Curt Cignetti: National title in Year 2 Kalen DeBoer: National title game in Year 2 Lincoln Riley defenders: But, but, but Where is Sean McDonough? Indiana leads 10-0 at halftime. Can Miami come back? Nick Saban and Marcus Freeman picked the Hurricanes. Continue reading Who Is Watching Indiana-Miami?

Here’s what a coach who worked with Gary Patterson said about the idea of him becoming defensive coordinator. “It will be a good hire if they get the old Gary Patterson and not old Gary Patterson,” he said. Here’s a current view: Continue reading USC Sunday Buzz: A View On Gary Patterson

Well, look what’s coming in early March: According to the publisher’s website, American Trojan is about “a visionary technologist who transformed the University of Southern California into one of the nation’s most prestigious private research universities. “At a time when many universities have succumbed to ideology over truth, under (Max) Nikias’s leadership, USC retained its academic integrity in the face of high-stakes negotiations, high-rolling donors, … Continue reading If It’s Friday, It’s Time For A USC Notes Column

Lincoln Riley is finally going to hire a veteran special teams coach . . . after four years. Mike Ekeler, who was USC’s linebackers coach in 2013, is being hired from Nebraska to coach special teams according to CBS Sports. Before Nebraska, Ekeler was outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at Tennessee. So this should be a step up for the special teams. Hopefully … Continue reading Lincoln Riley Finally Hires A Special Teams Coach

Here is what has been sent out to season-ticket holders: Two things: Of course no mention of who USC will replace Notre Dame with. And note the line, “our playoff run.” Is USC going to make a playoff run? Lincoln Riley said the window is open after the Alamo Bowl. Lol. Continue reading Are You Ready For The Playoff Run?

Here’s a pretty good reason the search for a defensive coordinator seems to have dragged on this long: Someone involved has told me that USC has told candidates they must keep the entire defensive staff. That would mean keeping four assistant coaches. It’s quite a condition because most self-respecting coordinators want to bring at least 1-2 guys with them. It will really be interesting to … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: One Reason For Dragged Out Coaching Search

Husan Longstreet has signed with LSU, according to CBS Sports. He will be expected to play behind Sam Leavitt, unless Leavitt cannot recover in time from a foot injury. But LSU also has Elon transfer Landen Clark, so Longstreet might be No. 3. It’s a big win for Lane Kiffin. Personally, I would have gone to a smaller school for a year and played. Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Husan Longstreet To LSU

First, a little news. USC’s Board of Trustees are expected to vote next month on a new president. They were supposed to vote this month but could not get a quorum. There are still teams that need quarterbacks. Like Miami, for instance. Also, would it terrible if Longstreet went to a non-blue blood and played every snap next season? Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Quarterbacks Shaking Up Transfer Portal

I will say it again: Why does anyone listen to this guy? It’s now a question whether they make the NCAA Tournament. Continue reading USC Notes: Where Are The Caleb Williams Critics?

So Stanford interviewed Kris Richard in the middle of the week and a day later Coach Tavita Pritchard offered him the job. What’s USC’s excuse for taking so long? The fact Stanford hired Richard highlights another issue: There are no Trojans on the coaching staff. Mike Williams works as a support staffer but he is not one of the position coaches. This is one reason … Continue reading USC Sunday Buzz: Where Are The Trojans?

Stanford is in the process of hiring former USC player Kris Richard as defensive coordinator. Richard was previously defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars. This means Pete Kwiatkowski, who had been considered a strong candidate at Stanford, is not taking the job. Does this put him back in play for USC? Stanford was going to let Kwiatkowski bring in coaches to join the … Continue reading USC Saturday Buzz: At Least One School Is Hiring A Defensive Coordinator

Curt Cignetti is in the national-title game in Year 2. For those who think this is simply because Cignetti brought some James Madison players with him to Indiana, consider this: He went 53-17 at Indiana University in Pennsylvania; he went 14-9 at Elon; he went 52-9 at James Madison. He’s not doing something unusual for himself at Indiana. He’s just doing what he has always … Continue reading Curt Cignetti Makes National Title Game In Year 2

Heading into today, Notre Dame has had 19 players enter the transfer portal. You know how many transfers the Irish signed? 0. Maybe someone can tell Lincoln Riley. He might want to play Notre Dame next season. But I doubt it. Continue reading A USC-Notre Dame Stat Of The Day

You probably saw former USC defensive lineman Devan Thompkins is transferring to Alabama. My question is whether he has a break out season like Romello Height did at Texas Tech? Height had 10 sacks for Texas Tech this season. He was the fourth-highest graded defensive players in the nation acccording to PFF Focus. Think about that. Fourth-highest overall. Not fourth-highest at his position. Have you … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Did You Hear About This Impact Player?

I think Arizona State defensive coordinator Brian Ward got some bad advice withdrawing from the USC search for a defensive coordinator. Sources at USC tell me Ward thought Pete Kwiatkowski would get the job. But here we are several days later and Kwiatkowski still is getting mentioned for USC and Stanford openings. A lot of times, the first time choice doesn’t get the job. D’Anton … Continue reading The Never-Ending Search Continues

Should Husan Longstreet’s agent call Washington today? Is the game officially gone after Huskies QB Demond Williams entered the transfer portal less than a week after signing a contract with Washington? How many of you have even heard of some of the USC players that have been announced as “re-signing” with the Trojans? Quite a few of them never played and spent exactly one semester … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Should Husan Longstreet’s Reps Call Washington?

There’s no issue with USC re-signing Jayden Maiava for next season. If he went into the transfer portal, he would be highly pursued. But I’m tired of hearing that he led the nation in QBR this season. Stats are always the refuge of the spin masters. Are you going to tell me if you watched the Alamo Bowl that Maiava is the best QB in … Continue reading USC Notes: Stats Are Not How You Determine Value

Before he got fired by the Raiders yesterday, Pete Carroll was recently asked about the USC-Notre Dame rivalry ending. “I have no space to think of why somebody would want to do that,” Carroll said. “I hope that doesn’t carry over to other matchups that have been so important to people over the years and so much fun, not so much the teams. It’s for … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: A Tale Of Two Coaches And Tradition

Here’s something to consider in the defensive coordinator search: Maybe the new DC won’t mind keeping current assistants. But does he want to keep assistant coaches who want the job and probably won’t be happy if they don’t get it? It’s not a great situation at the moment. Here’s about the one millionith example of how being nothing more than a USC homer ruins your … Continue reading USC Notes: Something Looks A Little Messy At Moment

Even within the USC football program, there are those wondering why a defensive coordinator hasn’t been hired yet. Jen Cohen’s preferred choice, Pete Kwiatkowski, is also talking to Stanford. Why would he take Stanford over USC? Because Stanford will probably give him more authority in hiring other members of the defensive coaching staff. That’s going to be a sticking point with any self-respecting defensive coordinator. … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Defensive Coordinator Search Continues

USC picked up two commitments in the transfer portal today: Iowa State cornerback Jontez Williams and Washington linebacker Deven Bryant. Williams was rated the No. 1 cornerback in the transfer portal per On3 but . . . did you know he tore his ACL and played only five games this season? Bryant had 62 tackles for Washington and went to St. John Bosco. Continue reading USC Adds Two Defensive Players In Transfer Portal

It sounds like Pete Kwiatkowski is currently the frontrunner to become USC’s defensive coordinator. So why hasn’t it happened yet? It could be a question of whether he gets to bring any of his own people with him. USC still has all its defensive assistant other than D’Anton Lynn. So someone would need to leave or be fired for Kwiatkowski to bring any assistants. It will be … Continue reading USC Sunday Buzz: One Possible Reason For Defensive Delay

Arizona State defensive coordinator Brian Ward and former Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski have been contacted by USC for the vacant defensive coordinator position. Ward was previously defensive coordinator at Washington State, Syracuse and Bowling Green. Kwiatkowski is believed to be the preferred choice of USC athletic director Jen Cohen, because they worked together at Washington. The search is being run by general manager Chad … Continue reading At Least Two Coaches Contacted For USC Defensive Coordinator Job

Did Jayden Maiava get worse as the season progressed? His two worst games (Nebraska, TCU) were in the second half of the season and he was hardly at his best in losses to Notre Dame and Oregon. Did USC just play better teams? Nebraska wasn’t a great team. Neither was TCU but I can already hear the excuse-makers saying that Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane … Continue reading USC Saturday Buzz: Is QB Play An Issue?

Before USC played TCU in the Alamo Bowl, it announced the game would be broadcast on KNX-1070 AM instead of its regular station (710). But during the game, multiple USC fans contacted me to tell me the game was not on 1070. “I was driving and the game wasn’t on any of the stations I tried,” a fan said. “I got in my car at … Continue reading The Sound Of Silence From Texas

Did you see former USC players who got better playing yesterday in the College Football Playoff? Zacariah Branch showed he regained his speed last night against Mississippi. Something happened to him in 2024 because he was noticeably slower. Has a player from Georgia ever transferred to USC and got better? His brother, Zion, had five tackles for Georgia too and made a big hit late … Continue reading Morning Buzz: The College Football Playoff Had A USC Flavor

I said this morning the fact TCU had two star players play in the Alamo Bowl while a host of USC players opted out showed a difference in the culture of the programs. Today, former USC player Marvin Powell III made this comment. “As a culture, as a team, we are much further behind than I thought we were.” Powell is the son of former … Continue reading USC Needs A Culture Reset

Have you recovered from the Alamo Bowl yet? I can still hear “the game is not over” in my head. So USC finished with a 9-4 record. Same as Michigan, Iowa and Illinois. None of those schools are paying a scarecrow $11 million to stand on the sideline, however. How does anyone accept 9-4 as a significant step forward? I don’t think most of the … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Fallout From The Epic Failure

Lincoln Riley finds new ways to lose and embarrass USC. How does he blow a 10-point lead to TCU and its backup QB in the final five minutes? How does USC let a third-and-20 in overtime turn into a 35-yard game-winning touchdown pass?Do you still think this season showed progress? Do you trust Riley to lead USC to success? What amazes me is people are … Continue reading Analysis: Another Epic Failure For Lincoln Riley

Lincoln Riley has lost 15 games in the past 3 years at USC but he’s making progress Where does this rank among Lincoln Riley choke jobs? On third-and-20! USC should really have put this game away given TCU’s QB situation. Jaden Richardson with the highlight reel one-handed catch and it’s USC, 21-14. It’s a good thing Jayden Maiava re-signed BEFORE the bowl game. Jayden Maiava … Continue reading USC-TCU Live Blog

Oh yes, the game tonight. Who will win? Who will play? Is D’Anton Lynn fired up? OK, time to pick the score between the team’s and their missing star players. Continue reading Pick The USC-TCU Score

An interesting situation has developed with D’Anton Lynn departing to Penn State. All of the other defensive assistants would like to succeed him. Rob Ryan was at one time a top NFL defensive coordinator. Doug Belk was defensive coordinator at Houston and Eric “Dawg Work” Henderson has a case because he recruited a lot of players. Now I’m not recommending any of them get it, … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Who Doesn’t Want To Be Defensive Coordinator?

This is an amazing example of gall from Lincoln Riley. He had the nerve this morning at the Alamo Bowl press conference to play the tough guy regarding to Notre Dame. “Had Notre Dame lived up to their word and played us anytime, anywhere we’d be playing them the next two years.” This is like a loudmouth at the bar who wants to fight someone … Continue reading Lincoln Riley Talks Tough To Notre Dame

USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn is going to Penn State, per Matt Zenitz. It should be fairly easy for USC to upgrade here. Can someone else allow 500 yards of offense to Illinois? Or more than 400 yards to Oregon and Notre Dame? Well, no more Notre Dame. So who leaves with him? Is he taking Dawg Work? Does Rob Ryan want to move to … Continue reading D’Anton Lynn To Penn State

Did Matt Leinart feel some backlash to his weak response to the cancellation of the USC-Notre Dame game? Below is an updated response he gave to his initial comments. I don’t understand the last line. “Understand the decision to suspend given the situation we were put into.” What situation was that? Did someone force USC into the Big Ten? Did someone force USC to whine … Continue reading Sunday Buzz: The Backlash Continues

Some great Trojans passed away in 2025 and I’ll be spotlighting them next week. Continue reading Saturday Buzz: Life Imitates Art

Kyle Whittingham signed a five-year contract to become the head coach at Michigan. Time to take the Wolverines off the schedule! Did Sir Lincoln of Riley call Jen Cohen to wipe Michigan off future schedules today? Riley is 0-3 against Whittingham at USC. USC already doesn’t want to go back there in November. They probably will say they don’t want a home game in November … Continue reading Time To Take Michigan Off Schedule

What a wild week it’s been with all the controversy over the USC-Notre Dame rivalry. If there has been a positive, it’s been the way many USC and Notre Dame fans have unified on this issue. They don’t want to hear excuses or engage in the lame trash talk. They just want a great rivalry back. As an ex-USC player tol me this week: “The … Continue reading If It’s Friday, It’s Time For A USC Notes Column

Matt Leinart finally broke his silence on USC-Notre Dame and we all would have been better off if he hadn’t. “Call me lame but I’m going to trust a school that’s produced more Heisman winners than anyone else in history and 11 National Championships to do what’s right for the program,” Leinart tweeted. Excuse me? How many of those 11 titles were won by Lincoln … Continue reading Christmas Buzz: Maybe It Would Be Better For Some To Remain Silent On USC-Notre Dame

Did any of you imagine in your lifetimes that USC would stop playing Notre Dame? I covered USC for decades and never pondered whether the schools would ever reach a deal to keep playing. Let’s look at what Pete Carroll said the week of the 2003 game vs. Notre Dame: “I think it’s important that we do talk about what this great match-up means and … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: The Unthinkable Happened And Some Actually Cheer It