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USC Morning Buzz: Someone Feels Sick About Season

USC’s Board of Trustees are scheduled to meet today, which means we could have a decision on the next president of the university.

  • If college football teams were measured by talking, USC might be national champs. Here’s general manager Chad Bowden on Monday:

“I’m sick to my stomach for donors. I’m sick to my stomach for people that might be unhappy with winning nine games. And they should be unhappy.”

This is supposed to be a refreshing comment.

But does it address why he is sick? Does Bowden think it has anything to do with Lincoln Riley? The coaching? The lack of philosophy or commitment to play physical football?

Remember Bowden said this the week of the Notre Dame game.

“We’re as tough as anybody. We can play against anybody. Doesn’t matter what logo, where you’re from, Midwest, blue blood, we don’t care what it is.”

This comment came after USC allowed more than 500 yards to Illinois and then gave up 306 yards rushing to Notre Dame.

So Bowden is good at saying things to get the lemmings to shake their heads in approval and feel optimistic about the future but the actual results are harder for him.

And again, he is able to speak like this but then goes silent on the abandonment of the Notre Dame rivalry.

44 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: Someone Feels Sick About Season”

  1. Scott, you are doing it again. When will you figure out that USC is the good guy and ND is the bad guy in any discussion about football. It appears that LR is trying to grow and improve by hiring the special teams coach from Nebraska which you have been preaching is needed, and Gary Patterson for DC, another example of you getting what you wanted, a hard nosed, no nonsense defensive coordinator. Bowden is doing his job and it isn’t for lemmings. He is acknowledging needs and the actions listed above are in response to concerns about coaching. As a Trojan alum and lifelong fan, I will always be optimistic about the future. Shouldn’t you…..or you would rather use name calling like calling fans lemmings for being optimistic. Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962

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    2. Agree Dan 62. Scott always omits from the discussion the fact that the program is moving in the right direction. They have replaced the worst performing coaches, hired a top notch GM, fixed NIL and landed the #1 recruiting class. Most importantly, the emphasis of that class was the trenches. Seven highly regarded offensive linemen, most of them 4 stars. Luke Wafle and three other highly regarded edge rushers. Two great interior defensive lineman with Winfield and Tom Tom. You don’t make these moves unless you are committed to playing physical football. The future of the program looks very bright. So call me a lemming.

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      2. What you did four years ago has nothing to do with your current direction. Neither does your past record. Do you agree with the changes that were made – coaching changes, GM, competitive NIL, emphasis on the trenches in recruiting? If so, the program is going in the right direction.

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    3. I agree on a philosophical level, ambitious. Scott’s “brand” disallows him saying anything positive about the possibilities of the 2026 season. Deep down he knows recognizing the positives occurring within the program would turn him into “another USC beat writer.” I appreciate that concern —but it would be nice if acknowledged that, directionally, USC is making solid progress.

      I have a feeling the insanely difficult 2026 schedule is going to bring out the best in USC. We’ll know soon enough who’s right and who’s wrong about this — but I don’t think I’m gonna be wrong.

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      1. KAM: Or over the last 45 years Scott has seen enough snake oils salesmen disguised as football coaches to grow a bit distrustful.

        DON: Especially our current Dr. Harold Hill who promised us championships when he rolled into town 5 years ago…

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  3. Last season should have been 10-2, minimum, with a victory over Illinois.

    What strikes me most about that event is that a hard-core coach would have said “No excuses for the loss, but what the hell is wrong with a food service establishment that poisons half of our team. I want an answer for this. “

    Riley just papered the whole thing over…

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    1. With all the online chatter about poisoning ICE agents it’s pretty obvious that ‘poisoning the opposition’ is now on the table. The problem with Coach Riley pointing it out [or pointing out that our schedule sucks or Big Ten officiating is corrupt] is: It doesn’t do any good …and will bring extra-added negatives our way.

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      2. If “poisongate” had happened to Ryan Day or Cignetti or Kirby Smart or Cristobal or DeBoer, then they would have been taken seriously. Not LR, however.

        I have to say, there is something about a guy who is so over-the-top skinny that they just don’t look like a football HC

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      3. “Four opposing cardboard sheets to call home, some half-eaten pizza slices found on the sidewalk and fantasies of winning high stakes poker games in Vegas….ah, this is Living!”

        -Sybil Speaks Out On “The Good Life”

        Liked by 3 people

      5. …but it still mighta been nice to simply say, “what was with the food poisoning thing?— I’m just asking questions…”

        …and maybe ditch the ski pants…..

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      10. KAM: Cowardly Gabby aka Charlie Bucket the UCLA Fan aka TebowObama aka The Guy who posts as So Cal’s Wife & Michael Guarino & Buddhakarma &LawyerJohn & Pudly & Plow Horse & steveg49 & DOJ & Scott Wolf & Kathy & Foreskin Thoughts & Frank Young and The Moderator is beyond stale and she has to get a new life.

        DON: She wasted this one spamming this site with her insane drivel the last 26 years. What a pathetic loser she is.

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  4. OFF TOPIC BUT BABE RUTH NEVER CALLED HIS SHOT IF HE HAD IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ALL OVER THE PAPERS THE NEXT MORNING BUT THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. RUTH MERELY GESTURED TOWARD PITCHER CHARLEY ROOT AND SAID PUT ONE OVER. I HEARD THAT FROM ROOT HIMSELF WHO LATER MANAGEDTHE LOS ANGELES ANGELS IN THE OLD PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

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  5. Talking about ‘calling the shot,’ how about not calling the shot. OJ Simpson is on record when he said how he figured there was no shot of success when his 64 yard winning touchdown run was called in the 1967 ucla game

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      1. MICHAEL GUARINO HAS BEEN NOMINATED FOR THE “ENDURANCE TR0LL OF THE YEAR” AWARD FOR THE 14TH STRAIGHT YEAR IN A ROW.

        LETS ALL GIVE HIM A BIG HAND……. HE WORKED HARD, DAY AFTER DAY, WEEK AFTER WEEK….

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      2. “I just wanna say… I mean I would like to say… I guess I’m trying to say…oh, gosh…you sure picked a swell guy for Mayor of Boy’s Town…”

        —Mickey Rooney in final, over the top scene from “Boy’s Town”

        Liked by 2 people

      3. KAM Cowardly Gabby has been nominated for Unwanted Obscene Perverted Insane Internet Troll Of the Year for the 26th straight year.

        DON: Go away you disgusting loser.

        Liked by 2 people

      1. KAM: Cowardly Gabby aka Charlie Bucket the UCLA Fan aka TebowObama aka The Guy who posts as So Cal’s Wife & Michael Guarino & Buddhakarma &LawyerJohn & Pudly & Plow Horse & steveg49 & DOJ & Scott Wolf & Kathy & Foreskin Thoughts & Frank Young and Moderator has had a bad day, her hero Ryan Routh was just sentenced to life in prison..

        DON: The good news is Cowardly Gabby can see him for congugal visits.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. “It’s okay, Ryan…. now we can be together for all eternity.”

        —Sybil [with big, round tears in her eyes]

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  7. Scott just always wants to be able to say “I told you so!” The odds are pretty slim that any program will go through the season undefeated. There are over 125 FBS teams and only one comes out the winner with usually at least one loss. Last year was an exception. By always pointing out the negatives, Scott can always claim that he is the most perceptive analyst of USC football and sports in general. Always easier to be critical than supportive. No real Trojan fan wants to see them lose, we just want to see good coaching and the will to win. I was at the last game that Smith coached in the old Freedom Bowl against an inferior Fresno State team in 1992, and USC lost 24 to 7. It was disgusting, but everyone at that game knew that Smith was history. I agree with Michael, let’s see what LR does this year and judge the product on the field. Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962

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    1. Scott is committed to his ‘brand’ –I get the feeling he’s often smiling as he types [knowing the feelings he’s stirring up]. But…yeah… signs point to the potential for a very special season— if we can trim 6 points from the “against’ column and add 3-6 points to the “for” column we’re in the playoffs…even with the toughest schedule in memory staring us in the face.

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      3. Ha! [No,…that wasn’t one of the best signs]…

        I’m hoping Patterson instills enough pride in the defense to prevent a back from running through 5 Trojans for a score on the last play of the game….

        #”That TD came at the worst possible moment”

        —No Sh*t…..

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      5. Hate to admit it, T —but that thought has occurred to me….

        [Can you imagine the pain of upsetting Ohio State and Oregon and Washington…. just to lose to UCLA]?

        “Heaven & Earth must I think of it?!”

        —Hamlet

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