Rayah Marshall helps ignite No. 4 USC’s second-half surge in win over No. 23 Michigan
USC’s Rayah Marshall (13) is congratulated by her teammates after scoring while drawing a foul during the second half of the Trojans’ 78-58 win over MICH at Galen Center on Sunday. (Gina Ferazzi / LAT)
Benjamin Royer (LA Times) — Except for JuJu Watkins, USC’s players were struggling to find their shot.
A 10-point USC lead turned into a deficit during the third quarter. With Kiki Iriafen stuck on the bench in foul trouble, the Trojans needed someone to spark a rally.
Enter the all-too-reliable Rayah Marshall, the longest-tenured starter on the team.
She isn’t the flashiest player and she’ll rarely be the leading scorer with Watkins on the floor, but when USC needed a bruising option to force into the paint for second-chance looks, the senior got the job done against Michigan on Sunday night.
“Welcome to Big Ten basketball,” Marshall said.
Stripping the ball from Michigan guard Jordan Hobbs with 5:05 remaining in the third quarter, the 6-foot-4 forward forced a shot up while barreling toward the basket. She got smacked, but the ball went in. The converted three-point play was one of many Marshall made on her way to tying a season-high with 15 points in No. 4 USC’s 78-58 victory over No. 23 Michigan at Galen Center.
“The difference in Rayah’s leadership, just the growth she’s had from freshman year on, she can really listen, understand what I’m asking and then get other players to go along too,” coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “And everyone just was along for that. … Ray is the catalyst for [the third-quarter run].”
Marshall’s seven third-quarter points and two assists drove the Trojans (12-1, 2-0) to a 10-point lead, helping facilitate for Watkins, who led the game with 31 points (including 13 on free throws). Iriafen scored 12 of her 18 points in a dominating fourth-quarter effort before fouling out with under two minutes left.
JuJu Watkins (12) collides with MICH guard Greta Kampschroeder (11) while driving to the basket Sunday.(Gina Ferazzi / LAT)
“Being the competitor that I am, I just took [Gottlieb’s halftime message] to heart, and just tried to get my teammates to go out there with the same hunger and compete,” Marshall said.
Michigan was without star freshman and leading scorer Syla Swords because of injury. The Trojans’ guards held the Wolverines’ second-leading scorer, freshman Olivia Olson, scoreless in the first half and to just 11 points. Hobbs led her team in scoring, with 14 of her 19 points coming in the Wolverines’ second-quarter surge.
Freshman guard Kennedy Smith, in her second game back from an undisclosed operation, was key to holding Michigan’s guards at bay. The former Gatorade California girl’s basketball player of the year co-led the team with three steals and played lockdown defense in front of players from the Etiwanda High girl’s basketball team — her alma mater — attending the game.
“She’s an incredible defender,” Gottlieb said of Smith. “I don’t know if I’ve ever had a better defender coming in as a freshman. Just her mind, her understanding of defensive schemes and her physical ability. How quickly she’s come back from this injury is really special.”
USC held Michigan (10-3, 1-1 Big Ten) to its lowest scoring total of the season, with the Wolverines averaging 83.7 points a game entering the contest.
Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico credited the Wolverines’ offensive struggles to USC’s relentless press, with the Trojans using Marshall to defend guards, creating confusion on inbound plays. The Wolverines didn’t score once off a fast break.
“Who wouldn’t want to see Rayah at the front of a press,” Gottlieb said about the 8,043 fans in attendance, “or the way that we play with one another? We’re trying to put a good product on the floor that people want to come see.”
With another Big Ten contest on the horizon, Gottlieb said she was grateful for the substantial holiday season crowd on a Sunday night.
“It’s just not lost on me ever,” she said. “To walk out there and see people in that upper row — Rayah and I were here when it was my family and hers. That’s it.”
USC finishes its homestand with a New Year’s Day contest against Nebraska. No. 1 UCLA handily defeated the Cornhuskers 91-54 on Sunday.
latimes.com
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Bowl Contest Update 01/04/2025 Name #Wins Patrick9 22 DubPar22 22 BUS 83 21 Satyrdancing 19 Steveg 19 Mrs Steveg 18 GoldenTrojan 18 Scoochnew 17 Dubpar22, Steveg, Mrs Steveg, Golden Trojan and Scoochnew scores are the max that they can get. Oregon and Georgia losing was the big factor in this group’s contest being over. Patrick9, BUS83 and Satyrdancing still have teams that can get them additional win points. BUS83 has 2 win points available. He needs Ohio St to win their semi-final game and to win the championship game. Satyrdancing has 2 win points available. He is looking for Texas to… Read more »
Can we dispel some myths here? USC and LR are not favoring the portal over recruits. So far in 4 recruiting cycles LR has 75 HS recruits and 58 transfers. His 1st year USC had the most transfers at 20, makes sense with trying to upgrade talent in a hurry. Since then USC has ranked 18th in ’23, 25th in ’24 and 49th in ’25 for the number of transfers in. While 58 transfers have come in, 95 have transferred out. That’s a net loss of 37 players via the portal. What’s worse is now the ones transferring out are… Read more »
This year they need to because there are huge holes in the roster at the moment.
College football’s 10 most interesting QB situations after December’s depth chart shuffle (Antonio Morales/The Athletic) Alabama Auburn Colorado Michigan Mississippi State Ohio State Stanford USC The Trojans entered the season with Miller Moss as the starter but shifted to Jayden Maiava after nine games. That signaled the end of Moss’ time at USC, and he transferred to Louisville this winter. But Maiava didn’t prove in his four starts that he’s the concrete long-term answer at quarterback, either. Could he be? Yes. But he hasn’t displayed the necessary consistency. Head coach Lincoln Riley expressed confidence in Maiava as his starting quarterback for… Read more »
I said it before on this forum and I’ll say it again. I could be wrong. Time will definitely prove me right or wrong. I’d be surprised if Jacobi Lane plays for USC in 2025. Tampering is going on like crazy and the NCAA is doing nothing about it. Lane is as good a receiver as anyone in the country. You don’t think that there are a lot of teams offering him a lot of money illegally behind the scenes? It could be possible that Pregnon would have stayed if Josh Henson would have stayed or if LR would have… Read more »
I think you are right, but I hope you’re wrong. When Lane replaced Branch as a goto receiver I was happy. He doesn’t take a step back when catching the ball and Branch always seemed to do that. I assume catching punts is harder, but honestly never give up ground when your goal is to move forward. Having a special teams coach would have been a great help in that area. As far as I can tell there has always been tampering in college football, the difference is it’s all out in the open now. I guess I’m looking at… Read more »
I hope I’m wrong too
Highly valued USC starting OL Emmanuel Pregnon enters transfer portal Chris Trevino (USCFootball.com) — USC starting OL Emmanuel Pregnon entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on Friday, marking a shocking reversal for the two-year starter at left guard. The stalwart guard was expected to leave for the 2025 NFL Draft but announced his intention to return to USC in 2025 going into the Las Vegas Bowl. The redshirt senior is the 21st Trojan to seek transfer and the fifth offensive lineman. The 6-foot-5, 320-pound Pregnon arrived at USC as a highly touted transfer out of Wyoming in 2023. He went on to start… Read more »
Oh brother.
Even after 2 beers this sounds like a disaster.
USC reportedly receives something like 40 to 50 million more per year than what was received in the pac for being a member of BIG. One year of this amount after next year should be enough to pay off the body that occupies the head coaching position at USC.
It would help if the football program had a master plan being followed for a player to have confidence he’s in the right place. But this program and its HC are spinning its wheels in a survival mode year after year with short term fixes. This is what, the 2nd or 3rd year where the O-line is full of holes and going into the off season and you as a returning player haven’t a clue what next season’s line will look like that it again is the Portal or bust? It appears the underclassmen aren’t ready to come in, the… Read more »
Colin Cowherd on Sam Darnold “Sam Darnold’s got a little bit of Andrew Luck in him. Tough, relentless, like a linebacker playing quarterback. Coachable” throws a bad pick, follows it up with a great pass. “What you’re seeing is the Andrew Luck thing. And they’re asking him to make big-boy throws. He leads the NFL with 60 completions over 20-plus yards. “Those are Brady and Mahomes throws. No dink and dunk here. 70% completion rate. 26 TDs and three picks in the red zone. He’s the most efficient NFL quarterback now. In the second half of the last seven games,… Read more »
Andrew Luck could have been a LB. I remember in 2011 the triple overtime game against Stanford(which Stanford won….I think it was 56-48), there was about 3 minutes left in regulation and SC was ahead 34-27 and Stanford was deep in their own territory(inside their own 20) and Luck threw a pass that was intercepted by Nickell Robey and it looked like a pick 6. All of a sudden out of nowheres Luck hit Robey so hard, I thought they would have to drag Robey off of the field. Luck wasn’t your typical QB
I went back and looked and apparently that hit was not against SC. I just remember the hit after an interception
College football teams facing potential regression in 2025 These talented teams will have a difficult time replicating this season’s success. Brad Crawford (247sports.com) — Here are the teams in danger of regressing back after progress over the 2024 season. Boise State Broncos SMU Mustangs Arizona State Sun Devils Colorado Buffaloes Indiana Hoosiers USC Trojans Lincoln Riley needs 2025 to work out in his favor. Conversations surrounding interest in other jobs became loud with his tenure in Los Angeles beginning to sour. The Trojans moved on from Miller Moss (who transferred to Louisville) and must hit on the next guy who wins the job during… Read more »
6-6 and losing a bowl game is the best case of what we have to look forward to?
It might be nice to finally get back into a great bowl game against a big brand.
Until then, I’m sure not looking forward to the newly licensed Wahoo’s Burrito Bowl vs IA ST.
I am, more and more, looking forward to when we move on from LR. This years team was decent. It wasn’t acceptable by USC standards(7-6 never is). But they played hard and with a little luck could have been better. But it’s not only that we are not winning big. He takes the joy of being a USC fan away from us. There are about 240 days until the next USC football game. But under PC and previous coaches we had 30 days of Spring practice and 30 days of fall camp. That reduces the fans time to wait by 60… Read more »
Casey at the Bat: Ernest Lawrence Thayer 1863 –1940
Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,
But there is no joy in Trojanville—Mighty Riley has struck out.
_____________
Your words ring so true p07– “He takes the joy of being a USC fan away from us.”
Like you, I’ll be glad when LR’s gone too. Unfortunately, that could be a while.
13 games a year and probably the spring game. That’s what you get to see under this guy. Everything else is TOP SECRET
Here we are speaking of a worthless, semi-walk-through, pablum spring game under Lincoln Riley. I’ll pass.
Then we get to wait until Nov. 30 to watch the vaunted MO ST Bears lumber into the Coliseum, followed by the return of The Cat.
Mighty Riley has struck out. 😎
Allen, Happy New Year to you and the rest of the DTB readers who still check the board. My question below is not meant to provoke a debate. You have made your position on LR crystal clear – a hugely overpaid mediocrity whose range is 6-6 to 8-4. Although I do no see it the way you do, I am not going to in any way seek to change your mind. To reiterate, I am not seeking a debate and will decline to engage in one. I just have an honest question. Given that LR is probably the SC coach… Read more »
I’ll give you my opinion. First, as the Beach Boys say “be true to your school now Just like you would to your girl or guy”, those of us alums or others with a connection bleed Cardinal and Gold. Second, this is The Trojan Daily Blog, not the Trojan Football DB, we have the nations #4 women’s BB team, tied for 1st in the Big 10 with big games back east on Sunday and Wednesday. Third, Riley will not be here 5 years unless he gives up on the air raid. It will be up to Jen Cohen and big… Read more »
Sorry RJJ, but you are sorely misguided and completely misinformed if you think I am rooting against USC football and hoping it fails. That’s ridiculous. Sadly, you’re way off the mark here RJJ (my good friend!), and obviously very frustrated. Just because many of us here entirely disagree with your perspective on LR only shows that Riley has proven to be an exceptionally (and surprisingly) divisive and disappointing USC head coach, for numerous reasons, all of which are frequently well-presented here. Reasonable people and Trojan fans can root heartily for USC football and still hope that LR finally gets his… Read more »
Now we read poetry on TDB! Is there nothing under the sun that our hosts and posters can’t help but to have an erudite exchange for the benefit of all of us?
I have been trying to find a way to put a positive spin on our, oh so close, season but haven’t quite found the right formula. I think you have hit the nail on the head in saying Riley robs us of the joy in being a Trojan fan. Nobody wants to say, “We would’ve beaten Maryland if the refs hadn’t awarded a touchdown based on the probability that they had scored.” Because honestly by the time this happened we normally would have had a two touchdown lead. It really boiled down to not having and using the best football… Read more »
agreed
Riley is like the kid who is flunking most subjects. When it’s grade time, he hides his report card so that his parents might forget its due.. During the semester, don’t have time to talk dad, got to study….shut the door and let me work at it. Dad I really need an apple phone and laptop to compete with all the A students. Then all of a sudden it all comes out along with all the explanations, shifting blame and excuses. Followed by the contrite talk where promises and fantasies of the great grades ahead are just around the corner… Read more »
I’m seriously jealous seeing these teams playing in the bracket. How powerful, physical and disciplined they are. The coaches expecting the best from their kids, pulling them off the field if a mistake is made, coaching in the moment, then sending them back out. How engaged the head coaches are in every facet of the game, talking up all units, not just positions he’s closest to. Our program just seems so far away from the bracket teams. Like there’s so much to fix, but in reality it just the money position, the head coach. I struggle with believing a one-trick… Read more »
ND is a 1.5 pt fave over PSU in the Orange Bowl.
I liked ND over punchless Dawgs … but like PennSt over now punchless ND
All bets off if obvious networks want ND in final for TV ratings
Go Lions!
So how do you vote? The first round bye is a curse for college teams. Or, the playoff committee has to fix the seedings.
ND won
What is the world coming to
Lord….send us some demon slayers to slay those South Bend demons
Georgia goes down!
ND was just better and tougher. Dawgs got stuffed. Irish pay attention to the little details of the game and it pays off big.
Final 4…..2 BIG, the independent and Sark. Nice to see some different teams in there.
And it’s a beautiful thing. TDB folk, you just can’t imagine the smugness of the UGAs around here. The schadenfreude be delicious around here the next few days.
At least GA fans have something to be smug about. National champs in ’21 and ’22. 13-1 in 2023. Not bad.
they are like we used to be 20 years ago!
Georgia played without their starting QB (Carson Beck) which I am sure affected the score and possibly the outcome.
Beck has been wildly inconsistent this year. Using his NIL money to buy a Lamborghini to drive around Athens GA rubbed some Georgia fans I know the wrong way.
Big time
Possibly, but UGA had no running game, so it would’ve been tough on Beck too. Etienne never could get going, and that horrid 54 second stretch across the half during which they gave up 17 points totally changed the game’s strategy.
To think that the SEC was a successful 4th and 13 away from being eliminated from the playoffs before the semi-finals is amazing. And now the B1G has 2 of the final 4 teams in the hunt.
Hang on ND!
Nd is running the ball to eat clock. Linkin would be throwing incomplete passes or throwing slow developing screen passes getting blown up for losses.
No exaggeration you nailed it. He’d be throwing the game away no pun intended.
Wow. ND goes up on GA 20-3 after returning KO for a TD. The Irish are looking like they finally belong in the playoffs.
I believe the buckeyes have the kind of talent and coaching this year to make the rest look sad…..surprised if they don’t run the table….and…..I know most on here want the Irish to lose…..but……I can’t stand the SEC and that pack of cheaters that watched us get sanctioned while their folks were driving Cadillacs all the while they pretended to be angels. Disgusting. So…..go irish…..with a small i.
Ryan Day still lost two games this season with the most talented CFB team in the country.
Against hated rival MICH (in Columbus no less), the Buckeyes literally looked like cr*p as Buckeye fans screamed for Day’s big head.
I hear ya about the SEC, but to see ND approaching the national title game is something I can’t get myself to root for.
But….you have to hand it to Freeman…..he has coached a great game…..and ordinarily I hope ND loses…..it’s just it’s Georgia…..and notice the small i
Unfortunately, ND looks like it actually improved itself with Marcus Freeman looking better than Brian Kelly did in South Bend.
This 13-1 Domer team is solid, tough, smart, good up front. opportunistic on special teams, and has a very dangerous QB.
ND vs 13-2 PSU should be fun.
Year 3 ND under Freeman is better than year 3 LSU under Kelly.
When are we going to get lucky and hire a Marcus Freeman?
we need to hire HCs from the defensive side of the ball
There’s nothing worse than living in Georgia and not being a UGA fan. Georgia fans are complete yahoos. Definitely a ND fan for the rest of the CFP
Can Lincoln Riley get the program back on an upward trajectory? Antonio Morales (The Athletic) — The 2025 season will be his fourth as USC’s coach. There wasn’t any excuse for USC’s season to be as disappointing as it was in 2024. If you want to say it was Year 1 of a rebuild defensively, go for it. But there’s no excuse for another mediocre season in Year 4 of Riley’s tenure. As noted, Riley still has to address personnel deficiencies. He has to fill some openings on his coaching staff (tight ends coach and linebackers coach). He’ll have… Read more »
A really good sugar bowl finally underway.
Go ‘Dawgs! Beat the Irish!
USC’s Outgoing Transfer Portal
1 DL Bear Alexander – ORE
2 WR Zachariah Branch
3 S Zion Branch
4 LB Raesjon Davis – ORE ST
5 TE Kade Eldridge – UW
6 DL Sam Greene – UK
7 WR Kyron Hudson – PSU
8 DL Elijah Hughes
9 QB Jake Jensen – MONT
10 RB Quinten Joyner – TT
11 K Denis Lynch
12 QB Miller Moss – LOUIS
13 OL Mason Murphy – AUB
14 DL DJ Peevy
15 OL Gino Quinones – FRESNO ST
16 WR Duce Robinson – FSU
17 WR Charles Ross
18 OL Kalolo Ta’aga – UTAH
19 OL Amos Talalele – KSU
20 K Garth White
Seeing something like this every November-December and your program won’t go anywhere and you can kiss any needed level of depth goodbye. Going into a fourth season and seeing this transfer Portal list, I’d be wearing a brown grocery bag with two holes in the front around town. I can’t imagine all the excuses the brat is feeding Jen in after the end of the 3rd season under his leadership where the program is currently. And she asks him; do you feel you are earning your contract dollars right now?
At the rate Lincoln Riley’s going, he’s only an average Big Ten coach, and that’s on his best days.
He’s been undeniably way below average at USC over three years.
If USC goes 9-3 next reg season with another mediocre (or possible freshman) QB starter, it’ll be considered a major accomplishment for LR, even though we play MO ST and GA SO (welcome home Clay!) in the Coliseum to open the season.
Can you imagine the furor if The CAT upsets The BRAT?!?!
Honestly, I can’t imagine.
Lincoln would probably come out and proclaim, “We were only a play away!”
Yep, and ASU was only a 4th and 13 play away from knocking off Texas, but does that make their fans feel any better? Sorry Riley, almost, just about and only a play don’t cut it, especially when it’s a weekly occurrence and not a once every 3 year aberration.
No that cannot happen!
There would be pitchforks and torches outside the walls of Heritage Hall for sure.
Watching the Rose Bowl Oregon was overwhelmed with the OSU passing game but completely stymied by a defense that had Gabriel and Oregon coaching staff completely confused and the Duck offense helpless up until the end of the first half. You just had to figure it was going to be a different game versus the conference match at Autzen stadium. As I looked what the buckeye team was accomplishing it squarely brought back memories of USC under PC’s leadership. How his defense took away what the opponent’s offense wanted to do and how his offense ran & passed at will… Read more »
Pro Bowler Sam Darnold
Dane Mizutani (Pioneer Press) — After leading the Vikings to a 14-2 record while completely rewriting the narrative on his career, Sam Darnold has been selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time.
Darnold has completed 68.1% of his passes for 4,153 yds and 35 TDs this season.
Darnold has also been the straw that stirs the drink for the Vikings, who are in position to win the NFC North heading into a pivotal game against the Lions on Sunday night at Ford Field in Detroit.
Yahoo Sports
I hope Sam goes all Holiday Bowl Miller Moss on the Lions!
Will Miller Moss even be drafted?
Sam Darnold was the 3rd pick of the 2018 Draft behind Baker Mayfield and Saquon Barkley.
Looks like Darnold suddenly came to life in year seven in the NFL with the Vikings just in the nick of time.
If so, it’ll be latter rounds. I wish him the best next year at Louisville and from there on.
MM didn’t look like an NFL QB to me, especially as his OL often fed him to the Lions. But there’s only about 12-15 decent QBs in the NFL right now, so maybe he’ll somehow catch on. But I still doubt it. I wouldn’t draft him unless I was looking for a pure dropback clipboard holder.
I hope the Vikings’ OL doesn’t feed Sammy to the Lions…
And Darnold was one of the better escape artists on the run I ever saw at QB for the Trojans.
Williams, Darnold, Peete your top 3?
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown might have something to say about that. Great to see these two Trojans doing so well in the NFL.
You’ve Got To Be Physical Upfront… Scott Dochterman (The Athletic) — The Buckeyes outrushed Oregon 181 to minus-23. In the Fiesta Bowl, Penn State doubled up Boise State and All-America running back Ashton Jeanty 216-108 on the ground. The Nittany Lions had triple the rushing yards against SMU in the first round (189-58) while the Buckeyes held even with Tennessee on the ground (156-152) but won with its passing attack. “From the time that you sign up here, that’s our entire identity,” Ohio State tight end Gee Scott, Jr, said. “We want to impose our wills on other people. I think there are a few games this year… Read more »
“Buckeyes held even with Tennessee on the ground (156-152) but won with its passing attack”… The Buckeyes had 33 rushing attempts and 32 passing attempts against the Vols. Against the Ducks they ran it 31 times to 26 passes. That’s how the passing attack works, balance.
The ND vs Georgia game was moved to 4pm pst or 1pm pst.
Oregon couldn’t run the ball. If you factor out the sacks, they still only gained 20 yards in 16 carries for the whole game. Looks like Phil Knight needs to buy better RB;s and O-Lineman. Oregon has six 4 stars and one 5 star O-Linemen on their team. All the rest are 3 stars. When it comes to running backs, they have no 5 stars and three 4 stars.What are they doing with all of their money?
OhioSt made the quacks look slow and small … unreal play by Bucks
Hope they keep it up
Herbstreet better not be assigned that game, he will be insufferable! Listening to his never ending force of his pal Suckisian down our throats and taking shots at OhioSt.
SC seems to be doing great when it comes to the D-Line but as far as the O-Line is concerned……nobody seems to be interested. We could also use some LB’s too.
Well got back from the Rose Bowl with the Duck side of the family. Wow, Ohio St looks like a team possessed and Oregon, as fast as they looked against Penn St, looked like they were wearing combat boots. Rust v Rest for Oregon and a Ohio St team pissed they lost to Michigan. Same ole Rose Bowl. Pain in the ass to get there, pain in the ass to park, and pain in the ass to get to your seat. My advice, get to there 5 hours before kickoff and head to your seats an hour and a half… Read more »
I’ll have to send the Oregon HC a box of cigars. I wonder if he also smokes them when he loses.
Gary Bryant and Michael Jackson III should have stayed at USC. They were good receivers who would have gotten their chance. This year Bryant(at Oregon) caught 1 pass for 6 yards and Jackson(at Georgia) caught 1 pass for 10 yards. The rumor is that the Branch brothers want to come back. They ought to. If they go to Georgia, Zack will end up just like Bryant and Jackson.
Oregon is out!!!!!
Haaalelujah
Haaalelujah
hallelujah
hallelulah
Halleeeelujah
Now all we need to do is get rid of ND
and Suckisian at Texas … they would had tarmaced PeeWee Herman had he choked that game away.
Come on ASU ! an all out blitz on 4th and 13 WTH why why why Ewers is blah but anyone can complete a lob down the middle
ASU could have won that game if the officials would have done their job. That was an obvious targeting call. It amazed me how fast they ruled no-targeting. They shouldn’t have needed that much time to see that that was an obvious targeting call. Instead they took a quick glance and called it no-targeting.The football gods have the teams they want to go far in the playoffs. They just think it will be good for college football if those teams succeed. They love the SEC. Why do you think that the SEC has won 13 out of 17 NC’s from… Read more »
I think the fix was in, (or at least the committee, via the replay refs, had their thumbs on the scale). I have seen targeting called many times that were far less obvious than the one texas escaped. It changed the outcome of the game. I call BS.
How can you enjoy the game of CFB if you truly believe the games are fixed?
It’s more of an emotional PTS reaction from our history this century with the knobs at the NCAA. But it does feel good😃!
There are so many missed calls in every game, it boggles the mind.
Notre Dame just got off easy on a running into the kicker call which should have been roughing and a 15-yd penalty for sure, right in front of the ref. Go figure!
Lanning sure didn’t have his team ready to play. Day sure did. Coaching wise Lanning hasn’t shown much to me that he is very good. He has the best money can buy and still gets steam rolled.
People in the Rose Bowl are smelling blood in the water. 50 years ago I carried the lead banner in the Rose Parade and sat in the end zone where the Ohio State fans were sequestered. The USC fans knew what was happening and I was wearing my Boy Scout patch jacket with a block letter USC patch square in the back. I was practically the only Trojan fan in the area. I was the only one in my row standing when USC went for 2 because I knew McKay’s philosophy was playing to win. Anyway Oregon doesn’t look very… Read more »
1975 Rose Bowl ! legendary game
That defense! that TD pass to McKay in the corner and the two pointer to Diggs.
What a beautiful win.
If Ohio State can play every remaining game like this they have a big trophy coming. Incredible effort, these guys are on fire.
Save more of that great play vs Suckisian … bothersome game is in Dallas but Suck is not good vs teams with same talent and size
Buckeyes are smashing ORE 24-0. Still over 10 mins to go in 2nd Q.
OHIO ST is playjng like a team possessed since they lost that 13-10 stunner to MICH on 11/30 in Columbus.
Can Oregon pull an ASU-like comeback?
I hope not
SEC looking like just another conference
Insane Peach Bowl game: TEXAS holds off ASU with incredible effort in two OTs.
TEXAS 39
ASU 31
Ugh, I was SOO pulling for the Sun Devils. All they needed was a 4th and 13 stop.
Why an all out blitz ! 1 blitzer worked the entire 2nd half
Ewers is blah but way too easy to complete
Hopefully OhioSt, not outmanned, drub Suck
Overtime!
Fantastic game, no?! Go Devils and Cam Skattebo.
If Dillingham pulls this out Lanning is going to regret teaching him his tricks. LOL.
ASU has come from way back to tie TEXAS 24-24 with five mins to go in the Peach Bowl.
Cam Skattebo is amazing.
this guy is truly a stud.
Sugar Bowl delayed until Thursday.
Boise State, made it interesting, but PSU asserted itself in the second half. Arguably SC and Woody Marks outplayed Boise with a common opponent.
We all know from either playing or coaching that starters get the reps (80% is a fair observation) and the same % of on-field focused coaching and film room attention. Moss was the 80% guy for most of the season. Maiava has a rocket arm and some wheels to burden an opposing DC, but we haven’t seen it ( perhaps by LRs choice due to depth concerns ). This kid is an under-coached gunslinger trying to survive in an outdated gimmick offense that has a zero track record for national championship contention in CFB history. Throwing a developing kid in… Read more »
that’s a terrible state of affairs, but you nailed it, T fanatic.
Thanks. Have a great new year !
Right back at you TFan, and HNY to the rest of Trojan Daily Blog community.
Maiva is productive. Give him credit. They won 3 out of the 4 games that he started and the one they lost was his best game. He threw for 360 yards against ND. Nobody all season came close to that. But overall I would go with Husong. That’s why I like that QB from SDSU. He’s thrown for 10,000 yards and he’s only got one year left which leaves the gate open for Husong in his 2nd year.
Erik McKinney (WeAreSC) on Lincoln Riley’s Offense McKinney — Oddly, the biggest question mark for next year’s offense may be … Lincoln Riley. I never thought I’d type that sentence. Riley seems unwilling to commit to the run, and the passing game was a mess. USC got yards, but it took far too many attempts to get those yards. The two quarterbacks combined for 7.1 yards per attempt, which is a very bad figure, and the 15 interceptions—many of them critical, game-changing picks—is equally awful. In the 14 games since Caleb Williams left, USC had a back-breaking interception in the… Read more »
I agree, but I will add that LR never called himself a genius. That was the product of the media, so the media is now removing a title that they created. To bend a phrase, the reports of LR’s coronation were greatly exaggerated. He is most certainly not a genius.
How about the Muleshoe Magician?
Has a nice ring to it, but I’ve failed to see any magic. 😅
I bet he wishes he had a Muleshoe Mulligan for his first 3 years.
The media giveth and the media taketh away.
Which way will it turn on Lincoln Riley?
Well, there’s a huge chasm between Antonio Morales’ and Colin Cowherd’s takes on where the program stands. Answer is probably somewhere in between. I’m pulling for the guy, if for no other reason than he’s the HC we’re stuck with and I’m not going to pull against the Trojans. But the luster has dimmed and the ecstasy receded from what I felt when the hire was announced. Honestly, my gut tells me it’s about 50-50 whether or not he can pull it off. But if he doesn’t make at least one, any one, of the several changes that have been… Read more »
I credit you VT, for being an eternal optimist. I am in the old fart pessimistic camp.
I should add terminal cynic to my camp.😂
Perfect, we need a strongly pessimistic terminally cynical old fart in the camp to keep things balanced! 😅
I wouldn’t quite characterize myself as an eternal optimist, more of a “willing to give the benefit of the doubt” kind of guy whose opinions tend to marinate while collecting evidence. But once marinated, I’m fairly hard to change.
More like the Mulesh_t Magician….
😮
I’ve seen way more creative offenses from USC opponents than from LR. The problem with passing the ball 60-70% of the time is the passing game becomes more difficult. DBs quit biting on the run fake and stick to the receivers like glue. No bodies open, the QB forces throws, mistakes happen. The DL and LBs can hold the runs to 3 or 4 yds, 2 short completions or incompletes and punt. Yes just about any OC in the FBS can do better. There is nothing genius about the Air Raid.
If USC has success on offense, someone will need to tell Maiava to audible to a hand off or tuck it and run. LR’s 1st round NFL QBs were smart enough and confident enough to do that. LR is not going to tell him that but someone needs to.
That may be the problem with Riley. He is an air raid one trick pony.
He has to learn to take what the defense gives.
He has to learn to adapt.
This is what made. PC and Chow so great.
They learnt to adapt to what they have.
All great coaches learn to adapt.
That’s from Chris Arledge
I think we are all beginning to realize the Linkin is a one-trick pony.
One-trick mule?
You can draw up the best plays and call a great game plan of plays. But if you don’t have the horses to execute it all cleanly & effectively, it won’t succeed. The failure here is in recruiting, no doubt about it. And until the powers in USC football make necessary changes to correct this, I don’t see how any improvement will happen. Hiring good recruiters, paying the NIL money needed and developing the athletes brought in….. there is no mystery here how the top programs are doing it today.
When did McKinney start writing Musings from Arledge?
Illinois wins 10……
Michigan beats Bama!!!!?????
Perfect storm for Michigan as the rain came down hard causing Bama to fumble and throw a pick giving Michigan a 16 zip lead at end of 1st quarter. That’s pretty much the game right there.
SC is not paying the money. It’s not all about money but a lot of it is in todays college football. It’s never all about any one thing. But money is a big part of recruiting today. Pay big and you’ll get the best players and coaches. TAMU has Noah Thomas coming back. He caught 8 TD’s in 2024(2 against SC). They’re bringing in Jerome Myles(5 star), Kelshaun Johnson(4 star), K.C. Conceptcion(124 catches in 2 years at NC State), Mario Craver (4 star), Micah Hudson(4 star). Why would any receiver want to go to TAMU? Because of the money they… Read more »
Heading to the Rose Bowl tomorrow. My sisters family are all Ducks but my nephew’s new girlfriend’s family are Buckeyes. Guess I’m the monkey in the middle! Should be a nice day, looking forward to a good game at a great site.
Cheer loudly for the Trojans! 😉
Watching Michigan – Bama…so far the Trojans looked much better against Michigan that Bama is.
Maiva doesn’t seem like he is the outgoing leader that Darnold, Caleb Williams and even Miller Moss were. But he does have that strong arm. He needs to develope accuracy(which can be developed) and better decision making. You almost get the impression that he doesn’t read defenses very well. He throws to people that are covered when there are other guys open. I definitely think Husong Longstreet is the future at SC.
I fear Maiava has that Brett Farve gun it into a crowd hoping the receiver still gets it. He rarely throws the ball away when all the recievers are covered and forces a pass anyway. Bad bad things happen with that.
He’s got the arm of Brett Farve. He needs the accuracy of Tom Brady. He’s got the potential to be a really good QB with that arm. But it’s going to take a lot of work to get there. I’d go with Husong. He’s got a strong arm, accuracy and he’s mobile. He’s much better than Juju Lewis
Agree, and it will be fun to see what Dion does with Juju.
Husong…..the next great USC QB…..he definitely has a higher upside than Maiva.
Interesting take by Colin Cowherd on USC’s outlook for 2025. He’s definitely more bullish on the Trojans than we as a group are. Even after listening to him, I’m still less optimistic than he is.
Link below is to the podcast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpRgutlmIeo
USC women’s basketball remained at No. 4 in the AP Top 25 poll released Monday.
247Sports — Soph guard JuJu Watkins had 31 points, seven assists, five rebounds, three blocks, three steals and just one turnover in the Trojans’ win over MICH. She shot 8 of 19 from the field, 2 of 7 from three and 13 of 14 from the free throw line. It was her third 30-point game this season and 17th career 30-point performance. She is expected to be named the Big Ten Player of the Week for a third time this season.
Looks about right for now. UCLA undefeated, the other USC’s only loss to UCLA, and ND beat the Trojans. It would be sweet to take down SUCLA Feb 13 and Mar 1. Some other good teams in the BIG left to play, Maryland, Ohio St,Michigan St, and Iowa.
SC should go big after that QB from SDSU. He is big time and has only one year left. That way he won’t interfere with Longstreet. Husong is their future.
I have a hard time believing SC is paying the money they need to pay to get the players they need. Auburn is 6th in the recruiting ratings. They were 5-7 this year. LSU was #7. We beat LSU. TAMU was #8, we beat them too. It’s even worse in the portal. Auburn is #4. Mississippi State is #6. Florida State(which went 2-10 this year) is #7. Kentucky(4-8) is #8. Wisconsin(5-7) was #9. UCLA(5-7) was #17. Kansas (5-7) was #18. Then came a bunch of teams that had terrible seasons and finally you get to SC at #44. Either we’re not… Read more »
USC is 13 for recruits with 21 and 44 for transfers with 5. I thought the big complaint is SC is too dependent on the portal? Doesn’t look like it. As far as money goes, maybe some guys aren’t worth what they are asking or some guys won’t come no matter how much they are paid.
None of these guys are worth what they are asking for. But that’s the way the game is being played today.
SC may be waiting for some big fish who leave after playoffs.Woody and Ramsey came real late last year.
The way SC recruits, I see no reason to believe that this big fish will want go to SC.
The Trojans look more solid every week. They should go far in the tournament. Remains to be seen if they have enough to get past UCLA, ND, and the other USC. UCLA is a month and a half, 2 months away.
Ha ha, there for a split second, I thought you were talking about the football team. It wasn’t until the 3rd sentence that I realized something was askew.
LIfe is short, go with a winner. LR sucks. Juju, Kiki and Gottleib are winners.
Yep.