FOOTBALL

Morning Buzz: If USC Was Smart, It Would Do This

Lincoln Riley said USC played “complementary ball” against Ohio State.

That’s interesting because Riley teams rarely play complementary football, it’s one of his trademarks like the Air Raid offense.

  • USC received a commitment from three-star defensive tackle Simeon Jones. He was previously committed to James Madison.
  • Purdue has dropped out of next year’s game with Notre Dame on Labor Day weekend. USC plays UNLV that weekend.

If USC was smart it would move the UNLV game to the end of the year and play Notre Dame to open the season. If USC was smart . . .

UPDATED: Notre Dame says it will now play Illinois that weekend. Notice how Notre Dame quickly fills schedule openings. USC still has an opening on its 2027 schedule.

  • The Big Ten’s games on Fox, CBS and NBC are down a collective 10.4 percent from 2025, according to the Athletic. Meanwhile, the SEC and Big 12 ratings are up. So many Big Ten games are just bland so it’s not surprising.
  • What has happpened to USC’s media relations?

Lincoln Riley only made himself and two players available for seven minutes after the Wisconsin game. Then Riley read an awkward prepared statement Saturday night.

After USC women’s basketball victory over UNLV yesterday, JuJu Watkins did not speak to the media in her first game in more than a year. Several media outlets made a special trip to Las Vegas for the game and got no access to the star player. This is not how you grow the sport or increase the USC brand.

3 thoughts on “Morning Buzz: If USC Was Smart, It Would Do This”

  2. Scott, Linc Riley already said he’d play Notre Dame “anywhere, anytime”. His complete avoidance at playing ND at every chance and at every turn is just him getting in ND’s head and winning the psychological battle, dontcha know? LR has made USC into the most respected program in all of college football and Lincoln Riley is a football genius…said it so himself.

    Day after day, alone on a hill
    The man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still
    But nobody wants to know him, they can see that he’s just a fool
    And he never gives an answer

    But the fool on the hill sees the sun going down
    And the eyes in his head see the world spinning around

    And nobody seems to like him, they can tell what he wants to do
    And he never shows his feelings. And he never listens to them, he knows that they’re the fools. They don’t like him.

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