Tag: usc trojans football

USC playing UCLA twice? It’s not ridiculous in a pandemic

Stop. It’s not insane to do this.

If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times: Normal solutions don’t apply to a pandemic and this very weird, unsettled, scary time we live in. Ideas which would be crazy in normal periods shouldn’t be considered ridiculous in these adjusted circumstances.

The Pac-12 has already moved to a conference-only football game schedule for 2020, but it hasn’t yet announced the details of its plan.

A story on Sunday from the Casper (Wyoming) Star-Tribune underscores the point that creative options exist for filling out a conference schedule.

Davis Potter reported on Wyoming’s uncertainties, and what the school’s athletic director, Tom Burman, is considering while he waits for the Big 12, SEC, and ACC to reveal their scheduling plans for the fall.

One option on the table for Wyoming is playing foremost rival Colorado State twice.

If you can’t play a full 12-game season, and if you can’t have teams outside your conference on the slate, why the hell NOT play your rival twice to spice things up and generate more local interest in the program?

Keep in mind that while we won’t see anything close to full stadium capacity at games this fall — 30 percent capacity would seem to be at the HIGH end of possibilities at this point; that would rate as a real achievement, while 20 percent seems like a more likely figure — getting 30 percent of fans into a stadium rates as a lot better than having no fans at all.

Rivalry games being played twice — as opposed to filling an open date with an FCS school — makes sense in terms of attracting fans to a stadium, even in reduced numbers.

Moreover, the genius of a two-rivalry-game plan is that fans who couldn’t attend the first of the two games could attend the second one. Think of this as USC and UCLA playing eight quarters in front of 38,000 people — 18,000 in one four-quarter game at the Coliseum and 20,000 in the other four-quarter game at the Rose Bowl.

It sounds stupid in normal times… but again, these times aren’t normal.

If the Pac-12 wants a 10-game conference-only game schedule — the regular nine games plus one add-on — would it be better for USC to play Washington State or Oregon State, the two teams currently not scheduled to face the Trojans in 2020, OR…

would it be better for USC to simply circle back and play UCLA a second time?

I know which option most USC fans would choose.

Q & A: Clint Lamb of Roll Tide Wire on USC-Alabama cancellation

USC-Alabama won’t happen. Let’s talk about it.

With the Pac-12 moving to a conference-only schedule, the USC Trojans will not be playing the Alabama Crimson Tide at AT&T Stadium on September 5. The last time the two teams met, USC was blown out of the water by a score of 52-6. The game eventually led to Sam Darnold taking over the reins of the team. Jalen Hurts’ Alabama career began in that game.

To talk about this huge change to the 2020 schedule, Trojans Wire reached out to Clint Lamb, editor of Roll Tide Wire, one of our college wire partner sites under the USA TODAY banner.

1. How is the cancellation of the USC game being received in Alabama?

A lot of Alabama fans were excited about the opportunity to play what is expected to be a really good USC team. With the tradition and current talent levels of both programs, the game was seen as one of the best opening-week matchups in college football, and there are a lot of fans who were disappointed with the Pac-12 decision.

That especially holds true if the rest of the schedule remains intact and Alabama replaces the Trojans with TCU. That game still provides some level of excitement for fans, but it’s not USC.

2. USC fans feel like they dodged a bullet. I imagine Bama fans do not feel like that, so what are they feeling?

There are a lot of Alabama fans who are anxious to see where the defense is at after the struggles last season. The return of key players such as Dylan Moses and LaBryan Ray helps, but most of the exterior pass rush production is gone from last season (Anfernee Jennings and Terrell Lewis) and the secondary is replacing four out of five starters.

Going against a formidable USC offense, including quarterback Kedon Slovis and a talented group of receivers, was going to be an excellent opportunity to see where Pete Golding’s defense was at heading into Year 2 of being the full-time defensive coordinator. It’s disappointed that we won’t get to see that happen.

3. How will the loss of this game affect the Tide financially, if at all?  

That’s a great question. As of right now, it’s tough to know how losing the USC game will financially impact Alabama, especially considering that Greg Sankey and the other SEC decision-makers are trying to replace it with another respected, Power Five opponent. I’m sure there will be financially implications here, but like I said, it’s hard to know exactly what those will be without knowing where the Tide goes from here.

4. How badly do you think conference-only scheduling will have an impact on the way we process the postseason?

With where the SEC, Big 12 and ACC are at currently, it’s hard to tell if the conference-only scheduling will be consistent across the board. If it isn’t, that will make things extremely interesting because comparisons could only be made between three of the five Power Five conferences. How does that affect things?

For example, what if there’s an undefeated SEC and ACC team, but the Big 12 champion has one loss. Then you have undefeated Pac-12 and Big Ten champs, but they’ve each only gone 11-0 (assuming conference championships are played) instead of 12-1 like the Big 12 champion. Do you punish that Big 12 champion for playing two more games?

With all that being said, I still believe we end up at a 10-game schedule across the board, and it could very well be a conference-only schedule like you mention. So, what does that look like?

Well, it will be extremely difficult for the College Football Playoff committee to make comparisons between conferences. I think it completely wipes out the chance of one conference, such as the SEC, from getting two teams into a four-team Playoff. Prior beliefs on conference strength from past seasons will almost certainly come into play, as unfortunate as that is to say.

5. Let’s be honest: How excited were Bama fans to face this team again after they destroyed their morale and soul the last time?

I do believe there was a lot of confidence among the Alabama fan base after the result from 2016, but at the same time, there’s no denying that USC would’ve been much better prepared this time around. What makes things interesting is the similarity between the quarterback battles going on in both seasons.

The Tide was looking to replace national championship winner Jake Coker in 2016 with either Blake Barnett, Cooper Bateman or Jalen Hurts, and they ultimately settled in on the talented true freshman in Hurts. This year could provide a similar result, although I doubt it.

Mac Jones at least has multiple starts under his belt, including a road game against Auburn in the Iron Bowl and a bowl game victory against Michigan. With the pandemic limiting the preparation time table, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where the freshman phenom like Bryce Young is named the starter out of the gate.

As confident as Alabama fans might’ve been heading into this game, there is still a ton of respect to be had for Clay Helton’s program. And one key difference between the 2016 squad and the group in 2020 would’ve been the expected quarterback play. Sam Darnold didn’t take over as the starter until after that opening game, and seeing how he performed has to make people wonder if the score would’ve been closer had he been “the guy” out the gate (Max Browne just wasn’t it).

Getting quality play with Slovis from the most important position on the field could’ve been a major difference this time around.

3 USC Trojans named to Bednarik Award watch list

Three USC Trojans defensive players, Jay Tufele, Drake Jackson and Talanoa Hufanga, were named to the Bednarik Award watch list.

In case you were worried attention was only being paid to USC’s offensive players during the preseason award campaign, never fear – three Trojans defensive players; defensive tackle Jay Tufele, defensive tackle Drake Jackson and safety Talanoa Hufanga, were all named to the Bednarik Award watch list – given to the nation’s top defensive player.

Jackson is entering his sophomore season after making the freshman All-American team last year, when he racked up 46 tackles, 11.5 for loss, and 5.5 sacks.

Hufanga was on the All-PAC-12 second team last year after recording 90 tackles, second on the team, along with 7.5 tackles for loss.

Tufele is likely the best bet, as he is cropping up on a handful of first round mock drafts this offseason – with many expecting a breakout campaign in 2020. He was a PAC-12 first teamer in 2019 when he racked up 41 tackles, including 6.5 for a loss and 3.5 sacks.

USC has had one Bednarik Award winner, linebacker Rey Maualuga, who won the award back in 2008.

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Q and A with Nick Shepkowski of Fighting Irish Wire

The Notre Dame situation

With the Pac-12 moving to a conference-only schedule, the Trojans will not be playing the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for the first time since 1945. They didn’t play in ’45 because of World War II. In fact, the Trojans didn’t play the Irish from 1943-45. That was the last time the two teams did not meet in the regular season. To talk about this psychic blow, and this unwelcome void on the 2020 schedule, Trojans Wire reached out to Nick Shepkowski, editor of Notre Dame Fighting Irish Wire site.

1. How is the cancellation of the USC game being received in South Bend?

Disappointment but understandable. Not only will it be strange to not have USC (or Stanford for that matter – played every year since 1997) on the schedule, what’s even odd is the Irish will be playing what could very likely be an entire ACC schedule despite remaining independent.

2. USC fans have been saddened by the loss of a key rival game. What’s the general feeling by the fans and players about not playing this game for the first time since 1945?

Disappointment. There might not be any love loss between the two programs, but historically speaking the two are as dependent on each other as any rivals in college football are. Without the long history with each other the past of both programs struggle to reach the blue blood caliber both are in. Midwestern and Southern California people might not see eye to eye on much, but I’m fairly sure I speak for both parties when I say that missing out on this rivalry for a year just sucks.

3. How will the loss of this game affect the Irish in their bid for a postseason shot, if at all?

If anything it helps. USC was supposed to be better this year — yeah, we’ve heard that before — but that was probably Notre Dame’s third toughest game in 2020 behind Clemson and Wisconsin. Even in recent undefeated seasons (‘12, ‘18) that trip to LA on Thanksgiving weekend has brought a couple real scares against some pretty formidable USC squads.

4. How badly do you think conference-only scheduling will have an impact on the way we process the postseason as a whole?

No way to judge conference superiority if all they do is play themselves. I think this year especially you have to expand the playoff and have every conference champion in because there is simply no way to actually tell the strength of any conference if no OOC games are played nationwide.

5. Let’s be honest: How excited were Irish fans to play Clay Helton one more time?

It’s nice to finally know what it was like when USC got to take advantage of playing Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weis all those years. Y’all miss Coach O yet? Whoops.

USC long snapper Damon Johnson named preseason All-American

Damon Johnson is entering his fourth season at USC, and has a chance to be an All-American during the 2020 season.

USC long snapper Damon Johnson was among the nine Trojans selected by Phil Steele to be All-PAC-12 first teamers in 2020.

However, Steele predicted even more for Johnson, naming him a preseason First-Team All-American.

There’s definitely a precedent for Johnson’s success as he enters his fourth and final season wearing the crimson and gold.

Johnson was named an All-American honorable mention and All-PAC-12 first teamer last year, also by Phil Steele.

Johnson originally came to USC in 2017 after spending one year at Citrus Junior College in Glendora, California – where he did not play football.

He started for the Trojans right away in 2017, and has been the team’s consistent long snapper ever since.

While long snappers almost never get selected in the NFL draft, Johnson will almost certainly get picked up as an undrafted free agent if he fulfills Steele’s prediction this year and earns an All-American nod.

Even another PAC-12 first team will likely be enough for NFL team’s to take notice, although teams rarely carry a backup – so he will have to prove he is among the 32 best long snappers in the game if he wants to have a career in the NFL.

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The Changing Landscape of Football Recruiting at Junior Colleges

JUCOs in focus

College recruiting has always been a changing landscape. As technology and coverage have changed, recruiting has improved throughout its evolution, as has the way college recruiters get in contact with recruits and their parents. It’s a way for the colleges to improve their communication in an effort to land highest-ranked recruits in the nation at a time in which recruits are more essential to a program’s future than ever before. 

In our previous column on Trojans Wire, we explored the recruiting landscape at the high school level. Now it’s time to focus on the junior college recruitment process. As was mentioned in the column linked in the previous sentence above, JUCOs have expressed the desire to switch to spring football. How they are going to actually pull that off remains the biggest question of all. While it’s not exactly wise, high school kids are young enough and able enough to potentially play a fall schedule after playing in spring. At the FBS collegiate level, however, that becomes infinity more difficult.   

Kyle Murphy played on the offensive line at Arizona State from 1993-1997. In his opinion, the rigors of the game would prevent people from really being able to give their all to what would amount to two seasons in one year. It also doesn’t account for the injury recovery time window that typically accompanies a fall schedule. Someone injured badly in the spring is now going to have a completely different recovery timetable. 

“The demands required on the body to play collegiate football are extreme,” Murphy said. “Thus, athletes need time to recover from their previous season and prepare their bodies for the upcoming season. Playing in the spring and fall doesn’t afford those athletes that opportunity. They will be more prone to being hurt and/or being injured. What about athletes injured in the spring? Some won’t have the time to properly heal. Player safety is constantly and consistently touted as the most important aspect of the decision making process but I don’t understand how playing in the spring AND fall accomplishes that.”

Of course, none of this accounts for how coaches will evaluate talent at the JUCO level. Are they going to use tape from high school and their collegiate career? Are they going to rely solely on tape? Will they be going to watch these athletes during their own hectic spring schedule? What if colleges do end up playing in the fall? Will they also have to crank up the recruiting right before National Signing Day while using only film? There are so many questions left to be asked. One thing we know for certain is that nothing is certain right now. Whatever ends up happening is surely going to change the way we process the game for good. 

The COVID-19 Landscape of Football Recruiting

Complicated questions

College recruiting has always been a changing landscape. As technology and coverage has changed, it has improved over time, as has the way college recruits get in contact with recruits and their parents. It’s a way for the colleges to improve their communication in an effort to land highest-ranked recruits in the nation at a time when recruits are more essential to a program than ever before. 

Whether public schools open this fall — including, for emphasis in this piece, high schools with college prospects — seems to be an ongoing battle between Donald Trump and the various superintendents of different school districts. Several superintendents have said they do not plan to open this fall. Los Angeles Public Schools will not open this fall, instead opting to maintain their online correspondence courses this fall… and that’s just one district in the country. San Diego opted to do the same.

It’s a touch and go situation, and it seems very “go” right now as opposed to “touch.” It’s not an easy situation to deal and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. What works for one district may not work for another. 

This makes it really hard for college coaches to evaluate high school football players. Lack of competition or limited competition — either one — put coaches in a bind. Plenty of coaches won’t have the full set of evaluation-based tools they usually depend on. They’re going to offer a number of kids based on film and film alone. It wouldn’t be terribly surprising if a number of kids in this class turn out to be busts. Coaches are going to have to spend a good chunk of their time developing these players instead of relying on sheer talent. 

Of course, it won’t just be high school players who are offered scholarships. Junior colleges around the nation have already announced that they will be playing their games in the spring instead of the fall. This gives coaches and players time and space to avoid coronavirus infections, providing them the ability to practice and get into shape prior to engaging in a full season of play. Something that gets lost in these discussions is that players need that time to get into football shape. You can’t just slap a season together and expect folks to be ready to go simply because administrators will it to be so. We will be exploring the JUCO recruiting puzzle — and its specific challenges — in another article.

Twitter reacts as NCAA rules USC transfer JT Daniels to be immediately eligible

Quarterback J.T. Daniels, who recently transferred to the University of Georgia, has been granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA.

Ex-USC quarterback J.T. Daniels, who recently transferred to the University of Georgia, has been granted immediate eligibility for this season from the NCAA.

The former Trojan is a five-star from Santa Ana, California. He was ranked as the No. 3-rated quarterback in his loaded recruiting class.

In 2018, Daniels threw for 2,672 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for USC. Unfortunately, he suffered a knee injury last season. Kedon Slovis was great in his time as the starter in 2019 and was strongly favored to win the starting job entering the 2020 season.

Wake Forest transfer Jamie Newman is projected to start for Georgia next season, but Daniels will compete provide solid depth and talent. Georgia has received a commitment from five-star quarterback Brock Vandagriff in the class of 2021.

Here’s how college football Twitter reacted to the news of Daniels’ eligibility:

https://twitter.com/TreyWallace_/status/1282720128262639616?s=20

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NCAA reaches decision on 2020 eligibility for Georgia QB JT Daniels

USC transfer quarterback JT Daniels has released the NCAA’s decision regarding his eligibility for the 2020 season. Details here

Per his Twitter, former USC quarterback JT Daniels, who recently transferred to Georgia, has been granted immediate eligibility from the NCAA for the 2020 college football season.

“Thank you to the NCAA for granting me immediate eligibility and allowing me to play football this fall. I will not comment on the waiver or transfer, but look forward to a great 2020 season with my teammates.”

The news comes two months after Daniels announced his commitment to the Bulldogs. The former 5-star out of Santa Ana, California was the No. 6 prospect in the 2018 recruiting class and the No. 3 rated quarterback behind Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields.

In 2018, as a freshman at USC, Daniels threw for 2,672 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He entered the transfer portal in mid-April after his 2019 sophomore season was derailed by a knee injury. USC’s Kedon Slovis stepped in while Daniels was down and played well for the Trojans, making the transfer portal one of the only options for Daniels – reminiscent of the Eason/Fromm situation.

The Bulldogs are set with Wake Forest transfer Jamie Newman as signal caller for 2020, but it’s great to know that Daniels will be available if something were to happen. Hopefully he will get some meaningful snaps to help prepare him to compete with 2021 5-star quarterback Brock Vandagriff for the starter position next season.

If there is a 2020 season, USC now has far fewer excuses

Plain talk. It is what it is.

If college football isn’t played this fall or in the spring of 2021, Clay Helton will be the head coach of USC football 12 months from now. He will have made it through another year on the job… without coaching a game.

As things stand, the fragility of college football for the next 12 months is so pronounced that even if a season is played, the outcome might not affect the employment status of Helton or any other coach.

We already know the length of the season will be shorter than usual, after the Big Ten and Pac-12 have downscaled their seasons to conference-only schedules. We also know fans won’t attend games in numbers beyond 20 to 35 percent of capacity (providing a generous high-end estimate), which itself makes any college football game played through June of 2021 (under a possible spring plan) a highly irregular event. Even if a coach stumbles, the circumstances might make athletic directors such as Mike Bohn reluctant to fire a coach.

Then add in the budgetary bloodbath being endured by athletic departments across the country.

Clay Helton could coach poorly this next season — if eight or 10 games are played — and still not suffer any immediate consequences. USC fans have to consider that (terrible) possibility.

However, it seems safe to say that if a season is played in the next 12 months, and Clay Helton doesn’t handle it well, he would — at best — enter 2021 on the hot seat. At worst, Bohn could fire Helton and give Graham Harrell the keys to the kingdom for a one-year 2021 trial run at a reduced cost. Then the program could see where it stands entering 2022. By then, it could make a run at a big name.

Why are we talking about Clay Helton’s hot seat when no football is being played? It’s very simple: With Alabama and Notre Dame not on the 2020 schedule after the Pac-12’s conference-only adjustment — announced on Friday — Helton has only one measuring stick if this season is played: the Pac-12.

Alabama and Notre Dame were always the toughest tasks for USC on the 2020 schedule. Now that they are out of the way, USC just has to compete against the Pac-12. Given that Utah should regress to some extent after an 11-win campaign in 2019, and given that USC was able to beat that Utah team anyway — with a third-string quarterback — the Trojans should expect to make the Pac-12 Championship Game if a season is played this fall or next spring.

Maybe Utah will overachieve and go 8-1 if the Pac-12 uses a nine-game league schedule. Maybe Utah will be so good that USC can produce a good season and yet not make the Pac-12 title game. If that happens, frustration about the season — while still real — would be tempered by the reality which sometimes emerges in sports: You can play well, but the opponent just might be better. If that happens, tip the cap to the Utes and move on.

But: If the Pac-12 has a nine-game schedule, USC should be no worse than 7-2. A 6-3 record in a nine-game slate — knowing that Alabama and Notre Dame were removed from the Trojans’ path — would be plainly unacceptable.

It might not get him fired in 2021, but if we do play football in the fall or the coming spring, Clay Helton can’t be mediocre if he wants a long-term future at USC.

This is what happens when Alabama and Notre Dame get removed from a schedule by a remarkable series of events.