A few days ago, I wrote “do you trust Lincoln Riley or Matt Rhule less?”
Let’s look at what happened Saturday night: Nebraska is up 7-0 after its first drive and then holds USC to a three-and-out and starts its second drive in great field position at its own 39-yard line.
So what does Rhule do? He runs the ball on two plays between the tackles for 2 yards and on third-and-8, he has Dylan Raiola run a QB keeper for 5 yards. Did Rhule want to win the game?
Now let’s look at Riley. Immediately after Nebraska punted, USC drove downfield and King Miller gained 44 yards in three straight carries down to the Nebraska 7-yard line.
What does Riley do? He then called three straight pass plays and USC settled for a field goal.
Riley vs. Rhule was a real meeting of the minds.
- USC squeaked out a 21-17 victory over Nebraska but how much was the Trojans’ doing?
They barely beat a team with a true freshman playing QB in the second half who was incapable of throwing a forward pass. Did the backup ever get reps in practice? It didn’t look like it.
Meanwhile, USC QB Jayden Maiava was awful and couldn’t get the ball to Makai Lemon. I suspect some future opponents will use aspects of Nebraska’s defense that frustrated USC the remainder of the season.
The Nebraska defense had trouble stopping the run (as expected) but it played well enough to win if the Cornhuskers’ offense wasn’t completely neutered by Raiola’s absence.
Some fans will try to credit USC’s defense but they gave up two 75-yard TD drives with Raiola, who to be honest, was completely handcuffed by a Nebraska game plan that refused to throw over the middle.
It was funny how USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn likes to play a soft defense but as soon as Raiola got hurt, he’s got his corners playing man-to-man and getting up at the line of scrimmage.
Even with no QB, Nebraska tailback Emmett Johnson managed to gain 165 yards.
USC got an important victory but I’m not sure how deserved it was or that we learned much, except that Maiava is still capable of playing like last season despite all the Heisman talk from the Trojan-obssessed crowd.
In the first half, Riley ran only 17 of 33 plays despite the success of King Miller. And what the point of that weird formation on the third-down play in the first quarter? Some of this stuff could have really backfired if Nebraska’s offense wasn’t one-dimensional.
- Rhule is 2-24 against ranked teams in his career and just got a contract extension! What an amazing business.
How about when he passed up a fourth-and-1 to try a 52-yard FG? He needed a TD to win the game. Did Penn State really want this guy?
InsideUSC with Scott Wolf 
wrong again SFB! The defense came out at the start of the 2nd half and played man defense. Watch the film. It was before the QB got injured. Your hate for USC is childish.
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wrong again SFB! The defense came out at the start of the 2nd half and played man defense. Watch the film. It was before the QB got injured. Your hate for USC is childish.
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SC beat a good team,they played 3rd and 4th team players as starters,Nebraska had no big pass offense into the 3rd quarter,and the SC defense sacked and caused that fumble,when the q/b was injured.
I was not a great win against a great team,but it was a road win in a hostile environment. The team played hard and the usual bad ref calls or no calls + crappy coaching…well they won and are 6-2,might be 9-3 this year…also not great.
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Your USC hatred is really getting old.
Next you will criticize the Dodgers for beating a former last place team to win the World Series.
Enough already.
Life is tough, good people dying too young and there is a lot of chaos around us.
You have to relish the victories and enough this wonderful life.
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KAM:
Search Assist
Louisville’s quarterback, Miller Moss, played a key role in the team’s 28-16 victory over Virginia Tech, throwing a touchdown pass and helping the Cardinals rally from a halftime deficit. He contributed to the team’s strong second-half performance, which included scoring three unanswered touchdowns.
DON: Did Riley Coyote choose wisely?
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DON: SC couldn’t pass, so they found another way to win by turning to a running attack. Wiley said that “The more you win in different types of ways, the more confidence you gain”
KAM The 3rd Stringer runner did well but it was a couple of Maiava runs that had me yelling
DON: It sure came in handy that the Nebraska quarterback got hurt and didn’t play in the 2nd half, thus bringing in his back-up for some hands-on experience on how not to throw a forward pass
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KAM: Embarrassed Democrats Admit They Can’t Remember Why They Shut The Government Down. Washington insiders confirmed that the party had held several closed-door meetings to try and figure out what the government shutdown was all about. Thus far, none of them has been able to remember.
“What was it that we started this over again?” asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. “I’m sure it had to do with something really meaningful and important, like demanding black people be allowed to vote or something, right? Wait, I’m black and I vote all the time. That can’t be it.”
According to sources, party members were aware of the rumors that they shut down the government over health care for illegal aliens, but were sure that that couldn’t possibly be the reason. “Why would we ever do something so stupid?” asked Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. “No, the shutdown must be about climate change or something else a lot more important-sounding.”
Despite no clear cause, however, Democrats confirmed that they were not budging on the shutdown. “Just give us a few days, we’ll figure it out,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told his Republican colleagues. “I’m sure we have a very good reason for disrupting the funding of food stamps and alienating our own constituents. I’m just sure of it.”
DON: Democratic lawmakers issued a statement today that while they couldn’t remember why they had shut down the government, they were absolutely certain that it was because of Donald Trump.
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KAM: But it is the Dodgers who are the talk of the town. L.A. is down to their last hopes in the form of light hitting Rojas, who then ties the game with a homer. He said he was only trying to hit the ball hard, not trying for a homer
DON: And then later in the inning Rojas fields a tough grounder and throws to home plate just ahead of the runner.
KAM: And then the left fielder collides with the center fielder as the improbable catch is made
DON: And then the cherry on top of the cake is Will Smith hitting the winning home run
KAM:: I feel for those poor Toronto fans. They were so so close to victory
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KAM: Why are Democrats prolonging the government shutdown and desperately fighting to keep the money flowing to criminal aliens and sending their minions out to obstruct ICE?
The Democratic Party wants to destroy democracy by importing voters. The reason you have this standoff is: if the trillions of dollars to create a financial incentive like giant magnet to attract illegals from every part of Earth is turned off, the illegals will leave because they’re no longer being paid to come to the United States and stay here. And businesses and homeowners will have to pay Americans a decent wage to be their employee, gardener or maid. Heavens!
DON: And then the Democratic Party will lose tens of millions of voters and California will turn Red again.
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It really is hilarious they are stupid enough to think that obstructing government vehicles is their right! That Kat Abughzaleh chick is as brain dead as Joe.
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It really is hilarious how the Dodgers and the Trojans gave so cal multiple middle finger regarding him picking against them.That slo cal magat is as brain dead as trump.
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KAM: It’s hilarious when a Bruin like Cowardly Gabby attacks SoCal for predicting SC would lose a game when she does the same thing!
Gabby
September 21, 2025 at 2:37 am
Spartans 72 Trojans 3
DON: Cowardly Gabby is truly insane.
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Sybil is a master contrarian.
#BornRabbleRouser
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Proving AGAIN what a dumbass she is and that she can’t read, (as she also proved last night). I didn’t get slapped around like a pinata (as she claims below) and I didn’t pick the Trojans to lose.
So Cal
November 1, 2025
USC 31
Nebraska 17
I did think the Dodgers were going to blow it. The Village Idiot is acting as if they come damn close to doing just that! WHAT A GAME!
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…as if they DIDN’T come damn close…
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MILLIONS OF MAGATS REGRET VOTING FOR TRUMP…….
THEY ARE GOING TO LOSE THEIR HEALTH CARE AND FOOD STAMPS……..THAT’S WHAT THEY GET FOR VOTING FOR A HABITUAL LIAR
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KAM: Millions of Mainstream Moderate Democrat refuse to admit they supported a senile old crook the last 5 years.
DON: Like Cowardly Gabby:
Gabby
June 18, 2025 at 11:33 pm
Joe having dementia is your opinion …….dumb—-ass
Since you can’t comprehend what an opinion is…let me help you opinion: a view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.
go service your outhouse and quit being a pest
et me help you
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KAM: It is worrisome that the SC split ends are not getting open for Maiava.
DON: Nebraska has a reputation of defending pass plays by the book
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We didn’t cover the spread and the loss of their QB was worth more to Nebraska than a mere 4 points! I’d estimate 10-14 points, at least.
Hilarious the way the Village Idiot cried about that comment last night. But then again, she cries about everything.
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You got slapped around like a pinata so you deflect with more stupidity to feel better about your lame comments
BARSTOW?
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KAM: You were exposed as a lying Bruin loon once again, Cowardly Gabby aka Charlie Bucket the UCLA Fan aka TebowObama aka The Guy who posts as So Cal’s Wife & Michael Guarino & Buddhakarma &LawyerJohn & Pudly & Plow Horse & steveg49 & DOJ & Scott Wolf & Kathy & Foreskin Thoughts & Frank Young.
DON: You need to be forcibly institutionalized for the rest of your sad life, Coardly Gabby.
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Claims to have “won”, when she only proved again what an idiot she is. Some things never change.
Childish “I know you are but what am I?” coming in 3, 2, 1…
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If you think there QB is worth 10-14 points, think again. Good chance that he doesn’t get drafted if there’s no improvement in his play. Overrated 5 star.
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Doesn’t require a 5 star QB to get one more TD and a FG in an entire half of football. There was a dramatic difference between Raiola’s play and Lateef’s.
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you look like a total dumb——ass when you try talk about football. Did you even watch the game, because your perception of what happened is waaaaay off…. once again, you prove to be the blog dunce…
feel.proud, you earned it!
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KAM: Cowardly Gabby aka Charlie Bucket the UCLA Fan aka TebowObama aka The Guy who posts as So Cal’s Wife & Michael Guarino & Buddhakarma &LawyerJohn & Pudly & Plow Horse & steveg49 & DOJ & Scott Wolf & Kathy & Foreskin Thoughts & Frank Young has zero football IQ. Remember this prediction?
September 21, 2025 at 2:37am
Spartans 72 Trojans 3
DON: Please go away you preachy lib Bruin pest!
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She’s an idiot and takes pride in it. A shame she won’t get the help she needs.
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KAM: It’s Sunday, a day in which we usually put a plug in for God. What you got?
DON: Overall, it figures that God must not be secure in having given man dominion over his work
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Not surprising Ruhle tried running the ball, after all, ND ran for 300 yards over the Trojans.
Maiava was definitely off, but OTOH, there were 5 passes that were flat out dropped. If you add those into his stats, then his 9 for 23 and 135 yards becomes something like 14 of 23 for 190 yards.
His pick was inexcusable, that pass shouldn’t have been thrown. Sideline shots of him showed that he seemed to be out of gas. Maybe he was ill. But good on for his feet, USC doesn’t win without those runs he made.
I liked the man coverage in the second half. Nebraska’s WRs run 4.45 to 4.5 which is about as good as anyone. Yes, Nebraska had a frosh backup in, but still the WRs weren’t getting open.
The o-line made some huge mistakes with false starts at the worst times but they got better in the second half.
I do wonder about the lack of holding calls on both sides. Lake McRee was holding some guy’s face mask on King Miller’s TD run.
Fight on, should be 7-2 when Iowa comes to town, they lost only by 5 to Indiana, and best MN and Wisconsin by a combined score of something like 80 to 3. Always a well-coached team.
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KAM: ‘We’re coming after you’ — how the left found peace through hate. The key to hate is to decouple it entirely from reason and reality. Only then can you hate completely without restraint or regret. It seems that the left has learned how to hate. Hateful speech is in vogue as Democratic leaders ramp up violent rhetoric and political violence rises. The key is to get voters to hate your opponent so much that they forget how much they dislike you.
DON:The irony is crushing. For years, liberals have sought to criminalize hate speech while expanding the range of viewpoints considered to fall within this category. Democratic leaders, from senators to former presidential candidates, have falsely claimed that hate speech is not protected under the First Amendment.
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ON PROP FIFTY I CONVINCED TWENTY SIX PEOPLE TO CHANGE THIER VOTE FROM NO TO YES !!
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KAM: Sure you did, lying Bruin loon Cowardly Gabby aka Charlie Bucket the UCLA Fan aka TebowObama aka The Guy who posts as So Cal’s Wife & Michael Guarino & Buddhakarma &LawyerJohn & Pudly & Plow Horse & steveg49 & DOJ & Scott Wolf & Kathy & Foreskin Thoughts & Frank Young.
DON: Remember when Cowardly Gabby admitted she is a liar?
Gabby
FEBRUARY 22, 2024 AT 8:42 PM
I DON’T GIVE A F&^%…..THIS BLOG IS A S*&^ SHOW……WAKE UP. I F*&^ING LIED….SO WHAT……WERE YOUR FEELINGS HURT…..AND IT FEELS SO RIGHT…..SO F&^% OFF……QUIT WITH ALL THE F$#@ING DRAMA……GO FIND A HOBBY
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With all due respect, Sybil doesn’t KNOW 26 people….
#ItWon’tMatterAnyway….
#SupremeCourtWillFindMeasureUnconstitutional
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She’s referring to the voices in her head.
She’s really not all there.
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Ha!
#MessageToSybil….
#”Voices”Can’tVote
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KAM: I had never seen a blackout before with nearly every Nebraska fan decked out in all black clothes, creating an eerie atmosphere in the stadium
DON: But to no avail, except Nebraska was right there with SC in that game. Northwestern and Iowa now come to town, and one thing we have learned is that no Big-10 game is a ‘gimme’ for SC
KAM: With 3 home games SC still has a chance to live up to its pre-season prediciton of 9-3, and 10-2 if they can figure out a way to get by Oregon
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Remember this my friend — the Big Ten gave Northwestern a bye while USC was playing a tough game in Nebraska …. and, then, put us on a short week with a Friday game [meaning we have two days to get ready for another tough game with a rested team]….
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KAM: Democrat Senator John Fetterman says his party is responsible for the shutdown.
ETTERMAN: “Democrats really need to own the shutdown.”
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At SOME point sane dem donors are gonna have to disinherit their current leadership and proclaim “we need to start over….please forgive us for the horrid role we’ve played over the last quarter century”…….
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Unfortunately MG, I don’t think there are a lot of sane Dem donors left. The party is funded by globalist billionaires such as George Soros who are socially engineering the society so that it suffers an economic and moral collapse. How else do you explain open borders, billions paid for benefits to illegals, legal aide to illegal alien gang members and felons, drag queen story hour for children at public libraries, mayors who openly obstruct the federal law and dox ICE agents, DAs that refuse to prosecute crimes, no cash bail, and judges who openly refuse to follow the law and brag about their willingness to obstruct the executive branch.
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I didn’t feel the need to continue reading Scott’s analysis of USC’s victory after reading the word “hallow” in his headline….
#KindaA”SpoilerAlert”….
#….MaybeBetterToSaveAdjectivesForFirstLineOfArticle
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USC reaches #20 in A. P. Poll…..if only we could break into the teens!
#WhatAStatementThatWouldBe!
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The 3 computer rankings (ESPN, Sagarin, and Massey) have USC between 10-16. I really don’t see that. But maybe there are just a lot of mediocre teams this year.
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IF we beat Iowa and Northwestern [and that’s a BIG If] we’ll have shown some progress this year….and we’ll allay the concerns of recruits about us being on a downward trajectory ….
#ButIfWeDon’t……..!!!!
#[btw,UCLAWon’tBeACakewalkEither]
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We are not beating Iowa.
We are going 2-2 from here on out, with the other loss coming from Oregon. We will beat Northwestern and SUCLA.
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ANOTHER LAME COMMENT REGARDING THE FOOTBALL TEAM……
GO FIND A NEW HOBBY
PS……JOE SAID YOU NEED A GOOD ASS&&&&&&WH1PPING…..I AGREE 100%
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Ahhhh, Iowa at home. Had forgotten we had 7-5 this year, not 6-6, in terms of home vs away games.
Yes, BIG “if”, Michael. But we have a chance against Iowa at home.
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S T F U …….GO SERVICE THE OUTHOUSE, AKA MANCAVE, AND STOP BEING A PEST.
YOU TRY SOOOOOO HARD TO SOUND RELEVANT…….PATHETIC!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Iowa is about the same as USC in the computer rankings, and they are always well-coached. That will be a difficult game.
USC-Quacks will be 6 weeks after Waymon Jordan’s surgery that tightened his ankle ligaments. The recovery time is estimated at 4-6 weeks. Maybe we have a slim chance if he is playing. Quacks starting QB Donte Moore will be back at that point.
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Agree with 67 when he says there seems to be a lot of mediocre teams this year. Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, and Oregon are very good but then a big fall off. The traditional SEC powerhouses are all beatable. Texas has been a huge disappointment. Vanderbilt is better than Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Oklahoma. Florida, FSU, Clemson, Penn State and Michigan are mediocre at best. Had USC progressed the way I anticipated given it was the second year with Lynn’s defense and they brought in some defensive transfers that were suppose to be difference makers, this would have easily been a playoff team. We really haven’t had a tough schedule. Only three good opponents – Illinois, ND and Oregon. We should win every home game.
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Plow, So Cal and 67 –How will you feel about this team if we DO beat all the teams we have left on our home schedule [including Iowa]?
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Michael, at the start of the season, I recall saying something like 10-2 was doable, expecting two losses out of three to ND, Oregon, or Michigan, and winning the rest of a fairly easy schedule. Illinois was a godawful game, so I still see 10-2 as the marker. I hate to say it but USC was totally outrun out of the stadium at South Bend. I really hope they play their best game at Autzen.
They played their best game vs. Michigan. I would love to see that level of play the rest of the season irrespective of the score. Easier said then done with Waymon, Eli, Paige, and Kilian O’Connor still out. Gentry has been an unsung hero this year, he deserves some All-American attention.
I never thought they would be competitive against the very best teams, I just wanted to see them play to the best of their abilities instead of the Illinois mess, the ND mess, and the near mess last night.
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Great post!
[Maybe all will be forgiven for Illinois if they blow out Iowa]!
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Speaking of “blow out”….
Trump said his new industrial strength Depends now have 3x the holding power to prevent “blow out”
You should be all over it, like stink on 💩
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Seeking attention again, as children will do. So sad that she doesn’t realize how stupid she looks.
As for your question, Michael…I would be thrilled. I had said before the season started we’d be 8-4 if we were lucky. 9-3 would not necessarily be something to celebrate, but not something to be terribly disappointed about either. All I want to see from Riley is improvement, year over year, and that would do it!
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Thanks for getting us back to an intelligent football conversation, So Cal…
#…[GuyWho’sNeverHeardOfBrothers-In-LawIsHurtingBlog]
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HEY DUMB^^^^^ASS……SLO PA-TROLL HAS THE FOOTBALL INTELLIGENCE OF A SLUG…..
I AM STILL LAUGHING AT YOUR LAME COMMENT…….DID SOLA EVER GET HER LUBE……YOU CAN ALWAYS JUST SPIT ON IT…….IT’S ONLY RUBBER
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KAM: KAM: Cowardly Gabby is a lonely loser who has no one in her life. That’s why she has devoted 25 years of her waste of life to spamming this site with her obscene violent Democrat rants.
DON: She is a typical Mainstream Moderate Democrat who loves to hate.
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Pete Carroll determined to go out as air-head….
#Please,Pete,Stop……
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Alert: Sybil has never even been married: he/she doesn’t know there is such a thing as brothers-in-law cuz he/she never had one….
#There’sMoreToLifeThanMoonLandings…
#GetARealLife…
#ISayThisOuttaLove
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USC is a 14 point favorite over Northwestern, a 6 point favorite over Iowa and a 13 point underdog to Oregon.
#We’reAn8PointFavoriteOverUCLA
#AND….I’M SORRY FOR SAYING MEAN THINGS TO SYBIL
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She asked for it.
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I know.
#WishSheDidn’tPullUsAllIntoTheDarknessWithHer….
#[EvenWishSheCouldLeaveItBehindHerself]
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KAM: I am going to exhale after that great Dodgers weekend, I’m letting it savor, we probably will never see the likes of it again
DON: But right behind it was SC winning a game on the road. And now coming up is Northwestern. which conjures up memories of that great Rose Bowl game between the 1995 teams. Both fine, fine squads
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KAM:
Governor Mimbo says he hates politicians who lie to your face in the same interview that he told Kristen Welker that he didn’t see an issue with Biden’s mental acuity.
Governor Mimbo: There is nothing I dislike more than the politician who sits there & lies to you.
Also Governor Mimbo : I’m gonna express my relationship to my truth with Biden… There was nothing to suggest that he had problems with his mental acuity.
DON: Governor Mimbo is another Cowardly Gabby!
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KAM: Sorry to say but the polls say you aren’t too popular these days
DON: I had to make changes. And people don’t like changes
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KAM: Sorry to say but us Democrats aren’t too popular these days since we shut down the government .
DON: Yes you are incredibly stupid.
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KAM: When asked if you would be sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, I liked your answer
DON: How’s that?
KAM: You replied, “Could happen, I could change, but at this moment, I’m not”
DON: -Got to keep Russia guessing
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