Lincoln Riley era can’t start soon enough for USC after brutal season-ending loss to Cal
Thuc Nhi Nguyen (LA Times) — The Lincoln Riley era officially can start at USC. And after a 24-14 loss to California in Berkeley, the new coach’s tenure can’t come soon enough.
If Riley stayed up late for Saturday’s nightcap after his recruiting trips and video calling into “College GameDay” from the backseat of a car, USC’s next coach saw a team in shambles.
The Trojans (4-8, 3-6 Pac-12) tied a season-low in scoring and finished the game with third-string quarterback Miller Moss on the field after starter Jaxson Dart was knocked out of the game in the third quarter. The miserable ending seemed painfully fitting for a team that found new ways to confound nearly every week.
The loss doomed USC to its worst season since going 3-8 in 1991.
On a day dominated by College Football Playoff discussion and conference championship games, USC’s inconsequential 8 p.m. start signaled just how far the program had fallen. Neither USC nor Cal (5-7, 4-5 Pac-12) held bowl hopes and the game, which was postponed in November because of a COVID-19 outbreak among Cal’s program, was rescheduled for after the Pac-12 championship game because both teams already were out of title contention by October.
Because of Saturday’s low stakes, there were questions about whether the players would want the game to go on. The Trojans delayed practice on Wednesday last week because they wanted to ensure everyone was “on the same page,” interim coach Donte Williams said.
USC’s lackluster performance did little to dispel rumors of locker room strife.
USC wide receiver Kyle Ford stiff-arms California safety Elijah Hicks on his way to scoring a touchdown in the second quarter Saturday. (D. Ross Cameron / AP)
Battered by injuries, USC brought only 65 players on the trip, including walk-ons. Players like quarterback Kedon Slovis and running back Keaontay Ingram traveled but did not dress for the game because of injuries.
The energy that helped USC to its most impressive effort of the season last week against Brigham Young went silent in front of a more than half-empty road stadium. Even after Kyle Ford caught a 45-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to give the Trojans a short-lived lead, any jumping on the USC sideline was more likely a sign of players trying to stay warm during a chilly night instead of showing excitement.
Ford’s touchdown, just the second of the season for the former five-star prospect whose career has been slowed by injuries, was the one bright spot for USC in the first half. The rest was much like the whole season: forgettable.
The Trojans had two missed field goals from Parker Lewis. A fumble from running back Darwin Barlow turned into a 55-yard scoop and score for Cal that was the second of two straight touchdowns by the Bears to finish the first half.
Things reached a new low when a crushing blow from Cal’s Josh Drayden and Femi Oladejo knocked Dart out of the game late in the third quarter. The freshman quarterback stretched his arms around the shoulders of two athletic trainers as he walked off the field after completing 17 of 26 passes for 191 yards and one touchdown. With Dart being examined in the injury tent and Slovis wearing a knitted beanie, Moss was left to handle a fourth-and-two play from Cal’s three-yard line. It went awry when tight end Erik Krommenhoek dropped a direct pass on a jet sweep.
Moss, a freshman from Mission Hills Bishop Alemany who had just one snap this season, took a devastating hit of his own in the fourth quarter, fumbling the ball on the Cal eight-yard line when Daniel Scott sacked the quarterback from behind. Cal recovered the ball and drove 68 yards and scored when a missed tackle in the backfield let Cal running back Christopher Brooks get into the end zone for a two-yard touchdown.
Moss finished eight for 12 for 74 yards and threw his first touchdown pass when he found K.D. Nixon from 17 yards out with 1:38 left to help USC avoid a new season low in scoring.
latimes.com
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Clemson coach Dabo is now looking for a DC. Next up his OC is looking at going to Duke. If the OC leaves we will have a look at how comparable to Saban he really is. That is tough to lose OC and DC in the same season.
USC basketball moved up to #16 in the poll released this morning. USC Trojans (8-0, 2-0) will kick-off a three-game homestand by hosting Eastern Kentucky (5-4) at the Galen Center on Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. The game will air on the Pac-12 Network with J.B Long and Don MacLean calling the action. USC is 8-0 to start the season for the first time since 2017, when USC opened the campaign 14-0. The Trojans are one of 12 undefeated teams still remaining in college basketball. USC debuts at No. 7 in the NET this week, the chief rankings used for… Read more »
Transfer portal going crazy today. I wonder how many guys on current roster that Riley has talked to or met with yet. Not going to sweat anyone who leaves.
Hunter Echols? Adios! Most look like 3 star and below. Wow, does that sound snobish?
Staying to compete rather than running away on the portal just says you are not the kind of player willing to work harder to get better and fight for a starting position as others have shown it can be done. Otherwise you cannot be depended on as a player putting the team first. Which is what Lincoln Riley expects from all his players. Maybe it’s best you leave now so you don’t stick around expecting to be given something without earning it. You can go to Georgia Southern and play for that HC.
New NIL Program To Give Texas Offensive Lineman $50K To Play In Austin
The Longhorns fan base is hopeful of boosting their offensive line
si.com
With this NIL program of 50K for OL, is this the same program that all players have?
Or will this lead to bidding war where say a USC booster could offer 100K or really any amount?
There’s too many deals out there to count. It’s a free for all as of now.
Yes, there must be some pretty crazy money being circulated. I haven’t heard yet of any investigations of wrong doing.(Not to say there isn’t) True or not I read before start of season J.T Daniels was already over 1mil. True to JT’s class he was ‘sharing’
It’s sad to see, really, that the value of the education at a prestigious University is going to play second fiddle to whoever can offer the most money and national exposure.
Allen, you have any idea what NIL deals USC is putting out for the players?
Sorry, I don’t.
It really is all play for pay now, with so many future deals disguised as legitimate. No way a central governing body like the old NCAA can sort any of this out
CFB is getting closer and closer to the pros now, so I wonder how that will affect people’s love for the game, and the relevance of the Old College Try.
I’m a little concerned about how we’ll all feel about our very well-paid Trojans on the gridiron. The future seems here already.
I’m very concerned about it going forward. I’m already turned off with the attitude of a lot of the spoiled athletes who don’t want to practice or play hard because of a coaching change or lack of more playing time. One thing’s for sure, they are playing more for themselves and maybe each other, than they are for the University or community they represent. I realize the University makes money off of merchandise and TV contracts, but where would these guys be without the platform and exposure that these same schools provide them? The more we know about all of… Read more »
They will still be 18-22 year olds not ready for NFL. Most will not go to NFL. Most will need to get a degree. Instead of the old old days where Rockne had his boys play semipro baseball in the summer, or the old days of free rent and cars, it will be in the open. USC does have the best potential to be the best paid college football team in the country. How will the rest of the country feel about that?
If anything, the only good thing about NIL, if it can be controlled, is that it may prevent a bunch of agents and entrepreneurs from creating a money providing minor league type system, like the “D” league does for kids who don’t want to go to college first before joining the NBA. So many kids aren’t going to make the next level, and find out too late that they wished they had gotten an education for free
Hope we never get to one and done in football. Though unlike BB, so few if any Football players are ready for pro’s after 1 or two years.
Share your concern We really saw … ‘old school vs. ‘new school’ sports leadership play out. This really showed in change of AD’s and now in change of HC. Certainly major part of the draw for Riley to come to L.A . We may witness, because uniqueness of LA, whole new era not just for USC, but for all of the sport once the NIL in L.A really develops
It is so hard to accept NIL as a practice going forward. It feels dirty. For me it’s like Marijuana being legalized. When you are older and were raised different, it’s harder to accept some things as being ok, and the changing times. I’ll just have to get over it like everything else, I guess
It is interesting getting old. You see mistakes of the past being tried again years later with the same result. You see tried and true methods that were discarded brought back as something new. Then there is the trap of not accepting something new that will be better. NIL, like social media, done right can be great but done wrong will be very ugly. It is a new day. I think the new generation of Athletic Directors can play a big role in providing a platform where young men can prosper without being exploited. Some will do it well others… Read more »
Bedenbaugh. what’s up?
Here’s a text I received from a CFB asst coach this morning about Bedenbaugh. I’m not endorsing this. I’m only passing it along:
“Billy is all but staying at Oklahoma. but for some reason is still dragging his feet.”
Love to have him here, but if we end up with Hanson coaching OLine it will be just fine. I, like most on here, am very jaded when it comes to our OLine. But I’m also 100% convinced that it was way more CH and GH than it was anything else. Clay McGuire did a much better job saddled with GH and CH culture. Riley a d crew will fix it. With that, I still really hope Bedenbaugh ends up here.
I’d flip a coin on Bedenbaugh. I don’t necessarily trust what I am reading or being told about him. I have no clue what he and his wife will do. He’s the country’s most talked-about asst. That’s what happens when Lincoln Riley is your coach.
Few days ago you made mention about a OL coach you liked that would be offered if B didn’t come. Was Hanson that coach?
Nope. Another guy.
I really think when he has a sit down with Venables, along with a big nudge from Stoops, he’s gonna stay. Maybe it will depend on what the offense is going to look like, and who runs it
Billy B is a great asst coach mystery right now. I wouldn’t bet a nickel on pegging where he’ll be. He’s still at OU, which I would say gives the Sooners the edge. But I could also see him eventually saying yes to Lincoln because the two work so well together. And that’s a fact.
I think it has to do with who the next OC is and if he wants to keep Bedenbaugh. The talk is Venables is after Jeff Lebby from Ole Miss.
Even though Stoops hired Bedenbaugh, him dragging his feet in making a statement of loyalty to OU may make him expendable.
The Scoop!: USC: Jamar Cain, who coached the outside linebackers / defensive ends at Oklahoma, is expected to join Lincoln Riley’s USC staff, Bruce Feldman tweets. • SoonerSports.com — Hired in January 2020 as Oklahoma’s outside linebackers and defensive ends coach after serving the 2019 season as Arizona State’s defensive line coach. He was Fresno State’s defensive line coach during the 2017-18 seasons and spent the 2014-16 campaigns at FCS powerhouse North Dakota State overseeing defensive ends. • His 2020 unit propelled OU to top-25 national rankings in interceptions (3rd at 16), opponent third-down conversion percentage (4th at 27.9), sacks per game… Read more »
From last night’s USC recruiting dinner. Lincoln Riley not wasting any time.
USC DE Jacob Lichtenstein (6-6, 270) enters the transfer portal WeAreSC — USC DE Jacob Lichtenstein will be looking for a new home to play his final two years. The redshirt junior entered his name into the transfer portal on Monday. “I would like to think Coach Helton and Coach Donte for giving me the opportunity to be a Trojan and live out my dream and this unbelievable university,” Lichtenstein posted in a message on Twitter. “With that being said, I have decided to enter the transfer portal as a graduate with 2 years of eligibility remaining.” “Lichtenstein is a bit of… Read more »
https://mobile.twitter.com/RodrickP16/status/1467942577630429186?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
Was this a visit?
Yes, official visit and Dinner. Lots of recruits there.
There has never been a better time to be a quality to elite football coach. Mel Tucker, who never has won anything, got a 10 year $95,000,000 contract to open this market. He got it because he made Michigan State relevant in two years AND Michigan State lost Nick Saban many years ago to LSU AND Tucker was a probable target to succeed Ed O at LSU. Other coaches then jumped on the band wagon: Franklin (who is a good but not elite coach) got an extension at $8,500,000 a year after going 8-4; Reilly gets a huge raise (my… Read more »
And all of these schools know that their head coach will generate a profit from football that is 3-5 times their salary. Heck, even with Helton USC football generated of profit of over $20 million a year. And the profits subsidize the rest of college athletics.
Its the kind of cash that used to be reserved for only the Elite few of proven Pro football coaches. Now it’s being thrown at anyone who’s had even a little success in college, by administrators who don’t want to lose their jobs because the same guy has the potential to make them look bad by going somewhere else and succeeding. There really isn’t anything “Amateur” about college athletics now. It’s all business
Typical Clay Helton at GA SOUTH, hiring analysts to do an assts job (The Scoop). Clay LOVES analysts!:
“Georgia Southern: Source tells FootballScoop Michigan State offensive analyst Effrem Reed will be Clay Helton’s running backs coach at Georgia Southern. Reed, who works with the running backs at Michigan State, played at Louisiana Lafayette and is expected to recruit Louisiana for Georgia Southern.”
BTW, NCS vs UCLA at the Holiday Bowl (Friday, 11/26, 5 pm PT, Fox) does nothing for me at all. Rejoice all ye Bruins! You finally made a bowl game under Choc Chip
Kelly!
The 8-4 Bruins (unranked) will get no credit for beating the 9-3 Wolfpack (#18, lost to MISS ST, MIA and WAKE), assuming they do. I’m not sure CCK will even be the coach of the little gutties by then.
Twitter — The new deal for @Lane_Kiffin at @OleMissFB is in the range of $7.5 million annually, sources tell ESPN. Kiffin led Ole Miss to 10 wins in the regular season for the first time in school history.
good place for that loser … him and Snark really have a nice con going. 7 mil for that pos.
How could you label Lane a loser? He’s already had a career many coaches would die for, and at the age of only 46, Lane can have many of the best jobs in CFB at the drop of a hat if he wants. I would have welcomed him back to USC, but I like Lincoln Riley better. I’m still on Cloud 9 about USC and Lincoln. What a trip!
Really? I disagree. Kiffin’s ability to hold the football program together as well as he did, still recruited better than most thought, brought in assistant coaches who were better than average (even his dad Monte, who didn’t do a good job in CFB, was considered top DC), and won enough games to keep the program out of the cellar, all that when everyone in the business said USC football would fall apart. Well it didn’t. Sarkisian is a different story. But Kiffin kept USC football competitive during very tough years with all the sanctions hitting the program with all its… Read more »
I share your views of Haden and Kiffin. Haden and Swann belong in the AD Hall of Shame for what they did to the USC football program. Haden’s treatment of Kiffin was shameful under the totality of circumstances.
The more time that goes by, the more I think that Haden and Swann, while definitely culpable, were both puppets of Max, and more importantly big time donors like Wayne Hughes, whose large donations, with the promise of more, led to them dictating the direction that they wanted both AD’s to go. It’s a shame because if both Swann and Haden had not accepted the AD position that they weren’t qualified for, they would still be revered as the great Trojan players and alumni that they were. I agree about the good job Kiffin did to hold it all together… Read more »
That’s a lot of catfish and cornbread. Good job, Lane.
More coaching carousel fun. Now that Cristobal to Miami is official, what’s next for Oregon? Do they go for someone like Joe Brady or Dan Mullen, or settle for Wilcox or even bring Chip Back?
I’ve got some interesting info I’m holding onto to get better confirmation.
Could be a wild day. Maybe not. Lots of permutations and ramifications. So many questions in the world of the Coaching Carousel.
I think Chip Kelly fits much better in Eugene, but maybe the people in Eugene don’t think so.
I would love to see Oregon go for Joe Brady. It would be good for the Pac12. I cannot remember a carousel like this one this year. It just keeps on going and going.
It just goes to show how much all of these decisions are influenced by large donors like Phil Knight, and to a much lesser extent ex players and alumni. On the surface, no way I would want Chip back. Whatever innovations on offense he had up there have been long figured out, and his first three years at UCLA were about as abysmal as you can get. I am more worried about Chris Petersen wanting the job, because while it would be another good coach for the conference, would make the challenge a little tougher for SC
I just don’t see Petersen coaching again. He already left once because of burnout, clear and simple. He’s rich big-time already and has a good future in broadcasting IMO.
I doubt he crawls back into another, even more severe dose of the lion’s den, but everyone seems to always bring up his name like he will somehow be compelled to return. What am I missing on about Petersen?
I just think it’s all about what a guy has already done more than the potential a coach may have, that helps get recruits in the door. What he did at Boise, then getting Washington into the playoffs, I think goes a long way. Plus, it’s the perception that he is scandal free and of high character
The Scoop: USC — Tulsa offensive line coach Zach Hanson and Oklahoma recruiting director Annie Hanson are expected to join Lincoln Riley’s staff, tweets Kelly Hines of the Tulsa World. Zach will coach USC’s tight ends, sources tell FootballScoop. SECOND YEAR (TulsaHurricane.com) Zach Hanson is in his second season on The University of Tulsa coaching staff. He was appointed offensive line coach in February 2020, coming to the Golden Hurricane following one season at the University of Oklahoma. In his first year with the Hurricane all five of Hanson’s offensive linemen earned American Athletic Conference postseason honors, while redshirt… Read more »
Tight ends coach? Sounds like a good O Line coach if Bedenbaugh doesn’t come
Great staffing news. The hits just keep on coming.
In the RPI POLL ranked #100 ……Old Dominion …..At # 99 ????? …University of Southern California .
The team that UCLA drew in the Holiday Bowl ( #18 NC State) are they capable of playing well in BIG situations ? ………OH WAIT that’s right NC State beat Clemson this season ………Fight On !
Matt Ruhle fired Joe Brady, his OC. To bad we don’t really need one.
It just goes to show how quickly a coach’s star can rise and fall. Two years ago Brady was the up and comer getting most of the credit for the season Joe Burrow and LSU had. He was being mentioned for college and pro head gigs. I think this was a desperate move by Matt Ruhle to deflect the heat coming his way
NFL is a whole different deal. Those guys are paid to tackle and perform. It’s not 7 on 7 like most of college football.
Cristobal’s officially going to MIA for over $8 mil per year, but Manny Diaz hasn’t been fired yet per the Miami Herald. Sorry Ducks. You need to start over again now.
“Cristobal is reportedly set to meet with Oregon players this afternoon to inform them of his decision, per Brandon Kamerman of KVAL News.
“He reportedly had until midday Monday to inform Miami if he wanted the job, per Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger. If Cristobal declined, Manny Diaz would have remained the Hurricanes head coach, as first reported by Jackson, of
The Herald.”
Cristobal has until noon Monday to take the Miami offer. I am pulling for him to stay at Oregon, I want USC to come back to life and plant a big beat down on the ducks. I cannot get over Diaz just hanging around. Perhaps he has something up his sleeve, I know it is going to cost Miami to disrespect their in place HC like they have. What a disorganized and totally inept place to work. Who in their right mind would want to get into that situation. I see USC is now listing Roy Manning as CB coach… Read more »
Not a surprise to most of us. Curious how he fills out his staff and who replaces him at Oregon. Now is the time for Riley to flip his Oregon O Line commits and current lineman through the portal . Allen, maybe you, or others here know this, what kind of contact is a coach allowed to entice a guy through the portal? I don’t know the rules on this. Does a guy have to declare on his own before you can recruit him? There must be back channel feelers all over the place
I’m confident LR knows the nuances of the Portal system to exploit it correctly, and successfully. I’ve got to believe there are a vast array of ways about which these player transfers are accomplished. Intriguing stuff.
3 months ago now former TCU coach Gary Patterson told boosters, “There’s five SEC schools calling and telling’ players, ‘Here’s what we’ll give you if you come here and not stay at TCU. The bottom line to it is I can lose 25-30 guys on scholarships by January”. Was he doing a cya to save his job or is it the wild free for all for players?
Thanks for the info. It’s the Wild, Wild West out there between this and NIL, how can anyone regulate any of it?
New Trojan S/C coach Bennie Wylie, Rah!
Antonio Morales (The Athletic) — “As far as post-signing day priorities, Lincoln Riley has to start rebuilding the culture at USC. The Trojans’ lack of accountability was apparent under Clay Helton, and it’s been easy to see the consequences all over the field this year.
“This job won’t be done overnight, but someone familiar with the Trojans’ new head strength coach Bennie Wylie told me that Wylie was the best they’ve ever seen at getting the culture right. So I think that will be a major point of emphasis this offseason…”
theathletic.com
My guess is we will find out very quickly how many players on this roster really want to part of Riley’s rebuild. Chip lost a ton of players when he came in. Not one of them was a pro prospect. I think he played his first year with 55 players on scholarship. I read on Ryan’s board that some posters are expecting 8-4 to 10-2 next year. I think that type of thinking delusional. I would think Riley’s primary goal in the off season to to run off the dead weight and there is a lot of it on this… Read more »
Very Good hire by Riley. Someone he knows and trusts with the tools he needs to get the job done.
I just can’t get enough of this!
Out of the pre-season top 25, only 11 remained in the top 25. So the experts are less than 50% right. Polls are for one reason, to sell clicks.
The worst choice was Indiana (2-9) followed by SC (4-8) WA (4-8) and LSU (5-7).
Lions get first win at the buzzer!
Jared Goff finds Amon-Ra St. Brown on the last play of the game to beat the Vikings 29-27.
twitter.com
Bowl Games 2021-22: Complete Schedule of Matchups per Bleacher Report: “After a limited postseason last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic and shortened schedules, bowl season is back in a big way with 43 games on tap, including the College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 10. “Most eyes will be on the national semifinals, with No. 1 Alabama facing No. 4 Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl and No. 2 Michigan facing No. 3 Georgia in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Eve. “After several repeat entrants in recent seasons, with Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma filling a large portion of… Read more »
Some good matchups. Kinda surprised the winner of the ACC, PITT, at 10-2 didn’t get a New Years Bid over say Ole Miss, who, while looks like a more exciting draw, wasn’t in the top two of the SEC
Now we move on, Riley has done good things at OU. Will he continue the same thing at USC. What about the defense? I am not going to listen to the hype anymore, I want to see who he hires and who he recruits. I have high hopes but am not going to follow in blind faith. Show me Riley what you got. And get this house cleaned out quickly.
Vavae Malepeai has my respect as a true Trojan. His years as USC player of integrity and class are an example of what true Trojan Football represents.
Yes, Vavae was an awesome example of a guy who consistently played hard with a Trojan spirit. He always gave it his all, and was a solid USC back who deserves to be remembered.
I’m very glad you brought him up! Fight On Vavae!
Won’t Vavae be eligible next year because of the 2020 Covid waiver ?
Not in my opinion.
Read this over, then give me your understanding
https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/division-i-council-extends-eligibility-student-athletes-impacted-covid-19
Sorry @alfa1. I’m just not that interested. Plus you can read as well as I do, ✌
With TB Raleek Brown of Mater Dei coming, Vavae will be dropping on the depth chart anyway.
Seems to me a lot of guys have another year. Some we would like, some not so much. Slovis will transfer I am sure and with 2 years to play I hope he gets on a winner.
I actually really liked USC’s overall effort against CAL, despite the predictable loss, infuriating breakdowns, and same problems as always.
Some of those Trojans out there really came to play; others don’t really know how to play hard in the first place.
There’s gonna be an entirely new breed of player at USC, I hope very soon.
Can’t wait to see the incoming USC mix on Dec. 15
Allen, have you looked at the USC offers and who is warm and cold? Some good players are warm and more will get warm now. Getting the O linemen is going to be the big challenge, everyone wants them. The crystal ball on 247 is interesting also, but it is by “experts”.
I haven’t looked at the USC recruiting targets hard lately. With the staff I expect Riley to put together, I’ll be less worried about star assignments, crystal balls, etc.
This immed prospect switchover by Riley is thrilling for me to watch. USC’s gonna be recruiting the “best living rooms” again soon. Gratitude is the word that comes to mind for me.
Yes I do agree, we are all grateful for getting such a qualified HC. Bohn deserves our respect.
It was better Riley didn’t bother watching this game. I watched 1-quarter and lost interest in seeing players going through the motions. Oh, there were some trying alright. Those who have a reason to show their talents to someone. However, you can’t blame many of the players performing like it was their last game as a starter or even a trojan player. What they had to go through this season with the turmoil and unknown future was without question a mental hardship. We can finally put away the demise effects of Clay Helton’s handiwork. And make no mistake, the players… Read more »
Jamaica I would not call the players victims at all. They have been given a great gift. Those with mediocre talent can say that they were a USC Trojan! Those with NFL talent made it in spite of the coaching. A coach that demanded discipline and accountability would not have had most of these guys on the roster.
I think both of you are correct. There were a ton of kids on the SC roster in the Helton era who would have been offered in the Carroll era. They were not traditional USC caliber players. Those kids were not victims but recipients of a great gift. The victims were the kids who NFL talent but were never developed or never developed themselves. These kids were victims. We will never know how many were in each group. Really does not matter now. It is new day in SC Football. I can hardly wait to see what happens.
I can see Drake Jackson (99) was not developed to his potential. If he leaves now he will be a 5-7th rounder. Maybe he should stay. Maybe Drake London would want to play for a winner, who knows.
2020 5* Elias Ricks, a LSU portal traveler is on campus today
with his family.
OHIO ST, ALA, and GA are our competitors for Ricks. It almost feels weird to see USC involved with the super blue-bloods for a kid. Times are changin’, and fast, but back to like they used to be in the world of football recruiting.
Fox News is reporting Cristobal to Miami. Salary is $8 Million plus competitive salaries for staff. First time I have ever heard of a coach being hired before the AD. The December 15 recruiting deadline is really impacting hires. Great time to be a quality football coach.
USC staff exodus: O-line coach Clay McGuire goes back to Washington State
trojanswire.com
Not worried about losing any of them
Just my opinion, but I doubt any of the Helton staff can be retained.
Why would we want ANY of Helton’s staff to be retained? That would be more like a curse and I never wanted any of the USC staff to continue to haunt USC football.
Hopefully, Riley lets each and every one of them hitch a ride somewhere else.
It will be interesting to see if any coaches with roots to So Cal(Region)
and/or Polynesian pipeline are brought in
You and I agree there. I think there should be a complete turn over in staff. This will deliver the message of culture change louder and clearer than anything the coaches say to the kids. This will also clear out the kids who were attached to a particular coach rather than to the program. Normally, you keep some member of the prior staff. But, in these circumstances, I think they all have to go.
Don’t you mean should be retained?
Phantom Trojans:
TE Michael Trigg, TE Jude Wolfe, OL Courtland Ford, OLB Drake Jackson, LB Tuasivi Nomura, CB Chris Steele, CB Jayden Williams, CB Ceyair Wright, DB Jaylin Smith and OLB Hunter Echols all did not travel, while QB Kedon Slovis, WR Gary Bryant, RB Keaontay Ingram, TE Lake McRee and S Xavion Alford did not dress for the game.
USC ended the season in a sad miserable state, good thing the clouds are clearing and it is sunny skies ahead.
I heard an interview by C Cowherd did Friday with an NFL player whose name I didn’t get, plays for Green Bay. The player said in all levels of football, including the NFL, there are guys that just don’t want to work at being their best. Who on the Phantom list are those type of guys? Isn’t it better that they move on even if they have talent?
From my experience in football recruiting, getting the correct info on what recruits are like off the field is the major reason why some classes never match-up to their stars (which are always based on physical ability, and often marred by bias, lack of info, and failure to update or consider negative opinions). Lincoln’s idea of who the right type of guys are that USC needs to win another NC is of huge interest to me. I’m sure he’s focusing heavily on the mental area of the equation more than The Cat and his staff ever did (which was recruit… Read more »
Allen,
Of those listed in your post not with Medical release, should be told to hit the Transfer Portal Today no matter how good they are !
How would we know who had medical and who didn’t. The helton regime could care less, they are all gone.
Alfa, You and I agree but how to handle this is up to Riley. He will simply be too busy for the next two months or so to bother with it. My guess is he will delegate it to his S&C coach. He will be able to tell which kids are buying it and which are not. If he is as good as Allen says, most of the dead wood will be gone by March, if not sooner. I doubt Steele, Drake Jackson, or those who refused to play and are eligible to turn pro will return anyway. Remember the… Read more »
Would love to see a Cincinnati/Michigan Championship game
Wouldn’t that be great? I don’t think it will happen. But
I am fantasizing that MICH will somehow beat ALA for the NC. That would be so great for CFB IMO.
Even better would be if Cincy won it all. Which is not impossible.
I couldn’t believe how good ALA looked yesterday. The CIN team I watched yesterday isn’t beating Nick Saban. I think he’ll mop the floor with Fickell. Also, likely Heisman winner Bryce Young turned out to be even better than I had heard.
Hopefully, we don’t have to watch ALA v GA again for the NC, but if we have to, it might be a much better game this time.
Allen and John: I sense a need for a TDB Poll.
Taking away the players who have no more eligibility remaining, what percentage of the players on this season’s team WILL NOT be on the roster one year from today?
We will not count the two Drakes as returning players—they are the ONLY players that have a professional pedigree (but i think that the defensive Drake has seen his stock drop considerably this season).
“The University of Miami is intensely pursuing Miami native Mario Cristobal, the Oregon football coach and former Hurricane whose Ducks faced Utah in the Pac-12 title game Friday night, several sources told the Miami Herald. Utah dominated the 10th-ranked Ducks 38-10 for a 10-3 record going into a bowl game that will be announced Sunday. High-ranking Hurricanes officials are optimistic about UM’s chances of landing Cristobal in the coming days. An announcement is expected before Tuesday. UM understands that it would need to pay Cristobal more than it has paid any coach in its history — perhaps in the $8… Read more »
But the extension offered by the Philknights is not at the level of increase to shut down any other universities coming to poach Cristobal.
It sounds like Cristobal’s headed to MIA (as has literally been rumored for weeks!), But Nike’s gonna go down fighting hard here.
I’m not so high on Cristobal as I was in the past. Gee, I wonder why?
Bruce Feldman — “OU brass is en route to Clemson and working to finalize a deal to make Tigers DC Brent Venables the next head coach at Oklahoma.”
AP Poll
1. Alabama
2. Michigan
3. Georgia
4. Cincinnati
5. Notre Dame
6. Baylor
7. Ohio State
8. Ole Miss
9. Oklahoma State
10. Utah
11. Michigan State
12. BYU
13. Pittsburgh
14. Oklahoma
15. Oregon
16. Louisiana-Lafayette
17. Iowa
18. North Carolina State
19. Clemson
20. Wake Forest
21. Houston
22. Arkansas
23. Texas A&M
24. UTSA
Utah has to slaughter Oregon not once but twice to finally get ranked above the Ducks.
I’m kind of shocked ORE is even at 15. They’ve looked pretty worthless lately with UTAH exposing them, and all this huge Cristobal hangover stuff. Bye, bye, Mario. You were good, for a while at least.