Wide receiver Makai Lemon has made himself key to USC’s future
The sophomore, a Los Alamitos High product, has led USC in receiving for three straight games and is now handling kickoffs
USC WR Makai Lemon runs for a TD during the second half against RUT on Friday night at the Coliseum. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Luca Evans (OC Register) — LOS ANGELES — Before Kyle Ford declared he was “trippin’” and moved back a few miles east, back when he played the 2023 season at UCLA, he lined up opposite of young receiver Makai Lemon.
Yes. Receiver. Except Lemon was lining up at cornerback, for a few snaps in USC’s November game against UCLA, because the Trojans’ secondary corps was depleted and they needed an extra body. He had played two ways in high school at Los Alamitos, a standout four-star who came to town along with top blue-chip QB Malachi Nelson. Division I football, as a true freshman, when Lincoln Riley had specifically said earlier that year Lemon would “play receiver for us” – this was a whole different beast.
He went toe-to-toe with Ford on a blocking play, Ford recalled after the Trojans’ victory over Rutgers on Friday night. Ford spoke hesitantly of the memory, remembering he’d gotten “the best of him,” Ford said.
But Lemon, four recruiting classes Ford’s junior, popped right back up and started barking smack at him.
And Ford knew in that moment, as he said, the kid was a dog.
“I was like, ‘Oh, I like that,’” Ford recalled. “He’s just, one of those guys.”
There were years, as Riley professed Thursday, that a receiver established himself in his system as the clear-cut number one. There were other years when the head coach felt his programs had a “handful” of number ones. This 2024 season, for USC, had squarely fallen in the latter.
Until Lemon, who spent his true freshman year working partly at cornerback and missed a couple of games early as a sophomore, suddenly emerged as Miller Moss’ go-to man – and as one of USC’s most important offensive building blocks.
“I think you’ve slowly kinda seen him slowly build toward a game like this, since he came back just from being out,” quarterback Miller Moss said Friday night, after USC’s 42-20 steamrolling of Rutgers. “Obviously, having him healthy really helps us offensively. And I don’t think anyone is surprised by that.”
Indeed, a slow build. Three catches in a loss to Minnesota. A team-leading six grabs against Penn State. Then another Trojan-high eight catches against Maryland, frequently finding seams as an all-around safety valve for Moss.
And when USC trotted out for a kickoff on Saturday, last year’s freshman All-American returner Zachariah Branch wasn’t back deep, caught in a stretch of unproductivity in the return game. Special teams coach Ryan Dougherty, as Riley explained postgame, had conjured the idea to let Branch focus on punt returns – and to give Lemon a shot on kickoffs.
On Lemon’s second return, in the first quarter, he puttered out to the 8-yard-line, setting up a lane of blockers up the right side. Except he planted, and shifted course, two Rutgers defenders in front of him caught with their momentum going in the opposite directions. And he exploded downfield for 80 yards, setting up a score, the kind of explosive play USC had been missing for much of its season.
It was only the beginning.
He took a crossing route 70 yards, in the third quarter. Took another 40 yards, for a touchdown, in the same frame. He finished with 256 all-purpose yards, and led USC in receiving for the third straight game in a 134-yard performance.
“He’s made some really competitive catches, some big plays after the catch,” Riley said postgame. “He’s playing fast, playing confident.”
Confidence has never been the issue, the same kid who bounded back up in Ford’s face after that 2023 snap. It was a simple matter of opportunity, Lemon’s season briefly curtailed in Week 3 when he got popped on a special teams play against Michigan and missed a couple of games. But Ford, for one, knew this was coming, calling Lemon the team’s “MVP” of this year’s fall training camp.
After returning from that scary injury he sustained against the Wolverines, where he left the stadium in an ambulance, Lemon has led the team in receptions and receiving yards since Oct. 5.
There’s plenty of room to grow, as Riley emphasized Friday night. But Lemon’s versatility – once stepping in to play both ways, now handling kickoffs, able to break out of a variety of routes and concepts – is a massive feather in Riley’s cap.
“I don’t know that he’s great at anything yet,” Riley said. “But he’s really good at a lot of things.”
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Allen Wallace, Clay Helton did have a buy out for the remainder of that year in which was fired. Then his Georgia Southern salary off set the following years on the Trojan contract.
LR has metaphorically dropped a “baby ruth” into four USC games thus far. We should have drained the pool, but his replacement cost is simply way too exorbitant.
Clay Helton signed a five-year deal in 2022 that had a base salary of $700,000 in Year 1, and that increases by $50,000 each year. On his deal which would end after the 2026 season, he made $752,000 in total pay in 2023, per USA Today.
LR did not close practices because he’s hiding football genius. He’s starting to act and talk like the gray cardinals of the Kremlin. His post game pressers are sheer disinformation. Listening to his repetitive excuses is like watching a raw nerve with a Tourette twitch with a southern accent. LR is smart enough to realize how he screwed up USC football, but obviously dumb enough to fix most of it. I am beginning to suspect he may be related to Clay Helton. I simply cannot be responsible for my facial expressions when I hear LR!
Tourette twitch. Classic. This last move by the man from Muleshoe is a clear sign he is in panic mode because he is feeling the heat. He has four games left to attempt to redeem himself to the USC community. Washington, Nebraska, ND and that other school. Even if he manages to pull off 3 out of 4 that is only a 7 win season and that is not acceptable in South Central. Never has been, never will be. A stubborn animal – mule – where is numb nuts from…’nuff said.
LR truly is not a very effective speaker. No charisma whatsoever and he clearly views it as a necessary evil (whereas Gentleman Clay somehow seemed to enjoy making a fool of himself while defending his “warriors” after losses). I intentionally try to cut LR slack when hearing his rote responses, but he mainly excels at saying nothing. He has no respect for his audience. So if you’re trying to escape from the world of politics these days, LR isn’t your guy. His paranoid goal is always to provide nothing, hence his locked-up, now completely dark practices. He remains a coordinator… Read more »
I’m sensing a pattern here and it goes back a ways. Mike Bohn left USC and a massive salary for Jen Cohen to deal with. Bohn inherited the massive salary that Lynn Swann left for him to deal with. Swann was stuck with the mess Pat Haden left him. Haden stepped into a steaming pile the Mike Garrett dropped in his office when he left and Garrett only got lucky once in his stint as AD. It looks like the only option is to find a way to teach the current coach how to play football. (maybe Disney’s “How to… Read more »
Crazy Keith Moon crashed and burned early after trashing too many hotel rooms. Little mic-swinging Roger Daltry seems timeless. Pete Townshend’s still a musical genius. John Entwistle, the greatest bassist ever, died in 2002 in Paradise, NV, at age 57 from what was believed to be a coke-induced heart attack.
I looked up the song lyrics because it was one of four used by CSI TV shows. Most of them made sense “Who are you” and “Won’t get fooled again” fit. The Who licenced their music to get it back out there, I think it worked.
My sentiments as well. I know it’s an outlandish, many might say ridiculous claim to make in the expansive world of awesome music, but if you stuck me on an island with a record player and one single vinyl, I’d be fine with Who’s Next.
Thank you Mike Bohn! I remember SLR was available to be hired when he was because Oklahoma lost to Baylor and OSU and ended up third in the Big12. Two fourth quarter collapses. Sound familiar. As Allen said, USC will be a middle of the pack Big10 team with the current SLR, best case. Maybe Rialto Jen Cohen can line up a mentorship with Saban or Carroll and they can get the stink off Riley.
I think USC can and will be better than B1G middle of the pack under LR. But I don’t believe he can lead us back to greatness. Decent (for USC) 9-10 win seasons look likely. But LR usually loses his bowls, and I think other coaches are figuring out his unbalanced schtick now that he’s out from under the protection of OU and Bob Stoops. LR’s not looking for any mentors. Let’s be serious. He came here already thinking he was the King Mentor, aka the ultimate QB Whisperer. He held onto The Grinch when everyone else knew that was… Read more »
Do any other coaches allow the press access like PC did? My guess is most handle it like LR is now doing. And, given that this season is a train wreck, all the press will be negative. Candidly, if I were in his position, I would probably do the same. Unless, of course, the majority of coaches open up their practices to the press. I know Ed O would not. But, I do not have the information to really know. PC was one of a kind.
I have no idea what percentage of HCs actually shut down their entire practices all year long, though I support restricting access to specific drills or portions of practices. But Lincoln Riley’s sudden decision to completely shield his team from the media during the entire practice is perplexing. What would be the logical substantive reason for that when USC should be cultivating more positive exposure? Excluding the media from parts of practice that are completely harmless to view just makes no sense to me. LR’s decision will only further hurt him with the increasingly antagonistic press. Plenty of coaches are… Read more »
Rialto maybe we are all feeling snake bit here as to how long it has been since USC was a top dog in football. I beg to differ with you on your statement MG left a steaming pile for Haden. MG got Kiffin to leave Tennessee and come back when PC left. Kif did a damn good job of winning as he did while under the nasty sanctions that most other coaches would have crumbled. The real villains in all this was Reggie Bush/family and Max Nikias who wanted to turn USC football into an after thought!
Jam — I totally agree with you about Kiffin. I’m admittedly biased because of my relationship with him when he was at USC. I learned a lot from him and remain grateful.
But when he was persuaded by Garrett to leave TENN for a “slag heap” of a USC job heading into uber-probation on the tails of the glorious Pete Carroll years, he was doing the Trojans a great favor. Not another soul on the planet at the time wanted to follow PC with the NCAA trying to send USC football off the map right before LOI Day.
The way I understand it(at least this is what I read), that night on the tarmac when Pat Haden told Kiffen that he was fired, Kiffen begged Haden to just let him finish the season and if he couldn’t get the team back on the winning trail he would resign and they would not have had to pay him money. If true, they should have taken him up on that as he has proven to be a really good coach since then.
I would add that the final decision to let Kiffin go was not Haden’s decision.
This came from up above Haden (whoever that was). I personally think Haden was following orders (which I was told) and would have kept him on, especially since Haden proved to have no idea whatsoever how to conduct a nationwide coaching search and was forced to settle for Sark when Petersen turned him down and instead replaced Sark at UW.
I think Max Nikias was the only one above Haden. I will always remember Kiff’s tenure at USC favorably as he helped guide the team through the sanctions, including scholarship limitations and bowl bans. I also respect Matt Barkley for not transferring.
The final decision was someone else. The story that I heard was that Kiffin begged Haden to just let him finish the season. Haden said I’ll have to get an OK on that. He left temporarily presumably to make some phone calls and then came back and told Kiffin that the answer was no
Not that it matters, but I suspect (based on information given to me by an insider) that Kiffin’s removal was not totally based on his performance as HC.
Insiders know stuff, so you’re probably right RJJ. I had a couple of true insiders who weren’t coaches during the Paul Hackett/Pete Carroll years and they gave me the inside track on some amazing stuff. Lane could easily rub people the wrong way if he wanted (and often unintentionally as well), and he didn’t care much about any consequences. Based on my exposure to the coaching community, he was very unique in this regard. Talk about a straight-shooter! What Lane has accomplished at OLE MISS is totally amazing. They’ve always been basically a mediocre outfit at best, or an outright… Read more »
Big Ten football coach salaries: Where does USC’s big investment in Lincoln Riley rank? The Athletic’s Cameron Teague Robinson and Austin Meek grouped the conference’s coaches in tiers to see who’s generating a good return on investment (Curt Cignetti!) and who isn’t (ahem, Lincoln Riley). — Biggest bargain 1) Curt Cignetti, Indiana Salary: $4.25 million (15th Big Ten, 49th nationally) Hiring Cignetti from James Madison is looking like a stroke of genius. — Paying for success 2) Dan Lanning, Oregon Salary: $8.2 million (4th, 14th) There’s an argument to be made that Lanning is the best coach in the… Read more »
Stewart Mandel (The Athletic) — Eight games in, The Indiana Wrecking Machine has still not trailed for a minute this season, the first team to do so since 1998 Kansas State, per ESPN. Hurry up and put these guys in the top 10, voters.
SC needs to start recruiting better at home. Mater Dei is loaded with talent. Everyone of those 22 starters will play at a major football power. Many of them are already committed. So far SC doesn’t have one MD player.
The Busted USC/Mater Dei Pipeline. How long will this go on? Luca Evans (OC Register, 10/17) — For decades before Lincoln Riley, dating to the days of Matt Leinart and Matt Barkley and continuing through J.T. Daniels and Amon-Ra St. Brown (not to mention Matt Grootegoed from 2000-2004), a clear pipeline existed from Orange County powerhouse Mater Dei to USC. That pipeline is nothing more than a weak drip now, after former USC alumnus Bruce Rollinson retired in 2022 and Mater Dei has seen plenty of coaching turnover since. None of Mater Dei’s top 13 committed 2025 and 2026 recruits have chosen… Read more »
The core issue is the CA high school powerhouses, with tons 4-5* kids, and there’s many, along with Bishop Gorman 4 hours away, seems too close in proximity for Riley. We’ve talked about it here, but it’s being discovered that Riley is not an extroverted coach or recruiter. He doesn’t have that commanding, confident persona like the big time HC’s we see every weekend. Riley knows it. Because some of these schools are literally 45 minutes down the freeway, there’s no excuse for him, like his predecessors to camp out at these campuses, build relationships and get first dibs. Easier to send an assistant or do… Read more »
I’m wondering if more and more people are thinking like I am.
Lincoln Riley can and will produce good USC teams. But greatness at USC is beyond his grasp for many reasons. Forget the NCs under him.
We’re gonna have to settle for this reduced value of LR, who simply never seems comfortable in his own skin as the coach of USC, which has proven to be too challenging for him as a rebuild project with elite expectations.
As you say, “I hope I am very wrong.” That would be just fantastic!
Allen, does anyone know Jen Cohen’s relationship with LR as to how he is running the football program? He is missing the boat on recruiting California athletes big time and I wonder what Jen thinks of Would any AD ask their coach why are you not doing something, even if that coach had a huge contract? I read she was born here but her family moved up to Washington at an early age but she went to college at San Diego St. and Cal Lutheran and should know very well about the SoCal HS football powerhouses that LR is ignoring.… Read more »
I wish I had some honest insight about Jen Cohen’s relationship with Lincoln Riley, but I don’t really. I definitely read something not long ago suggesting there was some tension, but nothing specific. One of Cohen’s main functions is fundraising, so if she sees LR’s actions, not to mention his disappointing USC record, as an impediment to that, it wouldn’t be good. Thank God for USC women’s basketball and soccer. Now that former Trojan players like LenDale White and to a lesser extent a backtracking Matt Leinart are publicly going negative on LR, I’m sure that doesn’t make Cohen happy,… Read more »
Even the embattled Clay Helton was able to tap into the Mater Dei pipeline. Hard to believe, but Helton had a better record than Riley has through 35 games. It will be interesting to see the reception Helton gets when he brings Georgia Southern into the LA Coliseum next season. I’m thinking I’d like to drive the 300 miles, 5 hours to see that game.
Looks like World Champions #8 for the Dodgers. No team has lost after being up 3-0 in the World Series. Dodgers and Ducks prove money can bye championships.
The Dodgers have been spending money big-time, and much more than most teams, forever and last won a “bubbled Series” in the drastically shortened 2020 season, when Covid struck the earth, and before then in 1988. Why haven’t the Dodgers won in all the other years if championships can just be bought? Actually, the Dodgers have a well-earned rep for playoff choking every season despite their lavish yearly spending. You can’t buy culture and team chemistry. That doesn’t come from dollar bills. History is rife with big spenders who get nowhere, like the ridiculous Dallas Cowboys. ORE also currently has… Read more »
For sure it takes more than money. Money gets you in the room to talk to the most talented. Then as Nick Saban said, you have to pay the right guys. That starts with getting the right head coach/manager. Someone who can get talent with the right attitude, motivate, prepare and use them to their maximum. Unfortunately USC has none of that. USC has over paid for a coach that can’t get enough talent, can’t motivate, prepare or execute.
That’s what is so great about this season’s coaching sensation Curt “Google me” Cignetti. No money there. Have they even heard of NIL in Bloomington? Curt Cignetti, Indiana Salary: $4.25 million (15th Big Ten, 49th nationally) Who knows how long this will last for the Hoosiers? For now, Cignetti is only the Flavor of the Month. Will he become the Flavor of the Year? Maybe even the Flavor of the next Five Years? But it’s sure fun to watch the Hoosiers play. Boy, are they ever buttoned up, tough and solid. Can’t wait to see how they finish up the… Read more »
I would say too soon to tell for Indiana. Their schedule has been pretty light, only one trip out of the upper midwest to the lowly Ruins. Cignetti took James Madison to the next level and now Indiana could end up in the top third of the Big10. Cinderella stories are great! He looks like the real deal, talent and personality. A big pay day is coming his way. Riley is certainly an example of throwing too much money at the flavor of the month.
USC closes practice access to reporters for remainder of 2024 season Griffin McVeigh (on3.com) — “USC is closing practice access to reporters for the rest of this season, a spokesperson said,” Ryan Kartje of The Los Angeles Times said via X. “Media will still have interviews after practice, but there will be no viewing periods.”
Riley has not had the best relationship with the media throughout his career, dating back to his time at Oklahoma.
He shut down access in Norman too, specifically when the team was deciding between Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams to be the starting quarterback…
Pete Carroll used USC’s practices to advertise Trojan football to the universe and hobnob with celebrities, recruits, and Trojan greats. Remember when even O.J. Simpson showed up? Those were the days when even I would go to Trojan practices to catch up with Lane Kiffin or Ed O.
Robinson was extremely social and well-regarded by the media, so I doubt it.
There is no info about McKay ever closing practices that I could find. Since he was so good at winning national championships, he had other concerns.
In my youth this would have been a cakewalk, but there are such things anymore. If USC takes their foot off the gas in the fourth quarter the way they did last Friday, they’re asking Washington to pass them on the next curve. My (Never wrong) weather app says temps in the low 50s to mid 40s during the game with 15% chance of precipitation. This means snow flurries should begin in the fourth quarter.
I hope the Trojans come ready to play.
The should be a very good game between two 4-4 teams with a lot of history together. It’s a great place to see a game and I’d much rather play in colder weather than the heat any day. I have no idea or feel for who will win it. I think both these teams will show up ready to rumble with only four reg season games to go in disappointing years for each. UW has to travel to Beaver Stadium to play PSU the week after they host SC. Kind of daunting. Undefeated PSU hosts OHIO ST this weekend. The… Read more »
A Quick Look At the Washington Huskies (Chris Trevino/USCFootball.com) Washington 4-4 (2-3) Last Game: 31-17 loss to Indiana last Saturday in Bloomington Series: 51-31-4 USC Last Meeting in 2023, L.A.: 52-42 Washington 2023 Record: 14-1 (9-0) – The 2.5 pt favorite Trojans snapped a losing streak last weekend while the Huskies set in on a two-game losing streak after falling 31-17 to No. 13 Indiana. Washington has actually dropped three of its last four, nabbing an upset win over then No. 10 Michigan at home. Washington has won three of the last four against USC going into Saturday, including the last two. Both of these teams have… Read more »
While we are on the topic of other sports, it was only an exhibition game, but our Men’s basketball team beat Gonzaga by 3 points Sat. night. Don’t want to read to much into that, but still very encouraging, to say the least.
I am still wondering why the win on Friday didn’t make me more happy over the weekend. Maybe because we didn’t learn anything new about the team that would lead us to say we have turned the corner and we can win out for the rest of the season? We faced a team very much inferior to ours and we played at home. No wonder we won. The squandering of big wins during each of our losses still leaves us all with empty feelings about the team. I call it irrelevance in the greater college football world. Anybody else feel… Read more »
Yeah, a 3 & 4 USC team playing a 1& 4 Rutgers team. I don’t think we are even an honorable mention program now in the eyes of the Networks. This losing by only a few points the last 4-games got old. Especially when the HC makes almost as many poor mistakes as the team?
Yes it was a very unsatisfying win this week. The late start with the World Series in extra innings distracting the first quarter and virtually nothing happened in the 4th quarter as midnight PT approached. Beating a team that is tied for next to last in the conference after losing to another team that is tied for next to last the week before didn’t help. USC now sits just one game above the 5 worst teams in an 18 team conference. The same pattern played out Friday as did in the 4 losses. SLR had a balanced offense in the… Read more »
We have to beat Notre Dame in the Coliseum on Nov. 30 and stick it to them big-time as payback for last year’s 48-20 no-show performance in South Bend which will likely keep them out of the playoffs should they be 10-1 heading into this huge rivalry game.
USC has had a history of fantastically ruining good ND seasons now and again. It’s high time again for another one of those moments — and no excuses this time Lincoln Riley.
I finally watched the game this morning because Fox Sports 2 was replaying it in garbage air time. 8:am was better than Midnight Saturday or 5:00am Sunday. Anyway with B1G refs missing as many calls as they get wrong I wonder if switching leagues was a good call. They missed blatant holding on the Rutgers line and the opposing team practically has to be riding piggyback to get a PI call. We scored twice on our first two touchdowns. The score called an incomplete pass was a travesty and Woody Marks put the ball over the goal line with an… Read more »
The Big 10 officiating is a crime organization … so obvious it is just laughable now.
Oregon will find out this week at Michigan. It’s their first trip to one of the protected programs. Big 10 is not going to allow the Quacks to come in and embarrass one of the originals.
Did you watch the undefeated Ducks totally demolish ILL in the first half last week? They called off the dogs, and mercifully put in replacements, or they could have beat them by 50. ILL (still ranked #24) already beat MICH 21-7.
I’m betting the Ducks beat the 14.5 pt spread. From what I’ve seen of these teams, the Ducks are clearly superior, especially at QB and as a team overall, and I’m not a person who believes the refs are cheating to help anyone.
I used to dislike the Ducks basically because they started to beat USC and became our major competition out west and they, as well as their aggressive fans, seemed to enjoy rubbing our face in it. Now that they have objectively become the dominant program in the west (and winners of nine straight, 2nd longest streak in FBS), I hold them in much higher regard. It’s not easy being top dog, no matter how you get there. I respect their complete re-creation of a basically non-existent brand into their own unique stature and feisty presence. Excellence is to be admired… Read more »
At least one of the 4-West Coast teams made it to the top in the conference. I don’t know who is in worst shape, UDUB or USC in football right now. But we now know what our football program must do to legitimately compete in CFB today. This isn’t our father’s Oldsmobile any longer! I am paying much more attention to anything Jen Cohen says or does. I am waiting to see how patient she remains as more & more eyes are looking towards her leadership.
Jen Cohen and USC don’t have the $90 mil (at least per some sources) to get rid of Lincoln Riley now, no matter what. Zach Barnett (Football Scoop) — “People are unhappy about USC,” ESPN’s Pete Thamel said on the College GameDay podcast. “My sources told me this week that Lincoln Riley would be owed $90 million if you were going to fire him. Right around $90 million. “That’s like Jimbo (Fisher) super-sized buyout. It feels like those two are a little bit stuck with each other right now, Lincoln Riley and USC.” “Thamel speculated Riley could be an option at Baylor if… Read more »
LR is putting a lot of faith in the current starters who will develop into a formidable group next season. That and the 2025 recruiting class still sticks in signing with the program as well as the coaching staff less Hensen, is asking for a lot to happen the right way. 4-years and still not showing vast improvement, I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes facing the hate.
I think it depends on how the rest of the season goes Steveg. Winning this last game at home against Rutgers wasn’t going to impress anyone but losing it might have caused a firestorm big enough to have LR thinking about another scapegoat ala Grinch and Hensen’s lack of recruiting and results would be next in line for that. Losing to both the ruins & ND or ending up with a losing record would force the issue of LR making another coaching change. I don’t see him willing to go through another Grinch episode.
Just imagine when he becomes great at something. I hope is it yards after catch. That will come. I have always thought he would be a very valuable asset and I am glad he stayed.
FanDuel’s opening spreads were released Sunday morning for all eight B1G games. Ohio State vs. Penn State Date: Saturday, Nov. 2 Kickoff time: Noon ET Location: Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa. TV information: FOX Spread: Ohio State minus-4.5 Northwestern vs. Purdue Date: Saturday, Nov. 2 Kickoff time: Noon ET Location: Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. TV information: Big Ten Network Spread: Purdue minus-1.5 Minnesota vs. Illinois Date: Saturday, Nov. 2 Kickoff time: 12 p.m. ET Location: Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill. TV information: Fox Sports 1 Spread: Illinois minus-1.5 Oregon vs. Michigan Date: Saturday, Nov. 2 Kickoff time:… Read more »
Interesting that USC is a 2.5 point favorite, especially since the UW game is in Seattle. SC has generally had a tough time there over the years and I hope the experts have picked this one correctly.
If Lemon can get open in under 2 seconds, he will be great in our offense with our “meh” offensive line. He has been an outstanding asset for the team since after MICH. Glad he recovered from that MICH cheap shot.
Allen Wallace, Clay Helton did have a buy out for the remainder of that year in which was fired. Then his Georgia Southern salary off set the following years on the Trojan contract.
LR has metaphorically dropped a “baby ruth” into four USC games thus far. We should have drained the pool, but his replacement cost is simply way too exorbitant.
LR is now the Moet of west coast stupid!
Clay Helton signed a five-year deal in 2022 that had a base salary of $700,000 in Year 1, and that increases by $50,000 each year. On his deal which would end after the 2026 season, he made $752,000 in total pay in 2023, per USA Today.
Nice wordsmithing, Dana Point.
LR did not close practices because he’s hiding football genius. He’s starting to act and talk like the gray cardinals of the Kremlin. His post game pressers are sheer disinformation. Listening to his repetitive excuses is like watching a raw nerve with a Tourette twitch with a southern accent. LR is smart enough to realize how he screwed up USC football, but obviously dumb enough to fix most of it. I am beginning to suspect he may be related to Clay Helton. I simply cannot be responsible for my facial expressions when I hear LR!
Tourette twitch. Classic. This last move by the man from Muleshoe is a clear sign he is in panic mode because he is feeling the heat. He has four games left to attempt to redeem himself to the USC community. Washington, Nebraska, ND and that other school. Even if he manages to pull off 3 out of 4 that is only a 7 win season and that is not acceptable in South Central. Never has been, never will be. A stubborn animal – mule – where is numb nuts from…’nuff said.
LR truly is not a very effective speaker. No charisma whatsoever and he clearly views it as a necessary evil (whereas Gentleman Clay somehow seemed to enjoy making a fool of himself while defending his “warriors” after losses). I intentionally try to cut LR slack when hearing his rote responses, but he mainly excels at saying nothing. He has no respect for his audience. So if you’re trying to escape from the world of politics these days, LR isn’t your guy. His paranoid goal is always to provide nothing, hence his locked-up, now completely dark practices. He remains a coordinator… Read more »
Georgia Southern is tied for first in the Sun Belt East with the bottom of the conference left to play.
Gentleman Clay just lost to the 4-4 Old Dominion Monarchs 47-19.
Sounds like he’s up to his old tricks.
Good times….
Freddie Freeman (“Nightmare on Yankee Street”) — Who has ever seen anything like this? What a batter.
I’m sensing a pattern here and it goes back a ways. Mike Bohn left USC and a massive salary for Jen Cohen to deal with. Bohn inherited the massive salary that Lynn Swann left for him to deal with. Swann was stuck with the mess Pat Haden left him. Haden stepped into a steaming pile the Mike Garrett dropped in his office when he left and Garrett only got lucky once in his stint as AD. It looks like the only option is to find a way to teach the current coach how to play football. (maybe Disney’s “How to… Read more »
Ah, Baba O’Riley, aka Teenage Wasteland, one of my all-time faves from The Who.
Who’s Next. Great album cover in 1971. Even a better album.
USC fans are the wall and SLR is The Who!
Crazy Keith Moon crashed and burned early after trashing too many hotel rooms. Little mic-swinging Roger Daltry seems timeless. Pete Townshend’s still a musical genius. John Entwistle, the greatest bassist ever, died in 2002 in Paradise, NV, at age 57 from what was believed to be a coke-induced heart attack.
How will LR’s USC experiment end?
I know he’ll be rich and have generational wealth whatever happens to his career results.
I looked up the song lyrics because it was one of four used by CSI TV shows. Most of them made sense “Who are you” and “Won’t get fooled again” fit. The Who licenced their music to get it back out there, I think it worked.
The best single album of all time, IMHO.
My sentiments as well. I know it’s an outlandish, many might say ridiculous claim to make in the expansive world of awesome music, but if you stuck me on an island with a record player and one single vinyl, I’d be fine with Who’s Next.
Thank you Mike Bohn! I remember SLR was available to be hired when he was because Oklahoma lost to Baylor and OSU and ended up third in the Big12. Two fourth quarter collapses. Sound familiar. As Allen said, USC will be a middle of the pack Big10 team with the current SLR, best case. Maybe Rialto Jen Cohen can line up a mentorship with Saban or Carroll and they can get the stink off Riley.
I think USC can and will be better than B1G middle of the pack under LR. But I don’t believe he can lead us back to greatness. Decent (for USC) 9-10 win seasons look likely. But LR usually loses his bowls, and I think other coaches are figuring out his unbalanced schtick now that he’s out from under the protection of OU and Bob Stoops. LR’s not looking for any mentors. Let’s be serious. He came here already thinking he was the King Mentor, aka the ultimate QB Whisperer. He held onto The Grinch when everyone else knew that was… Read more »
Allen you are so right on all you say here! He is a Country Hick in the big city and overwhelmed.
Do any other coaches allow the press access like PC did? My guess is most handle it like LR is now doing. And, given that this season is a train wreck, all the press will be negative. Candidly, if I were in his position, I would probably do the same. Unless, of course, the majority of coaches open up their practices to the press. I know Ed O would not. But, I do not have the information to really know. PC was one of a kind.
I have no idea what percentage of HCs actually shut down their entire practices all year long, though I support restricting access to specific drills or portions of practices. But Lincoln Riley’s sudden decision to completely shield his team from the media during the entire practice is perplexing. What would be the logical substantive reason for that when USC should be cultivating more positive exposure? Excluding the media from parts of practice that are completely harmless to view just makes no sense to me. LR’s decision will only further hurt him with the increasingly antagonistic press. Plenty of coaches are… Read more »
Rialto maybe we are all feeling snake bit here as to how long it has been since USC was a top dog in football. I beg to differ with you on your statement MG left a steaming pile for Haden. MG got Kiffin to leave Tennessee and come back when PC left. Kif did a damn good job of winning as he did while under the nasty sanctions that most other coaches would have crumbled. The real villains in all this was Reggie Bush/family and Max Nikias who wanted to turn USC football into an after thought!
Jam — I totally agree with you about Kiffin. I’m admittedly biased because of my relationship with him when he was at USC. I learned a lot from him and remain grateful.
But when he was persuaded by Garrett to leave TENN for a “slag heap” of a USC job heading into uber-probation on the tails of the glorious Pete Carroll years, he was doing the Trojans a great favor. Not another soul on the planet at the time wanted to follow PC with the NCAA trying to send USC football off the map right before LOI Day.
The way I understand it(at least this is what I read), that night on the tarmac when Pat Haden told Kiffen that he was fired, Kiffen begged Haden to just let him finish the season and if he couldn’t get the team back on the winning trail he would resign and they would not have had to pay him money. If true, they should have taken him up on that as he has proven to be a really good coach since then.
I would add that the final decision to let Kiffin go was not Haden’s decision.
This came from up above Haden (whoever that was). I personally think Haden was following orders (which I was told) and would have kept him on, especially since Haden proved to have no idea whatsoever how to conduct a nationwide coaching search and was forced to settle for Sark when Petersen turned him down and instead replaced Sark at UW.
I think Max Nikias was the only one above Haden. I will always remember Kiff’s tenure at USC favorably as he helped guide the team through the sanctions, including scholarship limitations and bowl bans. I also respect Matt Barkley for not transferring.
The final decision was someone else. The story that I heard was that Kiffin begged Haden to just let him finish the season. Haden said I’ll have to get an OK on that. He left temporarily presumably to make some phone calls and then came back and told Kiffin that the answer was no
Not that it matters, but I suspect (based on information given to me by an insider) that Kiffin’s removal was not totally based on his performance as HC.
Insiders know stuff, so you’re probably right RJJ. I had a couple of true insiders who weren’t coaches during the Paul Hackett/Pete Carroll years and they gave me the inside track on some amazing stuff. Lane could easily rub people the wrong way if he wanted (and often unintentionally as well), and he didn’t care much about any consequences. Based on my exposure to the coaching community, he was very unique in this regard. Talk about a straight-shooter! What Lane has accomplished at OLE MISS is totally amazing. They’ve always been basically a mediocre outfit at best, or an outright… Read more »
Big Ten football coach salaries: Where does USC’s big investment in Lincoln Riley rank? The Athletic’s Cameron Teague Robinson and Austin Meek grouped the conference’s coaches in tiers to see who’s generating a good return on investment (Curt Cignetti!) and who isn’t (ahem, Lincoln Riley). — Biggest bargain 1) Curt Cignetti, Indiana Salary: $4.25 million (15th Big Ten, 49th nationally) Hiring Cignetti from James Madison is looking like a stroke of genius. — Paying for success 2) Dan Lanning, Oregon Salary: $8.2 million (4th, 14th) There’s an argument to be made that Lanning is the best coach in the… Read more »
Who Knew?
Stewart Mandel (The Athletic) — Eight games in, The Indiana Wrecking Machine has still not trailed for a minute this season, the first team to do so since 1998 Kansas State, per ESPN. Hurry up and put these guys in the top 10, voters.
nytimes.com
SC needs to start recruiting better at home. Mater Dei is loaded with talent. Everyone of those 22 starters will play at a major football power. Many of them are already committed. So far SC doesn’t have one MD player.
The Busted USC/Mater Dei Pipeline. How long will this go on? Luca Evans (OC Register, 10/17) — For decades before Lincoln Riley, dating to the days of Matt Leinart and Matt Barkley and continuing through J.T. Daniels and Amon-Ra St. Brown (not to mention Matt Grootegoed from 2000-2004), a clear pipeline existed from Orange County powerhouse Mater Dei to USC. That pipeline is nothing more than a weak drip now, after former USC alumnus Bruce Rollinson retired in 2022 and Mater Dei has seen plenty of coaching turnover since. None of Mater Dei’s top 13 committed 2025 and 2026 recruits have chosen… Read more »
WTF, Linkin?
He is so much the wrong coach to build a program. And we’re stuck with him.
The core issue is the CA high school powerhouses, with tons 4-5* kids, and there’s many, along with Bishop Gorman 4 hours away, seems too close in proximity for Riley. We’ve talked about it here, but it’s being discovered that Riley is not an extroverted coach or recruiter. He doesn’t have that commanding, confident persona like the big time HC’s we see every weekend. Riley knows it. Because some of these schools are literally 45 minutes down the freeway, there’s no excuse for him, like his predecessors to camp out at these campuses, build relationships and get first dibs. Easier to send an assistant or do… Read more »
I’m wondering if more and more people are thinking like I am.
Lincoln Riley can and will produce good USC teams. But greatness at USC is beyond his grasp for many reasons. Forget the NCs under him.
We’re gonna have to settle for this reduced value of LR, who simply never seems comfortable in his own skin as the coach of USC, which has proven to be too challenging for him as a rebuild project with elite expectations.
As you say, “I hope I am very wrong.” That would be just fantastic!
As I’ve said before, Riley reminds me of Paul Hackett. Good QB coach and OC, but lousy Head Coach.
Allen, does anyone know Jen Cohen’s relationship with LR as to how he is running the football program? He is missing the boat on recruiting California athletes big time and I wonder what Jen thinks of Would any AD ask their coach why are you not doing something, even if that coach had a huge contract? I read she was born here but her family moved up to Washington at an early age but she went to college at San Diego St. and Cal Lutheran and should know very well about the SoCal HS football powerhouses that LR is ignoring.… Read more »
I wish I had some honest insight about Jen Cohen’s relationship with Lincoln Riley, but I don’t really. I definitely read something not long ago suggesting there was some tension, but nothing specific. One of Cohen’s main functions is fundraising, so if she sees LR’s actions, not to mention his disappointing USC record, as an impediment to that, it wouldn’t be good. Thank God for USC women’s basketball and soccer. Now that former Trojan players like LenDale White and to a lesser extent a backtracking Matt Leinart are publicly going negative on LR, I’m sure that doesn’t make Cohen happy,… Read more »
Even the embattled Clay Helton was able to tap into the Mater Dei pipeline. Hard to believe, but Helton had a better record than Riley has through 35 games. It will be interesting to see the reception Helton gets when he brings Georgia Southern into the LA Coliseum next season. I’m thinking I’d like to drive the 300 miles, 5 hours to see that game.
https://www.on3.com/teams/usc-trojans/news/usc-recruiting-california-since-2022/ Scott Schrader responds to Calif recruiting.
Looks like World Champions #8 for the Dodgers. No team has lost after being up 3-0 in the World Series. Dodgers and Ducks prove money can bye championships.
The Dodgers have been spending money big-time, and much more than most teams, forever and last won a “bubbled Series” in the drastically shortened 2020 season, when Covid struck the earth, and before then in 1988. Why haven’t the Dodgers won in all the other years if championships can just be bought? Actually, the Dodgers have a well-earned rep for playoff choking every season despite their lavish yearly spending. You can’t buy culture and team chemistry. That doesn’t come from dollar bills. History is rife with big spenders who get nowhere, like the ridiculous Dallas Cowboys. ORE also currently has… Read more »
For sure it takes more than money. Money gets you in the room to talk to the most talented. Then as Nick Saban said, you have to pay the right guys. That starts with getting the right head coach/manager. Someone who can get talent with the right attitude, motivate, prepare and use them to their maximum. Unfortunately USC has none of that. USC has over paid for a coach that can’t get enough talent, can’t motivate, prepare or execute.
That’s what is so great about this season’s coaching sensation Curt “Google me” Cignetti. No money there. Have they even heard of NIL in Bloomington? Curt Cignetti, Indiana Salary: $4.25 million (15th Big Ten, 49th nationally) Who knows how long this will last for the Hoosiers? For now, Cignetti is only the Flavor of the Month. Will he become the Flavor of the Year? Maybe even the Flavor of the next Five Years? But it’s sure fun to watch the Hoosiers play. Boy, are they ever buttoned up, tough and solid. Can’t wait to see how they finish up the… Read more »
I would say too soon to tell for Indiana. Their schedule has been pretty light, only one trip out of the upper midwest to the lowly Ruins. Cignetti took James Madison to the next level and now Indiana could end up in the top third of the Big10. Cinderella stories are great! He looks like the real deal, talent and personality. A big pay day is coming his way. Riley is certainly an example of throwing too much money at the flavor of the month.
USC closes practice access to reporters for remainder of 2024 season
Griffin McVeigh (on3.com) — “USC is closing practice access to reporters for the rest of this season, a spokesperson said,” Ryan Kartje of The Los Angeles Times said via X. “Media will still have interviews after practice, but there will be no viewing periods.”
Riley has not had the best relationship with the media throughout his career, dating back to his time at Oklahoma.
He shut down access in Norman too, specifically when the team was deciding between Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams to be the starting quarterback…
on3.com
Did Pete Carroll ever close practice? John Robinson? John McKay?
Pete Carroll used USC’s practices to advertise Trojan football to the universe and hobnob with celebrities, recruits, and Trojan greats. Remember when even O.J. Simpson showed up? Those were the days when even I would go to Trojan practices to catch up with Lane Kiffin or Ed O.
Robinson was extremely social and well-regarded by the media, so I doubt it.
There is no info about McKay ever closing practices that I could find. Since he was so good at winning national championships, he had other concerns.
My questions were rhetorical, because I am pretty certain none of the Big Three would ever close practices.
In my youth this would have been a cakewalk, but there are such things anymore. If USC takes their foot off the gas in the fourth quarter the way they did last Friday, they’re asking Washington to pass them on the next curve. My (Never wrong) weather app says temps in the low 50s to mid 40s during the game with 15% chance of precipitation. This means snow flurries should begin in the fourth quarter.
I hope the Trojans come ready to play.
The should be a very good game between two 4-4 teams with a lot of history together. It’s a great place to see a game and I’d much rather play in colder weather than the heat any day. I have no idea or feel for who will win it. I think both these teams will show up ready to rumble with only four reg season games to go in disappointing years for each. UW has to travel to Beaver Stadium to play PSU the week after they host SC. Kind of daunting. Undefeated PSU hosts OHIO ST this weekend. The… Read more »
A Quick Look At the Washington Huskies (Chris Trevino/USCFootball.com) Washington 4-4 (2-3) Last Game: 31-17 loss to Indiana last Saturday in Bloomington Series: 51-31-4 USC Last Meeting in 2023, L.A.: 52-42 Washington 2023 Record: 14-1 (9-0) – The 2.5 pt favorite Trojans snapped a losing streak last weekend while the Huskies set in on a two-game losing streak after falling 31-17 to No. 13 Indiana. Washington has actually dropped three of its last four, nabbing an upset win over then No. 10 Michigan at home. Washington has won three of the last four against USC going into Saturday, including the last two. Both of these teams have… Read more »
Four Women of Troy Land On Naismith Trophy Watch List
USC’s Kiki Iriafen, Rayah Marshall, Talia von Oelhoffen and JuJu Watkins are on the 50-player list for 2024-25.
usctrojans.com
USC basketball just might take over LA like never before?
The USC women’s basketball team is an awesome combination of superior coaching and on-the-court talent.
Very exciting to watch them play. They have a legit shot at winning it all. Now comes the hard part, with this huge target on their back.
When was it last said the USC men’s and women’s basketball was.more popular and more fun than football?
Maybe back In the Cheryl Miller era?
I don’t think that has ever happened before.
Cheryl Miller was at USC from ’82 – ’86. Ted Tollner coached at USC from ’83 -‘ 86 before he was mercifully canned after going 26-20-1.
Maybe then?
Extremely hard, if not impossible, to be hot at all three at the same time.
USC women’s soccer beat UCLA yesterday 1-0 at Dignity Health Sports Park
(home of the LA Galaxy) to win USC’s first B1G title.
usctrojans.com
While we are on the topic of other sports, it was only an exhibition game, but our Men’s basketball team beat Gonzaga by 3 points Sat. night. Don’t want to read to much into that, but still very encouraging, to say the least.
Congratulations Lady Trojans!
Just the beginning being Big Ten Champs in most other sports USC compete in and maybe some day in football too.
Fantastic! Fight on, ladies!
I am still wondering why the win on Friday didn’t make me more happy over the weekend. Maybe because we didn’t learn anything new about the team that would lead us to say we have turned the corner and we can win out for the rest of the season? We faced a team very much inferior to ours and we played at home. No wonder we won. The squandering of big wins during each of our losses still leaves us all with empty feelings about the team. I call it irrelevance in the greater college football world. Anybody else feel… Read more »
You know where you stand when the networks hide your game at 11 pm est. Fox carried it……probably only because it had a contract.
Yeah, a 3 & 4 USC team playing a 1& 4 Rutgers team. I don’t think we are even an honorable mention program now in the eyes of the Networks. This losing by only a few points the last 4-games got old. Especially when the HC makes almost as many poor mistakes as the team?
Opponents sure think SC is revelant … they storm the field after a win over SC and even #3 PennSt is still gloating
You and I have very differing definitions of “relevant” for sure.
The USC brand still, and always will, have “glamour.” But relevance on the field as a 4-4 team, ya sure. 😂
Yes it was a very unsatisfying win this week. The late start with the World Series in extra innings distracting the first quarter and virtually nothing happened in the 4th quarter as midnight PT approached. Beating a team that is tied for next to last in the conference after losing to another team that is tied for next to last the week before didn’t help. USC now sits just one game above the 5 worst teams in an 18 team conference. The same pattern played out Friday as did in the 4 losses. SLR had a balanced offense in the… Read more »
I am trying to find a safe place for all of us in the support group to meet. Keep your eyes tuned in to the TDB.
By the way, does the “S” in SLR stand for stupid, silly, stubborn or all of the above?
Stink’n Lincoln Riley. Predictably ineffective.
We have to beat Notre Dame in the Coliseum on Nov. 30 and stick it to them big-time as payback for last year’s 48-20 no-show performance in South Bend which will likely keep them out of the playoffs should they be 10-1 heading into this huge rivalry game.
USC has had a history of fantastically ruining good ND seasons now and again. It’s high time again for another one of those moments — and no excuses this time Lincoln Riley.
I finally watched the game this morning because Fox Sports 2 was replaying it in garbage air time. 8:am was better than Midnight Saturday or 5:00am Sunday. Anyway with B1G refs missing as many calls as they get wrong I wonder if switching leagues was a good call. They missed blatant holding on the Rutgers line and the opposing team practically has to be riding piggyback to get a PI call. We scored twice on our first two touchdowns. The score called an incomplete pass was a travesty and Woody Marks put the ball over the goal line with an… Read more »
The Big 10 officiating is a crime organization … so obvious it is just laughable now.
Oregon will find out this week at Michigan. It’s their first trip to one of the protected programs. Big 10 is not going to allow the Quacks to come in and embarrass one of the originals.
The #1 Ducks will smack down mediocre MICH with no problem. I can’t wait to watch it.
Hope you’re right.
Did you watch the undefeated Ducks totally demolish ILL in the first half last week? They called off the dogs, and mercifully put in replacements, or they could have beat them by 50. ILL (still ranked #24) already beat MICH 21-7.
I’m betting the Ducks beat the 14.5 pt spread. From what I’ve seen of these teams, the Ducks are clearly superior, especially at QB and as a team overall, and I’m not a person who believes the refs are cheating to help anyone.
So I am rooting for the ducks to boat race MICH just out of spite, but it feels weird to root for Phil Knight’s team.
I used to dislike the Ducks basically because they started to beat USC and became our major competition out west and they, as well as their aggressive fans, seemed to enjoy rubbing our face in it. Now that they have objectively become the dominant program in the west (and winners of nine straight, 2nd longest streak in FBS), I hold them in much higher regard. It’s not easy being top dog, no matter how you get there. I respect their complete re-creation of a basically non-existent brand into their own unique stature and feisty presence. Excellence is to be admired… Read more »
Today’s AP Poll
1-Oregon (61 1st place votes)
2-Georgia (1)
3-Penn St
4-Ohio St
5-Miami
6-Texas
7-Tennessee
8-Notre Dame
9-BYU
10-Texas A&M
11-Clemson
(tie) Iowa St
13-Indiana
14-Alabama
15-Boise St
16-LSU
17-Kansas St
18-Pitt
19-Ole Miss
20-SMU
21-Army
22-Wash St
23-Colorado
24-Illinois
25-Mizzou
At least one of the 4-West Coast teams made it to the top in the conference. I don’t know who is in worst shape, UDUB or USC in football right now. But we now know what our football program must do to legitimately compete in CFB today. This isn’t our father’s Oldsmobile any longer! I am paying much more attention to anything Jen Cohen says or does. I am waiting to see how patient she remains as more & more eyes are looking towards her leadership.
Jen Cohen and USC don’t have the $90 mil (at least per some sources) to get rid of Lincoln Riley now, no matter what. Zach Barnett (Football Scoop) — “People are unhappy about USC,” ESPN’s Pete Thamel said on the College GameDay podcast. “My sources told me this week that Lincoln Riley would be owed $90 million if you were going to fire him. Right around $90 million. “That’s like Jimbo (Fisher) super-sized buyout. It feels like those two are a little bit stuck with each other right now, Lincoln Riley and USC.” “Thamel speculated Riley could be an option at Baylor if… Read more »
LR is putting a lot of faith in the current starters who will develop into a formidable group next season. That and the 2025 recruiting class still sticks in signing with the program as well as the coaching staff less Hensen, is asking for a lot to happen the right way. 4-years and still not showing vast improvement, I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes facing the hate.
Indeed, this season’s 4-4 faceplant should definitely benefit the 2025 Trojans.
Silver Linings Playbook. Great movie I thought. Had some terrific football stuff in it too.
You really think Hensen will lose his job?
I think it depends on how the rest of the season goes Steveg. Winning this last game at home against Rutgers wasn’t going to impress anyone but losing it might have caused a firestorm big enough to have LR thinking about another scapegoat ala Grinch and Hensen’s lack of recruiting and results would be next in line for that. Losing to both the ruins & ND or ending up with a losing record would force the issue of LR making another coaching change. I don’t see him willing to go through another Grinch episode.
Just imagine when he becomes great at something. I hope is it yards after catch. That will come. I have always thought he would be a very valuable asset and I am glad he stayed.
Weird comment by LR … give the kid his due always has been just a dawg as a football player
FanDuel’s opening spreads were released Sunday morning for all eight B1G games. Ohio State vs. Penn State Date: Saturday, Nov. 2 Kickoff time: Noon ET Location: Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa. TV information: FOX Spread: Ohio State minus-4.5 Northwestern vs. Purdue Date: Saturday, Nov. 2 Kickoff time: Noon ET Location: Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. TV information: Big Ten Network Spread: Purdue minus-1.5 Minnesota vs. Illinois Date: Saturday, Nov. 2 Kickoff time: 12 p.m. ET Location: Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill. TV information: Fox Sports 1 Spread: Illinois minus-1.5 Oregon vs. Michigan Date: Saturday, Nov. 2 Kickoff time:… Read more »
Interesting that USC is a 2.5 point favorite, especially since the UW game is in Seattle. SC has generally had a tough time there over the years and I hope the experts have picked this one correctly.
If Lemon can get open in under 2 seconds, he will be great in our offense with our “meh” offensive line. He has been an outstanding asset for the team since after MICH. Glad he recovered from that MICH cheap shot.
That cheap shot … bet the Trojans have #26 in their sights next year