Jen Cohen released the “State of Troy” newsletter for November today. No mention of the “state” of the USC-Notre Dame football series. She did say USC has to raise $68 million to reach its goal of $225 million for the athletics projects, including Dedeaux Field and the football building. Oh wait, there was a reference to USC-Notre Dame. She said the women’s basketball game last … Continue reading USC Notes: How Is The State Of Troy?

Lincoln Riley sounded like a football historian Tuesday night when talking about the USC-Notre Dame game. “When you come here, the history behind this game is so epic,” Riley said. “It just is. So I just think, No. 1, I think it would be disrespectful to not be as ready as you possibly can be.” Of course the natural follow-up question is, “If the history … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Lincoln Riley Becomes Historian

Former USC QB Sean Salisbury was on the Dan Patrick Show today and this quote was relevant to me. “Weekly I meet with Bruce Matthews . . . I talk to a lot of former players . . . They want to dominate the line of scrimmage. Until we do that at (USC) on both sides of the ball, we will not consistently beat good … Continue reading Interview Of The Night

The USC song girls are a brand. Unique among spirit groups. One of their traditions is they do not play to the cameras like normal cheerleaders. At the end of the USC-UCLA game, they were mugging for the NBC camera. That’s a big no-no. And then after the game, there was behavior (video below), which is definitely against their image. And since when does the … Continue reading USC Notes: Traditions Under Attack

Elijah Vaikona, an offensive tackle from Santa Margarita High School committed to USC, was upgraded to a four-star prospect by Rivals on Monday. Now here is the interesting part: Vaikona was not a first-team selection for the All-Trinity League team. That means in about three years, we will see if Rivals or the Trinity League coaches know more about football evaluation. At least Lincoln Riley … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Let’s See Who Evaluates Recruits Better

Four-star linebacker Ty Jackson of Loxahatchee, Fla., has decommitted from USC to Florida. Wow, a kid from Florida is going to Florida. News flash! This is now the seventh USC commitment from the South to flip to another school. Lincoln Riley’s Southern Strategy needs some work. USC still has seven commitments from Southern players, which is a great haul, but the risk of decommitments is … Continue reading USC Needs A New Southern Strategy