USC’s Gary Patterson out to prove college football hasn’t passed him by …
USC DC Gary Patterson works with players during spring practice in March. (Robert Gauthier / LAT)
USC is banking on Gary Patterson, a College Football Hall of Famer, to revive a Trojans defense that has undermined Lincoln Riley’s high-powered offense.
After five years away from the game, the former TCU coach has immersed himself in film study of top defenses in an effort to reverse USC’s red-zone woes.
Ryan Kartje (LA Times) — As an aspiring young quarterback at Muleshoe High in the early 2000s, Lincoln Riley attended a football camp at Texas Christian University, run by a coach known even then as a mastermind of defense, a man whose ideas and 4-2-5 scheme would one day be disseminated across college football.
Gary Patterson had just been elevated from defensive coordinator to head coach at TCU, a job he would occupy for the next two decades. Around the same time, his staff saw something in Riley. They talked briefly about giving him a shot at safety on Patterson’s vaunted TCU defense.
“Needless to say,” Riley told The Oklahoman in 2018, “it didn’t turn out.”
But a quarter-century after first crossing paths at that camp, it’s now the young quarterback giving the old ball coach a chance to prove himself.
When USC announced it was hiring Patterson as Riley’s defensive coordinator in January, ears perked up across college football. On one hand, Patterson, 66, is a freshly minted College Football Hall of Famer and one of the great defensive minds of the modern era. On the other hand, he hasn’t led a college football team since 2021, when he was forced out at TCU, and a lot has changed in the sport since. Not to mention it’s been more than 25 years since Patterson last served as a coordinator.
Those were fair concerns, considering all that’s riding on Riley getting it right with Patterson, his third defensive coordinator in five seasons. But after seven months with him on the job, you won’t find anyone at USC — players, coaches or administrators alike — with an ounce of distress over Patterson’s stamina.
“I think I would have had more reservations had I not known him,” Riley said. “But that fire still burns very, very hot.”
That much was obvious in the spring when Patterson jumped into the middle of a tackling circuit to teach proper technique, and ended up running through the whole drill. He even delivered a blow at the end.
“He knocked the guy back,” said safeties coach Paul Gonzales, who coached with Patterson for a decade at TCU. “For a 60-year old guy, he still got some pop.”
Gary Patterson back in March, ready at the whistle. (Robert Gauthier / LAT)
Riley is betting big on that translating to the Trojans’ defense this fall. Over his four seasons as USC’s coach, there’s no mistaking what’s held Riley back from reaching the same heights at USC as he had at Oklahoma. The Trojans finished 124th, 104th, 87th and 65th in yards allowed per play during those years.
At TCU, Patterson’s defenses finished No. 1 in yards allowed five times during a 10-year stretch. Yet in the second half of his tenure at TCU, there was a noticeable decline, as his defenses finished in the top 25 of that same category just twice.
It was during that time that Riley’s offense went toe-to-toe with Patterson’s defense on numerous occasions. Riley, who was in his first head coaching job at Oklahoma, got the better of Patterson in each of their four meetings, piling up at least 498 total yards each time out.
“There was never anyone who was more of a pain to gameplan for or try to move the ball against than this guy,” Riley said.
During his five years away from coaching, Patterson said he actually spent more time studying the game than he had at TCU, where he was often consumed with other responsibilities. After consulting briefly at Texas and Baylor, Patterson took a job with an Amazon college football show, he says, primarily for the subscription service that came with it. Every Sunday morning, he’d watch whatever college game he wanted, just to stay fresh.
When he did return to coaching, Patterson didn’t just want to install the same scheme he used at TCU. So he closely studied Ohio State and Indiana’s defenses, which gave up a combined 32 touchdowns last season — seven fewer than USC’s defense (39). He took cues on how both clamped down better than anyone else in the red zone, where they each allowed opponents to convert touchdowns just 37% of the time.
“All I did was do football,” Patterson said. “I mean, it’s like getting married. I mean, it’s like I got nothing else. I wasn’t doing anything else.”
Those habits haven’t changed at USC. When other assistants took time for vacation this summer, Patterson stayed in the facility. He wanted to hone in on how to install his defense for a second time this fall. So he came in every day before 7 a.m., in a mostly empty office — just to beat the traffic.
“You want to change things, it’s a full-time job,” Patterson said. “It’s not one of those things that you do 70 or 80% of your time.”
It also gave him time to get to know his new players, each of whom have been summarily stunned by their veteran coach’s vitality.
“I don’t know how old he is, but he‘s out there like he’s 30,” linebacker Desman Stephens said. “He‘s still being active with us. He’s showing us drills. Like, if he want it done right, he gonna show you the exact way how to do it.”
So far, at USC, Patterson has had his hands on just about every detail of the defense. Which is precisely what Riley envisioned after watching him coach at TCU — and why he wasn’t worried about the game passing Patterson by.
“He was such a hands-on head coach,” Riley said. “He wasn’t a head coach just kind of doing a practice schedule, doing the speech, getting out early. He didn’t just straight CEO this thing, right? He was still calling defense, still game planning. He was very involved in every aspect of that program through all those years.”
Gary Patterson fist bumps LB Desman Stephens during practice on Aug. 5. (Eric Thayer / LAT)
He won’t have to do that at USC. And Patterson seems perfectly fine with that.
But while others still wonder if he can make a successful return to college football, with a scheme that hasn’t been tested since 2021, Patterson is pretty confident his decades of experience count for something, too.
“It’s an advantage for me compared to somebody that’s 30 years old and doesn’t have kids, never been married, doesn’t know what it’s like to grow somebody up and raise a family and do things,” Patterson said.
“This is, I think, my 45th season. … “There’s not a lot of guys in this profession of the age where you can go back to all the things that I’ve learned through all the years.”
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As I said earlier, this is the Lincoln Riley tax that is being paid by USC’s players, at least in terms of making these teams, lists and graphics put together by the massive social media CFB world.
USC has to finally prove it can win on the field now before people will believe USC has all the talent that Trojan fans think it has.
Agreed. No benefit of any doubt will come USC’s way because of LR until he truly shows repeated success. Repeated success means more than an occasional upset of a higher ranked team. It means rarely losing to an inferior team regardless of home or away, and winning the biggest matchups most of the time, and nearly every time at home.
Do it now, LR, none of us is getting any younger waiting you to grow up!
People said NIL might ruin college football. I don’t think the game has actually ever been more exciting and interesting than at this very moment.
The mystery surrounding this season of CFB and so many different teams is simply astounding.
I don’t have the faintest clue who’s gonna win it all, or who the 12 playoff teams are gonna be. So much has been equalized in the game depending on how programs have adjusted and exhibited their commitment to winning, despite their past.
Yep. Not a coincidence that the explosion of NIL and transfer portal has coincided with the demise of SEC dominance. Just a few years ago AL and GA about had a lock on the NC. Neither has been in the title game for a few years now (’22 season). The expanded tourney has also played a role, but Miami and Indiana were not even on the playoff horizon just a couple years ago.
The John McKay Center is being reimagined as a centralized hub to benefit all student-athletes across USC’s 23 varsity sports. When the 110,000 sq ft McKay Center opened in 2012 for $70 million, it was heavily occupied by football. Because the facility is roughly “80% subterranean,” it historically suffered from intense space constraints as multiple teams tried to share the layout. Football’s total relocation to the Bloom Football Performance Center frees up immense real estate to elevate the everyday student-athlete experience: Key Reimagining Features Expanded Academic & Study Spaces: Large sections of the vacated footprint are being repurposed into dedicated… Read more »
Reading about the battle for starting center I realized USC has a chance to have another set of famous twins. Or at least two brothers starting on offense. King Miller’s brother Kaylon has a shot at replacing Kilian O’Conner at center. I remember seeing him in games last year, but didn’t click that the two Millers were brothers like Clay and Bruce Matthews or Marlin and Mike Mckeever. How about Ryan and Matt Khalil?
Maybe lightning can strike again.
During Vince Young’s final winning fourth quarter drive of the 2006 Rose Bowl, Young threw a pass that Ryan Ting leaped up and batted down to force an incompletion.
Trojan fans and college football analysts have frequently criticized this crucial moment because if Ryan Ting had picked off the pass (which looked totally doable) instead of just knocking it down, USC would have cleanly won yet another national title with a 35th consecutive victory.
A better player would have picked off the pass. Game over. But USC’s D was playing nowhere near at a championship level at the time. We couldn’t stop Young all night. Maybe nobody could have. He was possessed.
I don’t think USC should have won, or deserved to. You mention “missed so many opportunities.” Well, we certainly did. And that’s not what winners do. USC could have put the game away many times — but simply couldn’t do it. At the end, with the game on the line, TEXAS made ALL the plays while USC made mistake after mistake. Once Lendale White got stuffed short on that final running play (with Reggie Bush stupidly on the sidelines no less) I had no doubt USC would lose. Which is exactly what USC did. Vince Young carved us up, making… Read more »
Allen Reggie Bush made the bonehead mistake that cost us the game. Think about it….. I think it was the beginning of the 4th quarter and Reggie is flying down the field on a long run where two Longhorns catch up to him inside the 10 and he tries to lateral the ball to an unsuspecting “ backup” WR who fumbled the ball and Texas tecovers. If that hadn’t happened and we at least got a field goal and it’s pretty much game over 3-scores or so ahead. You watch that part of the game again and see what I… Read more »
Reggie Bush’s bizarre and nonsensical lateral was a momentum-changing dagger, not doubt about it. But it was only the second play of the second quarter with USC ahead 7-0. Yet, we still had the game 38-26 with 6 mins and 42 secs to go. The only two people in the world who thought TEXAS would actually beat a red hot USC team at that stage were Vince Young, and Matthew McConaughey.. That’s when the wheels suddenly came off for USC. Worst loss in Trojan history. But I give credit to the Longhorns. They actually came back and won it. Forever… Read more »
My memory of that season was the defense getting really weakened by injuries and PC did a masterful job of getting the most out of what he had. He almost pulled it off. One dumb play by Reggie and one bad play call by Kiffin did them in. I should have known something bad was going to happen. The Rose Parade was on a Monday (they don’t do Sundays) and my daughters marching band had to march in the rain. First time in 51 years.
As far as Kiffins bad call, if you are talking about the play where Lendale White didn’t make it while Reggie was on the sidelines, I heard that they would have made it but Winston Justice(who was very talented but an airhead) missed a blocking assignment.
It was just a bad call, plain and simple, because TEXAS gambled right, expected it, and Reggie was benched. From the moment Lendale White took the hand off, things looked bleak against an overloaded gap, at least to me. TEXAS figured hard that exact play was coming and they went all in and bet on it. USC has already been very successful with it during the game, and with Reggie Bush off the field this time (absolutely dumb), TEXAS already had a big edge. “With them having Reggie Bush on the sideline, all of our focus could be on LenDale,”… Read more »
I’ll take your word for it. The reason I said what I said is because About 15 years ago I heard an interview with Pat Ruel. He was SC’s O-Line coach in 2005. I’m not sure whether it was on ESPN or, more likely, some local sports channel. But in that interview he seemed to lay the blame on Winston Justice. Here is a more recent interview with Chris Arledge. He seems to say the same thing. Also, He seems to say that the reason they went for it was because PC didn’t think that they could stop them. So,… Read more »
I’m sure Winston Justice regrets getting his ass totally kicked on the play. I’m sure Reggie Bush deeply regrets not being on the field. And Steve Sarkisian later came out and said it was the worst call ever, regardless of what self-serving Kiffin or Carroll think.
You don’t need to take my word for it. Think whatever you want 007. ✌
I don’t know enough about it to make a decision so I’ll just let it go. You can’t get into a time machine and go back and do it differently. It is what it is.
Just to add onto the outcome of this play of the game call, where was Leinart in this scenario? He had to see the way the Longhorn defense was set up and crowding the LOS, he could have called an audible like he did against ND a few games back, even kept the ball and find an opening or even a timeout? We scratch our heads in misery now thinking about why why why.
4th and 2 vs 4th and 9. What a difference. I always wondered why we just didn’t throw a quick slant, or dig route, or play action swing pass, even a simple wheel route (to Bush), so your point is well-taken Jam, especially with cool, calm, collected and accurate Leinart. In the 4th and 9 situation, USC coaches expressly set up a possible audible call by Leinart. It was already in his head before he walked back on the field. In the 4th and 2 call, Kiffin and Carroll were convinced USC could run it up the middle with Bush… Read more »
You are so right Allen, if Leinart had audibled Texas would have quickly called a time out or at least those safeties would have backed away from the LOS fearing a possible pass play. There were so many damn options we had to create a weakness on the defense instead of going right into their strength.
It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it? I totally overlooked UW and PSU. I know many of us think the “White Out” game will be a tough go, especially with Matt Campbell as their new coach. And the UW game at the Coliseum on Oct. 3, directly on the heels of #2 ORE, will likely be super challenging as well.
Seems like this is a strong year for QB’s……19, 24 and 28 are also around. So out of 12 games……we face a good to great QB in 8……Take out the 3 cream puffs and 8 out of 9. and if ND was on the schedule holy bananas.
Just to add, I watched Dylan Lonergan who was the starting QB for Boston College and transferred and now starts at Rutgers. He had a 67% completion rate at Boston and could put it where he wanted it with a quick release. He is also mobile.
So call it 9 for 9.
On3.com just came out with their three-tier pre-season 2026 All-American football team. USC was represented by only one player, and he only made the 3rd team. That would be CB Jontez Williams, who is coming off a serious torn ACL in late Sept. 2025 while playing for IA ST. He is expected to be fully healthy for this season and definitely stands out as a player that can just do some things others can’t. This shows that the CFB media doesn’t really have much respect yet for USC’s front line talent, not yet at least. Call it the Lincoln Riley… Read more »
Publicly disclose documents from a few years back that I just do not remember …,probably a form 990 tax document forcing the reveal of the top 5 highly compensated indicated he makes very close to 20 million. Of course we are talking pension accruals. Talk about getting ripped off. We could have done better owning a bank and leaving the vault open over night.
Of course think of all the bad and lazy decisions and how they affect parking, clothing sales, coaching turnover etc etc. He has been a massive hit to USC.
But….you knew that
Oh yes, Rialto, he’s definitely on my hot seat too. The real question: can the buyout amount realistically let the administration pull the trigger this year, or must they wait until next? If Coach can’t deliver this season, given the resources allocated to bolster his results, I don’t care who they recruit or what NIL deals they land—he’ll still find a way to stumble at the worst possible moment and disappoint. We’ve heard this song before, and sadly, this season and the next won’t change the tune. This coach is destined to achieve the same level of success as Coach… Read more »
You made some valid points, but you completely lost me when you started the Clay vs. Lincoln comparison. Did you suffer through the Helton years, or were you just an indifferent observer?. Playing in the weak PAC 12, SC had multiple losing seasons. We didn’t just lose to powerhouses like OSU, Oregon, ND, we got absolutely blown out. We lost to a 3-9 ucla team.Riley went 55-10 at Oklahoma. If he was anything like Clay, by year 3 or 4, the Sooners would have been losing 5,6 or 7 games a year.And while we now have everything in place to… Read more »
In the “late edition sports page,” (meaning sports news that happened after they put the morning edition to bed at 5:30 pm) there was an article titled; Six coaches under most pressure entering 2026 They are: Mike Norvell, Florida State Bill Belichick, North Carolina Shane Beamer, South Carolina Luke Fickell, Wisconsin Bill O’Brien, Boston College Mike Locksley, Maryland I think there’s someone missing from this list. Although the author is listed as Maura Carey Associated Press, (from Atlanta Georgia) I would expect anyone who knows College football would recognize the fact that Southern California fans are crying out, “ How… Read more »
Preseason AP Poll Prediction: Projecting first Top 25 … The AP Top 25 is officially set to debut on Monday, Aug. 17 at about noon ET. USA Today kicked things off in the college football world by releasing the first Coaches Poll Top 25 a week ago. Next up comes the big one: the Associated Press Top 25. The poll is often a great early indicator of which teams are expected to make the most noise during the season. Then again, there’s always Indiana. 1. OHIO ST — 2025 Record: 12-2 (9-0 Big Ten) Head Coach: Ryan Day – 8th… Read more »
Hopefully, Lincoln has better insight about speedy and elusive 2028 Texas QB Trey Wright than Malachi Nelson, regardless of any size issues. Nelson couldn’t play worth a lick at USC under Riley, regardless of what LR, the QB Whisperer, loved about him so much at Los Alamitos. Nelson quickly transferred away to BOISE ST, then to UTEP and now Nelson already finds himself at SYRA where he’ll have to be happy to play backup, or even 3rd string in 2026. It would be nice if Wright could actually hit 6-0 as a college QB, but nobody seems worried about his… Read more »
I guess you win some and you lose some. John Robinson won a NC at USC. But Tom Brady said that USC was his dream school and Mike Riley did everything to convince JR to give him a scholarship. But he refused saying he thought TB was a good High School QB but wouldn’t make it at the blueblood college level. That’s the way I heard the story. He finally committed to Berkeley and then Michigan got interested and he decommitted and went to UM. Meanwhile, JR gave out 2 scholies to QB’s that I don’t think ever amounted to… Read more »
People are much more forgiving of gross errors once you have a national championship under your belt, like JR (also the winner of four Rose Bowls), did with the Trojans. So far at USC, Riley’s been a bust. When and if he can brag about finally leading USC to its 12th national title, criticizing USC fans for having untrained eyes will be laughed at instead of jeered at. As far as Tom Brady goes, you’re right. JR unfortunately decided he wanted option QB Quincy Woods from Illinois over Brady. Woods threw for 46 yds and 0 TDs in two seasons… Read more »
Agreed. I just looked at the film of this kid on Hudl and he’s definitely a true dual QB and he seems to have a pretty good arm.. Maiava is not(in my opinion) a true dual QB. He can make some yards with his feet but he’s not what I would call a dual QB. True, he’s much better than Leinart or Booty with his feet (who looked like they were running in wet concrete). This kid is playing in one of the top Texas divisions and he’s only a 10th grader. Let’s see what he does in his junior… Read more »
I don’t know what his problem was at Michigan. Maybe they just didn’t have a good OC in those years at Michigan but Mike Riley really liked him in high school.
Some Trojan AI Yes, Mike Riley was deeply crushed and disappointed. As USC’s offensive coordinator, he had spent a year and a half building a strong relationship with Tom Brady and his family, even flying up to watch Brady play in person during his senior year. When HC John Robinson decided not to offer Brady a ride because they filled their spot with another quarterback (Quincy Woods), Riley recalled that he felt ashen and almost fell over upon hearing the news. Feeling a deep personal responsibility after such a long recruitment, Riley flew to the Brady family home in California… Read more »
Good info. I didn’t know all that. It’s funny because JR went to that same high school as TB. I heard that MR went to visit his brother and his family and their son(Rileys Nephew) played on the baseball team with TB. So he went with the whole family to watch his nephew play. But the guy who impressed him the most was TB who was the catcher. You couldn’t steal on him because he had such a quick release and a accurate arm. He told his brother that he thought the catcher should be your QB on your football… Read more »
How Tom Brady Ended Up at Michigan Brady’s recruitment came down to a final five list of schools: USC, UCLA, Cal, Illinois, and Michigan. Because his high school team went 5–5, he had to send out his own highlight tapes to generate interest. The other finalists dropped out one by one, leaving Michigan as the last powerhouse standing: Finalists &. How They Were Eliminated USC was Brady’s top choice. They eliminated themselves when John Robinson prioritized Quincy Woods and pulled Brady’s scholarship opportunity. UCLA was Brady’s secondary choice. However, they took a commitment from future first-round draft pick (and Trojan… Read more »
I don’t know what kind of an OC and QB coach Michigan had at that time but I’ll bet under the tutelage of Mike Riley, TB would have become a star at SC. The reason I question how good Michigans coaches were is because after TB was now a star in the pros, a reporter asked him who helped him the most to become the QB he had become. His answer was not a coach. He said Drew Bledsoe who he played behind in his first few years in the pros.
I’ll bet all the struggles he had in HS and college made him mentally tougher and smarter as well. Thanks 007 and Allen. I learned more about TB in the last 2 days than ever before.
So did I. Excellent peripheral Trojan stuff that really shows what these coaches go through, how they have to live and die with their choices, and how the futures of programs can move up and down on a dime. Interesting stuff from both of you guys.
True. Bledsoe was a true godsend to Brady and was about as good of a mentor as anyone could ever expect, especially at the QB position with the NFL as the playground.
Big Ten football projected win-loss records in 2026, per ESPN. Each win-loss record may not add up to a whole number because of differing number of games played in each simulation.
This prediction looks like it is based on past performance and strength of schedule going forward but doesn’t factor how a team may change from season to season (don’t know how to do that). Always hope we will get a new and improved Trojans in 19 days.
Obviously, many people, especially non-Trojans, don’t have your same confidence in USC. USC has been a terrible disappointment over the last three seasons, a clear indicator that off-season Kool-Aid tastes a lot better at USC than during the actual season, when reality sets in.
It’s already been said here hundreds of times. Until LR finally proves he’s good on the field at USC, especially in big games, the CFB world, both the media and overall fan base, will doubt him big-time.
If we remember back in the mid-90s, hot shot offensive genius Steve Spurier had the similar belief like Riley, I’ll just outscore the opponent to win the game with offense. And like Riley, the old ball coach realized I won’t get to the playoff without playing defense, so he brought in Bob Stoops as his DC and won the natty in 1997 at Florida. Will Gary Patterson be another Stoops getting to the playoffs & winning it all? small World…. Riley replaces Bob Stoops as HC at Oklahoma. You’d think he at least would have had a clue?
You either read between the lines or ignore all this “coaches speak” as a part of the job for them. They will tell you very little other than injury reports. And the press has to play along or be shut out of press conferences. Few if any podcasts tell a true follower something they don’t already know. This phenomena was created when college football became a year around reporting sport. So here we are again Listening to Coach Noa saying what he did 3- pre-seasons ago of how much even the water boys have improved, everything is going to be… Read more »
USC has literally become the “Show Me” school. And deservedly so, and about time. It’s a great time to follow USC football.
With Lincoln Riley’s policies which generally enforce secrecy around the program, to the opening of the magnificent Bloom Center (give Riley a lot of credit here!), to USC’s brutal schedule which includes amazing home games vs ORE, UW and OHIO ST, this season promises to be spectacular, though not necessarily of the playoff variety.
With USC officially securing the nation’s No. 1 2026 recruiting class, several high-profilers could impact early. These are some freshmen who are generating the most buzz in fall camp so far:
DL — Luke Wafle (Edge) & Jaimeon Winfield (DL) — Gary Patterson’s defensive overhaul requires immediate, elite push up front. Wafle (6-6, 265, below), the gem of the 2026 class, enrolled early and is already contending for a day-one starting spot at DE. Beside him, massive 327-pound DT Jaimeon Winfield is heavily factoring into the defensive interior rotation to improve USC’s stopping power up front.
S/CB — S Madden Riordan & CB Elbert “Rock” Hill — Riordan is possibly the biggest revelation of fall camp. After arriving on campus at a very light 155 pounds, he quickly bulked up to 180 pounds by the start of camp. He is a high-football-IQ who is surging up the depth chart. Because safety is a premium position in Patterson’s scheme, Riordan’s rise may push veteran Alex Graham into a hybrid nickel role.
Elbert “Rock” Hill: Ranked as the No. 1 2026 CB, Hill is making it incredibly difficult for coaches to keep him off the field. He is battling redshirt soph Marcelles Williams and IA ST transfer Jontez Williams.
WR — Boobie Feaster, Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, & Trent Mosley — Projected soph starter Tanook Hines is sidelined following an undisclosed offseason surgery. This absence has opened the door completely for true freshmen pass-catchers to start hauling in Jayden Maiava throws.
Boobie Feaster (great, soft hands) and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt are pushing NCS transfer Terrell Anderson on the outside. Meanwhile, Trent Mosley is turning heads with his versatility. At least one of these outstanding frosh wideouts stands an excellent chance to emerge early as an immediate, dependable go-to Trojan. They don’t call the Trojans Wide Receiver U for nothing.
OT — Keenyi Pepe — Following a season-ending injury to starting OC Kilian O’Connor, OL coach Josh Henson is already reshuffling the deck. Massive 6-7, 320-pound OT Keenyi Pepe has used the line’s unexpected quick upheaval to break through for a significantly larger role in camp, pushing for reps with the second-team unit and eyeing standard rotation snaps.
Phil Steele ranks Top 65 CFB wide receiver rooms for 2026
1. Ohio State
2. Oregon
3. Miami
4. Texas
5. Clemson
6. Florida State
7. Tennessee
8. Colorado
9. Florida
10. Alabama
11. Indiana
12. Texas A&M
13. Oklahoma
14. South Carolina
15. LSU
16. Ole Miss
17. USF
18. Texas State
19. USC
20. Texas Tech
21. Nebraska
22. Auburn
23. SMU
24. FAU
25. Virginia Tech
on3.com
Talentwise SC is loaded. I really don’t think Texas State has better receivers than SC
As I said earlier, this is the Lincoln Riley tax that is being paid by USC’s players, at least in terms of making these teams, lists and graphics put together by the massive social media CFB world.
USC has to finally prove it can win on the field now before people will believe USC has all the talent that Trojan fans think it has.
Agreed. No benefit of any doubt will come USC’s way because of LR until he truly shows repeated success. Repeated success means more than an occasional upset of a higher ranked team. It means rarely losing to an inferior team regardless of home or away, and winning the biggest matchups most of the time, and nearly every time at home.
Do it now, LR, none of us is getting any younger waiting you to grow up!
Well said Allen
Would be interesting to see this ranking at the end of the season.
People said NIL might ruin college football. I don’t think the game has actually ever been more exciting and interesting than at this very moment.
The mystery surrounding this season of CFB and so many different teams is simply astounding.
I don’t have the faintest clue who’s gonna win it all, or who the 12 playoff teams are gonna be. So much has been equalized in the game depending on how programs have adjusted and exhibited their commitment to winning, despite their past.
Can’t wait for college football Saturdays.
Yep. Not a coincidence that the explosion of NIL and transfer portal has coincided with the demise of SEC dominance. Just a few years ago AL and GA about had a lock on the NC. Neither has been in the title game for a few years now (’22 season). The expanded tourney has also played a role, but Miami and Indiana were not even on the playoff horizon just a couple years ago.
Almost gives me hope…
The John McKay Center is being reimagined as a centralized hub to benefit all student-athletes across USC’s 23 varsity sports. When the 110,000 sq ft McKay Center opened in 2012 for $70 million, it was heavily occupied by football. Because the facility is roughly “80% subterranean,” it historically suffered from intense space constraints as multiple teams tried to share the layout. Football’s total relocation to the Bloom Football Performance Center frees up immense real estate to elevate the everyday student-athlete experience: Key Reimagining Features Expanded Academic & Study Spaces: Large sections of the vacated footprint are being repurposed into dedicated… Read more »
Sounds like a good deal for everybody.
Absolutely. I’m pretty jacked about USC’s amazing commitment to Dedeaux, Bloom, McKay, Galen and Rawlinson. Our facilities are insane.
Is there any Heritage left in Heritage Hall? Some more NIL for baseball would be nice.
Reading about the battle for starting center I realized USC has a chance to have another set of famous twins. Or at least two brothers starting on offense. King Miller’s brother Kaylon has a shot at replacing Kilian O’Conner at center. I remember seeing him in games last year, but didn’t click that the two Millers were brothers like Clay and Bruce Matthews or Marlin and Mike Mckeever. How about Ryan and Matt Khalil?
Maybe lightning can strike again.
Don’t forget the not so illustrious Ting brothers
I had to look them up. I remembered Ryan Ting, but not his brother.
His brother was Brandon Ting
During Vince Young’s final winning fourth quarter drive of the 2006 Rose Bowl, Young threw a pass that Ryan Ting leaped up and batted down to force an incompletion.
Trojan fans and college football analysts have frequently criticized this crucial moment because if Ryan Ting had picked off the pass (which looked totally doable) instead of just knocking it down, USC would have cleanly won yet another national title with a 35th consecutive victory.
I remember saying to myself “why didn’t he intercept that instead of batting it down”?
A better player would have picked off the pass. Game over. But USC’s D was playing nowhere near at a championship level at the time. We couldn’t stop Young all night. Maybe nobody could have. He was possessed.
Young or no Young, we still should have won that game. We missed so many opportunities. Unusual for a PC team in big games.
I don’t think USC should have won, or deserved to. You mention “missed so many opportunities.” Well, we certainly did. And that’s not what winners do. USC could have put the game away many times — but simply couldn’t do it. At the end, with the game on the line, TEXAS made ALL the plays while USC made mistake after mistake. Once Lendale White got stuffed short on that final running play (with Reggie Bush stupidly on the sidelines no less) I had no doubt USC would lose. Which is exactly what USC did. Vince Young carved us up, making… Read more »
Allen Reggie Bush made the bonehead mistake that cost us the game. Think about it….. I think it was the beginning of the 4th quarter and Reggie is flying down the field on a long run where two Longhorns catch up to him inside the 10 and he tries to lateral the ball to an unsuspecting “ backup” WR who fumbled the ball and Texas tecovers. If that hadn’t happened and we at least got a field goal and it’s pretty much game over 3-scores or so ahead. You watch that part of the game again and see what I… Read more »
Reggie Bush’s bizarre and nonsensical lateral was a momentum-changing dagger, not doubt about it. But it was only the second play of the second quarter with USC ahead 7-0. Yet, we still had the game 38-26 with 6 mins and 42 secs to go. The only two people in the world who thought TEXAS would actually beat a red hot USC team at that stage were Vince Young, and Matthew McConaughey.. That’s when the wheels suddenly came off for USC. Worst loss in Trojan history. But I give credit to the Longhorns. They actually came back and won it. Forever… Read more »
Very unusual for a PC coached team
My memory of that season was the defense getting really weakened by injuries and PC did a masterful job of getting the most out of what he had. He almost pulled it off. One dumb play by Reggie and one bad play call by Kiffin did them in. I should have known something bad was going to happen. The Rose Parade was on a Monday (they don’t do Sundays) and my daughters marching band had to march in the rain. First time in 51 years.
As far as Kiffins bad call, if you are talking about the play where Lendale White didn’t make it while Reggie was on the sidelines, I heard that they would have made it but Winston Justice(who was very talented but an airhead) missed a blocking assignment.
It was just a bad call, plain and simple, because TEXAS gambled right, expected it, and Reggie was benched. From the moment Lendale White took the hand off, things looked bleak against an overloaded gap, at least to me. TEXAS figured hard that exact play was coming and they went all in and bet on it. USC has already been very successful with it during the game, and with Reggie Bush off the field this time (absolutely dumb), TEXAS already had a big edge. “With them having Reggie Bush on the sideline, all of our focus could be on LenDale,”… Read more »
I’ll take your word for it. The reason I said what I said is because About 15 years ago I heard an interview with Pat Ruel. He was SC’s O-Line coach in 2005. I’m not sure whether it was on ESPN or, more likely, some local sports channel. But in that interview he seemed to lay the blame on Winston Justice. Here is a more recent interview with Chris Arledge. He seems to say the same thing. Also, He seems to say that the reason they went for it was because PC didn’t think that they could stop them. So,… Read more »
I’m sure Winston Justice regrets getting his ass totally kicked on the play. I’m sure Reggie Bush deeply regrets not being on the field. And Steve Sarkisian later came out and said it was the worst call ever, regardless of what self-serving Kiffin or Carroll think.
You don’t need to take my word for it. Think whatever you want 007. ✌
I don’t know enough about it to make a decision so I’ll just let it go. You can’t get into a time machine and go back and do it differently. It is what it is.
Just to add onto the outcome of this play of the game call, where was Leinart in this scenario? He had to see the way the Longhorn defense was set up and crowding the LOS, he could have called an audible like he did against ND a few games back, even kept the ball and find an opening or even a timeout? We scratch our heads in misery now thinking about why why why.
4th and 2 vs 4th and 9. What a difference. I always wondered why we just didn’t throw a quick slant, or dig route, or play action swing pass, even a simple wheel route (to Bush), so your point is well-taken Jam, especially with cool, calm, collected and accurate Leinart. In the 4th and 9 situation, USC coaches expressly set up a possible audible call by Leinart. It was already in his head before he walked back on the field. In the 4th and 2 call, Kiffin and Carroll were convinced USC could run it up the middle with Bush… Read more »
You are so right Allen, if Leinart had audibled Texas would have quickly called a time out or at least those safeties would have backed away from the LOS fearing a possible pass play. There were so many damn options we had to create a weakness on the defense instead of going right into their strength.
Wide receivers catch balls, Defensive backs bat balls down. That’s why they are DBs not WRs. 😄
My day was going pretty well until you brought this up. Thanks, Pal….
😉
I remember it like it was yesterday. 😎
USC gets to play Julian Sayin (1), Dante Moore (2), Josh Hoover (10), Nico Iamaleava (19) and Colton Joseph (24).
I’d say Gary Patterson has his hands full.
…And #16 and #17. On the bright side we have #6. You are right, the Trojan D better be damn good.
It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it? I totally overlooked UW and PSU. I know many of us think the “White Out” game will be a tough go, especially with Matt Campbell as their new coach. And the UW game at the Coliseum on Oct. 3, directly on the heels of #2 ORE, will likely be super challenging as well.
Seems like this is a strong year for QB’s……19, 24 and 28 are also around. So out of 12 games……we face a good to great QB in 8……Take out the 3 cream puffs and 8 out of 9. and if ND was on the schedule holy bananas.
Just to add, I watched Dylan Lonergan who was the starting QB for Boston College and transferred and now starts at Rutgers. He had a 67% completion rate at Boston and could put it where he wanted it with a quick release. He is also mobile.
So call it 9 for 9.
On3.com just came out with their three-tier pre-season 2026 All-American football team. USC was represented by only one player, and he only made the 3rd team. That would be CB Jontez Williams, who is coming off a serious torn ACL in late Sept. 2025 while playing for IA ST. He is expected to be fully healthy for this season and definitely stands out as a player that can just do some things others can’t. This shows that the CFB media doesn’t really have much respect yet for USC’s front line talent, not yet at least. Call it the Lincoln Riley… Read more »
The stinkin’ Linkin tax is $11 million per year, right?
Publicly disclose documents from a few years back that I just do not remember …,probably a form 990 tax document forcing the reveal of the top 5 highly compensated indicated he makes very close to 20 million. Of course we are talking pension accruals. Talk about getting ripped off. We could have done better owning a bank and leaving the vault open over night.
Of course think of all the bad and lazy decisions and how they affect parking, clothing sales, coaching turnover etc etc. He has been a massive hit to USC.
But….you knew that
All that talent and depth have to go out and show us somethun’.
No excuses this year
Oh yes, Rialto, he’s definitely on my hot seat too. The real question: can the buyout amount realistically let the administration pull the trigger this year, or must they wait until next? If Coach can’t deliver this season, given the resources allocated to bolster his results, I don’t care who they recruit or what NIL deals they land—he’ll still find a way to stumble at the worst possible moment and disappoint. We’ve heard this song before, and sadly, this season and the next won’t change the tune. This coach is destined to achieve the same level of success as Coach… Read more »
You made some valid points, but you completely lost me when you started the Clay vs. Lincoln comparison. Did you suffer through the Helton years, or were you just an indifferent observer?. Playing in the weak PAC 12, SC had multiple losing seasons. We didn’t just lose to powerhouses like OSU, Oregon, ND, we got absolutely blown out. We lost to a 3-9 ucla team.Riley went 55-10 at Oklahoma. If he was anything like Clay, by year 3 or 4, the Sooners would have been losing 5,6 or 7 games a year.And while we now have everything in place to… Read more »
In the “late edition sports page,” (meaning sports news that happened after they put the morning edition to bed at 5:30 pm) there was an article titled; Six coaches under most pressure entering 2026 They are: Mike Norvell, Florida State Bill Belichick, North Carolina Shane Beamer, South Carolina Luke Fickell, Wisconsin Bill O’Brien, Boston College Mike Locksley, Maryland I think there’s someone missing from this list. Although the author is listed as Maura Carey Associated Press, (from Atlanta Georgia) I would expect anyone who knows College football would recognize the fact that Southern California fans are crying out, “ How… Read more »
Preseason AP Poll Prediction: Projecting first Top 25 … The AP Top 25 is officially set to debut on Monday, Aug. 17 at about noon ET. USA Today kicked things off in the college football world by releasing the first Coaches Poll Top 25 a week ago. Next up comes the big one: the Associated Press Top 25. The poll is often a great early indicator of which teams are expected to make the most noise during the season. Then again, there’s always Indiana. 1. OHIO ST — 2025 Record: 12-2 (9-0 Big Ten) Head Coach: Ryan Day – 8th… Read more »
Trey Wright….a true dual QB. Kyler Murray II. Listed at 5’9″ but Greg Biggins says he’s more like 5’11”. At 15 or 16 he can still grow some.
Hopefully, Lincoln has better insight about speedy and elusive 2028 Texas QB Trey Wright than Malachi Nelson, regardless of any size issues. Nelson couldn’t play worth a lick at USC under Riley, regardless of what LR, the QB Whisperer, loved about him so much at Los Alamitos. Nelson quickly transferred away to BOISE ST, then to UTEP and now Nelson already finds himself at SYRA where he’ll have to be happy to play backup, or even 3rd string in 2026. It would be nice if Wright could actually hit 6-0 as a college QB, but nobody seems worried about his… Read more »
I guess you win some and you lose some. John Robinson won a NC at USC. But Tom Brady said that USC was his dream school and Mike Riley did everything to convince JR to give him a scholarship. But he refused saying he thought TB was a good High School QB but wouldn’t make it at the blueblood college level. That’s the way I heard the story. He finally committed to Berkeley and then Michigan got interested and he decommitted and went to UM. Meanwhile, JR gave out 2 scholies to QB’s that I don’t think ever amounted to… Read more »
People are much more forgiving of gross errors once you have a national championship under your belt, like JR (also the winner of four Rose Bowls), did with the Trojans. So far at USC, Riley’s been a bust. When and if he can brag about finally leading USC to its 12th national title, criticizing USC fans for having untrained eyes will be laughed at instead of jeered at. As far as Tom Brady goes, you’re right. JR unfortunately decided he wanted option QB Quincy Woods from Illinois over Brady. Woods threw for 46 yds and 0 TDs in two seasons… Read more »
Agreed. I just looked at the film of this kid on Hudl and he’s definitely a true dual QB and he seems to have a pretty good arm.. Maiava is not(in my opinion) a true dual QB. He can make some yards with his feet but he’s not what I would call a dual QB. True, he’s much better than Leinart or Booty with his feet (who looked like they were running in wet concrete). This kid is playing in one of the top Texas divisions and he’s only a 10th grader. Let’s see what he does in his junior… Read more »
Tom Brady was kind of average at Michigan, struggled to be the starter. Which led to his late round draft pick.
I don’t know what his problem was at Michigan. Maybe they just didn’t have a good OC in those years at Michigan but Mike Riley really liked him in high school.
Some Trojan AI Yes, Mike Riley was deeply crushed and disappointed. As USC’s offensive coordinator, he had spent a year and a half building a strong relationship with Tom Brady and his family, even flying up to watch Brady play in person during his senior year. When HC John Robinson decided not to offer Brady a ride because they filled their spot with another quarterback (Quincy Woods), Riley recalled that he felt ashen and almost fell over upon hearing the news. Feeling a deep personal responsibility after such a long recruitment, Riley flew to the Brady family home in California… Read more »
Good info. I didn’t know all that. It’s funny because JR went to that same high school as TB. I heard that MR went to visit his brother and his family and their son(Rileys Nephew) played on the baseball team with TB. So he went with the whole family to watch his nephew play. But the guy who impressed him the most was TB who was the catcher. You couldn’t steal on him because he had such a quick release and a accurate arm. He told his brother that he thought the catcher should be your QB on your football… Read more »
How Tom Brady Ended Up at Michigan Brady’s recruitment came down to a final five list of schools: USC, UCLA, Cal, Illinois, and Michigan. Because his high school team went 5–5, he had to send out his own highlight tapes to generate interest. The other finalists dropped out one by one, leaving Michigan as the last powerhouse standing: Finalists &. How They Were Eliminated USC was Brady’s top choice. They eliminated themselves when John Robinson prioritized Quincy Woods and pulled Brady’s scholarship opportunity. UCLA was Brady’s secondary choice. However, they took a commitment from future first-round draft pick (and Trojan… Read more »
I don’t know what kind of an OC and QB coach Michigan had at that time but I’ll bet under the tutelage of Mike Riley, TB would have become a star at SC. The reason I question how good Michigans coaches were is because after TB was now a star in the pros, a reporter asked him who helped him the most to become the QB he had become. His answer was not a coach. He said Drew Bledsoe who he played behind in his first few years in the pros.
I’ll bet all the struggles he had in HS and college made him mentally tougher and smarter as well. Thanks 007 and Allen. I learned more about TB in the last 2 days than ever before.
So did I. Excellent peripheral Trojan stuff that really shows what these coaches go through, how they have to live and die with their choices, and how the futures of programs can move up and down on a dime. Interesting stuff from both of you guys.
True. Bledsoe was a true godsend to Brady and was about as good of a mentor as anyone could ever expect, especially at the QB position with the NFL as the playground.
Big Ten football projected win-loss records in 2026, per ESPN.
Each win-loss record may not add up to a whole number because of differing number of games played in each simulation.
Chesney should get more than two more the Debongless Ruins got last year. Seems like a fair prediction for the Trojns
I still think the Trojans go 9-3 in the reg season. It would be great if Lincoln Riley could really prove he’s better than that.
This prediction looks like it is based on past performance and strength of schedule going forward but doesn’t factor how a team may change from season to season (don’t know how to do that). Always hope we will get a new and improved Trojans in 19 days.
Obviously, many people, especially non-Trojans, don’t have your same confidence in USC. USC has been a terrible disappointment over the last three seasons, a clear indicator that off-season Kool-Aid tastes a lot better at USC than during the actual season, when reality sets in.
It’s already been said here hundreds of times. Until LR finally proves he’s good on the field at USC, especially in big games, the CFB world, both the media and overall fan base, will doubt him big-time.
If we remember back in the mid-90s, hot shot offensive genius Steve Spurier had the similar belief like Riley, I’ll just outscore the opponent to win the game with offense. And like Riley, the old ball coach realized I won’t get to the playoff without playing defense, so he brought in Bob Stoops as his DC and won the natty in 1997 at Florida. Will Gary Patterson be another Stoops getting to the playoffs & winning it all? small World…. Riley replaces Bob Stoops as HC at Oklahoma. You’d think he at least would have had a clue?
You either read between the lines or ignore all this “coaches speak” as a part of the job for them. They will tell you very little other than injury reports. And the press has to play along or be shut out of press conferences. Few if any podcasts tell a true follower something they don’t already know. This phenomena was created when college football became a year around reporting sport. So here we are again Listening to Coach Noa saying what he did 3- pre-seasons ago of how much even the water boys have improved, everything is going to be… Read more »
USC has literally become the “Show Me” school. And deservedly so, and about time. It’s a great time to follow USC football.
With Lincoln Riley’s policies which generally enforce secrecy around the program, to the opening of the magnificent Bloom Center (give Riley a lot of credit here!), to USC’s brutal schedule which includes amazing home games vs ORE, UW and OHIO ST, this season promises to be spectacular, though not necessarily of the playoff variety.
USC Freshmen Highlights
With USC officially securing the nation’s No. 1 2026 recruiting class, several high-profilers could impact early. These are some freshmen who are generating the most buzz in fall camp so far:
DL — Luke Wafle (Edge) & Jaimeon Winfield (DL) — Gary Patterson’s defensive overhaul requires immediate, elite push up front. Wafle (6-6, 265, below), the gem of the 2026 class, enrolled early and is already contending for a day-one starting spot at DE. Beside him, massive 327-pound DT Jaimeon Winfield is heavily factoring into the defensive interior rotation to improve USC’s stopping power up front.
S/CB — S Madden Riordan & CB Elbert “Rock” Hill — Riordan is possibly the biggest revelation of fall camp. After arriving on campus at a very light 155 pounds, he quickly bulked up to 180 pounds by the start of camp. He is a high-football-IQ who is surging up the depth chart. Because safety is a premium position in Patterson’s scheme, Riordan’s rise may push veteran Alex Graham into a hybrid nickel role.
Elbert “Rock” Hill: Ranked as the No. 1 2026 CB, Hill is making it incredibly difficult for coaches to keep him off the field. He is battling redshirt soph Marcelles Williams and IA ST transfer Jontez Williams.
WR — Boobie Feaster, Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, & Trent Mosley — Projected soph starter Tanook Hines is sidelined following an undisclosed offseason surgery. This absence has opened the door completely for true freshmen pass-catchers to start hauling in Jayden Maiava throws.
Boobie Feaster (great, soft hands) and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt are pushing NCS transfer Terrell Anderson on the outside. Meanwhile, Trent Mosley is turning heads with his versatility. At least one of these outstanding frosh wideouts stands an excellent chance to emerge early as an immediate, dependable go-to Trojan. They don’t call the Trojans Wide Receiver U for nothing.
OT — Keenyi Pepe — Following a season-ending injury to starting OC Kilian O’Connor, OL coach Josh Henson is already reshuffling the deck. Massive 6-7, 320-pound OT Keenyi Pepe has used the line’s unexpected quick upheaval to break through for a significantly larger role in camp, pushing for reps with the second-team unit and eyeing standard rotation snaps.