Preseason Is Over, Bring On The Huskies!

Well, it was still far from a flawless game, but USC sems to be moving in the right direction. The two interceptions (and should have been at least 3), are a bit disconcerting, but hopefully each game brings more wisdom to Matt Barkley and his receivers because they will need it in October.

Special teams is going to win the Trojans a game or two. What a difference having a full time ST coach has done! Kickoffs for TDs, punts for TDs, blocking PAT's and FG's. Good punt coverage and kickoffs into the endzone. These are hidden things that will help USC in the future.

Sure, the schedule was set up for a 4-0 start, but Lane Kiffen becomes the first USC coach since Jess Hill did it in 1951 to win his first 4 games as the Trojan's head man. Of course, I'd love to see him win the rest, but that is too tall an order to fill this season with a depleted roster, and a strong looking conference, especially since the folks in Powder Blue & Gold beat up on highly ranked Texas, in Austin over the weekend.

Of course, Oregon, Stanford, Arizona and Oregon State all look very tough, and if the Beavs took an SEC schedule approach and played Idaho and Willamette College, they'd be undefeated and not potenially rob a Pac-10 team, a shot at the BCS Chjampionship like they did in 2008 when the 1 loss debate between USC and Florida hinged on the loss to the opponent. In that case, Oregon State lost at Utah (undefeated) and at Penn State (1 Loss), whereas Mississippi State had played a bunch of nobodies and basically "bought" their non-conference wins. The voters failed to recognize this, and considered Florida's loss at home "better" than USC's loss in Corvallis, even though OSU and MSU had the same records.

This week, it is payback time for Sark, Locker and Company.

Win Games, DROP In Polls

Yeah, I don't get it either. The vitriol for all things Trojans still hasn't hit a crescendo.

Just WIN Baby!

First, it is GREAT to get the first win on the season! Matt Barkley and Ronald Johnson had career days, Barkley threw 5 TD's with no interceptions, and Johnson was on the receiving end of 3 of those, and added an 89 yard punt return for a TD.

Second, the D needs to step up, and fast! Monte Kiffen's D gave up 588 yards of offense and did not record a single turnover. If USC is going to be successful, that needs to improve...now.

Third, there were no injuries of note, and with USC's depleted roster, that is a good thing. Depth is going to be an issue as they players seemed tired, not having the customary backups that can rotate in and out of the game, keeping players fresh. That may take a heavy toll later on in the season.

Here is ESPN's recap of the game:

http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=302450062

Next up, the rematch with Virginia at the Coliseum.

Game Day baby!!

Woo Hoo! FINALLY, the season starts tonight! I don't know about you, but I got the Red Bull chilled and ready to go for this pajama party.

BEAT the Warriors!

Aloha Game Week!!!

Woo hoo, game week is FINALLY Here!

Admittedly, this season will be somewhat tempered due to NCAA sanctions and the fact that our beloved Trojans will not be eligible for a bowl game this year (and perhaps next depending on USC's appeal). No matter, the Trojans can do what Auburn did a number of years ago and go undefeated and have a remote chance at the AP National Championship which the Trojans are eligible for.

There has been an interesting development on the sanctions front, apparently NCAA henchman Paul Dee who was head of the Committee of Infractions that dropped the hammer on USC may be in some very deep doo doo! Apparently, a new tell-all book by Miami booster Nevin Shapiro will describe how much money and gifts he shelled out to over 100 University of Miami players. This would be significant because 1) Shapiro was such a prominant booster that he has a building on campus named after him and 2) Paul Dee was the Athletic Director from 1993 to 2008 and the book details all the wrongdoings by this booster from 2001 to 2009, which would fall directly under his watch!

Wouldn't it be something if the allegations that Shapiro makes are true and would completely expose Dee and his "High profile athletes deserve high profile compliance," mantra? Imagine if the allegations are true, and according to Dee with regards to Reggie Bush and USC, who stripped the Trojans 30 scholarships because "we estimate 30 kids went to USC because of Reggie Bush." If the allegations are true, then the Miami program would need the Death Penalty because these wrongdoings were occuring while the program was under probation and would be a repeat offender AND because Dee's own compliance department couldn't sniff out someone right under their own noses, while USC was hammered because they failed to know what Reggie and his parents were doing with agents away from campus.

If USC and the Freeh Group are smart, they will immediately be on the NCAA about this behind the scenes and threatening a HUGE lawsuit that exposes Dee and the COI as imcompetent and biased especially sionce Shapiro was paying Cane players during the Reggie Bush investigation and right under Dee's nose/

Here is the Miami Herald article:

"New book to allege violations made by University of Miami football."

Howdy Pardners!! ROAD TRIP - Texas style!!

Giddy up pardners, we got ourselves a ROAD TRIP Texas style planned!!

Okay, it won't be until 2018, and maybe USC will be off probation by then =P, but seriously, check out all the GREAT cities USC will be playing in over the next few years:

Honolulu (2010, 2013) - Hawai'i
Minneapolis (2010) - Minnesota
New York City (2012) - Syracuse
Boston (2014) - Boston College
College Station (2016) - Texas A&M
Austin (2018) - Texas
Chicago (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017) - Notre Dame

Of course, that doesn't even include Boulder and Salt Lake City when Colorado and Utah join the Pac-10/12 in a couple of years.

Here is the link

USC vs. Texas 2017-2018

McNair Appeal Against NCAA Ruling...

On Wednesday, the University submitted its appeal regarding the NCAA Committe on Infractions findings in its case regarding the Reggie Bush scandal. USCFootball.com has a good article on the matter, as well as a link to the copy of the appeal report submitted:

"McNair alleges serious NCAA misconduct, errors in appeal."

No Longer "University of Second Choice!"

"Hell has frozen over." - UCLA Alumni

According to the latest US News and World Report, the University of Southern California has overtaken our crosstown rivals in their annual rankings and FINALLY, cracked the top 25 in National Universities!

USC is ranked #23, and UCLA is at #25. Cal is currently #22, and Pac-10 conference leader Stanford is ranked #5.

This is a tremendous achievement by outgoing president Steven Sample, and is a testament to the years of hard work and fund-raising he did on behalf of the University. It is only going to get better! There are master plans to continue to improve the USC experience, with demolishion and revamping of the University Village (home of the 3-2 Market), more development on campus, and more prestigious instructors.

Because USC is private, the school isn't strapped to a bankrupt State, and will continue to flourish while public schools like across town and up in Berkeley will suffer some from funding cuts.

Here is the link:

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-universities-rankings

It's Almost Kickoff!!

Well Triad Trojans, you'd have to have been living in Bin Laden's cave since June to NOT know what has happened to the Trojan football program via the NCAA Committee Of Infractions (the COI, or more commonly referred to as the "Committee of Idiots"). No bowl games for 2 years, loss of 30 scholarships over 3 years, 4 years probation, open season on any Junior or Senior, who can leave the Trojans at anytime. It was a bloodbath of biblical proportions, especially considering how little if anything USC, its coaching staff, administration, and boosters were involved in the Reggie Bush scandal. That was what so shocking, the amount of carnage leveled at a program in which the allegations didn't center around the football doing anything that was giving them a competitive advantage on the field. Alabama, which a few years ago was caught having coaches paying for players, having players paid, were punishes less than the Trojans. The "lynchpin" of the NCAA case was so flimsy as to be disconcerting as to the level of incompetence the COI has in its members. Here are a great summary of the failing of the NCAA findings:

NCAA Missteps on McNair

USC filed it appeal to some of the sanctions against the program, and considering the NCAA not following its own protocal by allowing USC to sit in on the Lloyd Lake interview, which is granted by the NCAA bylaws, and also due to the very flimsy case it has connecting USC to Lloyd Lake via running backs coach Todd McNair, if the NCAA has any credibility, it will halve the sanctions against the Trojans. Time will tell.

BEAT the Wildcats!!!

It's game day Trojans, the last contest of the regular season. Some great Trojan players will be walking out of the Coliseum tunnel for the very last time in the college careers, and hopefully Pete Carroll and company can get the offense in gear, keep the D at a high level, and those Trojans can leave the Gray Lady with a well-deserved "W."

A win also puts the Trojans in a tie for 2nd place, and would all but assure them a berth in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl.

Fight On and BEAT the Wildcats.

Game is on at 3:30 PM on ABC/ESPN.