Give Kiffin some love, credit he deserves


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Just minutes after stepping to the podium following Saturday’s 23-14 victory over Utah, USC coach Lane Kiffin was confronted with a reporter’s question regarding the “controversial” on-field interview he gave a week earlier, in which he said USC only had two good players on offense. The question had nothing to do with the outcome of […]

Tyler’s play not vital for Trojans’ success


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The thing about a liability on any male sports team is that you can never be too sure he’s reformed. No matter how reformed he is said to be, no matter how many people declare him a changed man, anyone watching is still thinking, “When’s his next outburst coming?” So why, then, has USC been […]

Trojans on the right track after 2-0 start


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For a 2-0 team, there sure is a lot of negativity surrounding USC. Fans are clamoring for bigger margins of victory, fewer penalties and turnovers and gosh darnit, would USC coach Lane Kiffin just go for one? Some of the criticism is justified: Two fumbles, one interception and six untimely penalties nearly cost USC a […]

Kiffin needs to take chances downfield


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The 2000s were an exciting time for USC football. An unsuspecting fan wandering into the Coliseum on any given Saturday could be blindsided by the electrifying offensive play of the Trojans. Points came a dime-a-dozen, yardage climbed to astronomical heights and sensational plays unfolded from the most basic formations. USC seemed to be able to […]

Living on the edge not what USC needs


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It happened, again. It wasn’t pretty. It was hardly palatable. For the second week in a row, USC won a game in the final seconds, barely, edging Utah in the first-ever Pac-12 game. Based on games one and two, living on the edge might serve as an appropriate slogan for the 2011 Trojans. Living on […]

Trojans in need of Tyler’s return


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Matt Barkley, Robert Woods. By now, you’ve heard those names plenty of times, after both broke USC single-game records against Minnesota last weekend in its season home opener. Sophomore wide receiver Woods recorded 17 receptions for 177 yards and three touchdowns and the junior signal caller, Barkley, completed 34-of-45 passes for 304 yards and three […]

Kiffin’s choices could end up hurting USC


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It worked against unranked Minnesota. It might not this week. Despite poor playcalling and a few other head-scratching decisions against the Golden Gophers, USC managed to notch a win Saturday in its season opener. But if USC coach Lane Kiffin follows the same script against Utah, the Trojans could be looking at a souring 1-1 […]

Realignment wouldn’t benefit USC in long run


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At approximately 4:37 p.m. Saturday, either USC placekicker Andre Heidari or his Utah counterpart Nick Marsh will send a commemorative football soaring high into the late afternoon Los Angeles sky, officially beginning the first game in Pac-12 history. By that time, however, the Pac-12 might already be a thing of the past. Rumors are swirling […]

Time for Trojans to rise to the occasion


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Don’t be fooled by the sanction-imposed façade hovering over the USC football season because there is still plenty at stake in 2011. Sure, a bowl ban can diminish BCS title hopes or attendance numbers — as was evident by some of the sparse crowds at the Los Angeles Coliseum last year — but no longer […]

Ambiguity of football program might help


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If you tried wrapping your head around USC’s football team this season, chances are you’d find yourself wanting to know more. Because of the ever-vigilant eye of the sports media and its constant barrage of prediction and analysis, it’s become a real challenge for a program of USC’s stature to sneak up on anyone. Still, […]