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USC Morning Buzz: Let’s Analyze The Schedule

OK, here is my analysis of USC schedule:

Lincoln Riley has massaged the schedule to his liking: Notre Dame out. San Jose State, Louisiana and Fresno State in. USC should start the season 4-0 before it plays the biggest game of the year vs. Oregon at the Coliseum. If the Trojans win, they will be in an excellent position to make the playoff. If they lose, they will need to beat either Ohio State or Indiana while also avoiding any unexpected slip ups.

That is easier said than done because there are some legitimate trap games. USC will host Washington, travel to Penn State and face UCLA at the Rose Bowl. None of those games are considered sure-fire victories. There is also a trip to Wisconsin.

It all means there is a razor-thin margin of error for meeting expectations. Three losses doesn’t get you into the playoffs.

  • Dartmouth pitcher Nate Kugler has committed to USC. He was 2-4 last season with a 3.35 ERA.

43 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: Let’s Analyze The Schedule”

  1. KAM: Enjoy the journey not the visit. There are some little Super Bowls in SC’s schedule like Oregon and Ohio St.

    DON: I would be happy with wins over those two schools notwithstanding any Playoffs

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  2. KAM: It’s nice that SC is becoming a ‘player again on the national stage

    DON: You know that SC at Penn St and Indiana will be a big deal for the locals. The Trojans carry a reputation of once being an elite team and still are a tough out

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      1. We have as good a chance at becoming “a player” again with LR at the helm as Insane Gabby does of not posting nonsense for the rest of the year. Heck, even the rest of the month!

        Not gonna happen.

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  3. Scott, this was a good realistic analysis of the USC schedule. No one can say that this is an easy schedule. If the Trojans can win ten games, they deserve to be in the playoffs. Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962

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    1. “No one can say that this is an easy schedule. ” I think Scott just did Dan.

      “Lincoln Riley has massaged the schedule to his liking: Notre Dame out. San Jose State, Louisiana and Fresno State in. “

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      1. You are right, Plow. Of course ND would make it a tougher schedule than San Jose State. Scott likes the tradition of playiing ND without considering the strength of the overall schedule and marquee games. Scott should be asking ND when they are going to join the Big Ten. Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962

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      2. KAM: No, he is saying Riley Coyote got his way and ended the greatest intersectional rivalry in the history of college sports. USC is no longer the tradition rich program that fears no opponent. Now it’s is no different than Stanford or UCLA, just trying to make the playoffs some day by avoiding hard pre-league opponents.

        DON: John McKay and John Robinson rolled over in their graves.

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      3. Gabby: USC offered to play ND the first or second game of the season. Marcus Freeman said yes but the ND administration rejected the proposal. Scott omits that in his post and suggests Riley wanted to replace ND with San Jose State which is not the case.

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      4. Part of the reason the USC-ND rivalry even started was because South Bend/Chicago folks wanted to get out of the area when winter was moving in and visit our wonderful climate. Absolutely no reason other than cowardice to change something that worked for 100 years.

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      5. So if a coach is reluctant to play a perennial top 10 non conference opponent in the middle of a BIG schedule that features 5 top teams in 8 weeks, the only reason is cowardice. I don’t think so So Cal. A better reason is that it places your team at a competitive disadvantage and any coach that would agree to any such schedule in this era would have to be an idiot. Name another coach is this era who has done such a thing. Competent coaches strategically schedule byes or weaker opponents in the week before facing big time opponents. Ask Nick Saban and Marcus Freeman. Are they cowards?

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      6. You don’t abandon tradition to make it easier. Many consider the ND rivalry even bigger than the UCLA rivalry.

        Doesn’t matter what others have done. We’ve always taken pride in standing apart. Others schedule FCS schools. Doesn’t mean we have to!

        There are two other games for us to schedule lightweights.

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      7. Agree So Cal but don’t play them in the middle of a BIG schedule. Play them the first game of the year. Marcus Freeman was fine with that proposal but the ND administration said No.

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      8. KAM: AI: Past Schedule Comments: Riley has been vocally skeptical about scheduling marquee non-conference games. At Big Ten Media Days, he stated that blockbuster matchups like USC’s 2024 opener against LSU would “become scarcer” under the new playoff format. Critics point to this statement as proof that he prefers an easier path.

        DON: The critics are right.

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  5. Scooter,

    Let’s say that SC does make the playoff and nd is the final game, that is the championship game. Does Riley run away from the game and forfeit like the chicken that he is, or will the ghosts of Mckay, Robinson, and the coach who won SC’s first championship appear and put an ass whoopin’ on Riley?

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  6. I responded to Fake Gabby but once again Scott removed my post. This post did not reference anything political nor any racy language. I guess if Scott doesn’t care for the personality of the blogger that influences what stays and what gets removed. Doesn’t sound like a journalistic standard.

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    1. KAM: Weird how Cowardly Sparrow Gabby’s many political posts are never removed.

      DON: Could Cowardly Gabby be pals with Scott?

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  7. Hey Scott. Why was this post removed but Gabby’s original post was not?

    Right Real Gabby. Every Marxist/Fascist group starts with an attack on free speech – Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Castro, ect. They do things such as instituting speech codes in colleges, demanding false pronouns when addressing transvestites, encouraging MSM to advance the party narrative only, shutting down any opposition speech on social media outlets such as Meta, Twitter, and Google, and attempting to institute a department …

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  8. great analysis, wolfman! sorry but we both know after facing 4 soup cans and then dealing with OR’s blazing team speed, the trOJies are set up to fail. they’ll look great against the SCLSU Mud Dawgs, but Dante Moore is a bit different proposition, the cupcake schedule formula will sink SC again.

    to me a four loss season is the likely upside for SC. they’ll lose to OR, OSU, IN and one more upset loss to WI or UCLA. that’ll still be good enough for their seventh trip to the Holiday Bowl, San Diego is usually nice and sunny in January, so it’s a win-win.

    As for Bruins, Chesney has a taste of the playoffs now and he ain’t going backwards.

    #BruinsRising

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  9. An analysis of an upcoming football season is a waste of time-

    For USC it’s “JUST WIN BABY”…… OR YOU ARE GONE end of story!

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  10. Now Scott has removed my post complaining about removing my posts. This is a whole new level of chickensh*t. It truly reflects poorly on this blog.

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    1. Yet the blog idiot’s posts often remain. Such as the one above, where she clearly dislpays her jealousy about not being an actual Trojan.

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  11. Scott removed my response to XXYYZZ’s comment that criticized him for his censorship along with the original post. That’s the fifth removal today. I used to like this blog, in part, because of it’s free wheeling nature. You could post virtually anything including political rants. It is truly sad what has now happened to it. It is about as free wheeling as Pravda. Why doesn’t Scott limit the censorship to what would not survive a cable channel censorship. It would be a more interesting blog if he did this. And stop the selective censorship based on who is a favored blogger and who is not.

    I predict this post will be removed as well.

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  12. Plow —Just so you know: Scott kicks my stuff off at least twice a day….

    #IForgiveHim…..CuzIDeserveIt….

    #…”ButIfAnythingMoreShoudBefallPlow….ThatIWillNotForgive!”

    —Vito Corleone

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  13. KAM: –And so SC gets 4 cupcake games before it gets Oregon. You think that’s adequate preparation for the Ducks?

    DON: First off, no football game is a “cupcake” game. Even at 51-0 the losing team will still put up a ferocious battle. Secondly, no, I don’t believe you can replicate Oregon’s speed

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  14. KAM: Supreme Leader Khamenei will now join the other revered Shia saints

    DON: This funeral is being orchestrated as a Victory Party

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  15. KAM: During the nearly 4 decades that Khamenei ‘ruled there were some of the largest anti-regime protests in Iran’s history, which of course were immediately tended to

    DON: There would be chants of “Death to Khamenei,” so I don’t take it personally

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  16. KAM: In honor of the week-long funeral, Iranians in Tehran are opening up their homes to traveling mourners. And all will be open, the stores, sports halls, parks and cultural centers. That sounds a lot like most any American city

    DON: I can’t afford to be sentimental. This Islamic Republic’s self-image is one of a borderless revolutionary force

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  17. KAM: I liked how you said even a losing team at 51-0 will still put up a “ferocious battle”

    DON:–If they weren’t trying it’d become 100-0

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    1. GEORGE LIVED THE LIFE HE WANTED! HE TOLD ME THAT HE WAS STARTING TO FEEL AGE THE LAST TIME WE TALKED —“STARTING” TO FEEL IT AT 96!!! HE ALSO SAID HE LOVED LIFE! HOW MANY PEOPLE LEAVE THIS LIFE STILL FILLED WITH THAT MUCH SATISFACTION?

      A TRULY HAPPY [& GREAT] MAN!

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  19. DON: I know you don’t like censorship in any form

    KAM: What do they say– “If you know only the profound and not the profane then you know only half of life

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  20. KAM: I’m perplexed. We say ‘Happy Valentine’s, Happy Easter’ but do we say Happy July 4th?

    DON: Sounds about right

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