Does John Baxter, the “best special teams coach” in the country according to Clay Helton, teach the gunners to down a punt during “closed” practices? It didn’t look like it during USC’s first three punts at Notre Dame, which all went into the end zone. I doubt they really do practice it because for the first four games Baxter had punter Ben Griffiths kick the … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: It’s The Little Things That Irritate Most

Tailback Vavae Malepeai will undergo knee surgery to “clean out” his knee because of swelling and pain. He is out indefinitely. That’s one way to get Markese Stepp more playing time. It also means freshman Kenan Christon should start playing for at least four games so that he doesn’t have to burn his redshirt year. Now back to non-reality. Here’s what Clay Helton said about … Continue reading Sunday Night With Clay Helton

It’s been five weeks but Lynn Swann has emerged at the Chargers-Steelers game tonight in Carson. I guess this means he still lives in L.A. Someone ask him what he thinks of USC’s 3-3 record? Continue reading Lynn Swann Sighting

With Ed Orgeron 7-0 against AP Top 10 teams not named Alabama, it’s a good time to recall Pat Haden bypassed Orgeron for Steve Sarkisian. When I pressed Haden that day, he said, “we’ll see. I might be wrong.” He sure was but where is he to take some accountability for his actions? No one at USC does that. Here is a good example of … Continue reading Pat Haden And Clay Helton Have A Lot In Common

I want to revisit the spin from Graham Harrell that Markese Stepp was too tired to carry the ball more than 10 times last night. Stepp was asked if he was “a bit winded at times” during the game. “Sometimes,” he said. “When you are carrying six people you tend to get winded, that’s a lot of people.” Of course, you are going to get … Continue reading Was Markese Stepp Really Too Tired?

With USC now 3-3, here’s a column I wrote for the Sporting News on Clay Helton’s future. Excerpt: USC has six regular season games left, and Helton probably needs victories in at least five of those games to save his job. That means he needs to beat Colorado, UCLA and at least three of the following teams: Arizona, Oregon, Arizona State and California. Of course, … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Clay Helton’s Six-Game Plan