It’s Crosstown Rivalry week, so a recent tradition was upheld Monday night: Lincoln Riley skipped the big rally on campus just like he always has since becoming head coach. Coaches like John McKay, John Robinson and Pete Carroll attended the rally but not the legend from Muleshoe, Texas. He doesn’t want to deal with the public, including students. Now the report card: QUARTERBACK Jayden Maiava … Continue reading Morning Buzz: USC-Oregon Report Card

The Crosstown Rivalry is a bit off this week because of Thanksgiving. The traditional Thursday night rally will be tonight and won’t include the usual concert. How many players will bother to show up? Will Lincoln Riley make an appearance? He never has during his tenure at USC. Continue reading It’s A Weird Week For Crosstown Rivalry

What has happened to a segment of USC fans? They are softer than the defense looked against Illinois. Right on schedule, they are saying a three-loss season shows progress and is an acceptable rate of return in Year 4 of the Riley Era. I guess I was raised in a different era because three losses was never considered “good enough” for USC. I used to … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: What Is A Good Season?

There is no shame in losing at Autzen Stadium, especially when you are as much as a 10.5-point underdog. So why was Saturday’s loss to Oregon sickening to watch? Because of the lack of preparedness and leadership that USC arrived in Eugene with for the biggest game in years. Let’s look at some miscues: How do you hit a punt returner who signaled for a … Continue reading My Analysis Of What Happened At USC-Oregon Game

Did I expect USC to beat Oregon at Autzen Stadium? Of course not. Lincoln Riley is now 6-13 against ranked teams at USC. But here is what I did not expect: USC to average 1.9 yards per rush. Ja’Kobi Lane to chase an Oregon player to a wall behind the Oregon sideline for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Desman Stephens to hurdle the line on a … Continue reading A Quick Thought On USC-Oregon

Defense. Running the ball. Special teams. USC goes 0 for 3 against the good teams. The go-to play has been to just chuck it deep and hope for a penalty or great catch College Football Playoff bid on line and USC lets Oregon eat up six minutes and go 79 yards for a touchdown. Yards rushing: Oregon 137, USC 42. Oregon finds the USC weak … Continue reading USC-Oregon Live Blog