Whether he likes it or not, USC coach Lincoln Riley could be forced to play a tougher schedule based on a report from Yahoo Sports.
The gist of the story is an expanded 14-or-16 College Football Playoff with four possible automatic spots for the Big Ten.
If that happens, Yahoo said it opens the way the for an SEC-Big Ten scheduling agreement that “would pit SEC and Big Ten teams against one another in annual games to be sold as a separate television package.”
Even if four Big Ten teams automatically qualify, I bet Riley chafes at playing an SEC team. And I could see him using that as an excuse to stop playing Notre Dame.
“You want us to play Notre Dame when we already have to play an SEC team and focus on finishing in the top four of the Big Ten?” Riley might say.
The reality is losing to Notre Dame wouldn’t matter if all you need to worry about is finishing in the top 4 of the Big Ten.
ESPN and Fox won’t want to pay for USC-Vanderbilt. They will want USC-Alabama or USC-Texas. Hey, maybe it will be another wedge issue to help drive Riley out.
- USC baseball swept its opening three-game series vs. George Washington.
- USC men’s basketball suffered some bad luck when a ref blew an inadvertent whistle with 23 seconds left against Minnesota. But . . . USC did not score a field goal in the final 3:59 and was outscored 8-0 in the final 1:13.
InsideUSC with Scott Wolf 
Making the Basketball Playoffs was always a dream, and the fact ‘Muscleman’ almost carried the day speaks well of SC’s future
LikeLiked by 1 person
-The key phrase was by pitting the Big-10 versus the SEC during the season is “to be Sold as a Separate television package” Are we heading to ‘no more free tv?’
LikeLiked by 1 person
After we were forced to pay for USC-UCLA womens hoops last week the answer is: YES
LikeLiked by 1 person
Now, now. No one was “forced”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I doubt Wiley “chafes” at the idea of placing an SEC team on his SC schedule. Wiles is a competitor, a “Bring it on, Guy,” a persona he developed as ‘king’ in Oklahoma However, that momentum didn’t carry over into L.A.
But one thing, he may prefer ‘cream puff teams but he’s not going to bow down, back-down to any school
LikeLike
–Recall how Scott got on the previous SC coach ‘Dandy Andy’ for years, but Wolfie was only getting warmed up. Because then Wiley came along
LikeLike
KAM: USAID’s existence has always been predicated on weaponized empathy. As long as The Elite can pull your heartstrings they can count on you turning off your brain.
DON: That is why USAID always supported a little bit of food and medical aid–“see, we are saving lives!”–while pouring the majority of their resources into regime change both in the West and outside of it.
LikeLike
As one porcupine said to the other porcupine– “Good point” about not needing an ND victory for SC to have a chance at the Playoffs. But expanding to 16 or more ‘Playoff’ teams might be overkill
LikeLike
KAM : Despite what CBS Dissembler Margaret Brennan thinks, insulting someone is not a crime, and criminalizing speech is going to put real strain on European-US relationships and comedy clubs.
DON: This is Orwellian, and everyone in Europe and the US, including the Fake News Media, must reject this lunacy. Don Rickles would be a criminal under such nonsense.
LikeLike
DON: Did you know that a politician is a person with whose politics you don’t agree; if you agree with him, he is a statesman
KAM: I like Russian Kingpin Khrushchev’s read on ‘politicians’– “Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river’
LikeLike
Lawyer John ” I played football at USC ! “
Calypso ” Really ? “
Lawyer John ” Yep, and my wife is a psychologist “
Calypso ” Wow, that must be nice. “
Lawyer John ” It is when I have a tough legal case. “
Calypso ” You’re an attorney ? “
Lawyer John ” Yep, I’m also the King of England ! “
Calypso ” Uh ? “
Lawyer John ” I’m everybody ! “
LikeLike
DON: By the way, so everybody knows, our ‘material is stolen, we are thieves of the master story-tellers, why re-invent the wheel, it’s already been done for us
KAM: –And we probably should be giving out more credit to the “one-line” comics, but nobody reads our stuff anyway
LikeLike
Calypso ” Did I tell you I’m also Yoda, Lawyer John and many others ? “
Lawyer John ” Then who am I ? “
Calypso ” A figment of my imagination ! “
Lawyer John ” So I’m not real ? “
LikeLike
Thinking most of the country is interested in USC football is a bit of a pipe-dream; college football is pretty parochial, big in their neighborhood but a blur anywhere else unless it is Ohio St-Michigan or Alabama-Georgia
LikeLike
KAM: Kash Patel himself called Nancy Pelosi, called Chuck Schumer and called the mayor of Washington, D.C. and they all refused the National Guard on 1/6. Why?
DON: Bill Maher’s last remaining reason to support Democrats just got annihilated. He leaned on the Jan6 narrative to oppose me. He just found out Jan6th was an op, and his news sources lied to him.
LikeLike
KAM: They have for sale bobble-heads of 7 presidents out now. And you have the best head of hair of the bunch
DON: -Didn’t think you’d ever noticce
LikeLike
KAM: Does The FTC’s ABA Ban Portend Revocation Of Its Law School Accreditation Power?
DON: The ABA has been planting the seeds of its own demise for decades.
LikeLike
KAM: Didn’t take long, but Articles of Impeachment have been filed against you
DON: And all because I suggested the U.S. buy and develop Gaza, an idea that everybody I talk to is behind
KAM: Guess you haven’t been talking to any Palestinians lately
DON: Look, how are you Democrats going to impeach me when I got a majority in both Houses?
LikeLike
DON: You Democrats don’t know when to stop do you? Revenge is sweet.
KAM: Rare to see this many federal workers so busy- Thousands of lazy useless newly fired federal employees have gathered at the US Capitol in a massive rally against Elon Musk DOGE and President Trump.
LikeLike
So you have to pay a fee for the BIG network. And now an additional fee to watch a BIG/SEC rivalry game. I think the schools, players and networks are risking turning off fans with all these fees. Look at what happened to the NBA. Viewership is down over 50%. And I know many people who used to follow the Dodgers but no longer do because they either refused to pay for the Dodger channel or Direct TV did not offer it.
LikeLike
But no worries… we aren’t “forced” to pay. We just can’t watch.
LikeLike
Same goes for Supercross. We were fans and usually attended one of the two January races at the Big A.
We don’t bother now, since we don’t know the riders well enough anymore. It’s not about the one event. It’s about the start of the season.
LikeLike
A long long time ago in another era, there were no tv telecasts for all the SC football games like today. So you had to go to the Coliseum to see them
LikeLike
So why did that era end?
LikeLike
This blending of the sports seasons is over-saturation. Hard to get excited about baseball in February right after viewing the Stupor Bowl
LikeLike
Depends if you are a baseball fan or not. For them it’s been a long wait since the Dodgers crushed the Yankees World Series dreams in an improbable 5 games.
LikeLike
KAM: As a lawyer it gladdens my heart to see the LADWP has lined up a top-flight L.A. law firm to defend the public agency against inevitable fire-related lawsuits at a cost as high as $1,975 an hour.
DON: The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the people who brought Pacific Palisades an empty reservoir and dry fire hydrants, is intricately planning to defend itself far better than it ever defended that neighborhood against fires.
LikeLike