Tag: usc trojans football

Will USC finish ahead of Ohio State and Penn State in the 2024 Big Ten football standings?

USC versus Ohio State is a fascinating comparison in 2024.

We’re talking Big Ten football here, since the next college football season will be USC’s first in the Big Ten.

We asked our football panelists if USC will finish ahead of Ohio State and Penn State in 2024.

Matt Zemek, Trojans Wire: Certainly ahead of Penn State. If the Trojans can land some defensive and offensive tackles in the spring portal window, they have a chance at surpassing Ohio State as well. Right now, though? USC probably finishes behind the Buckeyes.

Zachary Neel, Ducks Wire: No, I don’t think that USC will finish ahead of Ohio State or Penn State in 2024. Who is their quarterback? Is Miller Moss going to lead them to instant success in the Big Ten? It’s possible, but I wouldn’t call it probable.

Matt Wadleigh, Trojans Wire: This is a tough one for me, and I believe D’Anton Lynn will make this team much more competitive. Is Miller Moss the quarterback who can make it happen? Until we get that answer, I have USC behind both programs in 2024.

Don Smalley, Ducks Wire: No. USC’s QB situation is in flux.

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USC’s 2024 Big Ten football schedule just got easier

Washington’s roster will be gutted, and its coach won’t be around in 2024. This game is a lot more manageable for USC.

USC was set to have a challenging schedule in 2024, playing against the two teams that competed in this past season’s national championship game: the Washington Huskies and the Michigan Wolverines.

To be sure, USC still faces a very tough schedule. However, while there is uncertainty about the future of Michigan’s head coach, Jim Harbaugh, in Ann Arbor, it is now certain that the Huskies will face the Trojans with a new head coach in place. USC has to love that.

The AP and Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year for the Huskies, Kalen DeBoer, is leaving to take over for legendary coach Nick Saban at Alabama. (Follow Roll Tide Wire for full coverage of this story.)

In addition to DeBoer, the Huskies will also lose elite players. They will lose their Heisman Trophy runner-up, Michael Penix Jr., and one of the best receiving corps in college football to the NFL. Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan were considered likely to leave for the NFL draft, but redshirt sophomore Ja’Lynn Polk has announced that he will join them as professionals, which might come as a slight surprise. It will also be interesting to see if any of the Joe Moore Award offensive linemen for UW will travel with DeBoer to Tuscaloosa in the transfer portal.

With Washington losing its star head coach and several key players from one of the sport’s best offenses, the daunting task of playing Washington in Seattle in 2024 — in USC’s inaugural season in the Big Ten — has become much more manageable. This is the break D’Anton Lynn needed as he installs his defense in Year 1.

The Huskies were a seasoned, well-oiled machine, and although they have Mississippi State Bulldog quarterback transfer Will Rogers joining the team in 2024, the loss of DeBoer and the key starters on offense will make this a complete rebuild for the Husky offense.

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Amon-Ra St. Brown prepares for first NFL playoff game with the Detroit Lions

Amon-Ra St. Brown gets to play in a playoff game on Sunday Night Football. He and the Lions have arrived.

This will be a special moment on Sunday night, in what many consider the best and most interesting game on NFL Super Wild Card Weekend.

Matthew Stafford, a longtime Detroit Lion quarterback who won the Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams, comes home to Detroit to face the Lions in the playoffs. The Lions, one of the most snakebitten and luckless NFL franchises in the Super Bowl era, are playing their first home playoff game since January of 1994, 30 years ago. Stafford, the former Lion, faces former Ram quarterback Jared Goff in a battle of signal-callers who were traded for each other in a blockbuster deal which worked out well for both sides.

It’s a script straight out of Hollywood.

We will see if a former USC Trojan will write his own story on Sunday.

Amon-Ra St. Brown steps into a very bright playoff spotlight.

The overall list of former USC Trojans in the NFL isn’t what it used to be, but there are still some big names in the league. Recent years have provided a ton of talent at the wide receiver position, with Jordan Addison, Drake London, and Amon-Ra St. Brown being the most notable examples.

St. Brown finished the 2023 regular season with career highs of 116 catches, 1,515 yards and 10 touchdowns. He posted career numbers in all categories.

He joined Herman Moore as the only two players in Lions history to record 100+ catches, 1,000+ yards and 10+ touchdowns in a season.

St. Brown had 90 catches with 912 yards in his rookie season, then 106 catches and 1,161 yards last year. He took a big jump this year en route to a playoff berth.

The Lions will host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football on NBC Sports.

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Former USC running back Darwin Barlow transfers to North Carolina

Darwin Barlow gets his big chance for more playing time under Mack Brown in Chapel Hill.

The USC Trojans football program lost another player to the transfer portal in what has been a big overhaul. This time, it is running back Darwin Barlow who hit the portal. He found a new home in North Carolina with the Tar Heels, as he posted on X on Thursday evening.

Barlow was a nonfactor this season, and a big reason is because of the crowded running back room at USC. Barlow had just 81 yards and a score on eight carries. He had 96 yards and three scores in 2022, so Barlow is clearly looking for more opportunities in his final year of college ball. He deserves his chance to play and show what he can do. We wish him the best.

The Trojans have been making a lot of changes to the coaching staff and the roster. They recently found a new quarterback by bringing in Georgia commit and UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava.

Barlow should see a big uptick in carries with the Tar Heels, who lost Drake Maye to the NFL draft and might be more run-focused in 2024.

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Korey Foreman, who failed to reach his potential at USC, seeks fresh start at Fresno State

Korey Foreman finds his transfer landing spot.

The USC Trojans never got what they were hoping for out of former five-star recruit Korey Foreman. In his freshman year in 2021, he had 2.5 sacks with seven solo tackles in eight games. Then his numbers went down in 2022 despite playing in 12 games.

In 2023, Foreman played in just three games and was nowhere to be found. He ended up entering the transfer portal. On Thursday, Foreman made it official and committed to Fresno State, as he posted on his Instagram page.

Foreman is originally from Corona, California. He is staying in the state and will become an immediate contributor to the Fresno State defense under coach Jeff Tedford.

Foreman technically redshirted this year after playing just three games, so he has an extra year of eligibility. Foreman becomes the highest-ranked recruit ever for Fresno State, and it will be worth watching to see how he does with the Bulldogs next season.

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Roy Manning bids farewell after two years at USC under Lincoln Riley

Lincoln Riley continues to turn over his defensive staff with an emphasis on coaching better technique.

The coaching staff for Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans football program keeps on changing. On Thursday, edge rushing coach Roy Manning essentially said goodbye to USC after two years with the program. He posted a lengthy post on X:

“I’d like to thank Coach Riley and the entire coaching & support staff that I’ve had the opportunity to work with and learn from for the past 5 years. I hope that my energy and presence made a positive impact each and every day both in the office and on the field.”

This is yet another coaching staff move after the Trojans hired D’Anton Lynn as defensive coordinator, brought in former North Dakota State head coach Matt Entz as linebackers coach, and Houston defensive coordinator Doug Belk as secondary coach.

The Trojans moved on from Alex Grinch after another horrid defensive performance, and now they are making more moves to the staff as they make the transition to the Big Ten Conference.

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USC fans are thrilled to have Jayden Maiava as the backup QB to Miller Moss

USC filled a position of need and likely found its quarterback for 2025. Trojan fans are excited — they should be!

The USC Trojans struck out on a number of quarterbacks in the transfer portal and saw Malachi Nelson leave to go to Boise State.

Then, UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava committed to Georgia, and everything looked lost at the position for USC.

That is, until Tuesday night when reports surfaced that Maiava had flipped to USC in a stunning turn of events.

All of a sudden, Maiava goes from Georgia to USC, and now Lincoln Riley has a backup quarterback behind Miller Moss. He could also turn this into a competition alongside Moss, but the ideal scenario is to have Moss lead the offense in 2024 and have Maiava ready to take over in 2025.

USC fans couldn’t believe it, especially after Maiava had just announced his decision to go to the Georgia Bulldogs.

Let’s look at some of these reactions:

USC stuns the college football world by flipping Georgia commit Jayden Maiava

USC gets the second quarterback it needed, and it now has its likely QB for 2025 as well. Big move.

The USC Trojans missed out on a number of quarterbacks in the transfer portal, most notably Will Howard, who decided to go to Ohio State.

Then, UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava decided to go to Georgia and be the heir apparent to Carson Beck. However, late on Tuesday night in a stunning turn of events, reports emerged that Maiava flipped his commitment from Georgia to USC, per Greg Biggins of 247Sports.

It’s quite a newsworthy decision. Maiava just finished his freshman year as the QB for UNLV. He threw for 2,794 yards with 14 touchdowns. The Las Vegas native now is reportedly going from UNLV to Georgia to USC in a swift turn of events.

Maiava going from Georgia to USC in a matter of days shows how quickly things can change in the transfer portal.

For now, Lincoln Riley has a new quarterback to potentially compete with Holiday Bowl hero Miller Moss. At the very least, USC has two quarterbacks in the room for 2024, and Maiava could be the 2025 quarterback if we assume Moss will be the starter for 2024. This is how USC needed to stack the quarterback room.

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USC 2024 Big Ten football schedule includes national champion Michigan, runner-up Washington

In 2024, USC’s #B1G schedule includes the two teams which played for the 2023 national championship.

The last Pac-12 football game has been played, at least in terms of a 12-team conference membership. Washington State and Oregon State will carry forth the name, but we know that’s not a full conference in any meaningful sense. The Washington-Michigan national championship game was the Pac-12’s true finale. Now Washington joins USC, Oregon, and UCLA in moving to the Big Ten for 2024.

Need USC’s Big Ten football schedule? We have it for you, plus — of course — the other really big nonconference games on the coming 2024 slate. USC might have the toughest single schedule in all of college football for the 2024 season. The Trojans will have to play the two teams which just competed for the national championship:

Washington Commanders have No. 2 pick, will likely take Drake Maye or Caleb Williams

If the Commanders are fine with taking Drake Maye, that would suggest they won’t trade up to No. 1 in the draft.

With the NFL regular season over, the early part of the 2024 NFL draft order is set. The Chicago Bears select first overall with the Washington Commanders, New England Patriots, Arizona Cardinals, and Los Angeles Chargers rounding out the top five.

The top three picks will more than likely be quarterbacks with Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels at the top. The Bears might not pick a quarterback if they stick with Justin Fields, but the Commanders seem destined to take whichever one is left between Williams and Maye (h/t Bryan Manning of Commanders Wire).

“In a draft that is expected to have at least three quarterbacks land in the top 10, Williams and Maye are considered by most to be top-five picks.”

It’s no secret. With Washington coach Ron Rivera likely being shown the door on Black Monday, Washington now will begin to explore its options at the QB position.

Williams is the main focus as the No. 1 pick, and if the Bears make it available, perhaps the Commanders make a call to move up one spot and draft the 2022 Heisman winner before any other NFL team can make a run at the USC star.

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