks coach Travaris Robinson was defensive coordinator at South Carolina and also coached at Auburn and Florida. So he’s a real coach.

He was also a safety at Auburn and made eight tackles vs. USC in 2002, when the Trojans beat the Tigers at the Coliseum, 24-17.

Alabama now has two prime commitments from Southern California — Brown and five-star QB Justin Sayin of Carlsbad.

  • One update to the L.A. Times decision to no longer publish box scores, standings or game stories in the printed paper. It will also no longer print TV listings or a sports calendar. Those omissions will bother some readers more than the box scores.
  • They also didn’t have box scores on the web site, which were promised Sunday. Oh well.

103 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: Alabama Still Factor In Southern California”

      2. The last time I moved, I had to go down to the store and buy a few newspapers to pack up the breakables.

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  2. I don’t buy the paper anymore. I just go on each sports team blog n search for stories. This is a sad day for the times. Just go on the internet n drive up advertising revenue and cut out all reporters doing live events. So they are they going to have reporters do stories that show up 2 days later,? Just shut down period or just do a paper on Sunday’s. At least you will get a paper with all the week’s stories on one page. Great idea Mr. Soon? Does he still own a part of the times update me if I’m wrong.

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      3. I had the pleasure of knowing Chief Gates— I was on his radio show a couple of times and enjoyed it immensely….btw, I loved the way his troops admired him — they talked about him like he was there Dad or something…. one time I baited some of his detectives by saying the Chief better lower the temperature a bit when he quarrels with Mayor Bradley and/or Ira Reiner cuz they’re big, tough guys….at once, Lt. Peters blurted out, “The Chief’s an athlete –he can take care of himself with anybody!”

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      2. Gates was an athlete. I used to work in that area. I would see him running the streets at 6 at night quite often.

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  3. Brown to Alabama he won’t last. He will be asking for his release after they offer 2 5 * in the next recruiting cycle. I just don’t get it, u will have a better chance at SC than the stacked talented group of DB’s that they will get. Once you arrive in Jan 24, u will be a spring transfer begging to come back to SC.

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    1. Ah 7112, maybe Brown witnessed the last two 2022 bozo FB games (Major debacles.) in Las Vegas and El Paso and was convinced SUCC FB SUCC’ed.

      #Alabama 52 – Clown U 6…Ye Olde Bottom Line

      I’m thinking Brown wants to compete against the best players @Alabama, rather than SUCC’ing hind-titty in Clown U’s 2nd tier FB program.

      Lastly 7112, the overrated (As usual) bozo FB team won’t make the 2023 CFP with their modest/mediocre 8-4 record.

      #Mediocre Methodist as it were.

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      1. ucla’s last NC was when ? Oh that’s right, they’ve never won one outright. Last Rose Bowl appearance ? Last BCS bowl game ? Last playoff game ? last time they were relevant in football ?

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      2. You are on to something here Owns, the kid grew up watching Alabama dominate football. In his mind, going back to his Pop Warner days USC wasn’t a factor.
        USC has to earn back that “wannabe there” mindset in order to be able to pickup the blue chip players.

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      3. To be fair, sometimes UCLA actually gets a bowl invitation….but needs to leave town a few hours before the game……cuz…. covid.
        #TheyStayAtNiceHotelAndOrderRoomServiceAllWeekBeforehand

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      4. missus owns, why u alwayz so angry? Go put sum lipstik on and get yurself a boyfrend lyke tebow obama, the 2 of you would make such a cute couple.

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      5. Owns takes great pleasure in bashing Andy and the basketball team. But he fails to realize UCLA basketball is on a 28-year dry streak. His cachet tank is running on empty

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      6. Owns Bruins were last in the NCAA Final Four in 2021. USC needs to match that with a final four football appearance this year as their last was 18 years ago in January 2006 against Texas.

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      8. You’re gettin’ a lot of mileage out of SC’s last two games, Owns. But you can’t win if you don’t get in – and you (ucla) didn’t get in. #SnivelOn

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    1. I left in 1996, never looked back and don’t ever want to go back. I just wish the people fleeing from Cali to other places would respect the places that they are moving to, but that’s a lot to ask of people who feel that they are entitled and know more than the locals.

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      1. That’s right! People who move to where we live should live and act just like us.
        We believe in freedom.

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      2. For some unknown reason the people who believe in The Rule of Law don’t appreciate those like you that want to round them up, put them in boxcars and ship them to the death camps.

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      3. Interesting take on California, BK
        as I just completed my plans to do Highway-1
        from the City of Angels to Big Sur
        Best 300 miles in the world

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      4. I recommend a stop at Hearst Castle. The time, effort, and money that went into building the entire compound is crazy.

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      5. The late great Sam Shepard said told a S. F. Chronicle reporter he loved to get in his car and drive the 5 from Oakland down to the Grapevine ….she said, “Gee, I don’t if I’d like that.” He replied “…then you shouldn’t do it.”

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      7. Like you said, the mind feels in the blanks. I would pay a small fee to have the luxury of an edit/delete option

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  5. Disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar , who was convicted of sexually abusing female gymnasts, was stabbed multiple times on Sunday at the federal prison in Florida

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      2. Interesting pecking order, MG, much like
        “My sins are not as bad as yours,
        and besides, mine have been forgiven
        because I have the right religion”

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      3. Good point, John. [I actually had a convicted murderer —who, of course, said he didn’t do it — tell me the bottom of the pyramid in the prison population is represented by the molesters].

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  6. I love that Scott was able to get in a dig at Donte Williams. If I were Donte I’d have left USC after his worst first season as head coach. We tend to forget who he had as coordinators, two of the most disloyal coaches on earth (who were both angling for the head coach position)
    I don’t hate Donte, just his stint as head coach. Riley proved it wasn’t Donte’s fault by removing dead wood players. Donte had three strikes against him before he got up to bat.

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    1. Donte’s legacy will always be based on (1) saying he understood players not wanting to play in the Cal game, (2) answering all post game questions with “losing sucks.”
      #He’sNot”TheGuy”

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      1. I don’t understand how an SC coach could say he ‘ understood’ SC scholarship players saying they didn’t want to play ‘lowly’ Cal.
        I would have revoked scholarships if players didn’t give 100%. Just like Riley did.

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    2. Donte had the deck stacked against him, he inherited the crap Helton left behind. There is better position coaches out there, but he went through some unnecessary mud-sling due to the situation he was handed.

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      4. I am sorry you feel that way, yet you struggle to keep your own house in line. “We’ll see” how well you hold back the Biden demons. I will not hold it against you if you focus on things other than me or Joe. I hope you have a great day.

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      5. That idiot Donte Williams doesn’t know shit about coaching, he’s a recruiter. That fucking clown Donte had a few 5 star DB’s to work with at USC and he wasted their talent.

        Name one player that that idiot Donte Williams developed, good luck with that.

        Grinch is another fucking idiot, all the years coaching and he needs ‘Ol Mule Shoe to hold his hand coaching the defense.

        Instead of hiring actual coordinators that know what they’re doing, USC allows the hiring of fucking morons with a proven track record of being less than mediocre.

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      6. For me, the jury is still out on Grinch. He took over a defense with players that were underdeveloped, undersized and had no depth. The portal afforded him better players to work with. Year two is the no excuss year, perform or be fired.

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  7. Why would ANY defensive personnel commit to USC? It has been proven that Riley does not care about the defensive side of the ball with really poor hires!

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  8. Memo to: buddhakarma BABY

    Nobody in Div. 1 CFB choka, choka, choka, choka, chokes like bozo FB.

    The bozo FB debacle list is endless and I’m willing bet dollars to donuts DUMPSTER U has lost important games than it’s won.

    And don’t me get started on the bozo BB OOOOOOO ferever rally.

    And guess what buddhakarma Baby, UCLA has never lost a home game to a ’41 point ‘dog!

    #”What’s your story.”

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      1. On Scott’s ‘no-edit’ blog we’re all used to supplying the missing words in everybody else’s replies…..
        #…ItMakesUsBetterPeople

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    3. I believe J.O., the ‘little-sucla’ meant to write, “SC has lost more important games than it has won.” Really? Let’s count the ways–
      1962 No.1 and Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin
      1964 Beats No. 1 ND in last game of season
      1967 No. 1 as it beats sucla (surely you recall that pivotal game)
      1972 No. 1 SC shellacks ND and Ohio St
      1974 No. 1 SC beats Ohio St in last minute
      1978 No. 1 SC beats Alabama
      2003 No. 1 SC beats Michigan in Rose Bowl
      2004 No. 1 SC steamrolls Oklahoma
      2022 SC beats sucla for a chance at a national championship

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      1. Calypso, The bozos nearly lost that Wisconsin game. I watched it live on TV, and Wisconsin just ran out time.

        ND 55 Clown U 0

        SUCC loses a FB natty to Tixas in the last seconds.

        SUCC forfeits a Natty victory.

        UCLA kicks the bozo out a lock BCS invitation 14 – 9.

        Alabama 52 – bozos 6 and no TD’s…the bozos “Shock the World.”

        Who can forget the Boston College victory aptly named the Boston Massacre. This is the game where the bozo defense couldn’t tackle the BC, QB.

        Who can forget the AZ or AZ St. Hail Mary pass, last second victory at the crumbling mausoleum. All the bozos were in the end zone yelling “I got it, I got it” but didn’t.

        The Freedom Bowl.

        The Las Vegas debacle

        The Cotton picker/picking Bowl debacle.

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    4. 1/2 a National title and one Heisman back when facemasks were introduced. Can’t fill the stadium and can’t pay the rent. Welfare bruins suck.

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      2. Doesn’t it piss you off 9000, that UCLA has a half of FB Natty and DUMSTER U is ooooooooooooooooo ferever and proud of it.

        FYI 9000, one of the bozos who played in the bozo’s magical, Elite Eight, 19 point debacle loss to Gonzaga, tried recently, to pawn his Elite Eight commemorative ring(LOL). The player took the ring to nine(9) Pawn Shops and the best deal he could get was to pay a P/S owner $50.00 to take it.

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      3. J.O. – your premise is weak. Just like the ruin’s bowl record. I can play that game too. USC has 12 National Titles in baseball.Time to cue “One is the Loneliest Number” once again little buddy. By the way – why DID Tommy Prothro punt on third down? You should give up as soon as he did after second down. Good talk.

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      5. I don’t know about the 1/2 NC but Gary Beban should never have won the Heisman Trophy. In his entire UCLA career(3 tears) he threw for 4087 yards(1483, 1245 and 1359) in 31 games. That comes out to 132 yards per game. CW threw for over 4500 last year as a soph. Plus, he only played in 5 games in his pro career. How they decided to pick Beban as the Heisman winner over many other really good players(like O.J.) is a mystery to me. He must have had his mother and dad on the Heisman committee. Beban was not anywhere’s near the best QB UCLA has had over the years.

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      6. Troy Akiman comes to mind. He led UCLA to a 20-4 record and still has the 4th highest QB rating in NCAA history.

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      7. Troy Aikman was a great QB and UCLA has had others but Beban was a nothing burger. If he was on todays UCLA team, by the end of the year, he would not be starting. How they decided to pick him as the best player in the country has always been a mystery to me. 1967 was the height of the drug culture. Maybe one of the Heisman committee members was Timothy Leary and they were all sitting in a room high on LSD.

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      1. You are a pal MG for reading between the lines with my latest typo
        (matter should read “more”)

        And I don’t throw the word “genius” around lightly,
        but Scott has an uncanny knack for keeping the conversation going
        even if it is merely light girl-like talk

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  10. “So he’s a real coach.”
    We know you don’t like anything associated with USC, but that is ridiculous to suggest that Donte isn’t a real coach. I’m not completely sold on him, but he’s been a CB coach for San Jose St, Arizona, Nebraska, and Oregon. And because Travaris Robinson was a safety for Auburn and made 8 tackles against SC would thus make him a good coach, with that reasoning Jerry West and Magic Johnson should have been the best coaches the Lakers have ever had.

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    1. I hate it when people act like “not being real” is some kind of big tragedy.
      Merlin wasn’t real.
      Achilles wasn’t real.
      Donte’s in good company…..
      #…He’sGotNothingToBeAshamedOf…

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      4. Cal75 — I’m embarrassed to admit that, back in my student body president days, The Real Don Steele caught me mimicking him when he introduced some band at Saint Monica’s Green & Gold Dance….I felt bad cuz he was such a nice guy…. but he didn’t make me feel guilty about it cuz he recognized I was just a young squirt…

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      5. LIKED!….I was just a young squirt…(funny!)

        Not that I am trying to compare you to a dog, but my next-door neighbor has a French Bulldog named “Squirt” who seems to always get in trouble.

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      2. That’s a great question —that’s never been satisfactorily answered….
        #I’mPrettySureTheProffered”Health”ThingWasn’tTheRealReason…

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      3. Perhaps there was some animosity within the Buss family as Jackson was slowly trying to take more control.

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  11. Thanks original Gabby or whoever you are for not letting your misfit egos get the best of you. Now that those alter egos have been put to rest let’s make this blog worthy of reading. Yes MG my constant complaining has done some good. I’m the Original Eric Turner aka erict7112. Welcome back Gabby now make sure you keep the thread going in a positive direction.

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    1. I wondered what happened to you. One day you were posting then you disappeared. Your posts were informative with great detail. Keep up the good work and let’s get to the CFP.

      I have this freak following me around that brought out a dark side. With advice taken from the members, it shouldn’t be an issue anymore.

      #FIGHT-ON!

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  13. Recruiting will get better and better. We need one more great season. It’s already happening. In the 2022 recruiting class we had one 3 star O-Lineman(a JC player) who was pretty much a project. In the 2023 class we had 3 highly rated 3 stars and one 4 star. In this 2024 class, so far we have three 4 stars and a highly rated 3 star who will probably be upgraded to a 4 star by the end of his senior season and the 2024 class is not over yet. Recruiting is getting better every year and will continue to get better as the recruits start to see that the glory days are back at USC.

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    1. My same thoughts!. It’s going to take another double-digit win to remove the Helton hangover. My concern is Nelson doesn’t develop into the QB he was hyped to be. I guess the portal is the fallback option

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      1. I think that under LR, QB will never be a problem. He really is a great developer of QB’s. There was Murray, CW, Baker Mayfield, Jalen Hurts(who finished 2nd in the Heisman voting). Don’t forget Spencer Ratliff who played 2 or 3 years under LR and then went on to star at the other USC. Then check out the QB’s that he had when he was OC at East Carolina.

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      2. Riley has definitely been the QB whisperer, does he have the magic to pull another rabbit out of his hat? Based on the recent past, you’re right, the QB position should not be a problem. The one thing Riley has avoided is a season-ending injury to his starter and having to play a kid who is perhaps not ready for primetime.

        Not trying to be perceived as negative, just doing a little projecting!

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      3. Miller Moss is a outstanding QB. They can win under him. In 2015 they couldn’t win under Max Browne because they started out against alabama and they didn’t have great team. Today, they are loaded on offense. With or without CW, they’ll still win 9 or 10 games.

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      4. You mention Miller Moss and Matt Cassel comes to mind. A highly rated QB that never started a game at USC but was impressive enough through scouting and workouts to get drafted. He started 81 games and lasted 14 seasons. He did a lot better than his competition, Matt Leinart

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  14. The ‘buy’ the NYT made in Jan. 2022 was for ‘The Athletic'” $550 million. They now have a national website for all sports and 500 columnists for every pro and most college franchises/programs.

    What’s the poor LAT going to do….pay Jeff Fletcher (LAA) J.P. Hoornstra (LAD) etc with SCNG? …. and where does Ryan Kartje (USC) go? boo hoo but hey ‘progressives’ Dylan Hernandez, Bill Shaikin and they can read Billie Plaschke’s book “How To Be A LA Times Sports Columnist.”

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      1. Plaschke was just on PMS – man it was telling his ‘angst’ of what he now finds himself in – working for a ‘journal’ instead of a newspaper. He knows sports fans buy the paper for: ‘standings’, ‘scores’, ‘quotes’. They read columnists but only if there is a real background for the columnist’s POV i.e. – a 3rd party (beat reporter) accounting of the actual event. This is the death of the LAT print edition – at least the NYT had the foresight buying ‘The Athletic’ …. I wonder what the Times counter was purchasing ‘VICE’ ‘Newsweek’ or hey how about ‘NPR’?

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      2. This is what happens when your mgmt. hasn’t any idea of their future especially after they make foolish moves – the worst was selling the Time Bldg.. That was the portent of decline and moving then the move to El Segundo renting 3 floors on a Bauhaus tilt up right next to the 105 Have their ‘reporters’ work ‘off-site’. Sold their printing presses and now get in line (first) in Riverside.

        Contrast that with the NYT – they still have ‘the Grey Lady’ and that means they are a physical presence and thus a ‘threat’ to the powers that be.
        Unless the LAT makes a move akin to the NYT it’s not looking good especially the sole idea for income is relying solely on ‘on-line’ subscribers. Then again maybe this is the demise of all national dailies everywhere.

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