A few weeks ago, a University of Washington donor told me he randomly bumped into Jedd Fisch at a campus event and had a brief but cordial conversation with the football coach. That simply doesn’t happen at USC. Lincoln Riley is sequestered inside a building that is closed to the public. The only time he leaves is when he goes to football practice or his … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Does $10 Million Dollar Man Know Trojan Family Exists?

I just knew that Joel Klatt would not be able to resist talking about USC this week. It doesn’t matter how many national stories are out there, when you work for Fox, you need to talk about USC. A lot. And not critically, of course. Klatt did not disappoint. “Some might say I’m being an apologist and that’s fine,” he said. “It doesn’t happen overnight. … Continue reading I’ve Been Waiting For This Defense Of Lincoln Riley

Sometimes, I even surprise myself at how well I can figure these guys out. Yesterday, in the USC-Maryland report card, I wrote “USC keeps playing one half of football and every week the response is “stay the course.” So about 10 hours later, what does USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn say? :After our recent losses, we put our heads right back down and then we try … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Time For Some Changes . . . Nope

It’s kind of amazing that someone with Lincoln Riley’s history (mainly at Oklahoma) seems befuddled at addressing USC’s problems. “Anything we see that’s not functioning at a high level or heading that way, we’re aggressively addressing it, and we’ll do anything to continue to plug these leaks,” Riley said Monday night. So the ship is sinking and Riley and Co. are plugging the leaks? What … Continue reading Lincoln Riley Plugging The Leaks

As if football struggling isn’t enough, how about time for a scandal? From the L.A. Times: “For years, USC quietly offered wealthy families an alternate path to admission with much lower academic expectations and an acceptance rate of 85 to 90%, a Times investigation has found.” The story is behind a paywall, but here’s a paragraph: Continue reading How About A Scandal?

QUARTERBACK There are two versions of Miller Moss: The one who has time to throw and the one who is under pressure. Unfortunately for USC, successful quarterbacks can navigate in both worlds. Apparently, Lincoln Riley is going to spend the season accepting that the offense sometimes has one hand behind its back. Grade: D+ RUNNING BACK How do you rush for 189 yards against Penn … Continue reading USC-Maryland Report Card