Bruin football gathers steam


By
 4 Comments/in ,
Think about it for a moment. In all sincerity, do you, at present, feel comfortable with the state of USC’s football program? Are you confident its trajectory points upward? Do its best days, in fact, lie ahead? Are you absolutely confident in a head coach that flirts with the ethical line for the sake of […]

Trojans need to order up blitzes


By
 in ,
It’s been a couple of weeks since I could write that USC won, but Saturday’s 38-17 beatdown of Arizona State finally allows me to be optimistic. The Trojans now sit at 7-3 and can win the Pac-12 South with a victory against UCLA next weekend at the Rose Bowl. Yeah, USC put up 38 points. […]

Troubled Trojans have chance at redemption


By
 in ,
Few athletic programs earn dual acclaim for their football and men’s basketball teams. To wit, Florida, Ohio State, Texas and Notre Dame are the only universities that really qualify. Without question, USC’s path to improving its basketball program and joining their ranks is littered with obstacles — some endemic, most brought on by poor management […]

Lee’s Heisman campaign takes off


By
 in ,
Once Matt Barkley announced last December that he would be returning to USC for his senior season, he immediately became the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. But on the first play of scrimmage during the Trojans’ season, sophomore wide receiver Marqise Lee gave a sign of what was to come, catching a screen pass, […]

Kiffin is USC’s most valuable prospect


By
 1 Comment/in ,
When Lane Kiffin took over as head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2007, he was 31. One of the stars of his defensive unit, defensive tackle Warren Sapp, was more than two years his senior. Kiffin’s stint at Oakland was far from a success — the youngest head coach in NFL history crashed and […]

Reasons abound for USC’s missteps


By
 2 Comments/in ,
USC coach Lane Kiffin is disappointed because of well, you know, his team’s record. “With the players that we have, we should not be 6-3,” he said during his weekly conference call with reporters Sunday night. That’s rather clear. Once ranked atop the Associated Press top-25 poll, the Trojans are now nearly out of it […]

Trojans’ run defense back where it started


By
 in ,
Well, we had a shoot-out on our hands last night, didn’t we? Oregon defeated USC 62-51 in what was as exciting a game as the Coliseum has seen in a while (or, at least since last year’s triple-overtime Stanford game). But the Trojans’ defense was unable to make stops on a Duck offense that refused […]

Chip Kelly might be Pac-12’s best coach


By
 2 Comments/in ,
For those of you who can’t get enough of Lane Kiffin, another cantankerous coach sporting a visor will occupy a Coliseum sideline this Saturday: Oregon’s Chip Kelly. Of course these days, the visor and surly personality might be the only similarities these two share. To say Kelly came out of nowhere is a bit generous. […]

Amid downturn, USC still deserves support


By
 3 Comments/in ,
Well, this was not part of the plan. Before the season began, one could imagine what the Thursday before the Oregon game would be like: the campus buzzing with excitement, students posting pictures of the ESPN College GameDay crew setting up in front of the Coliseum and cardinal and gold scattered across campus in support […]

Which is the Pac-12’s top program?


By
 in , ,
Point: Despite Oregon’s recent string of success and a better record in 2012, USC remains the premier program in the Pac-12. This Saturday, Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota’s cannon of an arm — yes, it’s stronger than Matt Barkley’s — and the blur of all-purpose weapon De’Anthony Thomas’ legs will give Trojan defenders nightmares. Oh, and […]