Swanson: USC football is making it about the journey …
The No. 20 Trojans, just weeks ago not considered College Football Playoff caliber, are now driving smoothly over rough terrain, which will soon get even rougher
USC WR Makai Lemon (6) celebrates with teammates Ja’Kobi Lane (8) and Jayden Maiava after his rushing TD during the third quarter against NW on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Mirjam Swanson (OC Register) — LOS ANGELES — You paid for a Mercedes-Benz. You don’t expect to be trucking up the hill in a Subaru. I get it.
You’ve got the third-highest paid coach in all the land, you expect to ride in luxury – like you have in the past, when your USC football team started so many seasons by simply plugging in the coordinates for a national championship coronation and either arriving there in style, or parking pretty close by.
But still. You could do a lot worse than a Subaru, reliable and rugged. And you might even find you enjoy the view more when you’ve started at the bottom and not the top (especially as precarious as that perch has been this season, with weekly shakeups and half of the Associated Press’s Top 10 having vacated those spots if not tumbling out of the top-25 ranking entirely).
You might actually enjoy the climb, up from among the unranked for the first three weeks of the season to 7-2 now, your now-No. 20 Trojans in control of their own destiny for a College Football Playoff spot. Every game from here is essentially a play-in for the playoffs and the Big Ten Conference title game.
What I’m saying is you might find you like surprises – because who’da thunk it!? Bet you didn’t.
In 2024, USC was ranked No. 11 in Week 3 but then 4-5 at this time last season – and 2-5 in its first Big Ten Conference foray.
Now, after Friday’s 38-17 victory over Northwestern at the Los Angeles Coliseum, the Trojans are 5-1 in Big Ten play, with three more opportunities – No. 20 Iowa, No. 9 Oregon and UCLA – remaining on the regular-season docket.
Those games will all be either at home or at least on the West Coast, but anyone paying attention knows the Trojans have miles to go yet. There’s still much to be desired from this team – whose victory over the Wildcats (5-4, 3-3) was a bit of a microcosm for the season at large. An inauspicious start; 14-14 with 7:26 to play in the second quarter. Some head-scratching stuff. Some jaw-dropping stuff. And, importantly, that now-familiar reliable, rugged push.
By the time they’d pulled over for the night, the Trojans had built a 21-point lead, and they’d racked up 482 total yards and 309 through the air against a Northwestern defense that hadn’t allowed a 200-yard passer all season.
But the Wildcats hadn’t faced Jayden Maiava, your no-quit quarterback throwing an interception and then racing back to lay a nasty hit on Northwestern’s Najee Story just before he scored, forcing a fumble out of the back of the end zone for a touchback that gave the ball right back to USC.
Nor had Northwestern probably encountered coaches quite so diabolical. A week after Halloween, the Trojans dressed third-string quarterback Sam Huard as punter Sam Johnson so that Huard, in a matching No. 80, could enter the game undetected for the ultimate fake-out fake punt, spiraling a 10-yard pass to Tanook Hines to an extend a drive that would end with a Maiava rushing touchdown.
Nor had the Wildcats met a walk-on like King Miller, the redshirt freshman running back who continued to do the work of the two injured scholarship stars in front of him, on Friday running for 90 yards on nine first-half carries. The kid from Calabasas finished with 127 yards on the ground – surpassing 100 yards for the third time in four games – plus a touchdown before a shoulder stinger ended his night. He’s OK, and he’s great.
What’s more, your defense adjusted, digging in its heels, getting to Northwestern’s running backs closer to the line of scrimmage so that the Wildcats gained only 28 yards on the ground in the second half after rushing for 102 in the first.
And star receivers Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane continued to outshine everyone: factory-ordered production, Hollywood flair. Lemon had a career-high 161 yards through the air and Lane’s 74 included several diving snags and one spectacular one-hander in the end zone despite tight coverage.
“Awesome, awesome, I mean awesome win,” said Lincoln Riley, the $11 million coach, whose postgame press conferences at home – where he’s undefeated this season – have sounded much less defensive these days and much more in line with what USC is paying for, confidence in motion.
“We know the more we win, the bigger these opportunities get,” Riley said. “We’ve got some big ones coming up that are big because we’ve made them big. And so I think for the team, just making sure they understand that, they understand how hard it is to get to this point in any year, where you have in front of us what we do.
“And, like, let’s go embrace them.”
It’s been a journey worth embracing so far. You can admit it, you’re enjoying the ride.
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High stakes for USC and ORE Brad Crawford (CBS Sports) — The Ducks and Trojans won’t meet until Nov. 15, but that showdown is arguably the most important game left in the Big Ten’s playoff picture as long as eighth-ranked Oregon beats Minnesota and No. 17 USC handles Iowa this weekend. By winning out, Lincoln Riley’s team would rise in the rankings and get one of the final at-large spots given their previous victory over a possible 10-win Michigan — should the now 18th-ranked Wolverines stun Ohio State for a fifth consecutive season — and what would be quality wins over… Read more »
As there was some discussion of LR as a QB coach with his benching of Miller Moss and Moss departure to Louisville, I just checked the ESPN rating of the all the QBs in D1 as I think the sample size of games played is now adequate enough to measure performance objectively. Maiava is #2 (Sayin at tOSU is #1) and Moss is #67. Turns out that Altmeyer of Illinois is in the top 10.
USC jumps into top 10 of women’s basketball AP Top 25, UCLA remains No. 3 Doug Feinberg (LAT) — USC and Baylor jumped into the top 10 of the Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll after big opening week victories. The Bears began the season with a victory in Paris over then-No. 7 Duke to replace the Blue Devils in that spot Monday, climbing nine places. The Trojans edged then-No. 9 North Carolina State by a point Sunday to move up 10 spots to eighth overall. While USC will be missing star JuJu Watkins all season as she… Read more »
Would you do it again? As I said here earlier, the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze, especially against a team that might not even make a bowl game. JMHO. We didn’t need it. We won big and the play many of us will always remember was the amazing Maiava-caused goal line fumble. That awesome play still blows my mind. So USC stretched the numbering rules and didn’t get a penalty in the game which should have been levied when our real punter entered the game wearing #80. Boo hoo. USC has once again found an unlikely way to get in… Read more »
USC vs NW: The fake punt in question was illegal. “a starting punter and Qb [ acting as a punter ] cannot wear the same number”. It’s not new; the Baylor Bears used the play last year. It’s like the USC vs ND “big push” involving Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush. The NCAA rules prohibit one player helping another to gain forward progress. However, today an illegal push is almost indistinguishable from the old scrum which was derived from Rugby, and American football evolved from Rugby.
I’ve seen punters throw passes, I’ve seen quarterbacks quick kick. This isn’t as special as people think. Quarterbacks are listed on the roster. They line up behind center. During the play the quarterback made no kicking moves he was a quarterback.
True enough: the NCAA rule states that ” 2 players PLAYING THE SAME POSITION may not wear the same number. The play is legal because the 2 players were NOT PLAYING THE SAME POSITION. The NCAA states: a player who lines up in the punting formation is NOT restricted from being a QB that throws a pass. That the coach is using “unfair tactics”, and therefore should be penalized when the regular punter punts the ball, is an opinion issued by the NCAA, and not based solely on the rules per se.
Do USC fans expect Lincoln Riley to fail? Stewart Mandel (The Athletic) — No. 19 USC is hanging around the cusp of the CFP race. The Trojans, now 7-2, ran away from Northwestern 38-17 in a Friday night game that included huge nights by receivers Ja’Kobi Lane and Makai Lemon. (Plus a devious — and possibly illegal — fake punt call by Lincoln Riley.) USC hasn’t remained ranked this late since Riley’s first season, in 2022, but I was there, and the Coliseum crowd of 67,179 seemed subdued. It’s like the fan base now expects a Riley team to blow… Read more »
What’s happening with Notre Dame? Ryan Kartje (LAT) — Since USC made an amended offer to Notre Dame in August to maintain the series for another two seasons, there hasn’t been much obvious movement in negotiations. It’s not hard to figure out why. USC has no interest in budging on its current offer, and Notre Dame has no incentive to cave to its rival’s demands … yet. However, the Irish did recently make a notable change to their schedule that creates some flexibility in 2026. Notre Dame confirmed last week that its road game against Florida State was struck from next… Read more »
I was thinking it would be easier if ND just joined the B1G, but I realized it might not. The schedule makers have been welcoming the west coast teams by hand them the sticky end of the plunger. I can imagine a time where they would force USC to choose a rival for their protected rivalry.
Rose Bowl seeks temporary restraining order in attempt to block any UCLA move to SoFi Stadium The Rose Bowl has requested a TRO seeking to stop UCLA from moving its games to SoFi Stadium before their litigation is resolved.
Ben Bolch (LAT) — The filing contends that the plaintiffs would suffer “immediate and irreparable harm if the status quo is not preserved during the pendency of this lawsuit.”
A hearing has tentatively been scheduled for Wednesday morning.
I’d let them move to Sofi as long as they are still on the hook for the full payment in the life of the Rose Bowl contract. That and paying alimony to CaL will break them financially and forever be a doormat in football in the BIG.
I hope they make ucla pay the balance of the contract.
Being a state public school and underfunded because they proudly give free tuition to everyone, the Cal Extension campus graduates go through life thinking they should never pay for anything.
SC, for all intents and purposes, owns the mighty Coliseum as its home. The bruins, like their graduates, can look forward to a lifetime of being renters.
They should have never left the Coliseum in the 80s. What a bunch of clowns.
What is in a number? Would a quarterback by any other number still pass effectively? The B1G doesn’t think so, apparently saying that two players wearing the same number cannot play the same position. Tempest in a toilet bowl me thinks. What if the actual kicker had thrown the pass? Or what if the 3rd string quarterback had punted? It actually looks as if the B1G thinks the refs blew the call according to recent news releases. As someone has pointed out the passing punter passing as a kicker was still playing as a quarterback by lining up behind the… Read more »
And as one article I read pointed, even if a penalty had been called, it would have been when the actual punter actually punted. And given what actually happened when he did, the result was zero impact.
USC vs Iowa, early breakdown: The Hawkeyes are second in Defense only to the Buckeyes, nationally. SC will need to rely on the pass a little more [ Rutgers passed for 330yds]. Iowa will cover the -6.5pt spread. Iowa’s “D” is “bend, don’t break”… tough, tenacious zone cover, with low-blitzing. Expect Trojans to nip Hawks due to the excellent receiving duo of Lemon and Lane, despite their leaky squicky “D”. Maiava will be the difference maker, even with his one gimme interception. USC 21, Iowa 17
Some real rain on Thursday, maybe slight chance on Friday too based on various conflicting reports. Saturday should be clear and sunny with a high of 65-69 degrees. But I’m no weatherman.
Might even be closer like 21 to 20 USC. Trojan defense will have difficulty stopping the Hawkeye running game. I fear their O-line will push our front 7 back like Illinois did. What they are really good at is their linemen get behind the runner who tries to stay on his feet when tackled and they push against the tacklers another 3/4 yards. Our tacklers must get the ball carrier down immediately! Iowa will continue to run the ball eating up the clock and control the LOS until it’s O-line is stopped. Of course if Iowa comes in and plays… Read more »
A big positive for USC is that the Trojans are playing for a Playoff spot. That type of real motivation is a strong plus for USC IMO.
There’s no reason for USC to stumble at home vs the Hawkeyes. If that should somehow happen, it’s back to square one for LR.
Progress has surely been made over last season, but losing to IOWA would shove USC right back down the totem pole, especially if losses to either ORE or UCLA occur.
For a long time my Saturday golfing partner was an Iowa guy. On the last Saturday of November 2021 (the day before SC hired Lincoln Riley) my buddy and I were waiting on the first tee, preparing to go out as a twosome. Up walked a tall, athletic guy who said he was a single and would be joining us. He introduced himself as Matt. My buddy had Iowa headcovers on his clubs. Matt saw them and asked if he was an Iowa guy. Yes, he answered. Matt then asked if he had been to the Holiday Bowl when SC… Read more »
No. 18 Women of Troy get huge road win behind freshman Jazzy Davidson over No. 9 NC State on East Coast The Women of Troy pulled off a top-10 win on the road. Ahmad Akkaoui (USCFootball.com) — It’s not how you start the game, it’s how you finish. After shooting a woeful 2 for 13 to start, USC ended Sunday’s game on an 8-0 run and nabbed two clutch steals in the final 10 seconds to secure a 69-68 win over No. 9 NC State. Freshman guard Jazzy Davidson had a huge second half, including the game-winning bucket with 8.2 seconds remaining. She scored 18… Read more »
QB Jayden Maiava amazingly decides he’s really a linebacker and sprints over to the Trojan goal line, zeroing in on full-steam-ahead 290-pound Wildcat DL Najee Story, causing a fumble/touchback which results in a 14-point swing in favor of the Trojans.
“Just shows you what type of player he is,” Makai Lemon said. “He’s Superman,” added King Miller.
Big Ten issues statement on USC’s fake punt strategy — Sunday, 11/9/25 “NCAA Football Playing Rule 9, Section 2, Article 2 is labeled ‘Unfair Tactics’, with paragraph ‘d’ stating: ‘Two players playing the same position may not wear the same number during the game.’ If a foul was identified when #80 (Johnson) entered the game as a punter, a Team Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty would have been assessed resulting in a 15-yard penalty from the previous spot. The Big Ten will continue to review the situation with both institutions.” “It’s important to note that USC would not and should not have… Read more »
I wonder if this clever play by SC will lead to some kind of jersey numbering system that allows each player to have a unique jersey identification? Maybe defensive players have to have their jersey numbers starting with 100?
This duplicate number thing is becoming a headache. It’s happened at the high school i work with–they have too many QBs and the 2nd and 3rd string QBs’ wear the same number. It’s also a problem because the coach will not allow single digit jersey numbers, for some reason….
It’ll be the last time they use it. Every special teams coach will have an updated roster in his hand. Might have saved the play for this week. Maybe they have another trick up their sleeve.
I’m not sure the juice was worth the squeeze here for USC. “Cheeky Jersey Change” seems to be the general public consensus, though some have been more critical.
Others receiving votes: South Florida 99; North Texas 98; Iowa 81; Houston 73; Tulane 53; SMU 32; Illinois 15; Washington 12; Arizona 7; Nebraska 6; Memphis 6; Arizona State 3; Navy 2; San Diego State 1; East Carolina 1.
Well I might look like a genius, but I was unhappy when we couldn’t beat the spread against Nebraska so I decided to go for broke literally. Now I have to calculate how to advance this week.
When I read this yesterday it didn’t register in my tiny brain that Nebraska has a new quarterback. The Cornholers needed Ucla to get a scrimmage in before getting back to business. I’m sure people in the state are thinking USC got a “lucky break”
IU, Vandy and OR all almost lost today but pulled their games out in the last minute, and overtime for Vandy. Good teams find a way to win, but if all 3 had lost, then the playoff rankings would have had a major reshuffle.
And UW is coming off a bye. Bye’s don’t always work to a team’s benefit. UW hammers ILL 42-25, takes a bye, and can’t play worth a dam against †he hapless 2-6 Badgers in Madison.
USC with its passing game can follow Oregon’s lead in pulling out a win. And even though Oregon’s D is better than us, they still got manhandled by Iowa’s O-line which should tell us D’Anton really has his work cut out this week. If we think Illinois was physical, Iowa might be more. We may not be able to stop Iowa’s rushing attack and it will be crucial Riley can somehow manage to get the ball at the last two minutes to score and pull a win out.
High stakes for USC and ORE Brad Crawford (CBS Sports) — The Ducks and Trojans won’t meet until Nov. 15, but that showdown is arguably the most important game left in the Big Ten’s playoff picture as long as eighth-ranked Oregon beats Minnesota and No. 17 USC handles Iowa this weekend. By winning out, Lincoln Riley’s team would rise in the rankings and get one of the final at-large spots given their previous victory over a possible 10-win Michigan — should the now 18th-ranked Wolverines stun Ohio State for a fifth consecutive season — and what would be quality wins over… Read more »
SC-Oregon is November 22nd.
College Football Playoff Rankings, Nov. 11
* First-round bye | ~ First-round host | ^ Highest-ranked Group of Five team
1 Ohio State (9-0) *
2 Indiana (10-0) *
3 Texas A&M (9-0) *
4 Alabama (8-1) *
5 Georgia (8-1) ~
6 Texas Tech (9-1) ~
7 Ole Miss (9-1) ~
8 Oregon (8-1) ~
9 Notre Dame (7-2)
10 Texas (7-2)
11 Oklahoma (7-2)
12 BYU (8-1)
13 Utah (7-2)
14 Vanderbilt (8-2)
15 Miami (FL) (7-2) | No. 11 seed
16 Georgia Tech (8-1)
17 USC (7-2)
18 Michigan (7-2)
19 Virginia (8-2)
20 Louisville (7-2)
21 Iowa (6-3)
22 Pittsburgh (7-2)
23 Tennessee (6-3)
24 South Florida (7-2) ^ | No. 12 seed
25 Cincinnati (7-2)
As there was some discussion of LR as a QB coach with his benching of Miller Moss and Moss departure to Louisville, I just checked the ESPN rating of the all the QBs in D1 as I think the sample size of games played is now adequate enough to measure performance objectively. Maiava is #2 (Sayin at tOSU is #1) and Moss is #67. Turns out that Altmeyer of Illinois is in the top 10.
Latest looks like a wet one Saturday with light wind. Could be one of those slow moving ones and who knows when and how much will get to SoCal.
There’s only one USC
Didn’t the two schools fight a trademark war over the exclusive right to “USC” about 10-15 years ago?
Examples of USC’s registered trademarks include:
Wordmarks and Phrases
Logos and Symbols
USC jumps into top 10 of women’s basketball AP Top 25, UCLA remains No. 3 Doug Feinberg (LAT) — USC and Baylor jumped into the top 10 of the Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll after big opening week victories. The Bears began the season with a victory in Paris over then-No. 7 Duke to replace the Blue Devils in that spot Monday, climbing nine places. The Trojans edged then-No. 9 North Carolina State by a point Sunday to move up 10 spots to eighth overall. While USC will be missing star JuJu Watkins all season as she… Read more »
Well you can’t say USC WBB starts the season with cupcakes!
You can say that again.
Two top 10 games in a single week, just to get things going, while missing probably the best female player USC has ever had.
Interesting location next year since the Gamecock’s are in Columbia, SC.
The fake punt brought out all the USC haters en masse
Would you do it again? As I said here earlier, the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze, especially against a team that might not even make a bowl game. JMHO. We didn’t need it. We won big and the play many of us will always remember was the amazing Maiava-caused goal line fumble. That awesome play still blows my mind. So USC stretched the numbering rules and didn’t get a penalty in the game which should have been levied when our real punter entered the game wearing #80. Boo hoo. USC has once again found an unlikely way to get in… Read more »
We’re a media magnet. We’re like Raymond. Everybody loves us.
add: mere speculation on my part, but I think Riley was planning on using the play against Iowa or Oregon, when punting was more likely.
So why would he use it against NW then? I don’t follow.
I dunno either; LR probably panicked because NW was playing SC, unexpectantly, very close at the time of the play.
USC vs NW: The fake punt in question was illegal. “a starting punter and Qb [ acting as a punter ] cannot wear the same number”. It’s not new; the Baylor Bears used the play last year. It’s like the USC vs ND “big push” involving Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush. The NCAA rules prohibit one player helping another to gain forward progress. However, today an illegal push is almost indistinguishable from the old scrum which was derived from Rugby, and American football evolved from Rugby.
I’ve seen punters throw passes, I’ve seen quarterbacks quick kick. This isn’t as special as people think. Quarterbacks are listed on the roster. They line up behind center. During the play the quarterback made no kicking moves he was a quarterback.
True enough: the NCAA rule states that ” 2 players PLAYING THE SAME POSITION may not wear the same number. The play is legal because the 2 players were NOT PLAYING THE SAME POSITION. The NCAA states: a player who lines up in the punting formation is NOT restricted from being a QB that throws a pass. That the coach is using “unfair tactics”, and therefore should be penalized when the regular punter punts the ball, is an opinion issued by the NCAA, and not based solely on the rules per se.
Do USC fans expect Lincoln Riley to fail? Stewart Mandel (The Athletic) — No. 19 USC is hanging around the cusp of the CFP race. The Trojans, now 7-2, ran away from Northwestern 38-17 in a Friday night game that included huge nights by receivers Ja’Kobi Lane and Makai Lemon. (Plus a devious — and possibly illegal — fake punt call by Lincoln Riley.) USC hasn’t remained ranked this late since Riley’s first season, in 2022, but I was there, and the Coliseum crowd of 67,179 seemed subdued. It’s like the fan base now expects a Riley team to blow… Read more »
What’s happening with Notre Dame? Ryan Kartje (LAT) — Since USC made an amended offer to Notre Dame in August to maintain the series for another two seasons, there hasn’t been much obvious movement in negotiations. It’s not hard to figure out why. USC has no interest in budging on its current offer, and Notre Dame has no incentive to cave to its rival’s demands … yet. However, the Irish did recently make a notable change to their schedule that creates some flexibility in 2026. Notre Dame confirmed last week that its road game against Florida State was struck from next… Read more »
I was thinking it would be easier if ND just joined the B1G, but I realized it might not. The schedule makers have been welcoming the west coast teams by hand them the sticky end of the plunger. I can imagine a time where they would force USC to choose a rival for their protected rivalry.
Rose Bowl seeks temporary restraining order in attempt to block any UCLA move to SoFi Stadium
The Rose Bowl has requested a TRO seeking to stop UCLA from moving its games to SoFi Stadium before their litigation is resolved.
Ben Bolch (LAT) — The filing contends that the plaintiffs would suffer “immediate and irreparable harm if the status quo is not preserved during the pendency of this lawsuit.”
A hearing has tentatively been scheduled for Wednesday morning.
latimes.com
I’d let them move to Sofi as long as they are still on the hook for the full payment in the life of the Rose Bowl contract. That and paying alimony to CaL will break them financially and forever be a doormat in football in the BIG.
I hope they make ucla pay the balance of the contract.
Being a state public school and underfunded because they proudly give free tuition to everyone, the Cal Extension campus graduates go through life thinking they should never pay for anything.
SC, for all intents and purposes, owns the mighty Coliseum as its home. The bruins, like their graduates, can look forward to a lifetime of being renters.
They should have never left the Coliseum in the 80s. What a bunch of clowns.
What is in a number? Would a quarterback by any other number still pass effectively? The B1G doesn’t think so, apparently saying that two players wearing the same number cannot play the same position. Tempest in a toilet bowl me thinks. What if the actual kicker had thrown the pass? Or what if the 3rd string quarterback had punted? It actually looks as if the B1G thinks the refs blew the call according to recent news releases. As someone has pointed out the passing punter passing as a kicker was still playing as a quarterback by lining up behind the… Read more »
And as one article I read pointed, even if a penalty had been called, it would have been when the actual punter actually punted. And given what actually happened when he did, the result was zero impact.
Every other game looks like a blow out or insignificant. USC-Iowa should not be on BIGNetwork.
USC vs Iowa, early breakdown: The Hawkeyes are second in Defense only to the Buckeyes, nationally. SC will need to rely on the pass a little more [ Rutgers passed for 330yds]. Iowa will cover the -6.5pt spread. Iowa’s “D” is “bend, don’t break”… tough, tenacious zone cover, with low-blitzing. Expect Trojans to nip Hawks due to the excellent receiving duo of Lemon and Lane, despite their leaky squicky “D”. Maiava will be the difference maker, even with his one gimme interception. USC 21, Iowa 17
Sounds like good analysis. Is the LA weather supposed to be crappy on Saturday?
Some real rain on Thursday, maybe slight chance on Friday too based on various conflicting reports. Saturday should be clear and sunny with a high of 65-69 degrees. But I’m no weatherman.
Might even be closer like 21 to 20 USC. Trojan defense will have difficulty stopping the Hawkeye running game. I fear their O-line will push our front 7 back like Illinois did. What they are really good at is their linemen get behind the runner who tries to stay on his feet when tackled and they push against the tacklers another 3/4 yards. Our tacklers must get the ball carrier down immediately! Iowa will continue to run the ball eating up the clock and control the LOS until it’s O-line is stopped. Of course if Iowa comes in and plays… Read more »
A big positive for USC is that the Trojans are playing for a Playoff spot. That type of real motivation is a strong plus for USC IMO.
There’s no reason for USC to stumble at home vs the Hawkeyes. If that should somehow happen, it’s back to square one for LR.
Progress has surely been made over last season, but losing to IOWA would shove USC right back down the totem pole, especially if losses to either ORE or UCLA occur.
I’m still bitter over the last time we faced Iowa. Embarrassed and annihilated.
For a long time my Saturday golfing partner was an Iowa guy. On the last Saturday of November 2021 (the day before SC hired Lincoln Riley) my buddy and I were waiting on the first tee, preparing to go out as a twosome. Up walked a tall, athletic guy who said he was a single and would be joining us. He introduced himself as Matt. My buddy had Iowa headcovers on his clubs. Matt saw them and asked if he was an Iowa guy. Yes, he answered. Matt then asked if he had been to the Holiday Bowl when SC… Read more »
Cool story. Was Fink a decent golfer? ✌
Fink won USC’s 2019 Jack Oakie “Rise and Shine” Award.
Yes. He wasn’t very experienced but he had a lot of natural ability. I think he shot between 80 and 85.
No. 18 Women of Troy get huge road win behind freshman Jazzy Davidson over No. 9 NC State on East Coast The Women of Troy pulled off a top-10 win on the road. Ahmad Akkaoui (USCFootball.com) — It’s not how you start the game, it’s how you finish. After shooting a woeful 2 for 13 to start, USC ended Sunday’s game on an 8-0 run and nabbed two clutch steals in the final 10 seconds to secure a 69-68 win over No. 9 NC State. Freshman guard Jazzy Davidson had a huge second half, including the game-winning bucket with 8.2 seconds remaining. She scored 18… Read more »
USC’s Play of the Game vs NW (maybe the year)
QB Jayden Maiava amazingly decides he’s really a linebacker and sprints over to the Trojan goal line, zeroing in on full-steam-ahead 290-pound Wildcat DL Najee Story, causing a fumble/touchback which results in a 14-point swing in favor of the Trojans.
“Just shows you what type of player he is,” Makai Lemon said. “He’s Superman,” added King Miller.
Big Ten issues statement on USC’s fake punt strategy — Sunday, 11/9/25 “NCAA Football Playing Rule 9, Section 2, Article 2 is labeled ‘Unfair Tactics’, with paragraph ‘d’ stating: ‘Two players playing the same position may not wear the same number during the game.’ If a foul was identified when #80 (Johnson) entered the game as a punter, a Team Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty would have been assessed resulting in a 15-yard penalty from the previous spot. The Big Ten will continue to review the situation with both institutions.” “It’s important to note that USC would not and should not have… Read more »
I wonder if this clever play by SC will lead to some kind of jersey numbering system that allows each player to have a unique jersey identification? Maybe defensive players have to have their jersey numbers starting with 100?
This duplicate number thing is becoming a headache. It’s happened at the high school i work with–they have too many QBs and the 2nd and 3rd string QBs’ wear the same number. It’s also a problem because the coach will not allow single digit jersey numbers, for some reason….
QB Sam Huard never looked so good. Not sure USC has heard the end of its attempt at a little trickeration.
It’ll be the last time they use it. Every special teams coach will have an updated roster in his hand. Might have saved the play for this week. Maybe they have another trick up their sleeve.
I’m not sure the juice was worth the squeeze here for USC. “Cheeky Jersey Change” seems to be the general public consensus, though some have been more critical.
AP Top 25
US LBM Coaches Poll
Others receiving votes: South Florida 99; North Texas 98; Iowa 81; Houston 73; Tulane 53; SMU 32; Illinois 15; Washington 12; Arizona 7; Nebraska 6; Memphis 6; Arizona State 3; Navy 2; San Diego State 1; East Carolina 1.
Current Standings – 11.09.2025
Rialto Trojan 40000BUS83 28000GoldenTrojan 26000Scoochnew 26000Dubpar22 25000TommeTrojan 24000TrojanRJJ 18500Illinois Trojan 18000MrsSteveg 11000Figueroa 7000Steveg 0Thank you Steveg for playing along. Don’t forget the Bowl Contest in December.
For Complete Game by Game Results click on the link below:
Click Here
Way To Go Big Rialto and Dubpar! Congrats! 🤑
Well I might look like a genius, but I was unhappy when we couldn’t beat the spread against Nebraska so I decided to go for broke literally. Now I have to calculate how to advance this week.
You could try the Final Jeopardy strategy, one dollar more that the next closest could win.
Week 11 disasters for Top 25’s
#7 BYU ( 28-7 to #8 TT)
#14 VA (16-9 to unranked WAKE)
#15 LOUIS (29-26 to unranked CAL)
#20 IOWA (18-16 to #9 ORE)
#22 MO (38-17 to #3 A&M)
#22 MEM (38-32 to unranked TUL)
#23 UW (13-10 to unranked WIS)
SC should move up a spot or two. James Madison should move to the top of the Group of 6. ACC back to GT and SMU. MO, MEM, UW are out.
Two losses above USC, hoping they get moved up to at least 15.
Ucla is getting their dose of Nebraska rb Emmitt Johnson this week.
When I read this yesterday it didn’t register in my tiny brain that Nebraska has a new quarterback. The Cornholers needed Ucla to get a scrimmage in before getting back to business. I’m sure people in the state are thinking USC got a “lucky break”
“lucky break”, OUCH!
QB Lateef did much better with a week to prep. He wasn’t ready for the pop quiz last week.
IU, Vandy and OR all almost lost today but pulled their games out in the last minute, and overtime for Vandy. Good teams find a way to win, but if all 3 had lost, then the playoff rankings would have had a major reshuffle.
That’s what good teams do — win close games with great plays at the end.
I still can’t believe what I saw when IU came back to beat PSU. Even hard core Curt Cignetti seemed near tears and in shock after the game.
Washington is on the verge of losing to Wisconsin. Yes. It is gonna happen. 13-10.
And UW is coming off a bye. Bye’s don’t always work to a team’s benefit. UW hammers ILL 42-25, takes a bye, and can’t play worth a dam against †he hapless 2-6 Badgers in Madison.
ORE goes ahead of IOWA 18-16 with three seconds to go.
ORE at IOWA is a close one with the Ducks leading 15-10 with 5:30 to go. It’s anybodies game.
A Duck win helps USC IMO.
USC with its passing game can follow Oregon’s lead in pulling out a win. And even though Oregon’s D is better than us, they still got manhandled by Iowa’s O-line which should tell us D’Anton really has his work cut out this week. If we think Illinois was physical, Iowa might be more. We may not be able to stop Iowa’s rushing attack and it will be crucial Riley can somehow manage to get the ball at the last two minutes to score and pull a win out.