Tag: Matt Leinart

A look back at Nebraska’s last visit to the Los Angeles Coliseum

The USC-Nebraska game played in 2006 marked a Trojan quarterback’s home debut. Jayden Maiava makes his first home start for USC, 18 years later.

On Saturday, USC will host Nebraska at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This will mark the first meeting between the Trojans and the Cornhuskers as Big Ten opponents. USC and Nebraska have met just five times prior, with the Trojans holding a record of 4-0-1 in those games.

Nebraska has visited the Coliseum just twice. The most recent of those visits came in September of 2006.

The days leading into the game were turbulent ones at USC. The week prior, the Trojans had gone into the heart of SEC country and opened the season with a 50-14 throttling of Arkansas. Head coach Pete Carroll’s team returned home to the Coliseum for their first home games of the post-Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush era. Both Leinart and Bush’s jerseys were officially retired prior to the game against the Cornhuskers.

During the lead-up to the game, however, reports began to surface that Bush had received improper benefits from an agent during his time at USC. As we all know, this would eventually lead to a mutli-year NCAA investigation that resulted in USC receiving incredibly harsh sanctions that would hold the program down for the better part of a decade.

As for the game itself, it was not particularly close. Although Nebraska scored first on an early field goal, the Trojans then went on a 21-0 run to largely put the game out of reach by the third quarter. When the clock hit zero, Pete Carroll’s team had a 28-10 victory to improve to 2-0 on the season.

The star of the show was Leinart’s replacement, new starting quarterback John David Booty. Making his second college start—and first in the Coliseum—Booty completed 25 of 36 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns. Star wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett was also superb, catching 11 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns.

Ironically enough, this Saturday’s matchup will also feature a USC quarterback making his first start in the Coliseum. The Trojans are hoping that Jayden Maiava can channel a little Booty magic of yesteryear and lead the team to a victory over Nebraska.

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Miller Moss and Matt Leinart select their top USC players of all time

Miller Moss and Matt Leinart picked their favorite USC quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, and defensive stars. Which players would you pick?

Current USC starting quarterback Miller Moss and former USC Trojans legend Matt Leinart had fun on Matt’s instagram and TikTok, drafting other USC legendary players in their “snake style” selection of USC skill position players and one defensive player for an all-time USC team.

Team Miller Moss  featured quarterback Carson Palmer, running back Joe McKnight, receivers Marqise Lee and Robert Woods, with Troy Polamalu as the defensive star.

Team Matt Leinart has Caleb Williams, Reggie Bush, Mike Williams, Keyshawn Johnson, and Ronnie Lott rounding out the list on defense.

Given that Moss and Leinart got to pick first, we have to look at who is left. Our selections: Leinart himself at quarterback, Charles White at running back, Dwayne Jarrett and Jordan Addison at receiver, and Junior Seau on defense.

We could go on and on with these selections. The fun part is that there’s really no wrong answer, given the endless depth of quality USC football has produced throughout its storied history on the gridiron.

@mattleinartqb

Next up @Miller Moss ✌️#usc #millermoss

♬ original sound – Matt Leinart

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USC legend Matt Leinart, actor Jerry Ferrara start new podcast

Matt Leinart is starting an exciting new media venture.

The podcast titled “Throwbacks” is launching September 5 with its first episode, starring former NFL quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart and Entourage star actor Jerry Ferrara.

New episodes of Throwbacks drop every Thursday. You can watch the show on YouTube or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.

“Throwbacks” will pair Heisman Trophy winner Leinart with actor Ferrara, whom “both know what it is to experience extreme success, they both love talking sports, and they’re both navigating the challenges of dad-life,” Sinclair said in a release. Both will share stories about the successes in their respective fields Leinart in football, Ferrara in film and television — while also offering “thoughtful sports opinions and relatable family adventures.”

The duo also say they will chop it up about all things sports – from current headlines to wild off-field stories and everything in between. They will even share stories from Matt’s many years in football locker rooms and Jerry’s many years on the set of an iconic TV series.

Buckle up for a wild ride with the boys!

https://www.instagram.com/p/C_N95cbOnDQ/

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Matt Leinart picks College Football Playoff results and you’ll like his winner

Are you buying what Leinart is selling here? #GoBucks

It may not get the views that ESPN’s College GameDay gets, but FOX’s Big Noon show has cut into the college football pregame viewership. Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, Brady Quinn, and Urban Meyer are sometimes more entertaining and more insightful than what you now get on the “worldwide leader.”

And even though he’s all-in on USC as a former player, former Heisman winner Matt Leinart is usually pretty spot on with his analysis and comments before, during, and after college football contests.

He recently shared his 12-team College Football Playoff predictions and went all the way through to the national championship game, even predicting a winner. Well, Buckeye fans, you’re going to love how this one ends, because Lineart picked Ohio State to matchup against Georgia and beat the Bulldogs this time around in Atltanta.

If you missed it, watch the short segment below to find out which 12-teams make the CFP and the winner of each matchup.

Here’s to hoping Leinart hopped in a time machine and has some insider information. Either way, it should be a fun season on the banks of the Olentangy.

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USC’s Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush are given due respect in 247 rankings

247Sports put Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush at the top of a special list.

Brad Crawford of 247Sports put together his 50 all-time best playmaking duos in college football history. USC’s legendary duo of Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush rose to the top of his list.

Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush edged out the Bush and LenDale White for this ranking, but each tandem is worthy of merit.

Bush won the Heisman in 2005. He ran for 1,740 yards and 16 touchdowns on 200 carries. He was one of the key players along with Leinart who led USC to the BCS National Championship Game, where the Trojans fell just short to the Texas Longhorns.

Leinart threw for 10,693 yards and 99 touchdowns over three seasons as USC’s starter. He won the Heisman as a junior (2004) en route to a national championship. At one point, Leinart and Bush helped USC win 34 consecutive games. The two both picked in the first round of the NFL draft.

USC is getting respect in these historical rankings. Now the 2024 Trojans need to earn respect in the college football community.

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Check out more NFL draft coverage with the USA TODAY Sports NFL Draft Hub.

Matt Leinart’s unhinged hot take on Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark had hoops fans endlessly roasting him

Even Caitlin Clark fans were over Matt Leinart’s foolery.

Former NFL vet and current Fox media personality Matt Leinart says that the WNBA should suspend Angel Reese for her Flagrant 1 foul on Caitlin Clark. Yes, that is a serious sentence.

Matt Leinart was apparently watching the game (or at least saw a clip via social media) on Sunday when Angel Reese made incidental contact with Caitlin Clark on a hard foul. Clark held no animosity toward Reese postgame for the move and acknowledged that Angel was trying to make a play on the ball.

That should have been the correct reaction in real-time by everyone, but WNBA expert Matt Leinart — if that sounds sarcastic, IT IS! — felt that Reese needed to be suspended.

Right on cue, hoops fans roasted him for his take. Here’s what they said:

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Pac-12 Heisman QB comparison — Matt Leinart vs Marcus Mariota

Would you rather have Leinart’s 2004 season or Mariota’s 2014 campaign?

The Pac-12 football era has, in a meaningful sense, come to an end. We can say that Washington State and Oregon State are technically carrying the banner for the conference, but two teams is not a conference in anything but a legal sense. The Pac-12 is, for all intents and purposes, dead. Maybe we can say that the league is frozen in a cryogenic chamber and could be brought back to life in 10 years. Maybe the league is in a deep coma. At any rate, it is no longer functional to any significant degree. As we look back on the story of Pac-12 football, comparing Heisman Trophy quarterbacks in the conference is an interesting exercise. Consider 2004 Matt Leinart of USC versus 2014 Marcus Mariota of Oregon.

Leinart was awesome in 2004 for the Trojans under Pete Carroll, completing nearly two-thirds of his passes for 33 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions. That’s magnificent, God-tier performance as the leader of a dynamic offense which had Reggie Bush in the backfield. Everything came together for that 2004 USC offense.

Marcus Mariota was extraordinary in 2014 for Oregon. He threw for over 4,400 yards with 42 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. A quarterback can’t play much better than Mariota did for the Ducks.

Statistically, Mariota’s season was better. However, as USC fans will very quickly remind Oregon fans, the Trojans play for national championships. Leinart won it all in 2004. Mariota did not.

We all know which season we would prefer here at USC.

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Check out more NFL draft coverage with the USA TODAY Sports NFL Draft Hub.

Matt Leinart and Lincoln Riley welcome Mike Williams back to USC

Matt Leinart joined the call with Lincoln Riley in a feel-good moment for every USC football fan.

USC football fans will be talking about the new Trojan defense at the 2024 spring football game on Saturday. They will also talk to each other about Big Mike Williams (BMW) driving the car as the program’s new director of player development. Lincoln Riley made the move, but he consulted with Matt Leinart as well. Riley and Leinart were on the call as they welcomed Mike Williams back into the fold at USC, in a move which has Trojan fans feeling warm and fuzzy all over.

Matt Leinart and Mike Williams teamed up to give USC a potent offense under coordinator Norm Chow in the 2003 season, when the Trojans ascended to the mountaintop and won the Associated Press college football national championship. USC finished No. 1 in the Associated Press Poll, while LSU won the Bowl Championship Series national title by winning the 2004 Sugar Bowl over Oklahoma. Mike Williams now tries to ride the BMW back to national championship contention, helping Riley with player development, an area of the program which needs to improve.

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Matt Leinart discusses Caleb Williams, USC pro day, and which NFL draft QB prospects will thrive

Matt Leinart evaluates the 2024 NFL draft quarterback class.

Colin Cowherd talks to USC’s legendary Heisman Trophy winner and two-time national champion Matt Leinart about Caleb Williams and other quarterback prospects in the 2024 NFL draft.

It seems increasingly likely that Caleb Williams will indeed go to the Chicago Bears with the first pick in the draft. Players already on the Bears say Caleb will have to earn his place.

Bears Wire has more:

“Receiver DJ Moore recently spoke about what Williams needs to do to earn respect from the locker room, cornerback Jaylon Johnson is the latest Bears veteran chiming in on Williams’ impending arrival and how he needs to prove himself.

“’You just humble yourself coming into the building,’ Johnson said on Up & Adams. ‘You can’t bring that Hollywood stuff into the building, especially with guys who have played the game at a high level for consecutive years in the league. Guys like myself, Tremaine (Edmunds), T.J. (Edwards), now Keenan Allen. We’re going to see through that. What you did in college, the Hollywood, nah, you’ve gotta prove yourself. Stuff like that doesn’t matter.’”

Here’s Matt Leinart on Caleb and other 2024 NFL draft quarterback prospects:

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Matt Leinart talks about NFL struggles with Cardinals and high expectations in pro football

Matt Leinart opened up about his time with the Arizona Cardinals.

Matt Leinart’s NFL career never really worked out, but Leinart was a first-round draft pick who played for multiple NFL teams. His pro career is legitimately and accurately called a bust, but Leinart still made good money with his first NFL paycheck. His success at USC and his central presence in the football world has translated into television commentary and a very good living. He has done well for himself, but in terms of achieving on-field NFL success, that one goal eluded him. It is what it is.

Leinart recently talked about his struggles with the Arizona Cardinals, a team which has struggled to find a great quarterback and which is trying to turn the corner with Kyler Murray, a Heisman winner previously coached by Lincoln Riley at the University of Oklahoma before Riley moved to USC. It is notable that the Cardinals’ last great quarterback was a USC product, but not Leinart. Carson Palmer led the Cardinals to the NFC Championship Game in the 2015 NFL season. The Cardinals lost to the Carolina Panthers. It’s the last time the Cardinals went that far in the playoffs.

Here’s Leinart on his time with the Cardinals:

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