Wayne Moses, who was the running backs coach on Pete Carroll’s first coaching staff at USC, died March. He was 69. Moses also coached at UCLA from 1990-95 and 2008-11. During a 45-year coaching career, he coached at Pac-12 schools like Cal, Stanford and Washington along with a 2-year stint with the St. Louis Rams (2007-08). He played football at San Dimas High School and was a … Continue reading Remembering Wayne Moses

Last week I mentioned a Big Ten coach questioned whether Lincoln Riley runs the ball enough. Here’s some observations from the same coach: “The way they look when they play, they don’t look tough. I equate them to a boxer who did minimal sparring before a fight. “They don’t look like they are physical. I would ask how hard do they practice? It doesn’t look … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Does Play Reflect Practice?

With the year almost over, it’s time to remember a few Trojans who died in 2024. USC shot putter Dallas Long, who won the gold medal at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, in November. He was 84. Long also won a bronze medal in the 1960 Olympics. He was a three-time NCAA champion in the shot put. He probably would have been a four-time champion but … Continue reading Remembering Dallas Long

Generally, I prefer to go by what my eyes see over stats. USC’s offensive line was credited with allowing only eight QB hurries. That’s a good number. But watching the game, I felt like Jayden Maiava was under a lot of stress from the pass rush even if he wasn’t officially hurried. Some of his bad throws were directly because of that pass rush. And … Continue reading USC Sunday Buzz: Do You Trust Your Eyes Or Stats?

USC cannot consistently win games if it has to win in spite of Lincoln Riley. USC had scored a touchdown to cut the lead to 24-14 and stopped Texas A&M on the first drive of the fourth quarter. The Trojans took over at their own 4-yard line. So what does Riley do? He calls a deep route down the sideline that gets intercepted at the … Continue reading And Another Thing Regarding Bad Decisions

Let me start by saying whether USC wins or loses a non-descript bowl game doesn’t impact my thinking for next season. And let me also add I was in favor of Jaydon Maiava becoming the starter during the season. But I find it crazy what Lincoln Riley said in early December about getting a QB in the transfer portal. “We’re really going to be probably … Continue reading My Las Vegas Bowl Analysis: Astounding Decisions Overshadow Everything