Fixing USC’s O-line is Job One

Lincoln Riley confident USC offensive line can be ‘damn good’ despite Michigan performance

Michigan defensive lineman Mason Graham pushes past the USC offensive line and moves toward Trojans QB Miller Moss

Michigan DL Mason Graham (55) moves past the USC offensive line and closes in on Trojans QB Miller Moss last Saturday in Ann Arbor. Lincoln Riley says he is confident the Trojans’ line will improve. (Joe Robbins / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Ryan Kartje (LA Times)  —  The left tackle was cramping. The right guard was benched. The new right tackle was playing his first meaningful snaps, while the new right guard had played only a handful. All the while, 110,000 hostile fans roared with every missed block or botched assignment against the nation’s most fearsome defensive front featuring two top-15 NFL draft prospects on the interior.

“That’s as tough as it gets,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said Tuesday.

It was truly a nightmare scenario for USC’s offensive line, which came completely unraveled during a 27-24 loss to Michigan, raising serious questions about the depth and development of a group Riley and his staff assured would be fine without offseason additions from the transfer portal.

That confidence certainly looked misplaced Saturday, as Michigan’s pass rush steamrolled through the Trojan front with ease, pressuring quarterback Miller Moss 22 times.

Still, Riley didn’t seem concerned on Tuesday about the line’s long-term trajectory, instead once again reiterating his belief that USC’s offensive line can be “really damn good” this season.

Some of that responsibility in getting there, Riley did acknowledge, does fall on him and his staff. The coach admitted he could have done a better job preparing the offense for Michigan’s defensive front.

“We all gotta take steps — the coaching, the players around them — to get it going, to play at the level we want to,” Riley said. “And frankly, within the first couple of games this year, there’s been a ton of positive signs. We’ve got to get back on track that way, and I’m confident we will.”

Michigan's Josaiah Stewart knocks down USC quarterback Miller Moss during the Trojans' loss at Michigan Stadium

Michigan’s Josaiah Stewart knocks down USC QB Miller Moss during the Trojans’ loss at Michigan Stadium Saturday. (Ric Tapia/Getty Images)

The more pressing concern is whether the confidence of the linemen remains intact after such a demoralizing performance. That’s an especially pertinent question for left tackle Elijah Paige, who looked totally overwhelmed over one half of football last Saturday. Riley said that cramps made Paige unavailable for the second half, though Paige appeared twice on special teams plays after getting replaced on the line by right tackle Mason Murphy.

Last season, coaches sent Paige down to the scout team after his progress stagnated and it sparked improvement. But with little depth behind him at left tackle, it’s unclear where USC would turn if Paige was pulled from the lineup.

“It’s tough to be a young offensive lineman in that situation,” said center Jonah Monheim, the only offensive lineman USC made available for media interviews this week. “You know you have something that doesn’t go your way against a good group of players, it’s a tough thing. But it’s something you have to learn from. It’s something you have to go through, and you come out the other side as a better player and person because of it.”

Reserve tackle Tobias Raymond, who played 45 snaps in the second half, joined the offensive line when Paige was sidelined against Michigan. And while Raymond struggled, he earned respect from teammates for taking over Murphy’s spot when Murphy moved to left tackle in place of Paige.

“That’s a hell of a position to be thrown into,” Moss said. “I texted him the night after the game that I was proud of him and the way he stepped up for the team. I think it was really selfless.”

Riley didn’t say whether he intended to trot out the same starting five against Wisconsin on Saturday, while The Times’ request to speak with USC offensive line coach Josh Henson was denied.

Many questions remain about where the Trojans will turn next on the offensive line. While Paige is likely to stay at left tackle, the right guard spot could be up for grabs after Alani Noa was replaced in the second quarter by fellow redshirt freshman Amos Talalele.

“A lot of it is just kind of mental,” Monheim said. “‘What story are you telling yourself? How are you handling things, how you practice, how you lift, how prepared are you, how confident are you in yourself?’ All things like that. Not necessarily being defined by, ‘Oh, I’m rotating,’ or ‘Oh, I’m this or I’m that.’ [Noa has] got so much talent, and it’s our job to just get that out of him in every way that we can.”

Riley is sure that’s possible. But confidence isn’t going to return overnight, Monheim said.

“Confidence really comes from habits, built over and over and over,” Monheim said. “It’s hard to get yourself out of a rut with just one play. It really usually doesn’t work like that.”

Good news for McRee
USC tight end Lake McRee (87) warms up before a game against LSU at Allegiant Stadium

USC TE Lake McRee may return to the Trojans’ lineup this season (possibly sometime after two weeks per some reports) despite suffering an injury against Michigan. (Robert Gauthier/LAT)

When Lake McRee was leveled at the knees by a Michigan defender just two months after he’d returned from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, it appeared he suffered another serious injury. The image of him in tears on the sideline didn’t help ease that dread, either.

But while Riley didn’t share the nature of McRee’s injury on Tuesday, he did say that the tight end “got good news” and would be back at some point this season. He will be out “probably for the next couple of weeks,” the head coach said, but back before the end of the season.

Considering the hit, Riley admitted, “he’s incredibly lucky.” Though, Riley did concede that the hit was “legal right now.”

“I don’t fault the kid from Michigan,” Riley said, “but a hit like that does not need to be legal. You think about all the things in college football, football in general that we’ve cleaned up. It is very simple to clean up a defenseless player that can’t see you going low on him. That makes the game no better, and that’s something that just should not happen in my opinion.”

Injury update

Receiver Makai Lemon is “doing very well” after his helmet hit the ground hard against Michigan. Lemon was taken to the hospital for observation, but he was able to fly back to L.A. with the team.

“He’s rebounded back well,” Riley said on the Trojans Live radio show, “as good as you could possibly hope for with that scary of a situation.”

Safety Akili Arnold was also not available at practice after suffering an injury in the second half against Michigan. Riley said Arnold is “improving quickly, and the coach is “hopeful” that Arnold could play Saturday.

latimes.com

___________

TrojanDailyBlog members —  We always encourage you to add factual information, insight, divergent opinions, or new topics to the TDB that don’t necessarily pertain to any particular moderator post or member comment.

 

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Trojan5
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Trojan5
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September 27, 2024 8:50 am

ATLDDS, I don’t know exactly where you live in the ATL. I hope you and your family are safe.

ATL D.D.S.
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ATL D.D.S.
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September 27, 2024 7:05 pm
Reply to  Trojan5

Thank you for your concern! Fortunately we are all fine. Huge amounts of rain and we had an 80’ oak tree blow down, but well away from the house. ATL metro area was saved from worse damage by the storm bearing slightly east shortly before coming into Atlanta. Lots of power outages. At least we know when the hurricane is coming in contrast to the quakes I experienced growing up in Southern California. I am still fighting on!

PN4SC
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PN4SC
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September 26, 2024 5:50 pm

With everything that has happened, I think the best case scenario is for Bear to told he is no longer a part of the team. He is a knucklehead, and is getting terrible advise from his ” handler”.
And he could be a cancer in the locker room. USC is building a great culture, and he could undermine those efforts. Hope we have seen the last of him.

Chris
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Chris
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September 26, 2024 8:39 pm
Reply to  PN4SC

He’s gone. Riley confirmed this morning.

parcelman007
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parcelman007
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September 26, 2024 5:42 pm

Grinch knows LR’s offense well. Maybe that is why they hired him. Just for that one game. I was always surprised that he got a job so fast after his 2 terrible seasons at SC.

Jamaica
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Jamaica
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September 26, 2024 5:50 pm
Reply to  parcelman007

Would you trust Hrinch to try to stop an offense even if he knew all about it?

Steveg
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Steveg
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September 26, 2024 6:37 pm
Reply to  Jamaica

All of his players will have wrist bands on. The will spend most of their time looking at them and at each other when the ball is snapped. What a defense!!

parcelman007
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parcelman007
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September 27, 2024 3:00 am
Reply to  Allen Wallace

I would take LR over Luke Fickell 6 days a week and twice on Sunday.

USC1988
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USC1988
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September 27, 2024 11:18 am
Reply to  parcelman007

Let’s hope … I had LR over that guy last week too
Get ahead of these Big 10 teams or repeat of last week

illinoisusc
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illinoisusc
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September 26, 2024 4:02 pm

You’ve got to hand it to Lanning. He just flipped Douglas Utu from Bishop Gorman. He was committed to Tenn.
Its weird….Rivals is almost always the conservative site but in this case they have him a 5 star interior linemen while 3 has him a 4.
Either way everybody that is anybody offered him.
Just jealous on my part…..we used to clean out B Gorman.

Golden Trojan
Major Genius
September 26, 2024 5:34 pm
Reply to  illinoisusc

If he transfers to Willamette High you’ll know Phil Knight bought him and his family a house in Eugene.

Jamaica
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Jamaica
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September 26, 2024 5:52 pm
Reply to  Golden Trojan

Yep your right on with that idea!

illinoisusc
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illinoisusc
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September 26, 2024 6:11 pm
Reply to  Jamaica

A house…..lol…..this 30 room mansion goes with the Royce in the circular drive.

parcelman007
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parcelman007
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September 27, 2024 2:57 am
Reply to  illinoisusc

Money talks….everything else walks

RialtoTrojan
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RialtoTrojan
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September 26, 2024 1:27 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

When Bear negotiates his next NIL deal we’ll all see what a WAC team is willing to pay for a bag of fertilizer and its guardian spreader.

Jamaica
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Jamaica
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September 26, 2024 5:53 pm
Reply to  RialtoTrojan

What top 25 program would want a player that quit on his team after just 3-games?

Steveg
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Steveg
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September 26, 2024 6:38 pm
Reply to  Jamaica

Great post Jam

RialtoTrojan
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RialtoTrojan
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September 26, 2024 9:51 am

This Bear thing is really blowing up the SCNG. This morning’s paper (in most versions) had a story about the lack of playing time for Bear Alexander, which didn’t include anything about redshirting. Last night Trojan Facebook pages carried a story about Alexander redshirting and the response was vitriolic. (Including mine; “Redshirting used to be to save eligibility after injury, I guess his ego was bruised.) Anyway the online version of the newspaper always has a late edition sports page. Today the San Bernardino Sun’s late edition sports page had no page one and I found the second half of… Read more »

Golden Trojan
Major Genius
September 26, 2024 10:19 am
Reply to  RialtoTrojan

See my earlier post. Boy’s brains in a big man’s body. I still think there will be guys now that will cash in enough on NIL and feel the NFL is too much effort and sacrifice. They will take their NIL money and move on. I have no idea what’s in BA’s head. Maybe he will find a home and flourish. Or be off to another school next year. Redoing his NIL this spring looks like a waist of time and money. Hope the collective gets some of it back.

ATL D.D.S.
Noble Genius
ATL D.D.S.
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September 26, 2024 5:45 am
Reply to  Allen Wallace

too bad, like someone said yesterday, “million dollar body, 10 cent head.”

Golden Trojan
Major Genius
September 26, 2024 8:35 am
Reply to  Allen Wallace

We have to remember these are 18-22 y.o. boys in men’s bodies. It can be a long road to maturity for some. Hope he finds his way. He may be one of those that cashes in on enough NIL that he decides the NFL is not worth the effort.

Steveg
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Steveg
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September 26, 2024 4:23 pm
Reply to  Golden Trojan

That is if he can even make it to the nfl. Perhaps another school will show him his way. It worked for Corey Foreman going to Fresno, he is playing pretty good football for them.

Golden Trojan
Major Genius
September 26, 2024 5:32 pm
Reply to  Steveg

Some humble pie can be the best diet.

Jamaica
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Jamaica
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September 26, 2024 11:56 am
Reply to  Allen Wallace

Who made the decision to cut Bear’s play-time? Only the most successful NFL D-line coach in the business and a star on the rise DC that the NFL knows very well of. If Bear wants to quit on this coaching, he is adding red flags in his draft resume. Now we have a clear picture why the Georgia coaching staff shedded no tears when Bear went Portal. Doesn’t he and his advisors understand he alone is underachieving and causing his setbacks?

parcelman007
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parcelman007
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September 27, 2024 3:05 am
Reply to  Allen Wallace

Like I said before……you don’t win NC’s with people who transfer 7 times in 7 years. You need time with a player to develope him. Hasta la vista baby….It’s time for you to move on to your next destination

illinoisusc
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illinoisusc
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September 27, 2024 8:36 am
Reply to  parcelman007

2x

Trojanfanatic
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Trojanfanatic
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September 25, 2024 5:45 pm

Looks like Bear is going into hibernation. Not surprised missing so much spring work and limited playing time.

parcelman007
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parcelman007
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September 25, 2024 7:00 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

Bear Alexander is over-rated. I’ve got to believe that they would be playing him more if he was that good. College football is a business. If you don’t put your best people in, you won’t win and if you don’t win you’ll lose your job. You can’t hold grudges against a player or favor a player. You have to put your best people in. If they weren’t playing him, I can’t help thinking that he is over-rated.

John Weld
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Noble Genius
John Weld
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September 25, 2024 7:17 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

I do! The only way he stays is if other schools look at his history and are not willing to ‘pay’ him what he wants for how uneven his play has been.

Here is my question: would USC take him back?

Chris
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Chris
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September 25, 2024 8:02 pm
Reply to  John Weld

I think he was told to redshirt. The social media stuff was most likely last straw, after the portal threats this spring. CLR, like every other coach, will take high road. He will fill sound bite with platitudes. But no doubt he was told that he can transfer. The tell tale sign will be if he stays on team or if he just leaves all together. We shall see

Steveg
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Steveg
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September 26, 2024 7:01 am
Reply to  John Weld

I think so also.

Trojanfanatic
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Trojanfanatic
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September 25, 2024 7:32 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

I think ( not 100% but 90% ) he moved around to 4 different high schools and now 2 colleges. I think the pattern is clear: He’s gone.

USC1988
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USC1988
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September 25, 2024 8:25 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

After watching him get blasted off the ball … then not attempt to tackle the Mich back on final long run. He may had been asked to leave.

USC1988
Noble Genius
USC1988
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September 26, 2024 12:50 am
Reply to  Allen Wallace

After watching him get shoved back and then dog it on that final long run … my guess is not much

illinoisusc
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illinoisusc
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September 25, 2024 8:55 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

I think he is done. If he can’t play every down…..time to explore other careers. Unfortunately…..a position that was considered thin is now thinner.

USC1988
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USC1988
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September 26, 2024 12:49 am
Reply to  illinoisusc

Yes … who is going to take Bear’s 20 snaps?

parcelman007
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parcelman007
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September 26, 2024 1:22 am
Reply to  Allen Wallace

So he’s transferring….Surprise Surprise!!! If he does transfer, that will be the 7th time in the last 7 years. You can’t build a dynasty with players like that. Hasta la Vista Teddy Bear.

volunteerTrojan
Major Genius
September 26, 2024 6:19 am
Reply to  Allen Wallace

Me. Kid doesn’t have it. He’ll be a bust from here on out. I sense he’s getting lousy advice from this guardian guy. Always been chasing coin, always been disgruntled, neve been told to shut up, suck it up, put your head down and grind. Sounds like an entitled prima donna who thinks he’s entitled to playing time and money.

See ya, Bear, we need men who fight on, not whine on.

Gimme more kids from Wyoming.

alfa1
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alfa1
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September 27, 2024 5:54 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

Is “Tony Jones” Anthony Jones, Olympic Agency Sports in Houston

RialtoTrojan
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RialtoTrojan
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September 25, 2024 9:58 am

Jim Harbaugh’s posted comments about Michigan’s defeat of USC contained the phrase, “The football gods came together to help Michigan win ,” to which I responded with, “If by football gods you mean referees, then I agree.” After reading this story I might want to look into these “gods” and find a way to appease them. The cramping of our ineffective linemen was truly a Devine intervention ( or face saving excuse) However more rational blog readers are probably thinking about strength and conditioning (or lack of adequate physical endurance) I don’t know if Hansen is the new Grinch or… Read more »

Tirebitter
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September 25, 2024 7:03 am

LR’s statements about the Oline sound hauntingly familiar. There were essentially the same he used to support the Defense over the past three years. No concrete actions, just words. Why isn’t the Oline capable of protecting the QB or enabling an effective running game? It took years and a lot of pressure to get LR to finally get rid of Grinch, will it take that long to develop a OL? LR is paid some $10 million and year and all we get are nine losses in two seasons and the beginning of a third? At SC we expect tangible results,… Read more »

Trojanfanatic
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September 25, 2024 9:46 am
Reply to  Tirebitter

I said basically the same thing in Allen’s last post “terrorized” whereas will we be looking at another “friendship/ allegiance” stubbornness that compromised the program’s reputation, recruiting, and fan support with Grinch? What I’m afraid happens is we will skate through some average teams, score points, defend admirably, then we face a DLine like from Penn St ( some argue better then Michigans DLs) and get overwhelmed again. Post game presser has LR defending again. Rinse, repeat. Henson has a good rep, and should be given some time to recruit better, develop better, etc, but damn, this type of situation… Read more »

alfa1
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alfa1
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September 25, 2024 3:01 pm
Reply to  Trojanfanatic

I’m personally skeptical of Riley’s misplaced loyalty to the group of Big 12 coaches he brought with him which has led to tarnishing USC’ Brand. Perhaps Jen Cohen should explain where loyalty lay, especially $10 Million dollars worth !

TrojanRon
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TrojanRon
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September 25, 2024 7:18 am
Reply to  Allen Wallace

Although I was only 8 years old at the time, one of the most exciting Rose Bowls ever was USC vs WIS in 1963. USC was ranked #1 and undefeated. WIS was ranked #2. USC had a great team led by a tandem of Quarterbacks, Pete Bethard and Bill Nelsen. WIS has led by All-American Ron Vander Kelen. As I remember, USC got out to a big lead and WIS came on at the end of the game and nearly pulled it out. SC won something like 42-37. My dad and grandfathers went nuts when the game was over.