FOOTBALL

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

Here’s a question: How many adjustments does Gary Patterson make during games? Based on the Rutgers game, not too many.

A former colleague of Patterson attributes it more to arrogance than anything else.

“He’s going to do what he likes to do. He’s in the College Football Hall of Fame. What is anyone going to tell him?”

  • Has Lincoln Riley let Gary Patterson speak to the media since the season started? It might be nice to hear what Patterson thinks since he runs the defense.
  • Marshawn Lynch came to USC on Thursday as a guest at Pete Carroll’s class.
  • And now for some history (with an Oregon flavor):
  • Wide receiver J.K. McKay against Oregon in 1973. USC won, 31-10.

  • Imagine back in 1985, the Oregon cheerleaders actually passed out T-shirts for their game against USC in Tokyo (The Mirage Bowl). I got mine because I hung out with the cheerleaders in Tokyo one night before the game.
  • They don’t make coaching staffs like they used to. This is Oregon under Coach Jerry Frei. Some of the assistant coaches include John Robinson, two-time Super Bowl winner George Seifert and Cal/Arizona State coach Bruce Snyder.

All of them stayed at Oregon from 1967-71. Snyder got hired at USC as running backs coach in 1974, no doubt because Robinson was the offensive coordinator. Snyder then worked for Robinson with the Rams from 1983-86 and got paired with Robinson a fourth time as a UNLV assistant coach from 2003-04 under Robinson.

  • There was no better atmosphere for a basketball game than Mac Court. The upper levels shook during games when the crowd got going.

Here’s USC playing there in 1978.

  • Who are these teams playing at the Coliseum? It might not look exactly like a USC team but it is as the Trojans donned gold helmets in 1957. The opponent is Oregon. The Ducks defeated the Trojans, 16-7. USC ditched the gold helmets after the season, perhaps because it went 1-9 that year.
  • Is Oregon bringing its cheerleaders tomorrow?
  • Look at this press release as USC heads to South Bend to play Notre Dame in 1959. It includes a refreshingly honest injury report, unlike the stuff Lincoln Riley spews out now. And a detailed travel itinerary (those were later abolished by Tim Tessalone).

PICTURES OF THE WEEK

France Anglade

Linda Harrison

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Imagine a cheerful Saturday morning in 1975 when the three networks would run wall-to-wall cartoons. At 11 a.m., things suddenly took a bleaker turn (if parents paid attention) with the appearance of upside-down scarecrows, some menacing apes and a scary voice announcing the show. Yes, it was time for “Return to the Planet of the Apes.” And kids like me were glued to the TV set watching.

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

    1. I seem to recall that truly good analysts dispelled that right after the game – Lynch, for all of his greatness, was not particularly effective in goal line situations. Pete’s OC made the right call to throw, but chose the wrong play design (should have play actioned to Lynch and rolled out Wilson) – very similar to the end of the 2006 Rose Bowl, when running Lendale White might have been the right call (or throwing to any of several receivers or the TE off of play action with perhaps a boot roll), but the wrong call was leaving Bush on the bench and not having him on the field in motion to force Texas to tip their hand and respond.

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      1. KAM: Ummmm the Seahawks had 3 downs to get ONE yard and had one more time out.

        DON: Russell Wilson was a good running quarterback who rushed for 849 years that season. Pete could have called a quarterback sneak with Wilson or give it to Lynch again to get one yard.

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      2. Wilson rolling out with a pass option … Lynch succeeded on only about 30% of his goal line runs that season. Not a short yardage back despite being the “Beast Mode.” Wilson was highly mobile and any fake to Lynch would have drawn a lot of attention away and opened up a corner most likely (although we are talking about a still pretty good Belichick Pats defense). Just a FG even would have worked. People forget how F’ing lucky the Pats were in that era (could easily have lost every single SB they were in and did lose several).

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      3. I like the play call. I didn’t like the second-tier receiver —he played it like it was backyard catch….

        #TheyDon’tGiveYouTheBallInTheEndzone…

        #YouHaveToTakeIt….

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  2. another virtuoso Friday column, Wolfman!! not only did you assert your dominance by bringing up your intimate relationship with the OR cheer squad, you provide the receipts!! it would be with 100% certainty i can say assert none of the Fanboys, Homers or Company Men who dare to besmirch your opinions on here have ever “hung out with the OR cheerleaders” like you have wolfman!! that sly grin in the pic says it all! “hung out” is a euphemism for “shacked up”!!

    #TheLureOfTheWolf

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      1. The cartoon didn’t do well (nor the television series – although I actually liked it and have it on disk) – but Linda Harrison is never a problem!

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  4. Return to the Planet of the Apes had 13 episodes, not exactly a hit. By 1975, Saturday cartoons weren’t very good. You had old Bugs and Looney Tunes, Pink Panther and Scooby, other than that, ugh.

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    1. It was a long wait [all the way to 1990 or something] for the return of Mighty Mouse [and a sad day when the brave rodent was removed for sniffing flowers like they were cocaine]…..

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  5. KAM: In that 1957 picture of the 1-9 Trojans it appears there are about 10,000 patrons in the Coliseum

    DON: What’s the addage,’If you don’t build it they will not come

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  7. DON: I heard a new theory as to why SC’s defense is so poor. In the Trojans’ practices Wiley’s gimmicky pass happy offense doesn’t prepare his defense for the physicality the Big 10 presents

    KAM: Didn’t Carrot’s teams say that practice was harder than the games?

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  8. Shocking that Van Wolfstein failed to feature the 2007 Dennis Dixon game … another national title frittered away …

    My Oregon fixation is the 1980 7-7 game that was the first flaw in that squad’s could have easily been march to a non-bowl on probation national title (including there being no Lindsay Scott miracle touchdown from Buck Belue for UGa against Fla).

    Obviously many others …

    Oregon and Oregon State always make me think of the 1974 Sports Illustrated cover story with the fabulous “Ambushed On The Oregon Trail” title about the then seven time defending national champion Bill Walton and Jamal Wilkes led UCLA’s disastrous trip north (after ND had ended the 88 game streak).

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    2. the little people love to haul out that relic of a semis game with glee as if it was a huge upset. St. was ranked #1 and had 7-4 Tom Burrelson a solid NBA player as well as the great David “skywalker” Thompson. Woden came back the next year to beat KY in the finals to claim his 10th title in 12 yrs. a greedy alum told Wooden after the game “hey coach that almost makes up for last year”

      #That’sWhatARealDynastyLooksLikeBoys

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      1. KAM: You could have had another dynasty if your plodding Rec Center yes man AD Pete Dalis hadn’t fired Jim Harrick for buying the Collins Twins a $100 steak dinner at Monty’s.

        DON: That REALLY sounds stupid today.

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      2. The semifinal was the equivalent of USC vomiting up the national title to Texas in the 2006 Rose Bowl (you do note I am not hostile to the UCLA dynasty and was mostly referring to the clever SI article title, since it has also applied to USC football, starting with the Beav upsetting the ’67 national champions). The little people also would fail to note that UCLA had multiple double digit leads in that game, and had beaten the Pack by 18 in the regular season. Just one that got away.

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  9. Scott Wolf is a very “lucky “man to get a free T-Shirt from an Oregon Cheerleader, and even got the opportunity to stand next to them. Great pictures, and good memories for all.

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  11. My Bruin friend comes to this Wolf page to get his anti USC propaganda and there is always plenty of anti USC stuff. I come here to get a heads up on what is coming.

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  15. KAM: Concluding the talk about Carrot blowing the Super Bowl by not using “Beast” Lynch to get the last yard–

    DON: Well, there is an argument that Carrot made the correct call by calling for a passing play. He had 3 downs to get 1-yard

    KAM: –And yet the Beast was afire that night, especially on that last aborted drive

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  16. KAM: It is finally here, Oregon is finally here, how cool is that?

    DON: A big event even by L.A. sports standards, but I have a lot of fear that the SC boys are not up to the task

    KAM: But how sweet would it be if you’re wrong-

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  17. KAM: The SC-Oregon players were instructed not to talk about the opposing team so you got a lot of “We play one game at a time”

    DON: But Wiley and that Oregon coach didn’t hold back, advising that this game is everything to them. Wiley, for obvious reasons, but the Ducks coach because of his huge losses in the Playoffs

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  18. KAM: There was a tv skit making playful fun of you and Natalie Harp, your primary assistant who claims to be your “guardian and protector in this life”

    DON: I did like the part where they are dragging Ms. Harp away and she yells out, “Your wife doesn’t deserve you”

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  19. Kam: You may not have liked the skit where Natalie falls to the floor and as you pick her up she says “Your hands are so soft and your body is so strong”

    DON: Fantasy. It’s all a fantasy

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  20. So the Texas at Tennessee game starts at 12 local time, which is 9:00 on the West Coast and 6 a.m. in Hawaii. The only one in Hawaii watching at 6 would be MG

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  22. Dear Scott : You are not in the Presidential Suite of the Carlyle Hotel luxuriating with Lindsey Vonn like last Saturday —you are back home! We need a NEW column ASAP!

    #LastSaturday’sExcusesDon’tAppy….

    #AsIUsedToSayToMyKids,”VacationIsOver,Sweethearts,TimeForSchool!”

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    1. …my kids still get a kick out of the way I milked those lines for all they were worth….

      “Sorry, kids….summer vacation is all over ….no more parks or swimming or going to Disneyland….time for school, sweethearts ….no more summer vacation for another year…”

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  24. IT IS KNOWN THAT TIREBITER SEES THE OREGON GAME AS THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR SC. THE DUCKS AT OREGON WOULD BE A 9-POINT FAVORITE AND STILL ARE FAVORED IN L.A. AT 3-POINTS. THAT SHOWS LITTLE RESPECT FOR SC’S CHANCES

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    1. We’ll know after Oregon’s first drive how USC is approaching the game. We can’t stop their receivers from catching the ball. But after each catch they have to be tackled immediately …

      #…Very,VeryHard

      P.S.

      We can’t stop Dante from scrambling….but before he starts his slide he has to get hit…very, very hard……

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