Charles White – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Why do college football fans worry so much about SEC bias? History is long

People are afraid of Alabama losing twice and still winning a 12-team CFB playoff because of 1978 and 2003. #USC fans remember.

The fear of a 12-team College Football Playoff is specifically connected to the worry that Nick Saban and Alabama will go 10-2 yet still make — and win — the postseason tournament.

We wrote about this in January:

“Nick Saban and Alabama were so dominant for so long that when a season like this — the Crimson Tide losing twice and looking ordinary — comes along, people are still afraid Bama would win the playoff.

“Yes, it’s true that Bama would have gotten in, but here’s the other side of the coin: Bama would have had to win three games to win the national title beginning in the 2024 season. That makes life harder for Alabama and Saban compared to the BCS, when it just had to win one game to win the national title. In 2023, Bama will have to win two games.”

This long-seated distrust and fear of the SEC has its roots in the 1978 season, when USC beat Alabama in Birmingham and yet still didn’t win an outright championship. The two polls that season — AP and UPI — were split.

Fear and loathing of the SEC also flow from 2003, when USC didn’t get the chance to play LSU for the national title, and yet LSU fans were quick to proclaim how the BCS national championship was uniquely theirs, as though there was no possible comparison or debate.

USC had the high ground in each of these college football seasons, but SEC teams received more credit than they deserved.

We talked to Mark Rogers at The Voice of College Football:

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Former USC offensive coordinator might join Nick Saban at Alabama

Where will Kliff Kingsbury coach in 2023? How should USC honor Charles White? Let’s open up the Trojan football notebook and dive into several topics.

Kliff Kingsbury was the offensive coordinator for USC under Clay Helton and former athletic director Lynn Swann … for a few minutes.

Kingsbury flew to Arizona to don some red wings with the Cardinals before he ever called a play for the Trojans. The inability to actually retain Kingsbury after hiring him was a reflection of the extent to which the USC program suffered under the previous regime, before new AD Mike Bohn came to Los Angeles. Keep in mind that USC reached New Year’s Six bowls in 2016 and 2017 because of Sam Darnold. The Trojans won the Pac-12 championship in 2017. Even then — in spite of those accomplishments — Kingsbury didn’t view USC as a place he had to stay, not even for one year.

Now Kingsbury is a free agent in the coaching world. He will get a fat check from the Cardinals for the next several years, so he might just try to sit on a hammock and relax in 2023 and come back fresh for 2024. However, if he wants to coach somewhere, he will certainly have some options.

Let’s look at Kliff Kingsbury’s coaching options and then move to a discussion of various ways USC can honor Charles White this season. It’s a USC and college football offseason notebook.

Let’s dive in:

Charles White USC tribute ceremony should be held before Utah game on October 21

Mike Bohn has said #USC will honor Charles White during the 2023 football season. It only makes sense to have a big ceremony before a huge game watched by many.

No official word has come from USC on when it plans to honor legendary Trojan Charles White this upcoming football season. Mike Bohn has said that the school will honor White — who died at age 64 earlier this month — at some point during the 2023 season. Naturally, fans and alumni will wonder when that will happen.

Our view: USC ought to do this on October 21, when the Utah Utes visit the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Let’s be clear about one thing: Every USC home game should have a pregame tribute to White, just on a smaller scale. A video presentation, an announcement, something.

The first game of the season on Aug. 26 versus San Jose State should have a moment of silence before kickoff. However, a full ceremony on a day which is likely to be hot and miserable — in front of a non-maruqee opponent — would be untimely. Why have a ceremony in front of a Coliseum which won’t be fully filled?

Neither of the first two games of the season should have a lavish ceremony. If USC wants to consider a ceremony early in the season, the earliest possible date would be Sept. 9, when the Trojans begin their Pac-12 season versus longtime conference foe Stanford. Yet, even then, the opponent and the time of year are likely to produce a less-than-capacity crowd.

The Utah game will fill the stadium. The game will almost certainly be on national television, probably in prime time. That is the occasion to conduct a longer, fuller ceremony honoring Charles White.

Yes, USC should do other things as well: a No. 12 patch on every USC jersey, a No. 12 logo painted on the Coliseum field, and 1979 throwback uniforms. In terms of a ceremony, though, the Utah game clearly makes the most sense, with the UCLA game on Nov. 18 being another option.

If USC wanted to have big ceremonies before both the Utah and UCLA games, that’s fine, too.

We’re just trying to get things in order here and plan ahead.

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Charles White’s painful life had a beautiful, deeply poignant ending

What were the very last sounds Charles White heard before he died? The Spirit of Troy #USC Marching Band playing ‘Conquest.’ It’s getting a little dusty in here.

The final days of Charles White’s life were not easy, After dealing with brain trauma, the legendary USC running back had a very difficult time toward the end of his life.

However, his ex-wife, Judi White-Basch, said he showed strength all the way until the end (h/t Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times).

“Forget about his legend on the field, how he handled himself in his last days was something I didn’t think was humanly possible. No pain, no fear, no boundaries, pure love,” White-Basch said.

White was repping the Trojans even on that day. He was wearing a USC jersey and sweatpants and had a USC blanket. His ex-wife and daughter, Tara, even flashed the famous USC two-finger salute right in front of his bed before his passing. Until the very end, he was a Trojan.

“He was a Trojan until his dying breath. And that was the literal truth.”

This next piece of reportage from Bill Plaschke will pack an emotional wallop: White’s ex-wife and daughter put a phone on the pillow next to his ear. The phone played “Conquest” in the final moments before he died. These were the last sounds White heard on Earth.

White-Basch, as reported by Plaschke, said “Go now, run free,” while the Spirit of Troy USC Trojan Marching Band played on.

It had been a rough few years between White and USC, but Mike Bohn got back in touch with White this past year and offered the help of physicians at USC. The AD said the school will honor White this coming fall.

White was one of the greatest Trojans to ever play, but after all he went through, the strength he showed at the end will be remembered forever by his family.

For those interested, there will be a public memorial service at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., on Saturday, February 11, at 11 a.m.

Listen to our Charles White podcast. Read all our Charles White tributes to remember the life and legacy of Charles White:

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USC will honor Charles White during 2023 Trojan football season

The USC Trojans will honor Charles White during the 2023 football season. Mike Bohn wants to make sure USC fans can ‘join the salute.’ This will be a special moment.

It has been a couple of weeks since Charles White passed away, and the USC Trojans are definitely going to find a way to honor the legendary running back.

Athletic director Mike Bohn was texting White’s family right before he passed, and he said that the school will honor him in the fall, according to Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times.

“We’re going to honor him in the fall when fans can join the salute. Charles was a great Trojan who left us too soon, and we’ll make sure his legacy and contributions on and off the field will be remembered forever,” Bohn said.

The Trojans should have quite a plan for White, especially with Bohn saying that he will be remembered forever.

The school even reunited White with physicians from Keck Medicine of USC: “Our doctors understand the power of the Trojan family,” Bohn added.

It was a long, difficult journey for White, who suffered from brain trauma in a life marked with many off-field problems after his playing days ended. His family has now donated his brain to Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center so that the organization can further study CTE.

Charles White, who won USC’s third Heisman Trophy back in 1979, will be remembered forever in Southern California. Mike Bohn and the program have a few months to think of the perfect way to immortalize his legacy.

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Charles White watched Caleb Williams join him as a USC Heisman Trophy winner

Charles White watched Caleb Williams join White and 6 other #USC Heisman Trophy winners. Bill Plaschke tells a story which will give you goosebumps and chills.

There are many great players who put on the USC Trojans uniform. One of them is running back Charles White, the 1979 Heisman Trophy winner.

White passed away earlier this month and will always be remembered by the program despite an uneasy last few years.

In a feature by Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times, White’s ex-wife, Judi White-Basch, said he was a Trojan until the very end:

“He had to be in agony but he never showed it, never talked about it, never even grimaced. Until his last breath, he was a true Trojan,” White-Basch said.

Judi also spoke about the time when they were watching the 2022 Heisman Trophy ceremony on television, and White gave one simple word that showed how much he loved USC:

“We were watching the Heisman Trophy ceremony and he pointed to the TV and said one word. He said, ‘Caleb.’”

If that doesn’t give you goosebumps, nothing will.

Charles White was the third Heisman Trophy winner for USC due to an unbelievable season in 1979, finishing with 1,803 yards and 18 scores and finishing his entire USC career with 5,598 yards and 53 touchdowns.

White’s last few years weren’t easy for anybody, but his love for USC never wavered and he was a Trojan through and through. Despite his pain and physical suffering, he was able to connect to USC’s great football players of the present day, showing his support for Caleb Williams and the young men who carry on the proud tradition of Trojan football.

Listen to our Charles White tribute podcast, and check out our Charles White tribute articles as well in the search field at the top of our website:

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Trojans: Wired podcast pays tribute to USC legend Charles White

We remember and pay tribute to Charles White, a #USC legend of the game, on our latest podcast. @IanHest produced the show.

Charles White stood out as a running back at a program famous for its running backs and a tradition of smashmouth football in its dynastic period.

Student Body Right. Student Body Left. Charles White was part of a line of succession at running back at USC which began with Mike Garrett, continued through O.J. Simpson, transferred to Anthony Davis and Sam Cunningham, then moved to Ricky Bell before White took the baton under John Robinson. Marcus Allen followed and became John Robinson’s last great running back at USC.

From 1965 through 1981, USC produced four Heisman Trophy-winning running backs, won four national championships, and earned seven Rose Bowl victories. Charles White was one of those Heisman running backs. He won one of the four national titles. He won three of the seven Rose Bowls in that span at USC.

His workload, his statistical achievements, his quality over a four-year period from his freshman through senior seasons, his crunch-time prowess in the Rose Bowl Game itself, and so many other football achievements make the argument that at a school whose football tradition is built on a foundation of power football, Charles White was the greatest running back of them all.

We remember the USC football career of a legendary Trojan, Charles White.

Ian Hest co-hosted and produced the show:

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Watch Charles White run through, around and over UCLA and Notre Dame in the late 1970s

Charles White went 7-1 against UCLA and Notre Dame at #USC.

Charles White was consistently great in four seasons at USC. He had to be in order to rush for over 6,200 yards and accumulate nearly 6,800 yards from scrimmage. Part of that consistency meant delivering the goods against UCLA and Notre Dame.

USC swept UCLA and Notre Dame this season, one of the particularly sweet and restorative aspects of the 2022 football campaign for the Trojans in Year 1 under Lincoln Riley.

Charles White knew all about beating the Bruins and the Fighting Irish. He played four years at USC, from 1976 through 1979. White was 7-1 against UCLA and Notre Dame, 4-0 against the Bruins. His only loss to one of USC’s chief rivals came to Notre Dame in 1977 in South Bend.

White was the ultimate workhorse back at USC. He had more touches than any other USC player in the post-World War II era. He and Marcus Allen are the only two Trojans in the post-WWII era with more than 1,000 total touches. When White played UCLA, he had already taken two and a half months of hits. No matter. He had plenty in the tank for the Bruins. It’s exactly why coach John Robinson called him the toughest player he ever coached, and why teammates such as quarterback Paul McDonald called him the toughest pound-for-pound player he ever saw in college.

Enjoy these UCLA and Notre Dame highlights from a Trojan great, Charles White:

#RIPCharlesWhite #12 I sure hope there are many Charles White tributes from @USC He deserves them.https://t.co/woXBgHWQns

— Lex_571 (@Lex_491) January 12, 2023

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Charles White USC Classics: 1978 win in Birmingham vs Bear Bryant and Alabama

#USC went down to Birmingham to beat the Bear and Bama in 1978, the signature win of John Robinson’s national championship season. Charles White starred.

We are remembering Charles White at Trojans Wire, days after the legendary USC running back died at age 64 from cancer. White was a Rose Bowl star, but he also left a big imprint on college football and a nation of football fans in a number of regular-season games. One was the 1978 USC victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide at Legion Field in Birmingham.

Alabama and coach Bear Bryant beat USC in Los Angeles in 1977. USC wanted to strike back and even the score in 1978. You might recall that USC won in Birmingham in 1970. Alabama came back in 1971 and won in the Coliseum. USC needed to split the 1977-1978 home-and-home series.

Charles White made sure it happened.

The USC defense was superb against Alabama on that hot, sunny afternoon in the South, and White ran for 199 yards in a typically imposing, physical performance. He was a man among boys on a day when the Men of Troy shoved around the Tide.

USC and Alabama split the 1978 national title in the polls, but everyone saw who the better team was when the two schools met head-to-head. We also saw who the best player on the field was when USC and Alabama battled on a September Saturday.

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Charles White made a national name for himself in the 1977 Rose Bowl vs Michigan

The star running back of the 1976 #USC team was Ricky Bell, but he got hurt. First-year head coach John Robinson called on a freshman to finish the Rose Bowl. #CharlesWhite

The majestic college football career of Charles White is the happy time, the golden era, the part of White’s life which is luminous, shimmering, and sweet.

So much of White’s life was troubled, and yes, the pounding he took at USC created the traumas which fed into the problems and difficulties that followed him for a very long time. We’re not looking away from that. We wrote about that part of White’s life story after his death earlier this week at age 64.

Mindful of the pain White suffered in his life, we are writing about him primarily because his storied career gave happiness to millions of USC Trojan fans and alumni when the Men of Troy stood at the height of their powers in the late 1970s.

USC finished in the top two in three of White’s four seasons as a Trojan, from 1976 through 1979. White hit his peak in 1979 and punctuated his USC career with a 247-yard masterpiece in the 1980 Rose Bowl against Ohio State. Yet, White was a significant part of the 1976 USC team, John Robinson’s first as the Trojans’ head coach after the epic 16-year run of program icon John McKay.

When star running back Ricky Bell got hurt, White was the next man up for Robinson as a freshman in the 1977 Rose Bowl game against Michigan. Legendary sportscaster Curt Gowdy was the voice of the Rose Bowl back then. He mentioned that Charles White was going to become the next great running back at USC.

The Ol’ Cowboy — as Gowdy was sometimes referred to — got that one exactly right.

Watch Charles White, Ricky Bell, and the rest of the Trojans beat Michigan in the 1977 Rose Bowl, earning a No. 2 national ranking behind national champion Pittsburgh in John Robinson’s first year as USC head coach:

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