USC’s glory days come to an end


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Birds circled the Coliseum after the game, but they might as well have been vultures, swooping in to prey on the dying legacy of the once-mighty Trojans. This is really it. It’s over. USC’s claim to the title of college football’s most dominant team officially came crashing down Saturday when Stanford unabashedly dismantled the Trojans, […]

Cardinal will be no picnic for USC


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Usually schools schedule a cupcake during Homecoming. Usually they make sure the cupcake is light (healthy is all the rage these days), loaded with creamy frosting and decorated with some celebratory sprinkles. Usually, the cupcake is devoured before the main course is served and by the time dessert rolls around, the alumni are left to […]

Stanford’s Luck has the edge over Barkley


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When time expired, the freshman quarterback celebrated on the field with his teammates. He had just led his team to victory against the only remaining undefeated team in the Pac-10. The quarterback completed 12 of 20 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns in the 51-42 shootout. He did not throw an interception. The then-ranked […]

The Gauntlet’s gone, but rivalry remains


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Stay with me now. In general, USC fans don’t like UCLA fans, and UCLA fans don’t like USC fans. Right? That much we know for sure. But why? Well, that’s another question. Trojans or Bruins often press for an answer when you ask them why they don’t like each other. And unlike some may tell […]

Lessons loom from infamous upset


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Ah, homecoming — a time for students, fans and alumni to join together and party themselves into oblivion. And I guess there’s a football game too. A 12:30 p.m. kickoff may be somewhat of a buzzkill for most USC fans, but the Trojans are probably just happy to be returning home. The last four games […]

The Pac-10 needs to become the Pac-12


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No USC fan wants to relive last weekend’s embarrassment in Eugene. The Trojans were outworked, outhustled and outplayed. USC needs a small-scale game like this Saturday’s in Tempe, Ariz. to regain its skills, swagger and dominant attitude. If the Trojans recover their form, there’s no doubt they would love a rematch with Oregon at the […]

Oregon controls the Pac-10 realm


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The strangest part about Saturday’s loss to Oregon wasn’t how it transpired. It was how it felt afterward. It didn’t feel like just a loss. It felt like a revolution. Past losses have felt like exactly what they were: unexpected defeats. The loss at Washington six weeks ago was a hiccup, a setback the Trojans […]

The injuries just keep adding up for Trojans


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Sports are very unpredictable. Just ask a Vegas bookie about USC’s home loss to Stanford in 2007. Or about the likelihood of Notre Dame’s fourth quarter near-comeback against the Trojans three weeks ago. Or even about the chance that a home underdog would beat the then-No. 5 team in the nation by 27 points. But […]

A break-up letter from the Pac-10 to USC


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It’s not you, it’s me. All right, that’s not true — it is you. But breaking up is hard to do, and I’m new at this. We’ve been inseparable for what seems like forever. Whenever somebody mentioned “Pac-10,” they couldn’t help but bring up “USC.” As a perennial champion, you gave meaning to me as […]

USC can’t make any excuses this time


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Autzen Stadium was as loud as it was cracked up to be, but the loss wasn’t about the noise. The Trojans were flagged six times for false start, but it wasn’t about the penalties. And USC had just as many takeaways as Oregon, but it wasn’t about the turnovers either. For the first time since […]