FOOTBALL

Morning Buzz: USC Goes Viral For The Wrong Reasons

USC has an uncanny ability to create problems for itself. With so few games played on Saturday, a lot of attention focused on the USC game, which turned out to be another black eye for an athletic dept. that cannot stay out of its way.

The sparse crowd at the San Jose State game continued to go viral on Sunday with even the Athletic wading into the situation.

It’s led to fans all over the country criticizing USC after the terrible optics of a pretty empty Coliseum for the season-opener.

Personally, I think anyone who went to the game in these conditions was crazy. But that doesn’t absolve USC of creating an own goal.

It rashly refused to play Notre Dame in November, which created an opening in the schedule. Jen Cohen said USC would play at least one Power 4 team in the nonconference but instead scheduled San Jose State.

Even worse, USC wanted the game in Week 0 and then agreed to an insane 12 p.m. kickoff for NBC. Was anyone thinking when this agreement was made? They sure weren’t thinking about the fans.

In the midst of a heatwave, did USC arrange for temporary shade or hydration stations inside the stadium (not outside)?

  • Critics also pointed out USC drew 84,325 for the San Jose State game in 2009. But that was a different era, most notably because Pete Carroll was the coach.

For the past five years, I have repeatedly pointed out Lincoln Riley refuses to meet with fans. Pete Carrol was opposite. He met with anyone.

Why does it matter? Because Riley has no base of support with the USC fans. If the Trojans are not great, then the fans don’t have much reason to be invested in the program. Riley never gives them one.

81 thoughts on “Morning Buzz: USC Goes Viral For The Wrong Reasons”

  1. There have been plenty of games in the heat, Saturday was nothing new. But there is no buzz around the program, there are two NFL teams in town to compete against and SC has made the game day experience about as much fun as a day at the dentist getting a root canal.

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    1. KAM: Imagine the crowd if Riley Coyote hadn’t cancelled the Ole Miss game that was originally scheduled this weekend.

      Definitely a sell out, a night game and a huge television audience against the #9 team in the nation.

      DON: And today we would know just how good the Trojans are. Instead we got a glorified scrimmage in a half empty Coliseum .

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      1. SC would play at 10am on a Thursday if tv paid big bucks.

        Funny how Ohio State and Michigan are exempt from Friday night games.

        Friday night, 6pm, traffic should be lovely for the Fresno game. They’ll probably be as many Fresno fans at the game as SC fans, lol.

        Liked by 3 people

      2. Why lie……Ole Miss pulled the plug

        Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter revealed the news about the series with the Trojans. At a fan event, Carter hinted that the series was likely to be canceled as the SEC looks at moving to a nine-game conference schedule in 2026.

        “I think that’s going to happen,” Carter said. “I think you’re seeing some of these more marquee matchups maybe coming off the books because of that. 

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  2. KAM: In that SC-San Jose St game I could not believe how empty the coliseum was for a football game. It was truly amazing and I see why it went viral

    DON: I bet there are Midwest fans going, “Just like those snotty LA types– Showing us ignorant folks how unimportant football really is

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  3. DON: That was a great 4th quarter San Jose St’s offense ran there. But if it’s true it was against SC’s 2nd&3rd-stringers, that waters it down

    KAM: It was like the 1962 teams of SC-Wisconsin at the Rose Bowl, with the Badgers making a frantic finish

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  4. DON: Does SC have to let every quarterback they face look like Johnny Unitas?

    KAM: That San Jose quarterback will never play a better game

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  5. KAM:: That San Jose St game was seen all over the country, and people must be thinking, ‘That was not impressive’

    DON: Or saying, ‘Nope, they ain’t back’

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  6. KAM: You might not know that SC actually won the game based on some critics’ critiques

    DON: Critics schmirtics, if you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all

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    1. The critics are focusing on the differential between the spread and the score, old pal….

      …plus….does the poetry part of your post work?

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  7. DON: Offensively SC is probably a Top-10 team, Wiley’s usual position as offensive coordinator

    KAM: It’s that painful 4th quarter that SC fans are carrying away with them, leaving them unfilled

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    2. You’re right…….you don’t beat teams with names and logos, you beat them with guidance and the quality of product you put out on the field.

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      1. KAM: That wasn’t a typo. You are a UCLA Fan and guessed that is how Jayden’s name is spelled.

        DON: You never made it past 5th grade you moron.

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      2. KAM: Look at the quality of the posts brain dead vile antisemitic and racist Board Pest Board Cancer Cowardly Gabby aka Sparrow Calypso aka TebowObama aka Charlie Bucket the UCLA Fan aka The Guy who posts as Buddhakarma & So Cal’s Wife & Michael Guarino & Trojan RJJ & LawyerJohn & Pudly & Plow Horse and TrojanFan 1-3 & steveg49 & DOJ & Scott Wolf and Frank Young and KATHY and Foreskin Thoughts and SCOTTLOVESTHEROOOOOTTÞ and Manureman and eric  and Smacky and The Moderator and NO-ONE  puts out here:

        REAL GABBY

        June 18, 2026 at 6:07 pm

        JAYEN FOR HEISMAN

        DON: You can’t even get the SC QB’s name right!

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  9. KAM: Wiley must be relieved that he can now share the blame with Coach Patterson

    DON: In fact, he could shovel a lot of blame over to him right now

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  10. hard-hitting stuff, wolfman! after one game the boo birds are out and momentum hits a grinding halt! in addition to the enormous questions that have arisen about SC’s place in the football world, the school itself faces questions about it’s viability in the modern era! applications to enter SC were down 25% this year reflecting questions about their reputation as being a “rich people” school long on faded reputation and short on value! Many are talking about actually cliosing the place down! i believe that with the wolfman’s guidance, there may be some hope for redemption! we ideally would need a counterbalance to UCLA a much beloved school of the proletariat, not the Silver Spooners people now despise.

    #WolfmanForDeanOfSC

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      1. Kam: Donald you sue everyone for $10 billion….just will you pay E. Jean her $90million already?? Uh, btw you really need to change that diaper…..NATALIE!!!!

        Don: WAH!

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      2. You know what’s worse? He’s pretending the Deans of the UCLA Liberal Arts, Business, Med & Law Centers aren’t senile…..

        Liked by 2 people

      3. KAM: You need to change Senile Joe’s diaper, brain dead vile antisemitic and racist Board Pest Board Cancer Cowardly Gabby aka Sparrow Calypso aka TebowObama aka Charlie Bucket the UCLA Fan aka The Guy who posts as Buddhakarma & So Cal’s Wife & Michael Guarino & Trojan RJJ & LawyerJohn & Pudly & Plow Horse and TrojanFan 1-3 & steveg49 & DOJ & Scott Wolf and Frank Young and KATHY and Foreskin Thoughts and SCOTTLOVESTHEROOOOOTTÞ and Manureman and eric  and Smacky and The Moderator and NO-ONE.

        DON: Oh wait, you still are pretending B i d e n isn’t senile! BWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWAHAHAAAAAAA!

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  11. Did Waymo get any carries in the second half? He looked very good in the first half,8 carries for 48 yards.

    True Frosh Deshonne Redeaux from Oaks Christian runs a 10.5 100, and he looked about as good as one can look having just two carries, one for 15 yards and one for 13 yards, both in the second half.

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  12. DON: Funny thing is when somebody says they “despise SC Silver Spooners people,” you figure the guy doesn’t get out much

    KAM: As has been said, Rodney Peete exclaimed “Why hate ucla?” I’ll leave it at that

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  13. KAM: Back to fair faire, I bet Fresno St liked what they saw of SC against San Jose and thinking ‘These guys are beatable’

    DON: There have been some good games between the two, with Coach Larry Smith being fired, and the Bush game

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  14. The Athletic Dept & Ticket Office treated long time, LOYAL fans like dirt and assumed they would be easily replaced by bandwagon fans. Well, the bandwagon fans jumped on board the first 2-3 years. But now that it’s obvious Riley will never deliver anything but a competitive product and not National Championships, they are jumping off.

    You reap what you sow.

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  15. DON: There is only one formula for a football coach to follow if he wants to keep his job

    KAM: Let’s shout it out, “Just win”

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  17. Next week will tell us if this game was just an exhibition to give inexperienced players a chance to show what they can do in a game, or if it is what we can expect from the entire season. There were some very good athletes on the field but the offensive and defensive schemes left a lot to be desired. The offense can score points, but it is always about the defense. This scheme was so soft that it verged on pathetic. Wafle and Abisri were the only defensive players who stood out. The announcers were not helpful because they did not name the players who were making plays. What is the line for this week’s game? Bet it isn’t 38 points for USC. Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962

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    1. I think we need to face the fact it’s up to Lincoln’s very elite offense again, Ambitious. I’m good with that. I just want him to chance throws when we get to the 10 yard line and the defense is stacked up against the run. We coulda had 2 more TD’s if we rolled right and threw right.

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  18. DON: Since Carrot left in 2009 the pickings have been pretty slim for SC

    KAM: I still think this 2026 team is going to win a couple of games they shouldn’t

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    1. And I hope they’re our home games against Oregon and Ohio State. No one should b-i-t-c-h about the season if we beat the #1 and #2 teams in the country.

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  20. DON: Well that settles it then– The Trojans have a Top-10 offense and a top-100 defense

    KAM: Come on, the SC defense will show up better than that

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  21. KAM: There is a report out that says the best way to stay physically fit with a quick recovery time is to be 20 years old

    DON: I can tell you’re not making any money with your humor

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      1. Just read a peer-reviewed piece on the benefits of red meat! Feeling better already after those dry-aged rib eyes! With the dry aging, the grill produces an outstanding cruse on the outside of the beef!

        #InsideTheButcherShopWithScottWolf

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      2. People who reject red meat are boring.

        #EatRibEye!

        #DrinkRedWine!

        #TheFrench&TheItaliansDo….

        #AndTheyLive5YearsLongerThanWeDo

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      3. Did you see the propaganda piece earlier this week (believe it was pushed hardest on BBC and CBC, unsurprisingly) claiming that research (The Science! oh my) suggests that as a part of early human evolution our ancestors (only is strongly implied albeit not explicitly stated) resorted to eating meat to survive during periods when other food sources were unavailable? Exactly what I see when my husky (and I kid you not one with almost a perfect “W” striping on her face – the irony) has an empty food bowl (only then will she come to beg for beef or poultry that we are eating … never when she has Science Diet dry in her bowl! haha) …

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      1. [This has all happened before: In the early ’50’s there was a puppet show called Beany and Cecil —- and in one episode an evil robot Cecil pretended to be the real Cecil —fortunately Beany knew which one to blow up with the Leaking Lina’s deck cannon]….

        Liked by 2 people

      2. KAM: Brain dead vile antisemitic and racist Board Pest Board Cancer Cowardly Gabby aka Sparrow Calypso aka TebowObama aka Charlie Bucket the UCLA Fan aka The Guy who posts as Buddhakarma & So Cal’s Wife & Michael Guarino & Trojan RJJ & LawyerJohn & Pudly & Plow Horse and TrojanFan 1-3 & steveg49 & DOJ & Scott Wolf and Frank Young and KATHY and Foreskin Thoughts and SCOTTLOVESTHEROOOOOTTÞ and Manureman and eric  and Smacky and The Moderator and NO-ONE has many special needs and always gives herself away with mental breakdowns.

        DON: She needs them to be treated at Atascadero State Mental Hospital.

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  24. Scott is correct that it was way to hot to see the Trojans on Saturday. The Coliseum looked empty which ws embarrasing to see. Unfortunately , I do think the downward trend in attendance will continue due to the team not being very good for quite some time, the terrible non-conference schedule, and lastly the terrible game time. USC, and Taco Jen will do anything for national TV money period.

    I remember going to games as a kid most of the home games early in the season were at night which makes alot of sense. The USC athletic department we know today does not even care for the fans.

    Other than the tremendous number of Fresno State fans who will come down for the game Friday night I see just as many USC fans who will refuse to attend the game due to traffic, work conflicts, level of opponent etc. Fresno State will give USC some trouble I would not take this game lightly.

    Even though the team looked below average Waymo needs to get more carries, and the Freshman looked super- the TE, WR, and DE Waffle will all be All-American, and potential first round picks.

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    2. I was at the Florida game in 1983, it was 102, no one complained. Next year against LSU it was hot AND humid, no one complained, well, everyone complained about Tollner.

      Sept 7th 1985, at Illinois, 93 with 60% humidity, AstroTurf field, heat index was 109. I was there, place was packed, it wasn’t fun but SC did manage to win 20-10. The thrill of that game was walking through a graveyard to get to the stadium.

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  25. Scooter,

    SC traded helton for riley. The onlydifference is that SC is paying Riley three times the amount for Riley who totually sucks at what he is doing.

    If Entz and Fresno St. beats SC, then what happens? Will that be the final nail in the coffin and does Jen Taco Lita Cohen fire him on the tramac at LAX that night after the game? Or does she go on being the bleached blond hair bimbo that just keeps going to parties and acting like there is no problem.

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      5. Jason Eck, New Mexico Lobos:. SC would never hire this guy, he looks like he stumbled out of a dive bar, but he can coach. If Wisconsin pulls the plug on Fickell, wouldn’t be surprised if they hired their old OL in a heartbeat.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. KAM: You are the joke, Brain dead vile antisemitic and racist Board Pest Board Cancer Cowardly Gabby aka Sparrow Calypso aka TebowObama aka Charlie Bucket the UCLA Fan aka The Guy who posts as Buddhakarma & So Cal’s Wife & Michael Guarino & Trojan RJJ & LawyerJohn & Pudly & Plow Horse and TrojanFan 1-3 & steveg49 & DOJ & Scott Wolf and Frank Young and KATHY and Foreskin Thoughts and SCOTTLOVESTHEROOOOOTTÞ and Manureman and eric  and Smacky and The Moderator and NO-ONE .

        DON: You have zero redeeming qualities. Go away you cretin.

        Like

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