It was utterly ridiculous how Lincoln Riley ignored Mater Dei High School and focused so much energy on Georgia. But Riley’s clearly no longer following his preferred plan, for whatever reason. I won’t say general manager Chad Bowden is the sole reason because things started changing before he got hired. Remember, Riley met Mater Dei coach Raul Lara for the first time at Mater Dei … Continue reading USC Shows New Philosophy On Recruiting

Stanford general manager Andrew Luck fired football coach Troy Taylor today. The GM can fire the coach? Can Chad Bowden fire Lincoln Riley? Now a couple things about Stanford. It doesn’t currently have an athletic director, so the decision fell to Luck. But the question remains why did Stanford keep Taylor following two investigations into his behavior but only fire him after ESPN reported on … Continue reading USC Notes: A General Manager Can Fire A Coach?

This was pretty much ignored in Jen Cohen’s State of Troy newsletter, but she said USC is introducing “Victory Points,” which is “a new priority point system that rewards Trojan fans for all donations to USC Athletics.” Cohen continued: “This priority point system allows us to better recognize and steward all supporters including both season and non-season ticket holders.” Sounds harmless, right? Well, maybe not. … Continue reading A New Way To Track Your USC Loyalty

USC spring football will go from March 25-April 26 with practices on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. All practices are closed to the public. There will be no spring football game for the public to attend. The transfer portal for basketball opens March 25 but Eric Musselman’s Trojans don’t even start playing in the College Basketball Crown Tournament until April 1. Freshman football players will not … Continue reading If It’s Friday, It’s Time For A USC Notes Column

Jen Cohen stated today that USC has raised $174 million of its $225 million goal for the construction of the new football facility and Dedeaux Field. Cohen said two additional donors recently donated $5 million or more to the project. Has Lincoln Riley made a donation of any note to this project that he demanded? USC track and field coach Quincy Watts has been named … Continue reading USC Notes: Can Sir Lincoln Of Riley Pony Up A Donation?

USC finally released its spring roster and a minor disaster was averted when no one was granted No. 55 (for now). Remember, a player had formally asked to wear the hallowed number and he hadn’t done much to merit it. The roster is here. Two highly touted freshmen — QB Husan Longstreet and DE Jahkeem Stewart — will wear No. 4. Six defensive linemen will … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: A Minor Crisis Averted