2021 USC FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Sept. 4 — San Jose State – 2 p.m. PT (Pac-12 Networks)
Sept. 11 – Stanford – 7:30 p.m. PT (FOX)
Sept. 18 — at Washington State – 12:30 p.m. PT (FOX)
Sept. 25 — Oregon State
Oct. 2 — at Colorado
Oct. 9 – Utah (FOX/FS1)
Oct. 16 — BYE WEEK
Oct. 23 — at Notre Dame – 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT (NBC)
Oct. 30 — Arizona
Nov. 6 — at Arizona State
Nov. 13 — at California
Nov. 20 – UCLA
Nov. 27 – BYU
Start times and televising networks for USC’s remaining regular-season games of 2021 will be made 6-to-12 days in advance of each contest.
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Jon Wilner on whether Clay Helton will be fired if USC doesn’t make the Rose Bowl this year (he seems to leave a lot of wiggle room here): In our opinion, a middle ground exists between Rose Bowl and termination, but it’s not exactly expansive territory. What if the Trojans finish 10-2 and win the South but lose a competitive game in the Pac-12 championship? It’s difficult to imagine the administration making a change under that scenario. Head coaches in tenuous situations are rarely judged on specific victory totals or trophy acquisitions. Nuance is typically present, to some degree, in… Read more »
Good read on Larry Scott’s last screw up: https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/2021/05/29/larry-scott-flips-the-bird-to-pac-12-football-fans-including-usc-one-last-time/?utm_source=trojanswire&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=pos1headline&env=2c0fbadba8f6b9bc0a3b5f2029c763126785c260cd0c198b870399de52f96a26
Chris Arledge (WeAreSC.com) on Clay Helton: “Well, CBS recently came out with its coaching rankings for the Power 5 conferences. Clay Helton came in 48th of 65, which puts him in the 27th percentile. That USC has a coach who is considered to be in the bottom tier of all major-college football coaches is weird, but not unprecedented. That he is about to start his seventh full season, has only one single conference title, has a winning percentage below USC’s traditional winning percentage, has master-minded some of USC’s most embarrassing blowout losses, has lost the entire fan base, and USC fans still don’t… Read more »
I responded to Chris’s article on Gary P’s board that Clay being ranked 48th is an insult to the 17 coaches that he was ranked ahead of. Never again will this incompetent buffoon lead another Power 5 program. I can’t believe he is still our head coach. I feel 2021 will be a real struggle to maintain bowl eligibility for USC, which hopefully gets Clay kicked(finally) to the curb.
Unbelievable —
USC Scoop reported through sources that a rift between Jay Toia and his position coach Vic So’oto led to Toia’s transfer decision.
Not to rush to judgement, but to leave this early due to a rift with a coach is usually a bad sign for the player.
I’m sure MICH or UCLA or someone else will be more than happy to oblige Jay Toia, whose departure leaves USC grasping for straws. But regardless of whose fault it is, it’s another bad sign for the USC D. As said by Chris Arledge (WeAreSC.com), which I agree with: “USC has some edge rushers with talent. The secondary should be pretty good. But can USC control the A gaps? Does USC have a linebacker that will run downhill and physically punish ball carriers? Can USC, in other words, stuff the inside running game? “I had my doubts before. Now, with… Read more »
Big pussie mama’s boy….
My Knicks tonight are starting the player that some NY Media call “The hard Hat Lunch Pail Guy ” Taj Gibson (To me that does describe him ) …….FIGHT ON !!!!!
I just found out Rick Dimler has died at the age of 44. He was a real bad ass at nose tackle — who Goux called the toughest he’d ever coached.
Maybe it has already been posted, so I’m sorry if I’m being redundant. Man, that 1978 national championship team was one of our best if you go by who made a name for themselves in the NFL..
From New Jersey. Chose USC over PITT and PSU. Fantastic Trojan.
latimes.com
I didn’t know about Dimler. That ’78 team had some great players and he was one of them. Prayers for his family and loved ones.
I met him at a sorority party. He was going steady with one of the girls who was good friends with my date. He was a very likable guy. Quite a gentleman, considering Goux was his position coach. RIP and Fight On, Rich….
This entire Toia episode makes me ecstatic I’m no longer in the recruiting business. All over the web, we’re bombarded with voluminous and often meaningless long range info re prep visits and the raging contests that are going on to capture the best and the brightest. Toia was committed to USC for over two years before he signed. It turned out to be no more than a Britney Spears marriage. With the total lack of player loyalty or patience of any sort today, keeping the players you need inside a program has become a hundred times more important than any… Read more »
The entire landscape of collegiate football has changed. Retention is far more important than recruiting. You can sign a kid but that kid can be gone is a year or two if you do not develop him. Look at the 2021 Trojans. SC was incredibly lucky in 2020 (should have been 2-3). Without Hufanga, they would have lost to both ASU and UCLA. Assume the 2021 Trojans finish 6-6 and 4th in the Pac 12 South. Clay’s incompetent will so so obvious that no rational person will be able to deny it. Will the talented kids stay or bail? The… Read more »
Underwhelming — the over/under for USC reg-season wins is running from 8.5 to 9, even though both ORE and UW aren’t on the schedule.
Many of us Trojan fans are far more worried about USC in 2021, perhaps because of comments like the one from the Pac-12 South asst coach who recently told Lindy’s that USC doesn’t play “Big Boy Football” anymore.
I am not worried about 2021. I have no expectations and actually hope for the worse. Then we get a new coach. A quality HC and staff will flip the transfer portal in SC’s favor just as quick as Toia left.
You know you’ve reached your bottom as a diehard fan when you pray for losses. I can’t say I’m there yet, but I’m selfish. I want my cake and to be able to eat it too. I want USC to do well, plus I want CH fired. How much further damage Clay will be allowed to do to USC football remains unclear. Since USC’s only realistic goal nowadays is to win the South, why don’t we just remove Notre Dame from the schedule until we have a coach at least as good as Brian Kelly, who probably physically mauls Helton… Read more »
Big man mauling babies.
“Instantaneous change” could benefit MICH, or god forbid, UCLA… Michigan Football: USC transfer Jay Toia would be the perfect addition “It’s no secret that Michigan football needs more depth at defensive tackle and one former top target in 2021, Jay Toia, just entered the transfer portal. “One thing about the transfer portal is that even if you think a roster is set, it can change in an instant, which is something the USC Trojans experienced this week. “Toia is a big-time prospect, held in the same regard as 2021 signee Rayshaun Benny. From Simi Valley California, he’s ranked 186th overall… Read more »
The Word is Out (yet again!):
Lindy’s Pre-Season mag, just out this week, quoted an unidentified Pac-12 South asst coach — “It’s USC, but they are not a Big Boy football program. They seem to be getting worse from a national perspective because they don’t dominate inferior programs.”
I’ve always called it winning ugly, and USC has absolutely perfected this art form under Clay Helton.
No greater example of this typical USC football than last season’s 34-30 escape against the absolutely woeful 0-5 ARIZ Wildcats, who disappeared against ASU 70-7 in Tucson.
Allen, Nothing new in the content – what is new is that is actively being reported.. Anyone following SC football knows SC, under Clay, is simply not a championship caliber team. In fact, under Clay, it is not even a regional championship caliber team. It is now simply a regionally competitive team in the weakest Power 5 Conference; SC would finish middle of the road in any other Power 5 Conference. This is all the result of allowing Clay Helton to remain HC for six years. What is new is the national press is now reporting it. If Toia leaving… Read more »
“Toia will go down as the greatest Trojan to never play a game.” — I like that. It could actually turn out to be true. Or Toia could also crash and burn somewhere else because he’s mentally fragile, can’t figure out what he wants, gets hurt, or flunks out. But physically speaking, he’s a miraculous specimen who would headline anyone’s all Get-Off-the-Bus team. But this guy showed he could really play too, and already was too difficult for any USC O-lineman to even think about handling. I’m sure gonna miss Toia. USC’s 2021 recruiting class suddenly doesn’t look top 10… Read more »
Sorry, but if Toia is leaving there is no way I can refer to him as a Trojan.
USC does not dominate anyone. That is not the attitude that hugs instills in his players. Hugs loves everyone that he meets and that is the attitude that he instills into his players.
Well, there you have it…. Jay’s brother showed him how. So transferring runs (sorry) in the family…. Now the press is bird-dogging him– why Jay? Because I can?…. SC spring ball was a tryout for him. Like all high-schoolers he was not sure if he would measure up, but he did and in spades. So time to move on to greener pastures and prepare for the NFL. Jay wants great coaching and for him that lies over at the sucla campus, or perhaps elsewhere. It seems certain Jay could say, ‘Nothing against SC. It’s just which school is the most… Read more »
John, I would think Utah would be a far better option for career development. Nansen has coached the DL only for a year. Utah has a far superior program to SC or UCLA and develops its players extremely well. Sad comment, but reality.
Agree, if he wants to be developed for the NFL and wants to stay within the PAC then UT is the best place for him. Whit knows how to develope D linemen. The ruins have nothing that usc can’t offer him, neither program is going anywhere in a hurry.
LJ I do disagree with one of your comments. Toia was never a Trojan.
Antonio Morales on Jay Toia’s move to the portal (The Athletic) — The natural question in a situation like this is simple: Why? There’s no concrete answer right now, and Toia didn’t immediately respond to direct messages or emails from The Athletic. On paper and without context, it’s a confusing decision. The interior line is probably the spot where USC’s defense needs the most help, and Toia was likely to play as a true freshman. It seemed like defensive line coach Vic So’oto did a good job maximizing the talent of his position group last season. In terms of optics, it’s… Read more »
As LawyerJohn wisely noted, welcome to the brave new world of collegiate football. Assuming I am correct on the 2021 team, I think that this reality will force Bohn to either resign or to fire Helton. Signing a class will not matter; keeping a class will. If SC goes 6-6 next year and finishes 4th in the weak Pac 12 South, how many other kids will bail to better programs? Major programs may attract the talent, but they need a program which will keep them. Having an incompetent run the program will simply no longer work at major programs. First,… Read more »
Keeping him has already cost a fortune. The question is just how much is folt willing to lose.
This latest Toia saga is sickening. It just shows that it is OVER for USC on the interior under Clay Helton. USC physicality is OVER under Clay Helton. Clay didn’t have the juice to keep a frosh who was almost a shoe-in to start in year one for a historic and sexy college football program? Unfortunately, therein lies the rub. USC’s “leadership” missed the memo a few years ago that the kids coming out today were toddlers when USC was at the top of college football. They likely have no memory of it at all. All but the most die-hard… Read more »
“Rinse and Repeat” posts are just fine with me. They show no progress, which in the real world means regression. I think your characterization of the USC football program as a “victim” is accurate. But because the program has humbled itself because of so many self-inflicted wounds, it’s a label few see as applicable for big, bad USC. USC football so often reminds me of the “tip of the iceberg” reference. Last year the team “miracled” its way to a 5-0 start. Then better-coached ORE came to town and the party was over. USC got to skip sure-fire losses to… Read more »
Well put Allen. And that is quite an insight — we now seem to be more concerned with the long-term protection of coaches who keep their mouths shut and “play the game,” than we are about meeting the needs of the players who actually PLAY the games! It’s hard to fault players when they leave. You generally leave because either the program is not good enough for you, or you are not good enough for it. It used to be the latter was the reason for departures, but that has really flipped lately (and just at the wrong time since… Read more »
If he becomes a Bruin he is not leaving for better development or championship opportunities. We may never know the real reason but ucla simply does not offer a better situation than USC. That is not a put down of ucla. Neither team is going anywhere.
We could actually go on and on about honestly blaming UCLA for USC still having Gentleman Clay as our woeful HC.
Helton is actually 5-1 vs our cross-town rivals, who have put together five losing football seasons in a row, if you can actually believe that. Without that fragmented local success, he could have been axed by now.
I’m wondering if in whatever years I have left on this earth, whether USC and UCLA will both be in the top 10 in the country ever again. I have fond memories of us knocking off the bRUINS when we were both highly ranked. The ’67 game, ’69 game and ’73 & ’74 games are all games I saw in person and will never forget them.
I have to say…I hope the Bruins never reach top 10 status again. I get just as much pleasure seeing USC beat them when they stink (which has been very frequent since Cade McNown left), as I do seeing the Trojans beat them if they happen to be good. Sadly, the rivalry just isn’t what it used to be in the eyes of the nation, as well as in the eyes of many southern Californians. It seems like it’s no more than STAN vs CAL, or UW vs WSU now. McKay vs Prothro was the best IMO. Those were some… Read more »
UCLA hosts LSU at 5:30 PT at the Rose Bowl for their game two of the year following the 2:00 pm USC/SJS game.