FOOTBALL

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

USC plays Northwestern tonight at the Coliseum and unlike in many years when there was a weekday game, tailgating is allowed in certain areas of campus from 3-6 p.m.

Fans will also be allowed to park on campus. These may seem like small measures but they weren’t allowed in the past until last year.

What changed? The desire to make more money on game days.

  • Keep an eye on forward Christian Collins of St. John Bosco, a top 10-ranked basketball player for the Class of 2026. I’m hearing USC is in a strong position to land him. Kentucky and UCLA are his other finalists.
  • The USC women’s volleyball game against No. 1-ranked Nebraska on Nov. 16 at the Galen Center is classified as a sell out. Tickets are available on SeatGeek.
  • USC safety Kamari Ramsey and linebacker Eric Gentry have been invited to the East-West Shrine Bowl.
  • Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac will be at the game tonight to join the band in a pre-game rendition of Tusk. Fleetwood performed with the USC band at halftime of the Arizona State game on Oct. 4, 1980.
  • And now for some history:
Keith Browner (center) is surrounded by celebrating teammates during USC’s 12-0 victory over Oklahoma in 1982
  • Former USC linebacker Keith Browner, who died earlier this week, had an amazing high school career in Atlanta. He was a three-sport star by any measure.

Browner was the team MVP on the Southwest High School football his junior year after he scored four touchdowns on defense. The team went 10-2 and Browner was named All-Georgia and All-City.

He hit .385 and .395 during his junior and senior years on the baseball team while compiling an 11-2 record as a pitcher.

He averaged 16.4 points and a state-best 17.5 rebounds during his senior year of basketball. Southwest went 24-6 and won the state title his junior year.

“I was recruited by over 200 schools, but most of them looked at me in basketball,” he said.

Browner didn’t even play football his senior year.

“I didn’t like the team.” Browner said. “None of brothers were playing and I didn’t feel comfortable. Playing basketball was more competitive and basketball is big in the South.

“(But) I decided after baseball season my senior year that I still wanted to play football.”

Browner came to USC with the intention of playing three sports and joined the basketball team his freshman season before focusing on football. He also went to USC to play with his brother, All-American safety Joey Browner.

“He’s an inspiration to me,” Joey said in 1982. “Since our father died (about five years ago), we’ve become real close. I’m his brother and his friend. We’re so close because we’re 3,000 miles from anyone we know.”

  • During his senior year at USC, Keith had 94 tackles, five sacks, deflected eight passes and recovered three fumbles. His sophomore year he had 83 tackles broke up six passes and recovered one fumble.

When USC faced Stanford and John Elway in 1982, the Trojans led, 7-0, but the Cardinal reached the Trojans’ 30-yard line. Browner sacked Elway for a 19-yard loss to end the drive.

On the following possession, Browner sacked Elway for a 17-yard loss. In the fourth quarter, Keith and Joey each intercepted Elway passes to seal a 41-21 victory.

“It’s fun again after sitting out my senior year (of high school),” Keith said. “I’m finally getting up to the level I should be.”

Keith and Joey Browner (right)
  • A former player lamented this week that he had not seeing Browner recently at any USC games or events and blamed it on the lack of effort from the current administration to welcome ex-players.

PICTURES OF THE WEEK

Karen Jensen

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

It doesn’t matter how many years pass without hearing the theme song from “The War of th Gargantuas,” it immediately hits home like I heard it yesterday. It was composed by Akira Ifukube, who also wrote the music for Godzilla movies.

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

  1. We’re playing #1 Nebraska in volleyball a week from Sunday and it’s not even going to be on TV! Moving to the Big 10 was so stupid. Most of us knew that when it happened.

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    1. KAM: New Hampshire’s first transgender elected Democrat Rep. Stacie Laughton, pleaded guilty to child exploitation charges. He reportly asked his partner who worked in a daycare to send him nude photos of kids.

      DON: Stinky Eric Swalwell campaigned with him.

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  4. KAM: USC Legendary QB Mark Sanchez Fired by Fox After S t a b b i n g 69 Year Old Man

    DON:A month after Mark Sanchez was involved in a near-f a t a l f i g h t while in Indianapolis to call an NFL game for FOX, the company has handed the quarterback-turned-broadcaster his pink slip, TMZ Sports has learned.

    A FOX Sports spokesperson tells us … “We can confirm that Mark Sanchez is no longer with the network. There will be no further comment at this time.”

    We broke the story in early October — Sanchez, in town to call the Colts vs. Raiders football game, was involved in a bizarre altercation where he allegedly a t t a c k e d a 69-year-old delivery driver … prompting the man to s t a b Mark in self-d e f e n s e, nearly k i l l i n g him.

    Just hours after the v i o l e n t incident, Sanchez was arrested in his hospital bed, where he lay critically w o u n d e d with at least one s t a b wound to his upper torso.

    Officials ultimately hit Mark with four charges, including one count of felony b a t t e r y, in addition to three misdemeanors, which could carry several years in prison if convicted.

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  5. Keith Browner had quite an athletic record. It reads like Jim Thorpe. How would you like to be the runt of the Browner litter, a small, uncoordinated, kid that was not interested in playing sports.

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    1. With the way our favorite poster always accuses others of what are actually her flaws, we all know she won’t ever have that problem.

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  7. Sybil and I want to commend Scott for recognizing the virtues of Fearless Vampire Killers, Game Of Thrones, Godzilla and War of the Gargantuas……

    #ScottWolf:AlwaysHelpingToImproveOurMinds

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    1. As a kid, my favorite was always Giant Robot sacrificing himself by flying the evil Guillotine into space, then a giant meteor in order to save the world!

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      1. 100% So Cal! [I liked anything with Baby Godzilla in it…. I could just hug that cute little guy to death]…..

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