The setup is less than ideal. Playing in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, against a 6-7 team from the ACC? Not exactly somebody’s ideal New Year’s Eve plans. Throw in the fact that kickoff is set for 11 a.m. on the west coast and I’m starting to question just how many people will [...]

We hear so often about money in college sports. Head coaches bolt for other schools for more money. Schools build new training facilities and expand 60,000-seat stadiums to eventually earn more money. Conferences expand to add new members to increase the geographic footprint they point out, to annex television markets and, yes, to haul in [...]

To me, awaiting word on whether USC will play in the Holiday Bowl or Sun Bowl carries about as much intrigue as the Chevron car races we’re forced to watch at every football and basketball game. Frankly, I don’t care, although it is entertaining to watch people go bonkers when the fire truck wins. I’ll [...]

USC says the assistant head coach is stepping down to attempt a return to the NFL.

Sophomore wide receiver Marqise Lee and freshman defensive end Leonard Williams received recognition from the Pac-12 yesterday, with Lee winning Offensive Player of the Year in the conference and Williams taking home the Freshman Defensive Player of the Year award. The awards, in conjunction with All-Conference First Team recognition given to Lee and senior center [...]

The whispers started with USC’s loss to Stanford in mid-September. They grew louder after the shocking upset loss at Arizona in late October. When USC Athletic Director Pat Haden indicated before the Notre Dame game that Kiffin would be retained for next season, no matter the result of the looming matchup versus the Fighting Irish, [...]

Point: USC’s forgiving Pac-12 and non-conference schedule will allow the team to work out its kinks. After last season’s 50-0 demolition of UCLA put the finishing touches on a 10-2 campaign, there was plenty of optimism heading into the offseason. Visions of Matt Barkley, Robert Woods and Marqise Lee danced in the heads of USC [...]

Journalists Gary Klein (left), Ryan Abraham, Julio Morataya, Mark Willard and Pedro Moura participate in the panel discussion “USC Football and Its Relationship with the Media.” The panel was held in Heritage Hall on Tuesday.

The redshirt freshman quarterback completed 14 of 23 passes for 186 yards.

Go ahead and argue the expectations were too high. Feel free to question whether USC, once the Associated Press’ preseason No. 1 team, was overhyped heading into this season — that a top-10 rank in August was unbefitting for this group. But before you rant about premature predictions from the summer, before you declare that [...]