FOOTBALL

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

Can you believe USC wraps up spring practice this week?

It was a quick month of workouts. The biggest accomplishment was getting the defense comfortable with Gary Patterson’s new system.

Unfortunately, too much of the focus is on who had an explosive play in practice. No one ever focuses on who gave up those plays, of course. That’s not something they can promote.

But when USC gets into the season, it will be Patterson’s defense that determines the season. So spring was vital for him and his unit, especially with Oregon, Ohio State and Indiana on the schedule.

  • Class of 2027 three-star athlete Javon Vital of Lake Charles, La., committed to USC.
  • The starting time of Sunday’s USC-UCLA baseball game has been moved to 4 p.m.
  • And now for some history:
  • Let’s remember a Joey Browner moment.

In 1982, the Trojans went to Tucson to play Arizona, a year after the Wildcats’ huge 13-10 upset victory at the Coliseum. Arizona featured gunslinging QB Tom Tunnicliffe of Burroughs High School in Burbank.

More than 55,000 jammed into the stadium and the Wildcats held a 20-17 lead with five seconds left in the first half. Instead of running out the clock, and with the prolific Tunnicliffe at QB, Arizona coach Larry Smith called a pass play.

Tunnicliffe dropped back and passed but it was intercepted by Browner and returned 47 yards for a touchdown to give the Trojans a 24-20 halftime advantage.

“If Tunnicliffe hadn’t thrown with five seconds left, everyone would have booed,” John Robinson said after the game. “Next time when Smith doesn’t throw with five seconds left, you will all say, `That’s very smart.’ “

That play was the start of a 24-0 USC run and 41-20 Trojans’ advantage. But Arizona came back and fell just short, 48-41.

The Trojans had three interceptions returned for touchdowns, including Browner’s play.

  • In 1981, USC actually encouraged the public to come to come to the Monday luncheons with John Robinson during the season. The cost: $7.25. Quite a deal to watch game films, hear Robinson analyze film and answer questions plus lunch.

What would it take to get Lincoln Riley to have lunch with the fans?

  • Here’s USC linebackers Chip Banks (left) and Tim Sullivan at practice preparing to face Tennessee in 1981. Can anyone tell me the last time USC had a linebacker with the talent of Banks? Read some of the breathless reports on spring practice and you might think someone currently might but let’s be honest, no one is even close.

By the way, USC beat the Vols, 43-7.

  • This is a Daily Trojan caricature of USC women’s volleyball coach Chuck Erbe, who was known for his extremely rigourous training methods and considered a bit of a taskmaster. He also won four national titles.

Can you imagine a coach today being depicted like this?

  • Marcus Allen’s got a big hole against Oregon State in 1981.

PICTURES OF THE WEEK

Gloria Guida

Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo and Claudia Cardinale

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

      1. KAM: U.S. Labor Market Surprises with +178,000 Jobs in March 2026, Tripling Expectations of Just +59,000!

        DON: These great numbers reinforce the resilience of the U.S. economy under policies that prioritize growth and deregulation, in contrast to left-wing narratives from losers like Cowardly Gabby that insisted on an imminent slowdown or recession.

        Like

      2. AFFORDABILITY IS THE ISSUE……..DUMBAZZZZZ

        YOU HAVE BEEN PUTTING YOUR FOOT IN YOUR MOUTH ALL DAY.

        Like

      3. KAM: THE BOOMING ECONOMY IS THE ISSUE……..DUMBAZZZZZ

        DON: YOU HAVE BEEN PUTTING YOUR FOOT IN YOUR MOUTH FOR 26 YEARS..

        Like

  2. Scott: Coach Riley, do you ever plan to eat lunch with fans?

    Riley: No.

    Scott: Why not?

    Riley: No one will remember how many lunches I ate —only how many games I won.

    P. S.

    I could have done with a little more Claudia Cardinale …and a little [lot] less of Jean- Paul…..

    #ThisWouldHaveBeenAGoodWeekToRunPicsOfKristiNoem’sHubby

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. P. S.

      Sybil: What red blooded American male hasn’t dreamt of strapping on size 60 boobs? How come everybody is acting like it’s so weird?

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      1. Didn’t mean to critique he/she’s who feel the urge to strap on size 60 boobs…

        #It’sThe21stCentury…YouHaveEveryRight

        Liked by 2 people

      1. Claudia surely did specialize in adulteresses —-From “Rocco and his Brothers” right on through “Once Upon a Time In the West”….

        Liked by 1 person

    4. KAM Weird how John Robinson could interact with fans and win conference titles, Rose Bowls and a NC…

      DON: While Riley Coyote can’t do either.

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    1. I can’t stand by & let you call the late John Robinson an animal….

      #[SorryForTheCheapShot,John—LoveYa]….

      P. S.

      If Only You Were A Ghost, Ghost Of Bucket

      Liked by 2 people

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    2. KAM:BEYOND PARODY: G a v i n N e w s o m Spends $20 Million on Consulting Firm in Effort to Find Ways to Cut Waste!

      DON: A n t i s e m i t e vile disgusting freak 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 and Marjorie Taylor and Chuck Newton hardest hit!

      Liked by 1 person

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      2. KAM: A n t i s e m i t e vile disgusting freak 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 and Marjorie Taylor and Chuck Newton lives in a dumpster on 6th and Grand Avenue.

        DON: You no showed when Scott Wolf came to Vegas for the LSU game in 2024 so we know you don’t live there.

        Liked by 1 person

      9. KAM: Once again the full creepiness of  A n t i s e m i t e vile disgusting freak 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 and Marjorie Taylor and Chuck Newton comes out, as predicted.

        DON: Yes I knew once UCLA imploded against UCONN the funny Charlie Bucket persona would be subsumed by the evil Cowardly Gabby stalker persona.

        Here’s our proof she never showed to confront Scott:

        Plow Horse

        August 31, 2024 at 9:42 pm

        I thought Gabby said a few days back that he was going to the USC marching band pep rally today at the Palms at 2:00 and wanted to “meet up” with Scott. Instead, he spent the day trolling the blog. Once again a threat followed by a no show. That’s our Cowardly Gabby. All talk, no walk.

        Liked by 1 person

      11. P. S.

        Only the unholy go with all capitals…

        #ThisIsNotOpinion…

        #..ItIsUndeniableProofThatDemonicEntityIsTyping

        Liked by 1 person

      14. KAM: Good News for Cowardly Gabby: Don Lemon Teases His Presidential Run Depends on “God” Who He Insists is Female: ‘If She Gives Me a Sign’!

        DON: BWWWWWWAHAHAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

        Liked by 1 person

      17. KAM: Cowardly Gabby and Don Lemon have the same predilection for T r u m p Derangement Syndrome and rear ends.

        Gabby

        July 8, 2025 at 07:18:36 AM

        S T F U…. I D I O T…… STOP THE F # @ * I N G LYING BEFORE I SEND SOMEONE OVER TO GIVE YOU A GOOD A $ $—W H I P P I N G

        PS…..F U$ ^ K t r u m p

        DON: Two p e r v e r t s.

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Veteran quarterback, returning offensive line, great running backs – we will likely have a top rated offense. It’s all about the defense. So it looks like Riley made a good decision with hiring Patterson and focusing practice time on learning his defensive scheme.

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    1. The yards we lost with Lemon & Lane leaving will be [more than] made up by our running backs…. and, since they’ll slow down our touchdown drives, we’ll be in better shape than ever in terms of game management….

      #Pete:”KeepRunningAt’EmTillTheyDon’tWantItAnymore”

      Liked by 1 person

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    2. KAM: The problem is that veteran quarterback couldn’t lead the team to a touchdown in OT against mediocre TCU

      DON: He chokes in key moments like Duke.

      Liked by 1 person

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      2. If I were Riley I’d hire a hypnotist to work with Jayden: “Big games are just like little games…. overtimes are just like regulation time…it’s all the same.”

        Liked by 1 person

      4. 18-30 and 2 interceptions will not do it against Oregon…or Ohio State…

        #ThisIsTheYearToBecome”BigGameJayden”

        Liked by 1 person

      6. KAM: Any football fan knows it takes a quarterback to win a NC or a Super Bowl.

        DON: Once again Cowardly Gabby displays her zero football IQ. Remember when she told us Curtis Conway never returned a kickoff for USC? BWWWWWWWWAHAHAHA!!!!

        AUGUST 30, 2023 AT 3:07 AM

        Gabby

        you stupid senile troll…..a kick returner returns kickoffs, and a punt returner returns punts…..Conway never returned a kickoff in his entire USC career.

        Liked by 1 person

      1. KAM: It’s amazing how willfully stupid Cowardly Sparrow Gabby is….

        DON: And she seems determined to never change.

        Like

  8. “Wolfman” – Your memory is fading…. The last linebacker with even more talent than Chip Banks————was the one and only

    #83 Richard “Batman” Wood

    Both were talented, but “Batman” had more with great speed, vision, instincts, and hit hard so he was very physical.

    Just ask UCLA’s Mark Harmon, and the so called “Blair Pair” Kermit Johnson, and James McCalister who were unstoppable one season until they went against the Batman who stuffed and broke the Pepper Rodgers wishbone attack mostly due to the “Batman” who started for 3 straight years as USC’s best ever middle linebacker. Perhaps, Adrian Young, and Ricki Ellison were in the top 3, and Chip Banks played outside linebacker at SC and some defensive end.

    Too me Richard “Batman” Wood, and Sam “Bam” Cunningham were two of the greatest athletes ever to perform for USC. Neither got the publicity they deserved, but wow they were great football players. Speaking of paying tribute to Joey Browner USC also did very little when Sam “Bam” past away, and in my opinion he deserves a statute in front of Heritage Hall or the Mckay center.

    Liked by 1 person

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      1. KAM: It’s USC vs UCLA in the NCAA championship game!

        DON: Gino is a Sore Loserman just like Cowardly Gabby- two creepy libtards!

        Like

  12. the Ghost of Bucket was of course my way of dealing with the legion of haters back in the rough and tumble days of wolfman’s blog!! there was also the Return of Bucket among others. they couldn’t keep me off then and now is no different!! i was following wolfman back in my school days, i would get the daily trOXan from my operatives just read wolfman’s stellar reportage!!

    #Wolf’sNumberOneFan

    Liked by 2 people

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  13. wolfman, i know you’re already shacked up with a couple of Big 10 cheerleaders, so take a knee, i GOT this!!!

    the NCAA is investigating the UCLA-SC game: apparently the trOXans chickened out and didn’t show, so SC fielded a local little league team from South Central!! they did pretty good too until the pressure got to them and they utterly fell apart in sections, committing an incredible 5 errors in one inning!!

    it got ugly, wolfman, but as astute readers of your vaunted blog are aware, Chucker-Bucker saw this coming from a MILE away!!! the Cow Polys of the world just don’t prepare one to face a ferocious John Savage team!!!

    not sure of the final score, but i think it was a “run rule” game!!!

    and i would be remiss to fail to recognize the Gutty Womens BBall team who smoked Texas from start to finish to avenge their only loss!!!

    #ThatIsAll

    #VodkaBottleComingOuttaTheFreezer!!

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. KAM:  Taxpayer-Funded NGO Caught Busing Illegal Aliens to Radical “No Kings” Protests!

      DON: The leftist NGO Make the Road New York (MRNY), is funneling millions of federal taxpayer dollars to mobilize and bus illegal aliens into Manhattan for the “No Kings” demonstrations.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. KAM: One of the California Hospices Targeted in Fraud Sting Had a Survival Rate of 97 Percent and Defrauded Medicare for $7.45 million while Governor Mimbo slept.

      DON: Democrats are evil.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      3. Thank you, So Cal.

        [All the news has been out there — nobody in our justice system is taking serious action…. a prosecution of one or two relatively low or intermediate level fraudsters is all we’ll ever get]…..

        Liked by 1 person

  17. Trust in Coach Andy to right the ship of USC baseball. UGLA is number one in the country for a reason, but that does not mean that USC cannot come back and win it all this year. At least USC is exceeding expectations this year. In the immortal words of Flo Ziegfeld, Every cloud has a silver lining. Scott, how about reporting on the other spring sports? Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962

    Liked by 1 person

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      9. Either be positive and a dreamer or negative and hopeless like Scott. Fidht on, Dan, Class of 1962

        Like

      4. KAM: A bitter loss: UCLA baseball defeated USC 9-8 in a thrilling game, clinching the series and extending their winning streak to 22 games. Bruin Payton Brennan played a key role, contributing three hits, including a home run, .and making a crucial defensive play in the ninth inning. 

        In a back and forth slugfest, USC pushed a run across in the eighth to tie the game 8-8 without a hit, capitalizing on back-to-back walks to lead off the inning.

        The Bruins provided the finishing blow in the home half of the eighth when Bruin first baseman Mulivai Levu doubled off Trojan reliever Adam Troy, and later came around to score on a wild pitch to score the winning run.

        Bruin Closer Easton Hawk secured the win for UCLA, earning his fifth save of the season, thanks to Brennan making a highlight reel grab for the first out of the inning, leaping at the right-field wall to rob Trojan catcher Augie Lopez of a home run and preserve the win for the Bruins.

        The Bruins and Trojans return to Jackie Robinson Stadium for the series finale tomorrow at 4 p.m. PT. The game will be nationally broadcast on Big Ten Network.

        DON: And our host is MIA… This is our Black Saturday.

        Liked by 1 person

  20. wolfman, word on the street is you all shacked up with some insatiable Big 10 cheerleaders!! so you just take a knee!!! i got your back, wolfman!!!!

    SPORTS UPDATE: UCLA beats trOXans in badeball AGAIN, setting up a sugary sweeeet sweeeep for tomorrow!!!

    the trOXans put up a fight today (we like it when they fight back) and i figured it would come down to a mental mistake for which the SC Brain Surgeons are famous!! sure enough they wild pitched home the winning run!!! yoi and double yoi!!!

    #InFullTinglyMode

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  21. Easter, and the Christians claim it is evidence that Jesus has indeed saved us from having been born in sin, whereas the Jews don’t believe we were born in sin and reject the Jesus is God argument, and George Carlin contends reading the Bible is like reading about Humpty-Dumpty, it is all fiction

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    1. KAM: INCREDIBLE New Details Emerge on the Legendary Rescue of 2nd F-15 Pilot in Iran, Including a Clever Trick the CIA Pulled on the Iranians and a Final Twist.What an incredible miracle on the eve of Easter, thanks to our tireless heroes in uniform!

      DON: Such a bad Easter for Cowardly Sparrow Gabby.

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. Sparrow, apparently, is going through what C. S. Lewis called a “trough period.”

        Like

  23. KAM: America needs you, Scott Wolf
    Scott, could you please come home?
    Things are looking bad
    I know you would be mad

    DON: To see what kind of men
    Prevail upon the football team you love

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Scott’s Song to his critics [stolen from Don McClean]:

      “I’ve done some bad

      I’ve done some good

      I’ve done a whole lot better

      Than you said I would

      So come on and treat me like you should”

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  25. thank Alah, wolfman is still at it!! worried so i checked his x account and he had several posts and reposts yesterday!! maybe he finally IS taking knee!!! don’t worry wolfman, i GOT you!!! when the Bruins sweep the trOXns today, i’ll handle the scooop, although it won’t match your legendary reportage, i can guarantee plenty of trOXan shaming!!!

    #iGotYourBackTheCheerSquadHasYourFront!!

    Liked by 1 person

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      1. worried about their depth and how they run up and down the court like track stars….we got to slow game down to halfcourt, we can’t run with them plus we only play the five seniors most of game.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. BREAKING NEWS: ABC IS REPORTING THE WOLFMAN ENTERED THE BEVERLY HILLS HOTEL THIS MORNING WITH 3 BUXOM BLOND UCLA CHEERLEADERS IN TOW……

      #…LOOKS LIKE A WHILE BEFORE SCOTT RETURNS

      Like

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