The Point After

Jimmy Goodman

Jimmy Goodman is a senior writing about USC sports. His column, “The Point After,” typically ran every other Thursday.


Featured columns

The Point After: USC recruiting is back, and Clay Helton deserves some serious credit for it
After a yearlong hiatus that saw the program fall out of the national spotlight for at least 55 different reasons, the Trojans have returned solidly to form and have sent an unmistakable message to the college football world: USC is ready to “Take Back the West.”


The Point After: Despite backlash, the NFL Draft must go on
The draft must — and thankfully will — go on, and its healing touch will help a country in quarantine.


The Point After: Despite all the rumors, USC should not (yet) the Pac-12
It is no secret that the Trojans and the Pac-12 have been on distinctly poor terms in recent years.


The Point After: Men’s hoops needs to win this month to buck the trend
Over the past few years, USC has managed to avoid qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in often painful fashion.


The Point After: USC football is in turbulence after National Signing Day
With National Signing Day and the 2020 recruiting season now officially in the rearview, USC is in distinctly unprecedented territory.


The Point After: Likely Orlando hiring unlikely to sit well with Trojan faithful
As is the case with pretty much anything the Trojans do these days, seeing is believing.


The Point After: USC football fails to breed top picks at the pro level
The NFL Draft is the sports event of the year.


The Point After: Hockey’s playoffs are the best postseason
In just a few short weeks, the greatest spring tradition in sports will begin again.


The Point After: NFL should consider expansion to London
There is hardly anything more American in this world than the combination of wings, beer and football.


The Point After: USC football has reached threat level midnight
Over the ensuing months, what Swann could have described as an off-year for a blue chip program with loads of young talent has devolved into an ugly nightmare that gets comically worse by the day.


The Point After: Swann alienates fanbase with Helton choice
The message from the fanbase could not have possibly been clearer: USC fans want nothing to do with Helton.


The Point After: If USC’s devastating loss isn’t a wake-up call, then nothing will be
Seeing a 14-3 lead turn into a 37-14 loss to the Texas Longhorns was embarrassing.


The Point After: Frustration with USC football is starting to show
Sure, anyone who takes a major head coaching job in college or professional sports is disposed to scrutiny, but few have felt the burns from being under the magnifying glass of public opinion quite like Helton.


The Point After: Gustin’s leadership will be missed
In pretty much every respect, Saturday night was a major victory for USC football.


The Point After: Pac-12 continues to lose on and off the football field
In a year where other Pac-12 playoff hopefuls such as Washington and USC have also fallen short to elite talent in nationally broadcasted games, it is an especially disappointing result for the “conference of champions.”


The Point After: USC might want to try an unusual addition
Frankly, it was also just the latest bad news to come to a special teams unit that put up one of the worst performances by a major college football team in recent memory.


The Point After: JT Daniels is the right risk to take week one
The biggest lingering question about Daniels is his ability to come in and ease the pain of transitioning from an all-time USC great in Sam Darnold to, well, anyone else.