Defense — it’s been a trademark of USC football. Sure, we always hear about Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and Mike Williams, the high-powered offenses during those years when former USC coach Pete Carroll was around. Those Trojans’ teams boasted some of the most electrifying players in the nation. Though the Trojans sported one of the [...]

The junior tailback was driven to do better for himself, and he is now seizing the moment.

The Cardinal has defeated the Trojans in the teams’ last three matchups at the Coliseum.

Six years ago, No. 9 Notre Dame hosted No. 1 USC in one of the most memorable contests in recent college football memory — a game remembered simply as the “Bush Push.” Though the Irish fell in a heartbreaking 34-31 defeat, many viewed the game as evidence of Notre Dame’s imminent return to football prominence. [...]

USC-Notre Dame just doesn’t have the same kick to it anymore. With both teams at relative low points, the bad blood in the rivalry doesn’t quite boil like it used to (at least on the West Coast, anyway — South Bend might be a different story). Sure, the game will receive plenty of attention with [...]

In my 10 years or so of playing Madden and NCAA Football video games, I had never blocked a kick or even seen one blocked. Sunday evening, that changed, when I denied a 31-yard field-goal try. So shocked and excited was I by this event, it occurred to me just how much I had taken [...]

When USC coach Lane Kiffin peers across the field to the opposite sideline Saturday afternoon when the Trojans take on Arizona, he just might be able to learn something from his opponents. Who should he be looking at? He should be looking at Wildcats coach Mike Stoops. Now, you might wonder what Kiffin might be [...]

Back in 2009, when then-USC coach Pete Carroll named Matt Barkley the Trojans’ starting quarterback — over Aaron Corp and Mitch Mustain — his rationale behind handing the job to the wide-eyed freshman signal caller was simple. “He has all the physical ability, he has the mentality and temperament to handle the position,” Carroll said. [...]

From 2006 to 2008, USC outscored its opponents by 15 points per game on average and the Trojans rarely played close games. A few points gained from superior special teams play would likely have not made a major difference in USC’s record. Beginning in 2009, the Trojans dominance slowed, and they began to play much [...]

From freshman year in high school until now, Telfer has come into his own as a player.