Stafon Johnson: A true Trojan


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Stafon Johnson was the first USC football player I ever talked to. I approached him as he walked off Howard Jones Field after a Monday practice last season. He was visibly busy. There were 10 or 20 kids waiting for his autograph — I later learned this is quite normal — and plenty of things […]

Trojans need past to become present


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History is on USC’s side. Recent history, that is. If anyone has learned anything from the trend of losses to inferior, unranked opponents, it’s this: One loss does not end a season. Usually. Somehow, some way, a strange brew of events over the last three years seems to give one-loss USC a shot at getting […]

Carroll is responsible for the latest letdown


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The Trojans’ struggles against a scrappy, mid-level Pac-10 team have become so institutionalized at USC that the annual event is almost a cliché in itself. Instead of being surprised by Saturday’s outcome, most Trojan fans felt like they were headed in a direction they had been before.

Writing was on the wall for upset


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All signs pointed to it. A week after a huge emotional win, a week of practice swirling with uncertainty, all leading up to a road game against a team nobody thinks has a shot. Smelled like trouble. Looked like trouble.

The writing was on the wall for a USC letdown


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All signs pointed to it. A week after a huge emotional win, a week of practice swirling with uncertainty, all leading up to a road game against a team nobody thinks has a shot. Smelled like trouble. Looked like trouble. Man, was it ever trouble. In what has become a yearly occurrence for USC, the […]

Other sports trump football on campus


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We know all the statistics and accolades. They are printed on cardinal T-shirts sold in the bookstore: seven consecutive 11-win seasons, BCS Bowls and Pac-10 Championships — not to mention the two national championships won in the middle of this decade. These stats seem to speak for themselves and declare USC football the best sport […]

Trojans won’t fail the ’Quizz this Saturday


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USC has placed itself in a great position to run the table in the Pac-10 after winning a huge Ohio State game in its second contest of the season. Sound familiar? Well it should. Last year, the Trojans beat the Buckeyes 35-3 in Week 2 at the Coliseum and appeared to have passed their toughest […]

It’s too soon to crown Barkley


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As a USC fan, it was alarming. When freshman quarterback Matt Barkley approached the huddle before the Trojans went for the two-point conversion late Saturday night, ESPN announcer Brent Musburger added a little bit of bravado to the already tense situation. “Right before your eyes, you’re watching a freshman grow up tonight, before a record-setting […]