Colin Cowherd (The Herd) onNotre Dame’s 2026 schedule — “It’s pathetic. Basically, if this was your class load in college, you’d be taking Home Econ three times, Gym Class twice, and Wood Shop four times. It’s brutal. I can’t believe Notre Dame didn’t add Baking to their class schedule.
“Look at USC’s schedule, where they have to play Oregon, Washington, Ohio State, at Penn State, at Indiana, now a power, and their rival at UCLA. If that was your course load, that would be Trigonometry, Physics, and Chemistry twice. Notre Dame’s schedule is nonsense.
“As far as Notre Dame goes, it’s like a trust fund kid saying, ‘I can’t believe you have a summer job. I’m gonna be at Turks and Caicos.’
“Notre Dame knows this is pure nonsense. Marcus Freeman knows it. Notre Dame’s got side deals. USC doesn’t. Alabama doesn’t. Georgia doesn’t. LSU doesn’t. Ohio State doesn’t. Michigan doesn’t.
“Notre Dame’s schedule is weaker than any top 10 program and they even have Miami at home. Miami playing in cold weather at Notre Dame is a tough one for them.
“Notre Dame will be favored, often heavily, in every single game. And Notre Dame can stay much healthier with that schedule. They won’t get beat up and lose starters like USC might with their schedule.
“And you’re upset at USC? Give me a break! I’m tired of Notre Dame’s special treatment and how they say they are standing on principal. Oh, give me a break. And I’m not anti-Notre Dame. I’ve been pro-Notre Dame forever. I myself wish I could have gotten into the school.
“If I had to start a college football program, and I had to pick any college coach to start it, I think Marcus Freeman is way at the top of the list. The look, the energy, the recruiting, the smarts, the in-game changing, the half-time adjustments … He’s really good. I like everything about him. I don’t know him personally, but I’m a huge fan. A lot of people thought Notre Dame should have been in the playoffs. It’s not his fault Notre Dame’s schedule is ridiculous. He is leading on this list of New York Giants’ candidates.
“All that matters in college football now is qualify for the tournament and win the tournament. Games that used to be cool or even legendary don’t matter anymore.”
___________
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I hope you are correct, GT. In fact, Bowden and Cohen are so on top of their game, I would be surprised if we don’t have Lynn’s replacement within 4 days.
Marcus Freeman gets enhanced deal to stay at Notre Dame Adam Rittenberg (ESPN) — Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman, a potential candidate for NFL coaching vacancies, will return to the Fighting Irish in 2026. Freeman received an enhanced contract from the university, sources confirmed to ESPN. Freeman, who is 43-12 in four seasons at Notre Dame, announced his return Monday on X, posting, “2026…run it back. Go Irish.” Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua added that he views Freeman’s contract as a “living, breathing document” that will likely be revised every year. “We feel blessed that he’s our coach,” Bevacqua said. “I… Read more »
Bowl Games In Free Fall Andrew Holleran (Yahoo Sports) — “The bowl system we know now is officially dead,” a college football bowl executive said, via On3 Sports’ Brett McMurphy. They added: “RIP. It was a nice run while it lasted.” Bowl season attendance continues to drop, while bowl season TV ratings aren’t looking great, either. It seems like everyone only cares about the College Football Playoff. The (low) attendance of Saturday’s BYU vs. Georgia Tech bowl game, the Pop-Tarts Bowl, sparked concern about bowl games moving forward. Is bowl season dying? When crowds are like this, it’s tough to see… Read more »
ESPN was the biggest supporter of all these bowls. A good many of the bowls could easily go away. All these Group of 5/6 may be fun for the players and extra practice for coaches. But if attendance is so poor that it is too expensive for the school and the bowl they should go. It will be interesting to see the interest in the non playoff bowls this week with BIG v SEC and Big12.
Lynn’s not a recruiter. I don’t think he’s a recruit magnet. He got USC out of the Alex Grinch debacle. Function served. If he leaves, okay with me. If he stays, that’s fine too. It would be interesting and fun to see who Riley could bring in to replace Lynn if necessary.
So far, I think the attitude of hiring NFL lenient coaches is not working. You have to admit the measurement of development over the past two seasons has been minimal where Lynn, Ryan & Henny (Noa) are coaching. Maybe it isn’t fair to point towards Ryan in this being his 1st season, but what we were told in pre-season of the rise in execution, what was reasonable for us to expect in execution just hasn’t happened. If replacing Lynn comes about, a sound college career DC & any openings in position coaches that occur needs teaching coaches not NFL detailed… Read more »
Sanchez attorneys have petitioned to have his case moved to federal court. I think this is a smart move. Whether he gets his case moved is not decided yet.
Per AI — Key details regarding the move to federal court include: Reason for Transfer: In a Dec. 22 filing, Fox Corp. argued that Indiana-based defendant Huse Culinary (the parent company of St. Elmo Steak House) was “fraudulently joined” to the lawsuit to keep the case in state court. Diversity of Citizenship: Fox argues that because both Sanchez and Fox Corp. are out-of-state defendants, removing Huse Culinary would allow the case to proceed in federal court based on diversity jurisdiction. Background of Lawsuit: Tole filed the suit alleging injuries after Sanchez confronted him regarding a parking space, with the amended complaint claiming Sanchez… Read more »
One pundant was saying that the bowl games are going to disappear just like NIT disappeared in basketball because there doesn’t seem to be many stars who want to play in these bowl games. It’s true. How many stars are there that are invited to play in a post season allstar game and skip their own teams bowl game or just skip the bowl game for the NFL combines. I really hate to see that happen. These post season bowl games are good games. They are teams with really good records who didn’t make the playoffs going against each other.… Read more »
If the bowl games were to disappear, I would hope that they would increase the amount of teams that they put into the playoffs. NIT did disappear but at least in basketball you have 64 teams in the playoffs.
Urban Meyer backs Kyle Whittingham as Michigan head coach Isaiah Hole (WolverinesWire) — Whittingham oversaw the Utes for 21 years, but before that, he was the defensive coordinator in Salt Lake City. And who was his head coach? None other than Urban Meyer, who eventually went on to lead Florida and Ohio State to national championships. Now Meyer is an analyst with Fox, and even though he won’t even say the name ‘Michigan,’ Whittingham says he’s leaned on his former mentor in getting his new job, and he’ll also do so when it comes to assembling his new staff. “I’ve had some good… Read more »
I would choose Ben Johnson, the former Detroit OC, who immed turned Trojan Heisman winner Caleb Williams from a first year sack king bust on the always hapless Bears into a second year comeback gunslinger who suddenly commands league wide respect with sky-is-the-limit talent.
Social media is spoofing Trojan Football fans. I saw a picture of Lincoln Riley on Facebook with the caption,”Riley will be fired after the bowl game.” The article attached was about Garrett Riley. But the clickbait was grabbing frustrated Trojan fans. Later an article with the coliseum pictured stated “USC lands big guard.” The article was about a basketball player. The first comment was happy to see Riley finally beefing up the line. Both articles were posted by supposed Trojan fan groups. What I think about Michigan’s coaching change is simply that Michigan has set the standard for firing a… Read more »
As far as Kyle Whittingham needing to “look over his shoulder” — 75% of his new 5-year deal (8.2 mil yearly) with MICH is literally guaranteed, and he’s already walked away from the game once. Personally, I wouldn’t be worried if I were Kyle.
Kyle is not worried…..the Mich players and recruits who want to goof off/sound off should be. Mr no nonsense is in town. You what…..and then the stare.
Portal opens in 5 days…..get ready, get set…..
Several teams need folks if they are going to be competitive. Teams like Indiana, Penn St and Michigan are going to be interesting to watch.
Preseason I was convinced that Clemson would be in the Championship game.
No idea what happened but based only on this game……he could use receivers….must have been 15 dropped balls.
For those hoping for USC to take its rightful place among the top teams….that is the issue. You named 7 without trying….there could be others.
Our talent is going to be top notch….can the coaching do it?
A real arms race to get ahead of the competition in the BIG. Right now LR doesn’t have the talent/depth that Day, Lanning even Cignetti has. He does have more talent than the rest. Whittingham will get the most out of his talent and be a force in the BIG. It won’t be long till USC’s success is solely coaching. LR will have sufficient talent and depth next season.
How can you rate a certain HC over another when he hasn’t coached his new team even 1-game yet? Oh you say for what he has done in the past? OK what about Dan Mullen & Jimbo Fisher as examples having successful previous gigs and flopping at their new program? I could name other coaches also. Many many more in fact.
Lincoln Riley is a classic example of what you say. He was good at OU and was totally mediocre or stunk much of his time so far at USC, making some mistakes that were beyond stupid and had nothing to do with talent or NIL.
I’d rather have Ryan Day, Dan Lanning, Kyle Whittingham or Curt Cignetti as the coach of USC than LR. Simple as that, regardless of how anyone ranks them, or what they did before they took their last job, where they have all kicked butt.
Some might think so in the very beginning but Whittingham falls into the very same trap Lincoln Riley did. Whittingham took over a program already built & operating successfully by Urban Meyer. He has yet to show he can rebuild another program on his very own although Michigan is in a lot better shape than what USC was when Riley took it over after coaching an already successfully working Oklahoma program Bob Stoops created. I wonder if the circumstances were reversed would Whittingham had beaten Riley in those head to head matches?
I think he’s way ahead of the comparatively inexperienced Lincoln Riley, who took over a true-blue-blue-blood, where really good coaches always win big at, and usually very early at that.
The questions you pose are mostly unanswerable Jam (at least IMO), and that’s why they are so fun to speculate about here on the TDB.
I was honking and hoping for Willingham while we were working on the Riley hire. In fact, I think I was doing the same at the time we elevated Helton. But also, like most, I thought we hit the jackpot with hiring Riley instead. In hindsight, we would have been better off hiring Willingham instead of Riley.
That said, I think Willingham is a better hire for Mich. than SC. As I recall, he wasn’t particularly interested when his name was thrown around for SC back in the day.
We could beat KW recently when he was at Utah. Hopefully, we’ll be able to beat him at Michigan. One thing for sure is that Michigan is going to be much better next year than the last 2 years. This Big 10 is getting really strong. LR better evolve into a great coach really fast or he’s going to gone.
Whittingham saw what Riley was incapable in doing alone: to rebuild/develop a football program that loaded up all the pressure to win on Caleb Williams that almost ruined him his last year at USC. KW was fortunate more than anything USC was a shell of what it could have been as Riley made countless missteps to field a balanced team.
If SC goes 8-4 or worse next year and there is a really great coach available(like Whittingham this year), I would jump on it and not wait to fire LR. LR may turn out to be a great coach but he may not. Even if he does….how long is it going to take? We could be waiting a long time for something that is never going to happen. And this Big 10 conference is not getting any weaker.
Judd Fisch is really a good coach but there are a lot of other coaches that are just as good(such as the HC of Vanderbuilt). But if they were to get Fisch, I really think that we would be better than we are today.
Has anyone noticed if the type of linebackers our Trojan 2026 defense needs in the middle has committed to the Portal? This just has to be the top priority for Bowden, Riley & Ryan. If not then enlighten me please as to what other position is needed more in capability & experience to stop the most bleeding on the current team?
Great move on their part, which I advocated from the beginning. Home run hire IMO.
Who wouldn’t want Whittingham? 66 years old isn’t spring chicken territory for sure, but I’m betting he still has a lot of gas in the tank.
Whittingham spent the last 32 years at UTAH (the past 21 as HC). He was the second-longest tenured HC in the FBS behind only IOWA’s Kirk Ferentz, After he stepped down away from UTAH earlier this month, Whittingham joked — “I’m entering the transfer portal.”
I read sometime back that Whittingham liked to take later afternoons off to go skiing as well as short vacations away from his HC’ing responsibilities to keep fresh and not burned out. He could do that at Utah but I dare say would he try that at Michigan? I do agree he could be a good hire to settle down the mess at Michigan but Kyle isn’t the high energy type and will delegate a lot as a CEO type. Not sure if you can get away with that at Michigan and is he ready for a coaching position where… Read more »
Personally, I don’t think MICH would be all over Kyle W like a cheap suit if they were the least bit worried about him skiing, being burned out, or not devoting enough energy to fixing things in Ann Arbor. JMHO.
I’ll stick with my “great hire” mantra. Were I in charge of MICH, I’d be overjoyed that Kyle W was coming my way, especially in view of who else was available to come.
Could be that Michigan admin also has a partial objective of stabilizing the program. No cheating with signals, no girlfriends, no players acting out……if you want those things….Whittingham is perfect. Sort of like a Helton period. Of course they want to win and Whittingham connected to Michigan talent….Oh Brother….no Helton. and he does not need to make friends….he has plenty of cash and a huge pension…..just needs to bring stability, and tell the kids to cut out the nonsense….this is about winning. If he keeps the excellent talent from the past two classes and adds a few of those poly… Read more »
When he realizes all the pressure he will face especially “any” game he loses, that from the temporary President to certainly the AD who is really on the hot seat, I think he will come to grips what he has gotten himself into after being in a comfortable setting as a HC for so so long. At age 66 and being a nice guy, is Kyle Whittingham ready for this pressure cooker?
Jam…..I do not agree. He has his retirement all set in Utah as a near God.
He can always flip off whoever gives him problems. He might be a nice guy but I think he holds his ground if pushed just fine……No pressure at all.
Besides….with Michigan level talent…..do you really think he is going to lose many games…..he gave USC fits with Utah level talent……I don’t…..at least after the first year.
Do I think he’ll be there 10 years from now….no…..I really believe admin wants to settle down the program and get it operating the right way again.
I see your point Illinois. If the last part of your post is valid, why would a successful HC want to go to another program just to settle it down so another coach can come and easily take over? If this is about ego in wanting to see if KW can turn a troubled program into a championship contender that wasn’t possible at his last gig, then I can see that. But he stayed at Utah for 21 years? What was he waiting for? He had to know as Urban Meyer did, the Utah program was never going to get… Read more »
Lots of truth in what you say…….maybe now that he feels very financially secure he wants to take the stab at greatness. Why he stayed at Utah may also be tied to a legit desire to help kids become better people. In this day of everybody going for the bucks I guess there are still a few folks still wanting to be coaches. Also could be tied to the Morman church….he might have been asked to stay put for the betterment of Utah. Either way……he has his chance now to try it with top notch folks in the big house……and… Read more »
Merry Christmas TDB and all who stop by. I love being able to post my unending drivel here. Enjoy the festive holidays especially New Year’s Eve eve when we, once again, join loved ones to comment on USC football. See you then.
Merry Xmas and Happy New Year TDBers! Thank you so much for investing yourselves in our lively, insightful Trojan brotherhood here. What a terrific group we have.✌✌
Christmas Eve, to all my friends on here have a blessed Christmas, and thank you Allen and John for putting up with all of us on here through this past year. Merry Christmas.
Ditto to you Steveg and Allen & John for their website that means a lot to us Trojan posters. And of course to my fellow & lady posters. Merry Christmas all.
Will we see some changes in the coaching staff after December 30th? As to the defensive side of the program, what has transpired during this season as to the development and improved play in those positions? Can we say the defensive backfield has progressed and become more formidable? Yes I think so. Has the linebacker position and D-line positions shown improvement over this season? I say very little noticeable gain. Viewing Behind The Trojan Huddle yesterday it was suggested it could be due to the fit between young developing players and their NFL position coaches whose expertise is fine tuning… Read more »
I have been saying for most of the year with conviction that this year’s national champion will be either Ohio State or Georgia. The more that things change, the more they stay the same! IU is a tempting pick, but experience matters in any playoff.
I find some of the opinions here on the ND rivalry thing to be really interesting. It seems so black and white for me! Just compare the teams’ two schedules for next year. ND’s schedule is silly, with just Miami as a real competitor (note – BYU is rarely consistently good … it has a senior-heavy year once in a while and this year was one of those including a number of 5th-year players and experienced transfers). Meanwhile, next year SC plays at Indiana, at Penn State, and has Ohio State, Oregon and Washington at home. One could argue that… Read more »
I get it. USC needs to give in to every demand of Notre Dame, who refuses to join a conference, and continue with a scheduling format that greatly favors the Irish. No other big time program would play Notre Dame in the middle of BIG 10 play, or the week after ucla. Why should the Trojans? Because of tradition? USC made a legit offer to Notre Dame, and the Irish said no. Why do you perceive that as SC walking away from a fight?
Poor little Notre Dame. They only want to play patsies now. I thought they might have the balls and self-respect to honor USC’s logical and totally appropriate scheduling request that the game be played every year in Sept. But no. The pablum-drinking Irish got all riled up that anyone would have the guts to actually challenge their insistence that they always get their way, or it’s the highway for you. So Notre Dame does what only a true wimp would do. The Domers said, “Screw off USC. We’ve already snuck off and replaced you with Oatmeal Cookie BYU anyway (hah,… Read more »
Very refreshing to hear a long time USC fan who gets it. USC shouldn’t give up all of it’s leverage to keep the series going, but the Irish won’t budge, so that is on them. I just wish some of our more esteemed Alumni( ex players) weren’t so pig headed and could see the big picture.
SC is losing a number of players for the Alamo Bowl. At this point, it doesn’t look like TCU is losing hardly anyone. They’re losing their QB but their 2nd string QB was a starter for a few years at Vanderbuilt. Other than that I’m not sure that they are losing anyone else.
Call me crazy but I would love to see USC and Notre Dame stick it to the NCAA and the so called committee and the special privilege that the SEC gets! USC should opt out of a B1G championship game in Lieu of a championship weekend game vs Notre Dame every year at a neutral site to compete directly with the Championship games.
What gets me the most is that ND people are saying USC is afraid. Afraid of losing to ND? With the wear on players with the travel that is the biggest fear. Now they have 8 home games in 2026. What a joke, and the CFP committee chairman should be horsewhipped for giving into them.
Although USC is getting some negative press triggered by Notre Dame’s spin machine, their pathetic schedule became more exposed than if ND would have just walked away. Anyway, should ND run the table, they still shouldn’t be qualified to get a playoff spot. An investigation should be conducted ( post season ) to clean up the favoritism due to money and national fanbase.
I sure hope you are right. USC offered the Irish a proposal that favored neither team, but leveled the playing field. Notre Dame said it had to be on their terms, and walked away.
“Look at USC’s schedule, where they have to play Oregon, Washington, Ohio State, at Penn State, at Indiana, now a power, and their rival at UCLA. If that was your course load, that would be Trigonometry, Physics, and Chemistry twice. Notre Dame’s schedule is nonsense.
“As far as Notre Dame goes, it’s like a trust fund kid saying, ‘I can’t believe you have a summer job. I’m gonna be at Turks and Caicos.’
“If I had to start a college football program, and I had to pick any college coach to start it, I think Marcus Freeman is way at the top of the list. The look, the energy, the recruiting, the smarts, the in-game changing, the half-time adjustments … He’s really good. I like everything about him. I don’t know him personally, but I’m a huge fan. A lot of people thought Notre Dame should have been in the playoffs. It’s not his fault Notre Dame’s schedule is ridiculous. He is leading on this list of New York Giants’ candidates.
USC DC D’Anton Lynn takes the PSU DC job!
This seems unsurprising. The silence from the SC camp regarding Lynn has been deafening.
I have felt Lynn was a goner for quite some time. Not exactly surprising. Good for him. He helped USC a lot, but it’s time for us to do better.
Cohen, Bowden and Riley should be ready with replacements, just a matter of signing contracts.
I hope you are correct, GT. In fact, Bowden and Cohen are so on top of their game, I would be surprised if we don’t have Lynn’s replacement within 4 days.
After this next round of the playoffs are done sounds about right.
Marcus Freeman gets enhanced deal to stay at Notre Dame Adam Rittenberg (ESPN) — Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman, a potential candidate for NFL coaching vacancies, will return to the Fighting Irish in 2026. Freeman received an enhanced contract from the university, sources confirmed to ESPN. Freeman, who is 43-12 in four seasons at Notre Dame, announced his return Monday on X, posting, “2026…run it back. Go Irish.” Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua added that he views Freeman’s contract as a “living, breathing document” that will likely be revised every year. “We feel blessed that he’s our coach,” Bevacqua said. “I… Read more »
Bowl Games In Free Fall Andrew Holleran (Yahoo Sports) — “The bowl system we know now is officially dead,” a college football bowl executive said, via On3 Sports’ Brett McMurphy. They added: “RIP. It was a nice run while it lasted.” Bowl season attendance continues to drop, while bowl season TV ratings aren’t looking great, either. It seems like everyone only cares about the College Football Playoff. The (low) attendance of Saturday’s BYU vs. Georgia Tech bowl game, the Pop-Tarts Bowl, sparked concern about bowl games moving forward. Is bowl season dying? When crowds are like this, it’s tough to see… Read more »
ESPN was the biggest supporter of all these bowls. A good many of the bowls could easily go away. All these Group of 5/6 may be fun for the players and extra practice for coaches. But if attendance is so poor that it is too expensive for the school and the bowl they should go. It will be interesting to see the interest in the non playoff bowls this week with BIG v SEC and Big12.
What’s Lynn gonna do?
Lynn — “I focus on the players. I focus on what’s in front of me: just their growth, their development, trying to get this 10th win.”
If we can get a suitable replacement who will keep our great recruits on that side of the ball on our team, maybe it is time to move on from Lynn.
I know, i am trying to draw to an inside strait.
Lynn’s not a recruiter. I don’t think he’s a recruit magnet. He got USC out of the Alex Grinch debacle. Function served. If he leaves, okay with me. If he stays, that’s fine too. It would be interesting and fun to see who Riley could bring in to replace Lynn if necessary.
So far, I think the attitude of hiring NFL lenient coaches is not working. You have to admit the measurement of development over the past two seasons has been minimal where Lynn, Ryan & Henny (Noa) are coaching. Maybe it isn’t fair to point towards Ryan in this being his 1st season, but what we were told in pre-season of the rise in execution, what was reasonable for us to expect in execution just hasn’t happened. If replacing Lynn comes about, a sound college career DC & any openings in position coaches that occur needs teaching coaches not NFL detailed… Read more »
Sanchez attorneys have petitioned to have his case moved to federal court. I think this is a smart move. Whether he gets his case moved is not decided yet.
Per AI — Key details regarding the move to federal court include: Reason for Transfer: In a Dec. 22 filing, Fox Corp. argued that Indiana-based defendant Huse Culinary (the parent company of St. Elmo Steak House) was “fraudulently joined” to the lawsuit to keep the case in state court. Diversity of Citizenship: Fox argues that because both Sanchez and Fox Corp. are out-of-state defendants, removing Huse Culinary would allow the case to proceed in federal court based on diversity jurisdiction. Background of Lawsuit: Tole filed the suit alleging injuries after Sanchez confronted him regarding a parking space, with the amended complaint claiming Sanchez… Read more »
One pundant was saying that the bowl games are going to disappear just like NIT disappeared in basketball because there doesn’t seem to be many stars who want to play in these bowl games. It’s true. How many stars are there that are invited to play in a post season allstar game and skip their own teams bowl game or just skip the bowl game for the NFL combines. I really hate to see that happen. These post season bowl games are good games. They are teams with really good records who didn’t make the playoffs going against each other.… Read more »
Yes, all that matters are the playoffs now. Rivalries are slipping away too. Sad, but true.
If the bowl games were to disappear, I would hope that they would increase the amount of teams that they put into the playoffs. NIT did disappear but at least in basketball you have 64 teams in the playoffs.
Urban Meyer backs Kyle Whittingham as Michigan head coach Isaiah Hole (WolverinesWire) — Whittingham oversaw the Utes for 21 years, but before that, he was the defensive coordinator in Salt Lake City. And who was his head coach? None other than Urban Meyer, who eventually went on to lead Florida and Ohio State to national championships. Now Meyer is an analyst with Fox, and even though he won’t even say the name ‘Michigan,’ Whittingham says he’s leaned on his former mentor in getting his new job, and he’ll also do so when it comes to assembling his new staff. “I’ve had some good… Read more »
Who should get NFL Coach of the Year?
Liam Cohen (Jax) 11-4
Sean Payton (Den) 13-3
Ben Johnson (Chi) 11-4
Mike Vrabel (NE) 12-3
Mike MacDonald (Sea) 12-3
Kyle Shanahan (SF) 11-4
I would choose Ben Johnson, the former Detroit OC, who immed turned Trojan Heisman winner Caleb Williams from a first year sack king bust on the always hapless Bears into a second year comeback gunslinger who suddenly commands league wide respect with sky-is-the-limit talent.
I agree
Social media is spoofing Trojan Football fans. I saw a picture of Lincoln Riley on Facebook with the caption,”Riley will be fired after the bowl game.” The article attached was about Garrett Riley. But the clickbait was grabbing frustrated Trojan fans. Later an article with the coliseum pictured stated “USC lands big guard.” The article was about a basketball player. The first comment was happy to see Riley finally beefing up the line. Both articles were posted by supposed Trojan fan groups. What I think about Michigan’s coaching change is simply that Michigan has set the standard for firing a… Read more »
As far as Kyle Whittingham needing to “look over his shoulder” — 75% of his new 5-year deal (8.2 mil yearly) with MICH is literally guaranteed, and he’s already walked away from the game once. Personally, I wouldn’t be worried if I were Kyle.
Kyle is not worried…..the Mich players and recruits who want to goof off/sound off should be. Mr no nonsense is in town. You what…..and then the stare.
Portal opens in 5 days…..get ready, get set…..
Several teams need folks if they are going to be competitive. Teams like Indiana, Penn St and Michigan are going to be interesting to watch.
I would be surprised if Bowden doesn’t bring in proven starters. Who I have no idea.
We have talked about the downside to the portal……here is the upside……got a position or two you need help…..no need to wait 3 years…..wait 5 days!
Bowl Contest Standings as of 12/27/25 End of the Day
Names: Points
Golden Trojan 12
BUS83 11
Satyrdancing 11
TommeTrojan 11
Patrick9 11
Mrs Steveg 10
Trojan562 PE 10
Illinois Trojan 10
Steveg 9
Nick422 9
Plumb Daddy 9
Dabrickashaw Ferguson 8
DubPar-McKringleBerry 7
BIG10 is 5-0, SEC is 2-4. 4 BIG v SEC games coming up Tuesday thru Thursday.
Woody Marks is hammering out some tough yards for the Texans against the Chargers this afternoon.
Arrogant Nation — USC will retain S&C coach Trumain Carroll after a big push by KSU to bring him back under their new HC.
A full off season with Carroll will be a big difference for the guys in the trenches.
After the Pinstripe Bowl is won by PSU over CLEM, both teams will finish 7-6.
When was the last time two huge powerhouses like that played so poorly during the same season, and even played each other?
I’m sure there are other good examples. I just can’t think of any.
Preseason I was convinced that Clemson would be in the Championship game.
No idea what happened but based only on this game……he could use receivers….must have been 15 dropped balls.
I think the Wolverines made a really good hire, and a big upgrade over Moore. Glad we don’t play Michigan the next 2 years
Huge upgrade for MICH!
Where does Lincoln Riley rank amongst the B1G coaches now?
He’s behind Ryan Day, Dan Lanning, Kyle Whittingham and Curt Cignetti right off the bat.
Others might add Bret Bielema, Jedd Fisch, Kirk Ferentz, or others …
For those hoping for USC to take its rightful place among the top teams….that is the issue. You named 7 without trying….there could be others.
Our talent is going to be top notch….can the coaching do it?
A real arms race to get ahead of the competition in the BIG. Right now LR doesn’t have the talent/depth that Day, Lanning even Cignetti has. He does have more talent than the rest. Whittingham will get the most out of his talent and be a force in the BIG. It won’t be long till USC’s success is solely coaching. LR will have sufficient talent and depth next season.
How can you rate a certain HC over another when he hasn’t coached his new team even 1-game yet? Oh you say for what he has done in the past? OK what about Dan Mullen & Jimbo Fisher as examples having successful previous gigs and flopping at their new program? I could name other coaches also. Many many more in fact.
Lincoln Riley is a classic example of what you say. He was good at OU and was totally mediocre or stunk much of his time so far at USC, making some mistakes that were beyond stupid and had nothing to do with talent or NIL.
I’d rather have Ryan Day, Dan Lanning, Kyle Whittingham or Curt Cignetti as the coach of USC than LR. Simple as that, regardless of how anyone ranks them, or what they did before they took their last job, where they have all kicked butt.
Mich definitely made a better hire than USC did.
Some might think so in the very beginning but Whittingham falls into the very same trap Lincoln Riley did. Whittingham took over a program already built & operating successfully by Urban Meyer. He has yet to show he can rebuild another program on his very own although Michigan is in a lot better shape than what USC was when Riley took it over after coaching an already successfully working Oklahoma program Bob Stoops created. I wonder if the circumstances were reversed would Whittingham had beaten Riley in those head to head matches?
I admit. I just like Kyle Whittingham.
I think he’s way ahead of the comparatively inexperienced Lincoln Riley, who took over a true-blue-blue-blood, where really good coaches always win big at, and usually very early at that.
The questions you pose are mostly unanswerable Jam (at least IMO), and that’s why they are so fun to speculate about here on the TDB.
Beat the Horned Frogs!
Here’s to a great 2026!
I was honking and hoping for Willingham while we were working on the Riley hire. In fact, I think I was doing the same at the time we elevated Helton. But also, like most, I thought we hit the jackpot with hiring Riley instead. In hindsight, we would have been better off hiring Willingham instead of Riley.
That said, I think Willingham is a better hire for Mich. than SC. As I recall, he wasn’t particularly interested when his name was thrown around for SC back in the day.
I think you are right about Whittingham’s interest level in USC. It wasn’t there as I recall.
We could beat KW recently when he was at Utah. Hopefully, we’ll be able to beat him at Michigan. One thing for sure is that Michigan is going to be much better next year than the last 2 years. This Big 10 is getting really strong. LR better evolve into a great coach really fast or he’s going to gone.
Whittingham vs Riley: 3-0 Whittingham
Oct. 15, 2022: Utah 43, USC 42 (Salt Lake City): A thriller where Utah went for a 2-point conversion in the final minute to win.
Dec. 2, 2022: Utah 47, USC 24 (Pac-12 Championship, Las Vegas): Utah dominated the second half to secure back-to-back conference titles.
Oct. 21, 2023: Utah 34, USC 32 (Los Angeles): Utah secured a win on a field goal as time expired.
With Michigan talent…….oh brother.
What I meant was “we couldn’t”. Excuse my spelling
Whittingham saw what Riley was incapable in doing alone: to rebuild/develop a football program that loaded up all the pressure to win on Caleb Williams that almost ruined him his last year at USC. KW was fortunate more than anything USC was a shell of what it could have been as Riley made countless missteps to field a balanced team.
If SC goes 8-4 or worse next year and there is a really great coach available(like Whittingham this year), I would jump on it and not wait to fire LR. LR may turn out to be a great coach but he may not. Even if he does….how long is it going to take? We could be waiting a long time for something that is never going to happen. And this Big 10 conference is not getting any weaker.
No one knows how things turn out but……if somebody (one of the power teams) hires Judd Fisch before we do…….that will be a sad day imo.
Judd Fisch is really a good coach but there are a lot of other coaches that are just as good(such as the HC of Vanderbuilt). But if they were to get Fisch, I really think that we would be better than we are today.
Has anyone noticed if the type of linebackers our Trojan 2026 defense needs in the middle has committed to the Portal? This just has to be the top priority for Bowden, Riley & Ryan. If not then enlighten me please as to what other position is needed more in capability & experience to stop the most bleeding on the current team?
O Line, D Line, DB, Safety as well. Basically the whole D and O line needs more depth and talent to get through next season and beat top 10 teams.
Michigan football looks to be coming back by bringing Kyle Whittingham “out of retirement” as their new HC.
Great move on their part, which I advocated from the beginning. Home run hire IMO.
Who wouldn’t want Whittingham? 66 years old isn’t spring chicken territory for sure, but I’m betting he still has a lot of gas in the tank.
Whittingham spent the last 32 years at UTAH (the past 21 as HC). He was the second-longest tenured HC in the FBS behind only IOWA’s Kirk Ferentz, After he stepped down away from UTAH earlier this month, Whittingham joked — “I’m entering the transfer portal.”
I read sometime back that Whittingham liked to take later afternoons off to go skiing as well as short vacations away from his HC’ing responsibilities to keep fresh and not burned out. He could do that at Utah but I dare say would he try that at Michigan? I do agree he could be a good hire to settle down the mess at Michigan but Kyle isn’t the high energy type and will delegate a lot as a CEO type. Not sure if you can get away with that at Michigan and is he ready for a coaching position where… Read more »
Personally, I don’t think MICH would be all over Kyle W like a cheap suit if they were the least bit worried about him skiing, being burned out, or not devoting enough energy to fixing things in Ann Arbor. JMHO.
I’ll stick with my “great hire” mantra. Were I in charge of MICH, I’d be overjoyed that Kyle W was coming my way, especially in view of who else was available to come.
Could be that Michigan admin also has a partial objective of stabilizing the program. No cheating with signals, no girlfriends, no players acting out……if you want those things….Whittingham is perfect. Sort of like a Helton period. Of course they want to win and Whittingham connected to Michigan talent….Oh Brother….no Helton. and he does not need to make friends….he has plenty of cash and a huge pension…..just needs to bring stability, and tell the kids to cut out the nonsense….this is about winning. If he keeps the excellent talent from the past two classes and adds a few of those poly… Read more »
When he realizes all the pressure he will face especially “any” game he loses, that from the temporary President to certainly the AD who is really on the hot seat, I think he will come to grips what he has gotten himself into after being in a comfortable setting as a HC for so so long. At age 66 and being a nice guy, is Kyle Whittingham ready for this pressure cooker?
Jam…..I do not agree. He has his retirement all set in Utah as a near God.
He can always flip off whoever gives him problems. He might be a nice guy but I think he holds his ground if pushed just fine……No pressure at all.
Besides….with Michigan level talent…..do you really think he is going to lose many games…..he gave USC fits with Utah level talent……I don’t…..at least after the first year.
Do I think he’ll be there 10 years from now….no…..I really believe admin wants to settle down the program and get it operating the right way again.
I see your point Illinois. If the last part of your post is valid, why would a successful HC want to go to another program just to settle it down so another coach can come and easily take over? If this is about ego in wanting to see if KW can turn a troubled program into a championship contender that wasn’t possible at his last gig, then I can see that. But he stayed at Utah for 21 years? What was he waiting for? He had to know as Urban Meyer did, the Utah program was never going to get… Read more »
Lots of truth in what you say…….maybe now that he feels very financially secure he wants to take the stab at greatness. Why he stayed at Utah may also be tied to a legit desire to help kids become better people. In this day of everybody going for the bucks I guess there are still a few folks still wanting to be coaches. Also could be tied to the Morman church….he might have been asked to stay put for the betterment of Utah. Either way……he has his chance now to try it with top notch folks in the big house……and… Read more »
My thoughts about Whit is that he was competitive with 2 and 3 star kids. Lets see what happens with 4 and 5 star kids at MI.
Great for Michigan, but I for KW I can’t help wondering why?
Maybe he just got sick and tired of coaching at UTAH.
Maybe he decided to start drinking.
Merry Christmas TDB and all who stop by. I love being able to post my unending drivel here. Enjoy the festive holidays especially New Year’s Eve eve when we, once again, join loved ones to comment on USC football. See you then.
Merry Xmas and Happy New Year TDBers! Thank you so much for investing yourselves in our lively, insightful Trojan brotherhood here. What a terrific group we have. ✌ ✌
Merry Christmas, Fellow TDB Friends! Have a wonderful and safe day.
Merry Christmas to all of my TDB peeps, especially Allen and John.
You were the first person who signed up as member, so I guess that makes you the #1 member.
One of my proudest moments.
Thank you D.D.S. Merry Xmas partner! And here’s to a fantastic 2026 for us all! ✌ 🎅
Thanks to you guys for making TDB. It’s my first internet stop every morning.
I am looking forward to 2026. I am perfectly fine with putting 2025 in my rearview mirror.
FTFO!
Sark will forever be known for FTFO! His main legacy at USC. ✌ 🎅
I had a YETI coffee mug customized with FTFO. Whenever a non-SC friend or acquaintance asks what FTFO means, I tell them Fight On.
Christmas Eve, to all my friends on here have a blessed Christmas, and thank you Allen and John for putting up with all of us on here through this past year. Merry Christmas.
Ditto to you Steveg and Allen & John for their website that means a lot to us Trojan posters. And of course to my fellow & lady posters. Merry Christmas all.
Merry Christmas to you Steveg and Mrs Steveg and Allen, John and the rest of the TDB posters. Fight On in 2026
Thank you GT. Merry Xmas to you and yours! 🎅 ✌
Does anyone know how many TCU players will be sitting out this bowl game?
They will be missing their starting QB, but their backup isn’t too bad. That’s it I think.
I hope our players are up to playing with a good portion of our starters missing against a good bowl bound team that is fully loaded.
Will we see some changes in the coaching staff after December 30th? As to the defensive side of the program, what has transpired during this season as to the development and improved play in those positions? Can we say the defensive backfield has progressed and become more formidable? Yes I think so. Has the linebacker position and D-line positions shown improvement over this season? I say very little noticeable gain. Viewing Behind The Trojan Huddle yesterday it was suggested it could be due to the fit between young developing players and their NFL position coaches whose expertise is fine tuning… Read more »
That sounds right to me. I think 1-4 above will be moving to the next round. Unless all the top 4 seeds suffer the same fate as last year.
All BIG final
Yes sir…..top 3 BIG.
UGA seems low to me after watching their past few games. They are hitting their stride.
I have been saying for most of the year with conviction that this year’s national champion will be either Ohio State or Georgia. The more that things change, the more they stay the same! IU is a tempting pick, but experience matters in any playoff.
I find some of the opinions here on the ND rivalry thing to be really interesting. It seems so black and white for me! Just compare the teams’ two schedules for next year. ND’s schedule is silly, with just Miami as a real competitor (note – BYU is rarely consistently good … it has a senior-heavy year once in a while and this year was one of those including a number of 5th-year players and experienced transfers). Meanwhile, next year SC plays at Indiana, at Penn State, and has Ohio State, Oregon and Washington at home. One could argue that… Read more »
Gosh, I hadn’t thought of that possibility—playing ND in the playoffs. Wouldn’t that be something?
Cancellation of ND game: SC will also change its slogan to “fight off”.
I get it. USC needs to give in to every demand of Notre Dame, who refuses to join a conference, and continue with a scheduling format that greatly favors the Irish. No other big time program would play Notre Dame in the middle of BIG 10 play, or the week after ucla. Why should the Trojans? Because of tradition? USC made a legit offer to Notre Dame, and the Irish said no. Why do you perceive that as SC walking away from a fight?
Poor little Notre Dame. They only want to play patsies now. I thought they might have the balls and self-respect to honor USC’s logical and totally appropriate scheduling request that the game be played every year in Sept. But no. The pablum-drinking Irish got all riled up that anyone would have the guts to actually challenge their insistence that they always get their way, or it’s the highway for you. So Notre Dame does what only a true wimp would do. The Domers said, “Screw off USC. We’ve already snuck off and replaced you with Oatmeal Cookie BYU anyway (hah,… Read more »
Very refreshing to hear a long time USC fan who gets it. USC shouldn’t give up all of it’s leverage to keep the series going, but the Irish won’t budge, so that is on them. I just wish some of our more esteemed Alumni( ex players) weren’t so pig headed and could see the big picture.
SC is losing a number of players for the Alamo Bowl. At this point, it doesn’t look like TCU is losing hardly anyone. They’re losing their QB but their 2nd string QB was a starter for a few years at Vanderbuilt. Other than that I’m not sure that they are losing anyone else.
Just read Plaschke’s article about ND and the end of the rivalry in the LAT. Pretty much nails it, IMHO.
Hero Hut Military & First Responder Club presented by Cavender Auto Group located outside Section 348 (upper-level north endzone).
Call me crazy but I would love to see USC and Notre Dame stick it to the NCAA and the so called committee and the special privilege that the SEC gets! USC should opt out of a B1G championship game in Lieu of a championship weekend game vs Notre Dame every year at a neutral site to compete directly with the Championship games.
What gets me the most is that ND people are saying USC is afraid. Afraid of losing to ND? With the wear on players with the travel that is the biggest fear. Now they have 8 home games in 2026. What a joke, and the CFP committee chairman should be horsewhipped for giving into them.
Although USC is getting some negative press triggered by Notre Dame’s spin machine, their pathetic schedule became more exposed than if ND would have just walked away. Anyway, should ND run the table, they still shouldn’t be qualified to get a playoff spot. An investigation should be conducted ( post season ) to clean up the favoritism due to money and national fanbase.
Recall the endless loop palaver “Notre Dame needs USC”?
In reality, there will be no “hiatus”. We just witnessed the agonal, final breath of this classic rivalry.
Notre Dame will not revisit squat. They have what they want, with an ironclad “MOU” in pocket from the CFP Committee for next year.
The CFP Committee was as tone deaf as Jen Cohen, and ND was far better in negotiations.
That “joint press release” was as factual as a Pravda editorial. This is a dead letter.
Wouldn’t it be great if ND lost to Miami and BYU and/or SMU and ends up out of the top 15 next season.
I strongly believe there will be pushback against ND. For once, finally.
I sure hope you are right. USC offered the Irish a proposal that favored neither team, but leveled the playing field. Notre Dame said it had to be on their terms, and walked away.
Maybe the Irish finally went too far.
I detest saying this overly hackneyed phrase, but only time will tell.