TCY: Bear Goes Home

[beargrowlz]

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Bear Goes Home

Brought to you by:
***BAG BALM***
The Gunky Gold Stuff that Cures all that Ails Ya


With the proliferation of big money and big time donors in Division 1-A college football, a number of small colleges and universities in northern New England decided to get a piece of the pie, hoping that significant football revenue would help bolster their academic programs which were sufferring at the expense of dwindling tax dollars.

Led by the state universities of New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont, the Northern New England Athletic Association (NNE) was formed. Joining those three schools would be the Maine Maritime Academy, Green Mountain College from Vermont, and Plymouth State College from New Hampshire. Dartmouth College, long frustrated by the inability to provide athletic scholarships due to Ivy League rules, quickly jumped at the chance to enter the prestigious world of DIV 1-A major college football.

The NCAA Board of Governors however, informed the school presidents of the fledgling conference that without an eigth school, it was "no-go", they wouldn't be recognized as a 1-A conference. NNE Commissioner Yankee McPhee prevailed upon small college after small college - some with football teams, others naught, to no avail. Most colleges balked at the expense just the insurance premiums a football program would cost, let alone the expense of building a new infrastructure. McDuff was at wits end, and he could only think about how close he came to making Division 1-A football happen in New England and forlornly surmised "ya cain't get theyah from heyuh."

Then one night, Yank was getting tanked on Moosehead with an old college classmate of his, Etienne Cabot-Wilshire III - Etienne's great grandmother was a Quebecois that immigrated to work in the textile mills along the Merrimack River and ended up catching the owner's eye and married him, hence the odd combination of family and surname) - the President of tiny Keene State College (KSC), located in the southwest corner of New Hampshire where that state, Massachusetts and Vermont intersect.

Etienne and Yank got to drinking and a throwing horse shoes and a drinking some more when Etienne told Yank he ought to drop this silly idea of a football conference and go back to running his general store/dental practice/funeral home all in one. Yank was some pissed - pissed off and had a wicked pissah of a buzz on and he told Etienne where to go. He and Etienne got to arguing and Yank challeged Etienne to a duel - of horsehoes. If Etienne could knock Yank's Moosehead over with a horseshoe from 25 paces, Yank would fold up the conference and go back to selling Bag Balm, yanking teeth and burying stiffs. But, if Yank could knock over Etienne's Moosehead with a horseshoe from 25 paces, Etienne would start a football program at Keene State and join the conference. Etienne, who had a wicked pissah of a buzz on in a "jen es se qua" sort of way, readily agreed.

Well, Yank went first, and to those of you who don't know, Yank is the best durn horsehoe pitcher (and candlepin bowler) in the Granite State. Well not only did Yank knock Etienne's Moosehead clear off the table, his pitch was so perfect the bottle landed on the ground, bottom flush to the ground, and not a drop of Canada's finest export was spilled.

Etienne shook his head mutterring something that sounded like "sacre-blue" or "duck sue" (his wife's name was Sue) and made his pitch. Either Etienne was not nearly as skilled at horseshoes as Yank (he wasn't) or he wasn't aiming for the bottle, but he plunked Yank square off the side of the noggin, the horsehoe bounding from Yank's granite-like forehead, and knocked over Yank's Moosehead, beer spilling everywhere. Yank's first words were "ya dang spilt my beer."

Well, if ever there was a dilemna in New England - aside from how could anyone have started Tony Eason over Doug Flutie *and* Steve Grogan - this was it.

Fortunately for all -- and so that you haven't just waisted five minutes of your life reading this -- honor won out. Etienne started up the football program at tiny Keene State College and began looking for a suc...er Head Coach, yeah that's it. No one wanted the job. It was going to mean a lot of losing, a lot of complaining from faculty about spending money and lowering academic quality, and just a lot of yankee pain in the assedness (not a real word).

After searching for months and months and the football season ready to start, Etienne had assembled a partial staff from among the faculty: an Offensive Coordinator-Drew Thompson, Defensive Coordinator-Omar Harper, a Syndicate Coordinator whose last job was smuggling lottery tickets and tax free New Hampshire booze into Massachusetts (Academics Poor, Donations Poor, handling investigations Pretty Good), Spencer Tinker, and eight or so alumni scatterred across the nation to serve as local scouts. Now all Etienne needed was a fall gu...er head Coach.

Well...

Let me tell ya bout a man named Bear, poor social worker barely kept his family fed. Then one day he was tired savin the world, and who be on the phone but Etienne the third.

Football he's talking. Gridiron Glory. Pigskin pleasure.

Well the first thing ya know old Bear's a millionare
Georgia was nice but its time for New England air
Wife said tis a football coach ye ought to be
so they loaded up the truck and they moved to KSC.

And this is his story. Bear Growlz, KSC alumnus, misplaced yankee in the south, and exactly two years of coaching High School freshman football (he's all Etienne could get). We'll be following Bear's career, no matter how short, or long lived, it may be, or what school it takes him to. I

But now that you're at the end of this captivating story - and how could you not be captivated - you're probably wondering what happened to old Yank McPhee.

Remember, honor prevailed.

So the next time you're in tiny East Alstead, NH, don't blink, but stop by NNE Commissioner's "Yank's shill em, drill em and fill em" General Store" for all your needs, be they apothecary, mortuary, or otherwise so.
More to come.

* * *

[beargrowlz]

Notes from Coach Bear's Journal

Day 1: 2004
My first day back on campus in beautiful Keene, NH at the base of majestic Mt. Monadnock. The leaves are falling, autumn in New England is the most beautiful thing you've ever seen, and I've got practically no time to get ready for the season in this, my first college coaching job (still can't believe they hired me, but hey, don't look a gift Fighting Owl in the mouth).

Had a meeting with Brant Cline, the alum President Cabs hired as the New England regional scout. Brant will also be handling talent assesment for the current squad. He's not the nepotistic dunderhead I expected. He knows his football and has a great eye for QB's RB's and receivers. As I plan on eventually running a wishbone, Cline's ability to find me top notch runners will be invaluable. I think he and I will get along fine.

Next I met with Syndicate Coordinator Spencer Tinker. Man, does he give me the creeps. I tried to discuss the importance of academics and building good alumni relations with him, and all he wanted to do was tell me the best way to get alums to give recruits cars and fake jobs and the like -- oh and sell me some Mass Millions tickets. Jeez. We're not going to get along. I see him as a one and done guy.

I then paid Omar Harper a visit in his office in the Humanities building. The former Head Coach at Fall Mountain Regional High School and a professor in the KSC History Department specializing in the art of ancient warfare seems to me at least, to be sort of an ironically suitable fit as a Defensive Coordinator. Omar and I talked for hours. His schemes and stunts and grasp of both the tactical and strategic sides of football lead me to believe his play calling will be TERRIFIC . He also has some VERY GOOD programs for conditioning and injury avoidance and has done some state of the art Rehab with his old high school program that can only be described as TERRIFIC.

Omar's not the most congenial guy however. He'll go off on tangents and start talking about the Jewish strategy at Masada and I'm afraid he'll bore recruits (and me) to death sometimes. To be FAIR, however, he's not an ogre, just a bit boring.

Omar seems very weak in developing linebackers (TERRIBLE), which is a concern to me. But he is an expert on the secondary (EXCELLENT) and pretty solid with the defensive line (GOOD). Guess he's an airforce/infantry guy and doesn't have much use for armor. Overall, I like Omar and can see him being a significant part of this program for awhile.

My next meeting was over lunch with Offensive Coordinator Drew Thompson. I'm not sure drew and I are going to get along. First, I want to run a wishbone and he's a power-I guy. Second, he thinks conditioning is for sissies (TERRIBLE injury avoidance) and believes offensive linemen are an afterthought (TERRIBLE OL development).

Drew, whose resume consists only of having played in an FOF2k4 MP league with the college president's wife, (not that my cv is like Bill Bellichick's or anything) does have some unique ideas on developing talent at the skill positions and he may actually be a success. His playcalling and schemes are not rocket science, but they're better than average.

* * *

Day 2: 2004
Spent the day getting practice schedules and academics worked out for our players. Alas, Spence Tinker isn't going to be much help in this regard - I kept talking about getting the players tutors and more study time and he kept talking about where we could buy exams for their classes. I really don't think Tinker is going to work out.

* * *

Day 3: 2004
Took a look at our schedule today as it was finalized before I took the job. We've got 4 non-conference games, a big one at preseason #18 Virginia Tech. We'll also be playing at Northen Illinois and at Wake Forest and Hawaii will be visiting us. Stupid AD couldn't make the Hawaii game a road game, could he?

* * *

Thru End of Summer
Worked out the kids and began to get a starting lineup worked out. After much wrangling, hemming and hawing we finally convinced Coach Thompson to go with the wishbone. Redshirt Sophomore Tommy Cassidy out of Raymond H.S. here in NH is going to run the show. Our top two backs are going to be Frosh Norm Duran out of Eden HS in NY and Gus Hanson, a senior from Pembroke Academy, another local boy. Our FB is going to be John Hurt, a Soph also with 4 years of eligibility from Hanover High, up the road in Dartmouth territory. (Ed note: technically all these guys would have 4 years of eligibility, but thats not how the game works. C'est la vie).

Tommy's prime pass target will be Split End Everett Bishop who has the speed to make the big play and isn't afraid to go over the middle. He's got a case of stonehands right now, but we're hoping Coach Thompson can soften those hands up over the next 4 years.

Defensively we're pretty weak, very young, and hoping for a big year out of true Junior ILB Jumbo Rodgers. We'll be running the 3-4 and we'll be counting on Jumbo to be a big run stopper. Redshirt Jr. Desmond Reynoso will be shadowing the top receiver of our opponents.
It's going to be a long, long season...but hey I could have said no when offerred the job.

-20-

[beargrowlz]

WEEK 1
Off week

Spent most of the week scouting New England area high school players. Did take a trip down to Texas to check out a young tailback named Quentin Poole who is attracted to Keene State for its Marketing program. Scout Paul Arriaga rated him a 68/100 but after watching him play I think he's better than that. Asked him to come visit campus and offerred him a scholarship. I'd love to see him in Owl red, black and white. All the QB's coming out of the granite state this year are pass happy, not a one likes to run. We'll look around the rest of New England, but Tommy Cassidy has 4 years so it's not a must.

* * *

WEEK 2
vs. Univ. Hawaii

Hawaii is coming into Keene this week. The oddsmakers have installed Hawaii as a 3 point favorite and my first thought was "what kind of crack are they smoking?" I'd consider a win over Hawaii at this point in the program a major accomplishment.

During my recruiting the past two weeks I've noticed that most recruits hate Coach Thompson, my OC, and a few don't like my DC much either.

That can't help.

Well Hawaii whipped our butts 50-25. Our wingback Gus Hanson ran for 85 yards on 5 carries while Norm Duran was held to 73 on 19. Tommy Cassidy was held to 19 yards on 12 carries. Our bone needs quite a bit of work.

CB Dez Reynoso broke his clavicle and is out for 6 weeks. He's our best CB -- that's going to hurt.

* * *


WEEK 3
@ Univ. Northern Illinois

We'll be going to Northern Illinois this week where we're 8 point underdogs. Drew Thompson and I did some tweaking of the bone to try and see if we could utilize WB Gus Hanson a little more. We'll see how that goes.

No big news on the recruiting front. Have contacted a couple of running QB's but don't think there's much chance in landing them. Stayed in touch with Quentin Poole and may make another visit out to Texas next week. I'm not at all optimistic about recruiting this year. Well, onto Northern Illinois.

Clearly we're out of our league right now, losing 48-7. I knew that coming into the season. I'd like to see some signs of production out of our running game as we were held to under 100 yards on the ground. Freshman wideout Victor Cramer did have 5 catches, one for a TD. That was our only bright spot all day.

* * *


WEEK 4
@ Wake Forest

Wideout Malcolm Mason from Londonderry HS here in NH is visiting campus this week. He's also been contacted by South Florida, a school a tad more prestigious than us, but we're real close to home and he wants to stay in the area. Brant Cline rates him a 58 but after watching him play I think Brant has underrated him. The kid has some moves and should be
able to put up some serious YAC.

My offensive coordinator continues to be a burden on recruiting. Kids just don't like him much at all. Mostly local recruiting visits this week, though I did fly out to Texas to continue to court Quentin Poole. Here's hoping we get him onto campus for a visit.

Well the trip down to Wake was a disaster. We lost about as bad as a team can lose, 63-0. We ended up getting behind and got away from the running game and that was that. Good YPC for our backs, but we didn't run much at all. It's going to be like a wake on the flight home.

* * *

WEEK 5
Off week

Van McGee, a powerhouse run blocking OT from Boston, MA is on campus this week. Normally we wouldn't stand a chance in landing him, but he wants to stay close to Boston so that gives us an outside shot. We've been pleasantly surprised Boston College hasn't contacted him.
No major news on the recruiting front yet.

* * *


WEEK 6
@ Dartmouth (NNE)

We'll be going up the road to Hanover to play Dartmouth. It's our first conference game and it'll be interesting to see how we compare to some of the other new 1-A schools - though Dartmouth has had a football program a lot longer than we have. Still, more of an even playing field than our non-conference schedule.

Good news on the recruiting front this week. Wideout Malcolm Mason from Londonderry signed a Letter of Intent with us this week. Brant Cline rated him a 58 but he looked better than that when i went to see him play.

The pundits pegged us at 9 point underdogs heading into the Dartmouth game on the road but boy did we surprise them with a 10-7 win in a defensive struggle. Tommy Cassidy scored our lone TD of the game and we finally got a running game generated, at least a little. TB Norm Duran ran for 96 yards with Cassidy adding 42 and Hanson 23. Frosh wideout Victor Cramer continues to be a pleasant surprise with 6 catches for 69 yards. Senior ILB Graham Kramer was all over the place with 10 tackles, 2 assists and a sack. A good, good win for us.

* * *


WEEK 7
vs. Green Mountain (NNE)

We play a conferance game at home this week against Green Mountain. We only drew 12,900 against Hawaii and have only sold 8,800 season tickets so it'll be interesting to see what we draw. Green Mountain is favored by 6.

An uneventuful week of recruiting, making more contacts, bringing in more kids for visits. Got a call from Quentin Poole's HS coach that he's got all the info from us he needs, but he still hasn't visited yet. He's been contacted by Ball State but doesn't have an offer from them. We can still hope.

The Green Mountain boys rolled right over us 37-11. We just couldn't get a running game going. The only bright spot was ILB Graham Kramer again, with 13 tackles.

* * *


WEEK 8
vs. Plymouth State (NNE)

This week we play at home again vs. Plymouth State. For the first time in our history we're favored as the oddsmakers have us at -9. Sure is nice that someone thinks we're any good. RB Eugene Paullin from Lincoln, RI committed to KSC this week. Brant Cline had him rated as a 90 but when I saw him play I didn't think he was that good.Still, he'll be a good fit for our bone. Academically he's top notch with a 3.95 GPA and a 1376 SAT.

Lots of kids on campus visiting right now, but still no Quentin Poole. Poole still doesn't have any other offers yet, but we may just be too far from home for the kid. He'd make a good tandem with Paullin. But onto the game.

Boy did the oddsmakers have that wrong. Tommy Cassidy threw 3 picks and we got hammerred at home 34-7. One good thing is we did get a running game going, as Duran was 16/68 4.2, Cassidy 10/87 8.7 and Hanson 6/26 4.3. It was still close at halftime as we were down 17-7
but PSC blew it open in the second half. Not a good one for us.

* * *

WEEK 9
@Virginia Tech

This week we play at Virginia Tech, who has now fallen out of the top 25. I don't hold out much hope as our young program simply isn't competetive at that level yet. But it'll be good experience for these kids. Tech is listed as 33 point favorites, and I can't really argue with that.

Real good news on the recruiting front as we landed run blocking OT Van McGee from Boston High. McGee was the #1 rated recruit from Massachusetts and ranked 67th in the nation as well as being rated the 7th best OT in his recruiting class. I'm real excited about landing
him. DT Donnell Rodgers, a pretty average DL, also signed with us this week. It's going to take a long while to build a good wishbone attack at KSC. But I think landing McGee and Paullin have been two big steps in the right direction.

Well Quentin Poole finally came for a visit but Ball State has also offerred him a scholarship now, so it's unlikely we'll land him.

As for the game, ouch. 72-10. Hope the school got a nice payday from Tech for us being the sacrificial lamb on their schedule this season. Not one nice thing to say about this game, so I won't say anything at all.

* * *

WEEK 10
@Maine Maritime (NNE)

This week we'll be playing at Maine Maritime. Both programs are 1-6 and the oddsmakers have the game as even. We'll see.

Very good news on the recruiting front this week. Quentin Poole signed a letter of intnt with us. Quentin is a power back who was rated a 68 by scout Paul Arriaga who has an excellent eye for running backs and when I saw Poole play he looked even better than that. We spent a lot of time recruiting Poole and it's a good feeling to see all that hard work pay off. We landed a couple of other committments, but nothing noteworthy.

This week was good news all around as we took a hard fought 14-7 road win from Maine Maritime. We ran for 187 yards, 98 of them by Norm Duran, who had 1 rushing TD. QB Tommy Cassidy also ran for a TD and actually had a good day passing going 17/25, 185 yards and no picks. Wideout Ev Bishop finally had the day we thought he was capable of with 6 grabs for 74 yards. That brings us to 2-6 on the year but a respectable 2-2 in conference.

Bad news is senior Graham Kramer sufferred repetetive concussion syndrome. He's done for the year. He was a key part of our defense and he'll be terribly missed.

* * *

WEEK 11
Homecoming vs. Univ. of New Hampshire (NNE)

Our homecoming game this season is against UNH, the lead school in the university system. Keene State has long lived in the shadows of UNH, some observers might say KSC even has a chip on its shoulder regarding its elder sister school. Losing that chip won't be easy though, as 5-3 UNH is an 11 point favorite even playing in Keene.

FB Len Sembower from Clifton, NJ has committed to KSC this week. Len is a run blocking specialist whom Monty Howard - who is admittedly poor at scouting backs - rated a 75. However when I went to see him play Len looked a lot better than a 75, so this might be a coup.

Georgia, sweet Georgia's still on my mind, and so is CB Leo Bishop from Turner HS in Ashburn, GA. Bishop was rated at 61 by scout Brenden McElroy but when I saw the kid play he looked a little better than that.

Good news all around.

A 3rd RB, Bert Deering, from Massachusetts, committed to KSC this week. Deering rated at 68 by Brant Cline, looked better than that in person. I'm really looking for positive things in our running game down the line.

Well, like I mentioned earlier, this was homecoming weekend and what a homecoming it was. All 11,600 KSC fans were treated to a stunner of an upset as the Fighting Owls took it to the UNH Wildcats 35-0. Norm Duran ran for 96 yards and QB Tommy Cassidy went 16 for 25 for 182 yards and 3 TD's. Ev Bishop finally seems to be growing more comfortable in the
wishbone, making 6 catches for 107 yards including a 47 yard bomb.

(NNE 3-2-0 Overall 3-6-0)

* * *

WEEK 12
@ Univ. Vermont

We'll be driving north to Burlington Vt. to play the Catamounts this weekend and after our impressive win over UNH last week the pundits pick us as 6 point favorites on the road. UVM is 1-7 overall and 1-4 in conference, but we're still not real consistent. We're currently 1 game behind Maine and Green Mountain for the conference lead, and while we play Maine the final game of the year, we lost to Green Mountain earlier this year so it's unlikely we'll snag a share of the conference title. Still, finishing over .500 in conference would have to be considered a success.

Among others, TE Terry Noyes, the 3rd best TE coming out of NY state, signed a letter with us this week. Our expectation is that he'll step right in as a starter next season. That brings this recruiting class to 13, meaning we can only sign letters with 3 more student athletes. I'd really like to land the kicker currently visiting campus and 2 of the 3 LB's
who are also visiting.

Like I thought, we're just too inconsistent right now. The Catamounts picked us apart 35-7 and we only ran for 113 yards, a good recipe for defeat for a wishbone program. The one high point was that Tommy cassidy did connect with Ev Bishop on another long bomb, a good
sign for the future.

(NNE 3-3-0, Overall 3-7-0)

* * *

WEEK 13
vs. Maine (NNE 5-1-0, Overall 6-4-0)

We'll be at home against the Maine Black Bears who will be gunning for a share of the NNE conference championship this week. Maine is a 5 point favorite, but we've been so hot and cold this season who knows what will happen.

Well, we landed 2 of the LB's we wanted and the third turned us down. So we've got one more slot open in this recruiting class and a scholarship offer still out there for kicker Reuben Check. He's currently visiting campus and with any luck he'll sign this week.

Looks like we cost Maine a share of the conference title as we ran for 221 yards - 140 of them by TB Norm Duran en route to a 24-10 win for the Fighting Owls. It was a good way to end our program's first season as we finish up 4-3 in conference. Next season we'll be looking into finding some more consistency, but nonetheless a terrific win.

(NNE 4-3-0, Overall 4-7-0)

* * *

WEEK 14
Open week

Still no word from Reuben Check. I'm going to look around and see if there are any over looked kickers out there.


* * *

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK
Open week

Still no work from Check, so I invited 3 other kickers in for visits. We'll see how that goes.

* * *

MINOR BOWL TIER WEEK
Open week.

Well, no new kicker for me next year. I had a scholarship offer out there to a local kid from Burlington Vt and he accepted the offer - so that fills my recruiting class. Error on my part for not checking more closely. Oh well, live and learn, the kid is a decent player.

For those interested, Army beat Navy 24-20 in their annual clash of arms.


* * *

MAJOR BOWL TIER WEEK
Open week.

* * *

FOUR STAR TIER WEEK
Open week.

* * *

NEW YEAR'S TIER WEEK
Open week.

* * *

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TIER WEEK
Open week.

The University of Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Southern Cal Trojans 27-17 for the National Championship. Georgia finished the year at 12-1, their lone defeat coming at the hands of LSU in the SEC Championship game.

RB Fernando Martinez of the University of Texas won the Heisman.

-20-

[beargrowlz]

END OF SEASON REVIEW

2004 was very much an up and down year - more ups than we had the right to expect I think. Finishing 4-3 in conference was a significant accomplishment, especially considering we went with a very young lineup and eschewed the use of upperclassment when possible. I've got to be pleased with the way TB Norm Duran and WB Gus Hanson ran. Duran was a true freshman and has the potential to be very good (63). He also has potentially good hands and that might add a bit more of an outlet for Tommy Cassidy to throw to.

Frosh wideout Everett Bishop was very disappointing at the start of the season but appeared to make a lot of progress as the season went on. He's already a playmaker and can outrace DB's for the big play, but he has to work on getting open consistently and catching the ball - both of which he has the potential for.Graham Kramer's departure - he graduates this year but we lost him to RCS after 8 games - leaves a giant hole in an already weak defense as Graham was our leading tackler. He had a
fine season for us before he went down to injury.

We didn't put much pressure on opposing QB's this year and hopefully we'll improve on that next season. I think we had a good recruiting class and I look for a number of the incoming frosh to make an immediate impact next season. TCY Today ranks our recruiting class 54th in the nation, the highest of all NNE programs, with the next highest being Green Mountain at #95.

I'm also proud of our academics and would like to note we had three members named to the Northern New England Athletic Association's All-Academic team: WR Ev Bishop, OT Alan Flowers and OLB Bernard Reddick. We spent a lot of time this past season emphasizing academics and the hard work of these players is recognized by these awards. All in all it was a solid inaugural season for the Fighting Owls and I can't wait until next year to see how improved we are.



The College Years
2004 Summary for the Keene State College Fighting Owls
Head Coach: Bear Growlz (1st Yr)
Offensive Coordinator: Drew Thompson (1st yr)
Defensive Coordinator: Omar Harper (1st yr)
Lead Scout: Brant Cline (1st yr)
Syndicate Coordinator: Spencer Tinker (1st yr)

Record: 4-7 (4-3-0 in Conf.)
Rank: 95 (Tied for 3rd in NNE)

Keene State Team Rank
Rushes 425 51
Rushing Yards 1578 59
Yards Per Carry 3.71 60 (T)
Pass Attempts 253 109
Completions 127 109
Passing Yards 1462 110
Yards Per Attempt 5.77 95 (T)
3rd Down Conversions 33.5 61 (T)
Points Per Game 13.6 118
Turnovers 26 81 (T)
Turnover Margin 0 59 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 410 77 (T)
Rushing Yards 2101 114
Yards Per Carry 5.12 120
Pass Attempts 266 7 (T)
Completions 154 23 (T)
Passing Yards 1932 23
Yards Per Attempt 7.26 84 (T)
3rd Down Conversions 39.3 93
Points Per Game 33.0 105
Turnovers 26 38 (T)

Primary Formation: Wishbone Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
2 25 HAWI (37) 50
3 7 at NILL (47) 48
4 0 at WAKE (58) 63
6 10 at DART (119) 7
7 11 GMC* (36) 37
8 7 PSC* (79) 34
9 10 at VATC (35) 72
10 14 at MMA* (124) 7
11 35 UNH* (67) 0
12 7 at UVM* (109) 35
13 24 UofM (71) 10

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
1 Cassidy QB 227 115 1259 5.54 7 12
Team --- 253 127 1462 5.77 8 15

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
44 Duran RB 183 802 4.38 2 25 28
1 Cassidy QB 124 272 2.19 4 48 174
37 Hanson RB 75 373 4.97 1 23 19
Team --- 425 1578 3.71 8 106 249

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
89 Bishop WR 65 31 488 15.7 67 2
80 Cramer WR 58 29 356 12.2 92 2
82 Hanks TE 48 20 247 12.3 53 1
37 Hanson RB 37 24 150 6.2 68 2
35 Hurt FB 19 11 106 9.6 57 0
Team --- 253 127 1462 11.5 377 8

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
59 Kramer ILB 69 16 1.0 5 1 2
57 Hatfield ILB 53 17 1.0 6 0 0
53 Rodgers ILB 49 19 0.0 9 0 2
40 Airhart S 42 15 0.5 3 2 6
25 Rausch CB 32 10 0.0 4 1 1
99 Hollins DT 30 18 1.0 4 0 0
95 Dunlap DE 29 5 3.5 5 0 0
23 Surdyk S 29 8 0.0 1 3 5
71 Calara DE 28 11 3.0 8 0 0
52 Reddick OLB 28 9 0.0 1 1 2
36 Armstrong CB 22 12 0.0 0 3 2
93 Copeland ILB 17 8 0.0 0 0 0
90 Burgess OLB 15 11 0.0 0 1 1
41 Owens CB 15 4 0.0 1 2 2
31 Webb S 13 6 0.0 2 0 1
37 Hanson RB 12 0 0.0 0 0 0
92 Sheldon DT 12 4 0.0 3 0 0
58 Blackwell OLB 11 6 0.0 2 0 1
45 Ellison CB 11 2 0.0 0 0 1
Team --- 594 192 12.0 58 14 28

[beargrowlz]

WINTER 2005

Very disappointed in the turnout for home games last season, I convinced the Athletic Department to slash ticket prices especially for students and alumni. I am hoping we can significantly improve our low turnout from 2004 - especially with $2 student section seating.

I handed Spence Tinker his pink slip. He and I just didn't see eye to eye from day one on the job. I'm sure he won't have a problem finding a job with a big time program -- but Keene State just isn't the place for him. As we're trying to run a clean program, we really don't need an expert at warding off NCAA investigations. I wanted someone to come in and take charge of academics, and if they could raise funds to boot, all the better. 60 year old Myron Stephens was just the man, with a reputation of Very good in academics, Terrible in investigations and Good in soliciting donations. With Myron on the job, hopefully the rest of the staff can work on areas they're best at and let Myron handle the academic preperation.

Our Deep South scout Paul Arriaga must have impressed a lot of folks with his work on Quentin Poole as he landed a job with Texas Tech, so now we've got to find a replacement.

The pickings were slim but we hired 65 year old Nate Weingrad, an expert of QB's who is at least fair/decent in everything else. We're going to stand pat on the rest of the staff. Drew Thompson's offensive play calling isn't great, but it's good and he's one of the best skill position coaches in the game. Omar Harper is a defensive genius, even though he's not the most personable guy around. Brant Cline is an exceptional Lead Scout and the rest, well, got to keep the administration happy. We'll replace them by attrition like we did with Paul Arriaga.

There won't be any transfers in as we're plumb out of scholarships atm. Too bad too, as this would be a good place for a small fish in a big pond to show his stuff as a starter.

I'm allowing my coordinators to handle player schedules this season - we'll see how that works out.

* * *


SPRING 2005

Looks like our AD has booked us into permanent games with UAB and Northern-Illinois. That leaves me two games to schedule. We'll see if BC will play us at The Heights and I'll take a stab at bringing Notre Dame into Keene -- though I doubt they'll bite.

Stage 1: Yup, Notre Dame laughed in my face. Northwestern is offerring a home and home but I think we'll see what BC says first.

Stage 2: BC rejected a home and home. I've simply got to face it, big time programs won't take us seriously for quite a few years.

Stage 3: Army turned us down for a home game, but New Mexico is offerring an away game in week 8, but I want to keep that off week if possible.

Stage 4: BC turned us down flat for a game at The Heights even. Sheesh, no respect. New Mexico is still asking for a game week 8. I'm going to see if they'll take one earlier in the season.

Stage 5: New Mexico agreed to play us out west in week 1. It'll be a tough game, but one where we can see how far we have come in one year. As BC won't play us, we'll look at another regional game, with UCONN this time.

Stage 6: UCONN turned us down flat on a home and home series. Kansas is offerring an away game in week 4. I think we'll take it. It'll be a rough schedule for us but the only way to get noticed is to get blown out . . . or something like that.

Stage 7: Game at Kansas all set for Week 4 and our 2005 schedule is complete.

* * *


SUMMER 2005

As the players do twice a days, we're starting to get a feel for who is going to start for us this Autumn. We'll start by taking a look at the defense.

At NT we're going to start sophomore Jackie hollins again. He's got decent all around potential, nothing spectacular, but redshirt senior Alonzo Sheldon gets winded taking a water break. At DLE we'll be returning Sr. Seth Dunlap, our 2004 sack leader (3.5). At right end Van Calera, a redshirt Jr., returns in a starting role. Because we're so weak on the Dline, the temptation to start prized recruit Buddy Doggett (0/85, 1/67, 100/100) is so great, but he's just far too unpolished and we think a red shirt year will help him mature some.

At ILB we'll be returning natural senior Jumbo Rodgers for his final season. He's our best backer and really the only one capable of being a playmaker. Alongside him will be under-developed frosh Corey Tatum, who at 8/70 has lots of potential but needs a lot of work. Unfortunately DC Omar Harper is notoriously bad at developing LB's. But there's not a lot of choice as we have little depth at this position, or at OLB. At OLB we'll actually be starting two walk-ons,as our scholarship players -- well, they must know someone in the AD's office.

Patrick Airhart and Dan Surdyk will return as starting safeties, while freshman Leo Bishop will start at CB along with returning starter Desmond Reynoso.

It doesn't look like our D is going to be much better than it was last year, but I'm going to resist the temptation to play Buddy Doggett and instead give him a redshirt year, Hopefully Leo Bishop (73/73 INT) can be a difference maker at the corner.

On offense, I need to come to the realization that Drew Thompson is not going to be able to get the fullest potential out of our big guys. That being said, prized recruit Van McGee will start at LT amongst a bunch of underachievers and just plain poor opperclassmen.

Returning as our option QB will be redshirt junior Tommy Cassidy. Coach Thompson's been working with Tommy on his passing skills, but Cassidy is the starter because he can run.

Joining Cassidy in the wishbone will be freshman FB Len Sembower, who has the potential to be a great run blocker as well as power back. Sophomore Norm Duran, our leading rusher in 2004, will again be our starting tailback. In a real surprise, frosh Bert Deering won the
starting Wingback spot, as we've decided to redshirt both Quentin Poole and Eugene Paullin, who are both very rough around the edges.

One thing to note was when I was trying to get a kicker to committ near the end of last season, I thought a local RB from Vermont had scooped up a scholarship I had forgotten to withdraw. But no, he signed on as a recruited walk-on, and he'll be our primary backup RB this year -- Carlton Mahoney.

The primary targets Tommy Cassidy will be throwing in the general direction of will be wideouts Ev Bishop and freshman Malcolm Mason, who we hope makes a big contribution this year. Starting at TE will be frosh Terry Noyes, who has the potential to be a great run blocker but already is a fantastic clutch receiver and is fearless going over the middle.

It looks like we've improved slightly at the skill positions - we've got a lot of potential in the backfield and at wideout, we've definately upgraded at TE and made a big improvement at offensive tackle in Van McGee. We've still got a long way to go in building a quality O-Line though, and the jury is still out if Tommy Cassidy can run a wishbone offense successfully.

Defensively I think we've regressed some, though our secondary has improved our linebacking corps, outside of Jumbo Rodgers, is, well, not good. Freshman DE Buddy Doggett is a ways away from helping, though he has lots of potential.

All in all I'd be surprised if we challenged for the conference title. I think 4-3 or 5-2 in conference are realistic expectations. Anything worse will be a major disappointment, anything better a pleasant surprise.

Summer drills have however, made me take note that the two biggest voids in this program, LB and O-line, are positions my coordinators just don't develop players well at. In the long run, if we're going to get better and bring in talented kids, we may need to make some changes despite the other strengths of our coordinators.


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2005 SEASON

WEEK 1
@ New Mexico (0-0-0)

Well, we get started right off the bat with a tough game in week 1. Hopefully we'll be able to hold our own.

Recruiting priorities: LB's, O-line, and a running QB. Bad news on the recruiting front. Most of the regional recruits that fit my needs are a bad fit for the college. I'll need to expand my search next week. We really need some OL and LB's.

We started off the year in the best way possible, with a "W". The Fighting Owls pulled out a 22-13 win at New Mexico on the back of tailback Norm Duran, who ran for 136 yards and 1 TD. Frosh wideout Malcolm Mason made an immediate impact, catching 6 passes for 100 yards, while frosh FB Len Sembower also had 6 receptions. And I don't know how Omar Harper did it, but his D held New Mexico to 9 yards rushing for our first non-conference win ever.

The bad news is we got hit with the injury bug bad. We lost RB Bert Deering, NT Jackie Hollins and starting OG Lenny Daschle. Hollins may miss the entire year, What a waste.

NNE (0-0-0) Overall (1-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 2
vs. UAB (0-1-0)

Our first homegame of the season should be pretty interesting as we host UAB. I'm very disappointed in ticket sales as we've only sold 8,700 season tix. Maybe as we mature as a program the fans will start to come. By the by, the pundits have us as 2 point favorites over UAB.

I expanded the recruiting search some and went down into NY and NJ. Watched a lot of games, saw a lot of kids, but nothing noteworthy to report yet. Pickings seem slim this year.

13,400 showed up at Owl Field to watch us drop a close one to UAB, 21-17. We really should have won this one as we led 17-7 after 3 quarters but just fell apart in the 4th. We didn't really run the ball well, managing only 111 net on the ground, but Tommy Cassidy had a decent day passing, tossing 2 TD passes, both to freshman TE Terry Noyes, who caught 6 passes for 70 yards on the day.

This loss was really, really disappointing.

NNE (0-0-0), Overall (1-1-0)

* * *


WEEK 3
Off week.

No game scheduled this week so we'll mostly be focusing on recruiting and getting healthy. We lost Jumbo Rodgers for the season last week, leaving an already weak LB corps further depleted.

No one in for a visit yet. I'm starting to get a bit worried about this year's recruiting class. There just don't seem to be a lot of players that are good fits at positions we need filled.

* * *


WEEK 4
@ Kansas (2-0-0) TV5

We'll be playing the Jayhawks this week and this will be our first network televised game. Based on our first two games I'm cautiously optimistic that we won't completely embarass ourselves on national (well, regional) TV. Kansas is favored by 4.

QB Mark Chapman is on campus for a visit this week. Mark has ran for 686 yards in 7 games. Our main competition for him appears to be Miami. They have the edge on us in program prestige but our Art Department is one of the best in the nation and that's what Chapman wants to major in.

The Fighting Owls certainly weren't embarassed on TV this week even though losing to Kansas 13-10. We played our hearts out and it seems evident as we head into the NNE conference schedule that we've come along way in a year's time. TB Norm Duran had another 100 yard day and frosh FB Len Sembower had 7 receptions as Tommy Cassidy tossed 1 TD and had no picks. Cassidy's passing, while he has been disappointing running the ball, seems promising for the future.

NNE (0-0-0), Overall (1-2-0)

* * *


WEEK 5
@ Maine (1-2-0) (NNE)

We play our first conference game this week as we head "down east" to play the Black Bears of the University of Maine. In my opinion we've had three good tune up games and I'm optimistic about conference play - moreso than I was during the summer.

We've got another running QB, Terrell McKenzie from NJ, visiting on campus this week. Hopefully we'll land either him or Chapman. McKenzie has rushed for 548 yards through 8 games. Still little progress in our primary needs areas, O-line and linebackers.

As for the game, oh what a heartbreaker of a loss - this one is going to come back to haunt us as we lose at Maine 29-28. The Owl bone worked to perfection as we ran for 305 yards, Norm Duran for 162 and Tommy Cassidy had a breakout game, rushing for 97 yards. Freshman OT Van McGee had a whopping 13 key run blocks, totally dominating the line of scrimmage. But we lost the turnover battle, Cassidy getting picked once and us fumbling once, while Maine didn't turn the ball over at all.

Oh that hurts.

NNE (0-1-0), Overall (1-3-0)

* * *


WEEK 6
vs. Northern Illinois (1-2-0)

Northern Illinois comes into Keene this week as 7 point favorites. I'm encouraged about the progress our offense is making, but worried about our D now. When we run for 304 net, our defense ought to be able to stop the bad guys enough for us to win one.

Grady Stone, a run blocking center from NJ is in for a visit this week, and we have a decent shot at landing him. He's not a super prospect, but he's a lot better than what we've got now.

Baby steps.

Turned out to be a big win for our program this week as we knocked off Northern Illinois 23-10, rushing for 229 yards. Norm Duran again led the way with 106 yards and frosh wingback Bert Deering, back from a tonsilectomy, added 68 yards on 9 carries. QB Tommy Cassidy continues to make progress in the passing game tossing 2 TD's and no picks. Freshman OT Van McGee had another dominant game in the trenches.

NNE (0-1-0), Overall (2-3-0)

* * *


WEEK 7
vs. Plymouth State (1-4-0) (NNE)

The bookies have us as 18 point favorites at home against Plymouth State. Offensively we've been playing really well and hopefully that will translate into some conference W's. Still looking for it to "click" with Tommy Cassidy where he runs and throws well in the same game. Tailback Norm Duran has 549 yards rushing through 5 games at a 4.7 YPC clip. He's averaging 109.8 YPG. He seems to have taken a step up to that next level from his freshman year.

Good news on the recruiting front. We landed QB Terrell McKenzie, the fleet footed signal caller from NJ. McKenzie finished his HS season with 579 yards on 93 carries. He also threw for over 3000 yards. Here's hoping we found our next QB.

OLB Michael Grevan from Mass. is on campus this week for a visit. Grevan had 98 tackles and 13 sacks and Brant Cline, who is terrific with LB's has him pegged at 81/100 -- and when I saw him play he looked even better than that. He would improve our linebacking corps exponentially.

Well, this week the running game was in fine shape as Norm Duran had another 100 yard game and Tommy C ran for another 90, but 6 sacks and a pick did us in at home as we sufferred yet another disappointing loss, 29-24. 16 unanswered PSC points at the end of the 4th quarter, one on a fumble return, cost us another game we should have won. Lack of quality talent on the defensive side of the ball is really hurting us, along with key injuries up the middle.

NNE (0-2-0), Overall (2-4-0)

* * *


WEEK 8
Off week.

Well, we get a much needed break this week, but only bad news comes in the mail. 2 LB's and an OL we recruited turned us down and went to other schools.

When it rains, it pours.

* * *


WEEK 9
@ UNH (2-4-0) (NNE)

I suspended backup OT Cory Herrick for violating team rules today. He's done for the year. He'll have two more years of eligibility left if he returns next season.

Lost out on another OL-man, but we've got a bunch on campus visiting this week. We'll be driving over to Durham to play New Hampshire this week and maybe that will get us back on track.

In the game against UNH, Norm Duran had yet another 100 yard game, OT Van McGee once again dominated the line of scrimmage and Tommy Cassidy was a pinpoint 16 for 19 passing as the Fighting Owls defeated New Hampshire 13-10. Frosh ILB Corey Tatum (8/70) had a dominating day on defense with 15 tackles. Another member of the freshman class, Len Sembower, had 9 receptions as he and Tommy C played pitch and catch all day.

NNE (1-2-0), Overall (3-4-0)

* * *


WEEK 10
@ UVM (2-4-0) (NNE)

This week we'll be on the road again to play the Vermont Catamounts. I'm confident that our wishbone attack can beat any team in this conference now, but the question is, can our defense stop the bad guys from scoring?

Great news on the recruiting front. Walt Forte, an OG from South Kingstown HS in Rhode Island has signed a letter of intent to play for us. Walt has both solid athletic and academic prep, and we project him as a starter next season. Joining Forte in signing with the Fighting Owls was OT Don Liedtke from Shepherd Hill Regional in Dudley, MA. Don will need a bit more prep work before he's ready to start but when I saw him play he looked a lot better than his 91 projection. Two much needed signings to help our much beleaguered offensive line.

The Fighting Owls put it altogether come game time this week with a 45-7 rout on the road at Vermont as QB Tommy Cassidy ran for 3 TD's and threw for another. It was another dominating day for freshman OT Van McGee who has certainly made his presence felt in this, his freshman year.

NNE (2-2-0), Overall (4-4-0)

* * *

WEEK 11
Homecoming vs. Green Mountain (7-2-0) (NNE) TV4

Homecoming week against a very solid Green Mountain College program. The Mounties are 5-0 in conference and this game is attracting national tv coverage -- good exposure for our fledgling program. Green Mountain has been installed as 5 point favorities - it'll be interesting to see if we can stay with them for 60 minutes.

More good news recruiting wise. OLB Mike Grevan has committed to come to Keene State. Mike was selected to the Massachusetts All-State team and was rated an 81 and looked better in person. Joining Grevan to bolster our linebacking corps will be ILB Peerless Boller, rated at 63 but appearing much better in person. Some much needed pieces have started to fall into place this week, now let's see if we can't upset the Mounties.

Against Green Mountain Tommy Cassidy led the way running for 92 yards on 19 carries, running for 1 TD and throwing for another as the Fighting Owls upset Green Mountain College 27-10 in front of a largest ever KSC home crowd of 15,500. Freshman FB Len Sembower had 6 catches for 92 yards and fellow frosh TE Terry Noyes had a TD reception. Junior DE Van Calara had 3 sacks as the Owls dominated play on both sides of the ball.

NNE (3-2-0), Overall (5-4-0)

* * *

WEEK 12
@ Maine Maritime (1-8-0)

Won't be any tv for this one, as Maine Maritime has played just woefully this season. Hopefully we won't play down to their level and can keep playing the high quality ball we have been playing for the past month. Oddsmakers have us as 12 point favorites on the road.

No new news on the recruiting front. Three players with pending scholarship offers are all visiting and we've invited a number of other kids to come visit and check out the school and potentially enroll as walk-ons.

DE Van Calara has really taken his game to the next level. As a starter last year, he had 3 sacks. Through 9 games this year, he has 9.5 sacks. But he's borderline academic probation as he just isn't cutting it in the classroom. Hopefully now that the coaching staff is spending some additional study time with him, he'll improve his school work.

You just knew it was going to happen. A 20-0 lead at halftime, 20-7 after 3 quarters, and yet we can't hold on, losing to a woeful Maine Maritime squad 21-20. TB Norm Duran had a very solid game, rushing for 141 yards on 21 carries, putting him over the 1000 yard mark for the season. Defensive genius or no, if Omar Harper can't get his boys to hold onto leads, given his abject inability to develop linebackers, he may be looking for a new job this winter.

NNE (3-3-0), Overall (5-5-0)

* * *


WEEK 13
vs. Dartmouth (1-8-0) (NNE)

Bryant Moss, an OG with Loch Raven HS (isn't that a cool HS name?) in Baltimore, MD has signed a letter of intent with Keene State this week, further bolstering our offensive line for 2006.

Well, we close out the 2005 season this week with mixed feelings. I'm really pleased with the way the running game has come together and I've seen some positive flashes from Tommy Cassidy. But we've lost a lot of games we could have, and in my opinion, should have, won. Hopefully we'll close on a high note and whup Dartmouth.

Alas, it was not to be. We got behind, abanoned the run and lost 34-28. Tommy Cassidy did throw 3 TD passes, freshman wideout Malcolm Mason had 6 grabs for 145 yards and 2 TD's and fellow frosh FB Len Sembower had 6 catches for 99 yards. But our defense gave up 296 yards rushing and we were never really in this game. Definately a sour note to end the season on.

NNE (3-4-0), Overall (5-6-0)

* * *


WEEK 13
Open week.

Freshman walk-on RB Carlton Mahoney has approached me about a scholarship. Looks like we might have one open next season and he's been a good reserve for us. Think I might give the kid a full boat.

Justin Rivera, a pretty decent looking safety from Pittsburgh, PA, has committed to playing for KSC next season.

* * *


CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK
Open week.

We finished tied for 4th in the Northern New England Athletic Association. A pretty disappointing finish given my preseason expectations.

* * *


MINOR BOWL TIER
Open week.

Decided to spend the week in New Orleans getting souced. I sure needed it after that up and down year. Ran into Spencer Tinker down here, trying to get girls to lose their tops for strings of beads, Man, that guy just doesn't stop hustling.

* * *


MAJOR BOWL TIER
Open week.

This week, it's Vegas baby.

Tried out the card game that's part of TCY. A fun way to kill 45 minutes when you're bored.

* * *


FOUR STAR TIER
Off week.

Too hungover to journal. Coach Bear sleeps it off.

* * *


NEW YEAR'S TIER
Open week.

Starting to give some serious thought about changing coordinators. However, I'm not far enough removed from those 4th quarter losses to make any rational decisions yet.

* * *


CHAMPIONSHIP TIER
Open week.

Oklahoma trounces UCLA 37-9 to win the national championship.

Craig Agnew, QB from LSU wins the Heisman.


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2005 SEASON REVIEW

All in all 2005 was a disappointing season for me. We lost too many games I think we should have won. Defense was a big problem and I just didn't do enough defensive recruiting to help support what turned out to be a very good offensive attack. Fortunately I think we've corrected that for 2006, but I can't help but feel 2005 was a lost opportunity for this
program.

On a lighter note, there were some personally rewarding accomplishments in the 2005 season. Freshman OT Van McGee, who I thought was a major recruiting coup, was named 1st Team All-American. Keene State also had 4 players named to the Freshman All-American team: McGee, FB Len Sembower, TE Terry Noyes, and ILB Corey Tatum.

KSC was also well represented on the All-NNE Teams. QB Tommy Cassidy was named NNE Offensive Player of the Year. Van McGee was named top offensive freshman in the NNE while fellow frosh Corey Tatum was named top defensive freshman. Cassidy, Sembower, McGee, Noyes and Tatum were all named to the 1st Team All-NNE squad while K Dave Oliver, DE Van Calara and OLB Bernard Reddick were named to the 2nd team. Academically, Reddick and OT Alan Flowers were named to the Academic All-NNE team.

After sleeping on it, I took a look at the stats from this past year and think sometimes you're just too close to the trees to see the forest. All those heartwrenching losses at the end of games made our defense look a lot worse than the numbers might suggest. Omar Harper's defensive unit was 22nd in the nation in points allowed, allowing only 17.9 PPG. Our pass defense was 4th in the country - though a significant factor in that was our run defense was ranked a porous 55th. I'm still somewhat concerned with Harper's inadequacies in linebacker development, but I really can't blame him when I didn't provide him with much defensive talent outside of the secondary.

And again, that points allowed figure is pretty impressive - and should have resulted in a lot more wins for this program. It's even more impressive when you look at the improvement over 1 season, 33 PPG allowed (105th) in 2004 to 17.9 (22nd) in 2005.

So, to make a long story short, I'm leaning towards being more likely to retain Harper as DC than not atm.

* * *


2005 SEASON SUMMARY


The College Years
2005 Summary for Keene State College Fighting Owls
Head Coach: Bear Growlz (2nd yr)
Offensive Coordinator: Drew Thompson (2nd yr)
Defensive Coordinator: Omar Harper (2nd yr)
Syndicate Coordinator: Myron Stephens (1st yr)
Lead Scout: Brant Cline (2nd yr)

Record: 5-6 (3-4-0)
Rank: 80 NNE: t4th

Keene State Team Rank
Rushes 492 19
Rushing Yards 2058 22
Yards Per Carry 4.18 32 (T)
Pass Attempts 249 109 (T)
Completions 143 94
Passing Yards 1818 89
Yards Per Attempt 7.30 51
3rd Down Conversions 46.2 6 (T)
Points Per Game 23.3 66
Turnovers 14 14 (T)
Turnover Margin +5 35 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 383 35 (T)
Rushing Yards 1433 55
Yards Per Carry 3.74 60
Pass Attempts 242 3
Completions 130 4
Passing Yards 1554 4
Yards Per Attempt 6.42 40 (T)
3rd Down Conversions 29.5 22
Points Per Game 17.9 22
Turnovers 19 75 (T)

Primary Formation: Wishbone Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 22 at NMEX (120) 13
2 17 ALBI (76) 21
4 10 at KANS (99) 13
5 28 at UofM (93) 29
6 23 NILL (57) 10
7 24 PSC* (78) 29
9 13 at UNH* (87) 10
10 45 at UVM* (98) 7
11 27 GMC* (32) 10
12 20 at MMA* (119) 21
13 28 DART (117) 34

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
1 Cassidy QB 249 143 1818 7.30 12 8
Team --- 249 143 1818 7.30 12 8

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
44 Duran RB 230 1096 4.76 6 35 30
1 Cassidy QB 157 503 3.20 7 50 136
49 Deering RB 44 174 3.95 2 8 8
32 Sembower FB 27 114 4.22 2 6 1
31 Mahoney RB 25 109 4.36 1 3 5
Team --- 492 2058 4.18 18 105 182

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
5 Mason WR 82 32 507 15.8 131 2
32 Sembower FB 69 56 548 9.7 378 4
97 Noyes TE 45 23 344 14.9 128 4
89 Bishop WR 19 8 125 15.6 44 2
Team --- 249 143 1818 12.7 803 12

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
47 Tatum ILB 110 36 1.0 20 2 3
23 Surdyk S 40 12 0.0 2 2 1
57 Hatfield ILB 38 14 0.0 4 0 0
40 Airhart S 36 13 0.0 4 1 8
71 Calara DE 35 15 10.5 14 0 0
29 Bishop CB 34 15 0.0 4 4 7
52 Reddick OLB 32 12 2.5 5 1 3
95 Dunlap DE 23 6 4.5 7 0 0
92 Sheldon DT 21 13 1.5 4 0 0
25 Rausch CB 20 8 0.0 1 0 1
28 Perrault S 18 1 0.0 1 2 2
51 Welch OLB 16 5 1.0 2 1 3
58 Blackwell OLB 14 10 0.0 0 0 2
42 Reynoso CB 14 5 0.0 2 1 3
36 Armstrong CB 12 3 0.5 0 0 0
Team --- 563 182 29.0 80 14 35


-20-

[beargrowlz]

WINTER 2006

TCY Today had our recruiting class ranked #22 in the nation. That gives me some real positive vibes heading into the 2006 season.

Looks like UGA was playing a little dirty to win their national championship in 2004 as the NCAA placed the school on probation - no TV and no bowl games. I think that program will be hurt pretty badly by those sanctions, and it saddens me a bit as I have a soft place for UGA in my heart.

But I've got my own problems to worry about.

Starting Safety Patrick Airhart was ruled academically ineligible - a true senior that finishes his football career here at Keene. Airhart has started both seasons the program has been in existence. Kyle Mueller, a walk-on OG has also been suspended for academic reasons. He won't be missed.

I ultimately decided to leave the staff intact this season. It'll be interesting to see what Drew Thompson and Omar Harper can do with some of the talent I have brought in, and Lead Scout Brant Cline is a key figure in the future success of this program.

Once again no transfers in or out, and we're maxed out at 60 scholarships. Turned out to be a pretty quiet winter in the Monadnock Region in 2006. Hopefully we'll make some noise come the fall.

* * *


SPRING 2006

Due to AD negotiated contracts, we play at UAB week 3 and at home against Northern Illinois week 6. That leaves us two non-conference games to schedule. I'd like to establish some more regional rivalries, so we'll look at UCONN and BC first.

Stage 1: UCONN accepted our offer of an away game this year and a game at Keene in 2007. As they're right down the Connecticut River from us, that should be a fun series. Now let's see if we can get something done with BC. Ohio State is offerring an away game for us, but I'd rather get something done against a solid program within the region.

Stage 2: BC turned down our offer of a home and home series. Maybe a little sour grapes about us stealing OT Van McGee from right under their noses two years ago. Arizona is offerring us a home game for week 2, and I'm going to accept it. Be nice to have a big time program come into Keene.

Stage 3: Got the Arizona game all set and that fills up our schedule early this year. We'll start play Week 1 against UCONN in Storrs, have a week off in Week 4, open our conference schedule Week 5 at NNE champ Green Mountain, have a week off during week 9 and finish up with all NNE games weeks 10-13.

There's already talk of a quarterback controversy and we haven't even started summer drills yet. Some boosters are calling for Freshman Terrell McKenzie to start right away. I can't really red-shirt McKenzie as our depth at QB is pretty thin, but I think coming off the year Tommy Cassidy had he deserves the start. But we'll see.

* * *

SUMMER 2006

I'm allowing my staff to handle time management again this season. I find it to be the most tedious, time consuming, and annoying part of the job. I'll chip in during the season when a player has a crisis and allocate some blocks of time, but other than that, I'll let my assistants earn their paychecks.

As the Owl coaching staff worked our student-athletes through summer two-a-days we're already noticing how many freshmen recruits are far more talented than their upperclassmen counterparts. Like Van McGee and Len Sembower last season, we're looking for a number of frosh to be impact players this season. Summer camp has shown us that we've significantly improved the offensive line and drastically improved our linebacking corps. We don't have much depth in either area yet, but we're working on that with some redshirts and we'll continue looking to bring in depth in those areas.

Our offensive line is led by 1st Team All-American Sophomore LT Van McGee. Van's counterpart at RT is redshirt senior Alan Flowers who has really grown in his time with us. We're looking for big things from him over the next two years. True junior Lenny Daschle returns at LG while frosh recruit Walter Forte, as expected, won the starting RG position. At OC, returning for his 3rd season as a starter is redshirt senior Omar Bjorlin. There's not much depth here after the starting 5, but this has the makings of a very good O-line.

Returning as signal caller for his 3rd season is redshirt senior Tommy Cassidy. Tommy was the NNE's Offensive player of the year in 2005, throwing for 1800 yards and 12 TD's while running for 7 more TD's and 503 yards. Coach Drew Thompson continues to work hard with Tommy to improve his passing game, and Tommy was pushed hard in camp by freshman Terrell McKenzie, who will back up Cassidy this season.

Redshirt sophomore Eugene Paullin wrested the tailback spot away from 2 year starter Norm Duran. Paullin enters the season at 60/93 after being redshirted last season - boy did he improve his game significantly. Duran will be starting, but at Wingback, while another redshirt sophomore Quentin Poole serves as the primary backup. The Owls sport a very deep backfield this season and should for years to come.

Starting at FB will be sophomore Len Sembower. Sembower was 1st Team All-NNE last year with 56 receptions for 548 yards and 4 TD's and he continues to develop into a fine run blocker and short yardage back.

Our ends will be the same as last year, with 1st Team All-NNE TE Terry Noyes anchoring the strong side while big play threat Ev Bishop and sure-handed Malcolm Mason share time on the weak side at Split End. In Tommy Cassidy's three seasons here at KSC this is the best group of receivers he has ever had.

While our offense looks to be explosive this season, it's likely that we've improved more defensively than anything. We'll be starting 3 freshman at LB including prized recruit Mike Grevan at SLB. They'll join 1st Team All-NNE ILB Corey Tatum, only a sophomore himself, to give us a much improved linebacking corps.

Anchoring the defensive line will be DE's Van Calera, who really came into his own last season registering 35 tackles and 10.5 sacks while earning 2nd team All-NNE honors, and the high potential redshirt sophomore Buddy Doggett (23/83).

The secondary was the strength of the Fighting Owl defense last season, and 3/4 of it returns intact. Leo Bishop and Dez Reynoso start at the corners and Dan Surdyk fills one of the safety spots. Freshman Justin Rivera replaces the academically ineligible Patrick Airhart at the other safety spot.

There's no doubt the defense is much improved, at least potential-wise. The question is can Defensive Coordinator Omar Harper translate that high potential into on field production enough to make the Owls legitimate contenders for the NNE conference title?

-20-

[beargrowlz]

WEEK 1
@UCONN (0-0-0) TV4
UCONN (-6)

Looking to land a couple of major recruits this season. Made a quick scholarship offer to a pass rushing NT from Lunenburg, MA named Jumbo Quinn. Jumbo is ranked as the 5th best DT in his graduating class and we feel he'd be a major impact player on our defensive line for 4 years. We'll also be looking to land at least one safety and CB as Surdyk and Reynoso graduate this year. I'd also like to increase our depth at LB, but it's going to be difficult to land a prize recruit at that position as we're starting 4 underclassmen.

Drawing nation TV exposure can't be bad for our program's prestige, and the pundits had us listed at only 6 point underdiogs against a Big East school, on the road. All good signs we're heading in the right direction.

We're due for a lot more attention now.

Led by QB Tommy Cassidy's 16/21 196 yards, 3 TD performance in which he tacked on another 70 yards rushing the Fighting Owls played like they wanted to send a message right away in 2006, hammerring the Huskies 52-16. Cassidy connected with sophomore wideout Malcolm Mason 5 times for 115 times and 1 TD including a 42 yard bomb.

The game was never in doubt, at halftime Keene State led 24-3 and the Owls outscored UCONN 21-3 in the 3rd putting the game away. Cassidy won player of the game honnors, but the KSC offensive line really dominated the Huskies, especially the play of tackles van McGee and Alan Flowers and freshman OG Walt Forte.

Redshirt sophomore Eugene Paullin, in his first game as a Fighting Owl, ran for 137 yards and 3 TD's on 23 carries as wingback Norm Duran also added 54 yards on 7 carries. It was truly a dominating performance and hopefully a portent of good things to come this year.

Unfortunately FB Len Shembower went down with a pulled quad and is expected to be out 6 weeks. That'll press redshirt sophomore Bert Gaylor into action at FB. It's unrealistic he can fill Len's shoes, but he's the best we've got.

NNE (0-0-0), Overall (1-0-0)

* * *

WEEK 2
vs. Arizona (0-0-0) TV4
(KSC -2) Rank: #18

For the first time in the short history of Keene State's football program the Fighting Owls burst into the Top 25, being ranked at #18. While the honor is rewarding, early season polls are notoriously sketchy - and in this case the voters placed a little too much emphasis on our blowout of Connecticut. Still, I think we sent a message to some folks that we're a serious football program.

One of the prize recruits we're pursuing this season is CB Alan Woodling from Connellsville, PA. Woodling is rated 100 and the #1 recruit in the nation. Normally we wouldn't stand a chance at landing a high profile recruit like Alan, but he is highly attracted to KSC because of our Marketing Department and he also wants to stay in the northeast so I think we've got a shot at landing him.

We're also recruiting a bunch of local kids, most notable is OLB Thurman Hardy, who really likes our Mechanical Engineering faculty. Our main competition to date for Hardy is UNH.

As I thought, the pollsters were a bit too optimistic after the UCONN game, and Arizona came in and kicked us in the teeth, beating us 38-13 on our home turf. The wildcats shut down our wishbone attack and only Gene Paullin could make any headway, gaining 92 yards on 20 carries. Tommy Cassidy did connect with Malcolm Mason on a 55 yarder as well as a 17 yard TD pass, but that was about it for our offense on the day. Freshman OLB Ed Wagner had a decent day making 8 tackles and Corey Tatum made 7 tackles and had a sack.

NNE (0-0-0), Overall (1-1-0)

* * *


WEEK 3
vs. UAB (0-1-0)
(KSC -5)

Spent most of the week making new contacts with recruits around the northeast. Found an interesting running QB from Wamogo regional in Litchfield, CT named Tracy Leska, who expressed strong interest in attending KSC. I'll have to go take a closer look at him next week. No one has come to campus on a visit yet, but it's still early in the recruiting season.

Eugene Paullin just exploded in front of a crowd of just over 13,000 at Owl Field, rushing for 231 yards on 37 carries as the Fighting Owls eeked out a 29-28 win over UAB - good to be on the winning end of one of these nailbiters for a change. Coach Thompson just kept calling Paullin's number all day and the redshirt soph took it to the house twice. As if that wasn't enough, Tommy Cassidy hit him with 4 passes for 66 yards, 56 of them YAC. Gene has the ability to be a very special back.

Backup FB Bert Gaylor and All-American OT Van McGee each had 6 key run blocks opening holes for Paullin all day. ILB Corey Tatum had another fine game making 9 tackles.

Bert Gaylor's career might have been short lived however as he went down with a serious compound leg fracture and is expected to be out for at least a year. Redshirt senior John Hunt, a solid receiver and 3rd down back will fill in at FB -- though we expect our run blocking to suffer some.

Here's hoping Bert's young career isn't over because of this.

NNE (0-0-0), Overall (2-1-0)

* * *


WEEK 4
Off week.

With the off week we'll spend most of the week prepping for our conference opener against Green Mountain and continuing contacts with some of the most promising recruits we hope to land this season. NT Jumbo Quinn and LB Thurman Lind were both in for visits this week. Quinn's quite the capable pass rusher and he's been offerred scholarships by us and Boston College. Lind is the #1 prospect coming out of NH this year and along with us fellow NNE schools UNH and UVM have made strong pitches for him. I really like our chances though as we've got the best Mechanical Engineering program of those three schools and that's Thurman's top priority.

Looking ahead to next week, I'm pleased we're off to the start we are and look forward to starting our conference schedule. I'm excited about this team and the program in general. Our last recruiting class was exceptional and I think we're building a quality program here in the Monadnock Region -- one that may just be able to compete on a national level within the next 5 years.

NNE (0-0-0), Overall (2-1-0)

* * *


WEEK 5
@ Green Mountain (0-2-0)
(KSC -4)

Coach Thompson and Lead Scout Brant Cline have really designed this year's wishbone attack around the QB option and around tailback Eugene Paullin. Paullin made tremendous progress in development during his redshirt year under Coach Thompson and all that hard work is finally starting to show dividends. My hope is Paullin will become the dominant back in the NNE this season. I think there's at least an outside shot of that happening.

Spent a lot of time this week with Jumbo Quinn, Thurman Lind, and two other recruits in for visits - QB Tracy Leska and an OLB from Norwalk, CT named Blaine Nordbye. Right now we've got the inside track on Nordbye, but we're competing against Penn State and Ohio State for Leska. Those are bigtime programs but I think we've got a shot at landing the kid.

It just doesn't seem like we can get over the hump in conference, as we sufferred a 24-20 loss at Green Mountain. The Mountain boys scored 17 unanswered 4th quarter points to beat us - though they stymied our offense the entire game. Tommy Cassidy threw 2 picks and we only ran for 151 yards on the day - with the Mounties holding Gene Paullin just under 100.

This will hurt any aspirations we might have at the conference championship.

Freshmen LB's Ed Wagner and Mike Grevan both played well in a losing effort, recording 10 and 9 tackles respectively. Adding insult to inury we also lost All-American OT Van McGee to injury this week. He's expected to miss 5 weeks with a seperated shoulder.

NNE (0-1-0), Overall (2-2-0)

* * *


WEEK 6
vs. Northern Illinois (1-3-0)
(KSC -13)

Very good news on the recruiting front as NT Jumbo Quinn signed a letter of intent with us, choosing Keene State over Boston College. With starting NT Alonzo Sheldon graduating and the failure of Jackie Hollins to develop and his constant injuries, Jumbo could be starting for us at the nose as early as next year.

Made a strong pitch to RB Bert Springer from Troy, NY this week. He's a good fit for KSC because he wants to stay in the region and he likes our academics. Syracuse is probably our strongest competition for him.

CB Rob Blount from Princeton Junction, NJ is also attracting interest from some major collegiate programs but he is strongly attracted to our Physics department which is ranked 12th in the nation. We're hoping to lock him in before he even visits any other schools.

On the field we simply couldn't get a running game going this week as Northern illinois came into Owl Field and upset us 24-17. Gene Paullin did have a 100 yard game but it took him 35 carries to earn 122 yards. Tommy Cassidy self-destructed tossing 4 INT's, leading talk radio callers screaming for Terrell McKenzie.

For an option wishbone we've gotten really one dimensional. Norm Duran only had 2 carries and Cassidy 7. I think I may and tinker with the bone next week. We've got to add some variation to this offense.

NNE (0-1-0), Overall (2-3-0)

* * *


WEEK 7
@Maine (2-2-0) (NNE)
(Maine -1)

Plenty of kids on campus visiting this week. Still hoping to sign a few big name recruits away from major programs. Academically we'be got some good advantages over many major schools, and for the most part concentrate on kids from the northeast that want to stay in the region, giving us an edge as there aren't that many major football powerhouses up this way.

I sat down with Brant Cline and Drew Thompson and we made some serious adjustments to the offense. I thought we were getting too predictable and weren't utilizing all the talent we have in that backfield.

We'll see.

Don't really know how much my input helped, but we came out with a W and a more diversified offense and less of a workload on Gene Paullin, but with beter production from him. Gene's carries were reduced to 24 but he ran for 133 yards (5.5 YPC) as we ran as a team 220 total yards in a 31-28 win over the Black Bears. Wingback Norm Duran had 7 carries for 36 yards (5.1 YPC) and Freshman Safety Justin Rivera returned an INT for a touchdown.

A win is a win is a win. It's going to take me some getting used to gameplanning, but we'll take it.

We lost DE Buddy Doggett amd OLB Mike Grevan to injury, probably for the rest of the season.

NNE (1-1-0), Overall (3-3-0)

* * *


WEEK 8
vs. Vermont (0-6-0) (NNE)
(KSC -21)

Some very good news on the recruiting front. Tracy Leska and Blaine Nordbye signed letters with us this week. As we've said, those were two of the recruits we really wanted to land. We lost RB Bert Springer to Syracuse, but we're very deep at RB already, so the loss doesn't hurt hat much.

A little more tinkering with the offensive gameplan this week. Might have cut Gene Paullin's workload down just a tad too much, but he did go over the 100 yard mark again (19/103/5.4/1 TD) and as a team we ran for 245 yards on the day. We tried to put Tommy Cassidy in situations where he could throw the ball without facing maximum pressure and he seemed to respond well, going 24/32 for 310 yardswith 2 TD's and 1 INTin a 38-0 whitewashing of UVM.

FB Len Sembower was back from injury with a vengeance making 8 catches and wideout Malcolm Mason had 4 catches for 120 yards as well as 3 carries for 47 yards and a TD. Freshman RG Walt Forte had a solid day with 5 KRB.

To date, through 7 games, Eugene Paullin has had a terrific season, gaining 913 yards on 187 carries for a 4.8 YPC. Gene has also hit paydirt 7 times.

In conference we're 1 game out of first behind Green Mountain College, who we lost to.

Unfortunately we lost our other rising star OLB, Ed Wagner, most likely for the rest of the year. This just emphasizes our need for more depth at LB.

NNE (2-1-0), Overall (4-3-0)

* * *


WEEK 9
Off week.

More good news on the recruiting front. Thurman Lind has committed to us. The young LB was one of the recruits we pursued the most. Another major recruit, CB Rob Blount also signed a letter with us this week. We also added some more depth at QB and LB with some local signings. Spent the off week poking around for some depth at DE. Even though both Van Calera and Buddy Doggett will return next year, we need to add some depth at that position and Van will be a 5th year senior next year.

NNE (2-1-0), Overall (4-3-0)

* * *


WEEK 10
Homecoming VS, UNH (2-4-0) (NNE)
(KSC -8)

We scored a major recruiting coup this week landing CB Alan Woodling from Pennsylvania. We talked about Woodling back in Week 2 and just kept pursuing him. His athletic and academic prep are just fantastic and with Dez Reynoso due to graduate this year, Woodling may be able to make an immediate impact. It's quite a major coup for a program our size to land the #1 recruit in the nation and shows how far we've come in just three short years.

Made further overtures to some under-recruited safeties in hope of landing one or two as walk-ons, or even finding one worthy of a scholarship. 14,900 fans showed up at Owls Field for Homecoming this year, and once again our opponent was the University of New Hampshire. The Fighting Owls were firing on all cylinders this week, wiping out UNH 52-7 to the delight of the many KSC alums present. Gene Paullin ran for 3 TD's and Tommy Cassidy threw for 3 more and frosh Safety Justin Rivera returned another INT for a touchdown as the Owls dominated every aspect of the game. The game was over by halftime as Keene State built a 35-7 lead at the half and then added 17 unanswered points in the second half to wrap this one up.

Bad news on the injury front however as Gene Paullin left the game with a concussion and Norm Duran is out for the season with back surgery. Paullin is listed as Probable for next week but I don't know if we'll play him. Van McGee went down again as did wideout Malcolm Mason. We may have to suit up Adam Sandler and the Waterboy for next week's game against Dartmouth.

NNE (3-1-0), Overall (5-3-0)

* * *


WEEK 11
@ Dartmouth (2-5-0) (NNE)
(KSC -5)

Run stopping DE Neal Lira from Memorial High School in Brick Township, New Jersey has signed a letter to play for us next season. Neal will be a project but has a lot of potential as a rated 88+ player. Look for us to red-shirt him and get him a year's worth of prep work before he takes the field for us.

Dartmouth took an early 14-0 lead against the injury depleted Owls and never looked back, handing us a plain old fashioned whuppin, 42-10. Coach Thompson abandoned the run when we fell behind and that just doomed us. Due to injuries the much heralded Quentin Poole got to play starting at Wingback, and he arrived with a thud - 5 carries for 0 yards. FB Len Sembower did have a good game, making 9 catches for 79 yards, 25 of them after the catch.

We lost yet another LB, freshman starting ILB Peerless Boller. We'll suit the Fighting Owl mascot herself up next week.

The loss ends any hope we had of catching Green Mountain, who are now 5-0 in conference.

NNE (3-2-0), Overall (5-4-0)

* * *


WEEK 12
vs. Plymouth State (3-6-0) (NNE)
(KSC -8)

Still waiting on decisions from two players - NT Burt Harvey from Iowa and Safety Erik Zimmerman from West Virginia. I'd like to land both of them, as they're the only offers we have left out there.

Uhm, we definately need the drug testing folks here after this one. In what has to be the most incredible display of offense and most toro-style defense on the part of both schools, the Fighting Owls come away with a 63-57 win in OT.

The Owls ran for 414 yards against the porous PSC defense (PSC didn't do too shabby itself, running for 244 against us) and Eugene Paullin had the game of his - and everyone else's - life. Gene carried the ball 45 times, gained 350 yards and ran for 6 touchdowns - a 7.7 YPC avg. I just don't know what to say. That was the most incredible offensive display I have ever seen in either TCY or FOF. Un-be-frackin-lievable.


1Q: 06:17 PSC* - Grady Bullock 35 field goal.
1Q: 01:58 KSC* - Dave Oliver 24 field goal.
2Q: 13:40 PSC* - Antonio Riley 2 pass from Paul Turnbull.
2Q: 13:40 PSC* - Grady Bullock extra point.
2Q: 12:25 KSC* - Eugene Paullin 61 run.
2Q: 12:25 KSC* - Dave Oliver extra point.
2Q: 06:14 KSC* - Eugene Paullin 4 run.
2Q: 06:14 KSC* - Dave Oliver extra point.
2Q: 00:05 KSC* - Dave Oliver 36 field goal.
3Q: 00:00 KSC* - Eugene Paullin 4 pass from Tommy Cassidy.
3Q: 00:00 KSC* - Dave Oliver extra point.
4Q: 13:30 PSC* - Jerald Nahstoll 4 pass from Paul Turnbull.
4Q: 13:30 PSC* - Grady Bullock extra point.
4Q: 08:54 KSC* - Dave Oliver 45 field goal.
4Q: 06:08 PSC* - Antonio Riley 26 pass from Paul Turnbull.
4Q: 06:08 PSC* - Grady Bullock extra point.
4Q: 02:07 PSC* - Shane Royer 74 interception return.
4Q: 02:07 PSC* - Grady Bullock extra point.
4Q: 01:05 PSC* - Jim Fernyhough 3 run.
4Q: 01:05 PSC* - Grady Bullock extra point.
4Q: 00:03 KSC* - Everett Bishop 19 pass from Tommy Cassidy.
4Q: 00:03 KSC* - Eugene Paullin run for conversion.
OT: 11:26 PSC* - Gerald Dunlap 2 run.
OT: 11:26 PSC* - Grady Bullock extra point.
OT: 14:51 KSC* - Eugene Paullin 25 run.
OT: 14:51 KSC* - Dave Oliver extra point.
OT: 13:43 KSC* - Eugene Paullin 9 run.
OT: 13:43 KSC* - Eugene Paullin run for conversion failed.
OT: 14:51 PSC* - Antonio Riley 25 pass from Paul Turnbull.
OT: 14:51 PSC* - Paul Turnbull run for conversion failed.
OT: 13:00 KSC* - Eugene Paullin 12 run.
OT: 13:00 KSC* - Eugene Paullin run for conversion failed.
OT: 14:52 PSC* - Paul Turnbull 25 run.
OT: 14:52 PSC* - Marco Wilks run for conversion failed.
OT: 13:22 KSC* - Eugene Paullin 9 run.

Game MVP: KSC* 34 Eugene Paullin

Plymouth State 3 7 0 28 19 - 57
Keene State 3 17 7 11 25 - 63

Team Statistics PSC* KSC*

First Downs 29 31

Total Rushes 48 58
Net Rushing Yards 210 379
Yards Per Carry 4.3 6.5
Rushing Yards 244 414
Tckld Loss/Yards 7-16 6-16
Sacked/Yards Lost 3-18 3-19

Pass Attempts 34 34
Completions 17 14
Passing Yards 268 191
Yards Per Attempt 7.8 5.6
Interceptions 0 1
Fumbles/Lost 4/1 1/0

Total Plays 82 92
Total Yards 478 570
Yards Per Play 5.8 6.1

3rd Down Plays 5/15 9/18

Penalties 8 6
Penalty Yards 53 28

Avg. Drive Start OWN 33 OWN 25
Time Of Possession 36:12 38:55


That just speaks for itself.

NNE (4-2-0), Overall (6-4-0)

* * *


WEEK 13
@ Maine Maritime (5-5-0) (NNE)
(KSC -1)

I think I'm still in shock. That game was fracken amazing. Sweet fancy Moses.


But anyway, Burt Harvey turned us down and decided to go be a corn-fed D-lineman at Iowa. Win some, lose some. Can't feel too bad as we already have a committment from Jumbo Quinn to play the nose for us. I'll invite a few players to come visit campus and see if any want to walk on. Other than that, a win at Maine Maritime will garner us sole possession of 2nd place in the Northern New England Athletic Association. We're already guaranteed to finish over .500 both in conference and the NNE, so a win here would make this a very successfull season and I think we'd have to be considered legitimate contenders for the conference crown next year.

I guess we were just too exhausted and beaten up from that past game and the laundry list of injuries we've sufferred this season, as a 7-6 game at halftime turned into a 42-14 blowout for the whale lovers. Gene Paullin did have yet another fine game, gaining 112 yards on 25 carries and NT Alonzo Sheldon, in his last game for the Fighting Owls, wracked up 2.5 sacks.

We finish in a 3-way tie with Maine Maritime and Dartmouth for 2nd at 4-3, but officially finish 4th having lost to both of those schools this year.

NNE (4-3-0), Overall (6-5-0)

* * *


WEEK 14
Open week.

Made another home visit to Erik Zimmerman, the safety from West Virginia. It's down to us or UNLV. They've got a little bit higher pretige, we're much better academically. It's a toss up. I also invited a few recruits to come visit campus - none worth using a scholarship on, but 1 or 2 would make fine walk-ons.

Navy beat Army 27-20. Army finishes the year 0-11.

NNE (4-3-0), Overall (6-5-0)


* * *


CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK
Open week.

Erik Zimmerman finally makes a decision and chooses us over UNLV. He'll be a key contributor down the road for us. That's a very nice late signing for us as he's rated at 71 by my scout and when i saw him play he looked better than that.

Decided to offer a scholarship to NT Isaac Eyechart (ok, it's really Grzegorczyk).

NNE (4-3-0), Overall (6-5-0)

* * *


MINOR BOWL TIER
Open week.

J.B. Kosteva, a defensive tackle from Huntington High School in Shreveport, Louisiana, has decided to walk-on and play for us next season. That fills up our recruiting class for this year.

Sorry eyechart, no dice.

NNE (4-3-0), Overall (6-5-0)

* * *


MAJOR BOWL TIER
Open week.

Funnilly enough, The Patriot Bowl, held in Boston, MA, pits Air Force vs. Navy this year. Think I'll go to that one.

Air Force beat Navy 28-21.

While on the topic of the service academies, shouldn't it be a law that Army has to have a good ground game, Air Force a solid passing attack, and Navy both (Marines and carrier aircraft?).

Just a thought.

NNE (4-3-0), Overall (6-5-0)

* * *


FOUR STAR TIER
Open week.

#5 Nebraska vs. #6 Utah in the Sugar Bowl looks like it'll be a good game.

It wasn't. 42-17 Nebraska.

NNE (4-3-0), Overall (6-5-0)

* * *


NEW YEAR'S TIER
Open week.

NNE (4-3-0), Overall (6-5-0)

* * *


NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Open week.

Michigan defeated Alabama 42-23 and won the National Championship.
QB Donnell Huard of USC won the Heisman.

NNE (4-3-0), Overall (6-5-0)

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2006 SEASON REVIEW

An improvement over 2005 as we finished over .500 in conference and for the first time in our history finished over .500 overall, going 6-5. We've made steady progress in building the program, going 4-7 in 2004, 5-6 in 2005 and now 6-5 in 20o6. We had two big non-conference wins, at UCONN and at home against UAB and we won that spectacular shootout with Plymouth State in OT during Week 11 that had us on Sportscenter for days.

As the season went on we had a lot of players forced into roles where they just weren't talented enough to succeed. To me, that means I just haven't brought in enough talent to create the type of depth w need to succeed when faced witha rash of injuries such as we were hit with this season. I'm hopeful that with our second consecutive outstanding recruiting class - TCY Today had last season's rated as 22nd in the nation and this year's class rated even higher at #15 - we'll have addressed that major problem.

As we played the games during the season, our running attack seemed to be significantly more explosive and productive - but it was only slightly moreso than last year. We only ran for 7 more yards as a team in 2006 than we did in 2005 - albeit in about 30 fewer carries, and we only scored one more rushing TD on the ground than we had the year before. The development of redshirt sophomore Gene Paullin was exciting and I think he's going to be a key to our potential success over the next three years, but if anything I feel our wishbone attack regressed some this year. QB Tommy Cassidy barely ran the ball and we never really got our wingback or fullback involved in the running game. Those are areas we're going to try and work on this spring and summer - all while trying not to diminish the phenominal explosiveness Gene brings to our run again.

Our passing attack however, was much improved. We gained over 400 more yards through the air than we did in 2005. Tommy Cassidy threw 18 YD's this year as opposed to 12 last season - though he also threw more INT's this year, 13 as opposed to 8 in 2005. And overall as an offense, we scored a lot more points in 2006, averaging 30.8 PPG as oppossed to 23.3 in 2005. We can thank the Plymouth State shootout for some of that no doubt.

Defensively I feel we've regressed quite a bit - though with 3/4 of our linebacking corps injured for most of the season walk-on's were playing quite a bit down the stretch. Our turnover margin was worse this season, +1 wheras in 2005 it was +5, and we gave up nearly 10 more PPG than we did in 2005 - again though, some of that we can thank the PSC game for.

I must admit to some disappointment, as I had thought we had a chance at the coference title. But as the season went along, it became painfully obvious I just hadn't recruited enough depth on defense - especially at linebacker - and the last three games of the season we just simply couldn't stop anyone, allowing 42, 57, and 42 points to our conference opponents during that 3 week span. Defensive coordinator Omar Harper is VG at conditioning and terrific at rehab, so it's difficult to blame him for a string of bad luck. If there's blame here, it's just we didn't have enough depth and were playing walk-on's at LB again.

Still, there were a number of bright spots, some of which, like the 15th ranked recruiting class in the nation, bode well for the future. And while 2005 1st team All-American OT Van McGee was hurt for much of the season and didn't have a chance to repeat as an All-American,
a number of our other student-athletes were recognized.

Three of our students were named to the Academic All-American team. Tailback Eugene Paullin, OT Alan Flowers and NT Alonzo Sheldon. Academics are important here at Keene State and we like to emphasize them. In fact, our highly rated academic programs help us bring in
nationallly ranked prep stars we might not otherwise be able to attract given the size and newness of our program.

Freshman OT Walter Forte was named to the Freshman All-American team. Walt had a good year for us and we look forward to him anchoring the O-line with Van McGee.

We also had a number of players recognized by the Northern New England Athletic Association. Tailback Eugene Paullin was named both the NNE's Most Valuable Player and it's Offensive Player of the Year, while OT Walt Forte was named the NNE's Freshman Offensive Player of the year.

Keene State also had 7 players named to the All-NNE First team and another 3 named to the 2nd team. Named as First Team All-NNE selections were QB Tommy Cassidy, Tailback Eugene Paullin, Fullback Leonard Sembower, TE Terry Noyes, K Dave Oliver, and CB Marty Armstrong. Named as Second team All-NNE selections were OT Alan Flowers, DE Van Calera, and WR Malcolm Mason.

Last but not least, we had 4 student athletes selected to the All-NNE Academic Team. Those players were RB Eugene Paullin, OT Alan Flowers (his 3rd consecutive selection), NT Alonzo Sheldon and ILB Ty Westbrook.

Congratulations go out to all those players for those well deserved awards.

Starting NT Alonzo Shelton and starting CB Dez Reynoso graduate this year.

Here's hoping 2007 is less frustrating than 2006.

* * *

2006 SEASON SUMMARY


The College Years
2006 Summary for the Keene State College Fighting Owls

Head Coach: Bear Growlz (3rd yr)
Offensive Coordinator: Drew Thompson (3rd yr)
Defemsive Coordinator: Omar Harper (3rd yr)
Syndicate Coordinator: Myron Stephens (2nd yr)
Lead Scout: Brant cline (3rd yr)

Record: 6-5 NNE: 4-3-0
Rank: 62 NNE 4th

Keene State Team Rank
Rushes 462 32 (T)
Rushing Yards 2065 19
Yards Per Carry 4.46 14
Pass Attempts 273 95
Completions 156 80 (T)
Passing Yards 2203 65
Yards Per Attempt 8.06 28
3rd Down Conversions 42.8 20
Points Per Game 30.8 29
Turnovers 21 59 (T)
Turnover Margin +1 58 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 375 32 (T)
Rushing Yards 1630 82
Yards Per Carry 4.34 96
Pass Attempts 322 45 (T)
Completions 161 20 (T)
Passing Yards 2130 31
Yards Per Attempt 6.61 34
3rd Down Conversions 38.9 92
Points Per Game 27.8 82 (T)
Turnovers 22 53 (T)

Primary Formation: Wishbone Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 52 at CONN (90) 16
2 13 ARIZ (111) 38
3 29 ALBI (98) 28
5 20 at GMC* (38) 24
6 17 NILL (60) 24
7 31 at UofM (94) 28
8 38 UVM* (122) 0
10 52 UNH* (103) 7
11 10 at DART (83) 42
12 63 PSC* (102) 57
13 14 at MMA* (75) 42

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
1 Cassidy QB 270 154 2181 8.07 18 13
Team --- 273 156 2203 8.06 18 13

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
34 Paullin RB 294 1496 5.08 17 43 51
1 Cassidy QB 89 177 1.98 0 31 146
44 Duran RB 32 192 6.00 1 3 2
31 Mahoney RB 22 89 4.04 0 4 1
Team --- 462 2065 4.46 19 88 213

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
5 Mason WR 55 24 558 23.2 165 4
34 Paullin RB 50 26 419 16.1 186 2
97 Noyes TE 41 24 314 13.0 130 5
32 Sembower FB 38 29 253 8.7 109 1
89 Bishop WR 24 14 270 19.2 111 2
44 Duran RB 15 11 54 4.9 33 2
83 Ibarra TE 13 5 73 14.6 21 1
21 Gaylor FB 12 9 53 5.8 30 0
8 Fortenberry WR 12 5 103 20.6 13 0
Team --- 273 156 2203 14.1 857 18

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
47 Tatum ILB 68 18 3.0 11 1 4
23 Surdyk S 48 20 0.0 4 2 9
57 Wagner OLB 36 13 1.0 2 1 0
36 Armstrong CB 33 7 0.0 2 3 4
25 Rausch CB 33 4 0.0 5 0 2
37 Rivera S 33 15 1.0 5 2 4
29 Bishop CB 31 17 0.0 2 2 3
92 Sheldon DT 27 9 4.0 10 0 1
96 Grevan OLB 27 8 0.0 1 2 0
71 Calara DE 26 13 6.5 8 0 0
41 Boller ILB 26 5 1.0 6 0 3
78 Doggett DE 23 12 5.0 5 0 0
43 Cochrane OLB 23 10 1.0 4 1 0
42 Reynoso CB 20 4 2.0 4 1 5
90 Burgess OLB 18 5 1.0 2 0 1
38 Montoya CB 11 3 0.0 1 0 1
Team --- 583 186 32.0 79 18 39


-20-

[Crim]

Good read, looking forward to more... but I'm wondering, how are these the first ten posts you've ever made???

[beargrowlz]

Been lurking for a long time. Don't usually post to message boards - and I'm hardly an expert on these games, so I don't have much to say, but read a lot of dynasty posts here though and thought it would be fun to do one.

I've been really amazed at the user-friendliness of the formatting to post boxscores and stuff. I thought it would be a lot more difficult.

Thanks for reading!

[beargrowlz]

WINTER 2007

The frosty months of 2007 opened up with me getting a number of job offers from other schools. I received calls from 12 AD's inquiring as to whether I wanted to take over their programs. Offerring jobs were Kentucky, New Mexico, San Diego State, Wyoming, Cincinatti, UTEP, Kent State, Western Michigan, Arkansas State, Idaho, Louisiana-Lafayette and Troy.

Kentucky being an SEC school was certainly intriguing and it would be a major step up careerwise. But I'm where I belong right now and my mission here, establishing a major college football program at Keene State, isn't finished yet. I let my AD know I wasn't going anywhere and politely declined all the offers.

Safety Patrick Airhart was never able to get his academics straightened out despite being forced to sit out last season and has left school. It's a shame as he was a two-year starter for us but he just never could get it together in the classroom. It bothers me that we let this kid fall between the cracks once he went on probation and I think there's more we could have done to keep him in school.

Junior Leo Bishop, a two-year starter at CB, has been placed on academic probation and will be ineligible to play this season. I'm starting to wonder if allowing my staff to handle time management for these kids is a good idea.

Myron Stephens, whose main job was to keep these kids academically eligible, has retired. From the results he produced with these kids, looks like he phoned it in last year anyway.

Two NNE schools made coaching changes this month, Vermont and Dartmouth. They'll be looking to turn those programs around. Our SW regional scout was hired away by Clemson so we'll be looking to replace him as well as finding a new Syndicate Coordinator.

I've decided to make a change at Offensive coordinator. I though Drew Thompson's playcalling has regressed the past two seasons, he is terrible at developing offensive linemen and he's been terrible at avoiding injuries. I've hired 48 year old Ernie Stuart to come in and take charge of the offense. Stuart's playcalling is rated as VG, he's XL at developing QB's and OL, and rated as Good at everything else except rehab, in which he is admittedly lousy. I don't relish making the change, but I think it's necessary in this case for the program to take a step to the next level.

Omar Harper will return for his 4th season as our defensive Coordinator. I really like his defensive schemes and the woes of our defense have just been a lack of quality personnel.

No reason to let him go.

Brant Cline will also be returning in his capacity as our New England/Lead Scout. I've come to rely on his good judgement, though I don't know how much longer he'll remain with the program as he just turned 64 and may be considering retirement soon.

Coming aboard as our new Syndicate Coordinator is 30 year old Michael Yost, formerly an Assistant Professor of physics here at Keene State where we have one of the best programs in the country. Yost is rated Terrific at Academic elig and lousy in investigations and soliciting donations. Good enough for me at this point and it'll keep the faculty here happy we're involving one of their own in the program.

63 year old Anthony O'Neil, coach at Tom Landry HS in Arlen,Texas joins the Fighting Owl staff as our SW regional scout. O'Neil's specialties are QB's, RB's and the O-line. He'll fit right into our program.

That rounds out our staff for 2007.

I'm not sure why we don't have any scholarships left. At the end of recruiting last year it said I had three left to offer - which I didn't offer. Sometimes the NCAA is just a pain in the ass. Sometimes I still just don't understand this game.

No players transferring in this year.

TCY Today rates our incoming recruiting class 15th in the nation. Here's a look at the class.


The College Years
Keense State College Fighting Owls
2006 Recruiting List, Worksheet View

Player Pos ST Visit Cost Dist. Fit Score
$$Williamson, Kim QB MA 250 50 98
Leska, Tracy QB CT 265 96 87
**Jennings, Cary TE NJ 303 209 85
##Shinners, Jumbo K CT 267 103 84
Lira, Neal DE NJ 305 225 89
Lake, Glenn DE NY 259 78 97
Quinn, Jumbo DT MA 246 38 96
##Kosteva, J.B. DT LA 943 1392 80
**Lyons, Lorenzo ILB CT 270 112 88
**Coggins, Vincent ILB ME 294 183 86
**Lind, Thurman OLB NH 252 56 86
**Wright, Jared OLB NY 287 162 90
Nordbye, Blaine OLB CT 281 143 94
Woodling, Alan CB PA 338 431 83
Blount, Rob CB NJ 298 221 96
$$Zimmerman, Erik S WV 437 594 90

Player Scout Phone Visit Emphasis Status
$$Williamson, Kim 62+ 3 3 Prest*/Dist Committed *
Leska, Tracy 70+ 4 2 Dist/Acad Committed *
**Jennings, Cary 95-- 2 2 Dist*/Acad Committed *
##Shinners, Jumbo 57+ 3 3 Dist/Prest Committed *
Lira, Neal 88+ 2 2 Prest/Dist Committed *
Lake, Glenn 82-- 2 1 Prest/Acad Committed *
Quinn, Jumbo 95- 3 2 Acad/Prest Committed *
##Kosteva, J.B. 56- 1 1 Dist*/Acad Committed *
**Lyons, Lorenzo 73- 3 2 Dist*/Acad Committed *
**Coggins, Vincent 83- 3 3 Prest/Dist Committed *
**Lind, Thurman 62+ 4 3 Acad/Dist Committed *
**Wright, Jared 78- 2 3 Prest/Acad Committed *
Nordbye, Blaine 71+ 3 3 Dist*/Prest Committed *
Woodling, Alan 100- 4 2 Acad/Dist Committed *
Blount, Rob 84+ 3 3 Prest/Acad Committed *
$$Zimmerman, Erik 71+ 5 4 Prest/Acad Committed *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.

The College Years
Recruiting List, Ranking View

Player Pos HT WT ST NRank ByPos StRank ByPos
Leska, Tracy QB 6-2 208 CT 131 13 2 1
$$Williamson, Kim QB 6-2 180 MA --- 85 27 3
**Jennings, Cary TE 6-5 237 NJ 155 5 7 1
##Shinners, Jumbo K 5-10 163 CT --- 53 22 2
Lira, Neal DE 6-3 226 NJ 175 18 9 2
Lake, Glenn DE 6-2 226 NY 241 23 16 4
Quinn, Jumbo DT 5-11 242 MA 100 5 5 1
##Kosteva, J.B. DT 6-2 252 LA --- 91 24 5
**Coggins, Vincent ILB 6-3 201 ME 512 33 4 1
**Lyons, Lorenzo ILB 6-3 212 CT 967 56 13 1
Nordbye, Blaine OLB 5-10 193 CT 654 43 10 3
**Wright, Jared OLB 6-1 210 NY 685 45 46 5
**Lind, Thurman OLB 5-10 200 NH 764 49 4 1
Woodling, Alan CB 5-11 181 PA 1 1 1 1
Blount, Rob CB 5-10 165 NJ 52 6 1 1
$$Zimmerman, Erik S 5-11 166 WV --- 77 9 1

Player All-St All-US Status
Leska, Tracy Yes No Committed *
$$Williamson, Kim No No Committed *
**Jennings, Cary Yes No Committed *
##Shinners, Jumbo No No Committed *
Lira, Neal Yes No Committed *
Lake, Glenn Yes Yes Committed *
Quinn, Jumbo Yes No Committed *
##Kosteva, J.B. No No Committed *
**Coggins, Vincent Yes No Committed *
**Lyons, Lorenzo Yes No Committed *
Nordbye, Blaine Yes No Committed *
**Wright, Jared Yes No Committed *
**Lind, Thurman Yes No Committed *
Woodling, Alan Yes No Committed *
Blount, Rob Yes No Committed *
$$Zimmerman, Erik Yes No Committed *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.



-20-

[beargrowlz]

SPRING 2007

As always, we've got our permanent non-conference games against UAB and Northern Illinois. This season they'll both be at Owl Field, vs. UAB in week 2 and vs. Northern Illinois week 6. We've got the second half of a home and home against UCONN, also at Owl Field, scheduled for week 3. We currently have an open week during week 8 which I'd like to keep open to allow us a break midseason to help recover from any injuries before we hit the meat of our conference schedule as we play 5 conferenece games weeks 9 thru 13.

This leaves us needing just one game. I'm looking to play a major power this year to see just how far we have come in the last three years. Notre Dame is preseason ranked 20th. I'll try for a home and home - away this season - first, but if they say no I'll offer an away game in South Bend. I think they'll be a good test.

Stage 1: As expected, the Irish turned down my offer of a home and home. Washington is offerring me a home and home at Owl Field this year. They're not preseason top 25, but the temptation to play a pretty good program here at home (they're rated preseason #45, while we're #78) makes it worthwhile.

Stage 2: We set up the game with Washington for week 1 at Owl Field. Hopefully we'll attract some network tv coverage and earn some extra revenue and gain some additional prestige.

Here's the Fighting Owl's schedule for 2007.



The College Years
2007 Keene State College Fighting Owls Schedule

Rival: Maine
Stadium Capacity: 25,700
Season Tickets Sold: 10,300

Week Opponent Result Attendance Weather Television
1 (40) WASHINGTON
2 ALABAMA-BIRMINGHAM
3 CONNECTICUT
$$5 at Maine
6 NORTHERN ILLINOIS
$$7 at Plymouth State
$$9 NEW HAMPSHIRE
$$10 VERMONT
$$11 at (49) Green Mountain
$$12 MAINE MARITIME
$$13 at Dartmouth

Home Games in ALL CAPS
$$-Conference Games, ##-League Championship Games, **-Post-Season Games


A big jump in season ticket sales this season. That's a good sign that we're making progress.


-20-

[beargrowlz]

SUMMER 2007

I've been very disappointed in our academic results since I've allowed the staff to handle time management for the players. I hate it, it's one of the most tedious parts of the game for me - makes it feel like a real job I guess - but I don't like what happened to Patrick Airhart and Leo Bishop and I think those situations could have been avoided had I been managing their time. So, I'll take over time management again this season and see if I can handle the situations a little better than the staff did.

As we start our two-a-days we're getting a much better sense of who can contribute this year and who needs a year of prep work. In a surprise, we've decided to redshirt NT Jumbo Grier. Jumbo's just too raw right now and could use the extra year to work on some skills.

Redshirt soph Ron Bernstein will start at the nose, backed up by redshirt junior Donnell Rodgers. Manning the defensive line with Bernstein will befour year starter Van Calera and redshirt junior Buddy Doggett. It's our hope that Doggett will make major strides this year and become an all conference type end for us in 2008 and 2009. Freshman Glenn Lake will be the primary backup at DE, as we've decided to redshirt Neil Lira, who is very unpolished. Lake (24/91), should be able to step right into Calera's spot when Van graduates the end of this season.

At ILB returning as starters will be junior Corey Tatum and sophomore Peerless Boller. Backing them up will be freshman Lorenzo Lyons. Lyons really should be redshirted a year, but we really need him to play significant reps this year to give us some depth up the middle. We are however, redshirting Vincent Coggins who is just far too raw to play yet.
On the outside returning as starters will be Ed Wagner and Mike Grevan, with solid backups in junior Omar Cochrane and freshman Jared Wright. Wright is going to be a very good OLB down the road, but this year he'll just provide us much needed depth. Redshirting will be Thurman Lind and Blaine Nordbye. We should be really deep at all our LB slots in 2008 if the incoming freshman develop this year - but that's a big if as Defensive Coordinator Omar Harper has trouble developing LB's.

The only returning starter in the secondary is sophomore Justin Rivera. Rivera is joined by freshman Safety Erik Zimmerman and two outstanding frosh CB's, Alan Woodling and Rob Blount. That underclass quartet provides us with a nice starting unit, but with Leo Bishop being academically ineligible this year, we don't have much depth in the secondary.

On the O-line we've got some depth this year. Fourth year starter Omar Bjorlin starts at OC and he's backed up by redshirt soph Grady Stone. At LG we've got returning starter, sophomore Walt Forte, the All-NNE Offensive Freshman of the year in 2006. At RG will be senior Lenny Daschle. Those two will be backed up by redshirt sophomore Bryant Moss and senior Emmanuel Reeves. We expect Moss to step right into a starting role next season and he'll be ready this year in case either Daschle or Forte go down.

5th year senior Alan Flowers moves from RT to LT this season as he is our best pass protector. He's joined by 2005 1st Team All-American, junior Van McGee, who moves from LT to RT. Backing them up will be redshirt sophomore Don Liedtke, who looks to be a starter down the road, and
5th year senior Spencer Rodriguez. We're concerned about the lack of development of Grady Stone at OC, but we're pleased with the way Liedtke and Moss are coming along and think they will provide us with much needed depth on the O-line.

Running the Owl Wishbone will be 4th year starter and 2 time All Conference 1st team QB Tommy Cassidy. He'll be backed up by sophomore Terrell McKenzie and frosh Tracy Leska, who are expected to compete for the starting job in 2008. Joining Cassidy in the backfield will be 2006 conference MVP Eugene Paullin at Tailback and 4th year starter Norm Duran at Wingback. We have an awful lot of depth in the backfield with Bert Deering and Quentin Poole as the primary backups, so we've decided to redshirt walk-on junior Carlton Mahoney. Mahoney really deserves a scholarship and maybe next season we'll be able to find him one.

Tommy Cassidy's primary targets will once again be Paullin, Sembower, and juniors TE Terry Noyes and wideout Malcolm Mason. Frosh Cary Jennings won the backup TE job in summer camp and we've got far too many wideouts on the roster for a wishbone team - no lack of depth there. Ev Bishop and Marco Reed will be Mason's top subs.

Here's a quick look at our roster heading into the season.

The College Years
Keene State College Fighting Owls Roster, Scout Overview

Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
Cassidy, Tommy 1 QB Sr 26 40
Leska, Tracy 13 QB Fr 20 72
McKenzie, Terrell 7 QB So 28 87
Williamson, Kim 12 QB Fr 5 46
Butler, Donald 11 QB* Sr* 11 36
Ballard, Walt 27 RB Sr 20 41
Deering, Bert 49 RB Jr 36 67
Duran, Norm 44 RB Sr 46 63
Paullin, Eugene 34 RB Jr* 74 94
Perry, Warren 24 RB Sr 17 37
Poole, Quentin 33 RB Jr* 34 66
Horn, Kenyon 22 RB* Sr 17 17
Mahoney, Carlton 31 RB* Jr 31 64
Baird, Leroy 48 FB Sr* 21 24
Gaylor, Bert 21 FB Jr* 27 45
Hurt, John 35 FB Sr 29 29
Schobel, Bennie 30 FB Sr 15 37
Sembower, Leonard 32 FB Jr 57 72
Ibarra, Chuck 83 TE So 16 74
Jennings, Cary 92 TE Fr 27 100
MacClelland, Bubba 86 TE Sr 15 15
Noyes, Terry 97 TE Jr 26 39
Kaplan, Dave 88 TE* Sr 7 12
Pieper, J.C. 87 TE* Sr 8 17
Bishop, Everett 89 WR Sr 31 47
Cramer, Victor 80 WR Sr 22 42
Fortenberry, Irv 8 WR Jr* 18 50
Mason, Malcolm 5 WR Jr 46 50
Reed, Marco 9 WR So* 25 64
Wooden, Tito 6 WR Sr* 16 36
Kastilahn, Fred 81 WR* Sr* 10 10
Reese, Edgar 85 WR* Sr* 10 29
Bjorlin, Omar 50 C Sr 28 40
Stone, Grady 53 C So* 10 53
McGregor, Tony 56 C* Jr 4 26
Daschle, Lenny 63 G Sr 44 47
Forte, Walter 62 G So 52 60
Moss, Bryant 64 G So* 26 69
Reeves, Emmanuel 72 G Sr 30 32
Blombeck, Howard 79 T Sr* 22 49
Flowers, Alan 77 T Sr 54 54
Herrick, Cory 69 T Sr 14 38
Liedtke, Don 60 T So* 37 77
McGee, Van 61 T Jr 43 96
Rodriguez, Spencer 75 T Sr 15 23
Idzik, Jesse 65 T* Jr* 11 11
Godfrey, Brian 16 P Jr* 46 73
Novak, Rusty 3 P Sr* 23 41
Sawyer, Norman 4 P Sr* 27 46
Brierton, Eric 17 K So* 18 68
Cornelius, Thomas 18 K Sr* 30 40
Shinners, Jumbo 2 K Fr 6 62
Calara, Van 71 DE Sr 26 26
Doggett, Buddy 78 DE Jr* 35 83
Lake, Glenn 73 DE Fr 24 91
Lira, Neal 70 DE Fr 13 78
Zercie, William 94 DE Sr* 14 41
Atkins, Riddick 98 DE* Sr 6 24
Grier, Riddick 95 DE* So* 9 9
Bernstein, Ron 93 DT So* 27 79
Hollins, Jackie 99 DT Sr 21 49
Quinn, Jumbo 91 DT Fr 18 78
Rodgers, Donnell 74 DT Jr* 23 40
Gray, Mitch 76 DT* Sr 8 14
Kosteva, J.B. 52 DT* Fr 22 72
Boller, Peerless 41 ILB So 32 48
Coggins, Vincent 58 ILB Fr 11 85
Lyons, Lorenzo 40 ILB Fr 11 57
Tatum, Corey 47 ILB Jr 21 70
Westbrook, Ty 54 ILB* So 3 12
Cochrane, Omar 43 OLB Jr 28 70
Grevan, Michael 96 OLB So 24 87
Lind, Thurman 59 OLB Fr 14 54
Nordbye, Blaine 46 OLB Fr 19 74
Wagner, Edward 57 OLB So 39 71
Wright, Jared 42 OLB Fr 20 69
Burgess, Brent 90 OLB* Sr 12 23
Maxwell, Roderick 55 OLB* Sr 10 18
Welch, Bart 51 OLB* Sr* 7 31
Bishop, Leo 29 CB Jr 38 70
Blount, Rob 23 CB Fr 41 80
Woodling, Alan 26 CB Fr 50 82
Hearn, Travis 28 CB* Fr 8 16
Montoya, T.J. 38 CB* Sr* 14 14
Rivera, Justin 37 S So 24 49
Zimmerman, Erik 39 S Fr 24 86
Cunningham, Kennedy 20 S* Jr 2 3
DiCosomo, Karl 45 S* So 6 15

* in eligibility - Player has been red-shirted. * in position - Player is
walk-on. ** before name - Player is in danger of becoming academically ineligible.

After our summer workouts, our staff is feeling very positive about heading into this season. Given the improvements we've made to our defense and the continued growth of many of our offensive players, I think it's a reasonable expectation that we compete for the conference championship this season. And while he probably won't get the national attention he deserves, Tailback Eugene Paullin is a Heisman talent. He's really developed exceptionally well.

So, onto the 2007 season, the 4th in our program's history. Here's looking for great things to come!

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2007 SEASON

Week 1
vs. Univ. of Washington (0-0-0)
(even) KSC RANK: --

One of our major recruiting needs this season will be landing some run blocking offensive linemen. We'll be losinh 3 starters off the line this year to graduation, and while we have players ready to step up at OT and OG, OC remains a weakness - and of course we'll need to get players ready to replace those who are stepping into starting roles next year. Len Sembower is entering his junior year, so we'll be looking for a FB to replace him year after next. As always we'll be on the lokout for talented RB's, a wishbone program can never have enough of them. We'll also be looking for depth in our secondary, though we're starting three frosh and a sophomore there this season. We'll also be looking for a punter to replace Brian Godfrey after the 2008 season, and maybe another running QB to compete for the starting job next season as Tommy Cassidy graduates.

Ernie Stewart and I have put together a wishbone offense this season that we think will be a little more varied than the attack was under Drew Thompson. It seems really, really difficult to get the wingback a lot of carries however, through experimentation we've found that even with settings of TB 1, FB 1, QB 1, and WB 97, the QB will end up keeping the ball most of the time - though the WB might get the ball more often if we didn't emphasize the QB option so much.

We spent most of the week recruiting local kids. There's a good RB and good running QB coming out of the granite state this year, and we'd like to land both of them. The RB is a powerback coming out of Colebrook Academy named Leo Riffle. Colebrook does a good job both academically and athletically in prepping their kids for college, and Riffle looks better than the 67 Brant Cline has him rated at. The QB is Eugene Sutton out of Fall Mountain Regional, which does an exceptional job of academic and athletic preperation for their students. Sutton looks better in person than the 64 he is scouted at.

Tommy Cassidy led the way both running and throwing and OT Van McGee dominated the line of scrimmage as we opened up the season with a statement victory - beating Washington 35-7.

While the Huskies held Gene Paullin and Norm Duran in check, Cassidy ran for 71 yards and a TD on 15 carries, throwing for 2 more TD's and 210 yards. Junior TE Terry Noyes was Tommy's main target today making 5 catches for 76 yards and a TD. FB Len Sembower had the other TD reception. Tackle Van McGee had 7 key run blocks opening quite a few holes for Cassidy.

Wideout Malcolm Mason also had 3 catches for 72 yards on the day.

This is a big win for our program and hopefully a portent of things to come.

NNE (0-0-0), Overall (1-0-0)

* * *

Week 2
vs, UAB (0-1-0)
(KSC -6) KSC Rank: #18

An early season win over Washington has the pollsters ranking us at #18. We're taking it with a grain of salt as the voters often get slap-happy after 1 game early in the year. Still, that win shows we're making progress in building this program, and that's what matters.

One of the more interesting problems we're having is making the wishbone diversified enough so that all the weight isn't placed on Gene Paullin's shoulders - yet not reducing the effectiveness of Paullin, who is one of the better backs in the nation at this point. It will take us continually tweaking the wishbone gameplan to find a happy medium.

We expanded our recruiting circle to the rest of the New England states this week. We'll chase a couple of players that are likely to attend more prestigious schools but that we have some hook with, such as them wanting to stay in the area or being particularly strong in the academic area they want to major in. Our last two recruiting classes we've managed to land such particular longshots so it's worth taking a run at a couple such players.

Everyone ran the ball this week as we defeated UAB 33-24. Gene Paulling led the way with 163 yards on 33 carries while Tommy Cassidy ran for 63 yards on 8 carries and Norm Duran had 64 yards on 4 carries. Both Duran and Paullin ran for TD's and Cassidy had a fine day passing going 16 for 21 for 244 yards and 2 TD's. Tommy connected with Terry Noyes and Ev Bishop on the scoring strikes.

OT Van McGee and OC Omar Bjorlin controlled the line of scrimmage and DE Buddy Doggett had 2 sacks as the Fighting Owls played a good all around game.

It's difficult not to let the excitement of these two big wins get the better of me, but one can't help but feel this is a pretty good team this year.

I hope I'm right.

NNE (0-0-0), Overall (2-0-0)

* * *

WEEK 3
vs UCONN (0-1-0)
(KSC -5) KSC Rank: --

(Ed. note) We're actually "ranked" #41, but I am not counting it as being "ranked" unless we're top #25. Same with our opponents.)

We fall out of the Top 25 this week despite a good performance in a win over UAB, which isn't a surprise since more teams have played now. Polls the first couple of weeks are so unreliable as many teams don't start their seasons until weeks 2 or 3.

Johnny Brisman, a punter from Calais HS in Maine is on campus this week for a visit. Brant Cline rated him a 59 but he looked much better in person when we saw him play. Hardly an earth shaterrting recruit, but he's fairly local and we excel in the academic program he's looking for. Spent most of the week in New York and New Jersey looking at prep prospects. Recruiting above our prestige level, but looking at kids who want to stay close to home. Most of the highly rated recruits in that area are overated, but we'll have some in for visits.

UCONN came into Owl Field this week and we handed them a whuppin, beating the Huskies 44-10 on our home turf. Tailback Eugene Paullin had a big day running for 165 yards and 4 TD's on 25 carries - though Tommy Cassidy and Norm Duran were stopped cold. Paullin also had 5 receptions for 70 yards, 41 of them after the catch.

QB Tommy Cassidy had a good day throwing the ball, going 22/34 for 295 yards. Junior Malcolm Mason led our receivers with 90 yards on 5 catches before going down with an abdominal strain that may keep him out for a few weeks.

Our defense was aggresively stingy today, recording 4 sacks and 3 picks, one INT run back 62 yards for a touchdown by frosh CB Rob Blount.

After three games we're off to a very good start and I can't help but be pleased with the effort. Let's hope it carries over into our conference play.

NNE (0-0-0), Overall (3-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 4
Off week.
KSC RANK: --

Being off this week will give Malcolm Mason a little time to recover from his injury. The injuries we've had so far, aside from his, have all been minor and players affected listed as Probable. Compared to last year the injury news has been a blessing.

Taking a run at landing QB's Gerald Carswell and Charlie Neid, two prep stars that are really out of our league pretigewise. Both love to run all the time and landing one of them would be a major boost for our program over the next 4 years. I'd call them both longshots at best however, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Spent the rest of the week continuing to recruit in NJ and NY and calling on players we have already contacted.

NNE (0-0-0), Overall (3-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 5
@ Univ. of Maine (2-1-0) (NNE) TV4
(even) KSC Rank: --

Our game against the Black Bears will be on national tv this week and we received some votes for the Top 25 this week, but didn't quite make it. Maine is off to a good start this season and this should be a good game.

Wideout Malcolm Mason is listed as doubtful, so we'll need Ev Bishop to step up his game quit a bit and give Tommy Cassidy a big play target to throw to.

Gerald Coutts, an exceptional RB from Rochester, NY is on campus this week for a visit. Coutts wants to stay close to home and both us and Green Mountain College are recruiting him. He's getting some attention from some very high pretige schools as well as our annual opponent, Northern Illinois. Brant Cline rates him as an 83, but I've got him at 83+ as he looked better than what was reported. He'd be a very nice pick up for us long term.

No new contacts this week, just mainly calling or re-visiting kids we're interested in.

Made a bunch of scholarship offers the past three weeks and now it's just a case of pursuing them until they commit (using a house rule that I can make no more than 1 phone call and 1 visit to a recruit in a single week).

The game against Maine turned out to be a defensive struggle. The teams matched touchdowns in the 1st quarter, the injured Malcolm Mason hauling in a TD pass in the red zone from Tommy Cassidy, making it 7-7 after the first. Owls tailback Gene Paullin scampered in from 14 yards out in the 2nd to make it 14-7 Fighting Owls at the half. But the Black Bears did a fine job shutting down Paullin, holding KSC's exciting tailback to 81 yards on 22 carries.

Maine would answer with a FG in the 3td quarter, but there would be no scoring the last 20 minutes of the game, and Maine's last drive ended with an interception by Freshman CB Alan Woodling, his 2nd pick of the day. Fighting Owls win 14-10.

A nice win to start off the NNE conferebnce schedule, though I'm pretty concerned about how well Maine held Paullin in check. Tommy Cassidy did have 47 yards on 9 carries - but one of them came on a 42 yard scamper. Norm Duran didn't touch the ball out of the backfield and I am starting to think the Wingback doesn't get any pitches out of the option. I can get him more carries by adjusting the run % numbers for his position, but I think those are independent of the option play.

I'm not really complaining as Paullin is such a stud, but it does seem like the wingback in a wishbone in the game is a forgotten man.

Anyway, we'll take the win.

NNE (1-0-0), Overall (4-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 6
vs. Northern Illinois (2-1-0)
(KSC -14) KSC Rank: --

Bad news all around on the recruiting front, even local kids turning us down to go to Maine and UCONN this week. We weren't rejected by anyone we had our hearts set on though, and the big names we're pursuing still haven't said "no", so that's a plus.

A few local kids on campus to visit this week - no difference makers though. Recruiting at this point is following up with the kids we have contacted, phoning or visiting them at home, and waiting for them to make decisions.

Another week and Gene Paullin was shut down. Looks like opposing defenses are really trying to keep him from being a difference maker.

Wingback Norm Duran did bust loose for a 59 yard TD run however and our defense stymied Northern Illinois, as we won going away 28-3. Redshirt junior DE Buddy Doggett has played particularly well the past two weeks, this week registering 9 tackles, 3 assists and 2.5 sacks. I'm very pleased with the progress he has shown and he's been a key playmaker on defense for us.

NNE (1-0-0), Overall (5-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 7
@Plymouth State (1-4-0) (NNE)
(KSC -24) KSC Rank: --

We lost a local OG to Dartmouth, Russ Clemente. Clemente's not going to be a star, but we projected him as a starter in his junior or senior year. Tough losing him to a conference school.

Three beefy Offensive linemen from NY and NJ are visiting this week - OG Shawn DeLizzio (99--), OG Travis Woodson (82+) and OC Orlando Walters (78+). Landing Walters would be a key coup as he could step right into our starting lineup next season. He wants to stay near home, so I think it'll come down to us and Syracuse. We're a little closer - though not
significantly so, but they have a big edge on us with team and conference prestige. I think we have a chance, but I'm not counting on it and have some other feelers out for OC's.

No committments yet, perhaps I've been too selective with my scholarship offers this year, and maybe shooting too high at some recruits. I guess we'll see as the season progresses.

Our Fighting Owls ran for 276 yards as we put away Plymouth State 37-24. Norm Duran ran for 128 yards on 11 carries and Bert Deering added 83 yards and 2 TD's on 18 carries as both Gene Paullin and Duran went down with severe inuries. Duran requires a scope on his knee and is likely done for the season while Gene has a severe wrist sprain. The trainers didn't like my suggestion that Gene rub a little dirt on it, spit on it, tape it up and play and they have listed him as out for next week.

On the brighter side, OT Van McGee and OG Walt Forte completely dominated the line of scrimmage today, resulting in the big running numbers we posted.

Well, I was going on and on about how much depth we have in the backfield, I guess we'll see if I was right for the next few weeks as Deering and the much heralded but under-performing Quentin Poole will be the starters for us in the backfield.

Malcolm Mason is doubtful with the same abdominal strain he sufferred earlier in the season and junior ILB Corey Tatum is out with a seperated shoulder. I hope we can withstand these injuries better than we did last season when we fell apart at the end of the year.

NNE (2-0-0), Overall (6-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 8
Off week.
KSC RANK: --

A much needed off week to try and get some guys closer to being healthy. I'm re-swapping Van McGee and Alan Flowers and going to emphasize running to the left in hope of squeezing a little more performance from the strong side of the bone. I also have noticed an oddity -- even though the wishbone formation shows the Split End as the one wideout that starts, the depth chart actually starts the Flanker. I noticed that at the end of last season and had moved Mason over to Flanker. Just an odd little quirk.

Gerald Carswell, the running QB from Allen Park HS in Allen, MI is on campus visiting. He's another top prospect we're taking a flyer on pursuing - our Spanish program is 81/100 and that's his top priority - we have the best Spanish program of all the schools recruiting him. Carswell ran for over 1000 yards as a QB in his 9 game HS season. He's rated (100--), so he's definately overrated, but Rivals.com has him as the 15th best QB in this recruiting class. We're primarily attracted to him for his running skills.

There are also a bunch of other recruits visiting campus this week, mostly defensive depth type players, though one or two who could become immediate starters given a little luck.

NNE (2-0-0), Overall (6-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 9
vs. Univ. of New Hampshire (3-3-0) (NNE) TV5
(KSC -25) KSC RANK: #19

We cracked the Top 25 this week, getting ranked at #19 in the nation. Hopefully we'll be able to play up to it, as it's really rewarding to break into the rankings this late in the year. In conference, it looks like Green Mountain is still the team to beat as they're off to a 3-0 start. We're 1/2 game behind them at 2-0 and we have yet to play them. We face off against them in Week 11 at Green Mountain, so it'll be a tough one for us.

Good news on the recruiting front as Ethan Poulin, a defensive tackle from Dover High School in Dover, New Hampshire has signed a letter of intent with us. Ethan is rated at 57+. Also committing to Keene State this week is Johnny Brisman, a punter from Calais High School in Calais, Maine. Johnny is rated at 59++. He'll likely redshirt next season, then back up Brian Godfrey in Brian's last year before taking over the punting duties in 2010 as a redshirt junior.

I invited a few local, overlooked OC's in for visits, one or two of them are likely walk-ons or candidates for last minute scholarship offers.

In our game against the Wildcats this week QB Tommy Cassidy ran for 3 TD's while Bert Deering added another as we ran for over 200 yards against the UNH D. The real story of the running game was Walt Forte and Van McGee, both of whom pushed around the Wildcat D-line and opened up some big holes for our backs to run through.

In a major upset Plymouth State beat Green Mountain 42-35, putting them ahead of the Green Mountain Boys on a tiebreaker. As we're 3-0 in conference and we've already defeated Plymouth, this gives us the inside track towards winning the conference title.

No counting chickens yadda yadda though.

NNE (3-0-0), Overall (7-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 10
HOMECOMING vs. Univ. of Vermont (0-7-0) (NNE)
(KSC -37) KSC RANK: #17

Sheesh I'm not sure it's even possible to cover a 37 point spread. Trap game laying in wait for us if I ever saw one.

Excellent news on the recruiting front as both Carswell and Coutts signed letters with us this week. Assuming Carswell runs anywhere near his prep numbers he'll be a perfect wishbone QB for us. Also committing to us this week were: Josh Fulton, a wide receiver from Lenape High School in Medford Lakes, New Jersey (92+); Travis Woodson, an offensive guard from Memorial High School in Brick Township, New Jersey (82+); Alfred Wenger, an offensive tackle from Tottenville High School in Staten Island, New York (85--); Levon Cassani, a defensive end from Cheshire High School in Cheshire, Connecticut (89--); and Gus Blackburn, a safety from Lewiston High School in Lewiston, Maine (69++). Still haven't landed a quality OC yet though, which is one of our primary needs.

Well, I was wrong - it is possible to cover a 37 point spread and 17,500 homecoming weekend fans were treated to a 51-3 Fighting Owl win over UVM. Quentin Poole finally showed what all the prep school hype was about running for 125 yards and 1 TD on 18 carries. QB Tom Cassidy got ill early in the 1st Quarter and was replaced by sophomore Terrell McKenzie who had a fine day passing going 19/30 for 248 yards while tossing 2 touchdown passes. Backup NT Donnell Rodgers recorded 3 sacks as the Owls dominated every aspect of play.

Plymouth State and Green Mountain remain 1/2 game behind us for the conference title, and we play at the Mountain Boys next week in a must win situation for us if we want to win the conference this year.

NNE (4-0-0), Overall (8-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 11
@ Green Mountain College (4-4-0) (NNE) TV4
(KSC -21) KSC RANK: #15

This week's game is a must win for us. It'll give us wins over the two other teams in contention for the conference title and a KSC win would virtually eliminate Green Mountain.

I think Gene Paullin is going to play this week, though our backfield has done an admirable job filling in for him. QB Tommy Cassidy won't play and he's likely done for the season - though it's possible he could play if we get invited to a bowl game.

More good news on the recruiting front. Leo Riffle, a running back from Colebrook Academy High School in Colebrook, New Hampshire, has signed a letter of intent with us. Rizzle is rated (67+). We had made a strong pitch for Leo since the start of the season and it paid off. With the depth and pipeling of backs we've recruited over the past three seasons he likely won't make an impact for 2-3 years, but it's good to be in a position like that.

Also committing to us this week were Shawn DeLizzio, an offensive guard from Cold Spring Harbor High School in Cold Spring Harbor, New York (99--) and Warren Dole, a defensive end from South Kingstown High School in Wakefield, Rhode Island (61+). Both players will provide depth or even contend for starting jobs at positions where we are losing graduating
seniors this year.

As for our game this week, it was nice being #15 while it lasted, but we lost to Green Mountain 34-30. OT Van McGee tore his ACL and there was a big void at LT. Still, the solid play of LG Walt Forte opened some holes for Eugene Paullin who carried the ball 25 times for 117 yards and 1 TD, but sophomore QB Terrell McKenzie, starting in place of the injured Tommy Cassidy threw 2 picks and we just couldn't get it done.

This is a real blow to our conference title hopes, as Green Mountain now takes a half game lead over us and they only have 1 game left to play. We need for them to lose and we have to win our last two games. If we finish tied, they'll get the championship because of head to head.

We should have won this one, taking the lead with 1:44 in the game but the Green Mountain Boys drove 78 yards in 50 seconds to win the game, and Terrell McKenzie was picked off on a hail mary at the end.

That's just so disappointing. Thought we had them licked this year, finally.

NNE (4-1-0), Overall (8-1-0)

* * *


WEEK 12
vs, Maine Maritime (3-6-0) (NNE)
(KSC -27) KSC RANK: #20

Despite the loss we remain in the Top 25, dropping to #20. We should take some pride in that, but last week's loss to Green Mountain puts a real damper on our season and makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for us to win the conference title.

We had two more recruits committ to us this week. Melvin Newhart, a fullback from Canyon Springs High School in Moreno Valley, California (66+) and Levon Grolsko, a center from Warwick Veterans High School in Warwick, Rhode Island (65++) both signed letters with us. Grolsko may comepete for the starting OC job as a freshman depending on how he looks during spring drills and summer camp.

We got back on track this week with a convincing win over Maine Maritime 48-10. Gene Paullin ran for 174 yards in 31 carries and the game was over at halftime as the Fighting Owls build a 31-0 lead after 2.

Sophomore Terrell McKenzie continues to struggle however, throwing 3 INT's, and he doesn't look real good running the ball either. Very disappointing start to his career with us.

Redshirt sophomore OT Don Liedtke, subbing for the injured Van Moss, broke his arm and will miss the rest of the year. He'll be replaced by 5th year senior Spencer Rodriguez for the game against Dartmouth.

NNE (5-1-0), Overall (9-1-0)

* * *


WEEK 13
@Dartmouth (1-8-0) (NNE)
(KSC -32) KSC RANK: #16

Well the NNE championship comes down to this week. We're tied with Green Mountain at 5-1-0 for the NNE lead, but the mounties have beaten us - again - this year. We need to beat Dartmouth and Green Mountain, favored by 20 at home over Vermont (2-8-0), needs to get tripped up by the Catamounts.

This week is also important because a win against Dartmouth will give us 10 wins on the year, a major accomplishment for our 4 year old football program.

Good news is we climbed to #16 in the nation, and we're drawing better crowds - over 18,00 came to the Maine Maritime game.

We had another recruit sign with us this week, Glen Kreutz, a cornerback from Cupertino High School in Cupertino, California. Kreutz is rated at(67+) and he'll add some much needed depth to our very young secondary.

We're not offerring any other scholarships, though we have 2 left. We've got 4 players we've invited to walk on with us and 1 slot left open in the recruiting class, so we'll see what the cat drags in at the end of the year.

Well, we didn't get the job done against Dartmouth, getting blown out 38-17. Terrell McKenzie threw 4 picks and was replaced late in the game from freshman Tracy Leska. A depleted offensive line and losing Tommy Cassidy hurt us down the stretch.

Green Mountain did win their game, so they win the confernce -- again.

NNE (5-2-0), Overall (9-2-0)

* * *


WEEK 14
Off week.
KSC RANK: #24

Our season is likely over, though because we only fell to #24 in the nation it's possible we'll get invited to the Vegas Bowl or the Garden State Bowl. A bowl bid would be tremendously gratifying, but I'm not expecting it.

Still, however, it is possible.

NNE (5-2-0), Overall (9-2-0)

* * *


CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK
Off week.
KSC RANK: --

We fell out of the Top 25 this week. Chances are looking even slimmer now that we'll get a bowl invite.

NNE (5-2-0), Overall (9-2-0)

* * *


MINOR BOWL TIER
*Garden State Bowl* vs. #22 Rice (9-2-0)
(KSC -1) KSC RANK: --

Terrific news, we received an invitation to play Rice in the Garden State Bowl and have been installed as 1 point favorites. What a significant accomplishment for our program. Now if we can pull out the win, we'll have had a truly successful season.

Seth Fulcher, a safety from The English High School in Boston, Massachusetts has agreed to come to KSC as a walk-on. Fulcher (62-), will add some much needed depth to our secondary.

In the Garden State Bowl, Keene state's first ever bowl game, Gene Paullin rushed for 118 yards and senior QB Tommy Cassidy came off the injured list to throw 3 TD's as the Fighting Owls defeated Rice 37-31 in OT. Junior wideout Malcolm Mason had a big game for us, catching 6 passes for 102 yards and 2 TD's. Defensively, freshman ILB Lorenzo Lyons had a big day making 10 tackles playing in place of the injured Corey Tatum. This was a tremendous win in a hard fought game and a very good way to end the year.

NNE (5-2-0), Overall (10-2-0)

* * *


MAJOR BOWL TIER
Off week.
KSC RANK: #21

Our victory over Rice in the Garden State Bowl put us back in the Top 25 ranked at #21 in the nation. I'm very excited about that and hope that ranking will hold as it'll be nice to finish Top 25 for the first time ever in our school's history.

NNE (5-2-0), Overall (10-2-0)

* * *


FOUR STAR TIER
Off week.
KSC RANK: #22

We slipped to #22 this week but that ranking may be able to hold up.

NNE (5-2-0), Overall (10-2-0)

* * *


NEW YEAR'S TIER
Off week.
KSC RANK: #21

A little more movement in the national rankings and we're back up to #21. Looks like that's about where we'll end up being ranked.

NNE (5-2-0), Overall (10-2-0)

* * *


NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Off week.
KSC RANK: #20

We moved up a notch to 20th in the nation.

#1 Texas (12-0) played #2 Miami (11-0) for the national championship. Texas won 24-14.

RB Irving Schepper from Texas won the Heisman.

Keene State College finished ranked #20 nationally.

NNE (5-2-0), Overall (10-2-0)

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2007 Season Summary and Review

2007 would definately have to be considered a very successful season here in Keene, NH. Our 10-2 mark is unprecedented in the short history of the program, and while we didn't manage to win the Northern New England conference championship, our appearance, let alone victory, in the Garden State Bowl along with a season end #20 national ranking were significant accomplishments for the program as a whole.

It was however, extremely frustrating to finish 2nd in the conference. The Eagles of Green Mountain College have won the NNE all 4 years of its existence. I really thought we had a chance to beat them this season and win the conference, but it just didn't happen.

Injuries once again demonstrated our lack of depth - particularly at the QB position - though we were far better able to overcome them this season as opposed to 2006. Sophomore Terrell McKenzie was clearly not ready to step in for QB Tommy Cassidy when Tommy went down with an injury. That doesn't bode well for 2008 either, as Cassidy has graduated and the QB job will be up for grabs.

A number of Fighting Owls won awards in 2007, topped off by redshirt sophomore OG Walt Forte, who was named 2nd Team All-American. Walt was a dominant force and made for an impressive combination with OT Van McGee when Van was able to stay healthy.

Redshirt sophomore Tailback Eugene Paullin was again named NNE Most Valuable Player as well as NNE Offensive Player of the year. Paullin missed 2 games in 2007 but still managed to break the 1000 yard mark for the second consecutive season while rushing for 11 touchdowns. Gene has two years of eligibility remaining here at KSC.

CB Rob Blount was named NNE Freshman Defensive Player of the year in 2007. Blunt intercepted 6 passes while defending 8 and teamed with fellow frosh Alan Woodling to really shore up our porous secondary from a season ago.

The Fighting Owls had 8 players named to 1st Team All-NNE honors and another 2 named 2nd Team All-NNE. Named to first team honors were Paullin, junior FB Len Sembower, junior TE Terry Noyes, junior WR Malcom Mason, sophomore OG Wal Forte, junior OT Van McGee - despite missing significant time to injury, redshirt junior DE Buddy Doggett and redshirt senior K Tom Cornelius. Doggett particularly became a dominating presence on the defensive line this season, recording 48 tackles and 12 sacks in only his second season of collegiate play.

Named to the 2nd Team All-NNE honors were 5th year senior QB Tommy Cassidy and freshman CB Rob Blount. Cassidy missed 3 games in 2007, and he graduates having been honored with two 1st Team All-NNE selections, one 2nd Team All-NNE selection, and having been named the NNE Offensive Player of the Year in 2005.

The Fighting Owls also had two student-athletes selectecd to the Academic All-NNE Team. Senior OT Alan Flowers was named for the 4th time in 4 years here at Keene State, a tremendous accomplishment for the graduating offnsive lineman. Finally, redshirt junior Tailback Gene Paullin was selected to the Academic All-NNE Team for the second consecutive year.

So, four years into my coaching career in the Modadnock Region, we've managed to build a Top 25, Division 1-A college football program. We've become somewhat competetive on a national level, but still our conference title eludes us. So our goals for the future here at Keene State are to bring home the conference title and to become even more competetive on a national level.

2007 was a giant step down the road towards achieving both of those goals.

* * *

2007 Season Summary


The College Years
2007 Summary for the Keene State College Fighting Owls
of the Northern New England Atheletic Association (NNE)

Head Coach: Bear Growlz (4th yr)
Offensive Coordinator: Ernie Stuart (1st yr)
Defensive Coordinator: Omar Harper (4th yr)
Syndicate Coordinator: Michael Yost (1st yr)
Lead Scout: Brant Cline (4th yr)

Record: 10-2 NNE Record: 5-2-0
Rank: 21 NNE Standings: 2nd
Post Season: Garden State Bowl: (W) vs. Rice 37-31

Keene State Team Rank
Rushes 518 14 (T)
Rushing Yards 2277 7
Yards Per Carry 4.39 10
Pass Attempts 344 44
Completions 187 42
Passing Yards 2450 41
Yards Per Attempt 7.12 56
3rd Down Conversions 46.1 3 (T)
Points Per Game 33.5 10
Turnovers 23 68 (T)
Turnover Margin +8 25 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 379 27
Rushing Yards 1056 18
Yards Per Carry 2.78 15
Pass Attempts 283 13
Completions 121 1
Passing Yards 1747 5
Yards Per Attempt 6.17 18
3rd Down Conversions 27.3 12 (T)
Points Per Game 17.5 16
Turnovers 31 6 (T)

Primary Formation: Wishbone Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 35 WASH (42) 7
2 33 ALBI (122) 24
3 44 CONN (112) 10
5 14 at UofM (94) 10
6 28 NILL (54) 3
7 37 at PSC* (79) 24
9 28 UNH* (83) 17
10 51 UVM* (121) 3
11 30 at GMC* (55) 34
12 48 MMA* (109) 10
13 17 at DART (118) 38
16 37 vs RICE (25) 31 ***Garden State Bowl***

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
1 Cassidy QB 211 117 1440 6.82 10 11
7 McKenzie QB 129 69 993 7.69 7 9
Team --- 344 187 2450 7.12 17 20

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
34 Paullin RB 225 1045 4.64 11 44 66
1 Cassidy QB 94 219 2.32 4 36 155
49 Deering RB 59 276 4.67 6 11 9
7 McKenzie QB 40 123 3.07 2 16 61
44 Duran RB 36 307 8.52 4 12 18
Team --- 518 2277 4.39 30 133 337

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
5 Mason WR 100 45 788 17.5 289 6
32 Sembower FB 65 46 445 9.6 272 4
97 Noyes TE 52 29 430 14.8 125 2
34 Paullin RB 49 27 259 9.5 163 3
89 Bishop WR 25 13 251 19.3 71 1
49 Deering RB 20 11 105 9.5 37 0
92 Jennings TE 14 4 62 15.5 38 1
Team --- 344 187 2450 13.1 1049 17

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
37 Rivera S 50 16 0.0 8 4 10
78 Doggett DE 48 24 12.0 19 0 0
39 Zimmerman S 46 16 0.0 4 5 4
57 Wagner OLB 43 8 0.0 9 0 2
96 Grevan OLB 42 21 2.0 5 1 6
41 Boller ILB 40 15 3.0 6 0 2
26 Woodling CB 40 16 0.0 5 3 13
40 Lyons ILB 31 7 0.0 2 2 1
47 Tatum ILB 29 5 0.0 5 0 2
23 Blount CB 29 11 0.0 5 6 8
93 Bernstein DT 28 7 1.0 8 0 0
38 Montoya CB 15 2 0.0 1 0 0
5 Mason WR 14 0 0.0 0 0 0
71 Calara DE 12 8 6.5 6 0 1
Team --- 580 171 35.0 100 21 51


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2008 PRESEASON

January 2008

Boy do I have some difficult decisions to make this winter. Having built a solid program here at Keene State and having three fantastic recruiting classes in a row, the school looks on solid footing for the long term future. Even the short term future looks bright as Tailback Eugene Paullin has two years of eligibility left and has developed into one of the best backs in the nation.

After our 10-2 record and victory in the Garden State Bowl, I suddenly find myself a hot property. Two of the most prestigious football programs in the nation have offerred me their head coaching jobs. Just two years after winning the National Championship, the Oklhahoma Sooners finished 5-6-0 and 3-5-0 in the Big 12 and are pursing me to take their job.

Likewise, perennial national power the USC Trojans, who were in the National Championship game just a couple of years ago also would like to hire me.

Both programs are long on prestige but in rough shape and would require some significant work rebuilding - unlike here at Keene State, which is short on prestige but has a pretty solid future laying in wait.

It's a difficult decision. On the one hand, I've done what I was hired to do at Keene, built a national football program and have the program in very good shape to hand off to a successor. Once again we're had a fine recruiting class here, one TCY Today ranked as 32nd in the nation.


The College Years
Keene State College Fighting Owls
2007 Recruiting List, Worksheet View

Player Pos ST Visit Cost Dist. Fit Score
Carswell, Gerald QB MI 603 560 90
Coutts, Gerald RB NY 324 269 93
**Riffle, Leo RB NH 281 144 86
##Newhart, Melvin FB CA 1271 2516 77
Fulton, Josh WR NJ 300 254 93
**Grolsko, Levon C RI 266 98 97
**DeLizzio, Shawn G NY 286 158 83
**Woodson, Travis G NJ 305 225 88
**Wenger, Alfred T NY 297 191 83
$$Brisman, Johnny P ME 323 297 95
Cassani, Levon DE CT 268 106 98
**Dole, Warren DE RI 271 114 88
**Poulin, Ethan DT NH 257 73 85
##Kreutz, Glen CB CA 1233 2666 80
$$Blackburn, Gus S ME 277 133 78
##Fulcher, Seth S MA 259 78 82

Player Scout Phone Visit Emphasis Status
Carswell, Gerald 100-- 5 2 Acad*/Dist Committed *
Coutts, Gerald 83+ 3 3 Dist/Prest Committed *
**Riffle, Leo 67+ 3 3 Prest/Acad Committed *
##Newhart, Melvin 66+ 4 3 Acad*/Dist Committed *
Fulton, Josh 92+ 5 1 Dist/Prest Committed *
**Grolsko, Levon 65++ 3 2 Dist/Prest Committed *
**DeLizzio, Shawn 99-- 3 2 Dist*/Acad Committed *
**Woodson, Travis 82+ 4 2 Prest/Dist Committed *
**Wenger, Alfred 85-- 2 3 Dist*/Prest Committed *
$$Brisman, Johnny 59++ 3 3 Acad*/Prest Committed *
Cassani, Levon 89-- 3 2 Prest*/Dist Committed *
**Dole, Warren 61+ 3 3 Acad*/Dist Committed *
**Poulin, Ethan 57+ 3 2 Acad*/Dist Committed *
##Kreutz, Glen 67+ 2 1 Prest*/Acad Committed *
$$Blackburn, Gus 69++ 4 2 Acad*/Dist Committed *
##Fulcher, Seth 62- 3 3 Dist*/Prest Committed *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.


But the opportunity to coach one of the most prestigious college football programs in the nation doesn't come along every day. It's a dimena I suppose every coach faces - do I owe it to the kids I recruited to hang around and be their coach when I have a major career opportunity with Southern Cal or the Sooners?

We've run a completely clean program here at Keene State. There's no probation or any possibility of any sanction hanging over the heads of the kids here. The program is in superb shape, and in my opinion, we underachieved last season and should have won the conference to go along with out national ranking. There's no reason here for me to not take one of the two jobs if it appeals to me.

There are some major drawbacks to taking one of those two jobs. Both programs are in dire straights and need a good buit of rebuilding. Both have fairly mediocre academic reputations which will hinder recruiting tremendously. And the expectations will be enormous. Here at Keene State, there really haven't been any expectations. Every terrific recruiting class was hailed as a surprise. The fact we finished 2nd in conference was looked at as progress. Our Top 25 ranking, invitation to a minor bowl game and victory in the Garden State Bowl were hailed as tremendous triumphs and shockers. At USC or Oklahoma, the expectations and pressure to win right away will be so much greater.

Can I win at that level?

(Ed. note: For the record, I've also been offerred jobs with Kansas, Rutgers, Iowa, Virginia, Washington State, Auburn, New Mexico, Hawaii, Akron and Eastern Michigan, but I'm really only considering the Oklahoma or Southern Cal jobs, or staying put.)

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2008 PRESEASON

February, 2008

In the end, there's really only one way to find out. And that's to take up the new challenge and try and win at the highest level. I'm going to miss the Keene State program, we've accomplished great things here, and I think the program is ready to take a step up to the next level. But it's time for me to move on and see if I can turn one of the great all-time programs around, rebuilding the University of Southern California Trojans.

So I met with Keene State's Athletic Director and College President, letting them know I was going to take the USC job. There was talk of pay raises and other incentives, but I had decided I just had to accept this challenge. USC used to be a mighty football power, and the school faced long odds in the PAC-10 to regain it's past glory. I had done what I came to do at Keene State, and it was time to move on. Time to see if I could make the Trojans live up to their past glory, time to see if I could cut it at the highest level of college football.

We parted on good terms, I had accomplished much, much more than the Keene State administration could ever have hoped. But as I left Etienne's office, I guess I had a quick case of buyer's remorse. Was I making a mistake? Would I regret leaving such a good situation here in Keene? I knew that once I left, there was no going back. Things would be too different.

Far too different.

But I had cast my lot, made my choice. I needed to see if I could compete at a national championship level. And here was my opportunity. So I flew out to Los Angeles and we had a little press conference where I spoke of the Trojan tradition and how my tenure here would be about restoring the luster back on the once shining armor of USC, and I set to work trying to fix a program that had fallen to shambles.

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2008 PRESEASON

http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/340/340210/folders/261729/2078991uschelmet.jpg
University of Southern California
Trojans

March, 2008

So I moved into my new office in sunny southern California. Boy did I have my work cut out for me. The previous coach had been running a Run & Shoot offense - boy were things going to change. First thing I needed to do was review the staff here and see if I needed to bring in my own people.

Syndicate Coordinator Pete Prior is XL in Academic eligibility. That makes him a definate keeper as we have to improve the academic reputation of USC. The fact that he's VG with Syndicate Investigations and G at Soliciting Donations is just gravy for me.

Offensive Coordinator Tyrell Kay and his Run & Shoot have to go. Not only are we going to run the wishbone, but he's a horrible play caller. My first call to replace him was to Ernie Stuart, but he was staying put in Keene. He also thought I was nuts for taking the USC post.

My priorities in finding an Offensive Coordinator are good play calling and development of RB's, OL and QB. Ernie would have fit them all, that's why he was such an asset at KSC.

We ended up hiring Will Marvel away from Stanford. Will is XL at play calling, XL at QB development, PG at developing RB's and decent with OL. He had 2 years experience with pro formations, but we're switching to the wishbone. There were some candidates with significant wishbone experience, but I'm more concerned about play calling and development right now.

For Defensive Coordinator I brought over my LB/Secondary Coach from Keene State, Bucky Riley. Bucky is a very fun guy to be around so the recruits love him, he excels at play calling, and is terrific and xl with LB's and the secondary while being good at developing DL. He's also VG at conditioning, so hopefully we'll avoid the injury bug.

As Lead and SW Scout we hired Oliver Henry away from Miami of Ohio. Oliver is pretty solid in all the areas needed to build a good wishbone attack.

As with the rest of the staff, as at Keene State I am only going to replace them through attrition.

* * *


SPRING, 2008

With a staff put together, it was time to move on to putting the final touches on our 2008 schedule. We don't play Washington this year, but we do have our permanent game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. So that leaves me 2 games to schedule.

I'm determined not to schedule any cupcakes this year, even though it'll be hard going for us. I'm going to offer defending national champion Texas a home and home, and we'll look at Michigan for a home and home.

Stage 1: Texas accepted an away for us in 2008 and a game at the Rose Bowl in 2009. Now to see if Michigan will bite.

Stage 2: Michigan refused, probably because we wanted the home game this year. Wake Forest is offerring us a home game for week 3. They're coming off a 3-8 season. No cupcakes, we're going to play a tough schedule.

Stage 3: Georgia turned down Home 2008, away 2009. I'm going to offer Alabama, coming off an 11-2 mark, an away this year and home for us next.

Stage 4: Bama had no games open. Michigan refused a game at them this year and at the Rose Bowl next year. Wimps. Think we'll invite the defending WAC champs in for a game at the Rose Bowl, Fresno State.

Stage 5: Fresno State had no games left, so we scheduled an away game at Hawaii, coming off an 8-4 mark, and they'll make the trip in here next year. That fills our schedule.

On to my first summer camp at Southern Cal.

-20-

[beargrowlz]

Summer, 2008

The kids reported to camp and I got my first closeup look at them during summer drills. With no capable run blocking TE's (the [product of a run & shoot offense) and a couple of good wideouts, we're going to use a flexbone rather than a pure wishbone. Leading our attack will be redshirt junior QB Marlon May. In the backfield with May will be senior FB Xavier Dandron, freshman tailback Donnell Cash and wingback Phillip Ferentz. We'll be relying heavily on Cash to start and see how that works out.

May's primary targets will be 5th year senior Jumbo Alabasso and redshirt junior Thurman Whelan. We're expecting big things from Whelan who is the complete package at wideout. Xandron, Cash and Ferentz also look to figure prominently in our passing attack.

On defense, the dearth of linebackers we've inherited and the amount of talent we have on the defensive line means we'll be going mainly with a 4-3 this season - though I much prefer a 3-4. We just don't have the talent to run a 3-4.

Starting at the defensive end spots will be redshirt senior Shaun Collins and true senior T.J. Pritchett. Also expect redshirt junior Don Briggs to get some action on passing downs.

At the defensive tackle positions redshirt seniors Hunter Burgess and Seth Turner will anchor the line. At Middle Linebacker will be redshirt junior Steve Kinney. Flanking Kinney on the weakside will be redshirt junior Claude Reger and on the strong side freshman Kevin Fedo. Perry
Merriman and Kendrick Ballard figure to be the primary backups at LB this season.

In the secondary the immesely talented senior Hunter Lelie will be starting at shutdown corner. He'll be shadowing the other team's primary receiver. At the other corner will be redshirt sophomore Anthony Clayton, as J.R. Howard is on academic probation this term. Redshirt senior Mercury Lyle will be playing strong safety while redshirt junior Quentin Kaesviharn will be playing the free safety spot. Harris Norton, Ted Powell and Rex England also figure to see a bit of action back there.

Here's a look at our full roster.

The College Years
University of Southern California Trojans Roster, Scout Overview

Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
Wolfsmith, Irv 9 QB Sr* 31 43
May, Marlon 17 QB Jr* 40 73
McDaniel, Everett 2 QB Fr 28 67
Denton, Tito 10 QB* Sr 32 52
Gillespie, Dominic 5 QB* So* 23 97
Ferentz, Phillip 30 RB Sr 52 59
Davenport, Norbert 21 RB Sr* 45 63
Schultz, James 22 RB So* 45 52
Cash, Donnell 42 RB Fr 55 100
Gomez, Ross 25 RB* Jr 13 13
Dandron, Xavier 31 FB Sr 52 74
Sullivan, Jeremy 32 FB* Jr* 10 10
Bullock, Grady 86 TE* So 22 24
Lincoln, Greg 87 TE* So* 8 12
Bernstein, Jonathan 84 TE* Fr 11 15
Alabaso, Jumbo 81 WR Sr 68 68
Whelan, Thurman 80 WR Jr* 66 96
Walyuchow, Dominic 88 WR So* 46 81
Hopper, Wally 82 WR Fr 43 83
Rowley, Andrew 4 WR* Sr* 4 14
Shapiro, Horace 3 WR* Sr* 4 4
Bell, Freddie 89 WR* Fr 25 75
Farrell, Clifton 54 C Sr* 58 88
Fish, Leland 53 C Jr* 30 86
Williamson, Deon 58 C So* 22 88
Dodsworth, Danny 50 C* Fr 5 49
Couch, Floyd 67 G Sr 54 68
Doub, Johnny 71 G Jr* 32 83
Jacome, Neil 73 G Jr* 13 67
Humphrey, Barry 69 G So* 29 100
Rebensdorf, Daniel 79 G So 37 80
Wolf, Howie 78 G Fr 24 63
Lucas, Gilbert 68 G Fr 29 89
Segers, Kelvin 62 T Sr* 58 100
Austin, Warren 61 T Jr* 34 65
Whitfield, Emmitt 64 T Jr* 35 59
Hampton, Ike 63 T So* 27 68
Dudgeon, Vinny 72 T Fr 13 100
Howe, David 15 P Sr 85 85
De Rooy, Courtney 8 P Jr* 57 91
Glover, Dennis 11 P So* 55 64
McDaniel, Walt 18 P* Sr 62 70
Andrews, Bill 14 K* Jr* 0 27
Henson, Shawn 1 K* So* 36 37
Pritchett, T.J. 90 DE Sr 89 89
Collins, Shaun 75 DE Sr* 64 88
Mills, Rickey 95 DE Jr* 37 54
Briggs, Don 93 DE Jr* 48 100
Wiggs, Irv 91 DE So* 35 48
Atkinson, Rob 97 DE So* 26 100
Walton, Larry 98 DE Fr 25 54
Newsome, Kyle 92 DE Fr 33 100
Stender, Roderick 74 DE* Sr* 4 4
Watkins, Rex 76 DE* Jr* 5 5
Burgess, Hunter 94 DT Sr* 61 74
Turner, Seth 77 DT Sr* 58 74
Dawson, Cary 65 DT So 30 84
Strickland, Victor 70 DT* Jr* 14 40
Jacome, Karl 55 DT* So 12 12
Boone, Emmitt 66 DT* Fr 8 56
Merriman, Perry 99 ILB Jr* 52 100
Kinney, Steven 44 ILB Jr* 43 75
Hopper, Adrian 48 ILB Fr 12 62
Rubin, Brad 49 ILB* Sr 3 22
Ballard, Kendrick 47 OLB Sr* 32 76
Reger, Claude 96 OLB Jr* 36 69
Fedo, Kevin 51 OLB Fr 38 96
Harvey, Ernest 57 OLB Fr 16 66
Lelie, Hunter 20 CB Sr 75 93
Howard, J.R. 43 CB Sr* 62 100
Crayton, Anthony 27 CB So* 38 64
Norton, Harris 36 CB Fr 36 82
Gonzalez, Chester 40 CB Fr 23 61
Fanelli, Ron 23 CB* Jr 6 13
Waugh, Harold 39 CB* Jr 10 10
Webster, Mickey 33 CB* So 8 8
Harvey, Stan 35 S Sr* 42 46
Lyle, Mercury 34 S Sr* 65 96
England, Rex 29 S Jr* 44 60
Kaesviharn, Quentin 24 S Jr* 53 84
Gillespie, Marlon 28 S So* 38 87
Powell, Ted 26 S So* 46 54


It'll be rough going this first year with the flexbone. But we'll be emphasizing bringing in the right personnel in recruiting, as well as bringing in some talent on the defensive side of the ball. Marlon May does love to run so we'll see what he can do, but our running game will primarily be in the hands of Donnell Cash while we tweak and jigger our playbook to best take advantage of what offensive assets we do have.

-20-

[beargrowlz]

LA Times
Summer 2008

. . . and now for our beloved Trojans. It seems the administration over at Southern Cal has gone truly mad. In their new coach they've brought in a coach from one of those elitist, east coast bias teams. But worse than that, this one is determined to drive our beloved Trojans back into the stone ages - scrapping the run & shoot and replacing it with a wishbone no less.

It's as if he thinks the forward pass should be illegal or something.

God help USC.

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2008 Season

WEEK 1
Off week.
Preseason USC RANK: #14

I'm a little bit surprised to be ranked so highly given the disastrous year this program had last season and the lack of returning starters - though given the horrid year the Trojans had in 2007, perhaps the lack of returning starters is a good thing.

Spent the week making first recruiting contacts, emphasizing high ranked kids in California and RB's and running QB's across the nation. It's going to take some getting used to that I can't be a bottom feeder anymore and have to score some major successes in landing highly ranked recruits or this program will flounder.

A few of the recruits we'll be working really hard to land are RB Eric Hardee out of Illinois, OG Neal Reaves here in Caly, QB Brandon McHenry from Illinois and wideout Ray Grier from the golden state.

* * *


WEEK 2
@ #19 Texas (0-0) *TV4*
(Texas -6) USC RANK: --

Fell out of the top 25, which is a good thing because I don't really think we belong there. I'm surprised the Longhorns are only favored by 6 - my first impression of us is that we're only a middling team. But there isn't much past performance to go on as almost all of our 22 starters are first time starters this season.

Pursuing quite a few kids in the Rivals.com top 100. I don't really know what to expect, but we're going after them doggedly. Also really beating the bushes here on the gold coast, lots of talent here.

In our opener we hung with the Horns the entire game, losing 20-15. We couldn't punch the ball in the endzone, redshirt sophomore Kicker Shawn Henson booted 5 FG's as QB Marlon May had a poor day passing. Donnell Cash did have a good day rushing the ball in his first collegiate game, carrying the ball 26 times for 116 yards, and wideout Thurm Whelan made 7 catches for 128 yards. MLB Steve Kinney was a standout on defense with 12 tackles and 3 assists.

Senior DE T.J. Pritchett went down with a broken wrist and is expected to miss 12-15 weeks. Not good news.

PAC 10 (0-0-0), Overall (0-1-0)

* * *


WEEK 3
@ #20 Hawaii (1-0)
(Hawaii -2) USC RANK: --

No TV this week as we face off against the University of Hawaii. If nothing else it's a heckuva fun roadtrip.

The way we played Texas was encouraging. Be interesting to see how we bounce back this week on the road. I don't think Hawaii's in the same class as the Longhorns, but I don't have a good enough feel for my Trojans yet to know what to expect.

Intensified recruiting efforts on kids already contacted and have quite a few scholarship offers out. Started looking at defensive backs as that's another area of weakness that we need to address for the future - especially with Hunter Lelie graduating this year.

The game this week turned out to be another defensive struggle as we couldn't get anything going at all offensively. But Marlon May managed to avoid turnovers, Donnell Cash punched in 1 TD - though he was held to under 100 yards, and a 4th quarter FG by Shawn Henson won it for us 10-7.

The one offensive bright spot for us was once again widfout Thurman Whelan, who had 6 catches for 129 yards. Backup DE Don Briggs, filling in for the injured T.J. Pritchett, had 8 tackles and 2 sacks.

A good win for us, though we're having a lot of trouble offensively so far.

PAC 10 (0-0-0), Overall (1-1-0)

* * *

WEEK 4
Off week.
USC RANK: --

We're off this week before we hit the meat of our schedule, so we'll be recruiting some and tweaking our offensive game plan to try and add some finesse running and some options to it.

Mack Wilkins, a highly rated (88+) CB from Modesto is on campus visiting this week. We've got some strict competition for this young man however, as UCLA, Georgia, Michigan and Texas are also all pursuing him. It'll be very difficult to land him but we're going to try as hard as we can. He comes from a solid, though not spectacular HS program (58).

Peeked in at my old team at Keene State and they're off to a 2-1 start, beating Air Force and UAB and losing to Washington. Good to see them playing well.

PAC 10 (0-0-0), Overall (1-1-0)

* * *

WEEK 5
vs. Arizona State (1-2-0)
(USC -9) USC RANK: --

The Sun Devils are coming into the Rose Bowl as we play our first home game of the season. We're big favorites and I hope that portends good things for us.

No decisions on the recruiting front as of yet, but we keep plugging away. We're pursuing some really highl;y ranked kids, so it's a big gamble. But in order to rebuild this program to the level it should be, we have to aim high.

We head into the game against ASU pretty banged up. Starting CB Anthony Crayton is going to be out a year and his career may be over with a degenerative hip condition. TJ Pritchett remains out and MLB Steve Kinney had his knee scoped this week and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.

Wow, was I overwhelmed. When I was at KSC, best crowds we had at home were around 18,000. We sold every seat in the house for today's game - all 92,000 of them. What a feeling to play in front of that many people. And the boys didn't disappoint, winning 31-24 mostly on the arm of QB Marlon May, who went 19/36 for 381 yards and 2 TD's. Marlon also added 49 yards rushing out of the flexbone.

May's primary targets on the day were Thurm Whelan, who had yet another big day, grabbing 7 passes for 116 yards and 5th year senior Jumbo Alabasso, who made 5 catches for 137 yards and 1 TD. The Trojan D picked off 3 passes and also added 2 sacks. A good win to start our PAC-10 schedule.

PAC 10 (1-0-0), Overall (2-1-0)

* * *

WEEK 6
@ Oregon State (1-2-0) *TV5*
(USC -14) USC RANK: #18

Well, we're back in the top 25 this week and here's hoping we stay there. Still got a lot of kinks to work out in the offense, but the defense has been reliable even suffering through some injuries.

No good news on the recruiting front, just a couple of rejections. Was a bad game this week, we got completely shutdown, and shutout. OSU beat us 27-0 and we couldn't get a thing going. Marlon May couldn't hit anyone and we had no running game. The only bright spot was the play of MLB Perry Merriman, who made 11 tackles with assists on 5 more.

We've got a long way to go.

PAC 10 (1-1-0), Overall (2-2-0)

* * *


WEEK 7
vs. #16 California (4-0-0) *TV4*
(CAL -5) USC RANK: --

We lost 2 highly prized RB's - one to UCLA which really hurts, but we did get one committment his week. Terrance Adjemian, a cornerback from Des Arc High School in Des Arc, Arkansas, signed a letter of intent to play for the Trojans next season. Adjemian is rated 86+ and is a strong man-to-man defender. He may have to redshirt for a year as we think he'll be a little raw.

Another dismal performance offensively as QB Marlon May threw 5 INT's despite throwing only 22 passes as we get hammerred at home 45-17. No running game whatsoever. None. Nada. Nil.

PAC 10 (1-2-0), Overall (2-3-0)

* * *


WEEK 8
@ Oregon (2-4-0)
(USC -7) USC RANK: --

Some good news on the recruiting front as we land Neal Reeves (85+), an offensive guard from Burroughs High School in Burbank, California and Johnny Coles (100--), an inside linebacker from Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa, California. Lost a couple more players to UCLA, that's not going to set well with the alumni.

Another big loss, 31-17 this time to Oregon. We just don't have the hosses on offense yet to run this game, and our defense is missing several key players.

Still, I hear there's already a "firebeargrowlz.org" web site set up. Thurman Whelan played well making 6 catches for 148 yards, but that's about all that went right for us today.

PAC 10 (1-3-0), Overall (2-4-0)

* * *


WEEK 9
@ Stanford (5-2-0)
(Stanford -3) USC RANK: --

My old friends at Keene State are playing well, off to a 5-1-0 start as they enter the meat of the NNE schedule. But, at least the weather is warm here.

Just more rejections from recruits this week. I'm going to get crucified unless I land quite a few more bigtime players.

Still couldn't get any kind of running game going, but defense and special teams were clicking today as we beat The Cardinal 45-17. Jumbo Alabasso ran a kick back for a TD and we picked off 4 Cardinal passes, one of which was run back for a TD by safety Quentin Kaesviharn. Thurm Whelan had a TD reception and TJ Pritchet made his way back into the lineup with a sack.

Much needed win for us on the road.

PAC 10 (2-3-0), Overall (3-4-0)

* * *


WEEK 10
@ Washington State (4-3-0)
(WSU -5) USC RANK: --

We landed a couple more recruits this week, though with mixed scouting reviews. Ben Burroughs (100--), a defensive tackle from Livingston High School in Livingston, California and Mack Wilkins (88+), a cornerback from Modesto High School in Modesto, California both committed to us this week. Wilks has decent athletic prep and may become a contributor as early as next year.

Freshman Donnell Cash finally broke loose this week, rushing for 209 yards on 30 carries. Cash took it to the house 3 times and easily had his best game of the season leading the Trojans to a 34-24 victory. Here's hoping that as he grows more and more accustomed to this offense his promise shows through more and more.

PAC 10 (3-3-0), Overall (4-4-0)

* * *


WEEK 11
vs. Arizona (3-5-0)
(USC -14) USC RANK: --

Landed two more recruits this week in Antoine Dromeshauser (82-), a running back from Pioneer High School in San Jose, California and Steve Strickland (98--), a defensive end from Conway High School in Conway, Arkansas. Both have holes in their game our scoputs didn't perceive, hopefully they won't be too badly flawed.

Offensive Coordinator Will Marvell knows a good thing when he sees it and he ran Donell Cash to death today, calling his number 38 times as Cash had another 200 yard rushing game. That was all the offense we could find though, but LT Kevin Segers and OC Clifton Ferrell dominated the line of scrimmage enough for us to eek out a 17-7 win over the Wildcats. Our defense picked off 3 Arizona passes to shutdown their offense.

PAC 10 (4-3-0), Overall (5-4-0)

* * *

WEEK 12
@ Notre Dame (8-1-0)
(ND -18) USC RANK: --

Roderick King, a quarterback from Barstow High School in Barstow, California has signed a letter of intent o play for the Trojans next fall. King is a running QB who was a little overrated by our scouts (82-) but we think he can still make a contribution.

We stuck close to the Irish but a 4th quarter collapse in which they outscored us 21-7 resulted in a 31-27 loss to Notre Dame. Will Marvell seems determined to up the ante each week, calling Donnell Cash's number 44 times this week. Cash ran for 144 yards and 1 TD and Marlon May threw 2 TD passes.

That'll close out our schedule except for the big inner-city battle against UCLA.

PAC 10 (4-3-0), Overall (5-5-0)

* * *


WEEK 13
vs. #15 UCLA (7-3-0) (PAC-10) *TV5*
(UCLA -9) USC RANK: --

Last year USC finished 3-5-0 in conference and 5-7-0 overall. We've already bettered the conference win total and a win against UCLA would better the overall mark as well and give us at worst a 3rd place finish in the PAC 10 -- a significant improvement over last year.

Wideout Thurm Whelan managed a 45 yard run for a TD but that was about all the offense we could get going as we lost to UCLA 27-24. QB Marlon May went down with repetative concussion syndrome and he'll be out for over a year -- sadly that'll likely finish his career.

My old team at Keene State went 10-1-0 and 7-0 in conference to finally win the NNE. Maybe I was holding them back. Good for them to finally pull it off and a #14 national ranking to boot.

PAC 10 (4-4-0), Overall (5-6-0)

* * *


WEEK 14
Off week.
USC RANK: --

Bryant Hudson (57+), a center from Oak Park-River Forest High School in Oak Park, Illinois, has signed a letter iof intent to play for USC next season. I can't help but feel that this year's recruiting class is an abject failure. We lost too many players to UCLA and were never really in the hunt for others. It has been quite an adjustment in the different recruiting echelons that I didn't quite make well enough this year. Hopefully next year will be better.

PAC 10 (4-4-0), Overall (5-6-0)

* * *


CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK
Off week.
USC RANK: --

Landed another mid-level recruit this week as Rob Mascorella, an outside linebacker from Los Altos High School in Hacienda Heights, California has agreed to play for us next year. Mascorella is an underrated OLB adept at stopping the run.

PAC 10 (4-4-0), Overall (5-6-0)

* * *


MINOR BOWL TIER
Off week.
USC RANK: --

Landed our final two recruits this week, at least giving us some depth. Brad Berberich (85--), a running back from Emmonak High School in Emmonak, Alaska and K.C. Humphrey (62--), a safety from Largo High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, have signed letters of intent to play for USC next season.

Still a very disappointing recruiting season.

PAC 10 (4-4-0), Overall (5-6-0)

* * *


MAJOR BOWL TIER
Off week.
USC RANK: --

5 or 6 of our kids, including Donnell Cash, are in danger of failing classes. Looks like I am going to have to take charge of time management here.

PAC 10 (4-4-0), Overall (5-6-0)

* * *


FOUR STAR TIER
Off week.
USC RANK: --

PAC 10 (4-4-0), Overall (5-6-0)

* * *


NEW YEAR'S TIER
Off week.
USC RANK: --

PAC 10 (4-4-0), Overall (5-6-0)

* * *


NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Off week.
USC RANK: --

11-0 Penn State defeated 12-0 Texas A&M 33-7 to win the National Championship. QB Norman Wallek from Notre Dame won the Heisman.

PAC 10 (4-4-0), Overall (5-6-0)

-20-

[beargrowlz]

LA Times
Fall, 2008

. . . and now regarding our once proud Trojans. Coach Bear Growlz spent 2008 trying to force players into a system where they simply didn't fit, where no one fits today. The wishbone went out in the 1970's. Today's game is about high tech planning, speed and a big time aerial attack. Coach Growlz is a relic of the past, a past when big time college football was played on small fields amidst ivy covered walls. He's out of place here in southern California, and even the fans realize it, having created a site on the world wide web called "firebeargrowlz.net".

The name says it all.

* * *

Posts from Message Board
@ firebeargrowlz.net

Poster: Vegamite
Posts - 1,234,673

The guy is crazy I tell you, stupid. He thinks we should run the ball every down. This ain't Harvard-Yale u noobz.

And why am I banned?

How come I keep getting banned?!?


Poster: Airpup
Posts - 73,292

Relax, you're not banned. But 44 carries for Cash is just way too many.


Poster: Father Pesky
Posts - 2,473,902

He doesn't belong here. He should go back east where he belongs so we can win a national championship!


Poster: Father Pesky
Posts - 2,473,903

Vega.

And why is Vegamite banned?


Poster: Father Pesky:
Posts - 2,473,904

Vega.

And the SEC sucks too!

* * *

[aztarheel]

Nice read so far ... good luck at USC! I'll be following this one ...

AZ

[beargrowlz]

Aztarheel,

Thanks! Glad to know people are reading and enjoying it.

I had never done one of these before, but one thing that fascinates me is how much more real the team, situation, and players become, how much more immersed you become when you actually sit down and take the time to write up what is going on so other people can understand what is happening.

That's added a lot of enjoyment to the game for me.

Thanks again,
--Bear

[beargrowlz]

2008 Season Review and Summary


In many ways, 2008 was a lost season. The staff knew going into the year we didn't have the talent to compete. We also didn't have the talent to run either the offense or defense we prefer. We lost our one running QB to repetative concussion syndrome and our best tailback looks like he may end up academically ineligible.

Yet through all this adversity, we managed to remain competitive, moreso than the program had been under its last coaching staff. Our run defense was simply superb, people wouldn't run against us and when they did, they got stuffed - though conversely playing us was apparently known as taking a trip in the friendly skies with the amount of passing yardage we allowed.

It's going to take a couple-three years to turn this program around, and I'm not sure the fan base is willing to wait that long. But that's for another day.

My most difficult problem this season was the transition from competing for mid-level players and snagging the occassional high ranked regional stud into having to compete with all the national programs for the highest ranked recruits in the nation. Interestingly enough, I feel I may have shot too high, that I should have pursued some of the same players I did while at Keene State and not spent so much time on so many highly ranked players.

Time will tell I suppose. I was stunned to hear that TCY Today rated our recruiting class #13 in the country. Particularly so as I was feeling very disappointed in it and felt I had botched it. But it's nice to know someone thinks ya done good.

Frankly as regards the roster and lineup, I'm not sure where we stand heading into next year. I felt Lead Scout Oliver Henry's scouting was at best spotty and at many times circumspect. I'm not certain I have enough confidence in him to bring him back next season.

We went with the flexbone this year, and it's pretty safe to say that's what we'll use again in 2009.

In any case, I feel our performance on the field was surprisingly competitive and that this time next year we'll have a better feel for the program and have taken some major steps to return the program to national power status.

* * *


The College Years
2008 Summary for the University of Southern California Trojans
PAC-10 Conference
Head Coach: Bear Growlz (1st yr)
Offensive Coordinator: Will Marvell (1st yr)
Defensive Coordinator: Bucky Riley (1st yr)
Syndicate Coordinator: Pete Prior (10th yr)
Lead Scout: Oliver Henry (1st yr)

Record: 5-6 PAC-10 Record: 4-4-0
Rank: 54 PAC-10 Finish: 4th

Southern California Team Rank
Rushes 449 39 (T)
Rushing Yards 1459 66
Yards Per Carry 3.24 90 (T)
Pass Attempts 292 83 (T)
Completions 151 88
Passing Yards 2155 66
Yards Per Attempt 7.38 47 (T)
3rd Down Conversions 31.9 86
Points Per Game 21.5 76 (T)
Turnovers 24 81 (T)
Turnover Margin -4 79 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 330 1
Rushing Yards 866 2
Yards Per Carry 2.62 7
Pass Attempts 370 113
Completions 179 64 (T)
Passing Yards 2636 104
Yards Per Attempt 7.12 67
3rd Down Conversions 32.4 39 (T)
Points Per Game 23.6 61 (T)
Turnovers 20 72 (T)

Primary Formation: Flexbone Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
2 15 at TEXS (3) 20
3 10 at HAWI (19) 7
5 31 AZST (89) 24
6 0 at ORST (87) 27
7 17 CALI (8) 45
8 17 at OREG (79) 31
9 45 at STAN (36) 17
10 34 at WAST (59) 24
11 17 ARIZ (98) 7
12 27 at NODM (4) 31
13 24 CLLA (12) 27

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
17 May QB 268 139 1970 7.35 8 10
10 Denton QB 24 12 185 7.70 2 4
Team --- 292 151 2155 7.38 10 14

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
42 Cash RB 286 1127 3.94 9 80 78
17 May QB 91 74 0.81 1 36 153
30 Ferentz RB 37 78 2.10 3 13 20
Team --- 449 1459 3.24 14 136 268

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
80 Whelan WR 101 48 895 18.6 273 3
81 Alabaso WR 63 29 520 17.9 238 3
31 Dandron FB 56 33 311 9.4 145 0
30 Ferentz RB 32 20 210 10.5 87 0
42 Cash RB 28 17 129 7.5 86 1
88 Walyuchow WR 11 4 90 22.5 90 3
Team --- 292 151 2155 14.2 919 10

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
34 Lyle S 66 21 0.0 13 5 4
99 Merriman ILB 51 20 1.0 11 2 5
24 Kaesviharn S 41 15 0.0 10 2 12
20 Lelie CB 39 10 0.0 2 4 7
96 Reger OLB 37 17 0.0 9 2 9
94 Burgess DT 33 20 2.0 9 0 0
77 Turner DT 33 15 5.0 13 0 0
36 Norton CB 27 5 0.0 2 1 7
93 Briggs DE 26 9 9.0 13 0 0
51 Fedo OLB 24 10 0.0 5 1 1
75 Collins DE 23 5 4.5 11 0 0
44 Kinney ILB 23 6 0.0 3 0 3
29 England S 19 3 0.0 2 2 2
90 Pritchett DE 17 4 4.0 8 0 0
81 Alabaso WR 16 0 0.0 0 0 0
80 Whelan WR 15 0 0.0 0 0 0
40 Gonzalez CB 11 6 0.5 1 0 1
Team --- 552 171 26.0 112 19 51


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2009 PRESEASON


Winter, 2009

Neglected to mention our individual award winners from 2008 in my season wrapup. Tailback Donnell Cash was named to the Freshman All-America Team. Cash was also named PAC-10 Offensive Freshman of the year. OLB Kevin Fedo was named PAC-10 Defensive Freshman of the year two good signs for the future.

Graduating senior CB Hunter Lelie was the only Trojan to be named 1st Team All PAC-10. Redshirt seniors OC Clifton Farrell and OT Kevin Segers won second team honors. Farrell and Segers were joined by MLB Perry Merriman and OLB Claude Reger in being named to the Academic All-PAC 10 team.

As I noted in my season review, TCY Today ranked this year's recruiting class 13th in the nation. Maybe I was just too close to it and my view was colored by the disappointment in losing so many recruits to UCLA (TCY Today ranked their class #1). In any case, only UCLA had a better recruiting class in the PAC-10 than us according to TCY Today. Here's a look at the class.


The College Years
2008 USC Recruiting List, Worksheet View

Player Pos ST Visit Cost Dist. Fit Score
$$King, Roderick QB CA 264 93 83
$$Dromeshauser, Antoine RB CA 332 297 92
##Berberich, Brad RB AK 1363 2958 66
##Hudson, Bryant C IL 1105 1760 94
**Reeves, Neal G CA 236 7 99
$$Strickland, Steve DE AR 979 1485 81
$$Burroughs, Ben DT CA 321 265 91
$$Coles, Johnny ILB CA 363 389 83
##Mascorella, Rob OLB CA 242 26 90
$$Wilkins, Mack CB CA 329 289 84
##Adjemian, Terrance CB AR 981 1540 75
##Humphrey, K.C. S MD 1193 2347 83

Player Scout Phone Visit Emphasis Status
$$King, Roderick 82- 4 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
$$Dromeshauser, Antoine 82- 2 1 Prest*/Dist Committed *
##Berberich, Brad 85-- 4 4 Dist*/Prest Committed *
##Hudson, Bryant 57+ 2 1 Prest*/(DistCommitted *
**Reeves, Neal 85+ 3 2 Prest*/Acad Committed *
$$Strickland, Steve 98-- 2 1 Dist/Prest Committed *
$$Burroughs, Ben 100-- 4 2 Prest*/Acad Committed *
$$Coles, Johnny 100-- 3 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
##Mascorella, Rob 62+ 3 2 Prest*/Dist Committed *
$$Wilkins, Mack 88+ 5 3 Prest/Dist Committed *
##Adjemian, Terrance 86+ 4 2 Dist/Acad Committed *
##Humphrey, K.C. 62-- 3 3 Dist/Prest Committed *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.



I guess more than a few AD's thought I'd had it after 1 year with the Trojans, as I received job offers from Clemson, Colorado, Texas Tech, Washington State, Mississippi, Southern Mississippi, Middle Tennessee State and Utah State. I politely declined them all, I've made a committment to turn this program around and we're just getting started. My wife did express her thoughts that I should at least consider the Clemson job - she much prefers the more laid back, slower southern lifestyle than we have here in LA - but I told her I just wasn't interested.

We had to agree to disagree on that point. Needless to say, she's not happy.

On a more somber note, it's official, Marlon May's career is done. He left the program and won't be able to play football again. It was the best decision for him, but I feel bad for the kid.

Donnell Cash was suspended academically as expected, along with OG Barry Humphrey, DE Rob Atkinson, DT Emmitt Boone and OLB Ernest Harvey. I'll be taking over time management this season to make sure nothing like this happens again.

As for my staff, needed to make some changes in order to step foward. I let Offensive Coordinator Will Marvell go, he was just horrible on the recruiting trail and turned off a lot of potential recruits. 39 year old Korey Butler, the Head Coach at Division I-AA superpower Georgia Southern takes his place. Korey has an excellent reputation all around and will hopefully be a big addition to the staff.

As I expressed at the end of last year, I just didn't have any confidence in the scouting reports Oliver Henry was giving me. It was a foregone conclusion that he'd be fired, and I did so. Replacing him as Lead Scout is Wally Campana, an assistant to Scott Pioli, Director of Player Personnel for the New England Patriots. Campana was responsible for helping putting together the Patriots draft board every season and is originally from San Diego, so he knows the area quite well.

The remainder of the staff remains unchanged.

* * *


SPRING, 2009

We already have a full schedule for 2009 with Hawaii and Texas coming into the Rose Bowl this season. The one PAC 10 team we don't play this year is Washington State. Homecoming will be week 12 against the Fighting Irish. Hopefully we'll be playing in front of full houses again this fall.

Here's a look at our schedule.


The College Years
2009 University of Southern California Trojans Schedule
PAC-10 Conference
Team Rank: 25
Rival: California-Los Angeles
Stadium Capacity: 92,000
Season Tickets Sold: 89,500

Week Opponent Result Attendance Weather Television
2 (21) HAWAII
3 (2) TEXAS
$$5 OREGON STATE
$$6 OREGON
$$7 at (32) California
$$8 at Arizona State
$$9 (45) STANFORD
$$10 (34) WASHINGTON
$$11 at Arizona
12 (7) NOTRE DAME
$$13 at (13) California-Los Ange

Home Games in ALL CAPS
$$-Conference Games, ##-League Championship Games, **-Post-Season Games


* * *


SUMMER, 2009

I died laughing when I took a look at redshirt freshman K.C. Humphrey's class schedule for this term -- Basket Weaving I and Professional Wrestling I. Where is Jimmy Harrick Jr. when you need him?

So I took charge of time management again - and got the program straightened out.I wish when you had a Syndicate Coordinator that's XL at academic eligibility they would make sure the kids had enough study time. In any case, I'm probably over-compensating, but even the very good students now have a minimum of 20% study hall time, the bad, bad ones 30-35%. The tedium is frustrating, but it's either that or lose players who can't pass Decibal Production I.

We worked the kids out in summer two-a-days. They'll take some getting used to new Offensive coordinator Korey Butler, particularly his deep and slow southern drawl. I had one freshman come up to me and ask what language Korey was speaking. Got to love it.

On defense we'll again be going with a 4-3. Our linebacking corps is a little deeper this season, but I'm still not comfortable going to a 3-4, and we do have two very solid DT's, Hunter Burgess and Seth Turner - both of whom graduate thos year. Anchoring each end of the defensive line will be 5th year senior Shaun Collins and redshirt senior pass rush specialist Don Briggs, who led USC with 9 sacks last fall.

In the middle of it all will be MLB Perry Merriman, who really came into his own last year. Last year's starter, Steven Kinney will back him up. Flanking Merriman on either side will be sophomore Kevin Fedo on the strong side and redshirt senior Claude reger on the weakside. Our secondary looks pretty solid this season with 5th year senior J.R. Howard playing the shutdown corner spot after coming off academic probation. His opposite number will be redshirt sophomore Harris Norton who made great strides during his redshirt year. Returning at Strong Safety will be senior Mercury Lyle and he'll be joined by redshirt junior Ted Powell, who won the job in camp. We have a lot of depth at safety, less so on the corners. Here's hoping that doesn't become a problem.

Offensively, like Donald Rumsfeld once said, you play the game with the Quarterback you've got, not the Quarterback you wish you had. Redshirt sophomore Everett McDaniel's not a great runner, and he has a long way to go with his passing, but he's the best, most polished signal caller we have, so that's who gets the starting nod. Joining him in the backfield will be redshirt junior Jimmy Schultz and 5th year senior Norbert Favenport - we'll really miss Donnell Cash here.

Due to an abject failure on my part to land a FB during recruiting, we'll be holding weekly auditions - got college eligibility left? You too can start for the Trojans at FB. Come on down.

The explosive Thurman Whelan returns at one wideout and once he gets in synch with Ev McDaniel we look for big things from that pair. Redshirt sophomore Wally Hopper had a great camp and he'll man the other wideout slot as again we run the flexbone rather than the pure
wishbone.

Anchoring the offensive line will be 5th year senior Clifton Ferrell. The left side of the line will be returning LT 5th year senior Kelvin Segers and LG Daniel Rebensdorf. Over on the right side will be redshirt sophomore Gilbert Lucas at RG and redshirt senior Warren Austin returns at starting RT. It's a solid, though unspectacular o-line.

Here's a look at the USC Roster for 2009.

The College Years
2009 University of Southern California Trojans Roster
Scout Overview of Wally Campana

Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
King, Roderick 17 QB Fr 18 65
McDaniel, Everett 2 QB So* 51 62
Wolfsmith, Irv 9 QB Sr 30 38
Gillespie, Dominic 5 QB* Jr* 24 85
Berberich, Brad 45 RB Fr 28 80
Cash, Donnell 42 RB So 72 91
Davenport, Norbert 21 RB Sr 47 77
Dromeshauser, Antoine 41 RB Fr 47 91
Schultz, James 22 RB Jr* 48 48
Gomez, Ross 25 RB* Sr* 13 13
Strobel, Bryan 38 FB* So* 10 10
Sullivan, Jeremy 32 FB* Sr* 3 3
Bernstein, Jonathan 84 TE* So* 14 14
Bullock, Grady 86 TE* Jr 20 39
Lincoln, Greg 87 TE* Jr* 6 19
Hopper, Wally 82 WR So* 69 92
Walyuchow, Dominic 88 WR Jr* 55 87
Whelan, Thurman 80 WR Sr* 72 86
Bell, Freddie 89 WR* So* 27 57
Rowley, Andrew 4 WR* Sr 10 21
Shapiro, Horace 3 WR* Sr 5 5
Farrell, Clifton 54 C Sr 79 97
Fish, Leland 53 C Sr* 29 60
Hudson, Bryant 52 C Fr 2 41
Dodsworth, Danny 50 C* So* 12 40
Doub, Johnny 71 G Sr* 31 100
Humphrey, Barry 69 G Jr* 49 99
Jacome, Neil 73 G Sr* 26 76
Lucas, Gilbert 68 G So* 48 98
Rebensdorf, Daniel 79 G Jr 39 71
Reeves, Neal 67 G Fr 13 68
Wolf, Howie 78 G So* 27 78
Austin, Warren 61 T Sr* 61 61
Dudgeon, Vinny 72 T So* 33 100
Hampton, Ike 63 T Jr* 28 58
Segers, Kelvin 62 T Sr 78 100
Whitfield, Emmitt 64 T Sr* 32 91
De Rooy, Courtney 8 P Sr* 55 91
Glover, Dennis 11 P Jr* 56 82
Andrews, Bill 14 K* Sr* 4 11
Henson, Shawn 1 K* Jr* 45 45
Atkinson, Rob 97 DE Jr* 35 89
Briggs, Don 93 DE Sr* 81 81
Collins, Shaun 75 DE Sr 64 74
Newsome, Kyle 92 DE So* 31 84
Strickland, Steve 90 DE Fr 36 82
Walton, Larry 98 DE So* 30 77
Wiggs, Irv 91 DE Jr* 35 62
Stender, Roderick 74 DE* Sr 12 17
Watkins, Rex 76 DE* Sr* 0 0
Burgess, Hunter 94 DT Sr 61 97
Burroughs, Ben 95 DT Fr 27 83
Dawson, Cary 65 DT Jr 33 87
Turner, Seth 77 DT Sr 59 88
Boone, Emmitt 66 DT* So* 22 58
Jacome, Karl 55 DT* Jr* 7 7
Strickland, Victor 70 DT* Sr* 17 23
Coles, Johnny 59 ILB Fr 41 100
Hopper, Adrian 48 ILB So* 36 74
Kinney, Steven 44 ILB Sr* 43 80
Merriman, Perry 99 ILB Sr* 65 100
Lichtenberger, Grant 46 ILB* So* 6 17
Ballard, Kendrick 47 OLB Sr 33 81
Fedo, Kevin 51 OLB So 52 84
Harvey, Ernest 57 OLB So 34 78
Mascorella, Rob 56 OLB Fr 7 49
Reger, Claude 96 OLB Sr* 56 65
Adjemian, Terrance 49 CB Fr 24 70
Crayton, Anthony 27 CB Jr* 47 58
Gonzalez, Chester 40 CB So 41 71
Howard, J.R. 43 CB Sr 79 100
Norton, Harris 36 CB So 66 66
Wilkins, Mack 30 CB Fr 19 84
Fanelli, Ron 23 CB* Sr 2 2
Waugh, Harold 39 CB* Sr 10 23
Webster, Mickey 33 CB* Jr* 11 11
England, Rex 29 S Sr* 47 71
Gillespie, Marlon 28 S Jr* 37 93
Harvey, Stan 35 S Sr 43 68
Humphrey, K.C. 37 S Fr 18 38
Kaesviharn, Quentin 24 S Sr* 49 90
Lyle, Mercury 34 S Sr 94 94
Powell, Ted 26 S Jr* 53 65


So what's the outlook for this year? We're preseason #23 in the BCS rankings, and the coaches have us set at #25. I think that's mostly based on past reputation, as I don't see that we've made significant enough progress to be in the top 25 - not even close. Even with Donnell Cash and Marlon May available, it'd be a stretch to say we're top 25.

My goals for this season are to win more than we lose, get a good grip on recruiting at the major college level, and maybe upset UCLA and/or Notre Dame. Those will be big steps in the right direction towards rebuilding this program.

-20-

[beargrowlz]

LA Times
Summer, 2009

. . . When you come right down to it, Coach Growlz has enough talent on this team to go to a bowl game and contend for the Pac 10 title. If he doesn't, it's a failure of him and his staff, not the talent that Pete Carroll brought in.

The guantlet has been thrown down. The Trojans should finish top 25 - the computers say so, the other coaches say so, in fact the only ones not saying so are Coach Growlz, his staff, and the dunderheads in the administration at USC that have turned the once proud Trojans into a second rate eastern elitist, field hockey playing, liberal arts college.


The Sporting News
Summer, 2009

. . . and out on ocean west, Coach Bear Growlz' surprisingly strong recruiting showing for USC was outdone only by the Trojans' cross-city rivals the UCLA Bruins. Now how long it will take for the men of troy to translate that recruiting success into on the field results remains to be seen . . . .


ESPN.com
Summer, 2009

So, who's hotter? The chick in the UCLA Bruins costume, or the USC cheerleaders? That's what's important. And we're your worldwide leader in sports, ESPN.


firebeargrowlz.net
Message Board
Summer, 2009

Poster: Vegamite
Posts: 7,212,347

Why am I still banned?!?

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2009 SEASON


WEEK 1
Off week
USC RANK: #23

We spent the off week approaching some highly recruited running QB's and RB's. Some of the players we're targeting are QB's Irving Donaldson and Benjamin Duran, and RB Johnny Boyer. Boyer's a 93+ and a 95 fitness for us, so we think we have a chance to land him.

PAC-10 (0-0-0), Overall (0-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 2
vs. Hawaii (0-0-0)
(USC -5) USC RANK: --

We open the 2009 season with Hawaii coming into the Rose Bowl this week. Offensive coordinator Korey Butler has been working since the spring to put together a more varied offense that can best utilize the skills of QB Everett McDaniel. That means fewer option plays as he's not the swiftest running QB around. We'd really like to see Whelan and Hopper become show stoppers, but that's going to take some maturing on McDaniel's part.

Spent the recruiting time this week reconfirming interest in players we have already contacted and making new contacts and offers. Because of the proximity to us, UCLA has interest in many of the same players we do. Because they are in better shape than us and have a higher prestige, we just have to outwork them in order to win some of these recruits
over.

The Trojans got 2009 off on the right foot with a 26-14 victory over Hawaii in front of a full house of 92,000 screaming Trojan fans this week. Redshirt senior Thurman Whelan had a big day, making 8 catches for 116 yards and a TD and adding 69 yards and a TD on 4 carries on the ground. It was a good day all around on the ground as the Trojans ran for 242 yards against the Hawaii defense. Redshirt sophomore wideout Wally Hopper also had a fine day, making 6 catches for 169 yards as QB Everett McDaniel went 16/28 for 294 yards, throwing 1 TD and 1 pick.

The Trojans D picked off 2 Hawaii passes and redshirt senior WLB Claude Reger had 3 sacks to shut down the Hawaii attack.

A very good way to start off the year.

PAC-10 (0-0-0), Overall (1-0-0)

* * *


MEDIA SNIPPETS
LA TIMES
WEEK 3, 2009

So maybe Coach Growlz and his staff have learned something from last year. That'd be throw the damn ball. USC has two world class receivers and these stone age coaches insist on running a wishbone, or flexibone or whatever the high fanangled eastern establishment word is.

Throw the ball=win.

Maybe they should teach that at USC.

* * *


WEEK 3
vs. Texas (0-1-0)
(USC -6) USC RANK: #15
(USC Rank is using the college coaches poll).

Our win against Hawaii must have impressed some coaches as we jumped up to #15 this week. I don't put much credence in early season polls, too many teams haven't played and one victory or loss can easily throw a poll out of whack. I was however happy with the way we played against Hawaii and look forward to the same kind of intensity against the Longhorns.

We're really making a strong effort to land RB Renaldo Summers from Middletown, CA. UCLA is also after him. We don't think he's a difference maker for next season, but with a redshirt year behind him this 84+ power back would fit nicely in our system. Renaldo is on campus visiting this week.

The Longhorns ran the opening kickoff back for a TD and never looked back, though a later surge by the Trojans made it close, USC losing at home 38-30. Wideouts Wally Hopper and Thurm Whelan both had big games, Hopper making 8 catches for 227 yards and Whelan grabbing passes for 163. They each had a TD receiving. QB Everett McDaniel threw for over 400 yards but was picked off 4 times, making the difference in the game.

PAC-10 (0-0-0), Overall (1-1-0)

* * *


WEEK 4
Off week.
USC RANK: --

More and more on the recruiting trail we're finding our main opposition is UCLA. In 2008 TCY Today ranked them as having had the best recruiting class in America - if this keeps up they're going to be bringing a National Championship home soon.

The recruits we've put the most effort into pursuing so far are RB's Summers and Johnny Boyer, and QB's Donaldson and Duran. We'd really like to land one of those QB's and one of the RB's, if not both.

PAC-10 (0-0-0), Overall (1-1-0)

* * *


WEEK 5
vs. Oregon State (1-2-0) (PAC-10)
(USC -2) USC RANK: --

We kick off our PAC 10 schedule this week against Oregon State. They've had a rough start to their year and the jurt is still out on us, so it should be a good test.

No word from any recruits yet, so we keep hitting the trail. A number of recruits were on campus this week, including RB Junior Coffey, CB Max Galloway, FB's Lance Coleman and Clyde Dotson and K Max Elstrom. We have a lot of feelers out and are cautiously optimisitic.

In the game against Oregon State, freshman Antoine Dromeshauser came off the bench and ran for a TD and Shawn Henson kicked 4 FG's as the Trojan defense shut down OSU 19-11. DE Don Briggs came back from missing a week to record 2 sacks and MLB Perry Merriman added a sack and a half. Not a pretty win, but we'll take it.

PAC-10 (1-0-0), Overall (2-1-0)

* * *


MEDIA SNIPPETS
LA Times
Week 6

Even a broken clock is twice a day. But to be fair we've been pleasantly surprised by the diversity of USC's offense this season. It's clear they have no running game, and maybe their new offensive coordinator has brought some sense to the team.

But what about recruiting?

* * *



WEEK 6
vs. Oregon (1-2-0) (PAC-10)
(USC -8) USC RANK: --

Got word back that we lost QB Ben Duran - but at least it wasn't to UCLA as the young QB decided to attend Michigan State. We did get a letter of intent from Max Elstrom, a kicker from Artesia High School in Lakewood, California. Elstrom is rated 88+ and is a long distance FG kicker, and is coming out of a tremendous atheltic program (97). Academically he's sound and I wouldn't be surprised if he challenged Shawn Henson for the starting job next season.

Freshman Antoine Dromeshauer was a no go due to injury, just as he was about to get a start. Instead of a fantastic show by the talented freshman however, the 92,000 fans at the Rose Bowl were entertained by 5th year senior wingback Norbert Davenport whose 129 yards and 2 TD's on 25 carries as USC defeated Oregon 44-7.

Defensively, the Trojans were all over the Ducks. MLB Perry Merriman had two INT's and 5th year senior DE Shaun Collins had 2 sacks to shut down the Oregon attack.

Good game all around for us. Offensive Coordinator Korey Butler seems to know just who to use and where to go to utilize what talents we do have. And Bucky Riley really has the defense playing well.

PAC-10 (2-0-0), Overall (3-1-0)

* * *


MEDIA SNIPPETTS
Pasadena Post Dispatch
Week 7

The Trojans are definately playing the best football they have played in years and it seems to be a different player contributing every week. If nothing else Coach Bear Growlz has certainly built a good team cohesiveness at USC. Whether that will get them past the UCLA's
and Notre Dame's of the world is another story altogether.

* * *


WEEK 7
@ #12 California (5-0-0) (PAC-10) *TV2*
(CAL -5) USC RANK: --

Our game against the Golden Bears is drawing heavy national attention this week. They're off to a great start this year after winning the PAC-10 in 2008, and we're going to have our hands full with them. We're going to need a real strong effort to beat Cal.

Well Renaldo Summers answered his county's call instead of ours and enrolled at the Air Force Academy - can't blame a guy for serving his country. There was good news on the recruiting front however, as Junior Coffey, a running back from Murrieta Valley High School in Murrieta, California and Max Galloway, a cornerback from David Starr Jordan High School in Los Angeles, California both signed letters with USC this week.

Coffery is an 84- with good breakaway speed but will probably have to red shirt a year as his HS athletic program is not particularly advanced. Galloway on the other hand is 82++ who might be able to help us out right away next year.

The Golden Bears were just too much for us at Berkeley as they beat us handily, 31-14. Everett McDaniel played like the young, inexperienced QB he is getting picked 4 times - but he's learning. We simply couldn't establish a running game today - we really do miss Donnell Cash in that regard.

There were some bright spots though. Thurman Whelan once again put on an impressive show, grabbing 8 passes for 152 yards and a TD. On defense, redshirt senior Don Briggs recorded 2.5 more sacks.

Not a good game by any means, but we're not in their class yet. Give us a couple of years.

PAC-10 (2-1-0), Overall (3-2-0)

* * *



MEDIA SNIPPETTS
LA Times
Week 8, 2009

Is it too early to say "we told you so?"

* * *


WEEK 8
@ Arizona State (1-4-0) (PAC-10)
(USC -18) USC RANK: --

Big favorites on the road this week against the Sun Devils. Let's hope we can go take one on the road.

On the recruiting front we continue to get committments from fairly solid players, though I don't see O.J. Simpson, Marcus Allen, Reggie Bush or Sam Cunningham walking through those doors right now. But Walt de Leon, an outside linebacker from Burton Academy High School in San Francisco, California has committed to play for us next year. de Leon is an 81+ OLB and Burton Academy's athletic programs (98) are outstanding, so Walt may very well be an impact player next season on defense.

Harris Norton returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and the Trojans never looked back, smoking the Sun Devils 45-14. Tailback Jimmy Schultz had a 100 yard day on the ground and both Wally Hopper and Thurm Whelan had big days receiving; Hopper with 7 catches for 139 yards and a TD and Whelan with 6 catches for 97 yards.

Redshirt junior DE Irv Wiggs, subbing for the einjured Don Briggs, sacked ASU's QB 3.5 times and DT Hunter Burgess added 2 sacks for good measure and J.R. Howard also returned a kick for a TD as USC dominated all facets of the game.

A very satisfying win on the road as we played well in all areas.

PAC-10 (3-1-0), Overall (4-2-0)

* * *


WEEK 9
vs. Stanford (4-2-0) (PAC-10) *TV5*
(USC -7) USC RANK: --

Very good news on the recruiting front his week, as Irving Donaldson, a quarterback from Guilderland High School in Guilderland Center, New York has signed a letter of intent with USC. Donaldson is a very mobile QB coming out of a high quality athletic program, so his prep should be very good. It's not beyond the realm of the possible that he competes for the starting job next season. Donaldson is one of the recruits we started pursuing right from the get go and figure to be an important piece of our future.

Stanford came in and just delivered a good, old fashined whuppin to us, 35-10. The only Trojan to have a good day was wideout Wally Hopper, who had 5 catches for 113 yards. The Cardinal shut everything else of ours down completely.

We were just completely outplayed in every phase of the game this week.

PAC-10 (3-2-0), Overall (4-3-0)

* * *


MEDIA SNIPPETTS
firebeargrowlz.net
Message Board
Week 10, 2009

Poster: Trojanman
Posts: 1276
What u guyz think of Donaldson. Is he 4rl?

Poster: Iheartpetecarroll
Posts: 77
We should be 7 and 0. We would be if Pete was still coach.

Poster: Iheartpetecarroll
Posts: 78
Vega.
Hey, is vegamite still banned?

Poster: Vegamite
Posts: 11,247,923
Yeah, why am I still banned?!?

* * *



WEEK 10
vs. Washington (7-0-0) (PAC-10) *TV4*
(WASH -3) KSC RANK: --

The media has been kind of gentle with us this year - I think we've kind of surprised them. Our coordinators are doing one heckuva job getting the most out of this team. Big game this week as undefeated Washington comes to the Rose Bowl.

More committments this week as our recruiting class seems to be coming together. Lance Coleman, a runblocking fullback from Kelly Walsh High School in Casper, Wyoming has signed a letter of intent with us for next year. Coleman, a 97--, is particularly adept at run blocking and will be a big step up from what we have this year.

Also signing with us this week was Dale Cunningham, an inside linebacker from Fowler High School in Fowler, California. Cunningham (78-), comes from a school with a decent athletic program and may compete for a backup spot at ILB if he isn't redshirted in 2010.

Devestated by injuries to the backfield, Offensive Coordinator tried to run a spread offense from the flexbone this week, as USC rushed only 7 times all game. The plan worked early as Everett McDaniel hit Thurm Whelan on a 54 yard scoring strike early in the 1st Quarter, but Ev just couldn't keep it up and was picked 6 times as Washington took over to the tune of 32-7. Everett Whelan had 3 catches for 103 yards and 1 TD.

PAC-10 (3-3-0), Overall (4-4-0)

* * *


MEDIA SNIPPETTS
ESPN SPORTSCENTER
Week 11, 2009

Lee Corso (LC): You just don't see that every day. Never in fact. A spread passing attack out of a flexbone offense. Good gravy!

Chris Berman (CB): I guess without any healthy backs . . . .

Susie Kolber (SK): They;ve certainly tried some innovative things down at Southern Cal this year. They just don't seem to have the personnel to win games head to head, so I think they're trying to use every trick in the book to get an advantage in a game.

(LC): And when you do that you get beat bad sometimes . . .

(SK): . . . and you pull an upset sometimes. Let's face it, they don't really have the personnel out there to win with.

(CB): And we turn to our guest, Pete Carroll, former Coach of the USC Trojans and now the Head Coach of the Los Angeles Showtime, the NFL's newest franchise. Pete, what about it? Does Bear Growlz have the personnel to win with at USC?

Pete Carroll (PC): Well, I know when I was there, I was jacked, and we were pumped, and we were wanting to win and getting jacked and pumped and all. But I think I did a pretty good job there geting everyone all jacked and pumped.

(LC): Good analysis Pete. You hit the hammer right on the head with the nail...er...yeah.

(SK): Coach Carroll? How long do you think the USC administration will give Growlz to turn that program around?

(PC): Well, it all depends on how jacked and pumped he is. If he really gets things jacked up and pumped up, it could be awhile. That's the key to winning, getting real jacked and bigtime pumped.

(LC): Right on the hammer Pete. Love having you on.

(CB): Thanks for the time pete, that's all we have for tonight.

* * *


WEEK 11
@Arizona (2-6-0) (PAC-10)
(USC -6) USC RANK: --

More recruit signings this week. Still can't land a decent OC, but adding some good young players in other spots. Warren Taggart, an offensive tackle from Beaumont High School in Beaumont, California, Walt Newman, a defensive end from Elk Grove High School in Elk Grove, California and Korey Thomason, an outside linebacker from Gompers High School in San Diego, California all signed letters with us this week. Taggart (89+) could develop into a real special player. Newman (76+) and Thomason (72-) will likely have to redshirt and gain some experience and work on their findamentals next season.

USC's Offensive Coordinator Korey Butler once again changed up things on an opponent defense, firing up a dink and dunk passing attack that resulted in redshirt sophomore Everett McDaniel throwing 59 passes for 395 yards en route to a 49-23 victory over Arizona.

Due to multiple injuries in the backfield, and the fact the two best players right now are the team's wideouts, we had Butler put together a plan that would get those two the ball as much as possible, while trying to minimize the possibility of Ev being picked off. McDaniel did throw 4 INT's, but he also tossed 3 TD's.

Wally Hopper had by far the best day of his young collegiate career, making 15 catches for 247 yards and 3 touchdowns. Fellow wideout Thurman Whelan added 9 receptions for 125 yards.

CB Harris Norton ran an interception back 59 yards for a TD as USC dominated the wildcats on their home turf.

All we're doing right now is to try and win as many games as we can, no matter how unorthodox we have to be. Even before injuries started hammerring us, we didn't have the personnel we need. So we're just trying to use our best weapons in ways that other teams can least effectively stop them. It works sometimes, and we look damn silly at others. But if it gives us a better chance at winning, then we're going to do it.

PAC-10 (4-3-0), Overall (5-4-0)

* * *


WEEK 12
HOMECOMING vs. #4 Notre Dame (7-1-0) *TV5*
(ND -3) USC RANK: --

We've got our big annual matchup against the Irish this week, and then next week we close out against UCLA. It's crunch time - time we started to play our best football. We've been hit by a swarm of injuries this year and have gone 3 or 4 deep in some positions so that we're starting walk-ons, but this is the time of year when we have to just play through whatever issues we get hit with and play until we don't have anything left. these are two teams that USC lives to beat. Trojans breath, bleed, live and die to defeat the Irish and the Bruins, and we're going to make sure that we leave every ounce of everything we're made of out on this field today, and across town next week against UCLA.

We landed a 2nd FB, a position we badly needed this year, as Clyde Dotson, a fullback from Eastern Wayne High School in Goldsboro, North Carolina, signed a letter of intent to play for USC next season.

The Trojans came out with an entirely different look against the Fighting Irish today, combining the dink and dunk passing that worked so well against Arizona with a regular QB option offense and pulled off a major upset of #4 Notre Dame, 24-10 at the Rose Bowl.

QB Everett McDaniel, who has seen just about everything in gameplans this season, went 21/36 for 230 yards passing, tossing 2 TD's and only 1 INT. Wingback Norbert Davenport, just back from injury, had 10 catches for 87 yards and a TD in addition to his 40 yards on 10 carries rushing.

MLB Perry Merriman had 12 tackles and assisted on 3 others and backup DE Kyle Newsome, filling in for the injured Don Briggs, had 2 sacks.

A big, big win for the Trojan football program.

That one feels really good. Now one more to go - UCLA.

PAC-10 (4-3-0), Overall (6-4-0)

* * *



MEDIA SNIPPETTS
LA Times
Week 13, 2009

There hasn't been this much excitement around the USC Trojans since Reggie Bush and company where here. The mayhem after the win over Notre Dame was just unbelievable. You'd think the program had won a national championship.

To be honest, we don't know what's going on at Southern Cal. Bear Growlz comes in, puts in and old fashioned running offense, then out of nowhere, his offensive coordinator will have their redshirt sophomore QB throw the ball 60 times - and then the next week he's running the option.

We here at the Times have never pretended to be big fans of Coach Growlz, or "Coach Bear" as the kids on campus call him. But we'll be the first to admit that win over Notre Dame made a statement and made us sit up and take notice. If Coach Bear can lead his Trojans over the Bruins (ha, bear vs. bear!) this coming weekend, the rest of the world might just sit up and take notice that USC football, however improbable, is on its way back.

* * *

WEEK 13
@ #12 UCLA (8-2-0) (PAC-10) *TV4*
(UCLA -9) USC RANK: --

I want this game. Every player in the locker room wants this game this week. Everything we've done this season has been improbable. Faced with challenge after challenge, adversity and injury, we've fought hard and come back to put together our best run of two seasons. I'm under no illusions. This program isn't a national championship contender. It will be, but not now. This program isn't even ready yet to contend for the PAC-10 title. But what we are is a courageous team, that has fought through all the adversity and just done whatever - and I mean whatever - it took to win a game. I'm damn proud of this team, maybe proudest of all the teams I've coached. And a win here this week would be the culmination
of one unbelievable season.

Well, the magic of this late run ran out, as no amount of scheming or plotting could overcome UCLA's dominant play, as UCLA beat us 48-3. Not much to say here, we tried to run the ball and couldn't, and passing was even worse, McDaniel getting picked 3 times before he went to the bench.

Thurman Whelen did make 4 catches for 94 yards, Perry Merriman made 15 tackles and Claude Reger had 2 INT's, but we were just outplayed and overpowered.

Still one heckuva nice run down the stretch of exciting football. And next year looks even better for us.

PAC-10 (4-4-0), Overall (6-5-0)

* * *


WEEK 14
Off week.

* * *


CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK
Off week.

* * *



MINOR BOWL TIER
KEYSTONE BOWL: vs. Air Force (7-4-0) *TV4*
(Air Force -1) USC RANK: --

We've come a long way in two short years. Our play down the stretch earned us a bid to The Keystone Bowl in Williamsport, PA, against Air Force. It's not the Rose Bowl for the National Championship, but considering where this program was when we took it over, this is a major accomplishment for USC Football.

Now to just win the game.

We finally got a running game going, as Jimmy Schultz went over the 100 yard mark, but Everett McDaniel had an awful day at QB, going 13/39 with 4 picks. He did connect on one long 63 yard strike to Thurman Whelan for a TD however.

MLB Perry Merriman had 10 tackles and Hunter Burgess and Shaun Collins each had 1.5 sacks in their last games in a USC uniform.

Tough loss, but a season to be proud of.

PAC-10 (4-4-0), Overall (6-6-0)

* * *


MAJOR BOWL TIER
Off week.

* * *


FOUR STAR TIER
Off week.

* * *


NEW YEAR'S TIER
Off week.

* * *


NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Off week.

Texas A&M defeated Nebraska, 38-17.

QB Dean Griffin from Pitt won the Heisman.

-20-

[aztarheel]

Your wife must not know much about Clemson -- they are among the most dilusional fans when it comes to football of anyone out there. At least in real life, they want national championships every year and have itchy trigger fingers when their coaches don't deliver ... As someone from the "laid back" South just had to post that ... ;)

Good luck to the Trojans...

AZ

[beargrowlz]

Aztarheel,

To be fair, she doesn't.

She's a UGA Bulldawg through and through.

Did I just say I married a dawg? Hope she's not reading. ;)


--Bear

[beargrowlz]

2009 Season Review & Summary


The 2009 season had every reason to be an abject failure and total disaster. Instead, the group of kids we had here turned adversity into a building block and put together a very solid year culminating with an upset of #4 Notre Dame and an appearance in the Keystone Bowl.

Defensive Coordinator Bucky Riley has built one of the best - second only to Notre Dame - run defenses in the nation, holding opponents to 63 YPG and less than 2 yards per carry. Our pass defense got better this year as well, and that ws a necessary impreovement as opponents just would not run the ball against us as our run D was so good.

Offensively there was no consistency this season, but that was by design. Aside from WR, we were really outmanned on offense by every defense we faced. So while ostensibly in the flexbone - the offense we'll continue running here in the future - Offensive Coordinator Korey Butler threw everything but the kitchen sink at opposing defenses in an attempt to put points on the board. I think we may have won a couple of games we wouldn't have otherwise, and we probably got blown out of a couple that would have been closer had we played conservatively. But the idea is to win games - not lose by 3 instead of 30. And I think that was the best way, with this unit, to win football games.

Both coordinators did spectacular jobs this season and I'm really pleased with their work.

On offense, nowehere did that shine more brightly than in the work of wideouts Thurman Whelan and Wally Hopper, both of who had 1000 yard receiving seasons and both were named 1st team All-PAC 10. Joining them receiving All-Pac 10 honors were graduating offensive linemen Clifton Ferrell and Kelvin Segers, both of whom were named 2nd Team All-Pac 10. Ferrell and Segers will both be missed next year, but Hopper and Whelan will be returning, Whelan as a 5th year senior and Hopper as a redshirt junior. Also receiving PAC 10 honors was oft-injured freshman RB Antoine Dromeshauser, who was named PAC 10 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year.

On defense, Coach Riley has really been working with MLB Perry Merriman to take his game to the next level, amd in 2009 Perry did just that, winning 2nd Team All-America honors. Perry had a psectacular season in 2009, making 98 solo tackles, assisting on 32 others, while recording 8.5 sacks and picking off 4 passes. Merriman will return to USC next season as a 5th year senior and we're expecting another great season from him. Perry also won All-Pac 10 honors, being named 1st Team All-Pac 10.

Joining Merriman on the defensive side of the ball in winning All Pac-10 honors was Safety Mercury Lyle, who was named 2nd Team All-Pac 10. Lyle graduates this season.

A number of Trojans were accorded academic honors, a fact we're very proud of here at USC. MLB Perry Merriman was named an Academic All-American as well as being named to the Academic All-Pac 10 Team. Joining Merriman as Academic All-Pac 10 awardees were offensive linemen Clifton Ferrell and Kelvin Segers, Punter Dennis Glover and Safety Ted Powell. These students empitomize what being a student-athlete is all about - excelling both on the field of play and in the class room and they set examples for all of our athletes here at USC, not just the football program.

All in all, I was genuinely pleased with how we played in 2009. I think we won all the games we should have amd maybe one or two we weren't expected to. We're still playing mainly with players recruited for a poorly performing run & shoot offense and I think it'll be another 2 to 3 years before we have our full program in place and can full see the fruition of the coaching staff change which brought us in in 2008. Given all that, the fact we went to a Bowl Game this year and we beat Notre Dame have to be considered major succeses.

I look forward to seeing even more of them in 2010.

* * *


2009 University of Southern California Trojans
Team Summary

The College Years
2009 Summary for Southern California

Record: 6-6 PAC 10: 4-4
Rank: 54 PAC 10: 4th Place

Southern California Team Rank
Rushes 430 45 (T)
Rushing Yards 1256 79
Yards Per Carry 2.92 97
Pass Attempts 378 26 (T)
Completions 182 50 (T)
Passing Yards 2793 24
Yards Per Attempt 7.38 49
3rd Down Conversions 35.0 66
Points Per Game 23.6 67
Turnovers 40 124
Turnover Margin -11 110

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 391 41 (T)
Rushing Yards 763 2
Yards Per Carry 1.95 2
Pass Attempts 360 109
Completions 196 104 (T)
Passing Yards 2457 87
Yards Per Attempt 6.82 50
3rd Down Conversions 28.5 20
Points Per Game 24.1 66 (T)
Turnovers 29 10 (T)

Primary Formation: Flexbone Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
2 26 HAWI (18) 14
3 30 TEXS (36) 38
5 19 ORST (114) 11
6 44 OREG (101) 7
7 14 at CALI (5) 31
8 45 at AZST (96) 14
9 10 STAN (63) 35
10 7 WASH (6) 32
11 49 at ARIZ (107) 23
12 24 NODM (3) 10
13 3 at UCLA (8) 48
16 13 vs AIRF (40) 27 ***KEYSTONE BOWL***

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
2 McDaniel QB 362 175 2730 7.54 14 31
Team --- 378 182 2793 7.38 14 33

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
22 Schultz RB 166 638 3.84 7 53 62
2 McDaniel QB 107 76 0.71 2 46 204
21 Davenport RB 100 349 3.49 3 24 36
Team --- 430 1256 2.92 14 146 358

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
82 Hopper WR 158 65 1238 19.0 400 5
80 Whelan WR 114 59 1137 19.2 324 7
21 Davenport RB 44 30 243 8.1 169 2
22 Schultz RB 19 11 89 8.0 35 0
41 Dromeshauser RB 15 3 19 6.3 9 0
Team --- 378 182 2793 15.3 971 14

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
99 Merriman ILB 98 32 8.5 21 4 9
34 Lyle S 73 21 1.0 18 4 11
26 Powell S 56 20 0.0 10 0 8
96 Reger OLB 46 20 5.5 17 2 3
94 Burgess DT 38 25 7.0 13 0 0
43 Howard CB 38 10 0.0 0 2 12
36 Norton CB 37 12 0.0 3 5 7
75 Collins DE 32 10 7.0 17 0 1
51 Fedo OLB 23 8 1.0 5 0 1
40 Gonzalez CB 22 10 0.5 1 1 1
77 Turner DT 18 8 3.0 7 0 0
65 Dawson DT 18 1 3.0 8 0 0
27 Crayton CB 18 5 0.0 3 0 1
82 Hopper WR 17 0 0.0 0 0 0
80 Whelan WR 15 0 0.0 0 0 0
47 Ballard OLB 14 4 0.0 5 0 0
92 Newsome DE 14 6 4.5 6 0 0
Team --- 664 205 50.0 147 20 54

-20-

[Marathoner]

Great thread......grew up in NH, fondly remember all those schools, KSC, PSC, the Maritime.

[beargrowlz]

Marathoner,

Thanks! Hope you keep reading and enjoying.


--Bear

[beargrowlz]

2010 PRESEASON


Winter, 2010

When word came out I was offerred the Clemson job last winter and refused, a friend of mine sent me a letter telling me to be thankful I didn't take the job - Clemson fans are impatient and expect national championships every year and it's like a coaching carousel down there.

Guess who's knocking at my door again this year?

Guess that was prescient advice from my friend.

Besides the job at Clemson, I turned down offers from Mississippi State, Southern Mississippi, UTEP and Idaho. I've got my work cut out for me here at Southern Cal and am enjoying the job. So far the administration has been supportive and we're turning things around both academically and athletically.

Sophomore RB Antoine Dromeshauser was in my office earlier this week complaining about how his girlfriend left him because he didn't have enough time to spend with her. I mean c'mon, the kid was hurt 3/4 of the season, couldn't he take her out for pizza and a beer every now and then? Jeez.

Well I sure am upset with both the NCAA and Perry Merriman. The 5th year senior has been suspended for the year by the NCAA. Seems Perry was invited to play in some college all-star game to show off for pro scouts and he went and put itching powder in the shower heads of the coaching staff. I mean, I know 2 of the coaches were from UCLA and all, but Perry man, smarten up. Heck, now we lose him for his final season. He was the heart of our defense.

As for the NCAA, don't you think that the penalty kind of doesn't fit the crime?

Suspended for a full season? Give me a break. UCLA lovers.

Big turnover among some of the most prestigious programs in the country. Miami, Florida State, Georgia, Texas and LSU among others all hired new Head Coaches. Big turnover amongst the big powers.

Our staff will remain unchaged from 2009.

I'm very pleased with the work done by coordinators Korey Butler and Bucky Riley and have full confidence in Syndicate Coordinator Pete Prior and Lead Scout Wally Campana. As for the others, again I am only replacing them through attrition. When they retire or take another job I'll replace them.

* * *


Spring, 2010

As winter turns to spring, we need to finalize our schedule for 2010. Our two year home and home contracts with Hawaii and Texas expired last season, so we'll need to fill 2 slots on our schedule. As always we have our annual showdown with Notre Dame - at the Rose Bowl this year - and we play 8 PAC-10 games. Every year we don't play one PAC-10 team, and this season it's Oregon State.

My thoughts on the schedule are that we're starting to move in the direction where thoughts of being ranked among the Top 25 are not outrageous any longer. Our conference schedule is pretty rough, a lot of good teams here in the PAC-10. Right now on our schedule we have 4 preseason top 25 teams sscheduled - Washington, Cal, UCLA and Notre Dame, with UCLA and Notre Dame being preseason Top 10. I don't think we need to improve our strength of schedule (SOS), but don't want to play any cupcakes either. So we'll be looking for some mid-level teams to play that won't hurt our SOS but that I see as winnable games.

Taking a look at the Solecismic computer rankings (where we are ranked 36th), Georgia Tech (41st) looks like a solid matchup for us. I'm also going to try and setup a rematch against our opponent in the Keystone Bowl last season, Airforce (45th in the Solecismic Computer). Those look to be winnable, yet respectably competitive games for us.

Stage 1: Air Force turned us down for a game at the Rose Bowl. Vermont is offering us a home game. They're 125th on the Sol computer, that's a lot weaker than I am looking for - remember, no cupcakes.

Stage 2: Air Force accepted a Home/Home series, with this year's game week 1 at the Rose Bowl. Works for me. Now let's see what Georgia Tech wants. Texas is offerring me a home/home with this year's game at the Rose Bowl. Texas is 4th in the Sol computer, a little tougher than I want to schedule this year.

Stage 3: Georgia Tech accepted a game at the Rose Bowl for 2010, so that will fill our schedule for this year. Here a look at it.



The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2010 Schedule

Team Rank: 36
Rival: California-Los Angeles
PAC-10 Conference
Stadium Capacity: 92,000
Season Tickets Sold: 84,100

Week Opponent Result Attendance Weather Television
1 (45) AIR FORCE
3 (41) GEORGIA TECH
$$5 at Stanford
$$6 (50) WASHINGTON STATE
$$7 at Arizona
$$8 (19) WASHINGTON
$$10 at Oregon
$$11 (14) CALIFORNIA
$$12 at Arizona State
13 (7) NOTRE DAME
$$14 (9) CALIFORNIA-LOS ANGELES

Home Games in ALL CAPS
$$-Conference Games, ##-League Championship Games, **-Post-Season Games


* * *


Summer, 2010

Once again I have been handling the study schedules and time management of the roster. The improvement in academic performance is significantly noticable after just one season. I'm hopeful this will also improve our academic reputation - though I am not sure how that is handled in the game engine. But I'm going to act as if it will, as it makes good sense.

I also want our players to graduate and be well prepared for the world outside academe. Most of my players aren't going to play in the NFL, and even those few the average career is 5 years or so? I want my players prepared for careers when they leave this program.

Once we got the kids in two-a-days I realized how different this team was going to look this season - which is both a good thing and a bad thing. On offense we should have quite a bit more punch and consistency, but on defense we lost a number of key players, most to graduation, and one to a stupid prank.

Calling the signals after a rough first season will be redshirt junior Everett McDaniel. Ev was picked 31 times last season, not good. But the coaching staff can take much of the blame for that, and clearly Ev wasn't ready to play last season. He was just all we had. He's had a good summer of workouts and development and seems to be better prepared this year.

Joining McDaniel in the backfield will be Tailback Donnell "Big Money" Cash. Because we hadn't redshirted Cash, I don't actually think he lost a year of academic eligibility (at least according to the game engine, which is treating him like a redshirt junior), which would be nice for our program. Now that Donnell has his academic difficulties under control, we're expecting a breakout year from him and some real explosive running.

Over at Wingback will be last year's starting Tailback, Jimmy Schultz. Jimmy, a redshirt senior, was simply overmatched to handle the load of a tailback in the flexbone, but should do fine as our wingback. Coles and Schultz' primary backups will be sophomore Antonie Dromeshauser and redshirt sophomore Brad Berberich. At Fullback, mostly in a run blocking capacity will be freshmen Lance Coleman and Clyde Dotson, sharing time.

Ev McDaniel's primary targets this year will once again be wideouts Thurman Whelan, a 5th year senior, and Wally Hopper, a redshirt junior. Both Whelan and Hopper were named 1st Team All-PAC 10 last season.

Blocking for McDaniel and opening holes for our backfield will be our offensive line, anchored by 5th year senior Leland Fish at OC. At Guard we have redshirt senior Barry Humphrey and redshirt junior Gilbert Lucas. Their primary backup will be a starter from last season, senior Dan Rebensdorf. At OT will be two 5th year seniors - Warren Austin and Emmitt Whitfield. Their primary backups will be redshirt junior Vinny Dudgeon and redshirt senior Ike Hampton.

Redshirts this year on offense include highly touted QB Irv Donaldson; Tailback Junior Coffey, whom we expect big things from in the future; OC Rufus Mitchell; and tackles Joseph Shipman and Warren taggart, whom we hope will develop nicely together and anchor our line for years to come.

On defense, we've gone over to a 3-4 base defense. The loss of Perry Merriman at MLB is impossible to replace, so we've gone to 2 LB's there. Starting at NT will be senior Cary Dawson. Flanking Cary on the D-line will be 5th year senior Don Briggs, who if he stays healthy - not an easy task to date - is one of the most dominating defensive linemen in the PAC 10, and redshirt senior Irv Wiggs, who septn most of 2009 filling in for the injured Briggs. This isn't as dominating a group as we've had the past two years, but we think it's solid and will give our linebackers a chance to shush out the ball.

Our linebacking corps, absent the merry prankster Perry Merriman, is led by 5th year senior Claude Reger at OLB. Joined on the outside is 3 year starter junior Kevin Fedo. In the middle, trying to fill the shoes of Merriman, are redshirt sophomore Johnny Coles and redshirt junior Adrian Hopper. Their primary backup will be former starter, 5th year senior Steven Kinney. Backing up on the outside will be freshman Walt de Leon and sophomore Rob Mascorella.

I've got to admit some concern about our front seven this season. The past two years it has been a strength, but with losses through graduation, lack of significant development of players already here, and a reliance on very young talent in backup roles, I'm not sure we can stop the run as much as we have in the past. But that'll be up to Defensive Coordinator Bucky Riley to pull together. If anyone can do it, I'm sure Bucky is the one.

Our front seven is backed up by a secondary led by shutdown corner, junior Harris Norton. Joining Harris at the other corner will be redshirt sophomore Mack Wilkins, who if he puts his work in this year could be a star as early as next season.

At Strong Safety will be 5th year senior Rex England. He's joined by another 5th year senior Quentin Kaesviharn. Backing them up will be redshirt seniors Marlon Gillespie and Ted Powell.
All in all I think we're substantially stronger on offense and a bit weaker on defense this season. I'm going to really have my work cut out for me this year in recruiting.

I don't think we're quite ready to contend for the PAC 10 title yet, but I think a reasonable expectation would be a winning record, perhaps even 7-4, and a trip to a Bowl Game.

And of course we want to beat Notre Dame and UCLA.


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2010 Roster/Scout Overview: Wally Campana, Lead Scout

Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
Checkovich, Nicky 6 QB Fr 15 45
Donaldson, Irving 13 QB Fr 27 91
King, Roderick 17 QB So* 17 65
McDaniel, Everett 2 QB Jr* 62 62
Gillespie, Dominic 5 QB* Sr* 30 85
Berberich, Brad 45 RB So* 33 80
Cash, Donnell 42 RB Jr* 76 91
Coffey, Junior 35 RB Fr 40 82
Dromeshauser, Antoine 41 RB So 43 91
Schultz, James 22 RB Sr* 58 58
Gomez, Ross 25 RB* Sr 13 13
Serban, Jessie 20 RB* So 15 15
Coleman, Lance 47 FB Fr 28 99
Dotson, Clyde 39 FB Fr 28 90
Detsch, Gilbert 31 FB* So* 3 3
Strobel, Bryan 38 FB* Jr* 11 11
Sullivan, Jeremy 32 FB* Sr 4 4
Bernstein, Jonathan 86 TE* Jr* 15 15
Bullock, Grady 87 TE* Sr 24 39
Raymond, Colin 81 TE* Fr 2 7
Hopper, Wally 82 WR Jr* 70 91
Walyuchow, Dominic 88 WR Sr* 57 87
Whelan, Thurman 80 WR Sr 76 86
Bell, Freddie 89 WR* Jr* 38 57
Fish, Leland 53 C Sr 33 61
Hudson, Bryant 52 C So* 6 41
Mitchell, Rufus 57 C Fr 6 74
Dodsworth, Danny 50 C* Jr* 19 40
Doub, Johnny 71 G Sr 41 100
Humphrey, Barry 69 G Sr* 65 98
Jacome, Neil 73 G Sr 32 76
Lucas, Gilbert 68 G Jr* 52 98
Rebensdorf, Daniel 79 G Sr 53 71
Reeves, Neal 67 G So* 22 68
Wolf, Howie 78 G Jr* 31 78
Austin, Warren 61 T Sr 60 60
Dudgeon, Vinny 72 T Jr* 41 100
Hampton, Ike 63 T Sr* 37 59
Shipman, Joseph 74 T Fr 22 90
Taggart, Warren 77 T Fr 4 100
Whitfield, Emmitt 64 T Sr 45 90
De Rooy, Courtney 8 P Sr 60 91
Glover, Dennis 11 P Sr* 61 82
Johnstone, Rickey 15 P Fr 10 42
Elstrom, Max 19 K Fr 54 74
Andrews, Bill 14 K* Sr 5 11
Henson, Shawn 1 K* Sr* 53 53
Briggs, Don 93 DE Sr 81 81
Newman, Walt 94 DE Fr 7 90
Newsome, Kyle 92 DE Jr* 38 84
Strickland, Steve 90 DE So* 35 82
Walton, Larry 98 DE Jr* 35 77
Wiggs, Irv 91 DE Sr* 56 62
Watkins, Rex 76 DE* Sr 0 0
Burroughs, Ben 95 DT So* 50 83
Dawson, Cary 65 DT Sr 48 87
Rogers, Arnie 75 DT Fr 7 40
Boone, Emmitt 66 DT* Jr* 22 58
Jacome, Karl 55 DT* Sr* 8 8
Strickland, Victor 70 DT* Sr 17 23
Coles, Johnny 59 ILB So* 48 100
Cunningham, Dale 54 ILB Fr 25 85
Hopper, Adrian 48 ILB Jr* 35 74
Kinney, Steven 44 ILB Sr 44 80
Merriman, Perry 99 ILB Sr 66 100
Lichtenberger, Grant 46 ILB* Jr* 7 17
de Leon, Walt 43 OLB Fr 39 86
Fedo, Kevin 51 OLB Jr 50 84
Mascorella, Rob 56 OLB So 14 49
Reger, Claude 96 OLB Sr 61 65
Thomason, Korey 97 OLB Fr 17 68
Dennis, Howard 58 OLB* So* 9 9
Adjemian, Terrance 49 CB So* 27 70
Crayton, Anthony 27 CB Sr* 48 58
Galloway, Max 23 CB Fr 17 76
Gonzalez, Chester 40 CB Jr 40 71
Norton, Harris 36 CB Jr 68 68
Wilkins, Mack 30 CB So* 46 84
Webster, Mickey 33 CB* Sr* 11 11
England, Rex 29 S Sr 60 71
Gillespie, Marlon 28 S Sr* 43 93
Humphrey, K.C. 37 S So* 20 38
Kaesviharn, Quentin 24 S Sr 57 90
Powell, Ted 26 S Sr* 55 65

-20-

[aztarheel]

I told you about Clemson -- they are looking for a coach two years in a row for goodness sakes ;)

[beargrowlz]

You're not kidding. LOL.:p


-Bear

[beargrowlz]

Hrrm, my two most recent posts don't seem to be showing up for me.

Test.

[beargrowlz]

dola.

We'll try again.

-Bear

[beargrowlz]

2010 SEASON


WEEK 1
vs. Airforce (0-0) *TV2*
(USC -7) USC RANK: --

High billing on TV2 for our week 1 matchup against the Air Force Academy. They'll be a pretty good test for our PAC 10 schedule as they consistently run a pretty solid program in Colorado Springs - and hopefully we'll get a little revenge for them beating us last year in the Keystone Bowl. We've got more weapons on offense and a more experienced quarterback this season, so we'll see how it goes.

Spent most of my recruiting time this week looking at top 100 players. Some of the top ranked recruits we are pursuing this season are: WR Drew Watkins from Ohio; RB Ed Saycocie from New York; QB Malcolm Moreno from Michigan; NT Earnest Pierce from Kansas and Caly products Tyrell Lyons, Doug Wischer and Charlie Schultz. If we land any of those recruits it'll be a real boon to our program. Next week we look at more defensive players and recruits close to home.

Junior CB Harris Norton opened up the game for the Trojans with a kickoff return for a touchdown asnd we never looked back, posting a dominant 38-14 victory over the Air Force Falcons.

Tailback Donnell Cash, in his first game from from an academic suspension, carried the ball 23 times for 141 yards (6.1 ypc) and set the tone for the Trojans. Safety Quentin Kaesviharn picked off a Falcon pass and ran it in for a touchdown and DE Don Briggs had 1.5 sacks. Our front seven did look weaker than last year, allowing 184 yards rushing, but only 3.4 YPC.

Only 87,700 turned out for the game at the Rose Bowl - I hope we haven't started to lose fan support. It's early in the year though, hopefully attendence will pick up come PAC-10 time.

PAC-10 (0-0-0), OVERALL (1-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 2
Off week.
KSC RANK: #7

Again the pollsters have got early season-itis and have gone off the deep end, this time ranking us #7. I think it's possible we'll be a Top 25 team by the end of the year, but we're not #7 and we will likely fall out of the Top 25 as soon as more teams open their schedules this week and next.

No time to get cocky.

Spent the week traveling around ocean west, recruiting th best kids from Caly. Our biggest competition for these kids will be primarily from UCLA, and to a lesser extent, CAL. Some of the top Caly kids we're looking at, aside from those already mentioned, are OG Ricky Estevez, DE Cornell Henry, DE Alonzo Chevrier, and OLB Junior Morrison. All of these preps are highly ranked nationally as well as within the state.

PAC-10 (0-0-0), OVERALL (1-0-0)

* * *

WEEK 3
vs. Georgia Tech (1-0-0) *TV5*
(USC -6) USC RANK: #24

Our game against the Yellow Jackets is a regional network broadcast - good to be getting the television exposure here, it can only help our football program.

The pollsters still have us the Top 25, and this is going to be a tough game against Tech. But it'll be a very good test of where we are right now in the program building process.

Spent my recruiting time visiting and calling prospects I met the first two weeks of the season. Also contacted two new kids, both run-stopping nose tackles. Our recruiting classes have been ranked #13 two years in a row, so I thinkw e're off to a good start in rebuilding this program, but we have to keep bringing in the top talent in the country as we're up against one of the best programs in the nation every year - crosstown rival UCLA. So I have grown to expect a lot of rejections because we're pursuing kids that every top program is pursuing, but hopefully we'll get enough committments for us to eventually contend for a national championship.

Our Trojans systematically put this one in the win column, taking a 7-3 lead after one, 14-6 at the half, adding another TD in the 3rd to take a convincing 21-6 lead before blowing it open in the 4th, putting up 24 4th quarter points for a 45-13 rout of the Rambling Wreck.

Tailback Donnell Cash had 186 yards rushing on 36 carries (5.1 ypc) leading the Trojan flexbone attack. Redshirt junior QB Everett McDaniel had a fine day passing, using both of his wideouts extensively, hitting Wally Hopper 6 times for 177 yards and a TD and Thurm Whelan another 6 times for 132 yards. Redshirt senior OG Barry Humphrey dominated the line of scrimmage with 8 key run blocks and CB Harris Norton ran back another pick for a touchdown as USC dominated all aspects of this game.

Can't ask for a much better start to the season.

PAC-10 (0-0-0), OVERALL (2-0-0)

* * *

WEEK 4
Off week.
USC RANK: #12

Big jump in the national polls for us all the way up to #12 after our dominating win over Georgia Tech. Donnell Cash has really been on his game and if he keeps this up might even get a litle consideration for the Heisman.

Bad news is we lost freshman FB Lance Coleman for 12-15 weeks as he goes under the knife for his shoulder. Hopefully fellow frosh Clyde Dotson will be able to carry the load at one of the weakest positions in our program.

Spent the off week traveling across country visiting kids on our short list, and calling others. (Remember, playing with a house rule of no more than 1 call and 1 visit per recruit per week). As usual, facing stiff competition from UCLA for the many of the top recruits.

PAC-10 (0-0-0), OVERALL (2-0-0)

* * *

WEEK 5
@ Stanford (2-1-0)
(USC -11) USC RANK: #20

Backup CB Chester Gonzalez was caught violating team rules. The NCAA chose not to suspend him, but in order to maintain order and morale amongst the program I'm suspending him for the year. Chester is a junior and may return for his senior year if he gets his act together.

Spent the recruiting week really pursuing the prospects at the top of our list. Nine of our top recruits have expressed they have enough information to make a decision and further contact won't help us with them. So next week we'll work the lower portion of our list and perhaps even expand our recruiting a little bit to stave off some of the inevitable rejections we'll get.

The pundits seem to have been as impressed as the polls have been with our first two victories, and they've installed us as 11 point favorites at the Stanford Cardinal. And we lived up to the spread, trouncing the Cardinal 31-3.

The Trojans had two backs go over the hundred yard mark this week, Tailback Donnell Cash was joined by Wingback Jimmy Schultz as they both had outstanding days on the ground. Cash ran for 153 yards and 2 TD's on 36 carries (4.2 ypc) and Schultz added 106 yards and a TD on carries. QB Ev McDaniel was a quietly efficient 11/16 for 172 yards through the air, hitting wideout Wally Hopper for his lone TD pass of the day. More importantly, McDaniel avoided the interception bug, which is key to him being successful.

Defensively USC pressured the Stanford QB all day as senior NT Cary Dawson had 2.5 sacks and redshirt senior DE Irv Wiggs got to the Cardinal QB twice on the day. Another dominant day for us. Korey Butler and Bucky Riley are doing a great job and have their units operating at a very high level right now.

Feeling only positive things at the moment.

PAC-10 (1-0-0), OVERALL (3-0-0)

* * *

WEEK 6
vs. #19 Washington State (3-0-0) (PAC 10) *TV1*
(USC -10) USC RANK: #13

Big, big game this week against the Washington State Cougars. the national network is picking it up as the number 1 nationwide broadcast, and we've moved up to #13 in the polls. But we can't get too cocky, it's way early, and the Cougars are a fantastic team.

Lost out on Saycocie and Schultz - Schultz to UCLA, but did land two recruits this week. Alonzo Chevrier, a defensive end from Carlsbad High School in Carlsbad, California and Junior Morrison, an outside linebacker from Vasquez High School in Acton, California have signed letters of intent with the Trojans to play for us next year.

Chevrier is a 93+ run-stopping DE and is coming from an excellent athletic program (81) and with Don Briggs graduating this year may very well be able to make a significant contribution his freshman year. Morrison is an 88+ pass rushing OLB who is also coming from a top flight prep athletic program (82). With Claude Reger set to graduate this year, Morrison may also be able to step in and make an immediate contribution on defense.

Two very good early signings this year.

I spent part of my time this week assigning some additional coaching blocs of time to help out a few players who were struggling academically. We had a couple of players with D-'s in a class and I assigned them 2 blocs, then gave a few players with C-'s 1 bloc. Still have plenty of coaching blocs for the rest of the year, but hopefully those players will improve their grades over the next three weeks.

Spent the recruiting week pestering the kids on the lower portion of our list and started making more contacts with under-recruited kids who may be able to fill some voids. While we didn't get either of those RB's, I am pleased and a little more comfortable with recruiting at this level now.

We'll see if the results bear out my confidence.

A big, big win for us this week as we held off Washington State 25-10 on nation TV. Wideout Thurman Whelan had a big day both on offense and special teams, catching 4 passes for 106 yards and a TD as well as returning a kickoff for a touchdown.

Tailback Donnell Cash had yet another fine day running, rushing for 126 yards on 26 carries (4.8 ypc)and QB Everett McDaniel was 15/28 for 226 yards, 1 TD and 1 pick. Strong Safety Rex England led our defensive efforts with 9 tackles and 1 INT.

We're firing on all cylinders right now and clearly playing the best football we have since I took over the program in 2008.

PAC-10 (2-0-0), OVERALL (4-0-0)

* * *

MEDIA SNIPPETTS
LA Times
Week 7, 2010

Well it sure looks like Coach bear Growlz has his USC trojans drinking the kool-aid over at Southern Cal, as the men of troy are off to their best start in years. It looks Donnell Cash is joining the long USC tradition of great tailbacks throughout history, joining the likes of O.J. Simpson, Reggie Bush, Charles White and Marcus Allen as he scampers and plunges through opposing defenses.

Mind you, we're still not sold on this offense of Coach Growlz, but we sure do like the results so far this year.

* * *

WEEK 7
@ Arizona (1-3-0) (PAC 10)
(USC -22) USC RANK: #11

Jumped to #11 in the polls this week after our convincing victory over Washington State. The program has really come together well this season and I'm cautiously optimistic about the rest of the year.

No surprise, but DE Don Briggs is injured again. he hyperextended his elbow and is out for aprox. 5 weeks. The career he could have had, all wasted to injury.

Three more committments from recruits this week. Nathan Padgett, an offensive tackle from Magnolia High School in Anaheim, California, Clarence Choate, a defensive tackle from Columbia Central High School in Brooklyn, Michigan and Tyrell Lyons, a cornerback from Vasquez High School in Acton, California have all signed letters of intent his week to play for USC.

Padgett is an 88-- run blocking OT from a solid prep athletic program (69). There are some holes in his game that our scouts missed, so it's not real clear when he'll be able to make a significant contribution to our program yet. We'll know better come next summer. The same can be said for CB Lyons (91--) and NT Choate (83--). Not great signings this week, but hopefully all three will have good camps and make significant contributions down the road.

Have almost maxed out contacts with our current recruiting list, though there are still a few that we'll contact again next week. Expanded our recruiting seach looking for more offensive linemen, a big need for us in the future.

Korey Butler prepared an outstanding offensive gameplan for today's game and our Trojans executed it perfectly, controlling the ball for 41 minutes and simply destroying the Arizona Wildcats 61-12 at Arizona. All three USC QB's saw playing time today and we excelled in all areas of the game.
Tailback Donnell Cash had a Heisman-worthy performance, rushing for 203 yards and 4 TD's on 28 carries (7.2 ypc) as the Trojan offensive line completely dominated the wildcat front seven.

QB Ev McDaniel only played part of the game, but when he was in there he was 11 for 13, throwing for 184 yards, 2 TD's and no INT's. Wideout Wally Hopper had a huge day making 9 catches for 211 yards and 1 TD. Four different Trojan receivers caught passes for touchdowns.
Redshirt senior Irv Wiggs continues to have a fine year in his first season as a full time starter, sacking the Arizona QB 2.5 times. Bucky Riley's defense held the wildcats to under 100 yards rushing and only 32 net yards passing.

I'm obviously very pleased with the way we're playing on both sides of the ball. We've got some very difficult games coming up though, so let's see if we can keep things going. Nice, nice streak.

PAC-10 (3-0-0), OVERALL (5-0-0)

-20-

[beargrowlz]

dola.

Seems to be fixed now, perhaps my posts were simply too long.


-Bear

[beargrowlz]

2010 SEASON - Part II


MEDIA SNIPPETTS
firebeargrowlz.net
Message Board

Poster: 2kewl2bn00bz
Posts: 0
Ur brd belonging 2 us.

Poster: Vegamite
Posts: 19,293,411

Why am I still banned?!?

* * *

WEEK 8
vs. Washington (3-3-0) (PAC 10)
(USC -21) USC RANK: #10

Still moving up in the polls as we hit #10 this week. We're really playing well so far this season. Donnell Cash has been a real difference maker this year and Ev McDaniel has come so far in just one short year. We've still got a long way to go but I'm very pleased with our performance to date.
More good news on the recruiting front as Aaron Castillo, a running back from Reedley High School in Reedley, California signed a letter of intent with us to play here next season.

Castillo is a 90+ tailback who excels at breakaway running, but he'll likely redshirt his freshman year due to the lack of athletic prep he has gotten in high school. But we expect big things from Aaron down the road.

The Huskies defense held Donnell Cash to 93 yards rushing but wideout Wally Hopper had a big day making 7 receptions for 105 yards as we defeated Washington 27-17 in the Rose Bowl. QB Ev McDaniel went 19 for 31, throwing for 227 yards 1 Td and a pick. NT Cary Dawson applied pressure to the Washington QB all day recording 2 sacks and Strong Safety Rex England made 7 tackles and assisted on 2 others.

Not a pretty win, but we'll take it.

PAC-10 (4-0-0), OVERALL (6-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 9
Off week.

Good time of the season for a break - first time we've had a week off in the middle of our schedule like this. I spent much of the time assinging coaches to work with players who have D's or D+'s in classes. That drops me down to about 15 coaching blocs left for the rest of the season. We've got one kid who's getting a D+ in Pro Wrestling. Oy.

Outstanding news as we land Malcolm Moreno, a quarterback from Annapolis High School in Dearborn Heights, Michigan. Moreno will have to redshirt his freshman year as his SAT score was lame, but he has happy feet and ran for 988 yards in 9 games his senior year as a QB. Malcolm is rated a 95+, so if we can get his academics straightened out we may have just landed the QB who can take us to the promised land of a national championship. We'll have to work really hard with him on his academics however.

Also signing letters of intent with us this week were Ronald Wheeler, a (91+) wide receiver from Battle Mountain High School in Battle Mountain, Nevada, and Howie Greene, an (89-) offensive tackle from Leavenworth High School in Leavenworth, Kansas.

A very successful week on the recruiting front.

Spent the week looking around California for kids who might turn out to be last minute scholarship offers or walk-ons. Also recruiting a WR or two to join the program as we've had a lot of success this year with the flexbone and having good wideouts is crucial to that.

PAC-10 (4-0-0), OVERALL (6-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 10
@ Oregon (6-2-0) (PAC 10) *TV2*
(USC -5) USC RANK: #8

Well, we've raised expectations about as high as they can be raised now. We've climbed to #8 in the national rankings and are favored on the road against a very solid Oregon team. This has all happened a year or two sooner than I expected, but we're playing very good football, so here's hoping we keep this up.

We landed two more recruits this week: Willie Davison, a wide receiver from Newport High School in Bellevue, Washington and Mark Powell, a center from Southridge High School in Miami, Florida. Davison is a 93- wideout that comes from a mid-level athletic program (40). He probably could make a contribution as early as next season off the bench, but we may redshirt him and get him some more time to develop. Powel is a 90- OC and is coming from a poor athletic program, so he'll likely redshirt next year to gain an extra year's development.

Bad news as widfeout Thurman Whelan had his knee scoped after last week's game. He'll likely miss the rest of the year. He'll be replaced by redshirt senior Dominic Walyuchow who has been itching on the bench for 3 years for a chance to show what he can do - now he'll get that chance.

While we wait for the other recruits we're pursuing to make decisions, we've been out hunting for more prospects to bring in on defense and invited quite a few 70-80ish players to come visit campus. We'll see what happens, as we have 5 slots open in this recruiting class.

Tailback Donnell Cash just completely took over this game for the Trojans aboth running and receiving as he ran for 153 yards on 30 carries (5.1 ypc) and caught 8 passes for 136 yards and a TD as USC pulled off a big win over a tough oregon squad, 26-21. Wideout Wally Hopper also had a big day, catching 2 TD passes and had 96 yards receiving.

One has to wonder if Cash will receive serious Heisman consideration this year. Already through 7 games he has gone over the 1000 yard mark rushing while averaging 5 yards per carry and runnign for 11 TD's. Cash has also made 17 receptions for another 227 yards anmd 1 TD. What a terrific year he is having, and if he does get serious attention for the Heisman it'll be well deserved.

PAC-10 (5-0-0), OVERALL (7-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 11
HOMECOMING vs. #8 California (7-1-0) (PAC 10) *TV3*
(USC -12) USC RANK: #6

We keep climbing in the rankings, we're at #6 now and have a showdown with the Golden Bears this week. Cal is a very good team and this will be a very big challenge for us. Now's the time for us to step up to the challenge and win some big ones.

Some bad news on the injury front as Strong Safety Rex England is out and having his knee scoped. Injuries haven't been too, too bad this year, mainly because we've added depth over the past two years.

We landed another pretty good player this week as Brian Robinson, a wide receiver from Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa, California committed to USC. Robinson is rated a 73+ receiver and comes from a very solid prep program both athletically (73) and academically (91), so we suspect he may very well make a contribution as a freshman with Thurman Whelan's graduation.

Continuing inviting some defensive recruits in for visits, mainly to look at as walk-ons, though we've had a lot of acceptances there may not be any spots for these walk on recruits. We'll see what happens the next two weeks.

What a shootout at the Rose Bowl. Tailback Donnell Cash had another great day, running for 142 yards on 26 carries (5.4 ypc)while adding 5 catches for 81 yards and a TD, and wideout Wally Hopper had 5 receptions for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns but we fell just short, losing to CAL 38-35.

QB Ev McDaniel had a hot and cold day, going 18/34 for 352 yards and tossing 4 TD's, but he also threw 3 picks. If Ev could just outgrow the INT's . . . .

Still we played well against one of the best teams in the nation. We've come a long, long way since we took over this program, and we take a step further along the road to a national championship every day.

PAC-10 (5-1-0), OVERALL (7-1-0)

* * *



WEEK 12
@ Arizona State (6-2-0) (PAC 10) *TV3*
(USC -9) USC RANK: #16

Dropped to #16 in the polls this week after our close loss to CAL, but we're still favored over ASU on the road. We've been all over national TV this year and that's great exoposure for our program.

OLB Kevin Fedo went down, victim to the injury bug and he'll miss some time. We lost our FG kicker as well, must have pulled a muscle using the remote control or something - so freshman Max Elstrom, who has been handling kickoffs for us, will get a shot at FG's and XP's for us.

Two more committments this week from recruits. Eric Boone, an inside linebacker from Northwest High School in House Springs, Missouri and Claude Horn, a safety from Chandler High School in Chandler, Arizona have signed letters of intent o play for USC next season.

Boone is a 76+ LB from a very poor academic and athletic school, so he'll redshirt and we'll work on both his grades and his skills. He's going to be very raw but talented. Horn is a 94- safety, same situation as Boone. Both will be longterm projects for our staff.

We've got 2 recruiting slots remaining open, and 2 scholarship offers out there, as well as four players on campus whom we've invited to walk on. We've landed 8 players in the Rivals.com top 100 and it will be interesting to see how TCY Today rates this recruiting class, as I think we've done our best job to date with this class.

QB Ev McDaniel hyperextended his elbow early in the game and we had difficulty moving under the guidance of backup QB Dom Gillespie, losing at ASU 31-9.

The Sun Devils held Donnell Cash under 100 yards rushing as he only managed 63 yards on 18 carries (3.4 ypc). Wideout Wally hopper had 4 catches for 92 yards and a TD and DE Don Briggs decided to play this week - and when Don plays he plays BIG - recording 3.5 sacks, but it just wasn't enough to counter key injuries as we're now without both our QB and primary receiver.

PAC-10 (5-2-0), OVERALL (7-2-0)

* * *


WEEK 13
vs. #12 Notre Dame (7-2-0)
(USC -14) USC RANK: #22

We keep getting students failing classes walking on. What are they thinking? They should be studying. I quickly cut them. They don't need to be playing football if they're failing classes. Jeez.

Used up the rest of my coaching blocs on players who still had D's. With the emphasis on study hall we've instituted, there's really no good reason for these poor grades, but we'll do what we have to to get them through school with an education.

Terrific news on the recruiting front as Ricky Estevez, an offensive guard from Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe Springs, California has signed a letter of intent with us. Estevez is an 86+ run-blocking OG that comes from an outstanding high school program, both athletically (81) and academically (76). He likely won't start his freshman year because both Barry Humphrey and Gilbert lucas will be back, so the jury is out on whether we redshirt him or not.

Not much else to report on the recruiting front this week. Made a couple of calls and visits to potential walk-ons. At this point its just a question of whether they get a scholarship offer from a smaller program, or if our one outstanding scholarship offerree takes us up on our offer.

Guess the pundits didn't think too much of our schedule, as we've dropped to #22 and Notre Dame sits at #12 with the same record as us. We upset the Irish last year and this year we're a better all around team - so I think we can give them a good fight and stand a solid chance of winning.

Backup signal caller redshirt senior Dom Gillespie had an outstanding game in place of the injured Ev McDaniel, going 24/33 for 338 yards, 2 TD's and 1 INT in leading the Trojans to a resounding 34-7 victory in our annual game against the Fighting Irish.

It was almost as if Gillespie and fellow redshirt senior - and another benchwarmer pressed into service - spent the past 4 years drawing diagrams in the dirt and planning what they'd do if they ever got in a game as Gillespie hooked up with Wayuchow 9 times for 177 yards as it seemed Walyuchow was open all day. But for Gillespie's two TD's he connected with 1st team All-PAC 10 receiver Wally Hopper, who had 7 catches for 84 yards to go with his 2 touchdown grabs.

Heisman candidate Donnell Cash did break the 100 yard mark, though the Irish D did make him earn every yard, holding him to 114 yards on 32 carries (3.5 ypc). Cash did find the end zone once on the ground.

5th year senior Free Safety Quentin Kaesviharn had the game of his Trojan career today, picking off 3 irish passes and running one back for a touchdown. Bet that game ball is going on the mantle back home.
Good to see us bounce back in a big way against a highly ranked foe and arch-rival. Now if we can carry this momentum into our game against UCLA, that should be a good game.

PAC-10 (5-2-0), OVERALL (8-2-0)

* * *



MEDIA SNIPPETS
LA Times
Week 14, 2010

Well, well, well, the USC Trojans defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish two years in a row, are ranked in the Top 25, and at 8 wins and 2 losses have their best record since the heyday of the Pete Carroll era.

Are the Trojans back as a national power?

Their matchup this week with the UCLA Bruins will go a long way in determining just how "back" the Trojans are. A victory against UCLA will serve notice to the rest of the PAC 10, let alone the nation, that USC is back and has to be considered as a national championship threat next year.

Whatever happens though, we're looking for a spectacular game betwen these two cross-city rivals.

And that's only a good thing for LA sports fans.

* * *



WEEK 14
vs. #10 UCLA (8-2-0) (PAC 10) *TV3*
(USC -7) USC RANK: #19

Bounced back up a little bit in the rankings after cout big win against Notre Dame. Now crosstown rival UCLA comes into town and this year we might just be able to give them a run for their money.

No news on the recruiting front. We've got 15 of the maximum 16 slots in the class allowed, one scholarship offer and a few walk-on invitations still pending. Made a few phone calls and a couple of visits and now we just wait and see if anyone wants that last spot.

UCLA came into the Rose Bowl and dominated every phase of the game against us, winning 28-13 as USC could get nothing going offensively. The exciting Donnell Cash was held to 50 yards and backup QB Dom Gillespie could get nothing going throught the air.

Redshirt sophomore ILB Johnny Coles did have a good day on the D, making 9 tackles, but this game was all UCLA's, who continue their dominance over us, both on the field and in recruiting.

That's the big hurdle we have to aim for in the future - getting past UCLA.

Still, a terrific season at 8-3 and I think we can expect a bowl bid.

PAC-10 (5-3-0), OVERALL (8-3-0)

* * *


CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP TIER
Off week.

Great news on the recruiting front as Geoff Warren, an inside linebacker from Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe Springs, California, whom we have pursued since the start of the year, finally committed to us and will play for the Trojans next fall. Warren is a 66++ LB, the 66 rating being a little low but we're intrigued by the ++ I saw when I watched him play, and he comes from a high school with excellent athletic (81) and academic (76) preperation, so it's possible he could be a difference maker as early as his freshman or sophomore seasons.

No more recruiting, that fills up our class at 16. Now we just sit and wait and see if we get a bowl bid, and where we'll be going if we do.

PAC-10 (5-3-0), OVERALL (8-3-0)

* * *


MINOR BOWL TIER
Off week.

Looks like we will be going to D.C. to play in the Liberty Bowl against the Maryland Terrapins. It's a big step up from last year's Keystone Bowl.

Baby steps.

PAC-10 (5-3-0), OVERALL (8-3-0)

* * *


MAJOR BOWL TIER
LIBERTY BOWL Vs. Maryland (7-4-0) *TV4*
(USC -12) USC RANK: --

Hard to believe we fell out of the Top 25 - UCLA and Notre Dame bias no doubt.

Still, we've got a chance to prove we really belong in the Top 25 against a solid Maryland program. Haven't won a bowl game since I've been here, but I think we're got a good shot at taking this one, especially with Ev McDaniel getting cleared by the trainers to play. We'll be without Thurman Whelan however, whose knee is just too messed up to play.

Strong Safety Rex England will also be back in the lineup.

Led by star tailback Donnell Cash's 146 yards on the ground and 4 receptions for 41 yards and a TD through the air, USC made a statement victory over Maryland, trouncing the Terrapins 31-7 in the Liberty Bowl. QB Ev McDaniel only lasted the 1st Quarter until his elbow went numb - turned out to be nothing serious - but backup Dom Gillespie came in and had an outstanding day, going 16/25 for 246 yards and flicking 3 touchdown passes. His favorite target and fellow benchmate Dominic Walyuchow hauled in one of them, but the real story was another big game by Wally Hopper, who had 5 catches for 150 yards and a TD.

On defense Rex England, just back from an injury, made 7 tackles and redshirt senior DE Irv Wiggs had 1.5 sacks to shutdown the Terrapin offense.

A great victory for the Trojan program and a definite statement this team belongs in the Top 25 in the nation.

Got to be happy with that.

PAC-10 (5-3-0), OVERALL (9-3-0)

* * *



FOUR STAR TIER
Off week.
USC RANK: #15

Looks like the voters sat up and took notice.

PAC-10 (5-3-0), OVERALL (9-3-0)

* * *


NEW YEAR'S TIER
Off week.
USC RANK: #15

Lots of parties around campus. Looks like USC football is back.

PAC-10 (5-3-0), OVERALL (9-3-0)

* * *



NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Off week.

Texas A&M defended their National Championship by defeating the University of Florida, 17-14.

Wideout Terry Coffey of Notre Dame won the Heisman. Sadly of note, Donnell Cash was not a finalist. :(

Maybe next year.

PAC-10 (5-3-0), OVERALL (9-3-0)

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2010 SUMMARY & REVIEW


2010 Season Review

What a terrific season we had. The boys completely exceeded my expectations, winning 9 games, a major bowl game, winning 5 PAC 10 games, beating Notre Dame for the second year in a row, and ending the season ranked #14th in the nation. Looking back on my expectations:


"I don't think we're quite ready to contend for the PAC 10 title yet, but I think a reasonable expectation would be a winning record, perhaps even 7-4, and a trip to a Bowl Game.

And of course we want to beat Notre Dame and UCLA."


We didn't beat UCLA, but we did just about everything else and then some. QB Ev McDaniel showed tremendous progress from his first season as our signal called - wish he could run more, but that's another story - and Donnell Cash showed he is one of the elite backs in college football.

We had another spectacular year out of wideout Wally Hopper, who made All-American this yearand still has two years of eligiblity left. We made a lot of progress towards improving our kids academics - though it still befuddles me how you get a D+ in Pro Wrestling I, what, do you miss a tag in a tag team match? - but we'll keep working with those kids and make sure they get an education that prepares them for what they are capable of doing in the outside world (WWE Heel?).

TCY Today rated our recruiting class #3 in the nation this year, behind only those of Virgnia and Pittsburgh. For once it felt great to out-recruit UCLA and CAL, though those programs' recruiting classes were ranked 4th and 5th - so the PAC 10 will just keep getting tougher and tougher. But yet another good recruiting class takes us one step closer to our goal of completely rebuilding the USC football program and winning a national championship.

And this year was a giant step in the right direction.


2010 USC Award Selections

* WR Wally Hopper (RS Jr.)
- 2nd Team All-American
- 1st Team All-PAC 10

* DE Irv Wiggs (RS Sr.)
- 1st Team All-PAC 10
- Academic All-PAC 10

* TB Donnell Cash (RS Jr.)
- 2nd Team Alll-PAC 10

* OG Barry Humphrey (RS Sr.)
- 2nd Team All-PAC 10

* OG Gilbert Lucas (RS Jr.)
- 2nd Team All-PAC 10

* OT Warren Austin (5th Yr. Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10

* DE Don Briggs (5th Yr. Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10

* FS Quentin Kaesviharn (5th Yr. Sr.)
- 2nd Team All-PAC 10

* P Dennis Glover (RS Sr.)
- Academic All-PAC 10

* ILB Adrian Hopper (RS Jr.)
- Academic All-PAC 10

* S Marlon Gillespie (RS Sr.)
- Academic All-PAC 10

* S Ted Powell (RS Sr.)
- Academic All-PAC 10

* FB Clyde Dotson (Fr.)
- Freshman All-American

* QB Aaron Castillo (Inc. Fr.)
- High School All-American




The College Years
2010 Summary
The University of Southern California Trojans
Head Coach: BearGrowlz (3rd yr)
Offensive Coordinator: Korey Butler (2nd yr)
Defensive Coordinator: Bucky Riley (3rd yr)
Syndaicate Coordinator: Pete Prior (3rd yr)
Lead Scout: Wally Campana (2nd yr)

Overall Record: 9-3-0 PAC 10 Record: 5-3-0
Narional Rank: #21 PAC 10 Standing: 4th Place

Southern California Team Rank
Rushes 468 30
Rushing Yards 1910 26
Yards Per Carry 4.08 23
Pass Attempts 352 46 (T)
Completions 203 32
Passing Yards 3167 15
Yards Per Attempt 8.99 6
3rd Down Conversions 39.3 25
Points Per Game 31.2 19
Turnovers 17 28 (T)
Turnover Margin +5 37 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 356 11
Rushing Yards 1033 16
Yards Per Carry 2.90 22 (T)
Pass Attempts 378 116 (T)
Completions 179 71 (T)
Passing Yards 2441 95
Yards Per Attempt 6.45 48
3rd Down Conversions 30.1 27 (T)
Points Per Game 16.7 19 (T)
Turnovers 22 52 (T)

Primary Formation: Flexbone Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 38 AIRF (34) 14
3 45 GATC (32) 13
5 31 at STAN (92) 3
6 25 WAST (31) 10
7 61 at ARIZ (111) 12
8 27 WASH (55) 17
10 26 at OREG (43) 21
11 35 CALI (10) 38
12 9 at AZST (41) 31
13 34 NODM (19) 7
14 13 UCLA (6) 28
17 31 vs MARY (47) 7 ***Liberty Bowl***

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
2 McDaniel QB 206 123 2016 9.78 14 9
5 Gillespie QB 132 70 1002 7.59 7 5
Team --- 352 203 3167 8.99 23 14

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
42 Cash RB 339 1569 4.62 13 89 104
22 Schultz RB 62 283 4.56 1 19 19
2 McDaniel QB 30 13 0.43 0 15 67
Team --- 468 1910 4.08 16 138 254

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
82 Hopper WR 109 63 1316 20.8 427 11
88 Walyuchow WR 61 28 492 17.5 168 2
80 Whelan WR 52 26 473 18.1 75 2
42 Cash RB 43 29 362 12.4 167 4
39 Dotson FB 42 31 292 9.4 147 1
22 Schultz RB 23 15 111 7.4 60 2
Team --- 352 203 3167 15.6 1125 23

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
59 Coles ILB 62 26 0.5 14 0 4
24 Kaesviharn S 55 16 0.0 4 4 7
29 England S 42 7 0.0 9 1 4
96 Reger OLB 37 18 0.0 10 2 2
48 Hopper ILB 33 16 0.0 7 0 4
93 Briggs DE 32 11 9.5 14 0 0
30 Wilkins CB 32 7 0.0 5 1 13
91 Wiggs DE 31 8 12.0 14 0 1
27 Crayton CB 29 11 0.0 2 0 2
65 Dawson DT 28 16 9.0 12 0 0
36 Norton CB 25 10 0.0 4 3 9
26 Powell S 24 6 0.0 3 0 3
51 Fedo OLB 20 9 1.5 2 1 0
43 de Leon OLB 16 8 1.0 1 2 1
28 Gillespie S 14 6 0.0 0 0 2
95 Burroughs DT 14 1 3.5 6 0 0
82 Hopper WR 13 0 0.0 0 0 0
Team --- 591 187 39.0 111 14 59


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2011 Media Snippetts


ESPN TV
Winter, 2011

Coach Bear Growlz is a name at the top of a lot of schools' lists to take over their football programs. Rumor has it that the University of Michigan has made an offer to the Southern Cal coach. That would appear to be the most likely landing stop for Coach Growlz after his successful 2010 campaign, though another school of thought has him ending up at N.C. State, which has made no secret about pursuing the Southern Cal coach. The coach's wife has deep ties in the south and it's been public knowledge Clemson has tried to hire him the past two seasons and been rebuffed.

Of course Growlz could always stay at USC, but he runs the risk of ceasing to be a hot commodity there. He has raised expectations so high with his 2010 campaign, that anything short of a PAC 10 title in 2011 might be seen as him moving down a rung on the coaching ladder. And remember, Growlz only stayed four years at his first job, at tiny Keene State in New Hampshire.

Our bet is he "declares victory" and that the USC program has been rebuilt after his 9-3 seson and moves on and takes the Michigan job, where he'll be a lot closer to winning a national championship than at USC.

-20-

[beargrowlz]

Rivals.com
Message Board

Poster: NCST4life
Location: Raleigh, NC

Heard it's a done deal. We got Growlz. Go Wolfpack!

###

Poster: tRojAnMAn
Location: Your wallet

No way. No way Growlz is going anywhere now that USC has got that kid Moreno. Remember that name, Malcolm Moreno. He's gonna win us many a national championship all with Growlz at the helm. Mark my words.

###

Poster: Howlllll!
Location: Ann Arbor, MI

I mock your words trojan boy. And you're both idiots. Bear Growlz is coming to Michigan. I know a friend who knows a friend who heard from a friend that heard that growlz and Tom Brady had dinner the other night and Brady talked him into taking the Michigan job.

Can't beat those facts.

# # #

Poster: Vegamite
Location: Unknown

Why am I still banned?!?

# # #

-20-

[beargrowlz]

Fox Sports
Winter, 2011

At Super Bowl XLV

Tim Buck (TB): Coach, speculation is running rampant about what your intentions are for next season. Various rumors have you headed to Michigan and others to N.C. State. Can you clear it up for us? Where are you going to coach next year?

Bear Growlz: (BG): Jeez Tim, can't a guy just enjoy the Super Bowl without making a major statement?

TB: But Coach, the fans of USC, Michigan and NC State are all entitled to know what your plans are.

BG: That's a crock Tim. My paychecks say "University of Southern California" on them - well they would if I didn't have direct deposit, but that's another story. I have a job. I go into my office every day. My office is on the campus of the University of Southern California. As for what the media or fans on message boards want to speculate on, well, take it for what it's worth. I have no plans on leaving the USC job. I love it at Southern Cal and I want to bring a national championship to USC. Oh, and Leon was right. Your other side is your good side.

* * *



firebeargrowlz.net
Message Board

Poster: $$$athome
Posts: 346,758,912,942

MAKE MONEY FROM HOME! NO INVESTMENT NEEDED! THIS ISN'T A SCAM! YOU CAN DO IT TOO! ANYONE CAN! EMAIL ME 4 MORE INFO!

###

Poster: Vegamite
Posts: 227,563,881

Why am I still banned?!?

###

* * *


LA Times
Winter, 2011

So the big question is, will Bear go, or will he stay? The TV pundits insist that he's headed to Michigan or to N.C. State. The Coach himself says he isn't going anywhere.

But no one knows for sure.

We here at the Times think Coach Growlz owes it to USC and it's fans to stay on and finish what he started. The Trojans made tremendous progress under his guidance last year and we'd hate to see three long years of rebuilding go up in smoke.

When Bear Growlz first took over Southern Cal, we'll admit, we weren't his biggest fans. But even the biggest doubters have to be convinced now that he was the right choice for the job. The Trojans are on the verge of once again becoming a national power in college football, and we, eating our words, think Coach Growlz is just the man to lead them to it.

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2011 PRESEASON


Winter, 2011

Some pretty prestigious football programs come knocking on my door this winter, most notably are Michigan (90/Excellent/5th most prestigious) and NC State (80/Excellent). But I've built our prestige back up to 81/Excellent and have had some pretty decent success recruiting. I've only been here three years and already we're looked at as a budding national power. I can't really think of any place I'd rather be than here at USC right now - to see this program entirely through the rebuilding process and win a national championship here.

I turned down offers from Michigan, N.C. State, Utah, Cincinatti, Louisville, and North Texas. I informed the USC Athletic Director that I've turned down those offers and will be returning for 2011. He seems pleased - considering the football program made the 6th highest amout of money in the nation last season ought to make him happy - and I'm pleased. I like my office. It has a window. We're in southern California. The coeds wear shorts. Nuff said.

Yes, yes, I know, I'm married. Just window shopping, not actually buying the product.

In any case, all is not sunny in my world these days. I'm going to have to find a new Lead Scout as Wally Campana retired after last season. I had really come to rely on Wally's advice and scouting aptitude, it's going to be difficult to replace him.

Wally's job is crucial to the program, because not only does he scout prep stars in the southwest region of the country, but he's also responsible for maintaining scouting reports and talent evaluations on our team itself. SO as I see it, we need someone who is as well versed in tal;ent in as many areas as possible.

We find just the man, 61 year old Daryl Hester, who is at least GOOD in every category aside from kickers, where he is lousy. He's XL and VG in a number of positions. We hired Daryl away from the NFL Scouting combine, where he was one of the scouts that put graduating seniors through their paces for NFL coaches in attendence. I think this will turn out to be a good hire.

A couple of regional scouts were replaced as they retired. Pete Prior, who predates my tenure here at USC, returns in his role as Syndicate Coordinator. Pete coordinates alumni relations, academic eligibility and deals with the NCAA so we don't have to. Also returning is Korey Butler, who returns for his 3rd season as Offensive Coordinator. And back for his 4th season as Defensive Coordinator is Bucky Riley. It's a good, solid staff.

During the season I thought we were doing a pretty good job recruiting - but I haave found that sometimes you can just get too close to s situation to really know if you're doing good or not. In this case, the media thought we did a pretty good job as well, as TCY Today ranked our recruiting class 3rd in the nation.

Here's a look at the class.



The College Years
University of Southern California
2010 Recruiting List, Worksheet View

Player Pos ST Visit Cost Dist. Fit Score
**Moreno, Malcolm QB MI 1243 1997 98
**Castillo, Aaron RB CA 295 185 89
**Wheeler, Ronald WR NV 354 470 92
**Robinson, Brian WR CA 363 389 86
$$Davison, Willie WR WA 672 976 82
$$Powell, Mark C FL 1273 2396 93
$$Estevez, Ricky G CA 241 23 80
##Greene, Howie T KS 841 1357 75
**Padgett, Nathan T CA 246 36 98
**Chevrier, Alonzo DE CA 265 95 97
##Choate, Clarence DT MI 1237 1949 79
**Warren, Geoff ILB CA 241 23 87
##Boone, Eric ILB MO 988 1588 87
**Morrison, Junior OLB CA 243 29 96
**Lyons, Tyrell CB CA 243 29 91
**Horn, Claude S AZ 355 382 98

Player Scout Phone Visit Emphasis Status
**Moreno, Malcolm 95+ 3 2 Prest*/Acad Committed *
**Castillo, Aaron 90+ 4 2 Prest/Dist Committed *
**Wheeler, Ronald 91+ 5 2 Acad*/Prest Committed *
**Robinson, Brian 73+ 3 2 Acad/Prest Committed *
$$Davison, Willie 93- 5 2 Dist/Prest Committed *
$$Powell, Mark 90- 2 2 Prest*/Dist Committed *
$$Estevez, Ricky 86+ 3 2 Dist/Acad Committed *
##Greene, Howie 89- 2 1 Acad/Dist Committed *
**Padgett, Nathan 88-- 2 2 Prest*/Dist Committed *
**Chevrier, Alonzo 93+ 3 2 Prest*/Dist Committed *
##Choate, Clarence 83-- 2 1 Dist*/Prest Committed *
**Warren, Geoff 66++ 5 3 Acad/Prest Committed *
##Boone, Eric 76+ 2 2 Dist*/Prest Committed *
**Morrison, Junior 88+ 3 2 Dist/Acad Committed *
**Lyons, Tyrell 91-- 2 2 Acad/Prest Committed *
**Horn, Claude 94- 2 1 Prest*/Acad Committed *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.
The College Years
Recruiting List, Ranking View

Player Pos HT WT ST NRank ByPos StRank ByPos
$$Estevez, Ricky G 6-2 274 CA 7 1 1 1
**Morrison, Junior OLB 6-3 212 CA 20 1 4 1
**Moreno, Malcolm QB 6-2 198 MI 47 2 4 1
**Chevrier, Alonzo DE 6-4 258 CA 12 3 3 2
**Lyons, Tyrell CB 5-10 167 CA 26 3 5 1
$$Davison, Willie WR 6-0 174 WA 63 5 1 1
**Warren, Geoff ILB 6-1 215 CA 94 5 17 1
**Wheeler, Ronald WR 6-2 187 NV 88 7 1 1
**Padgett, Nathan T 6-4 275 CA 77 7 11 1
**Robinson, Brian WR 6-0 185 CA 95 8 18 1
**Castillo, Aaron RB 6-0 191 CA 163 13 23 2
**Horn, Claude S 5-11 168 AZ 438 19 10 1
##Greene, Howie T 6-4 255 KS 225 26 3 1
$$Powell, Mark C 6-2 242 FL 576 27 26 4
##Choate, Clarence DT 6-3 260 MI 425 29 21 2
##Boone, Eric ILB 6-1 201 MO 971 52 20 3

Player All-St All-US Status
$$Estevez, Ricky Yes No Committed *
**Morrison, Junior Yes No Committed *
**Moreno, Malcolm Yes No Committed *
**Chevrier, Alonzo Yes No Committed *
**Lyons, Tyrell Yes No Committed *
$$Davison, Willie Yes No Committed *
**Warren, Geoff No No Committed *
**Wheeler, Ronald Yes No Committed *
**Padgett, Nathan Yes No Committed *
**Robinson, Brian Yes No Committed *
**Castillo, Aaron Yes Yes Committed *
**Horn, Claude Yes No Committed *
##Greene, Howie Yes No Committed *
$$Powell, Mark No No Committed *
##Choate, Clarence Yes No Committed *
##Boone, Eric Yes No Committed *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.


Ten of the sixteen were rated among the top 100 recruits in the nation. We landed three players who were rated the best at their position in the nation and one high school all-american. Indeed, I think this was the best recruiting class we've had since we've been here at USC.

Other news of note: Wally Hopper has been placed on academic probation for failing a class. We were really counting on him to be a big playmaker this year, he's been 1st team All-PAC 10 the past two seasons and was a 2nd team All-American last year. He's a redshirt senior so he'll have one more year of eligibility if he can get his academic act together.

There were no coaching changes in the PAC 10 - I guess we're all gluttons for the punishment.

-20-

[beargrowlz]

SPRING, 2011

This season we only need to schedule one game. In addition to our annual game against Notre Dame we travel to Colorado Springs to play the second half of a home and home with Air Force.

Every season there is one PAC 10 team we don't play. This year that team is Arizona State.

Our game against Notre Dame is very early in the season this year. I don't care for that much, I prefer to play them at the height of the football season. But c'est la futbol americain.

Think we'll try and land a game for week 1 so we have a tune up game going into the matchup with Air Force. Looking in the 40-50ish range in the BCS rankings, I think we'll invite Boise State in for a game week 1.

Stage 1: They turned us down. University of New Hampshire wants a home and home with us at them this year. Be nice to take a trip back to the granite state and our schedule is plenty tough this year. Think we'll accept.

Stage 2: Got the home and home set up with UNH and that fills our schedule up for this year. The contract with Air Force expires after this season, but with the home and home with UNH we'll still only have one game to schedule in 2012.

Here's a look at our 2011 schedule.



The College Years
2011 University of Southern California Trojans
Schedule

Team Rank: 19
Rival: California-Los Angeles
Stadium Capacity: 92,000
Season Tickets Sold: 91,400

Week Opponent Result Attendance Weather Television
1 at New Hampshire
2 (9) NOTRE DAME
4 at (41) Air Force
$$5 at Oregon State
$$7 at Arizona
$$8 at (38) Washington State
$$9 OREGON
$$10 STANFORD
$$11 at (12) California
$$12 (36) WASHINGTON
$$13 (7) CALIFORNIA-LOS ANGELES

Home Games in ALL CAPS
$$-Conference Games, ##-League Championship Games, **-Post-Season Games

-20-

[beargrowlz]

SUMMER, 2011

Spent much of the summer setting up academic and workout schedules. It was a nice surprise to see many team members with GPA's over 3.0 - Dean's List. We still have the occassional slacker that flouders with a D- in Pokemon Training - but I could not recruit them.

It's the late walk-ons that bug me. They're failing classes and decide to come play football. It's already too late to fix their academic problems, they should be in the library not out on the practice field. Oh well, so long as there are walk-ons, it'll be a problem. Sometimes we get one with good academics and can actually use them as a role player.

Once we got got the players in summer camp for two-a-days it became evident we may take a step back this year, I'm mainly concerned about our offensive line, we're we are starting two OT's that have lots of potential but aren't as developed as we'd like - redshirt sophomores Warren Taggart and Joe Shipman. We have some more experienced tackles, but these two players have the potential to be real dominating in our running game, so it's worth the painful growth of playing them this season.

Joining the youngsters on the offensive line will be 5th year senior Barry Humphrey, an excellent run blocker, and redshirt senior Gilbert Lucas, a solid, all-around guard. At center will be redshirt sophomore Rufus Mitchell - mainly because we don't have anyone ready to play there yet.

Calling the signals will be third year starter Ev McDaniel. Ev worked hard over the summer and if he can conquer the turnover bug can be an exceptional QB in the PAC-10. Leading our rushing game will once again be redshirt senior Donnell "Big Money" Cash. Cash is coming off a 1500 yard rushing season and if the offensive line matures we can expect even bigger numbers from him. But this is where I believe we might take a step backwards - our running game might suffer because the offensive line just isn't as dominating as it was a year ago. If we notice it anywhere, it'll be in this area.

In a surprise, redshirt sophomore Junior Coffey beat out Jimmy Schultz for the wingback spot. Coffey has a lot of potential and developed pretty well during his redshirt year, so while Schultz probably has a slight edge in current talent, playing Coffey and getting him the experience is crucial to our program's future success. Blocking for them will be second year starter FB Clyde Dotson, who also proved himself a more than adequate check down receiver last season.

Absent the academically ineligible Wally Hopking, McDaniel's primary targets this season will be 5th year senior Dominic Walyuchow and freshman Willie Davison. Davison looked more polished than expected in camp and has the ability to be a huge gamebreaker. We're going to need that kind of ability with the young players we have in the lineup.

Handling the placekicking duties will be sophomore Max Elstrom and punting will be 5th year senior Denny Glover.

On defense we've got a solid mix of the old and the new. Anchoring the defense will be NT Ben Burroughs, a redshirt junior. Burroughs has the potential to be a dominant force at the nose. Flanking Burroughs will be defensive ends Irv Wiggs, a 5th year senior, and Kyle Newsome, a redshirt senior. Getting some action in Newsome's place on passing downs will be redshirt junior Steve Strickland.

Our linebacking corps will be hed by senior WLB Kevin Fedo. Over on the strong side will be sophomore Walt de Leon, who filled in ably for injured linebackers during his freshman year. In the middle will be redshirt junior Johnny Coles and redshirt senior Adrian Hopper. The quartet has the potential to be a very solid unit.

In the secondary we sport two outstanding starters at the corners. Redshirt junior Mack Wilkins takes over as shutdown corner while senior Harris Norton will man the other side of the field. Teams will find it hard going throwing against those two. We'll have plenty of experience at the safety positions, as 5th year senior Ted Powell mans the Strong Safety position and his fellow 5th year senior Marlon Gillespie handles the duties at Strong Safety. This unit should turn out to be a very good secondary and teams should have some difficulty passing against us.

Here's a look at our complete roster.


The College Years
University of Southern California Trojans
Roster & Scout Overview
From the Desk of: Daryl Hester, Lead Scout

Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
Checkovich, Nicky 6 QB So* 17 70
Donaldson, Irving 13 QB So* 33 94
King, Roderick 17 QB Jr* 19 97
McDaniel, Everett 2 QB Sr* 58 92
Moreno, Malcolm 14 QB Fr 17 89
Gillespie, Dominic 5 QB* Sr 34 88
Berberich, Brad 45 RB Jr* 38 81
Cash, Donnell 42 RB Sr* 79 79
Castillo, Aaron 21 RB Fr 37 100
Coffey, Junior 35 RB So* 42 83
Dromeshauser, Antoine 41 RB Jr 51 67
Schultz, James 22 RB Sr 58 83
Coleman, Lance 47 FB So 31 100
Dotson, Clyde 39 FB So 36 92
Detsch, Gilbert 31 FB* Jr* 9 9
Strobel, Bryan 38 FB* Sr* 4 8
Bernstein, Jonathan 86 TE* Sr* 11 11
Irwin, Marty 80 TE* Fr 4 7
Raymond, Colin 81 TE* So* 6 7
Davison, Willie 7 WR Fr 48 99
Hopper, Wally 82 WR Sr* 73 92
Robinson, Brian 85 WR Fr 40 70
Walyuchow, Dominic 88 WR Sr 61 63
Wheeler, Ronald 4 WR Fr 30 100
Bell, Freddie 89 WR* Sr* 35 57
Turnbull, Dexter 9 WR* So* 7 22
Mitchell, Rufus 57 C So* 11 71
Powell, Mark 52 C Fr 13 81
Dodsworth, Danny 50 C* Sr* 19 43
Estevez, Ricky 64 G Fr 19 88
Humphrey, Barry 69 G Sr 59 84
Lucas, Gilbert 68 G Sr* 60 82
Wolf, Howie 78 G Sr* 48 75
Dudgeon, Vinny 72 T Sr* 34 80
Greene, Howie 76 T Fr 1 80
Hampton, Ike 63 T Sr 53 80
Padgett, Nathan 61 T Fr 19 84
Shipman, Joseph 74 T So* 27 87
Taggart, Warren 77 T So* 31 78
Glover, Dennis 11 P Sr 70 87
Johnstone, Rickey 15 P So* 29 63
Elstrom, Max 19 K So 63 100
Henson, Shawn 1 K* Sr 48 72
Chevrier, Alonzo 79 DE Fr 39 98
Newman, Walt 94 DE So* 23 89
Newsome, Kyle 92 DE Sr* 50 85
Strickland, Steve 90 DE Jr* 48 82
Walton, Larry 98 DE Sr* 39 77
Wiggs, Irv 91 DE Sr 61 73
Burroughs, Ben 95 DT Jr* 53 100
Choate, Clarence 71 DT Fr 8 73
Rogers, Arnie 75 DT So* 18 71
Boone, Emmitt 66 DT* Sr* 30 58
Jacome, Karl 55 DT* Sr 15 31
Boone, Eric 96 ILB Fr 15 70
Coles, Johnny 59 ILB Jr* 50 100
Cunningham, Dale 54 ILB So 39 64
Hopper, Adrian 48 ILB Sr* 57 88
Warren, Geoff 99 ILB Fr 19 56
Lichtenberger, Grant 46 ILB* Sr* 8 17
de Leon, Walt 43 OLB So 34 82
Fedo, Kevin 51 OLB Sr 62 76
Mascorella, Rob 56 OLB Jr 26 74
Morrison, Junior 93 OLB Fr 26 93
Thomason, Korey 97 OLB So* 18 68
Dennis, Howard 58 OLB* Jr* 4 25
Adjemian, Terrance 49 CB Jr* 28 100
Crayton, Anthony 27 CB Sr 51 73
Galloway, Max 23 CB So* 35 100
Lyons, Tyrell 29 CB Fr 40 92
Norton, Harris 36 CB Sr 63 63
Wilkins, Mack 30 CB Jr* 76 91
Webster, Mickey 33 CB* Sr 12 12
Gillespie, Marlon 28 S Sr 61 93
Horn, Claude 40 S Fr 28 77
Humphrey, K.C. 37 S Jr* 21 39
Powell, Ted 26 S Sr 66 80



Last season was a pleasant surprise. I thought we'd be good and solid, but we turned out to be very good. This season, I realize expectations have been raised, but I believe we're going to struggle some especially as our offensive line grows up. You never know though. Cash and McDaniel each have a year's more experience and we've added the big play explosiveness of freshman Willie Davison.

But that's why they play the games, isn't it?


-20-

[beargrowlz]

ESPN News
Summer, 2011

Well we get ready for another college football season that kicks off this weekend and the first polls are out. Let's take a look at it.


The College Years
2011 Preseason Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Texas A&M 0-0 B12 1.00 1.00 0.00 1.24 3.24 1
Penn State 0-0 B10 2.00 2.00 0.00 0.72 4.72 2
Florida 0-0 SEC 3.00 3.00 0.00 2.04 8.04 3
Nebraska 0-0 B12 4.00 4.00 0.00 1.04 9.04 4
Michigan 0-0 B10 5.00 5.00 0.00 0.52 10.52 5
Texas 0-0 B12 6.00 6.00 0.00 1.20 13.20 6
California-Los Angeles 0-0 P10 7.00 11.50 0.00 1.92 20.42 7
Syracuse 0-0 BGE 8.00 11.50 0.00 1.48 20.98 8
Notre Dame 0-0 IND 9.00 8.00 0.00 4.56 21.56 9
Oklahoma 0-0 B12 13.00 10.50 0.00 1.12 24.62 10
Iowa 0-0 B10 10.00 17.00 0.00 0.48 27.48 11
Georgia 0-0 SEC 14.00 11.50 0.00 2.08 27.58 12
Virginia 0-0 ACC 16.00 13.00 0.00 0.32 29.32 13
California 0-0 P10 12.00 16.00 0.00 1.72 29.72 14
Pittsburgh 0-0 BGE 11.00 21.00 0.00 1.40 33.40 15
West Virginia 0-0 BGE 18.00 15.00 0.00 1.60 34.60 16
Hawaii 0-0 WAC 17.00 15.50 0.00 3.32 35.82 17
**Southern California 0-0 P10 19.00 16.00 0.00 1.88 36.88 18
North Carolina State 0-0 ACC 21.00 16.00 0.00 0.28 37.28 19
South Florida 0-0 USA 15.00 25.50 0.00 4.60 45.10 20
Louisville 0-0 USA 20.00 24.00 0.00 3.04 47.04 21
South Carolina 0-0 SEC 22.00 24.50 0.00 2.16 48.66 22
Alabama 0-0 SEC 23.00 24.00 0.00 2.28 49.28 23
Florida State 0-0 ACC 27.00 23.00 0.00 0.12 50.12 24
Marshall 0-0 MAC 25.00 21.50 0.00 3.80 50.30 25


The Aggies of Texas A&M are coming off back to back National Championships and everyone's wondering if they can pull off the unprecedented trifecta by winning it all again this year.

One team to keep an eye on is Southern Cal, which added big play WR Willie Davison. The Trojans, ostensibly a run oriented team, had a very good season last year and have Donnell "Big Money" Cash returning as their Tailback. The big question, as always for the Trojans, is which color uniform will Everett McDaniel throw the ball to.

# # #


LA Times
Summer, 2011

College gridiron kicks off this weekend and it does LA and all of southern California proud to see it's two teams ranked in the Top 25. The UCLA Bruins are ranked #7 and have a legitimate shot at the National Championship this season. The USC Trojans, easily the surprise team of 2010, enter the season with a preseason ranking of #18. The loss of some key seniors to graduation and the loss of star WR Wally Hopper to academic ineligibility will assuredly hurt Southern Cal's fortunes this year. But Coach bear Growlz has surpised us here at the Times more times than we care to remember, and with the defenses Defensive Coordinator Bucky Riley throws at opponents, combined with the innovative flexbone offense of Offensive Coordinator Korey Butler, we wouldn't be surprised to see even more surprised from the men of troy.

And that'll make for one fun football season.

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2011 Season


WEEK 1
@ New Hampshire (0-0-0) *TV5*
(USC -5) USC RANK: #19

Back in the Granite State for the first time during a football season since I left the Keen State job. Beautiful country up here in the autumn. It'll be an interesting matchup against the UNH Wildcats - they must think they can take it to us or they wouldn't have invited us in for a game. Be interesting to see how far NNE football has come in four years.

On the recruiting trail we're setting our sights high again this year. We've brought Southern Cal back to where big name, top 100 recruits will sign with us, so that means we have to work hard to get our fair share of them. Some of the top players in the nation we are making serious runs at include QB's Mark Hammond, Heath Raymond and Ryan Maas; RB's Matt White and Zack Kreutner; WR Vernon Mathews and OC's Mark McConnell and Earnest Rudoff. We'll also start beating the bushes in the golden state as well, as we want to get many, if not most of the best players coming out of the state as a matter of routine.

UNH held Donnell Cash to 98 yards and 1 touchdown on the ground but they couldn't stop the passing of Ev McDaniel as he went 20/27 for 248 yards and 3 TD's while throwing no INT's. McDaniel hit the highly touted frosh wideout Willie davison for 2 touchdowns and another freshman, Brian Robinson for his 3rd TD - but the big receiver of the day was 5th year senior Dominic Walyuchow, who had 6 catches for 96 yards. Pass rush specialist DE Steve Strickland had 1.5 sacks as the Trojans defense shutout the Wildcats 33-0.

The inability of Cash to get going and the poor game by Wingback junior Coffey (10 carries, 15 yards) concerns me heading into the Notre Dame game. If we can't run, Ev McDaniel is going to have to carry this team on his arm.

Hopefully he's ready.

PAC 10 (0-0-0) Overall (1-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 2
VS. #5 Notre Dame (1-0-0) *TV2*
(USC -4) USC RANK: #7

The Irish are gunning for us this year no doubt, as we've taken two in a row from them and hurt their national championship aspirations the past two seasons. I'm very concerned about our run game heading into this matchup, our offensive line is very young and inexperienced and Donnell Cash can't do it all himself. This will be a big test for Ev McDaniel as well. He's got some explosive weapons, his key to victory, as always, is avoiding turnovers.

Recruited in Caly for the most part his week, pursuing some of the gold coast's more highly developed recruits. That's one thing I've learned to be more cogniscent of since taking over a major program - it's more difficult to find the spot to give a very under developed by high potential player the time to grow into a role. If you're only competing one out of every four years, like some small programs, you have the luxury to do that. But we want to compete for a PAC 10 and National Championship every year, and that means looking for polished kids when they come out of high school.

Bad news pregame as it looks like Tailback donnell cash will miss aprox. 7 weeks due to injury. Junior Coffey moved over to Tailback and Junior Antoine Dromeshauser started at Wingback and the Trojans ran an option based offense against the Fighting Irish. Dromeshauser and McDaniel both had good days running the ball and Ev McDaniel was perfect through the air, going 18/28 for 228 yards and 3 touchdowns while throwing no picks.

Wideout Dominic Walyuchow had another good day making 6 receptions for 89 yards and McDaniel spread his TD passes out - one to Willie davison, one to Dromeshauser and one to sophomore FB Clyde Dotson.
A good, good win for us, though it opens up questions about who should be starting in the backfield with Cash out. We'll have to take a good look at what to do about that situation.

PAC 10 (0-0-0) Overall (2-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 3
Off week.
USC RANK: #3

BCS has us at #3 this week, and I still don't even know who's going to be starting in my backfield. Do I go with Jimmy Schultz and his experience - he probably gives us the best chance to win - or do I go with Coffey or Dromshauser and get them the reps to win down the line?

Tough predicament.

Spent the week pretty much finalizing our list of top recruits that we'll spend the next two months pursuing. Moreso than any year, we're emphasizing high school development this year so that a number of the players we land will, hopefully, come in ready to be difference makers if we need them to be.

PAC 10 (0-0-0) Overall (2-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 4
@ Airforce (1-1-0) *TV5*
(USC -2) USC RANK: #10

I really hate how early season polls fluctuate. We're being picked up by the TV networks a lot this season, means more money for the program, AD must be real happy. Also means more exposure which makes recruits happy and makes them want to come here.

That makes me happy.

Spent a lot of time in texas and in particular recruiting a RB named Shawn Harmon who's an 86+ and comes from a decent, though not outstanding (49) prep program. Working the phones and traveling a lot trying to get some early committments that will hopefully be early difference makers.

Decided to go with Jimmy Schultz at Tailback and Junior Coffey at Wingback, again placing heavy emphasis on the option and also seeing what Ev McDaniel can do through the air.

Bucky Riley had the defense eating nails this week as we held the falcons to 38 yards on 34 carries. Redshirt junior NT Ben Burroughs had the game of his - or any Nose Tackle's - life. Ben made 7 tackles and had 2 sacks and intercepted a pass in which he rumbled and he stumbled 19 yards into the end zone for a touchdown. Ain't nobody getting that ball back from Big Ben.

The defense set the tone of the day as we beat Air Force on the road 38-24. Offensively, 5th year senior Jimmy Schultz had a fine game running the ball running for 114 yards on 16 carries (7.1 ypc) and redshirt sophomore Wingback Junior Coffey also had a fine day, adding 60 yards on 11 carries (5.4 ypc).

Ev McDaniel threw two TD's but also was picked twice. Having another big day receiving was 5th year senior Dominic Walyuchow, who caught 7 balls for 138 yards.

Another big win for us as we continue to play well without "Big Money".

PAC 10 (0-0-0) Overall (3-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 5
MEDIA SNIPPETTS

ESPN News
Week, 5

Michigan has taken over the #1 spot in the BCS rankings with a big lead over Penn State - much of that difference based on strength of schedule. One of the big surprise teams after four weeks has been Southern Cal, who have moved up into the 5th ranked spot nationally, all without Donnell "Big Money" cash, who was hurt the first week of the season. It'll be interesting to see if USC can keep up this high a level of play without their star Tailback.

The College Years
2011 BCS Week 5 Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Michigan 3-0 B10 1.50 4.00 0.00 1.56 7.06 1
Penn State 3-0 B10 5.00 1.00 0.00 3.72 9.72 2
Florida 2-0 SEC 7.25 2.00 0.00 3.20 12.45 3
West Virginia 2-0 BGE 4.50 8.50 0.00 2.88 15.88 4
**Southern California 3-0 P10 6.50 7.00 0.00 2.56 16.06 5
Marshall 2-0 MAC 3.50 11.00 0.00 1.72 16.22 6
Utah 2-0 MTW 5.25 16.50 0.00 0.80 22.55 7
Louisville 3-0 USA 7.50 11.50 0.00 4.36 23.36 8
Nebraska 3-0 B12 18.00 3.00 0.00 4.32 25.32 9
South Carolina 2-0 SEC 12.00 13.00 0.00 2.00 27.00 10
Washington State 2-0 P10 12.50 13.50 0.00 2.40 28.40 11
California-Los Angeles 3-0 P10 22.00 7.00 0.00 2.96 31.96 12
Tulsa 3-0 WAC 9.25 24.50 0.00 0.56 34.31 13
Iowa 2-0 B10 22.50 9.50 0.00 4.48 36.48 14
Virginia 3-0 ACC 25.50 7.50 0.00 4.72 37.72 15
Kansas State 2-0 B12 16.50 23.00 0.00 4.20 43.70 16
Wisconsin 3-0 B10 23.50 15.50 0.00 4.84 43.84 17
Texas Christian 3-0 USA 21.75 17.50 0.00 4.76 44.01 18
San Diego State 2-0 MTW 25.00 20.00 0.00 4.60 49.60 19
Colorado State 3-0 MTW 25.50 21.00 0.00 4.64 51.14 20
Texas 1-1 B12 24.00 29.00 1.00 0.04 54.04 21
Pittsburgh 3-1 BGE 26.25 25.00 1.00 2.24 54.49 22
Stanford 2-0 P10 17.00 34.00 0.00 4.00 55.00 23
Oklahoma 2-1 B12 33.25 24.50 1.00 0.44 59.19 24
Nevada-Las Vegas 2-0 MTW 26.25 28.50 0.00 4.96 59.71 25

* * *


Week 5
@ Oregon State (1-2-0) (PAC 10)
(USC -6) USC RANK: #9
(USC RANK=Coaches Poll as that's what is listed on the schedule).

Good news academically, only four players had any grade lower than a C, 3 C-'s and 1 D. Used some coaching blocs and hopefully they'll get those grades straightened out.

We open our PAC 10 schedule this week and we're undermanned already. Was comforting to see a big game by Jimmy Schultz last week. If he and Junior Coffey can play up to that level we should be ok.

Continued to keep in contact and visit our highly targeted recruits. had quite a few early visits this year, that's a good sign I think. We've started to get a reputation as a good program out here, but the only way to keep that going is to win football games, and the only way to win football games is to recruit well. So here's hoping we keep up the success of the last three years.

Defense set the tone of this game as well as Free safety Marlon Gillespie ran back two INT's for touchdowns as USC shutout Oregon State on the road, 34-0.

The offense was a mixed bag this week as Ev McDaniel was picked 5 times, but wideout Dominic Walyuchow caught a 79 yard bomb for a TD and Tailback jimmy Schultz exploded for 149 yards on 16 carries (9.3 ypc) in leading the Trojans to a convincing victory over the Beavers.
I continue to be pleased with the way Jimmy Schultz is running the ball, but very concerned about Ev McDaniel's implosion. That's not a good sign for the rest of the year.

PAC 10 (1-0-0) Overall (4-0-0)

* * *

-20-

[aztarheel]

I would have been worried about ol' Bear had he dumped Southern Cal for NC State ...

(I'm from Raleigh originally and real life USC coach Pete Carroll was once an assistant at NCSU back in the 80s. He lived in my neighborhood -- seriously)...

[beargrowlz]

Yeah, I didn't really consider the job, though at the start of the season they were only 4 or 5 prestige points behind USC - so it's a much more prestigious job than in real life.

But it's a pretty good situation at USC - though I think we're way overrated by the BCS. Maybe I've just got a bunch of overachievers, though my coordinators are top notch so that helps.

I always liked Pete Carroll when he was coaching the Pats. Thought he got a bumb rap in getting fired - though that turned out to be the best move for both his career (he's got a job he should never, ever leave, perfect fit for him) and for the Patriots of course. :)


-Bear

[beargrowlz]

WEEK 6
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #2

BCS puts us at #2 this week, wow. An off week gives Donny Cash some more time to rehab, which is good for us.
On the recruiting front, not so good news, we get a slew of early rejections. Well, just got to keep plugging, we'll land some of these kids.

PAC 10 (1-0-0) Overall (4-0-0)

* * *


(Ed note: Ok, I changed it, it's just easier to post the composite "BCS rank, so that's what I'll use for consistency. Apologies to any readers confused).


WEEK 7
@ Arizona (1-4-0)
(USC -26) USC RANK: #2

We're a mess regarding injuries atm. We lost DE Irv Wiggs and WR Willie Davison - Davison probably for the year. Ev McDaniel is hurt but may be able to go. Good news is Donny Cash has been upgraded to questionable, so he may play this week. But we're really banged up right now.

More rejections on the recruiting front. We seem to be getting out-recruited by everyone this year. We need to land some big fish or things aren't going to be pleasant with the alumni (or the talk radio folks).

Tailback Donny Cash came back big, rushing for 171 yards on 32 carries (5.3 ypc) and Wingback Jimmy Schultz added 49 yards on 11 carries (4.4 ypc) as the trojans ran all over the Wildcats 51-20. OG Gilbert Lucas led the way with 7 key run blocks, dominating his man on the line of scrimmage all day

QB Ev McDaniel had a big day, throwing for over 300 yards and 3 TD's while only being picked once. Once again, Ev's favorite target was 5th year senior Dominic Walyuchow, who made 8 catches for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns. Freshman Brian Robinson had the other touchdown reception, making 4 catches for 84 yards.

Bucky Riley's defense held Arizona to -7 yards rushing on 18 carries.

Another fine win for us as we continue to play very good football.

USC 51 Arizona 20
PAC 10 (2-0-0) Overall (5-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 8
@ Washington State (3-2-0) (PAC 10) *TV5*
(USC -16) USC RANK: #1

BCS has us ranked #1 in the nation this week, which places a big target on our backs for every team we play this year. We're almost halfway through our schedule and playing good football - but we still haven't played CAL or UCLA, two of the teams that always give us trouble. A lot of how we do down the stretch will depend on the arm of Ev McDaniel. He's shown spurts of greatness at times this year, but then self-destructed at others. But like they say, you play the games with the quarterback you've got, not the one you wish you had.

We got two committments this week, one a really big signing. Maurice Napiecek, a cornerback from Lindhurst High School in Olivehurst, California. Maurice is a 90++ defensive back and was rated as the 16th best player in his recruiting class - and second best CB. He comes from a solid all-around high school both academically (65) and athletically (70) and is an honor roll student and scored over 1200 on the SAT's. A good, solid addition to our program who might be able to step right in and make a contribution next year. Also signing a letter of intent with USC was Walter Perez, a kicker from San Leandro High School in San Leandro, California. He's a kicker. Nuff said.

(Ed. note: For those not real familiar with TCY, the number "90++" refers to how the player has been scouted, then seen by the Head Coach. The number itself, 90 in this case, indicates how the scout rates the recruit on a scale of 100, 0 being worst, 100 being the best. "++" means when the Head Coach (me) saw him play, he looked "much better" than the scout's projection. "+" means he looked "better" than the scout projected. "-" means he looked worse than the scout projected and finally "--" means he looked "much worse" than the scout projected. A number with no modifier after it means one of two things. Either the Head Coach did not see the player play, or the player looked as scouted. As I almost never (99.9%) offer a scholarship to a player without seeing him play, the reader may assume that a recruit with a scouting number with no modifier after it appeared "as scouted" unless otherwise indicated in the text.)

Beat the bushes looking for more recruits we have a chance to sign. Despite my high hopes earlier in the season, this doesn't look like it's going to be a good recruiting year for me. The Napiecek committment was big, but we're losing out on most of the other highly ranked recruits. Hopefully I'm not to late in making contact with some of these kids and we can still hav a decent incoming freshman class.

Donny "Big Money" Cash showed up for today's game dressed in black and demanded the PA announcer play "Ring of Fire" when the USC team took the field - a request Washington State promptly disregarded. Cash, taking his vengeance, "walked the line" and plowed through it, walking all over State's front line while rushing for 150 yards on 26 carries (5.7 ypc) and 1 touchdown while also hauling in 4 passes for 58 yards. Freshman wideout Brian Robinson had a big day, Making 6 catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Ev McDaniel theew two TD's but continued his consistent inconsistency by tossing 2 picks. OG's Gilbert Lucas and Barry Humphrey dominated the line of scrimmage and on defense, ILB Johnny Coles made 11 tackles and picked off a pass he ran back four a score as USC dominated all facets of the game en route to a 31-10 win at Washington State.

I'm very pleased with the way we're playing. OG Gilbert Lucas has really improved on his run blocking technique since the season began and we've seen significant growth and maturity in OT Warren Taggart. Wingback Jimmy Schultz has provided good experience and plays well in a secondary back role to Donnell Cash's lead. The defense always seems to come up big at the times we need it to. I'm very pleased indeed.

USC 31 Washington State 10
PAC 10 (3-0-0) Overall (6-0-0)

* * *

WEEK 9
MEDIA SNIPPETTS


USA TODAY
Week 9, 2011

There's a little controversy about the BCS standings right now, which ranks the University of Florida Gators over the Southern Cal Trojans. Southern Cal has 1 more victory than Florida and also has stronger strength of schedule. But let's face it, no one expected USC to be up here at the top of the rankings - they're like the uninvited guest to the party. What's hurting them are the polls, where the coaches have them at #8 and the fans have them at #5.

Winning those two groups of voters over will be a lot more difficult than convicincing the computer, that's for sure.

The College Years
2011 BCS Week 9 Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 5-0 SEC 6.00 1.00 0.00 2.20 9.20 1
**Southern California 6-0 P10 1.50 6.50 0.00 2.00 10.00 2
Nebraska 7-0 B12 5.75 2.00 0.00 4.12 11.87 3
West Virginia 5-0 BGE 3.75 8.00 0.00 2.32 14.07 4
California-Los Angeles 7-0 P10 6.25 5.50 0.00 3.52 15.27 5
Marshall 6-0 MAC 3.25 9.50 0.00 2.80 15.55 6
Wisconsin 6-0 B10 1.25 12.00 0.00 2.96 16.21 7
Texas A&M 6-1 B12 12.25 3.00 1.00 3.56 19.81 8
Iowa 6-0 B10 9.75 7.50 0.00 4.20 21.45 9
Virginia 6-0 ACC 12.00 5.50 0.00 5.00 22.50 10
Louisville 6-0 USA 10.00 10.00 0.00 4.76 24.76 11
Rice 5-0 WAC 8.25 13.50 0.00 4.96 26.71 12
Pittsburgh 6-1 BGE 10.00 14.50 1.00 1.60 27.10 13
Michigan 5-2 B10 12.00 15.00 2.00 0.32 29.32 14
Penn State 5-1 B10 18.75 7.50 1.00 3.80 31.05 15
Texas Christian 5-1 USA 13.25 21.00 1.00 4.32 39.57 16
South Florida 5-1 USA 19.00 17.50 1.00 3.32 40.82 17
Texas 4-2 B12 19.75 18.00 2.00 1.80 41.55 18
Utah 5-1 MTW 18.50 20.50 1.00 3.20 43.20 19
Colorado State 6-1 MTW 16.75 22.00 1.00 3.48 43.23 20
Boise State 5-1 WAC 17.25 23.50 1.00 3.24 44.99 21
Notre Dame 5-2 IND 25.00 16.50 2.00 3.12 46.62 22
Virginia Tech 5-1 ACC 26.00 19.00 1.00 4.68 50.68 23
Green Mountain 6-1 NNE 23.25 26.00 1.00 4.72 54.97 24
Miami of Florida 5-2 ACC 26.50 24.50 2.00 2.36 55.36 25

(Ed. note: For those unfamiliar with TCY, "high school development" refers to how well certain high schools are at preparing their athletes both academically and athletically. A school's reputation in some part determines how well developed a player will be and what his grades will be when he shows up for his freshman year. Each school's academic program is rated on a scale of 0-100, 0 being the worst, 100 being the best. The same for athletics. Occassionally the author will refer to a high school as having a good football program or being a lousy school academically etc. These are the numbers the author uses to make those judgements. FYI, the numbers have no bearing in reality, they were randomly assigned by the game, so if your HS gets dissed, chalk it up to a bad roll of the dice. Apologies to the reader, should have added this info sooner.)


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2011 Season (C)


WEEK 9
vs. Oregon (3-4-0) (PAC 10) *TV5*
(USC -21) USC BCS RANK: #2

Well, the BCS rankings put us at #2 this week. We're difinately having a very good season so far, but can't forget we've got those big games looming against CAL and UCLA. Still, got to be pleased with our all-around performance to date - especially the development of the offensive line and our running game, which I was worried about at the start of the year.

Got a bunch of rejections this week but did get three committments. Warren Guthrie, a fullback from Willow Glen High School in San Jose, California, Mo Sankey, an inside linebacker from Roseville High School in Roseville, California, and Roger Majka, a cornerback from Gunderson High School in San Jose, California all signed letters of intent to play at USC this week. Majka is a 94- CB who comes from a low to mid-level high school 33/34. He'll likely redshirt his freshman year, though his SAT score wasn't too bad. Sankey is a 76+ run stopping ILB who comes from a mid level (46) athletic program but his academic prep is solid (58). We've got returning starters at ILB next year, so he may redshirt even if its not necessary. Guthrie is an 87- Fullback who comes from a school low on athletic prep but high on academics. His 1203 SAT and Honor Roll grades make him a find addition to the program. He'll likely redshirt in order to polish his football skills. Solid signings, nothing spectacular.

Quarter grades came out - 5 players with C-'s and 1 player with a D. Put the staff on it to get them some extra study time. So far so good. Oh, and if you need a bartender for a party, Donnell Cash is getting a B+ in Bartending this semester.

Leading his team out to "Ring of Fire", Tailback Donny Cash had another fine day rushing for 116 yards on 23 carries (5.0 ypc) in front of the home folks at the Rose Bowl who enjoyed a 27-13 USC victory over the Ducks.

Freshman wideout Brian Robinson had a great day hauling in 5 ev McDaniel passes for 148 yards and 2 touchdowns. Ev McDaniel threw for three touchdowns for us, and one for Oregon as he was picked twice - once taken all the way back for a Duck score. Ev went 15/27 for 269 yards on the day.

Bucky Riley's defense was in shutdown mode once again today, slamming the door on the Ducks run game, holding Oregon runners to 28 yards on 30 carries (0.9 ypc). Strong Safety Ted Powell accounted for 9 tackles and pass rushing DE Steve Strickland had another 1.5 sacks as he gets more playing time due to the injury to Irv Wiggs.

A solid, if unspectacular, win for us.

Now comes the tough part - the meat of our schedule.

USC 27 Oregon 13
PAC 10 (4-0-0) Overall (7-0-0)

* * *

WEEK 10
vs. Stanford (4-3-0) (PAC 10) *TV5*
(USC -21) USC BCS RANK: #3

Moved down a notch in the BCS rankings - I don't know how the heck they figure this stuff out - but I figure so long as we keep playing good football and winning football games, that's all we can do.

Got two more committments this week. Ross Berberich, a running back from Roosevelt High School in Johnstown, Colorado and Richie Warrick, a wide receiver from Royal High School in Simi Valley, California both signed letters to play for the Trojans next season. Berberich is an 85-- back but with outstanding academics and comes from a decent athletic program. He'll help our program both academically and on the field. Warrick is an 88- receiver with excellent academics. He'll need to redshirt because his high school mainly focuses on academics and the athletic prep he received was really raw. But again, he's a player who should help us both academically and athletically. Again, nothing spectacular, but decent signings.

As we've maxed out contact with what's left of our recruiting list, we've started making new contacts with under-recruited players, mostly on the offensive line. Our recruiting class isn't going to be as highly rated as last year's, but hopefully we'll land enough so that it will provide good depth for us in the future.

Freshman wideout Brian Robinson, who had been playing particularly well of late, is out for this week's game with an injury. He's got a severe wrist sprain that lists him as out 4 weeks, but we're hopeful he can be back in a week or two.

QB Ev McDaniel seperated his shoulder again and Donnell cash had nada this week as the Stanford Cardinal came into the Rose Bowl and gave us one on the chin 37-20, likely ending any - unrealistic as they may have been - hopes for a national chammpionship we may have harbored for this year. Wing back Jimmy Schultz did have a solid game rushing for 58 yards and a TD on 7 carries (8.2 ypc) and wideout Dominic Walyuchow continued to have an excellent season hauling in 7 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown.

Redshirt sophomore Irving Donaldson played solid in relief of the injured McDaniel, going 8/15 for 135 yards, throwing 2 touchdown passes and one INT.

The Cardinal really did a good job containing Cash, holding him to 55 yards on 26 carries and keeping him out of the end zone all day.

Ah well, looking forward to geting back on track next week.

USC 20 Stanford 37
PAC 10 (4-1-0) Overall (7-1-0)

* * *

WEEK 11
@ California (5-3-0)
(USC -5) USC BCS RANK: #11

Tough loss sends us tumbling down the BCS rankings. We've got a tough game against CAL this week. They and UCLA always give us the most trouble, as we've handled Notre Dame pretty well since I took over. Tough decision on who to play at QB this week. 5th year senior Dom Gillespie has the most experience, but Irv Donaldson and Rod King need the experience the most. Donaldson looked solid in a relief effort against Stanford, so I'm leaning towards letting him start. We'll see.

No new committments or rejections this week. There are still 3 kids in the top 100 that we've made scholarship offers to that haven't commited to anyone yet. The rest of the recruits on our worksheet are mainly role players or depth players, which we'll be spending this week trying to get committments from.

We did start Irv Donaldson, but Donnell Cash pulled a quad and that was that - our offensive attack became a case study in footballus anemia. Redshirt sophomore Junior Coffey tried to get something goign but was pretty much held in check, running for 71 yards on 18 carries (3.9 ypc) as CAL beat us 27-10. Freshman Brian Robinson made it back into the lineup for today's game and caught 4 passes for 70 yards while Dominic Walyuchow made 5 receptions for 71 yards and 1 touchdown.

Irv Donaldson played competently but couldn't really get anything done, going 15/28 for 184 yards, one touchdown and one INT.

Bad loss for us, against CAL to boot. We've got to learn to beat these guys in order to get over the hump in the PAC 10. Injuries just killing us at this point though. Still, a bad loss. need more depth.

USC 10 California 27
PAC 10 (4-2-0) Overall (7-2-0)

* * *


WEEK 12
vs Washington (1-8-0) (PAC 10)
(USC -22) USC BCS RANK: #17

Dropped down to #17 this week, but we haven't played well in two weeks. Probably going to go with Donaldson again this week as he wasn't too bad and could use the reps. Jimmy Schultz will miss this week's game as well as Donnell Cash.

When it rains, it pours.

Good news on th recruiting front this week though. We landed three recruits, one of them the 21st ranked player in this recruiting class. Walt Bernard, a quarterback from Franklin High School in Stockton, California is a 96-- with very good athletic preperation. His SAT's were low so we'll likely have to redshirt him and hold his hand through 5 years here to get him his degree, but the kid has talent.

Tim Connell, a center from D'Evelyn High School in Golden, Colorado also signed a letter of intent o play for USC next season. Connell is a 69++ with solid academic credentials but is a raw athletic talent and will likely need the extra time a redshirt year will give him to develop.

Rounding out the trio that signed this week is Ed Fuller, an offensive guard from Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, California. Fuller is an 80- OG with decent, though not outstanding, athletic and academic preperation. We'll see how he loks in summer camp before deciding whether to redshirt him or not.

We've had ten student-athletes sign letters with us so far this fall, leaving six slots open in this recruiting class as the NCAA restricts us to sixteen new recruits each year, no matter how many available scholarships we have. For example, we can only sign 6 more recruits even though we have 14 scholarships available.

Dumb rule.

Just the man trying to keep the brother down!

Anyway . . . .

Spent the week looking for potential walk-on recruits as the players still on our list make up their minds. Be real interesting to see what our grades look like when they come out after this week. I dread the injury walk-on with a 0.50 GPA. Gah.

Putting together a makeshift lineup for this week's game, so anything could happen - and probably will.

Tailback Junior Coffey and Wingback Antoine Dromeshauser led the way by running all over the Huskies en route to a 27-10 USC victory. Coffey ran for 147 yards on 24 carries (6.1 ypc) while Dromeshauser ran for two touchdowns and 40 yards on 9 carries (4.4 ypc).

QB Irv Donaldson couldn't get much going through the air, getting picked twice, though he did hit freshman Brian Robinson for his lone touchdown pass of the day.

Good day by the backup backfield - passing attack is non-existent without Ev McDaniel. But a win is a win is a win, and we'll take it.

USC 27 Washington 13
PAC 10 (5-2-0) Overall (8-2-0)


* * *

WEEK 13
MEDIA SNIPPETTS
LA Times
Week 13

Well, while it's still possible UCLA could sneak into the top 2 in the BCS rankings, it doesn't appear either of the teams from the city of angels will be playing for a national championship. But as they head into their annual crosstown rivalry game, UCLA (9-1-0) and USC (8-2-0) have much to be happy about in their performances this season. And LA football fans have a lot to be happy about, as this game hasn't been very exciting or competitive in recent years, but with the progress the Trojans have made in recent years, they should be able to go toe to toe with the Bruins.

Here's a look at the most recent BCS rankings.


The College Years
2011 BCS Overall Rankings
Thru Week 12

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 9-0 SEC 1.25 1.00 0.00 2.96 5.21 1
Louisville 10-0 USA 3.00 6.00 0.00 4.68 13.68 2
West Virginia 8-1 BGE 2.50 10.50 1.00 1.48 15.48 3
Virginia 9-0 ACC 9.25 3.50 0.00 5.00 17.75 4
Iowa 10-0 B10 9.75 4.00 0.00 4.80 18.55 5
California-Los Angeles 9-1 P10 7.25 7.00 1.00 3.44 18.69 6
Texas A&M 9-1 B12 11.25 2.00 1.00 4.52 18.77 7
Michigan 8-2 B10 6.00 10.50 2.00 0.48 18.98 8
Marshall 9-1 MAC 8.00 8.50 1.00 2.36 19.86 9
Penn State 8-2 B10 7.50 8.50 2.00 1.88 19.88 10
Nebraska 9-1 B12 10.50 4.50 1.00 4.36 20.36 11
Colorado State 9-1 MTW 8.00 14.50 1.00 3.48 26.98 12
Notre Dame 8-2 IND 12.50 12.00 2.00 3.92 30.42 13
Boise State 8-1 WAC 12.75 16.50 1.00 3.76 34.01 14
Texas Christian 8-1 USA 15.50 14.50 1.00 4.84 35.84 15
**Southern California 8-2 P10 14.75 17.00 2.00 3.40 37.15 16
Rice 8-1 WAC 16.75 15.50 1.00 4.96 38.21 17
Wisconsin 8-2 B10 17.25 19.50 2.00 3.20 41.95 18
Pittsburgh 8-2 BGE 22.00 16.00 2.00 2.76 42.76 19
Boston College 7-2 BGE 16.75 24.50 2.00 1.40 44.65 20
South Florida 8-2 USA 22.75 20.00 2.00 3.00 47.75 21
Arizona State 8-2 P10 14.00 31.50 2.00 1.16 48.66 22
South Carolina 7-2 SEC 22.75 21.00 2.00 4.44 50.19 23
Syracuse 6-3 BGE 16.75 29.00 3.00 1.96 50.71 24
Miami of Ohio 8-2 MAC 26.75 20.50 2.00 3.88 53.13 25


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2011 SEASON (PART C)



WEEK 13
vs. #6 UCLA (9-1-0) (PAC 10) *TV3*
(UCLA -2) USC BCS RANK: #16

Big rivalry game this weekend against the Bruins. Still missing too many starters, and Coffey and Dromeshauser will be in the backfield again.

Spent the week dealing with the few players who had D's. Couple of walk-ons with an E and a D. Why do they bother. It's very frustrating to waste resources on kids who shouldn't even be here - they should be in the library studying.

Landed two more recruits this week: Darren Weiler, a wide receiver from Lake Wales High School in Lake Wales, Florida and Adrian Adams, a center from Braintree High School in Braintree, Massachusetts both signed letters of intent to play for USC next seasoon. We don't expect either of them to be real difference makers, thoughn Adams, who is listed at 69++ may have a chance to start as an upper classman.

I think we still have a shot at landing QB Mark Rayburn who rated a 91+ and is rated the #1 recruit in the nation. Rayburn comes from an outstanding high school program (100), so we're keeping our fingers crossed.

Undermanned, we just couldn't get any offense generated against the Bruins. Backup QB Irv Donaldson was intercepted 5 times and our running attack was non-existent in a 27-20 loss to UCLA. The only bright spot was 5th year senior receiver Dominic Walyuchow who made 5 catches for 100 yards and a TD. Dominic now has 54 receptions for 1070 yards and 6 touchdowns on the season and certainly has had a fine final season with us. On defense sophomore Walt de Leon had a big day making 10 tackles.

Would having Cash, McDaniel and Willie Davision have made a difference? If ifs and buts were candies and nuts we'd all have a very fine christmas. I do know that too many injuries and not enough depth didn't help our cause. And why the loss to UCLA leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, we've still played very well and had a great year.

USC 20 UCLA 27
PAC 10 (5-3-0) Overall (8-3-0)

* * *

WEEK 14
MEDIA SNIPPETTS
LA TIMES
Week 14, 2011

So UCLA beat USC once again. Must seem like a scratched CD going over and over the same again in Coach Growlz' head. Both the Trojans and Bruins had fine seasons, the Bruins ever slightly moreso. Coach Growlz has done an admirable job in taking this from under a .500 football program and making them back into a perennial Top 25 football program. But until he shows his program can defeat UCLA and Cal-Berkeley on the football field, USC won't be able to take that next step up to National Championship contender.

We eagerly await that day.

###

WEEK 14
Off Week.
USC BSC RANK: --

We've fallen out of the BCS Top 25, a disappointment I'll admit as I thought we had a really good season, particularly with how banged up we were. Now it's just a matter of seeing if we get a Bowl invite.

Great news on the recruiting front as Mark Rayburn, a quarterback from Baker High School in Baker, Florida signed a letter of intent to play for USC next season. Rayburn is rated at 91+, was the number 1 ranked recruit in the nation, and comes from an exceptional athletic program (100). His academics are fine, and it's possible he could be competing for the starting job as early as next season. A very major coup for us.

Also committing to USC this week was Lester Thomas, an outside linebacker (80+) from Cottonwood High School in Salt Lake City, Utah who is also an exceptional student.

PAC 10 (5-3-0) Overall (8-3-0)

* * *

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: --

We finished 4th in the PAC 10 for the fourth straight season. We're off this week and continue our recruiting effots while we wait to see if we're invited to a Bowl Game.
Bert Duncan, a defensive tackle from Mountain View High School in Mountain View, California signed a letter of intent to play for us next season. Duncan is a 71+ run stopper, but will need considerable skills work as he comes from a fairly poor athletic program.

PAC 10 (5-3-0) Overall (8-3-0)

* * *

MINOR BOWL TIER
KEYSTONE BOWL vs. San Diego State (6-5-0) *TV4*
(USC -6) USC BCS RANK: --

Looks like we're going to a bowl for a third straight season, a significant accomplishment for this program which was in shambles just four short years ago. We'll be heading to the Keystone Bowl where we played Air Force two seasons ago. I guess we've got a friend in Pennsylvania.

Invited a few kids to come visit campus and walk-on to the squad next season. Nothing out there worth a scholarship at this point, but one or two useful back of the roster types.

Both Donnell Cash and Ev McDaniel suited up for this one trying to play. Cash got things going early with a 76 yard dash into the end zone and Southern Can defeated San Diego State 32-20 in the Keystone Bowl.

5th year senior Dominic Walyuchow had a memorable bowl game in his final game as a USC Trojan, taking a kickoff return to the house in the fourth quater to put the game away for the Trojans. Kicker Max Elstrom nailed 4 field goals in his biggest game to date as a Trojan.


The College Years
Box Score: Southern California vs San Diego State
Williamsport, PA.

Keystone Bowl, 2011

Attendance: 22,000 (47,600).


Weather: 40 degrees, fair.

1Q: 09:01 SCAL - Donnell Cash 76 run.
1Q: 09:01 SCAL - Max Elstrom extra point failed.
1Q: 04:30 SDST - Vinny Quinn 29 field goal.
2Q: 14:20 SCAL - Max Elstrom 30 field goal.
2Q: 09:14 SCAL - Donnell Cash 1 run.
2Q: 09:14 SCAL - Max Elstrom extra point.
2Q: 00:05 SCAL - Max Elstrom 19 field goal.
3Q: 09:23 SDST - Claude Hazeltine 14 pass from Desmond Pierce.
3Q: 09:23 SDST - Vinny Quinn extra point.
3Q: 04:21 SCAL - Max Elstrom 34 field goal.
3Q: 00:20 SDST - Desmond Pierce 47 run.
3Q: 00:20 SDST - Vinny Quinn extra point.
4Q: 10:39 SDST - Vinny Quinn 32 field goal.
4Q: 10:33 SCAL - Dominic Walyuchow 88 kickoff return.
4Q: 10:33 SCAL - Max Elstrom extra point.
4Q: 04:22 SCAL - Max Elstrom 23 field goal.

Game MVP: SCAL 19 Max Elstrom

Southern California 6 13 3 10 - 32
San Diego State 3 0 14 3 - 20

Team Statistics SCAL SDST

First Downs 17 18

Total Rushes 42 24
Net Rushing Yards 198 132
Yards Per Carry 4.7 5.5
Rushing Yards 228 168
Tckld Loss/Yards 10-17 6-17
Sacked/Yards Lost 2-13 3-19

Pass Attempts 17 46
Completions 11 22
Passing Yards 104 220
Yards Per Attempt 6.1 4.7
Interceptions 0 0
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 0/0

Total Plays 59 70
Total Yards 302 352
Yards Per Play 5.1 5.0

3rd Down Plays 2/11 7/18

Penalties 2 8
Penalty Yards 25 46

Avg. Drive Start OWN 40 OWN 26
Time Of Possession 30:24 29:36

Southern California Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD Stufd Sackd
35 Coffey 15 70 4.6 24 0 4 0
42 Cash 13 113 8.6 76 2 5 0
2 McDaniel 6 -9 -1.5 4 0 2 2
41 Dromeshauser 6 29 4.8 22 0 1 0
39 Dotson 2 -5 -2.5 -2 0 2 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int
2 McDaniel 17 11 104 6.1 25 0 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
88 Walyuchow 4 58 14.5 11 25 0
42 Cash 2 10 5.0 5 8 0
The College Years
39 Dotson 2 11 5.5 5 8 0
41 Dromeshauser 1 6 6.0 9 6 0
35 Coffey 1 11 11.0 1 11 0
85 Robinson 1 8 8.0 0 8 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
27 Crayton 2 13 6.5 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
88 Walyuchow 4 175 43.7 1
30 Wilkins 1 22 22.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Johnstone 3 119 39.6 50 0

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
19 Elstrom 4 4 34 2 3

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
28 Gillespie 6 1 0.0 0 0 0
30 Wilkins 6 1 0.0 0 0 0
43 de Leon 6 0 0.0 0 0 0
90 Strickland 5 0 1.0 0 0 0
27 Crayton 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
26 Powell 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
92 Newsome 3 1 1.0 0 0 0
51 Fedo 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
59 Coles 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 Burroughs 2 0 1.0 0 0 0
36 Norton 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
54 Cunningham 1 5 0.0 0 0 0
33 Webster 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
68 Lucas 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
66 Boone 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
39 Dotson 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
85 Robinson 1 0 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
77 Taggart 0 0 0 0 2 1
74 Shipman 0 0 0 0 4 1
68 Lucas 0 0 0 0 3 0
57 Mitchell 0 0 0 0 3 0
69 Humphrey 0 0 0 0 2 0
39 Dotson 0 0 0 0 2 0


San Diego State Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD Stufd Sackd
37 Vance 8 81 10.1 50 0 1 0
34 Weber 8 17 2.1 11 0 4 0
16 Pierce 5 26 5.2 47 1 1 3
31 Conaway 2 17 8.5 9 0 0 0
43 Singleton 1 -9 -9.0 -9 0 1 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int
16 Pierce 46 22 220 4.7 32 1 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
86 Klingbiel 6 79 13.1 17 21 0
34 Weber 4 24 6.0 5 8 0
8 Hazeltine 3 56 18.6 20 32 1
6 Garrett 3 30 10.0 11 11 0
83 Rottinghaus 2 18 9.0 0 15 0
The College Years
82 Parks 2 7 3.5 9 4 0
37 Vance 1 -2 -2.0 0 -2 0
93 O'Neill 1 8 8.0 0 8 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
28 Hughes 2 10 5.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
28 Hughes 3 74 24.6 0
25 Shire 1 20 20.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
12 Rose 4 125 31.2 37 0

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
11 Quinn 2 4 32 2 2

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
74 Whitfield 7 2 1.0 0 0 0
40 Cassidy 7 4 0.0 0 0 0
54 Downs 7 3 0.0 0 0 0
28 Hughes 7 0 0.0 0 0 0
35 Hazam 5 1 0.0 0 0 0
91 O'Leary 4 2 1.0 0 0 0
24 Kaplan 4 3 0.0 0 0 0
78 Covington 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
39 Leber 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
25 Shire 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
55 Duffy 2 3 0.0 0 0 0
89 Ellsworth 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
62 Lake 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
70 Sanderson 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
86 Klingbiel 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
58 Clemons 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
68 Scott 0 0 0 0 0 1
77 Trim 0 0 0 0 3 1
62 Lake 0 0 0 0 2 1
60 Stargell 0 0 0 0 2 0
56 Devine 0 0 0 0 1 0




What a good way to end the season. And it was especially good to see Dominic Walyuchow, who waited four long years to become a starter, and was most certainly our team MVP this year, finish his career at Southern Cal with a big game like this.

A good win all around.

PAC 10 (5-3-0) Overall (9-3-0)

* * *

MAJOR BOWL TIER WEEK
MEDIA SNIPPETTS
LA TIMES

The Southern Cal Trojans defeated the San Diego State Aztecs 32-20 in the Keystone Bowl this past weekend in what was a very exciting contest. It was the second very successful season for the USC program in a row under 4th year Head Coach Bear Growlz and one of many more we can no doubt expect.

USC tradition is back.

###

MAJOR BOWL TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #24

Was a very good way for us to end the year. At the start of the season I thought we would regress a little bit because I thought we played a bit over our heads last season. But through all the injuries and setbacks we still managed to have a fine season, culminating with last week's win in the Keystone Bowl, which put us back in the Top 25.

We had a player agree to attend USC as a walk-on for next year, Tracy Flowers, a cornerback from Antioch High School in Antioch, Tennessee. We didn't work Tracy out, so his rating of 58 is all we have on him. But his academics are spectacular with a 3.88 GPA and a 1574 SAT. As an end of the bench player, if he's anywhere close to his 58 scouting rating, he'll be a fine walk-on.

PAC 10 (5-3-0) Overall (9-3-0)

* * *

FOUR STAR TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #25

Dropped to #25 this week. Personally I think we should be a bit higher.

PAC 10 (5-3-0) Overall (9-3-0)

* * *

NEW YEAR'S TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #25

PAC 10 (5-3-0) Overall (9-3-0)

* * *


NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #24

Louisville defeated Florida 42-24 to win the National Championship.
QB Danny Crenshaw won the Heisman.

PAC 10 (5-3-0) Overall (9-3-0)

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2011 SEASON SUMMARY & REVIEW


2011 Season Review

I can't help but feel very positive about this season. It was very rewarding to see how well we played despite losing key players. It means we've done a good job building the program from top to bottom.

A third straight bowl appearance is certainly an accomplishment given the state this program was in when my staff took over. And two consecutive nine win seasons also highlights our successes.

We're now very competitive in the PAC-10 and starting to climb the ladder that will make us annual contenders for the national championship. USC has a proud football tradition and we intend to restore all of its luster and then some.

One of the most notable things about these Trojan teams I have had the privilege to coach is the tough as nails defense Defensive Coordinator Bucky riley has built. Once again our defense held opponents to under 3 yards per carry on the ground and this season our pass defense was also very difficult to pass against. We held opponents to 18 points per game - and if your defense can do that, you should win a lot of games - and we did.

We say goodbye to senior starters OG Barry Humphrey, WR Dominic Walyuchow - and Dominic had a fantastic year for us this year - , Wingback Jimmy Schultz, DE Irv Wiggs, OLB Kevin Fedo, CB Harris Norton and safeties Ted Powell and Marlon Gillespie. We're going to miss each and every one of them as they have contributed heavily to the rebuilding of the USC football tradition.

We had a number of players earn individual achievement awards. These are listed below, and below that you'll find our team summary and statistics for the season.


2011 University of Southern California Trojans
Individual Award Winners

* FS Marlon Gillespie (5th yr Sr.)
- Academic All-American
- Academic All-PAC 10

* WR Brian Robinson (Fr.)
- Freshman All-American
- All-PAC 10 Offensive Freshman of the Year

* WR Dominic Walyuchow (5th yr Sr.)
- 1st Team All-PAC 10

* OG Barry Humphrey (5th yr Sr.)
- 1st team All-PAC 10

* K Max Elstrom (Soph.)
- 1st team All-PAC 10

* OG Gilbert Lucas (RS Sr.)
- 2nd Team All-PAC 10

* OT Joseph Shipman (RS Soph.)
- Academic All-PAC 10

* SS Ted Powell (5th yr Sr.)
- Academic All-PAC 10





The College Years
2011 Summary for the University of Southern California Trojans
(PAC-10 Conference)
Head Coach: Bear Growlz (4th yr)
Offensive Coordinator: Korey Butler (3rd yr)
Defensive Coordinator: Bucky Riley (4th yr)
Syndicate Coordinator: Pete Prior (13th yr)
Lead Scout: Daryl Hester (1st yr)

Record: 9-3 PAC-10 5-3
BCS Rank: 24 PAC-10 4th Place
Coaches Poll #24
Fans Poll #20

Southern California Team Rank
Rushes 491 23 (T)
Rushing Yards 1933 31
Yards Per Carry 3.93 39
Pass Attempts 326 58 (T)
Completions 195 39 (T)
Passing Yards 2685 31
Yards Per Attempt 8.23 22 (T)
3rd Down Conversions 47.7 2
Points Per Game 29.9 28
Turnovers 26 96 (T)
Turnover Margin -5 90 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 354 14 (T)
Rushing Yards 991 10
Yards Per Carry 2.79 17
Pass Attempts 355 94 (T)
Completions 168 41 (T)
Passing Yards 2180 47
Yards Per Attempt 6.14 23
3rd Down Conversions 30.2 27
Points Per Game 18.2 23
Turnovers 21 56 (T)

Primary Formation: Flexbone Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 33 at UNH* (93) 0
2 36 NODM (18) 28
4 38 at AIRF (58) 24
5 34 at ORST (88) 0
7 51 at ARIZ (103) 20
8 31 at WAST (57) 10
9 27 OREG (70) 13
10 20 STAN (66) 37
11 10 at CALI (26) 27
12 27 WASH (105) 13
13 20 UCLA (10) 27
16 32 vs SDST (53) 20 ***KEYSTONE BOWL***

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
2 McDaniel QB 226 140 1953 8.64 18 13
13 Donaldson QB 100 55 732 7.32 5 9
Team --- 326 195 2685 8.23 23 22

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
42 Cash RB 147 710 4.82 7 37 62
35 Coffey RB 123 470 3.82 2 39 62
22 Schultz RB 78 435 5.57 2 24 46
2 McDaniel QB 50 43 0.86 1 24 82
41 Dromeshauser RB 32 137 4.28 2 8 6
Team --- 491 1933 3.93 14 158 335

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
88 Walyuchow WR 103 58 1128 19.4 316 6
85 Robinson WR 63 34 594 17.4 275 8
39 Dotson FB 46 30 263 8.7 134 1
35 Coffey RB 26 18 131 7.2 58 1
7 Davison WR 22 11 134 12.1 87 4
42 Cash RB 18 13 137 10.5 68 0
89 Bell WR 14 4 54 13.5 21 1
41 Dromeshauser RB 12 10 114 11.4 63 1
Team --- 326 195 2685 13.7 1059 23

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
28 Gillespie S 58 19 0.0 11 3 12
59 Coles ILB 54 22 2.5 12 1 2
26 Powell S 53 22 0.0 13 2 3
95 Burroughs DT 43 15 6.0 14 1 1
43 de Leon OLB 41 12 0.0 10 0 4
51 Fedo OLB 37 21 1.5 6 1 6
30 Wilkins CB 33 6 0.0 4 1 12
27 Crayton CB 32 9 1.0 8 3 5
48 Hopper ILB 32 10 0.0 8 0 3
36 Norton CB 30 10 0.0 5 3 4
90 Strickland DE 29 5 11.0 15 0 0
92 Newsome DE 19 9 5.0 6 0 1
54 Cunningham ILB 15 10 0.0 1 1 2
88 Walyuchow WR 12 0 0.0 0 0 0
Team --- 581 180 32.0 121 17 59



-20-

[beargrowlz]

2012 PRESEASON (Part 1)


WINTER, 2012
January

Final grades came in and academically, 2011 was an outstand success - not one player failed a class. Our academic reputation continues to improve along with our pretige.

We continue to attract higher quality student-athletes and the University of Southern California is for the better - both athletically and academically - then when we started here.

According to TCY Today we did another fine job recruiting as they ranked our incoming recruiting class 6th in the nation. Here's a look at our incoming frosh.


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
Recruiting List, Ranking View
TCY Today Rank: #6

Player Pos HT WT ST NRank ByPos StRank ByPos
$$Rayburn, Mark QB 6-2 193 FL 1 1 1 1
$$Bernard, Walt QB 6-0 188 CA 21 6 3 2
**Berberich, Ross RB 6-0 186 CO 117 9 3 1
$$Guthrie, Warren FB 6-0 206 CA 425 11 48 1
$$Warrick, Richie WR 5-11 167 CA 318 24 34 4
##Weiler, Darren WR 6-1 180 FL --- 91 78 6
##Adams, Adrian C 6-4 263 MA 452 23 8 1
##Connell, Tim C 6-2 250 CO 699 34 11 1
**Fuller, Ed G 6-3 264 CA 96 8 9 1
$$Perez, Walter K 6-0 171 CA 410 9 46 2
##Duncan, Bert DT 6-6 267 CA --- 72 --- 17
$$Sankey, Mo ILB 5-11 204 CA 387 24 45 2
$$Thomas, Lester OLB 5-11 189 UT 291 16 1 1
$$Napiecek, Maurice CB 5-11 178 CA 16 2 2 1
**Majka, Roger CB 5-10 165 CA 140 10 14 2
##Flowers, Tracy CB 5-9 163 TN --- --- 39 3

Player All-St All-US Status
$$Rayburn, Mark Yes No Committed *
$$Bernard, Walt Yes No Committed *
**Berberich, Ross Yes No Committed *
$$Guthrie, Warren Yes No Committed *
$$Warrick, Richie No No Committed *
##Weiler, Darren No No Committed *
##Adams, Adrian Yes No Committed *
##Connell, Tim Yes No Committed *
**Fuller, Ed Yes No Committed *
$$Perez, Walter Yes No Committed *
##Duncan, Bert No No Committed *
$$Sankey, Mo Yes No Committed *
$$Thomas, Lester Yes No Committed *
$$Napiecek, Maurice Yes No Committed *
**Majka, Roger Yes No Committed *
##Flowers, Tracy Yes No Committed *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.
The College Years
The Iniversity of Southern California Trojans
Recruiting List, Worksheet View
TCY Today Rank: #6

Player Pos ST Visit Cost Dist. Fit Score
$$Bernard, Walt QB CA 339 317 89
$$Rayburn, Mark QB FL 1275 1879 93
**Berberich, Ross RB CO 603 865 94
$$Guthrie, Warren FB CA 332 297 88
$$Warrick, Richie WR CA 241 21 88
##Weiler, Darren WR FL 1230 2252 69
##Connell, Tim C CO 588 832 86
##Adams, Adrian C MA 1195 2650 78
**Fuller, Ed G CA 239 15 98
$$Perez, Walter K CA 343 329 89
##Duncan, Bert DT CA 337 311 93
$$Sankey, Mo ILB CA 355 365 85
$$Thomas, Lester OLB UT 456 591 89
**Majka, Roger CB CA 332 297 97
$$Napiecek, Maurice CB CA 364 392 83
##Flowers, Tracy CB TN 1175 1808 80

Player Scout Phone Visit Emphasis Status
$$Bernard, Walt 96-- 4 2 Prest/Dist Committed *
$$Rayburn, Mark 91+ 5 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
**Berberich, Ross 85-- 3 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
$$Guthrie, Warren 87- 2 2 Acad*/Dist Committed *
$$Warrick, Richie 88- 3 2 Acad*/Dist Committed *
##Weiler, Darren 74-- 1 1 Dist/Acad Committed *
##Connell, Tim 69+ 1 2 (Dist)/PrestCommitted *
##Adams, Adrian 69++ 3 2 Dist*/Acad Committed *
**Fuller, Ed 80- 4 2 Acad/Dist Committed *
$$Perez, Walter 91- 2 1 Dist/Prest Committed *
##Duncan, Bert 71+ 4 4 Acad/Prest Committed *
$$Sankey, Mo 76+ 4 2 Dist/Acad Committed *
$$Thomas, Lester 80+ 4 3 Acad/Dist Committed *
**Majka, Roger 94- 3 2 Prest*/Acad Committed *
$$Napiecek, Maurice 90++ 3 2 Dist*/Prest Committed *
##Flowers, Tracy 58 1 0 Acad*/Dist Committed *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.

It turned out to be another fine year on the football field itself. Nine and three, winning the Keystone Bowl, defeating Notre Dame for the third year in a row, filling up the Rose Bowl again and bringing in over $31,000,000 for the University in revenues, all add up to a successful program. I'm very proud of what we've accomplished here.

Which leads me to my current dilemna. I've been offerred the dream job of every Catholic football coach in America.

Notre Dame.

Everything in my mind tells me I should take the job. It would be the culmination of my career. To join the ranks of football legends such as Frank Leahy, Knute Rockne, Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine and Lou Holtz - to coach at one of the most recognized Catholic institutions in the world, a school that literally has millions of fans across America and the world.

Notre Dame.

I've grown very attached to Southern Cal, the program I've built, the players I've brought in. I think we're maybe one or two steps away from seriously competing for a national championshp here. I built this program. These are my players, this is my team now.

But Notre Dame.

Gah.

-20-

[beargrowlz]

WINTER 2012
MEDIA SNIPPETTS
January, 2012


COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEKLY
January, 2012

Numerous sources inside the Notre Dame athletic department have confirmed that they have made an offer to Southern Cal Coach Bear Growlz to become Head Coach of the Notre Dame football program. One source stated, on the condition that he not be named, "They figure he's whipped them three years in a row. If they can't beat him, hire him away."

One should note that Growlz is Catholic and and that no doubt factors into the decision he has to make as to whether to accept this job.

In four seasons at USC, Growlz has taken a sub-.500 program when he started and built a 29-18 record, had two consecutive nine win seasons, and taken the Trojans to bowl games the last three seasons. Prior to coaching at Southern Cal, Growlz coached at tiny Keene State College in Keene, NH, where he actually established the football program, winning 25 and losing 20, though in his last season at Keene State his team went 10-2 and won the Garden State Bowl.

During Coach Growlz' tenure at Southern Cal, the school's academic reputation has increased immensely. He instituted minimum study hall restrictions on all players in the program and last season, not a single Trojan player was placed on academic probation for the first time in recent memory - a fact the coach takes great pride in.

In fact, some would say that during the coach's time at USC, it has become the best school for an athlete to get an education at in America - and looking at the numbers, one could make a logical argument in favor of that belief.

According to the Princeton Review, since Growlz' has taken over as football coach, the school's academic reputation for student athletes has risen to 9th overall in the nation. But if you look a little deeper, the average GPA of USC football players is 3.14 - best in the nation. If your son plays football and you want him to get a college degree, the best place to send him these days, is USC.

Growlz' time at USC hasn't been all rose parades and cherry blossoms though. In his four years with the program he has failed to finish higher than fourth in the admittedly loaded PAC 10. And as the Los Angeles media is fond of letting him know, he hasn't beaten crosscity rival UCLA yet either.

Job offers from Notre Dame don't come along every day. But football programs like the one Bear Growlz has built at USC don't happen overnight either. We don't pretend to know whether he'll leave Southern Cal for Notre Dame, but there is one thing we know.

It must be rough being Bear Growlz these days.

-20-

[beargrowlz]

WINTER, 2012
MEDIA SNIPPETTS


LA TIMES
January, 2012

So there's an elephant in the room and everyone is pretending it isn't there. The elephant is that perhaps the single most noted football program in the history of the United States has offerred Southern Cal's Head Coach, Bear Growlz, its Head Football Coaching job. The elephant in the room is that Bear Growlz, like probably hundreds if not thousands or millions of Catholic football fans, probably grew up as little boys dreaming of playing or coaching the legends that donned the blue and gold for the Fighting Irish. The elephant in the room is that after the past two seasons at Southern Cal, Coach Growlz can write his own ticket anywhere he wants - even to mighty Notre Dame.

So why hasn't he taken the job?

This should be a no brainer. Sources close to Coach Growlz say he was floored and honored to be approached about the job. They say one of Growlz' biggest goals each season has been to defeat Notre Dame in USC's annual match with them. So why hasn't he taken the job yet?

We suppose there could be many reasons. Money, control, location. But jobs like the Notre Dame one don't come along every day. We can't think of many coaches that would turn it down - Catholic or not. So why hasn't Coach Growlz accepted the job yet?

Could it be...

Might it be ...

Just maybe...

The bear likes it at USC?

-20-

[beargrowlz]

ESPN NEWS
January, 2012


ESPN Newsflash: Southern Cal Coach Bear Growlz has called a press conference for 4 PM this afternoon at his offices on the campus of the University of Southern California. Speculation has it that Coach Growlz will announce that he has accepted the Head Coaching position at Notre Dame.

ESPN News will cover the press conference live.


-20-

[beargrowlz]

PRESEASON 2012


Press Conference
@Office of Coach Bear Growlz
University of Southern California Campus

Coach Bear Growlz (BG): Good afternoon. I have a brief statement to make, and then I'll take questions from y'all. Late last evening I spoke with the President of Notre Dame University. I informed the good father that I was honored and touched to be considered for the Head Coaching job at Notre Dame. I told him that as a boy I did indeed grow up dreaming of putting on the blue and gold, and now as a man coaching there would be a wonderful opportunity. But sometimes life takes you places where you never expect to go. Eight years ago I never would have pictured myself holding a press conference - heck who would have listened? *(laughter from assembled reporters)*

BG: I never expected to be the Head Coach of USC. That's one of those places life just took me. But a funny thing can happen along the way when life is blowing you around like a leaf in a New England autumn wind. Sometimes, every once in awhile, life takes you to a place where you're happy, a place where you don't want to leave. Even if you meant to go somewhere else, sometimes you're happier where life took you instead.

BG: I love it here at Southern Cal. I'm proud of what we've built here. I'm proud of our performance on the football field and in the classroom. Therefore, last evening when I spoke to Father McBride, I withdrew my name from consideration for the head Coaching job at Notre Dame.

BG: I'm the coach of Southern Cal, and I'm staying at Southern Cal.

BG: I'll take your questions now.

Eliza Chavez, USA Today: Coach, aren't you afraid this is a once in a lifetime opportunity that you're turning down?

BG: I have a once in a lifetime opportunity here at Southern Cal.

Paul Maret, CFW: Coach Growlz, how hard a decision was this to make? At any point did you think you would take the job at Notre Dame?

BG: *(nods)* Yes, it was a very difficult decision. Coaching at Notre Dame is an extraordinary opportunity for a football coach. It just came down to where was the right place for me to be right now. I thought long and hard about it, and the place for me is at Southern Cal doing what I'm doing. Oh, and beating Notre Dame of course.

*(laughter from the reporters)*

Jillian Cannon, USC Trojan: Coach, boxers or briefs?

*(more laughter from reporters)*

BG: Can a football coach plead the 5th?

*(more laughter)*

Twig Harper, LA Times: Coach, gonna beat UCLA this year?

BG: Damn well going to try Twig. Damn well going to try.

USC Spokesperson: That'll be all for now, thank you for attending. Just down the hall we have working facilities for you to call, fax or email in your stories.

-20-

[beargrowlz]

LA Times
February, 2012


University of Southern California Offensive Coordinator Korey Butler today announced he had accepted the Offensive Coordinator position at Penn State University. It was an odd, almost lateral move for Coach Butler - though Penn State is currently a little more prestigious than USC - so we asked Coach Butler about the move. Butler stated, "Y'all, I want to be a Division 1 Head Coach. With Coach Growlz deciding he was a gonna be staying at USC, I don't think that job will be open for awhile. I figure Old Coach Joey P is gonna die...er...retire soon, so I decided Penn State was the place to be."

We asked USC Head Coach Bear Growlz for comment and he stated "I wish Korey all the best in the world at Penn State. He's a terrific coach and we're sure going to miss him." When asked if he was angry that Butler left for another college, Coach Growlz replied, "No. I knew when we hired Korey this was a stepping stone on his career path. But he did a great job here and that's all that matters."

Before Butler was hired at USC, he was Head Coach of Division 1-AA Georgia Southern, a perennial 1-AA national power.

-20-

[beargrowlz]

WINTER 2012

February, 2012

Well, I turned down the Notre Dame job. Southern Cal is a good fit for me right now. Unfortunately, we lost Offensive Coordinator Korey Butler to Penn State. We replaced him with Randy Edwards, who had been the Offensive Coordinator at Clemson. Edwards isn't the brilliant tactician Butler was, but he's outstanding at player development and he's no slouch in the playcalling department either.

The rest of our staff remains intact, though I gave serious consideration to replacing Lead Scout Daryl Hester. I haven't been happy with his assessment of running backs - we'll give him another year and see if he grows into the job.

* * *

SPRING 2012

We have our annual game against Notre dame again this year, and we've got UNH coming into the Rose Bowl as the second half of a home and home series. Every season there is one PAC 10 team we don't play. This year that team is Oregon. That leaves us one game to schedule.

I'm going to offer Ohio State a home and home, we haven't played many Big Ten teams lately.

Incidentally, the Board of Trustees apparently is pleased with our progress, they renovated the Rose Bowl, it now holds 96,600 instead of 92,000.

Stage 1: Ohio State accepted my request and will be coming to the Rose Bowl week 1. We'll be travelling to Ohio State in 2013.

Here's a look at our 2012 schedule.

The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2012 Schedule

Team Rank: 25
Conference: PAC-10
Rival: California-Los Angeles
Stadium Capacity: 96,600
Season Tickets Sold: 94,100

Week Opponent Result Attendance Weather Television
1 OHIO STATE
2 NEW HAMPSHIRE
$$5 at Oregon State
$$6 (34) ARIZONA STATE
$$7 (20) CALIFORNIA
$$9 WASHINGTON STATE
$$10 at Washington
$$11 at Arizona
$$12 at Stanford
13 (12) NOTRE DAME
$$14 (8) CALIFORNIA-LOS ANGELES

Home Games in ALL CAPS
$$-Conference Games, ##-League Championship Games, **-Post-Season Games

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2012 PRESEASON


SUMMER 2012

Took care of all the kids academics and time management today. Seems less monotonous once you get all the upperclassmen set up - then its just seting the frosh and tweaking each upper classman each summer. Was very pleased no one was on academic probation. That's good news.

We lost a lot of seniors to graduation this year, but I didn't stay at Southern Cal to finish ,500. I'm expecting good things from this bunch if we can stay healthy. Ev McDaniel was hard pressed by redshirt sophomore Malcolm Moreno for the starting QB job, and if he doesn't avoid the interception bug Moreno could see some action. Joining Ev in the backfield will be 5th year senior Donny Cash - who has yet to live up to his potential because of injury. We're hoping he can stay healthy this season. Winning the wingback spot is our tailback of the future, redshirt sophomore Aaron Castillo. And over at FB will be 3rd year starter, Junior Clyde Dotson. That gives us a pretty explosive backfield and we should put up a lot of yardage and points - that's my hope anyway.

McDaniel's main targets will be sophomore WR Willie Davison, back from an injury which caused him to miss all of last season. Joining him at the other receiver slot will be redshirt sophomore Ronnie Wheeler, who has explosive speed and should make some big plays for us this season. Their primary backup will be sophomore Brian robinson, All-PAC 10 Frosh Player of the Year in 2011.

Blocking for our backs will be a very young but growing offensive line. At OC redshirt sophomore Mark Powll will start - we're extremely disappointed in the inability of any of our young centers to develop, maybe Powell will change that. The left side of the line will be anchored by 5th year senior OG Gilbert Lucas who has really developed into an exceptional offensive lineman. At LT will be redshirt sophomore Nathan Padgett, who I think we can expect great things from over the next four years. Nathan has the ability to become a dominant force on the O-line. On the right side will be sophomore OG Ricky Estevez and redshirt junior OT Warren Taggart. This line has promise and could grow into a very strong asset for the Trojans.

On defense, redshirt junior Ben Burroughs once again anchors the line at Nose Tackle. Flanking him at the defensive ends are redshirt senior Steve Strickland and 5th year senior Kyle Newsome. Expect 5th year senior Larry walton to see some action on passing downs in place of Newsome as well.

The linebacking corps is a little something old and a little something new. In all honesty, this is probably our weakest linebacking corps since I took over the program. On the outside will be junior Walt de Leon and sophomore Junior Morrison. Joining them on the inside will be 5th year senior Adrian Hopper and redshirt senior Johnny Coles. A lot will be determined on how well Morrison developes.

In the secondary we're stacked on the corners. Redshirt senior Mack Wilkins returns as shutdown corner. Joining him on the other side will be redshirt sophomore Tyrell Lyons who is going to be a simply outstanding DB. Their primary backup has the ability to start in most programs, freshman Maurice Napiecek. The slick thing to do would be to redshirt Napiecek, but he's just too damn good not to use, so he plays.

We're pretty weak at safety this year - lots of potential, not much current ability. At Strong Safety will be redshirt sophomore Claude Horn and joining him at the other safety spot will be redshirt senior "I almost flunked Pokemon Training" Humphrey.

I think we have the talent to be a very good team. A lot will be upto 1st year Offensive Coordinator Randy Edwards. if he can get the most out of our players, and we stay healthy, I think we have a shot at contending for the PAC-10 title. And Ev McDaniel needs to avoid the interception bug. I'm also looking for a big year out of Donny Cash and our speed merchant receivers Willie Davison and Ronnie Wheeler. And once again I suspect Bucky riley will work wonders with our defense.

Here's a look at our roster, and the preseason polls.


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2012 Roster/Scout Overview
From the Desk of Daryl Hester, Lead Scout

Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
Bernard, Walt 18 QB Fr 22 95
Checkovich, Nicky 6 QB Jr* 17 70
Donaldson, Irving 13 QB Jr* 42 94
King, Roderick 17 QB Sr* 29 97
McDaniel, Everett 2 QB Sr 56 92
Moreno, Malcolm 14 QB So* 41 89
Rayburn, Mark 8 QB Fr 33 100
Berberich, Brad 45 RB Sr* 43 81
Berberich, Ross 34 RB Fr 42 65
Cash, Donnell 42 RB Sr 85 85
Castillo, Aaron 21 RB So* 43 100
Coffey, Junior 35 RB Jr* 48 83
Dromeshauser, Antoine 41 RB Sr 55 67
Coleman, Lance 47 FB Jr 29 100
Dotson, Clyde 39 FB Jr 47 92
Guthrie, Warren 33 FB Fr 34 100
Detsch, Gilbert 31 FB* Sr* 10 10
Strobel, Bryan 38 FB* Sr 4 8
Bernstein, Jonathan 86 TE* Sr 12 12
Irwin, Marty 80 TE* So* 5 7
Raymond, Colin 81 TE* Jr* 7 7
Davison, Willie 7 WR So 44 99
Robinson, Brian 85 WR So 51 70
Warrick, Richie 1 WR Fr 35 100
Weiler, Darren 5 WR Fr 19 57
Wheeler, Ronald 4 WR So* 36 100
Bell, Freddie 89 WR* Sr 35 57
Erickson, Vinny 83 WR* So* 8 8
Turnbull, Dexter 9 WR* Jr* 8 22
Adams, Adrian 51 C Fr 10 78
Connell, Tim 53 C Fr 4 73
Mitchell, Rufus 57 C Jr* 12 71
Powell, Mark 52 C So* 20 81
Dodsworth, Danny 50 C* Sr 23 43
Estevez, Ricky 64 G So 37 88
Fuller, Ed 73 G Fr 18 95
Lucas, Gilbert 68 G Sr 62 82
Wolf, Howie 78 G Sr 42 75
Dudgeon, Vinny 72 T Sr 35 80
Greene, Howie 76 T So* 7 80
Padgett, Nathan 61 T So* 36 84
Shipman, Joseph 74 T Jr* 44 87
Taggart, Warren 77 T Jr* 41 78
Johnstone, Rickey 15 P Jr* 35 63
Lane, Skip 3 P* Fr 7 20
Elstrom, Max 19 K Jr 65 100
Perez, Walter 11 K Fr 26 76
Buckley, Victor 16 K* Fr 0 0
Chevrier, Alonzo 79 DE So* 32 98
Newman, Walt 94 DE Jr* 26 89
Newsome, Kyle 92 DE Sr 60 85
Strickland, Steve 90 DE Sr* 49 82
Walton, Larry 98 DE Sr 43 77
Burroughs, Ben 95 DT Sr* 49 100
Choate, Clarence 71 DT So* 22 73
Duncan, Bert 91 DT Fr 15 60
Rogers, Arnie 75 DT Jr* 23 71
Boone, Emmitt 66 DT* Sr 30 58
Boone, Eric 96 ILB So* 14 70
Coles, Johnny 59 ILB Sr* 55 100
Cunningham, Dale 54 ILB Jr 45 64
Hopper, Adrian 48 ILB Sr 73 88
Sankey, Mo 55 ILB Fr 13 69
Warren, Geoff 99 ILB So 32 56
Lichtenberger, Grant 46 ILB* Sr 8 17
de Leon, Walt 43 OLB Jr 43 82
Mascorella, Rob 56 OLB Sr 31 75
Morrison, Junior 93 OLB So 25 93
Thomas, Lester 44 OLB Fr 19 83
Thomason, Korey 97 OLB Jr* 23 69
Dennis, Howard 58 OLB* Sr* 5 25
Adjemian, Terrance 49 CB Sr* 43 100
Galloway, Max 23 CB Jr* 32 100
Lyons, Tyrell 29 CB So* 61 92
Majka, Roger 36 CB Fr 28 99
Napiecek, Maurice 26 CB Fr 46 100
Wilkins, Mack 30 CB Sr* 74 91
Flowers, Tracy 32 CB* Fr 8 65
Horn, Claude 40 S So 29 77
Humphrey, K.C. 37 S Sr* 26 39
Etaton, Vinny 22 S* Fr 11 21
Miller, Bubba 24 S* Fr 8 16



The College Years
2012 Preseason BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Texas A&M 0-0 B12 1.00 1.00 0.00 1.24 3.24 1
Florida 0-0 SEC 2.00 2.00 0.00 2.04 6.04 2
Penn State 0-0 B10 3.00 3.00 0.00 0.72 6.72 3
Michigan 0-0 B10 4.00 4.00 0.00 0.52 8.52 4
Nebraska 0-0 B12 5.00 5.00 0.00 1.04 11.04 5
Virginia 0-0 ACC 6.00 6.00 0.00 0.32 12.32 6
California-Los Angeles 0-0 P10 8.00 10.50 0.00 1.92 20.42 7
Iowa 0-0 B10 7.00 14.00 0.00 0.48 21.48 8
Louisville 0-0 USA 9.00 10.00 0.00 3.04 22.04 9
Syracuse 0-0 BGE 10.00 12.00 0.00 1.48 23.48 10
Texas 0-0 B12 13.00 10.50 0.00 1.20 24.70 11
Marshall 0-0 MAC 11.00 10.00 0.00 3.80 24.80 12
Notre Dame 0-0 IND 12.00 9.50 0.00 4.56 26.06 13
West Virginia 0-0 BGE 16.00 13.00 0.00 1.60 30.60 14
Wisconsin 0-0 B10 18.00 17.50 0.00 0.80 36.30 15
Boston College 0-0 BGE 15.00 20.00 0.00 1.32 36.32 16
Pittsburgh 0-0 BGE 14.00 23.50 0.00 1.40 38.90 17
South Carolina 0-0 SEC 19.00 18.50 0.00 2.16 39.66 18
Oklahoma 0-0 B12 24.00 18.00 0.00 1.12 43.12 19
California 0-0 P10 20.00 25.00 0.00 1.72 46.72 20
Alabama 0-0 SEC 22.00 22.50 0.00 2.28 46.78 21
South Florida 0-0 USA 17.00 25.50 0.00 4.60 47.10 22
**Southern California 0-0 P10 25.00 20.50 0.00 1.88 47.38 23
Miami of Florida 0-0 ACC 28.00 21.50 0.00 1.36 50.86 24
Rice 0-0 WAC 21.00 29.00 0.00 3.44 53.44 25

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2012 SEASON (1st Qtr)


WEEK 1
vs Ohio State (0-0-0) *TV5*
(OSU -4) USC BCS RANK: #23

I think the oddsmakers are dissin us, making Ohio State 4 point favorites at the Rose Bowl. At least i hope so.

Looking to land a number of the Rivals.com 100 this year, but am concentrating on kids we have some kind of hook with. Our academics have improved so much that often I am able to use that as a hook to get the kids in here. Some of the more prominent preps we are recruiting early are: ILB Tyrell Vaughn, OC Chester Hoffman, DE Joel Dunnigan and WR Graham Terrell.

Can you say Heisman?

Yes it's only one game, but God what a heckuva game it was. Donny "Big Money" Cash didn't like getting dissed by the oddsmakers and took matters into his own hands, rushing for 256 yards and 4 touchdowns on 34 carries (7.5 ypc) and added 4 receptions for 36 yards in front of 96,000 fans at the Rose Bowl to lead the way to a Trojan romp over Ohio State 38-9.

Defense was the other key as the Trojan D held the Buckeyes to 32 yards on 30 carries, sacked their QB 5 times and picked him off twice - both by Safety Claude Horn. 5th year senior Larry walton had 2 sacks and NT Ben Burroughs has 1.5.

Truly a terrific way to open the year.

USC 38 Ohio State 9
PAC-10 (0-0-0) Overall (1-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 2
VS. New Hampshire (0-0-0)
(USC -6) USC BCS RANK: #6

Pollsters are getting loopy again, #23 to #6 in a week. It'll take another 2-3 weeks before the polls start meaning anything.

Spent the week hunting down new recruits and have put together our short list and will start follow up calls and visits next week. Really concentrating on students we have a "hook" with, high level of athletic and academic preparedness, and players who may be able to step in and help right away at certain spots.

Redshirt senior LB Johnny Coles was the star today, making 7 tackles, assisting on 6 others, and picking off a Wildcat pass and returning it 83 yards for a touchdown as USC routed UNH 35-3 in front of a crowd of 96,000 at the Rose Bowl.

Star Tailback Donny Cash had another good day running the ball, rushing for 137 yards and 1 TD on 26 carries (5.2 ypc) as the trojans ran for 234 net yards on the day. The passing game remained mostly quiet, though Ev McDaniel did get picked once. NT Ben Burroughs had another 1.5 sacks.

OLB Walt de Leon tore a knee ligament and is out for the season. He'' be replaced by senior Rob Mascorella. That will definitely weaken our defense some.

Definitely two good wins, though I'm a little worried about McDaniel not meshing with the new Offensive Coordinator yet.

USC 35 UNH 3
PAC-10 (0-0-0) Overall (2-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 3
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #5

We're off this week and hopefully that'll give time for Ronnie Wheeler to heal - he tweaked his hammy in week 1. We're going to miss Walt de Leon, hopefully Rob Mascorella can pick up the slack.

Spent the week making follow up calls and visits. Be nice to get a couple of high quality early signings.

PAC-10 (0-0-0) Overall (2-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 4
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #11

Off again this week. Difficult to maintain continuity with two weeks off in a row, but that's our schedule this year. Should have thought of that when I was putting it together. The good news is that Ronnie Wheeler's hammy is all healed - so we should see more of him in the next few games. Hopefully he'll turn out to be an impact player.

Spent the week making up follow up calls and visits to our recruiting list. Seems like the kids tire quickly of being contacted more easily these days. Maybe that's because they've got so many big schools chasing after them.

PAC-10 (0-0-0) Overall (2-0-0)

* * *

MEDIA SNIPPETTS
WEEK 5


LA Times
Week 5

Well Coach Bear Growlz certainly has his USC Trojans off to a fighting start after he left Notre Dame at the altar. Tailback Donnell "Big Money" Cash is off to a fine start and people are mentioning his name and Heisman Trophy in the same sentence. But as the men of troy begin their PAC-10 schedule two things will greatly influence their success or failure. First, this is a young Trojan team. How well the young team gels will in large part determine how far this team can go. Second, and perhaps more importantly, how well 5th year senior QB Everett McDaniel plays will be crucial to the team's success. Unless McDaniel plays far better than he has in his first three seasons as a starter, the Trojans will be severely handicapped and won't be a legitimate contender for the PAC-10 crown.

###


ESPN NEWS
Week 5

. . . and from the PAC-10, Southern Cal and CAL are ranked 16th and 17th as the PAC-10 season looms. Most notable here is the absence of UCLA from the TOP 25.

Has USC finally moved past their cross-city rivals?

The College Years
2012 Week 5 BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Michigan 3-0 B10 2.50 2.00 0.00 1.84 6.34 1
Pittsburgh 3-0 BGE 1.25 13.50 0.00 0.52 15.27 2
Syracuse 3-0 BGE 5.25 7.50 0.00 3.08 15.83 3
West Virginia 2-0 BGE 4.50 8.00 0.00 4.16 16.66 4
South Florida 3-0 USA 5.75 15.50 0.00 1.12 22.37 5
Texas A&M 2-1 B12 16.00 7.00 1.00 1.76 25.76 6
Michigan State 3-0 B10 3.50 20.00 0.00 2.40 25.90 7
Wisconsin 3-0 B10 12.00 11.00 0.00 4.00 27.00 8
Penn State 2-1 B10 10.50 15.50 1.00 0.76 27.76 9
Hawaii 3-0 WAC 10.50 15.50 0.00 3.24 29.24 10
Rice 3-0 WAC 10.25 17.50 0.00 2.12 29.87 11
Iowa 3-0 B10 18.75 9.00 0.00 4.28 32.03 12
Texas Christian 2-0 USA 11.00 18.00 0.00 3.84 32.84 13
Louisville 3-0 USA 23.25 6.50 0.00 3.60 33.35 14
Nebraska 3-0 B12 28.25 3.00 0.00 4.52 35.77 15
**Southern California 2-0 P10 21.50 13.00 0.00 3.28 37.78 16
California 3-0 P10 20.25 15.50 0.00 4.68 40.43 17
Troy 3-0 SUN 12.00 27.50 0.00 2.20 41.70 18
Tennessee 2-0 SEC 21.75 17.00 0.00 5.00 43.75 19
Notre Dame 3-1 IND 18.75 22.50 1.00 2.36 44.61 20
Brigham Young 2-0 MTW 15.50 26.00 0.00 4.24 45.74 21
Virginia 3-0 ACC 37.75 4.00 0.00 4.20 45.95 22
Oklahoma 2-1 B12 17.25 28.00 1.00 1.60 47.85 23
Arkansas State 2-0 SUN 12.00 34.50 0.00 2.48 48.98 24
Western Michigan 2-0 MAC 13.00 34.50 0.00 3.40 50.90 25


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2012 Season (2nd Qtr)


WEEK 5
@ Oregon State (0-3-0) (PAC 10)
(USC -8) USC BCS RANK: #16

We open our PAC 10 schedule this week at the Beavers as 8 point favorites on the road. It's important for us to get off to a good start in conference and I'm looking forward to see how we perform this week.

Quarterly grades came out today. Only three students had D's, no one failing any classes. Assigned some coaching blocks to the players with D's and C-'s. Plenty of coaching blocks to give out with this staff. Our academics are shaping up nicely.

In addition to following up again with recruits we've already contacted, made a few new contacts this week. A good number of recruits are on campus this week and we've maxed out contact with them all already, so it's just a matter of them making a decision now.

This week against the Beavers of Oregon State Donny Cash once again led the way, rushing for 167 yards and 3 touchdowns on 31 carries (5.3 ypc) as we beat the Beavers 35-6.

Speedster Willie Davison had his first big day of the season hauling in 5 passes for 139 yards including a 70 yard strike for a touchdown. Ev McDaniel continued to have his difficulties however as he was picked off twice.

The defense was led by redshirt senior ILB Johnny Coles who made 10 tackles and assisted on 3 others. DE Steve Strickland had three sacks and redshirt sophomore Tyrell Lyons had two interceptions as the Trojans dominated all phases of the game.

A terrific win for us in our PAC-10 opener.

USC 35 Oregon State 6
PAC-10 (1-0-0) Overall (3-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 6
vs. Arizona State (2-2-0) (PAC-10) *TV4*
(USC -6) USC BCS RANK: #14

Outstanding news on the recruiting front as we landed an early committment from the #1 ranked recruit in the nation. Tyrell Vaughn, an inside linebacker from Independence High School in Glendale, Arizona signed a letter of intent to play for USC next season. Vaughn, a 99- pass rushing LB, comes from a school with outstanding athletic preperation and very good academic prep. Vaughn's academics are superb and he should be a major impact player for years to come.

Also signing an early letter with us is Cole McConnell, a wide receiver from Artesia High School in Lakewood, California. McConnell is rated a 69+ wideout who excels at clutch receiving. He comes from a prep school with an excellent athletic program and his academics are solid if not spectacular. He was ranked 97th in this recruiting class by rivals.com.

Spent the week making new contacts with players who appeared to have some interest in USC. We're off to a very good recruiting start this season but have maxed out contacts with our primary list, so we're searching for fallback players who will fit into the program.

Made a few adjustments to the game plan in hopes of getting Ev McDaniel on track, but he's just unable to avoid the interception bug, getting picked two more times today. Still, Tailback Donny Cash and wingback Aaron Castillo led the potent Trojan running game as Cash ran for 189 yards on 34 carries (5.5 ypc) and Castillo took one to the house on 7 carries while rushing for 31 yards (4.4 ypc) in leading USC to a 31-21 victory over ASU in front of a full house at the Rose Bowl, filling all 96,600 seats - a record crowd for a Trojan football game.

McDaniel did throw two touchdown passes, one to Willie Davison who responded with another big day, hauling in 7 receptions for 121 yards including the touchdown grab. Ronnie Wheeler had the other touchdown reception - his only catch of the day.

Big Ben Burroughs had 1.5 sacks and reserve CB Terry Adjemian picked off two passes to secure the Southern Cal win.

A bit closer than we would have liked, but it is what it is, and we'll take the "W".

USC 31 Arizona State 21
PAC-10 (2-0-0) Overall (4-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 7
vs. #12 California (5-0-0) (PAC-10) *TV1*
(Even) USC BCS RANK: #10

One of the biggest games of the year this week as the Golden Bears come into the Rose Bowl for a showdown on national television. This is one of our hump games. We've got to learn to beat CAL if we want any hope of winning the conference and contending for a BCS Bowl game, let alone a national championship. Aside from the injury to de Leon, we're completely healthy, so now's as good a time as any to face them - though I'm still worried about the inability of ev McDaniel to get in synch.

Lots of committments this week, we're having a real good year recruiting in my opinion. Among the preps who signed letters of intent were: Sammy Heekin, a wide receiver from Monte Vista High School in Spring Valley, California; Tony Rodriguez, a center (73+, #126 nationally) from Sultana High School in Hesperia, California; Tracy Dragon, a defensive tackle (68+, #67 nationally) from Troy High School in Fullerton, California; Reggie Buckley, an outside linebacker (96+, 59th nationally) from Mount Miguel High School in Spring Valley, California; and Shaun Nordskov, a safety (79-) from Benson Polytechnic High School in Portland, Oregon.

Because of all our redshirts, we're only going to be able to offer 13 scholarships this year, but like the last couple of years hope to land a few recruited walk-ons with good academics.

The Southern Cal defense was the story of the day as Bucky Riley's unit dsacked the Golden Bear quarterback 9 times and returned two INT's for touchdowns as the Trojans cruised to a 38-14 win in front of another packed house at the Rose Bowl.

Nickel back Maurice Napiecek and CB Tyrell Lyons each took INT's to the house this week while DE Kyle Newsome led the way with 2.5 sacks and DE's Steve Strickland and Larry Walton, and NT Big Ben Burroughs each had 1.5 sacks completely disrupting any offense CAL tried to get going.

Offensively the Trojans had some difficulties as well, ev McDaniel was picked off two more times - but Junior Coffey, subbing for Wingback Aaron Castillo who went down midgame with an injury, had 81 yards on 3 carries including a touchdown scamper. Donny Cash was held to 94 yards and 1 touchdown on 25 carries (3.7 ypg), but it didn't matter as the Southern Cal defense was dominating on the day.

ILB Johnny Coles was also injured this week and could miss up to 12 weeks - possibly out for the year further depleting a weak linebacking corps.

But a great victory in a hump game. We needed that one. Big, big win.

USC 38 California 14
PAC-10 (3-0-0) Overall (5-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 8
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #4

I think we've earned that ranking with the big win we had last week. We get a breather this week with an off week. Will spend most of the time making calls and visits to recruits and working some extra time with Ev McDaniel and Randy edwards on a game plan that can minimize Ev's mistakes.

Four more committments this week. They are: Gabe Whalen, a running back from Millikan High School in Long Beach, California; Tracy Aalders, a defensive end from Shenendehowa High School in Clifton Park, New York; Riddick Taylor, an outside linebacker from Artesia High School in Lakewood, California; and Louie Finch, a safety from West Hills High School in Santee, California.

Signing a lot of Caly kids this year. Whalen is a 90-- back rated 19th overall in the nation by rivals.com. He comes well prepared academically and athletically. Aalders is an 84++ DE rated 10th in the nation and #1 in NY state. Aalders is also coming out of high school well coached and with outstanding academics in a good academic program.

Taylor is an 87- OLB ranked 28th in the nation. he comes to us from one of the best athletic programs in the nation (97) and his academics are good, though not spectacular. And finally, Finch is a 70+ Safety ranked 73rd in the country who comes to us from perhaps the best athletic program in the nation (100) with outstanding academics.

Some very nice signings for our program. However that leaves us with only two more scholarships to offer - though we have 5 slots left in our recruiting class, so for the rest of this fall we'll be inviting a bunch of kids to visit and offerring walk on spots to them.

PAC-10 (3-0-0) Overall (5-0-0)

* * *

WEEK 9 MEDIA SNIPPETTS


LA TIMES
Week 9, 2012
Are the Southern Cal Trojans for real?

What a tremendous victory they had over the Cal Bears. The Trojans defense is playing spectacularly well and Donnell "Big Money" Cash is having a fine season, worthy of Heisman trophy consideration. But can this team win with Everett McDaniel at Quarterback?

McDaniel, who threw 31 INT's in his first season as a starter in 2009 has been plagued by the pickoff bug this year as well, throwing 8 interceptions while only accounting for 4 touchdown passes. Coach Bear Growlz and first year Offensive Coordinator Randy Edwards have tried to allow McDaniel to throw deeper this year to take advantage of his strong arm, but if anything it looks as if he has regressed. Perhaps it's time for the coaching staff to either make a change at quarterback, or check down the offensive gameplan and have McDaniel throw short routes and let his receivers make the big play.

As it looks like this Trojan team may be poised for great things this year, something needs to be done before McDaniels interception woes cripple the offense entirely.

###


ESPN NEWS
Week 9, 2012

Maybe bear Growlz knew what he was doing in turning down the Notre Dame job this past winter, as he has USC at #3 in the BCS rankings. Great seasons from USC halfback Donnell cash and sophomore wideout Willie Davison, along with a stifling defense that puts enormous pressure on opposing quarterbacks, have placed the Trojans square in the BCS mix this year.

The College Years
2012 Week 9 BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 6-0 SEC 2.25 1.00 0.00 3.40 6.65 1
Syracuse 5-0 BGE 1.75 4.00 0.00 2.28 8.03 2
**Southern California 5-0 P10 4.75 7.00 0.00 3.00 14.75 3
West Virginia 5-0 BGE 7.50 3.50 0.00 4.64 15.64 4
Louisville 7-0 USA 8.00 3.00 0.00 4.84 15.84 5
Michigan 6-1 B10 9.00 6.00 1.00 0.60 16.60 6
Iowa 7-0 B10 9.50 4.50 0.00 4.24 18.24 7
Vanderbilt 6-0 SEC 1.75 17.50 0.00 3.28 22.53 8
Texas Christian 5-0 USA 8.50 11.00 0.00 4.04 23.54 9
Pittsburgh 6-1 BGE 7.50 17.00 1.00 1.48 26.98 10
South Carolina 5-1 SEC 6.50 17.00 1.00 2.60 27.10 11
Notre Dame 6-1 IND 13.25 10.50 1.00 3.04 27.79 12
Wisconsin 5-1 B10 9.00 16.00 1.00 2.92 28.92 13
Virginia 5-1 ACC 18.00 10.50 1.00 4.60 34.10 14
Nebraska 6-1 B12 20.75 7.50 1.00 4.92 34.17 15
Texas A&M 4-2 B12 21.50 10.50 2.00 1.64 35.64 16
Hawaii 5-1 WAC 13.25 20.50 1.00 1.32 36.07 17
Michigan State 6-0 B10 24.00 12.00 0.00 5.00 41.00 18
Alabama 5-1 SEC 17.50 19.50 1.00 3.92 41.92 19
California 6-1 P10 18.25 18.50 1.00 4.36 42.11 20
Rice 5-1 WAC 19.50 20.50 1.00 2.20 43.20 21
Penn State 4-2 B10 26.25 16.00 2.00 1.04 45.29 22
Boise State 5-1 WAC 21.75 23.00 1.00 4.52 50.27 23
South Florida 5-2 USA 21.50 27.00 2.00 2.04 52.54 24
Nevada-Las Vegas 4-1 MTW 21.75 28.50 1.00 1.76 53.01 25

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2013 SEASON (3rd Qtr)


WEEK 9
vs. Washington State (3-5-0) (PAC 10) *TV5*
(USC -21) USC BCS RANK: #3

The BCS has us ranked really high this week. The way we've been playing, we've earned it. Still have a lot of tough games to go though, and of course our annual matchup against Notre Dame. But we can't look past the Cougars. One game at a time and we'll get to where we want to be.

OLB Geoff Warren, currently a sophomore redshirting, was caught shoplifting some CD's he had stuffed down his pants. The NCAA has chosen not to sanction him, leaving his discipline to the discretion of the USC football program. We've decided to suspend him for the season in order to maintain discipline and order on the team.

More good news on the recruiting front. Chester Hoffman, a center from Kalani High School in Honolulu, Hawaii has signed a letter of intent o play for Southern cal next season. Hoffman is an 88+ OC and he is ranked as the 9th best recruit in the nation. He comes to us from a program with both outstanding athletic and academic preperation and his grades and SAT scores are fantastic. A good, good committment. We've got one scholarship offer left out there and we're hoping WR Graham Terrell from Oregon takes us up on the offer.

Quarterly grades came out this week. Allotted some extra time to students with D's and C-'s. Still have a bunch of coaching blocs left for the last two quarters of the season. We should be ok academically.

Another packed house at the Rose Bowl watched the USC Trojans run all over an outmanned Washington State team 34-9. Led by the rushing of Tailback Donny Cash and backup Wingback Junior Coffey, the Trojans scored another convincing victory against a PAC-10 foe.

Donny Cash led the way, running for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns on 30 carries (5.3 ypc) and Junior Coffey had an explosive day, running for 99 yards and a TD on 9 carries (11 ypc). Wideout Willie Davison continued to make his mark as one of the best receivers in the nation, having yet another big day, hauling in 8 passes for 161 yards. QB Ev McDaniel went 17/24 for 272 yards with an INT.

Both Trojan cornerbacks had picks today, Mack Wilkins taking his to the house for a score. Big Ben Burroughs and Steve Strickland each had a sack and a half as the Trojans applied pressure to the Cougars QB all day.

Another convincing win for us in the PAC-10. I'm really excited about this team. Still don't know what to about Ev McDaniel - he's not playing particularly well, but no one else is ready to start and win games at this level yet.

USC 34 Washington State 9
PAC-10 (4-0-0) Overall (6-0-0)

* * *


WEEK 10
@ Washington (1-6-0) (PAC-10)
(USC -27) USC BCS RANK: #5

Bad news, Graham Terrell turned us down and decided to attend Virginia instead. He would have been a nice addition. Offerred his scholarship to an OT and OG, whichever accepts first can have it.

A bad, bad loss at Washington probably kills our national championship - and likely PAC-10 title - hopes as Ev McDaniel throws 4 picks and we self-implode, losing 17-7 to the Huskies. Damn, damn, damn. Not good at all.

Not that Donny Cash, or anyone else on offense helped much either. Just a miserable performance all around on offense.

On defense DE Steve Strickland played well registering 2 sacks and backup ILB Dale Cunningham played well with 9 tackles, 5 assists and 1/2 a sack.

We'll remember this loss for a long time.

Washington 17 USC 7
PAC-10 (4-1-0) Overall (6-1-0)

* * *


WEEK 11
@ Arizona (3-6-0) (PAC-10)
(USC -15) USC BCS RANK: #16

That loss was heartbreaking. Right now we're in a four way tie for the PAC-10 lead with CAL, UCLA and Stanford, with games left against both UCLA and the Cardinal. I think I probably messed up the game last week by over fiddling with the game plan. Either that, or Ev McDaniel is just a big jackass.

Vernon Harnisch, an offensive tackle (68+, probable redshirt) from Susan Miller Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, California, accepted our last scholarship available and signed a letter of intent to play for us next season. While we're out of scholarships, we do have three slots left open in our recruiting class, so we'll be trying to convince some underrecruited players to walk-on for us.

Another poorly played game on the road for us. We generated no running attack, though Donny Cash did scamper into the end zone twice. Fortunately, redshirt sophomore wideout Ronnie Wheeler chose this week to announce his presence with authority, making 4 catches for 125 yards and a touxchdown as we narrowly defeated a vastly inferior Arizona team, 23-20.

Ev McDaniel had his first solid game of the season, going 17/34 for 294 yards and a touchdown and didn't throw any picks. Not spectacular, but he didn't turn the ball over, which is progress.

USC 23 Arizona 20
PAC-10 (5-1-0) Overall (7-1-0)

* * *


WEEK 12
@ Stanford (7-2-0) (PAC 10) *TV2*
(USC -4) USC BCS RANK: #14

Showdown game with Staford this week. We're now in a three-way tie with them and UCLA for the conference lead - so this is a must win for us. We need to play better than we have all year, and right now we're playing the worst football we have all season. It doesn't look good.

A couple of walk-on invitees spurned us for scholarship offers from other schools - makes sense. We'll keep putting out the invites though and land a couple of decent players I am sure.

Ouch. We got totally destroyed, 58-29. Ev McDaniel threw 8 interceptions - why the heck Randy Edwards left him in the game I have no clue. But that was the most god-awful performance by a quarterback I have ever seen. That was just brutal.

Willie Davison had a good day at wideout, making 6 catches for 133 yards and 3 TD's as McDaniel flung 4 TD's to go along with his 8 picks. Donny Cash once again disappeared in a big game.

What can you say? We got our asses handed to us on a silver platter. With two games left against Notre Dame and UCLA, it's likely that was McDaniel's last time he'll see the field.

Stanford 58 USC 29
PAC-10 (5-2-0) Overall (7-2-0)

* * *


WEEK 13 MEDIA SNIPPETTS

LA TIMES
Week 13, 2012

For the first time since he's been the Head Coach at Southern Cal, Bear growlz lost his cool. After last week's game against Stanford he was furious that Offensive Coordinator Randy Edwards would allow QB Everett McDaniel to embarass himself like he did by throwing eight - count them eight, E - I - G - H - T interceptions. Growlz wasn't so much upset with McDaniel our sources tell us, but at the game plan Lead Scout Daryl Hester devised and the decision making of coordinator Edwards.

We don't know if Everett McDaniel will start again for the Trojans as their promising season has come down to mediocre play at best over the past month. But with games against Notre Dame and UCLA left on the schedule, they need to do something to avoid a total collapse.

###

ESPN NEWS
Week 13, 2012

. . . and after it's crushing defeat at the hands of The Stanford Cardinal last week, Southern Cal has tumbled to #22 in the BCS rankings. One has to wonder if Head Coach Bear Growlz simply stuck with Quaterback Everett McDaniel too long as all the warning sings were there that he was simply regressing under new Offensive Coordinator Randy Edwards. McDaniel has now thrown 9 touchdown passes as opposed to a whopping 21 interceptions. It's clear that after last week's horrid performance, USC needs to make a change in order to salvage its once promising season.

And that change is at quarterback.

The College Years
2012 Week 13 BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Syracuse 9-0 BGE 1.50 3.00 0.00 1.68 6.18 1
Florida 8-1 SEC 2.75 3.00 1.00 1.24 7.99 2
Michigan 9-1 B10 3.75 5.00 1.00 0.88 10.63 3
Iowa 11-0 B10 4.00 2.50 0.00 4.32 10.82 4
Louisville 10-0 USA 9.25 1.50 0.00 4.92 15.67 5
Texas Christian 9-0 USA 3.50 7.50 0.00 5.00 16.00 6
South Carolina 8-1 SEC 5.25 11.00 1.00 1.84 19.09 7
Virginia 8-1 ACC 8.00 8.50 1.00 4.84 22.34 8
West Virginia 8-1 BGE 8.00 9.50 1.00 4.16 22.66 9
Nebraska 9-1 B12 12.00 6.00 1.00 4.96 23.96 10
California-Los Angeles 8-2 P10 8.50 12.50 2.00 3.80 26.80 11
Texas A&M 7-2 B12 15.75 8.50 2.00 2.36 28.61 12
Hawaii 8-2 WAC 11.25 17.50 2.00 2.28 33.03 13
Pittsburgh 8-2 BGE 13.50 16.50 2.00 2.76 34.76 14
Alabama 8-2 SEC 14.00 17.00 2.00 2.00 35.00 15
Rice 8-2 WAC 12.00 17.50 2.00 3.56 35.06 16
Wisconsin 8-2 B10 16.50 14.50 2.00 3.36 36.36 17
Notre Dame 7-2 IND 22.75 13.00 2.00 4.08 41.83 18
Tennessee 7-3 SEC 14.25 28.50 3.00 0.36 46.11 19
California 8-2 P10 23.00 17.50 2.00 4.80 47.30 20
Keene State 8-2 NNE 22.25 21.50 2.00 3.96 49.71 21
**Southern California 7-2 P10 24.75 19.00 2.00 4.36 50.11 22
Michigan State 8-2 B10 22.25 21.50 2.00 4.76 50.51 23
South Florida 7-3 USA 16.50 28.00 3.00 3.60 51.10 24
Boise State 7-2 WAC 22.75 24.00 2.00 3.84 52.59 25

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2012 SEASON (4th Qtr)



WEEK 13
vs. #18 Notre Dame (7-2-0) *TV4*
(ND -1) USC BCS RANK: #22

Redshirt freshman Tracy Flowers was arrested for underage drinking. The NCAA chose not to impose any sanction and left any disciplinary action to the university. We've decided to suspend Flowers for the rest of the season.

Third quarter grades came out this week and I assigned coaching blocs to players with grades from D+ through D-. Not one is failing any courses. We still have a few blocs to allocate come fourth quarter if need be.

We don't know what happened to our defense in this one, but we lost a shootout to Notre Dame, 55-45. Redshirt sophomore Malcolm Moreno started at QB and had a fine day, going 20/28 for 272 yards while throwing 4 touchdowns and being picked once.

Donnell Cash was back and ran akll over the Fighting Irish as neither team seemed to want to play defense this week. Cash ran for 262 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries (9.3 ypc), but it didn't help the final outcome as our defense just played worse than Notre Dame's.

In all fairness to the defense, it's missing half of its starting linebacking corps, but it just couldn't stop anything today. We're definitely on a downward spiral to end the year, though Malcolm Moreno looked really good.

Notre Dame 55 -- USC 45
PAC-10 (5-2-0) Overall (7-3-0)

* * *


WEEK 14
vs. #12 UCLA (8-2-0) (PAC-10) *TV1*
(UCLA -12) USC BCS RANK: --

We fall out of the BCS Top 25 this week and given our play the past month I can't say it's surprising - or undeserved. We've fallen to 3rd place in the PAC-10 behind UCLA and Stanford. A win over UCLA and we should finish 2nd. Malcolm Moreno will start at QB for the second consecutive week.

On the recruiting front, just made some calls and visits to walk-on invitees. They'll wait and see if they get any last minute scholarship offers before deciding.

UCLA took a commanding 21-0 lead at halftime before we rallied to make it close, but still losing, 28-21. Redshirt sophomore Malcolm Moreno had another good day at QB, going 16/22 for 209 yards while throwing 3 touchdown passes and being picked once.

Also playing well was Wingback Aaron Castillo just back from an injury, rushing for 68 yards on 11 carries. Castillo will likely be our starting Tailback next year so it was nice to see this good showing from him.

Ronnie Wheeler had a big day receiving, making 5 catches for 134 yards including a touchdown reception. We hope he'll be more of an impact player next year than he was this season. 5th year senior ILB Adrian Hopper had an outstanding game in his final game of his Trojan career, making 9 tackles and assisting on 7 others.
We finish 4th in the PAC-10. Very disappointing.

UCLA 28 -- USC 21
PAC-10 (5-3-0) Overall (7-4-0)

* * *


CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK
Off week.

Very disappointed with our finish. Seriously considering changes at Offensive Coordinator and Lead Scout.

PAC-10 (5-3-0) Overall (7-4-0)

* * *


MINOR BOWL TIER
KEYSTONE BOWL vs. Air Force (6-5-0) *TV4*
(Air Force -5) USC BCS RANK: --

We've been playing so poorly the past few weeks Air Force is favored over us in the Keystone Bowl. We'll be starting Malcolm Moreno at quarterback again, the kid has played well in the checkdown offense I put in for him.

Most of our walk-on invitees received scholarship offers from other schools. When it rains it pours.

I guess I wasn't the only one upset with the way we have been playing, as we layed some smack down on Air Force closing out the season on an upbeat note, 62-7.

Tailback Donnell Cash ended his career with a big game, rushing for 194 yards and 3 touchdowns on 34 carries (5.7 ypc) - ending the year with 1708 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns and finishing his USC career with 5114 yards and 46 TD's.

Joining Cash in breaking the 100 yard mark this week was wingback Aaron Castillo, who ran for 104 yards and 2 touchdowns on 9 carries (11.5 ypc). QB Malcolm Moreno had a fine, if conservative game, going 9/17 for 185 yards, throwing 2 touchdown passes and no picks.

CB Mack Wilkins returned a punt for a touchdown en route to a thorough domination of the Air Force Falcons.

Well, got to like that one. A lot.

USC 62 -- Air Force 7
PAC-10 (5-3-0) Overall (8-4-0)

* * *

MAJOR BOWL TIER WEEK MEDIA SNIPPETTS


LA TIMES
Major Bowl Tier Week, 2012

Despite some struggles down the stretch, the Southern Cal Trojans proved their mettle last weekend against the Air Force Academy Falcons in a stunning 62-7 victory. While we here at the Times are sure the year wasn't the total success Head Coach Bear Growlz wanted it to be, an eight and four finish and a blowout victory in a bowl game make for a satisfying - and satisfactory end to yet another college football season at USC. Our only complaint is that the BCS apparently has its cranium lodged in an aperature marked exit only, as Southern Cal remains out of the Top 25 teams in the nation according to that august body.

But what's done is done, and here's looking to having Coach Growlz, who will no doubt once again be sought after by other schools, back again next year continuing his quest to return USC to gridiron glory.

###

ESPN NEWS
Major Bowl Tier Week, 2012

. . . and despite their huge win over Air Force in the Keystone Bowl, USC remains one of the fallen, no longer ranked in the top 25 by the BCS. A team many saw as a legitimate national championship contender, 2012 has to be considered an outright disappointment at Southern Cal.

Southern Cal's problems don't end there however. Word has it that in the locker room after the huge win over Air Force, former starting quarterback Everett McDaniel and Offensive Coordinator Randy Edwards got into a fist fight. No word on who won the fight, but it sure seems like things have gotten a little out of control at USC lately.

Here's a look at the most recent BCS rankings.

The College Years
2012 Major Bowl Tier Week
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Syracuse 11-0 BGE 1.00 3.00 0.00 1.32 5.32 1
Florida 11-1 SEC 2.50 1.50 1.00 1.04 6.04 2
Michigan 10-1 B10 3.75 5.00 1.00 1.56 11.31 3
Iowa 11-0 B10 5.50 2.50 0.00 4.96 12.96 4
Louisville 11-0 USA 6.00 3.00 0.00 4.88 13.88 5
West Virginia 10-1 BGE 4.75 7.00 1.00 4.04 16.79 6
Virginia 10-1 ACC 10.75 6.00 1.00 4.76 22.51 7
Rice 10-2 WAC 5.75 13.00 2.00 2.16 22.91 8
California-Los Angeles 9-2 P10 7.50 10.00 2.00 3.72 23.22 9
Nebraska 10-2 B12 12.00 8.00 2.00 4.72 26.72 10
South Carolina 9-2 SEC 12.00 12.50 2.00 2.72 29.22 11
Hawaii 10-2 WAC 11.75 13.50 2.00 2.36 29.61 12
Texas Christian 10-2 USA 10.50 15.50 2.00 4.32 32.32 13
Texas A&M 9-3 B12 18.00 9.00 3.00 2.40 32.40 14
Keene State 10-2 NNE 10.50 17.00 2.00 4.20 33.70 15
Wisconsin 9-2 B10 16.25 12.50 2.00 4.56 35.31 16
Alabama 9-3 SEC 15.50 20.00 3.00 1.48 39.98 17
Tennessee 8-3 SEC 13.50 23.00 3.00 0.76 40.26 18
Notre Dame 8-3 IND 15.50 18.50 3.00 3.80 40.80 19
California 9-2 P10 19.50 15.50 2.00 4.84 41.84 20
Michigan State 9-2 B10 18.25 17.00 2.00 4.92 42.17 21
Bowling Green 10-3 MAC 24.50 21.00 3.00 4.00 52.50 22
Pittsburgh 8-4 BGE 24.50 25.00 4.00 0.48 53.98 23
Vanderbilt 8-4 SEC 12.25 38.50 4.00 1.28 56.03 24
North Carolina State 8-3 ACC 27.25 24.00 3.00 2.88 57.13 25

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2012 Season (Final)


MAJOR BOWL TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: --

4th quarter grades came out today. Two players with D-'s, 3 players with D's. Used up the end of our coaching blocs to give those players more academic assistance and get them through the semester.

5th year senior QB Everett McDaniel was caught committing a serious violation of team rules. The violation didn't require NCAA involvement, but I've suspended him from the team for the rest of the year. When the media asked me about what happened I replied "No comment, he's just off the team for disciplinary reasons."

It's been a difficult year regarding player behaviour. First Geoff Warren's shoplifting charges, then Tracy Flowers underage drinking, and now this. We aren't the frackin Miami Hurricanes or a bunch of gangstas. Obviously the suspensions didn't send a serious enough of a message to some of the team - or coaches. Nuff said.

PAC-10 (5-3-0) Overall (8-4-0)

* * *


FOUR STAR TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: --

Invited three more recruits to come out for the program as walk-ons. We'll wait and see what happens.

PAC-10 (5-3-0) Overall (8-4-0)

* * *


NEW YEAR'S TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: --

All three invitees agreed to walk-on next year. Levon Vanderlaan, a running back from Westchester High School in Los Angeles, Ty Pilgrim, an offensive guard from East Palestine High School in East Palestine, Ohio and Jake Stagg, an outside linebacker from Ernest Righetti High School in Santa Maria, California all agreed to play for us next season. All three have superior academics and all three have the potential to make some contribution down the road if they develop well - unlike your average walk-on.

PAC-10 (5-3-0) Overall (8-4-0)

* * *


NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: --

Syracuse defeated Florida 35-25.

Notre Dame QB Ricky Battle won the Heisman.

In an interesting note, RB Gerald Coutts, a RB from Keene State, ran for over 2000 yards and was a Heisman finalist. Gerald was in my last recruiting class at KSC.

I voted for him out of sentimentality.


2012 FINAL BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
2012 Final BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Syracuse 12-0 BGE 1.00 1.50 0.00 0.60 3.10 1
Florida 11-2 SEC 2.75 3.50 2.00 0.12 8.37 2
Iowa 12-0 B10 4.00 1.50 0.00 4.84 10.34 3
Virginia 11-1 ACC 3.00 3.50 1.00 4.24 11.74 4
Michigan 10-2 B10 4.25 7.00 2.00 0.92 14.17 5
West Virginia 10-2 BGE 8.50 8.50 2.00 2.48 21.48 6
Nebraska 11-2 B12 9.00 6.00 2.00 4.52 21.52 7
Louisville 11-1 USA 11.75 5.00 1.00 4.96 22.71 8
Rice 10-2 WAC 5.00 13.50 2.00 2.32 22.82 9
South Carolina 10-2 SEC 8.00 11.00 2.00 2.44 23.44 10
California-Los Angeles 10-2 P10 10.75 8.50 2.00 3.32 24.57 11
Hawaii 10-2 WAC 11.75 13.50 2.00 2.64 29.89 12
Wisconsin 10-2 B10 14.75 11.00 2.00 4.40 32.15 13
Keene State 10-2 NNE 11.50 15.00 2.00 4.28 32.78 14
Texas Christian 10-2 USA 11.75 14.50 2.00 4.56 32.81 15
Alabama 10-3 SEC 12.75 17.00 3.00 1.00 33.75 16
Tennessee 9-3 SEC 12.75 18.50 3.00 0.72 34.97 17
Texas A&M 9-4 B12 21.75 12.50 4.00 1.56 39.81 18
Bowling Green 10-3 MAC 22.00 19.50 3.00 3.96 48.46 19
Notre Dame 8-4 IND 23.00 22.00 4.00 3.28 52.28 20
Pittsburgh 8-4 BGE 24.50 24.00 4.00 0.80 53.30 21
South Florida 8-4 USA 22.75 25.00 4.00 2.36 54.11 22
Michigan State 9-3 B10 25.50 21.00 3.00 4.92 54.42 23
Vanderbilt 8-4 SEC 13.25 36.50 4.00 1.20 54.95 24
California 9-3 P10 29.00 19.00 3.00 4.60 55.60 25

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[beargrowlz]

2012 SEASON REVIEW & SUMMARY


2012 SEASON REVIEW

I'd have to categorize the 2012 season as a disappointing one. We fell apart down the stretch and I stuck with Ev McDaniel too long when I should have gone to Malcolm Moreno earlier. I thought McDaniel's experience and better current development would overcome his tendency to get picked off. I think we had enough talent to win the PAC-10 and do some damage in one of the BCS Bowl Games, but the collapse at the end just did us in.

I'm heading into the offseason seriously considering changes at the Offensive Coordinator and Lead Scout positions. I was underwhelmed by both of them this season and we'll see what's out there talent-wise.

We had a terrific recruiting year, TCY Today ranked our recruiting class 2nd in the nation behind only the University of Iowa. The changes we've wrought in academics here at USC are a real boost to our ability to bring in good players with both good athletic skills and good academics, which only increases our academic reputation ever further.

I don't expect any players to be on academic probation - for the second season in a row - which is a big accomplishment for the program. As for the three player suspensions this year, I've never been hit with so many in one season. In fact I've never had to suspend more than one player in any one season. Maybe it was something in the water. I hope it was just an aberation.

I was pleased with the way we bounced back and played in the Keystone Bowl. We played mad and we played hungry and we played extremely well. Hopefully that type of play will carry over into next season.

We lose some starters to graduation. They are seniors OG Gilbert Lucas, QB Ev McDaniel, TB Donny Cash, DE Kyle Newsome and ILB Adrian Hopper. They'll all be missed.

Finally, we had a number of players attain individual achievements this season. Below you'll find those award winners plus our team summary. See you in 2013.

* * *


2012 University of Southern California Trojans
Individual Achievement Awards

* TB Donnell Cash (5th yr Sr.)
- PAC-10 Most Valuable Player
- PAC-10 Offensive Player of the Year
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* OG Gilbert Lucas (5th yr Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* OT Warren Taggart (RS Jr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* CB Mack Wilkins (RS Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* ILB Adrian Hopper (5th yr Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10

* CB Tyrell Lyons (RS Soph.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* WR Ronald Wheeler (RS Soph.)
- Academic All PAC-10

* OG Ricky Estevez (Soph.)
- Academic All PAC-10

* S Bubba Miller (Fr.)
- Academic All PAC-10

* RB Gabe Whalen (Inc. Fr.)
- High School All-American

* WR Cole McConnell (Inc. Fr.)
- High School All-American


* * *


The College Years
2012 Summary
The University of Southern California Trojans

Head Coach: Bear Growlz (5th yr.)
Offensive coordinator: Randy Edwards (1st yr.)
Defensive Coordinator: Bucky Riley (5th yr.)
Syndicate Coordinator: Pete Prior: (14th yr.)
Lead Scout: Daryl Hester (2nd yr.)

Record: 8-4 PAC-10: 5-3
BCS Rank: 28 PAC-10: 4th Place
Coaches Poll: 25
Fans Poll: 24

Southern California Team Rank
Rushes 493 21
Rushing Yards 2497 4
Yards Per Carry 5.06 2
Pass Attempts 323 59 (T)
Completions 181 51 (T)
Passing Yards 2645 34
Yards Per Attempt 8.18 23
3rd Down Conversions 42.1 17
Points Per Game 33.1 14
Turnovers 27 100 (T)
Turnover Margin -6 94 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 384 39 (T)
Rushing Yards 880 3
Yards Per Carry 2.29 4
Pass Attempts 368 114 (T)
Completions 172 53 (T)
Passing Yards 2347 71
Yards Per Attempt 6.37 29
3rd Down Conversions 29.0 21
Points Per Game 20.5 39
Turnovers 21 46 (T)

Primary Formation: Flexbone Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 38 OHST (85) 9
2 35 UNH* (100) 3
5 35 at ORST (123) 6
6 31 AZST (54) 21
7 38 CALI (18) 14
9 34 WAST (67) 9
10 7 at WASH (103) 17
11 23 at ARIZ (94) 20
12 29 at STAN (43) 58
13 45 NODM (22) 55
14 21 UCLA (8) 28
16 62 vs AIRF (57) 7 ***Keystone Bowl***

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
2 McDaniel QB 253 134 1957 7.73 9 21
14 Moreno QB 70 47 688 9.82 10 2
Team --- 323 181 2645 8.18 19 23

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
42 Cash RB 317 1708 5.38 17 77 110
21 Castillo RB 56 306 5.46 4 7 4
2 McDaniel QB 46 58 1.26 2 21 67
35 Coffey RB 34 275 8.08 4 6 9
14 Moreno QB 26 111 4.26 0 11 44
Team --- 493 2497 5.06 27 127 247

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
7 Davison WR 81 41 761 18.5 229 6
4 Wheeler WR 58 31 731 23.5 270 8
39 Dotson FB 53 37 232 6.2 111 0
42 Cash RB 51 31 364 11.7 223 1
85 Robinson WR 31 15 291 19.4 67 3
21 Castillo RB 26 14 121 8.6 61 1
35 Coffey RB 18 9 125 13.8 47 0
Team --- 323 181 2645 14.6 1024 19

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
48 Hopper ILB 74 30 0.0 20 0 3
40 Horn S 59 13 0.0 8 3 10
30 Wilkins CB 56 13 0.0 13 2 14
95 Burroughs DT 42 22 10.5 19 0 0
37 Humphrey S 34 6 0.0 10 0 9
54 Cunningham ILB 33 20 1.0 5 0 3
59 Coles ILB 31 15 0.0 3 1 1
92 Newsome DE 30 12 4.0 9 0 0
90 Strickland DE 29 14 11.5 14 0 0
56 Mascorella OLB 29 6 0.0 1 0 1
93 Morrison OLB 28 10 0.5 6 0 1
29 Lyons CB 28 11 0.5 2 6 17
98 Walton DE 22 5 9.5 11 0 0
26 Napiecek CB 21 6 1.0 2 1 5
42 Cash RB 15 0 0.0 0 0 0
Team --- 614 198 40.0 127 17 70


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[beargrowlz]

2013 PRESEASON


WINTER, 2013

I received plenty of good job offers this winter. The most notable ones for me anyway, were Georgia (my wife would love to see me take the job with the Dawgs), Boston College, Tennessee, Miami (Fla), Florida State and Michigan State, but I turned them all down. I'm comfortable here at Southern Cal and have built a very good program here. I'd like to see what I started through to some championships.

I was also disappointed to see that OC Rufus Mitchell has been declared academically ineligibile. The kid must be dumb as a rock with all the study hall time and coaching blocs we devoted to him. Very disappointed, as we really worked hard to make sure all our kids got solid grades. So in more ways than one 2012 was a major failure for me.

I decided to give Randy Edwards another season as Offensive Coordinator to see if he can mesh better with a new QB. I did fire Lead Scout Daryl Hester. In his place we hired Bubba Embry, the former Offensive Backfield Coach with the New England Patriots. Embry has a much better eye for talent, especially where it counts in a flexbone, the backfield and offensive line. He's got an exceptional eye in other areas as well and should prove to be a fine Lead Scout.

The rest of the staff remains intact.

We've got yet another exceptional recruiting class coming in this year. TCY Today ranks our recruiting class 2nd in the nation. Here's a look at it.


The College Years
2012 University of Southern California Trojans
Recruiting List, Ranking View
TCY Today Ranking: #2

Player Pos HT WT ST NRank ByPos StRank ByPos
**Whalen, Gabe RB 6-0 187 CA 19 3 4 3
##Vanderlaan, Levon RB 5-11 176 CA --- --- --- 17
$$Heekin, Sammy WR 6-3 193 CA 16 3 3 1
**McConnell, Cole WR 6-2 189 CA 97 11 17 3
$$Hoffman, Chester C 6-5 296 HI 9 1 1 1
$$Rodriguez, Tony C 6-0 252 CA 126 8 21 1
##Pilgrim, Ty G 6-5 272 OH --- --- 95 9
**Harnisch, Vernon T 6-6 275 CA 605 59 81 6
**Aalders, Tracy DE 6-2 237 NY 10 3 1 1
**Dragon, Tracy DT 6-3 272 CA 67 6 11 1
**Vaughn, Tyrell ILB 6-3 238 AZ 1 1 1 1
**Taylor, Riddick OLB 6-1 209 CA 28 2 6 1
**Buckley, Reggie OLB 6-2 224 CA 59 5 10 2
##Stagg, Jake OLB 6-0 206 CA --- --- --- 12
**Finch, Louie S 5-11 186 CA 73 3 12 1
$$Nordskov, Shaun S 6-2 198 OR 203 9 3 1

Player All-St All-US Status
**Whalen, Gabe Yes Yes Committed *
##Vanderlaan, Levon No No Committed * W
$$Heekin, Sammy Yes No Committed *
**McConnell, Cole Yes Yes Committed *
$$Hoffman, Chester Yes No Committed *
$$Rodriguez, Tony No No Committed *
##Pilgrim, Ty No No Committed * W
**Harnisch, Vernon Yes No Committed *
**Aalders, Tracy Yes No Committed *
**Dragon, Tracy Yes No Committed *
**Vaughn, Tyrell Yes No Committed *
**Taylor, Riddick Yes No Committed *
**Buckley, Reggie Yes No Committed *
##Stagg, Jake No No Committed * W
**Finch, Louie Yes No Committed *
$$Nordskov, Shaun Yes No Committed *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.
SUFFIX: W - walk-on


Player Pos ST Visit Cost Dist. Fit Score
**Whalen, Gabe RB CA 243 27 97
##Vanderlaan, Levon RB CA 234 0 96
$$Heekin, Sammy WR CA 276 128 87
**McConnell, Cole WR CA 242 24 94
$$Hoffman, Chester C HI 1203 2619 79
$$Rodriguez, Tony C CA 255 66 90
##Pilgrim, Ty G OH 1223 2135 88
**Harnisch, Vernon T CA 234 0 99
**Aalders, Tracy DE NY 1218 2495 97
**Dragon, Tracy DT CA 244 32 94
**Vaughn, Tyrell ILB AZ 349 359 93
**Taylor, Riddick OLB CA 242 24 90
**Buckley, Reggie OLB CA 276 128 96
##Stagg, Jake OLB CA 276 128 97
**Finch, Louie S CA 273 121 95
$$Nordskov, Shaun S OR 574 840 90

Player Scout Phone Visit Emphasis Status
**Whalen, Gabe 90-- 2 3 Prest/Acad Committed *
##Vanderlaan, Levon 54+ 1 1 Acad*/Prest Committed * W
$$Heekin, Sammy 84+ 2 2 Dist/Acad Committed *
**McConnell, Cole 69+ 3 2 Acad/Prest Committed *
$$Hoffman, Chester 88+ 4 3 Dist/Acad Committed *
$$Rodriguez, Tony 73+ 2 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
##Pilgrim, Ty 46- 1 1 Dist/Acad Committed * W
**Harnisch, Vernon 68+ 2 2 Dist*/Prest Committed *
**Aalders, Tracy 84+ 3 2 Acad*/Prest Committed *
**Dragon, Tracy 68+ 2 3 Prest/Acad Committed *
**Vaughn, Tyrell 99- 3 2 Acad*/Dist Committed *
**Taylor, Riddick 87- 2 2 Prest/Dist Committed *
**Buckley, Reggie 96+ 2 2 Acad/Prest Committed *
##Stagg, Jake 53+ 1 1 Prest*/Dist Committed * W
**Finch, Louie 70+ 3 2 Acad*/Prest Committed *
$$Nordskov, Shaun 79- 2 2 Acad*/Dist Committed *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.
SUffix: W - walk-on


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2013 PRESEASON


Spring, 2013

From the looks of the development of players on our roster, it's going to be a rebuilding year for us. Lots of young, potential talent, but aside from wideout and the corners, mostly just raw potential - so we'll be using this year to develop that potential. Makes me realize once again just how much of a lost opportunity last season was. Spilled milk and all.

As always, we've got our permanent game against Notre Dame. Every season there's one PAC-10 team we don't play - this year that school is Stanford. And after the way they kicked our ass last season, can't say I'm sorry about not playing them this year. We travel to Ohio State this year as the second half of a home and home series. That leaves us one slot on our schedule. I'll be looking for an easy tune-up game for Week 1 before Notre Dame comes in Week 2.

We're ranked 28th in the preseason BCS. Might be a little high even. Hard to tell at this point. I'm going to see if Navy (#96) will play us at the Rose Bowl Week 1.

Stage 1: Navy rejected my offer. Fresno State is offering us an away game. I'm not interested. Will need to find another tune up. Let's see. Clemson keeps offering me their job, let's see how bad they really are. I'll offer a home and home.

Stage 2: Clemson accepted the home and home offer. That'll fill our schedule for 2013. Here's a look at it.

The College Years
2013 University of Southern California Trojans
Schedule

BCS Team Rank: 28
Rival: UCLA
Stadium Capacity: 96,600
Season Tickets Sold: 92,400

Week Opponent Result Attendance Weather Television
1 CLEMSON
2 (15) NOTRE DAME
4 at Ohio State
$$5 at Oregon
$$7 ARIZONA
$$8 at Washington State
$$9 OREGON STATE
$$10 at (46) Arizona State
$$11 (26) CALIFORNIA
$$12 WASHINGTON
$$14 at (10) UCLA

Home Games in ALL CAPS
$$-Conference Games, ##-League Championship Games, **-Post-Season Games

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2013 PRESEASON (SUMMER)


Summer, 2013

Spent a good part of the summer getting the freshmen schedules put together and tweaking the rest of the squad's schedules. I find as I bring in the better student-athletes, they require less tweaking as their careers move on.

This year looks like a "rebuilding" year for us, though we'll see how it goes. I've started gameplanning fully because I was unsatisfied with the gameplans being produced by the game. So all hell could break loose against us.

Leading our attack will be redshirt junior Malcolm Moreno at QB. Malcolm looked very good down the stretch last season after he replaced ev McDaniel. Malcolm will have to play well to keep the job however, because redshirt sophomore Mark Rayburn is just itching to take it away from him. Joining Moreno in the backfield will be redshirt junior Aaron Castillo at Tailback and redshirt senior Junior Coffey at wingback. We're expecting big things out of Castillo as he develops, but we're not sure if he'll breakout this year or not. Blocking for them all will be four year starter Clyde Dotson at Fullback. Dotson is a very solid player.

Moreno's primary targets at the wideout positions will be speedsters Willie Davison, a true junior, and Ronnie Wheeler, a redshirt junior. Our third receiver will be junior Brian Robinson, who could start for most other schools. We're looking for big years from both Davison and Wheeler.

The offensive line is where the real question marks lie, as I'm not sure I've gotten a good scouting read on them because of my scouts. At the center spot will be freshman Chester Hoffman. who looks to be the first player in some time that we've had that may develop into a stud OC. At the guard positions will be junior Ricky Estevez and sophomore Ed Fuller - a major weakness in the line. The tackles are pretty solid however, with redshirt senior 1st team All PAC-10 LT Warren Taggart and redshirt senior RT Joe Shipman. It'll be interesting to see how this unit comes together, as this is where my biggest worry lies.

On defense, Big Ben burroughs returns for his last season. He'll be flanked by outstanding DLE Steve Strickland, another 5th year senior. Strickland excels at getting to the QB. At the other end position will be redshirt junior Alonzo Chevrier.

At the outside linebacker positions will be junior Junior Morrison and senior Walt de Leon. Both of them are solid defensive players and are a strength of this defense. On the inside will be senior Dale Cunningham, and in a surprise, freshman Tyrell Vaughn won the starting SILB position. He's got some developing to do, but we're expecting very good things from Vaughn down the line.

The strength of the secondary, and really of the defense, are the corners. 1st Team All PAC-10 and 5th year senior Mack wilkins starts at the shutdown corner spot. Across the field from Wilkins will be 2nd Team All PAC-10 and redshirt junior Tyrell Lyons who led the program in interceptions last season. Joinging them in the secondary will be junior Strong Safety Claude Horn and freshman Free Safety Louie Finch. Finch also has some develping to do, but should prove to be a fine safety down the road. Our nickelback will once again be sophomore Mo Napiecek, who is good enough to start in most programs.

I think this should once again prove to be a very solid defensive unit under the guidance of Defensive coordinator Bucky Riley. Teams have found it extraordinarily difficult to run against us in the past, and I expect that will hold true again this season. So even more pressure will be on the secondary to shut down opposition passing attacks.

All in all, I'm not sure what to expect. Much of it depends on how good our offense can be this season. With so many new, young pieces plugged in, it's just difficult to tell what's going to happen. But it'll be a good building year no matter what.

Here's a look at our roster.

The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2013 Roster/Scout Overview
From the Desk of Bubba Embry, Lead Scout

Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
Bernard, Walt 18 QB So* 33 86
Checkovich, Nicky 6 QB Sr* 30 68
Donaldson, Irving 13 QB Sr* 38 85
King, Roderick 17 QB Sr 41 64
Moreno, Malcolm 14 QB Jr* 48 100
Rayburn, Mark 8 QB So* 32 100
Berberich, Brad 45 RB Sr 46 65
Berberich, Ross 34 RB So* 42 89
Castillo, Aaron 21 RB Jr* 54 99
Coffey, Junior 35 RB Sr* 57 79
Whalen, Gabe 25 RB Fr 48 99
Vanderlaan, Levon 46 RB* Fr 19 46
Coleman, Lance 47 FB Sr 35 81
Dotson, Clyde 39 FB Sr 67 72
Guthrie, Warren 33 FB So* 36 69
Detsch, Gilbert 31 FB* Sr 5 24
Irwin, Marty 80 TE* Jr* 11 17
Raymond, Colin 81 TE* Sr* 2 15
Shreves, Maurice 89 TE* Fr 2 12
Davison, Willie 7 WR Jr 66 80
Heekin, Sammy 86 WR Fr 47 73
McConnell, Cole 2 WR Fr 38 75
Robinson, Brian 85 WR Jr 62 73
Warrick, Richie 1 WR So* 33 73
Weiler, Darren 5 WR So* 21 70
Wheeler, Ronald 4 WR Jr* 66 84
Erickson, Vinny 83 WR* Jr* 6 10
Turnbull, Dexter 9 WR* Sr* 5 5
Adams, Adrian 51 C So* 32 100
Connell, Tim 53 C So* 11 64
Hoffman, Chester 56 C Fr 29 92
Mitchell, Rufus 57 C Sr* 24 61
Powell, Mark 52 C Jr* 34 93
Rodriguez, Tony 50 C Fr 16 87
Estevez, Ricky 64 G Jr 55 100
Fuller, Ed 73 G So 25 62
Pilgrim, Ty 68 G* Fr 17 38
Quinn, Leland 69 G* Fr 0 8
Greene, Howie 76 T Jr* 23 93
Harnisch, Vernon 62 T Fr 10 61
Padgett, Nathan 61 T Jr* 33 85
Shipman, Joseph 74 T Sr* 54 75
Taggart, Warren 77 T Sr* 35 100
Johnstone, Rickey 15 P Sr* 30 41
Lane, Skip 3 P* So* 3 16
Elstrom, Max 19 K Sr 88 100
Perez, Walter 11 K So* 32 80
Buckley, Victor 16 K* So* 10 10
Aalders, Tracy 78 DE Fr 28 79
Chevrier, Alonzo 79 DE Jr* 37 99
Newman, Walt 94 DE Sr* 32 62
Strickland, Steve 90 DE Sr 70 96
Burroughs, Ben 95 DT Sr 61 83
Choate, Clarence 71 DT Jr* 23 69
Dragon, Tracy 92 DT Fr 28 83
Duncan, Bert 91 DT So* 21 90
Rogers, Arnie 75 DT Sr* 14 40
Boone, Eric 96 ILB Jr* 12 82
Coles, Johnny 59 ILB Sr 49 81
Cunningham, Dale 54 ILB Sr 43 64
Sankey, Mo 55 ILB So* 25 84
Vaughn, Tyrell 41 ILB Fr 32 90
Warren, Geoff 99 ILB Jr* 30 56
Buckley, Reggie 48 OLB Fr 22 100
de Leon, Walt 43 OLB Sr 48 87
Morrison, Junior 93 OLB Jr 58 85
Taylor, Riddick 98 OLB Fr 41 96
Thomas, Lester 44 OLB So* 26 83
Thomason, Korey 97 OLB Sr* 24 65
Dennis, Howard 58 OLB* Sr 11 11
Stagg, Jake 42 OLB* Fr 7 62
Adjemian, Terrance 49 CB Sr 39 100
Galloway, Max 23 CB Sr* 28 79
Lyons, Tyrell 29 CB Jr* 65 72
Majka, Roger 36 CB So* 31 85
Napiecek, Maurice 26 CB So 51 84
Wilkins, Mack 30 CB Sr 73 87
Flowers, Tracy 32 CB* So* 15 44
Finch, Louie 38 S Fr 39 61
Horn, Claude 40 S Jr 38 100
Humphrey, K.C. 37 S Sr 28 64
Nordskov, Shaun 20 S Fr 22 67
Etaton, Vinny 22 S* So 9 25
Miller, Bubba 24 S* So 6 33

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[beargrowlz]

dola.

Double post.

[beargrowlz]

2013 SEASON (1st Qtr)


WEEK 1
vs. Clemson (0-0) *TV5*
(USC -6) USC BCS RANK: --

Well, we start off the 2013 season not ranked in the Top 25. That should be some added incentive for us to play hard. Clemson comes into the Rose Bowl this week and hopefully it'll be a good game for us to see where we're headed.

Made a number of initial contacts and offers this week. Some of the big name recruits we are pursuing and would like to land are OT Chris Houston, OG Luke Myers, DE JJ Woodson, QB Marshall Darlington and DT Lamar Moore. We see all of these players as major impact players in the future.

CB Tyrell Lyons and FS Louie Finch each returned INT's for touchdowns and Mack Wilkins took a kick return to the house for another score as USC trounced Clemson 38-13 at a not quite packed Rose Bowl.

The running game had trouble getting going today, but QB Malcolm Moreno threw the ball a lot, going 24/36 for 272 yards while throwing 1 TD and 1 INT. Wideout Willie Davison had a big day making 5 catches for 110 yards and Ronnie Wheeler had a touchdown grab. But it was the defense that made the day, with the two TD returns and DE Alonzo Chevrier recording 2.5 sacks.

Time to fiddle with the offensive gameplan some more.

USC 38 -- Clemson 13
PAC 10 (0-0) -- Overall (1-0)

* * *

WEEK 2
vs. #10 Notre Dame (1-0) *TV2*
(USC -2) USC BCS RANK: #11

Well we jumped way up into the BCS rankings, but again the rankings are very fickle the first 3-4 weeks of the season, so I don't put much stock in it. Made some changes to the game plan to re-emphasize the run again, as I had taken too much emphasis off the running game last week. We're healthy for this week's game, that's always good news.

Made a number of new initial contacts this week and we've just about got our primary recruiting list set and have sent offers out. Making it a point to mostly avoid academically troubled kids unless they are a really, really exceptional talent. We're looking for well rounded student-athletes at USC and it's difficult when the kids can't function academically.

A full house was on hand at the packed Rose Bowl to watch the Trojans capture a big win against Notre Dame, 24-7. Leading the way was Tailback Aaron Castillo who had 107 yards on 21 carries while adding 46 yards on 5 receptions. Wideout Brian Robinson ran one in from 15 yards out on a reverse as the Trojans pulled everything out of the playbook this week.

QB Malcolm Moreno had a solid day passing, going 18/33 for 217 yards while throwing 2 touchdowns and no INT's. Willie Davison and Ronnie Wheeler each had a touchdown reception, and DE Alonzo Chevrier added 2 more sacks to his season total.

We lost DE Steve Strickland for the season due to injury however. Strickland will be sorely missed as he had 22.5 sacks the past two seasons for us. Freshman Tracy Alders will take his place.

But this was a big, big win against the Fighting Irish.

USC 24 -- Notre Dame 7
PAC 10 (0-0) -- Overall (2-0)

* * *

WEEK 3
Week off.
USC BCS RANK: #7

The loss of Strickland will hurt quite a bit, but with the season Alonzo Chevrier is having maybe we won't miss his impact so much. Tracy Aalders has a lot of potential, but he's just a freshman and very raw. So it'll take some time for him to get up to speed.

Looks like we have our primary list all finished and now we have started making revisits and return phone calls trying to woo recruits. I'm looking for another good recruiting class, and we've got a full 16 scholarships to offer this season.

PAC 10 (0-0) -- Overall (2-0)

* * *

WEEK 4
@ Ohio State (0-2)
(USC -1) USC BCS RANK: #14

Told you the rankings were fickle. Still #14 BCS ranking is much better than we could have hoped for in the preseason. Hopefully we can continue developing our young talent and win some ballgames.

Lots of kids on campus visiting this week. Hopefully we'll get some early signings that'll set up our recruiting class for the rest of the season.

DE Alonzo Chevrier led the way to a 30-9 victory over the Buckeyes this week. Chevrier, who has played three outstanding games so far, had 7 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Alonzo is developing into one of the nation's finest pass rushers.

Couldn't get much of a running game going today, but QB malcolm Moreno was deathly efficient through the air, going 20/29 for 197 yards and 2 touchdowns and no INT's. Moreno's play, while not outstanding, has been very solid in our short passing game.

Wideout Ronnie Wheeler had a big day, making 6 catches for 97 yards and a TD. Willie Davison had the other touchdown grab.

Well, we're playing well. A little trouble getting a sustained running attack going, but the defense and Moreno are making up for it. Good start to the year.

USC 30 -- Ohio State 9
PAC 10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (3-0)

* * *

WEEK 5 MEDIA SNIPPETTS

LA TIMES
Week 5, 2013

Coach Bear Growlz has his very young Southern Cal team off to a very good start this season. QB Malcolm Moreno has taken charge of the offense in the absence of a running game and the outstanding play of DE Alonzo Chevrier can only lead to a very bright future for the Trojan football program.

Many pundits predicted this would be a down year for the Trojans, but Coach Growlz, who has become an institution at Southern Cal, has infused the program with new life and vigor that was sadly lacking when Everett McDaniel was the quarterback.

Whether USC can keep up this level of play when they face their grueling PAC 10 schedule is another question entirely. But so far there's nothing but good things to say about USC.

###

ESPN NEWS
Week 5, 2005

... and Southern Cal has been a big surprise, surging to a 3-0 record and into a #19 ranking in the BCS. No one expected this from the Trojans this year. It'll be interesting to see if USC, which was unranked to start the year, can continue to play this well.

The College Years
Week 5, 2013
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Louisville 2-0 USA 5.25 7.50 0.00 2.04 14.79 1
UCLA 2-0 P10 3.25 8.50 0.00 3.24 14.99 2
Texas A&M 3-0 B12 9.50 2.00 0.00 3.56 15.06 3
Michigan 3-0 B10 11.00 3.00 0.00 2.44 16.44 4
Penn State 3-0 B10 14.00 5.50 0.00 3.48 22.98 5
Iowa 2-0 B10 15.00 7.00 0.00 3.64 25.64 6
Florida 3-0 SEC 21.25 1.00 0.00 4.52 26.77 7
Marshall 3-0 MAC 11.25 11.50 0.00 4.24 26.99 8
Keene State 3-0 NNE 10.25 13.50 0.00 3.44 27.19 9
Virginia Tech 3-0 ACC 7.25 20.00 0.00 2.88 30.13 10
Miami of Ohio 2-0 MAC 5.75 22.50 0.00 2.92 31.17 11
Wisconsin 3-0 B10 17.75 11.00 0.00 4.00 32.75 12
North Carolina State 3-0 ACC 15.50 14.00 0.00 4.08 33.58 13
Louisiana-Lafayette 2-0 SUN 9.75 21.50 0.00 3.88 35.13 14
Green Mountain 2-0 NNE 8.25 25.00 0.00 2.16 35.41 15
Air Force 3-0 MTW 7.00 27.00 0.00 2.20 36.20 16
Utah 3-0 MTW 9.00 23.50 0.00 3.76 36.26 17
Miami of Florida 3-0 ACC 14.75 18.50 0.00 3.84 37.09 18
**Southern California 3-0 P10 22.25 14.50 0.00 4.32 41.07 19
Vanderbilt 3-0 SEC 20.75 21.50 0.00 4.28 46.53 20
Boston College 3-0 BGE 27.25 17.50 0.00 3.20 47.95 21
Virginia 3-0 ACC 37.75 5.50 0.00 4.88 48.13 22
Syracuse 4-0 BGE 38.50 5.00 0.00 4.68 48.18 23
Hawaii 2-1 WAC 17.50 30.50 1.00 0.88 49.88 24
Alabama 3-0 SEC 37.50 13.00 0.00 4.84 55.34 25

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2013 SEASON (2ND Qtr)



WEEK 5
@ Oregon (2-1) *TV5*
(USC -9) USC BCS RANK: #19

Had to suspend sophomore Safety Bubba Miller for the season this week. Miller was caught in the woman's locker room in the main gymnasium on campus. The NCAA chose to leave any discipline upto the school. These player incidents are getting out of hand. He's gone for the season.

Continued making follow up contacts to players on our recruiting list. Like last season, a lot of Caly kids our on our list, but we're also pursuing recruits as far away as Rhode Island.

Junior Strong Safety Claude Horn returned and interception for a touchdown and QB Malcolm Moreno tossed two touchdown passes to lead the Trojans to a 27-6 road win at Oregon this week. Moreon went a pedestrian 12/22 for 173 yards and 2 TD's while throwing no INT's in leading Southern Cal to victory. Hauling in the touchdown grabs were Malcolm's two favorite targets - Willie Davison and Ronnie Wheeler.

The Trojans couldn't get a running game going however as Aaron Castillo went down with a broken clavicle. Castillo could miss upto 14 weeks and is probably gone for the rest of the year.

In looking at our roster I think we'll continue to redshirt Gabe Whalen unless another back goes down. Junior Coffey can start at Tailback and he's better developed than Whalen is so we won't lose anythign there by keeping Whalen redshirted. 5th year senior Brad Berberich should be able to fill in ably enough at Wingback and I don't want to use a year of Whalen's eligibility just to be a reserve.

Good win, but we'll miss Castillo - more for how it hinders his development than anything.

USC 27 -- Oregon 6
PAC 10 (1-0) -- OVERALL (4-0)

* * *

WEEK 6
Off Week.
USC BCS RANK: #7

Bumped up to #7 with our win over the Ducks last week. I'm pleased with the way Malcolm Moreno has played. He hasn't been spectacular (4 GP, 74/120, 61.6%, 859 yards, 7 TD/1 INT), but has been solid and hasn't lost us games. Coach Edwards seems to call a better game for moreno than he did for Ev McDaniel - though I have taken over the ganmeplan for the most part. Don't know whether I should have with McDaniel here or not, but hindsight is 20/20 in any case.

Three recruits signed letters with us this week, and we got two rejections. The players who committed to USC were Ernie Cheatham, an offensive guard from Cerritos High School in Cerritos, California, Freddie Stender, a defensive end from Rialto High School in Rialto, California and Chad Berg, an inside linebacker from Petaluma High School in Petaluma, California - all Caly kids.

Stender is ranked as the #23 recruit in the nation. He's a DE (76+) with good academics and comes from a very good prep athletic program. He could be a solid contributor his freshman year. Cheatham is ranked as the #35 recruit in the nation. He's an OG (83--) with outstanding academics that comes from a high school with both outstanding athletic and academic preperation. He should develop nicely, even if he is overrated.

PAC 10 (1-0) -- OVERALL (4-0)

* * *

WEEK 7
vs. Arizona (4-1) *TV4*
(USC -9) USC BCS RANK: #7

Big game for us at the Rose Bowl this week against a 4-1 Arizona Wildcat program. I think it will be a test of how good we really are. We're going to need to win here if we hope to make any kind of noise come bowl time.

No committments or rejections this week. Spent the week making follow up calls and contacts. We're in the hunt for a number of highly ranked recruits. Made some new contacts and invitations to visit this week as we start to expand our recruiting pool a bit now that we've maxed out contacts with most of our primary list.

QB Malcolm Moreno had an outstanding day going 29/40 for 274 yards and throwing for two touchdowns and running for another on a 20 yard scamper as he led USC to a dominating 44-17 win in front of a sold out Rose Bowl crowd.

Moreno connected with senior Fullback Clyde Dotson on one of his touchdowns as Dotson led Southern Cal receivers with 7 catches for 63 yards. Moreno also hit wideout Ronnie Wheeler for a touchdown.

Redshirt senior Junior Coffey played well as he transitioned from Wingback to Tailback with the injury to Aaron Castillo, rushing for 108 yards and 2 TD's on 22 carries (4.9 ypc), providing the Trojans with a solid running attack to balance Malcolm Moreno's passing.

A terrific win for us and we're playing some pretty good football right now.

USC 44 -- Arizona 17
PAC 10 (2-0) -- OVERALL (5-0)

* * *

WEEK 8
@ Washington State (2-3) *TV5*
(USC -17) USC BCS RANK: #8

We remain highly ranked in the BCS this week, a point of pride after not making the preseason Top 25. We're coming off a good win over Arizona, but now we have to go on the road and show what we're really capable of. Junior Coffey and Malcom moreno will have to take their games to a higher level as we get into the meat of our PAC-10 schedule.

Very good news on the recruiting front, though I don't know how we're going to keep all these quarterbacks happy with playing time down the road. The #1 recruit in the nation, Jason Krieger, a quarterback from Woonsocket High School in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, signed a letter of intent to play for USC next season. Jason is a 91+ quarterback with decent, though not spectacular academic credentials. He's coming to us from a very good athletic program and a school with good academic preperation.

Also signing with us this week were: Brett Vinnick, an inside linebacker (85-/Ranked #22) from Agua Fria High School in Avondale, Arizona and Johnnie El Nino, an outside linebacker (80+/Ranked #63) from Ripon High School in Ripon, California.

Tailback Junior Coffey had an outstanding day rushing for 170 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries as he led the Trojans to a hard fought 38-33 victory on the road at Washington State.

Fullback Clyde Dotson was once again the leading receiver for Southern Cal's dink and dunk offense, making 7 catches. QB Malcolm Moreno was picked off once but he did hit wideout Willie Davison for 6 points.

A solid, if unspectacular, victory for us on the road, and a terrific day for Coffey.

USC 38 -- Washington State 33
PAC 10 (3-0) -- OVERALL (6-0)

* * *

WEEK 9 MEDIA SNIPPETTS

ESPN NEWS
Week 9, 2013

The Trojans of Southern Cal continue to surprise everyone with their outstanding play, though they did have a scare against the Washington State Cougars, 38-33, this past week. It's difficult to put your finger on any one aspect of the Trojans play this season as to why they are playing well. Redshirt senior Tailback Junior Coffey has emerged as a force over the past couple of weeks, which is good as the defense didn't seem to show up against the Cougars. USC has put in a dink and dunk passing attack, utilizing it's backs as more of a passing weapon than in the past. While this type of offense minimizes the chances of their young quarterback Malcolm Moreno making mistakes, the question remains, will he be able to win a big game with this offense the next time the Trojan running game gets stalled.

That will likely determine just how far USC can go this season.

The College Years
2013 - Week 9
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Michigan 7-0 B10 1.00 3.00 0.00 0.72 4.72 1
Texas A&M 7-0 B12 2.75 2.00 0.00 2.28 7.03 2
Penn State 6-0 B10 2.25 5.50 0.00 1.92 9.67 3
Florida 6-0 SEC 4.25 1.00 0.00 4.44 9.69 4
Virginia 7-0 ACC 7.50 4.50 0.00 3.56 15.56 5
Syracuse 7-0 BGE 6.25 5.00 0.00 4.56 15.81 6
**Southern California 6-0 P10 5.00 9.00 0.00 3.36 17.36 7
Keene State 7-0 NNE 8.50 8.50 0.00 4.16 21.16 8
Vanderbilt 5-0 SEC 6.00 12.00 0.00 4.20 22.20 9
UCLA 5-1 P10 10.25 12.50 1.00 2.20 25.95 10
Marshall 6-0 MAC 13.75 8.00 0.00 4.84 26.59 11
Alabama 5-0 SEC 19.00 8.50 0.00 4.88 32.38 12
Toledo 6-1 MAC 8.75 21.00 1.00 2.24 32.99 13
Notre Dame 5-2 IND 14.50 18.50 2.00 0.44 35.44 14
Louisville 5-1 USA 21.25 11.50 1.00 4.48 38.23 15
Air Force 5-1 MTW 9.75 27.00 1.00 0.88 38.63 16
Wisconsin 5-2 B10 16.75 20.50 2.00 2.60 41.85 17
Kansas State 6-1 B12 17.00 20.50 1.00 4.64 43.14 18
Utah 5-1 MTW 17.25 23.00 1.00 3.48 44.73 19
Oklahoma 4-1 B12 20.25 23.50 1.00 1.32 46.07 20
Iowa 4-2 B10 23.75 19.00 2.00 1.56 46.31 21
Pittsburgh 5-2 BGE 17.50 26.00 2.00 1.16 46.66 22
California 6-1 P10 25.50 16.00 1.00 4.76 47.26 23
Louisiana-Lafayette 5-1 SUN 24.00 20.50 1.00 4.12 49.62 24
North Carolina State 4-2 ACC 22.00 29.00 2.00 0.28 53.28 25

###

LA TIMES
Week 9, 2013

Halfway through the college football season, USC is playing far better football than most pundits gave them any right to be playing this season. Coach Bear Growlz has his Trojans winning games right and left with a cast mostly unknown except to the most diehard Southern Cal fan. The emergence of Tailback Junior Coffey has been a pleasant surprise, as has been the development of QB Malcolm Moreno who we can expect to see great things from din the future. Giant kudos to Coach Growlz and all the USC Trojans for their successful first half and here's to an even better stretch drive.

* * *

PAC 10 (3-0) -- OVERALL (6-0)
USC BCS RANK: #7

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2013 SEASON (3rd Qtr.)


WEEK 9
vs. Oregon State (1-6) (PAC-10)
(USC -34) USC BCS RANK: #7

Wideout Brian Robinson has missed the last two games with a seperated shoulder, but Fullback Clyde Dotson has really emerged as a solid checkdown receiver for Malcolm Moreno the past few games. That's a pleasant development and a nice bonus out of Dotson, a terrific run blocker.

We got the committments and three rejections this week - two of the rejections went to Notre Dame and UCLA, though UCLA only snagged a punter, so it didn't hurt too badly.

Mitchell Blackburn, a center from Highland High School in Palmdale, California, Brett Thornton, a punter from Burton Academy High School in San Francisco, California and Rick Holmes, an outside linebacker from Santa Cruz Valley Union High School in Eloy, Arizona all signed letters of intent to play for Southern Cal next season. Blakcburn was the #17th ranked recruit in the nation.

The reserves saw a lot of playing time this week as we built up a 35-0 lead at halftime infront of a capacity crowd of 96,600 en route to a 52-3 thrashing of a very poor Oregon State team.

The Trojans controlled the ball for over 40 minutes of play and put up 515 yards of total offense while limiting the Beavers to just 69 total yards. Wideout Ronnie Wheeler was a standout on the day, hauling in a 60 yard scoring strike from Malcolm Moreno, who went 12/14 with 2 TD passes and 1 INT before being relieved by redshirt sophomore Mark Rayburn for the day. Wheeler made 4 catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns and Wingback Brad Berberich had 8 receptions on the day. Freshman Free Safety Louie Finch ran an interception back for a touchdown to cap a dominating game by Southern Cal.

Very good game against a very bad team. But I like the way we're playing, and no new injuries. We're halfway through our PAC 10 schedule now and playing good football. But we've got the real tests coming up.

USC 52 -- Oregon State 3
PAC 10 (4-0) -- OVERALL (7-0)

* * *

WEEK 10
@ Arizona State (4-4) (PAC-10) *TV4*
(USC -15) USC BCS RANK: #9

Network TV is picking up a lot of our games again this year, always a sign that you're playing well. This should be a tough test as Arizona is always good at home.

We received two more commitments this week as Gabe Kaplan, an offensive tackle (93--, Rank #11) from Beatrice High School in Beatrice, Nebraska and Cris Griffin, a safety (80++) from Mount Vernon High School in Mount Vernon, Illinois both signed letters of intent to play for Southern Cal next year. That brings the number of signees this year to 11, leaving only five more slots open in our recruiting class.

It was a difficult loss to take this week as we probably played too conservatively - though Malcolm Moreno threw two INT's in 17 attempts - as we dropped a 17-14 decision to Arizona State on the road. But the Sun Devils shut down Tailback Junior Coffey and we couldn't get anything going through the air. This unit isn't quite ready for championship contention, and this week showed it.

5th year senior Wingback Brad Berberich played well in defeat, gaining 52 yards on 9 carries, but he's the only one who could do anything all day.

Arizona State 17 -- USC 14
PAC 10 (4-1) -- OVERALL (7-1)

* * *

WEEK 11
vs. #17 California (8-1) (PAC-10) *TV1*
(USC -7) USC BCS RANK: #14

We fall to #14 in the BC rankings this week after our tough to swallow loss at ASU. We're the prime time national television game this week as the Golden Bears come into the Rose Bowl. They're in 1st in the PAC-10 at 5-1 and us and UCLA are at 4-1. This would be a big win for us this year if we can bring it off. We'll be playing without starting OC Chester Hoffman who hurt had his knee scoped this week.

Three more recruits signed letters of intent with USC this week. They are: Glenn Cook, a center (77+/Rank #82) from Del Campo High School in Fair Oaks, California; Hunter Blount, an offensive tackle (79+) from Carson High School in Carson, California; and Sam Alexander, a (62+) cornerback from La Serna High School in Whittier, California. Decent depth signings, nothing spectacular. That leaves us with two more slots open and three scholarship offers out there.

Falling behind 21-7 at the half, our Trojans put up 28 unanswered second half points to earn a come from behind 35-21 victory over Cal this week. We did it on the legs of Tailback Junior Coffey, who rushed for 186 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries (6.6 ypc), winning a big, big game at home. Wingback Brad Berberich also had a fine game running the ball, gaining 82 yards on 9 carries (9.1 ypc) and rushing for one touchdown.

The Southern Cal defense applied pressure to the Cal quarterback all day as DE Alonzo Chevrier had 2.5 sacks and NT Big Ben Burroughs had a sack and a half.

UCLA also won, putting us both in 1st in conference, a game up in the loss column on Cal.

These are the kinds of games we have to win to be champions.

USC 35 -- California 21
PAC 10 (5-1) -- OVERALL (8-1)

* * *

WEEK 12
vs. Washington (2-7) (PAC-10)
(USC -24) USC BCS RANK: #11

Jumped up to #11 this week on the strength of our big win over Cal. We play a game we should win this week, but we can't lose focus. A win this week will give us the most PAC-10 victories we've had in a single season since I took over the Southern Cal job, with only UCLA left to play.

One more signing this week, Wayne Bjorke, a quarterback from Rancho Cucamonga High School in Alta Loma, California. Bjorke is the second QB we've signed to a letter of intent his year, but he was ranked 18th in the nation and was scouted as an 80+. He'll compete for the starting job down the road.

Senior Fullback Clyde Dotson rushed for a touchdown and added another receiving as we defeated the Huskies in a convincing manner, 31-14.

Wideout Willie Davison had 5 receptions for 101 yards and QB malcolm Moreno went 14/26 for 209 yards, throwing 1 TD and 1 INT. Tailback Junior Coffey was held mostly in check, gaining only 87 yards on 28 carries, though he did find his way into the end zone once on the day.

It wasn't a great day statistically for us, but it wasn't a close game and it was a win we needed. Next up: UCLA for the PAC-10 title.

USC 31 -- Washington 14
PAC 10 (6-1) -- OVERALL (9-1)

* * *

WEEK 13 MEDIA SNIPPETTS

LA TIMES
Week 13, 2013

And so it comes down to one game. Southern Cal vs. UCLA, the men of troy vs. the Bruins, the maroon and gold vs. the powder blue, yellow and silver. Cross-city rivals playing for one thing: the winner takes the PAC-10 championship trophy home.

This is what college football is all about. We have two of the top 10 college football teams in the nation here in Los Angeles and the fact that the PAC-10 championship has come down to this one game between these two old foes speaks highly of the quality of programs both schools have built.

We just can't wait to see the result.

###

COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEKLY
Week 13, 2013

What an interesting story has developed surrounding Southern Cal's Head Coach Bear Growlz. As he prepares his team for what is in essence a PAC-10 Championship game against arch rival UCLA, USC sits at #10 in the BCS Rankings, one spot behind tiny Keene State College, the program Growlz built and then left to take the USC job. Wouldn't it be something to see those two programs face each other in a BCS Bowl Game?

The College Years
Week 13, 2013
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Michigan 10-0 B10 1.00 1.00 0.00 1.88 3.88 1
Penn State 10-0 B10 2.75 3.50 0.00 4.20 10.45 2
Syracuse 10-0 BGE 3.25 3.00 0.00 4.88 11.13 3
Virginia 10-0 ACC 6.00 2.50 0.00 4.76 13.26 4
Texas A&M 9-1 B12 5.50 5.50 1.00 1.80 13.80 5
UCLA 8-1 P10 4.00 9.00 1.00 2.48 16.48 6
Florida 8-1 SEC 7.00 5.50 1.00 3.60 17.10 7
Marshall 10-0 MAC 8.25 7.50 0.00 5.00 20.75 8
Keene State 10-0 NNE 10.50 7.50 0.00 4.64 22.64 9
**Southern California 9-1 P10 7.50 11.00 1.00 4.36 23.86 10
Toledo 9-1 MAC 7.75 14.50 1.00 1.96 25.21 11
Vanderbilt 8-1 SEC 8.25 16.00 1.00 1.20 26.45 12
Alabama 8-1 SEC 16.25 11.00 1.00 4.40 32.65 13
Iowa 8-2 B10 17.25 12.50 2.00 1.60 33.35 14
Utah 8-1 MTW 12.75 17.00 1.00 3.64 34.39 15
Air Force 9-1 MTW 13.00 18.00 1.00 3.84 35.84 16
Notre Dame 7-2 IND 16.00 19.00 2.00 1.84 38.84 17
West Virginia 8-2 BGE 25.25 12.50 2.00 3.36 43.11 18
Rice 7-2 WAC 16.50 21.50 2.00 4.08 44.08 19
Georgia Tech 7-2 ACC 15.00 28.00 2.00 2.84 47.84 20
Texas Christian 8-2 USA 22.75 19.00 2.00 4.56 48.31 21
Louisiana-Lafayette 8-2 SUN 18.00 25.50 2.00 3.88 49.38 22
South Florida 8-2 USA 19.75 23.00 2.00 4.68 49.43 23
Wisconsin 7-3 B10 18.25 26.50 3.00 2.20 49.95 24
Louisville 7-2 USA 28.75 16.00 2.00 4.48 51.23 25

PAC 10 (6-1) -- OVERALL (9-1)
USC BCS RANK: #10

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2013 SEASON (4th Qtr)


WEEK 13
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #10

I totally blew off coaching blocs the past two quarters, what a disaster. Fortunately only one player is failing a class. I allocated a ton of coaching blocs this week and hopefully will be able to stave off any academic disasters. Just totally forgot - My bad.

One scholarship left, two offers out there. Whoever takes it first gets it.

Some good news on the injury front, our #3 wideout Brian Robinson may be able to play against UCLA. He's missed most of the year with a seperated shoulder, but could be back in time for the big game. That'll help.

PAC 10 (6-1) -- OVERALL (9-1)

* * *

WEEK 14
@ #7 UCLA (9-1) (PAC-10) *TV1*
(UCLA -6) USC BCS RANK: #11

This is it. We've got a shot at our first PAC-10 title since I took over. It's going to be very tough as we play at UCLA. This is probably the biggest game we've played in my six years here. Be nice to come away with a "W".

Zach Samuels, a kicker from William Monroe High School in Stanardsville, Virginia, signed a letter of intent to play for us next season. With Max Elston graduating, Samuels might compete for the starting job. He rounds out our recruiting class for the year.

UCLA scored with 1:10 left in the 4th quarter to pull out a 24-21 victory over us in a heartbreaking game for USC. We played extremely well but just couldn't hold on, and proved we really belong with the big dogs - but in the end just didn't have quite enough and lost.

Tailback Junior Coffey had another fine day, rushing for 144 yards and one touchdown on 24 carries (6.0 ypc) and QB Malcolm Moreno had a good day as well, going 17/30 for 182 yards and a touchdown. Senior Fullback Clyde Dotson had 8 receptions and wideout Ronnie Wheeler had a touchdown reception.

A heartbreaker of a loss, and with it the PAC-10 title. But damn what a terrificly unexpected run we've had. Can't be down about that.
We finish second in the PAC-10, just ahead of Cal due to our win against them this year.

UCLA 24 -- USC 21
PAC 10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (9-2)

* * *

WEEK 15
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #15

Didn't fall too far because of our loss last week, but it is enough to keep us out of the BCS Bowls (only the Top eight teams go to one of them). Still, we'll likely be going to the Hoosier Bowl as the #2 PAC-10 team to play the #2 team of the Big 12.

PAC 10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (9-2)

* * *

WEEK 16
MINOR BOWL TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #15

Good news, senior OLB Walt de Leon will be healthy enough to play in our bowl game. He'll be a big help.

PAC 10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (9-2)

* * *

WEEK 17 MEDIA SNIPPETTS

LA TIMES
Week 17, 2013

In easily his most successful season of his six years at the helm of the Southern Cal program, Coach Bear Growlz gets his #15 Trojans ready to play in the Hoosier Bowl against Missouri. Led by Tailback Junior Coffey, USC has exceeded everyone's expectations and gone 9-2 on the year and earned an invitation to a Four Star Tier Bowl Game. Now all that is left to cap off a truly spectacular Southern Cal season is to defeat Mizzou.

We think the Trojans can do it.

###

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS
Week 17, 2013

So just how did USC do it? No one expected them to be where they are now, or being playing in such a big game as The Hoosier Bowl against Missouri. So how did they do it?

A +13 turnover margin and holding their opponents to under 15 points per game are two big ways the Trojans maximized what talent they do have, and a game plan which didn't put QB Malcolm Moreno in situations where he could hurt the team while he developed are what led to such a successful year.

The College Years
Week 17, 2013
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Michigan 11-0 B10 1.25 1.00 0.00 3.04 5.29 1
Penn State 11-0 B10 4.00 3.00 0.00 4.24 11.24 2
Syracuse 11-0 BGE 4.25 3.00 0.00 4.92 12.17 3
Florida 11-1 SEC 3.00 5.00 1.00 3.92 12.92 4
UCLA 10-1 P10 4.25 8.00 1.00 2.92 16.17 5
Texas A&M 10-1 B12 6.50 6.00 1.00 2.88 16.38 6
Virginia 11-0 ACC 10.00 3.00 0.00 4.32 17.32 7
Keene State 12-0 NNE 6.75 7.00 0.00 4.16 17.91 8
Toledo 12-1 MAC 7.00 10.50 1.00 0.96 19.46 9
Rice 10-2 WAC 5.75 15.00 2.00 1.84 24.59 10
Marshall 11-1 MAC 12.50 9.00 1.00 5.00 27.50 11
Air Force 10-1 MTW 11.00 13.00 1.00 3.16 28.16 12
Iowa 9-2 B10 15.25 11.00 2.00 2.28 30.53 13
Notre Dame 9-2 IND 15.75 12.50 2.00 2.12 32.37 14
**Southern California 9-2 P10 11.00 17.00 2.00 3.64 33.64 15
Oklahoma 10-2 B12 12.50 19.00 2.00 2.76 36.26 16
Utah 9-2 MTW 12.00 21.00 2.00 2.08 37.08 17
Alabama 10-2 SEC 21.50 14.50 2.00 4.72 42.72 18
California 9-2 P10 19.75 18.00 2.00 4.52 44.27 19
Western Michigan 9-3 MAC 12.75 29.50 3.00 1.88 47.13 20
Texas Christian 9-2 USA 25.00 16.00 2.00 4.20 47.20 21
Wisconsin 8-3 B10 18.75 23.50 3.00 3.68 48.93 22
South Florida 9-3 USA 20.50 23.50 3.00 4.84 51.84 23
Pittsburgh 8-4 BGE 20.25 29.00 4.00 1.12 54.37 24
Georgia Tech 8-3 ACC 20.50 29.00 3.00 2.40 54.90 25

PAC 10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (9-2)
USC BCS RANK: #15

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2013 SEASON (Final)


WEEK 17
MAJOR BOWL TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #15

Allocated the last of my coaching blocs this week. Keeping my fingers crossed my forgetfullness doesn't turn into an academic disaster.

PAC 10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (9-2)

* * *

WEEK 18
FOUR STAR TIER
HOOSIER BOWL vs. Missouri (7-5) *TV3*
(USC -19) USC BCS RANK: #14

Good news, OC Chester Hoffman has recovered from his injury and will be able to play this week.

The boys showed up to play this week as Tailback Junior Coffey led the way to victory in the Hoosier Bowl, running for 170 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries (5.6 ypc) in a 38-24 win over Missouri. Aaron Castillo was listed as probable for the game, but I decided to dance with who brung us, and started Coffey who rewarded us with a big day rushing.

QB Malcolm Moreno played quite well, going 22/32 for 225 yards while throwing two touchdown passes along with 1 INT. Malcolm's primary target all day was wideout Willie Davison, who made 7 catches for 117 yards. FB Clyde Dotson and WR Ronnie Wheeler had the TD grabs.

On defense ILB's Dale Cunningham and Tyrell Vaughn each led the way with 7 tackles apiece while DE Alonzo Chevrier added 2 sacks.

We played well in all aspects of the game and this was a tremendous win for our program. What a fine end to a really good year.

USC 38 -- Missouri 24
PAC 10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (10-2)

* * *

WEEK 19
NEW YEAR'S TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #15

We actually drop a spot in the BCS rankings after winning our bowl game.

Go figure.

PAC 10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (10-2)

* * *

WEEK 20
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #14

And back up a rank for doing nothing.

Michigan defeated Penn State 38-13 for the National Championship.

QB Ricky Battle of Notre Dame won the Heisman for the 2nd consecutive season.

We finished the year ranked #14 by the BCS.

The College Years
2013 Final
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Michigan 12-0 B10 1.75 1.00 0.00 1.24 3.99 1
Florida 12-1 SEC 2.25 2.50 1.00 2.56 8.31 2
UCLA 11-1 P10 2.50 8.00 1.00 2.08 13.58 3
Texas A&M 11-1 B12 6.25 4.00 1.00 3.08 14.33 4
Keene State 12-0 NNE 5.00 5.50 0.00 4.36 14.86 5
Virginia 12-0 ACC 8.50 2.50 0.00 4.00 15.00 6
Penn State 11-1 B10 5.50 6.00 1.00 2.92 15.42 7
Toledo 12-1 MAC 5.50 10.50 1.00 0.96 17.96 8
Syracuse 11-1 BGE 6.50 6.50 1.00 4.44 18.44 9
Marshall 12-1 MAC 9.50 9.00 1.00 4.88 24.38 10
Rice 10-2 WAC 7.25 14.00 2.00 2.28 25.53 11
Iowa 10-2 B10 10.50 11.00 2.00 2.12 25.62 12
Notre Dame 10-2 IND 11.75 12.00 2.00 1.88 27.63 13
**Southern California 10-2 P10 11.75 15.50 2.00 3.20 32.45 14
Texas Christian 10-2 USA 16.50 14.00 2.00 4.04 36.54 15
Alabama 11-2 SEC 18.00 14.00 2.00 4.24 38.24 16
Wisconsin 9-3 B10 16.25 17.00 3.00 2.64 38.89 17
Air Force 10-2 MTW 17.25 18.00 2.00 2.44 39.69 18
Oklahoma 10-3 B12 20.75 21.00 3.00 1.56 46.31 19
Western Michigan 9-3 MAC 12.50 29.00 3.00 1.84 46.34 20
Vanderbilt 9-3 SEC 19.25 24.50 3.00 1.12 47.87 21
South Florida 9-3 USA 20.25 21.50 3.00 4.92 49.67 22
Utah 9-3 MTW 20.25 25.50 3.00 2.00 50.75 23
California 9-3 P10 26.75 21.00 3.00 4.12 54.87 24
Pittsburgh 8-4 BGE 22.00 29.50 4.00 1.36 56.86 25

PAC 10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (10-2)

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2013 SEASON REVIEW & SUMMARY


SEASON REVIEW

This team exceeded all expectations, my own included. We weren't ranked in the Preseason Top 25 and yet we almost won the PAC-10 championship, we won a Four Star Tier Bowl game and ended up ranked #14 by the BCS. We didn't do any one thing outstandingly well except not turning the ball over and not allowing other teams to score. Our defense was very solid as usual, we saw lots of progress by QB Malcolm Moreno, and Junior Coffey, pressed into a starting role at Tailback due to injury, played beyond all expectations and had a terrific year.

Junior DE Alonzo Chevrier was easily the star on defense with 14.5 sacks. Our run defense held opponents to well under 3 yards per carry and we had a +11 turnover margin - 9th best in the nation.

All in all this was a wonderful season. We defeated Notre Dame, beat Cal, won our bowl game, and came within a minute and ten seconds and three points of winning the PAC-10 championship. I am very pleased with how we performed this year.

The bulk of the starting units will be back next season, but we'll be losing graduating senior starters FB Clyde Dotson, DE Steve Strickland, NT Ben Burroughs, ILB Dale Cunningham, SLB Walt de Leon, K Max Elstrom and CB Mack Wilkins. Here's wishing them well and thanking them for one outstanding senior season.

* * *


2013 University of Southern California
Individual awards.

* OC Chester Hoffman (Fr.)
- Freshman All-American
- PAC-10 Offensive Freshman of the Year

* DE Tracy Aalders (Fr.)
- Freshman All-American

* FB Clyde Dotson (Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* OG Ricky Estevez (Jr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* K Max Elstrom (Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* WR Ronald Wheeler (RS Jr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* OT Joseph Shipman (RS Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10

* FS Louie Finch (Fr.)
- Academic All PAC-10



* * *


2013 SUMMARY
The College Years
2013 Summary for The University of Southern California Trojans

Head Coach: Bear Growlz (6th yr.)
Offensive Coordinator: Randy Edwards (2nd yr.)
Defensive Coordinator: Bucky Riley (6th yr.)
Syndicate Coordinator: Pete Prior (15th yr.)
Lead Scout: Bubba Embry (1st yr.)

Record: 10-2 PAC-10: 6-2
BCS RANK: 14 PAC-10 Finish: 2nd Place
Coach's Poll Rank: 16
Fan's Poll Rank: 15

Southern California Team Rank
Rushes 489 18
Rushing Yards 1915 24
Yards Per Carry 3.91 35
Pass Attempts 331 54 (T)
Completions 210 28
Passing Yards 2431 45
Yards Per Attempt 7.34 47
3rd Down Conversions 36.8 45 (T)
Points Per Game 32.6 23
Turnovers 12 8 (T)
Turnover Margin +11 9 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 370 26
Rushing Yards 900 14
Yards Per Carry 2.43 13
Pass Attempts 360 108 (T)
Completions 149 16
Passing Yards 2417 85
Yards Per Attempt 6.71 50 (T)
3rd Down Conversions 28.6 21
Points Per Game 15.6 18
Turnovers 23 39 (T)

Primary Formation: Flexbone Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 38 CLEM (95) 13
2 24 NODM (13) 7
4 30 at OHST (116) 9
5 27 at OREG (79) 6
7 44 ARIZ (75) 17
8 38 at WAST (62) 33
9 52 ORST (121) 3
10 14 at AZST (64) 17
11 35 CALI (21) 21
12 31 WASH (88) 14
14 21 at UCLA (8) 24
18 38 vs MIZZ (68) 24

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
14 Moreno QB 315 200 2304 7.31 18 7
Team --- 331 210 2431 7.34 19 7

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
35 Coffey RB 238 1123 4.71 16 54 78
45 Berberich RB 92 329 3.57 3 28 37
14 Moreno QB 67 35 0.52 2 35 160
21 Castillo RB 58 240 4.13 0 12 10
Team --- 489 1915 3.91 25 134 291

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
4 Wheeler WR 72 43 663 15.4 324 11
39 Dotson FB 70 43 307 7.1 199 3
7 Davison WR 64 46 812 17.6 260 4
45 Berberich RB 47 31 248 8.0 195 0
35 Coffey RB 31 20 143 7.1 84 0
21 Castillo RB 20 14 81 5.7 36 0
85 Robinson WR 14 7 89 12.7 15 0
Team --- 331 210 2431 11.5 1143 19

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
40 Horn S 67 18 0.0 9 4 11
54 Cunningham ILB 54 22 0.0 9 2 10
95 Burroughs DT 50 23 6.5 20 0 0
41 Vaughn ILB 50 20 0.0 10 2 3
43 de Leon OLB 41 19 0.0 4 0 3
79 Chevrier DE 41 14 14.5 20 0 1
30 Wilkins CB 39 16 0.0 5 1 22
93 Morrison OLB 38 15 2.0 6 0 2
38 Finch S 36 12 0.0 5 2 8
29 Lyons CB 29 4 0.0 2 3 9
26 Napiecek CB 22 8 0.0 4 0 6
78 Aalders DE 12 2 2.0 4 0 0
Team --- 581 188 34.0 108 14 77


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2014 PRESEASON
WINTER, 2014

Once again I received a large number of job offers. Chief among them were Florida State, Oklahoma, Texas and Georgia. Once again I thanked all the courters, but informed them I was staying put at Southern Cal.

It was good to see that an old player of mine I coached at Keene State, FB Len Sembower, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Len was a terrific run blocker and pass receiver and I'm really pleased for him.

Financial report came in - the football program earned just over 39 million dollars for the university in 2013. I'm sure the Board of Trustees is pleased about that.

Everyone on staff will be returning next season. I think everyone did a pretty good job for us.

Good to see our prestige is back up to Excellent (81), tied for 18th in the nation. It's taken awhile to get this program back to an XL rating, but now that we're there we need to work even harder to stay there.

The school's academic reputation is now Very Good (69), which is the 13th best in the nation. The GPA of the students in the football program here is now 3.13, best in the nation.

So it's good to see we're making progress both on the gridiron and in the classroom.

Our recruiting class was once again exceptional, TCY Today rated it the 2nd best class in the nation, behind only the University of Virginia. Here's a look at it.


The College Years
2013 University of Southern California Trojans
Recruiting List, Ranking View
TCY Today Rank: #2

Player Pos HT WT ST NRank ByPos StRank ByPos
$$Krieger, Jason QB 6-2 206 RI 1 1 1 1
$$Bjorke, Wayne QB 6-3 190 CA 18 4 3 1
**Blackburn, Mitchell C 6-4 291 CA 17 1 2 1
$$Cook, Glenn C 6-1 258 CA 82 4 14 2
$$Cheatham, Ernie G 6-1 279 CA 35 2 6 1
**Kaplan, Gabe T 6-7 277 NE 11 4 1 1
##Blount, Hunter T 6-4 249 CA 497 41 49 5
$$Thornton, Brett P 6-1 190 CA 138 5 18 2
$$Samuels, Zach K 6-1 189 VA 434 8 15 1
$$Stender, Freddie DE 6-5 263 CA 23 7 4 2
**Vinnick, Brett ILB 6-2 222 AZ 22 1 1 1
**Berg, Chad ILB 6-3 220 CA 219 11 24 2
**El Nino, Johnnie OLB 6-1 204 CA 63 2 11 1
**Holmes, Rick OLB 6-3 221 AZ 120 5 3 1
##Alexander, Sam CB 5-10 154 CA --- 70 --- 10
**Griffin, Cris S 5-11 175 IL 141 4 3 1

Player All-St All-US Status
$$Krieger, Jason Yes No Committed *
$$Bjorke, Wayne Yes No Committed *
**Blackburn, Mitchell Yes No Committed *
$$Cook, Glenn No No Committed *
$$Cheatham, Ernie Yes No Committed *
**Kaplan, Gabe Yes No Committed *
##Blount, Hunter Yes No Committed *
$$Thornton, Brett No No Committed *
$$Samuels, Zach Yes No Committed *
$$Stender, Freddie No No Committed *
**Vinnick, Brett Yes No Committed *
**Berg, Chad Yes No Committed *
**El Nino, Johnnie Yes No Committed *
**Holmes, Rick Yes No Committed *
##Alexander, Sam No No Committed *
**Griffin, Cris Yes No Committed *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.

Recruiting List, Worksheet View

Player Pos ST Visit Cost Dist. Fit Score
$$Bjorke, Wayne QB CA 249 46 88
$$Krieger, Jason QB RI 1192 2621 82
**Blackburn, Mitchell C CA 246 38 97
$$Cook, Glenn C CA 352 357 81
$$Cheatham, Ernie G CA 242 26 87
**Kaplan, Gabe T NE 826 1272 94
##Blount, Hunter T CA 241 21 84
$$Thornton, Brett P CA 349 349 89
$$Samuels, Zach K VA 1203 2257 92
$$Stender, Freddie DE CA 253 59 87
**Berg, Chad ILB CA 358 375 94
**Vinnick, Brett ILB AZ 353 355 98
**Holmes, Rick OLB AZ 368 407 92
**El Nino, Johnnie OLB CA 332 298 92
##Alexander, Sam CB CA 242 24 87
**Griffin, Cris S IL 1082 1678 95

Player Scout Phone Visit Emphasis Status
$$Bjorke, Wayne 80+ 4 2 Prest/Dist Committed *
$$Krieger, Jason 91+ 4 2 Dist/Prest Committed *
**Blackburn, Mitchell 96-- 4 2 Prest/Dist Committed *
$$Cook, Glenn 77+ 3 2 Dist*/Acad Committed *
$$Cheatham, Ernie 83-- 2 2 Acad/Dist Committed *
**Kaplan, Gabe 93-- 3 2 Acad*/Dist Committed *
##Blount, Hunter 79+ 2 2 Acad/Dist Committed *
$$Thornton, Brett 74+ 2 2 Acad*/Dist Committed *
$$Samuels, Zach 72- 3 3 Acad*/Prest Committed *
$$Stender, Freddie 76+ 2 2 Acad*/Dist Committed *
**Berg, Chad 82- 2 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
**Vinnick, Brett 85- 2 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
**Holmes, Rick 92++ 4 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
**El Nino, Johnnie 80+ 3 2 Prest*/Dist Committed *
##Alexander, Sam 62+ 1 1 Acad*/Dist Committed *
**Griffin, Cris 80++ 2 1 Acad/Prest Committed *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2013 PRESEASON
SPRING, 2013

We've got a rough schedule this year. We play weeks 5 through 13 without a break. Hopefully we'll be able to avoid the injury bug this year.

As always we have our annual game against Notre Dame. This year we also travel to Clemson for the 2nd half of a home and home series. And as always, every season there is one PAC-10 team we don't play. This season we don't play Washington.

We'll be looking for a home tune-up game in week 3 to round out our schedule. We are preseason #19 in the BCS rankings. So let's see. I think we'll invite georgia (#59) in for a home game in week 3.

Stage 1: UGA accepted our offer of a game at the Rose Bowl in week 3, so that fills our schedule for 2014. Here's a look at it.


The College Years
University of Southern California Trojans
2014 Schedule

Preseason BCS Team Rank: 19
Rival: UCLA
Stadium Capacity: 96,600
Season Tickets Sold: 95,200

Week Opponent Result Attendance Weather Television
2 at Clemson
3 GEORGIA
$$5 at Arizona State
$$6 OREGON STATE
$$7 at (23) California
$$8 OREGON
$$9 STANFORD
$$10 WASHINGTON STATE
$$11 at Arizona
12 (12) NOTRE DAME
$$13 at (7) UCLA

Home Games in ALL CAPS
$$-Conference Games, ##-League Championship Games, **-Post-Season Games


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2014 PRESEASON
Summer, 2014

Spent much of the early summer setting up player's academics and schedules. As we continue to attract a better quality of student to the program, a lot of the intensive time management tends to go away - the kids basically start coming in with almost the settings they'll carry for all four-five years in the program.

Going to open up the offense a little more so that QB Malcolm Moreno can use his strong arm to make better use of wideouts Ronnie Wheeler and Willie Davison. Also using three running backs int he backfield, as future Tailback Gabe Whalen will be starting at Fullback because of his strong clutch running skills.

Our starters this season will be redshirt senior Malcolm Moreno at QB - though redshirt junior Mark Rayburn may see some increased time there as well. In the backfield will be 5th year senior Tailback Junior Coffey, redshirt senior Aaron Castillo at Wingback and Whalen at Fullback - though Warren Guthrie and Ross Berberich will see some time at FB and Whalen at both TB and WB as well.

Moreno's primary targets this season will once again be wideouts Ronnie Wheeler and Willie Davison, capably backed up by senior Brian Robinson, redshirt junior Richie Warrick and redshirt sophomore Sammy Heekin, all of whom hope to see a little time this season.

Blocking for this group will be an offensive line anchored by 5th year senior tackles Joe Shipman and Warren Taggart. At the guard spots will be true senior Ricky Estevez and junior Ed Fuller. And in the middle at OC will be rising star Chester Hoffman, a true sophomore who is developing very quickly.

This unit has the ability to be a very good offense this year. Much will depend on how well Moreno responds to the added responsibility allowing him to throw deeper adds to his game management, and how well Whalen and Castillo handle a running game which takes a tad bit of emphasis off the Tailback and puts it on them. If Moreno has a solid season and the backs respond well, this offense could take us a long way this year.

Our defense will be led this season by redshirt senior Alonzo Chevrier, who had an outstanding season rushing the passer last year. At the other DE post will be sophomore Tracy Aalders, and in the middle at NT will be sophomore Tracy Dragon.

Up the middle at SILB will be rising star sophomore Tyrell Vaughn. Vaughn really developed well in his freshman year and this will be his second year as a starter. Beside him at WILB will be freshman Brett Vinnick, who steps right in to a starting job based on a great summer camp. At the OLB spots will be senior WLB Junior Morrison who we plan to blitz a bit more this year, and redshirt sophomore SLB Riddick Taylor. This shapes up to be a pretty solid linebacking corps with a bright future, and aside from Morrison, all will return next season as well.

In the secondary third year starter redshirt senior Tyrell Lyons will be manning the shutdown corner position. Across the field from him will be junior Mo Napiecek, who has served as our nickel back the past two years. Filling that role this year will be 5th year senior Max Galloway. Second year starter sophomore Louie Finch moves from Free Safety to Strong Safety to take advantage of his strong run-stopping abilities. And last year's starting Strong Safety, senior Claude Horn, moves to Free Safety. Freshman Chris Griffin backs them up as he gets ready to move into the starting lineup next year.

From the looks of it, this looks like a solid defensive unit once again. They'll have time to grow together as we'll only be graduating Morrison and Horn next year, so the defense, despite being solid already, looks to have considerable room to grow.

We're expecting big things out of our special teams this season. We have explosive punt and kick return men as Ronnie Wheeler will be our primary punt returner (98) and Tyrell Lyons will be handling most kickoff returns (90). Freshman Brett Thornton won the punting job away from the year senior Rickey Johnstone this summer, and redshirt junior Walter Perez replaces the graduated all conference kicker Max Elstrom at kicker.

I'm very excited about the potential of this year's team. Given our performance last season and the fact that many key players are back this year, I don't think another run at the PAC-10 championship and a BCS Bowl game are out of the question.

Here's a look at this year's roster.


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2014 Roster/Scout Overview

From the Desk of Bubba Embry, Lead Scout

Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
Bernard, Walt 18 QB Jr* 32 86
Bjorke, Wayne 10 QB Fr 19 94
Checkovich, Nicky 6 QB Sr 29 68
Donaldson, Irving 13 QB Sr 49 85
Krieger, Jason 19 QB Fr 32 73
Moreno, Malcolm 14 QB Sr* 47 100
Rayburn, Mark 8 QB Jr* 43 100
Berberich, Ross 34 RB Jr* 45 89
Castillo, Aaron 21 RB Sr* 59 99
Coffey, Junior 35 RB Sr 66 79
Whalen, Gabe 25 RB So* 50 98
Vanderlaan, Levon 46 RB* So* 31 46
Guthrie, Warren 33 FB Jr* 41 69
Finley, Jeffrey 30 FB* Fr 7 22
Irwin, Marty 80 TE* Sr* 12 17
Raymond, Colin 81 TE* Sr 4 15
Shreves, Maurice 89 TE* So* 2 12
Davison, Willie 7 WR Sr 66 80
Heekin, Sammy 86 WR So* 49 73
McConnell, Cole 2 WR So* 51 75
Robinson, Brian 85 WR Sr 67 73
Warrick, Richie 1 WR Jr* 43 73
Weiler, Darren 5 WR Jr* 30 70
Wheeler, Ronald 4 WR Sr* 91 91
Erickson, Vinny 83 WR* Sr* 6 10
Turnbull, Dexter 9 WR* Sr 4 4
Adams, Adrian 51 C Jr* 38 100
Blackburn, Mitchell 58 C Fr 39 71
Connell, Tim 53 C Jr* 18 64
Cook, Glenn 57 C Fr 27 62
Hoffman, Chester 56 C So 49 92
Powell, Mark 52 C Sr* 19 93
Rodriguez, Tony 50 C So* 26 87
Cheatham, Ernie 72 G Fr 34 57
Estevez, Ricky 64 G Sr 72 100
Fuller, Ed 73 G Jr 34 62
Pilgrim, Ty 68 G* So 10 38
Quinn, Leland 69 G* So 1 8
Blount, Hunter 67 T Fr 11 79
Greene, Howie 76 T Sr* 29 93
Harnisch, Vernon 62 T So* 13 61
Kaplan, Gabe 63 T Fr 16 72
Padgett, Nathan 61 T Sr* 44 85
Shipman, Joseph 74 T Sr 69 75
Taggart, Warren 77 T Sr 38 100
Johnstone, Rickey 15 P Sr 37 40
Thornton, Brett 12 P Fr 48 81
Perez, Walter 11 K Jr* 43 79
Samuels, Zach 3 K Fr 28 87
Buckley, Victor 16 K* Jr* 10 10
Aalders, Tracy 78 DE So 39 79
Chevrier, Alonzo 79 DE Sr* 61 99
Newman, Walt 94 DE Sr 32 62
Stender, Freddie 90 DE Fr 29 93
Cobb, Colin 70 DE* So* 7 7
Choate, Clarence 71 DT Sr* 24 69
Dragon, Tracy 92 DT So 38 83
Duncan, Bert 91 DT Jr* 31 90
Rogers, Arnie 75 DT Sr 21 40
Berg, Chad 45 ILB Fr 16 74
Boone, Eric 96 ILB Sr* 23 81
Sankey, Mo 55 ILB Jr* 33 83
Vaughn, Tyrell 41 ILB So 67 90
Vinnick, Brett 49 ILB Fr 34 66
Warren, Geoff 99 ILB Sr* 33 56
Buckley, Reggie 48 OLB So* 35 100
El Nino, Johnnie 95 OLB Fr 36 96
Holmes, Rick 47 OLB Fr 27 92
Morrison, Junior 93 OLB Sr 64 85
Taylor, Riddick 98 OLB So* 42 95
Thomas, Lester 44 OLB Jr* 33 82
Thomason, Korey 97 OLB Sr 32 66
Stagg, Jake 42 OLB* So* 12 62
Alexander, Sam 43 CB Fr 24 59
Galloway, Max 23 CB Sr 46 79
Lyons, Tyrell 29 CB Sr* 84 84
Majka, Roger 36 CB Jr* 44 85
Napiecek, Maurice 26 CB Jr 55 84
Flowers, Tracy 32 CB* Jr* 20 44
Finch, Louie 38 S So 57 61
Griffin, Cris 24 S Fr 29 77
Horn, Claude 40 S Sr 38 100
Nordskov, Shaun 20 S So* 31 67
Etaton, Vinny 22 S* Jr 9 25









-20-

[beargrowlz]

2014 SEASON (1st Qtr)


WEEK 1
Off week
USC BCS RANK: #19

Spent the week making our first contacts with recruits that are at the top of our list. Some of the top recruits we hope to land this year are running QB Brock Dole from New Mexico, WR Ron Morrison from California, NT Trent Milton from California, RB Mercury Schultz from California and OG Graham Molina from Washington. Next week we'll round out our primary list and then the week after begin re-contacting those kids and then slowly adding more depending on our needs, if any. We have a full 16 scholarships to offer this season, so unless we really don't do well landing the kids on our list, probably won't be inviting any walk-ons.

PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (0-0)

* * *

WEEK 2
@ Clemson (0-1)
(USC -1) USC BCS RANK: --

We've fallen completely out of the Top 25 and are only favored by one over Clemson at Clemson. A number of players on the team are taking that as a sign of serious disrespect.

I hope they're right and we play up to their attiudes.

Got most of our list put together now and have started making second contacts with the recruits at the top of the list. Already started getting kids on campus visiting - that's a good sign and maybe will lead to some early signings.

The boys came out with fire in their bellies and led by QB Malcolm Moreno and Tailback Junior Coffey put an old fashioned whuppin on Clemson, 41-3.

Moreno, who was relieved by Mark Rayburn when the game got out of hand, was nearly perfect on the day, going 13/15 for 146 yards and two touchdowns, while RB Gabe Whalen had 8 receptions on the day. Hauling in the two TD's were wideouts Ronnie Wheeler and Willie Davison. Davison sufferred an injury to his eyes and will be out indefinately.

Tailback Junior Coffey had a fine day, seeing limited action as well - rushing for 91 yards and 1 TD on 18 carries (5.0 ypg). Sophomore DE Tracy Aalders had 2 sacks to lead the Trojan defense in this dominating victory.

USC 41 -- Clemson 3
PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (1-0)

* * *

WEEK 3
vs. #16 Georgia (1-0) *TV4*
(USC -7) USC BCS RANK: #17

Should be a good test game this week, surprisingly so, as UGA is ahead of us in the BCS rankings - though early BCS rankings are notoriously unreliable. We'll be without Willie Davison and our top CB Tyrell Lyons due to injury.

Too early for any commitments yet, so spent the week adding a few defensive backs to our primary list and making 2nd and 3rd contacts for some players. Quite a few of our top priority recruits are making early visits to us this year, hopefully that's a good sign.

The Rose Bowl was packed to see QB Malcom Moreno systematically pick apart the Bulldog defense en route to a 59-13 USC win at home. Moreno, who was once again relieved by Mark Rayburn when the game got out of hand, went 20/28 for 351 yards while throwing 5 touchdowns against the dawg secondary.

The primary recipients of Moreno's gunning were RB gabe Whalen who had 8 receptions and wideout Ronnie Wheeler, who made 5 grabs for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Wingback Aaron Castillo also had two touchdown receptions. On the day eight different Trojan receivers caught passes.

A little concerning to me was the inability to get a running game going. Neither Castillo or Whalen are doing much when they carry the ball, so I may re-emphasize putting the ball in Junior Coffey's hand more often rather than getting them carries. But I've got to be very pleased with the way Malcolm Moreno is playing.

USC 59 -- Georgia 13
PAC 10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (2-0)

* * *

WEEK 4
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #11

No committments or rejections from recruits yet, still a bit early yet, will probably start hearing from some next week. Will spend this week making more phone calls and visits to players we've already contacted.

PAC 10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (2-0)

* * *

WEEK 5 MEDIA SNIPPETTS

LA TIMES
Week 5, 2014

Just how far can Southern Cal go this year? After some huge early season wins in which the Trojans reserves got plenty of playing time, USC has moved up to #7 in the BCS rankings. But they've still got to get past their annual bogeyman, UCLA, which currently resides at #5 in those very same rankings.

Is this year's Southern Cal team just a bit beter enough to beat a UCLA program they lost to last season with the PAC-10 championship on the line? We won't know for quite some time, but there's little doubt that's where USC's season will be made or broken.

###

ESPN.COM
Columnist Rob Simmons
Week 5, 2014

I don't want to hear anythign about USC yadda yadda yadda. Until they beat UCLA, they're dead to me. They're like the Red Sox were until 2004. Tease us all summer and then el foldo come September and October.

When they beat UCLA, then we'll talk.


The College Years
Week 5, 2014
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Virginia 3-0 ACC 1.50 3.00 0.00 2.16 6.66 1
Notre Dame 3-0 IND 3.50 7.50 0.00 1.32 12.32 2
Alabama 3-0 SEC 2.75 12.00 0.00 1.80 16.55 3
Oklahoma 3-0 B12 3.75 13.50 0.00 1.44 18.69 4
UCLA 3-0 P10 13.25 4.50 0.00 4.28 22.03 5
Texas Christian 2-0 USA 6.50 13.00 0.00 2.60 22.10 6
**Southern California 2-0 P10 6.25 14.00 0.00 2.32 22.57 7
Wisconsin 3-0 B10 6.00 13.50 0.00 3.64 23.14 8
Florida 3-0 SEC 20.00 1.00 0.00 3.84 24.84 9
Syracuse 4-0 BGE 15.75 5.00 0.00 4.24 24.99 10
Rice 3-0 WAC 12.00 12.50 0.00 4.16 28.66 11
Texas A&M 3-0 B12 23.00 2.00 0.00 3.88 28.88 12
Keene State 3-0 NNE 14.25 11.00 0.00 3.76 29.01 13
California 3-0 P10 9.75 18.50 0.00 3.44 31.69 14
Nebraska 3-0 B12 20.25 7.50 0.00 4.80 32.55 15
Michigan 2-1 B10 17.50 14.50 1.00 0.84 33.84 16
Iowa 3-0 B10 22.50 9.50 0.00 4.12 36.12 17
Michigan State 3-0 B10 10.50 22.00 0.00 3.68 36.18 18
South Florida 3-0 USA 21.25 18.50 0.00 4.04 43.79 19
Washington 3-0 P10 11.00 33.50 0.00 3.56 48.06 20
Colorado State 3-0 MTW 24.00 23.50 0.00 3.12 50.62 21
Central Michigan 2-0 MAC 14.75 33.50 0.00 2.84 51.09 22
Marshall 1-0 MAC 37.25 9.50 0.00 4.76 51.51 23
Arkansas 1-0 SEC 23.75 28.50 0.00 2.72 54.97 24
Utah 2-0 MTW 27.75 23.50 0.00 5.00 56.25 25


-20-

[aztarheel]

This is really a fun read -- what bowl did ol' Keene State win to finish 12-0 last season -- and did anyone from there rub Bear's nose in the fact that they finished higher than USC in the final polls? Think you'll ever try to schedule them for a home and home?

Good luck -- and beat those Bruins this year, will ya? ;)

[beargrowlz]

2014 SEASON (2nd Qtr.)


WEEK 5
@ Arizona State (1-1) (PAC-10)
(USC -6) USC BCS RANK: #7

CB Tyrell Lyons is back with us this week and that'll help bolster our defense. The redshirt senior is an outstanding cover corner and will man the shutdown corner spot now that he's healthy.

No committments or rejections this week, so will keep making calls and visiting recruits that we've got on our priority list.

Quarterly grades came out this week and no one is failing any classes. Gave out coachign blocs to provide more study time to anyone who had a D+, the lowest grades we had. Hopefully it'll stay that way over the course of the season.

The Trojan D pressured ASU's QB all day led by DE Alonzo Chevrier who sacked the Sun Devil signal caller 3 times en route to a 35-19 Southern Cal win. Joining Chevrier in getting to the ASU quarterback were NT Tracy Dragon and backup NT Clarence Choate, each with 1.5 sacks.

Tailback Junior Coffey had a fine day running the football, gaining 118 yards on 26 carries while rushing for two touchdowns. Wingback Aaron Castillo also had a solid day, running for 50 yards on 8 carries.

QB Malcolm Moreno continued to play mistake-free football, going 16/25 for 176 yards and one touchdown, while not throwing any INT's.

A good, solid road win for us.

USC 35 -- ARIZONA STATE 19
PAC-10 (1-0) -- OVERALL (3-0)

* * *

WEEK 6
vs. Oregon State (1-2) (PAC-10)
(USC -39) USC BCS RANK: #7

We landed two of our top recruits this week, Ron Morrison, a wide receiver from Rosemead High School in Rosemead, California and Graham Molina, an offensive guard from Chief Leschi High School in Puyallup, Washington. Morrison was ranked the #2 recruit in the nation by TCY Today and we scout him as a 92+. He comes to us with very good academics and from an excellent athletic program. With Willie Davison and Brian Robinson graduating this year, he'll be in the hunt for one of our top receiver spots - though we've got quite a bit of depth there already.

As for Molina, he was ranked #95th by TCY Today and we scouted him as a 74++ - after seeing him play, I think our scout blew it and he's way better than the 74, hence the "++" suffix. Molina is an exceptional student and comes to USC from a solid, though not outstanding, athletic program in high school.

A packed to capacity Rose Bowl crowd watched USC keep rolling along with a 55-0 whitewashing of the Oregon State Beavers. Redshirt sophomore RB Gabe Whalen had three touchdown receptions as QB Malcolm Moreno went 16/25 for 274 yards, firing 3 touchdown passes and 1 INT before giving way to Mark Rayburn, who added 153 yards and another touchdown pass of his own.

The Beavers appeared to be gunning for Tailback Junior Coffey and they succeeded in shutting him down all day, but the Trojans passing attack, aided by the running of Wingback Aaron Castillo (14 carries, 65 yards, 1 TD) just proved to be too overwhelming for the Beavers D.

Wideouts Brian Robinson and Richie Warrick had solid days, Robinson making 4 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown and Warrick 4 receptions for 92 yards.

We just had a terrific day all around. Got to like what I've seen so far.

USC 55 -- Oregon State 0
PAC-10 (2-0) -- OVERALL (4-0)

* * *

WEEK 7
@ #25 California (4-1) (PAC-10) *TV3*
(USC -3) USC BCS RANK: #7

A big game, must win game on our PAC-10 schedule this week. We managed to beat Cal last season and need to do it again this season to have any hope of winning the PAC-10 title.

We landed another recruit this week, Joel Arvold, a safety from Nordhoff High School in Ojai, California signed a letter of intent to play for Southern Cal next year. Arvold is a 71+ Safety coming to us with excellent academic and athletic prep from high school. Not an earth shattering singing, but a solid player that will help our program down the line.

We could get absolutely nothing going on the ground today, but a stingy defense and QB Malcolm Moreno led the way to a 27-24 OT win at Cal for us when redshirt junior K Walter Perez booted a game winning field goal.

Moreno went 20/36 for 285 yards while throwing two touchdowns and 1 INT. Wideout Richie warrick had another solid day replacing the injured Willie Davison with 4 catches for 71 yards and a touchdown.

The Trojan D picked off three Cal passes to hold down the fort and make a win possible. SILB Tyrell Vaughn had a big day to lead the defense, making 7 tackles, assisting on two others and picking off a Golden Bear pass.

This was a very big road win for us.

USC 27 -- California 24 (OT)
PAC-10 (3-0) -- OVERALL (5-0)

* * *

WEEK 8
vs. Oregon (3-3) (PAC-10) *TV3*
(USC -21) USC BCS RANK: #8

I seriously think they get game spreads from the local 7/11 quick-pick lottery machines. Anyway . . . .

Looks like Willie Davison has recovered and regained his full vision. So he'll be back in the starting lineup for us. Redshirt junior Richie Warrick did a fine job filling in for Davison.

We landed two recruits this week, though we lost an OT I really wanted to UCLA. But on the bright side, Trent Milton, a defensive tackle from Monte Vista High School in Spring Valley, California and Jackie Woolley, a 72+ fullback from Ceres High School in Ceres, California have signed letters of intent to play for us next year. Milton is the #5 ranked recruit in the nation and was scouted at 93+. He's coming from a very good athletic program with solid, though not spectacular, academic preperation. A real good signing for us.

Made a lot of new recruiting contacts this week as I really want to land at least 1 DE, OT, CB and Safety and what remained of our list was thin in those positions.

I'm moving Warren Guthrie into the starting Fullback role. I think his blocking will help our running game some.

I don't even know where to begin. After the first quarter, we were up 35-0 and it only got worse for the Ducks. It was so bad Malcolm Moreno was lifted after having thrown only six passes (5/6, 117 yards 2 TD) and Aaron Castillo played most of the game at Tailback instead of Junior Coffey en route to a thorough 79-7 thrashing of Oregon in front of 96,600 crazed Rose Bowl fans.

Redshirt junior QB Mark Rayburn came in replacing Moreno and things only slid more downhill for the Ducks as Rayburn went 10/13 for 212 yards while throwing three touchdown passes.

Wideouts Richie Warrick and Willie Davison each broke the 100 yard mark as Moreno and Rayburn were hitting them all day.

Ronnie Wheeler brought a punt return all the way back for a touchdown and the Trojans defense returned two interceptions for scores - one by freshman backup Safety Chris Griffin and the other by 5th year senior nickel back Max Galloway.

This was as complete a victory as any team I have coached has ever had. Damn fine win.

USC 79 -- Oregon 7
PAC-10 (4-0) -- OVERALL (6-0)

* * *

WEEK 9 MEDIA SNIPPETTS

LA TIMES
Week 9, 2014

Wow. That's the only word that can describe how hot Southern Cal is right now. After thoroughly thrashing Oregon, Southern Cal sits atop the PAC-10 undefeated - still the only undefeated team in the conference. Right behind them however is their old nemesis, UCLA, and that'll be the Trojan's biggest challenge of the season.

The College Years
Week 9, 2014
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Virginia 7-0 ACC 1.75 3.00 0.00 1.80 6.55 1
Florida 7-0 SEC 4.75 1.00 0.00 4.16 9.91 2
Notre Dame 5-0 IND 2.00 6.50 0.00 2.24 10.74 3
Iowa 7-0 B10 3.00 6.50 0.00 2.76 12.26 4
Texas A&M 7-0 B12 8.00 2.00 0.00 4.04 14.04 5
Syracuse 7-0 BGE 6.25 4.00 0.00 4.36 14.61 6
**Southern California 6-0 P10 3.00 9.50 0.00 2.80 15.30 7
Michigan 6-1 B10 7.25 6.50 1.00 1.88 16.63 8
Texas Christian 6-0 USA 7.75 8.00 0.00 4.24 19.99 9
Keene State 6-0 NNE 10.75 8.00 0.00 4.68 23.43 10
Colorado State 7-0 MTW 13.00 12.50 0.00 4.84 30.34 11
Wisconsin 5-1 B10 10.00 17.50 1.00 2.48 30.98 12
UCLA 6-1 P10 15.00 11.00 1.00 4.44 31.44 13
Louisville 6-1 USA 13.75 14.50 1.00 3.56 32.81 14
Southern Methodist 5-0 WAC 17.00 12.50 0.00 5.00 34.50 15
Alabama 5-1 SEC 16.50 16.50 1.00 2.36 36.36 16
Georgia Tech 5-1 ACC 10.00 26.50 1.00 2.40 39.90 17
South Florida 5-1 USA 16.50 21.50 1.00 2.16 41.16 18
Oklahoma 5-1 B12 23.50 18.50 1.00 1.96 44.96 19
Rice 5-1 WAC 23.00 17.00 1.00 4.48 45.48 20
Toledo 5-1 MAC 22.00 22.00 1.00 3.04 48.04 21
San Diego State 6-1 MTW 16.00 30.00 1.00 3.68 50.68 22
Texas 5-1 B12 23.75 23.00 1.00 3.80 51.55 23
Boston College 4-1 BGE 19.50 29.50 1.00 2.72 52.72 24
Penn State 5-2 B10 31.25 17.50 2.00 3.72 54.47 25


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2014 SEASON (3rd Qtr.)


WEEK 9
vs. Stanford (3-4) (PAC-10) *TV5*
(USC -29) USC BCS RANK: #7

Swapping safeties Claude Horn and Louie Finch. Horn is getting picked apart when he double-teams, Finch is a lot better so he'll move to Free Safety and Horn back to Strong Safety.

Lots of rejections by recruits this week, but one player did sign a letter of intent o play for us next season, Billy Joe Joyner, a 68++ offensive tackle from Chapman High School in Chapman, Kansas.

It was the Junior Coffey and Alonzo Chevrier show as USC squeaked out a 35-28 win over Stanford at a sold out Rose Bowl. QB Malcolm Moreno had difficulties all day and was picked twice, though he did manage one touchdown pass to Junior Coffey, who added 223 yards and 4 more touchdowns on the ground in a dominating performance.

DE Alonzo Chevrier led the Trojan defense in playing just well enough to win as he got to the Cardinal QB for 2.5 sacks while making 9 tackles and assisting on two others.

Senior OG Ricky Estevez had 5 key run blocks in dominating the line of scrimmage.

A close one, but a win. We'll take it.

USC 35 -- Stanford 28
PAC-10 (5-0) -- OVERALL (7-0)

* * *

WEEK 10
vs. Washington State (5-2) (PAC-10) *TV3*
(USC -15) USC BCS RANK: #8

We drop to #8 in the BCS rankings this week and face another tough challenge at home against the Cougars of Washington State.

Quarterly grades came out, no students failing, none with D-'s. Assigned coaching blocs to all players with D's or D+'s - about 5 or 6 of our squad. Not too bad.

We landed three solid recruits this week. Mercury Shultz, an 80+ running back from Rosamond High School in Rosamond, California, Emmanuel Book, a 79+ fullback from Deer Creek High School in Edmond, Oklahoma and Dwight Korinek, a 74+ safety from Yucaipa High School in Yucaipa, California all signed letters of intent to attend Southern Cal.

Redshirt senior QB Malcolm Moreno had an outstanding day passing the ball, going 21/35 for 261 yards and four touchdowns in leading USC to a 35-7 win over the Washington State Cougars.

Moreno's performance was needed as the Trojans couldn't get much of a running game going, being held to under 4.0 yards per carry. Wideout Ronnie Wheeler had two touchdown receptions in the victory.

Very solid play. UCLA remains the only other PAC-10 team with less than 2 losses in conference - they have 1.

USC 35 -- Washington State 7
PAC-10 (6-0) -- OVERALL (8-0)

* * *

WEEK 11
@ Arizona (0-8) (PAC-10)
(USC -29) USC BCS RANK: #6

We move up to #6 in the nation this week, but this game has "trap game" written all over it. Hopefully we'll play up to our potential and not down to the Wildcat's.

Here's also hoping Cal beats UCLA this week. A Cal win and a USC win would give us the PAC-10 championship.

We landed the #1 ranked recruit in the nation this week in Brock Dole, a quarterback from Bloomfield High School in Bloomfield, New Mexico. The scouting report on Dole says he likes to run all the time and he is rated as a 95+ and comes to us from a high school with an excellent athletic program. He'll have to work hard on the academics as he's only an average student, but he's an exceptional signee.

Also signing a letter with us this week is Dana Aska, a 68- offensive tackle from Glendale High School in Glendale, California. A decent depth signing and a solid student, nothing more.

As feared, we play god-awful football and got hammerred by a winless Arizona team, 38-17. Malcolm Moreno had easily the worst game of his collegiate career, throwing four picks, and Junior Coffey ran for 19 yards on 12 carries. The Wildcats dominated every phase of the game - and UCLA beat Cal by two.

Bad news all around.

That leaves just Notre Dame and UCLA left on our schedule.

Arizona 38 -- USC 17
PAC-10 (6-1) -- OVERALL (8-1)

* * *

WEEK 12
vs. #4 Notre Dame (8-0)
(ND -4) USC BCS RANK: #12

I can't believe there's no television coverage of this game. Wow. We've got a chance to kill the national Championship hopes of the Fighting Irish this week - ours likely died last week as we drop to #12 this week after a bad loss to Arizona. Hopefully we can turn it around and last week was an aberation.

We land three more recruits this week, that's always good news. Frank Eliot, an 82- offensive guard from Wasco High School in Wasco, California, Dale Pathon, a 69+ inside linebacker from Central High School in Trenton, New Jersey and Tyrus Mazzeo, a 75+ outside linebacker from Trinity High School in Weaverville, California all signed letters of intent to play for Southern Cal.

Starting NT Tracy Dragon is listed as doubtful for this week.

I have experienced Ricky Battle, and he just destroyed us. The two-time, and now likely three time heisman Trophy winner buried us under 532 yards passing, 66-24. Guess the Irish wanted to send us a message. Wow.

We had nothing all day. We're real flat heading into the UCLA game. Bad, bad loss.

Notre Dame 66 -- USC 24
PAC-10 (6-1) -- OVERALL (8-2)

* * *

WEEK 13 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 13, 2014
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Texas A&M 10-0 B12 2.50 2.00 0.00 2.72 7.22 1
Virginia 9-0 ACC 2.25 3.00 0.00 2.44 7.69 2
Florida 10-0 SEC 3.25 1.00 0.00 4.20 8.45 3
Notre Dame 9-0 IND 1.25 5.50 0.00 2.00 8.75 4
Syracuse 9-0 BGE 5.75 4.50 0.00 4.64 14.89 5
Iowa 11-0 B10 5.75 5.50 0.00 4.44 15.69 6
Keene State 10-0 NNE 8.50 6.50 0.00 4.76 19.76 7
UCLA 9-1 P10 9.50 8.00 1.00 3.16 21.66 8
Colorado State 10-0 MTW 10.75 9.50 0.00 4.68 24.93 9
Texas Christian 8-1 USA 8.75 12.00 1.00 3.32 25.07 10
South Florida 9-1 USA 10.00 14.00 1.00 2.36 27.36 11
Louisville 9-1 USA 12.25 10.50 1.00 4.72 28.47 12
Toledo 9-1 MAC 10.75 14.50 1.00 3.00 29.25 13
Georgia Tech 8-1 ACC 9.00 20.00 1.00 2.48 32.48 14
Penn State 8-2 B10 14.50 13.50 2.00 4.08 34.08 15
Boston College 8-1 BGE 10.75 18.00 1.00 4.52 34.27 16
Marshall 8-1 MAC 20.75 10.00 1.00 4.56 36.31 17
Alabama 7-2 SEC 16.75 20.00 2.00 2.64 41.39 18
Michigan 7-3 B10 22.75 16.00 3.00 1.96 43.71 19
**Southern California 8-2 P10 21.50 19.00 2.00 3.08 45.58 20
Rice 8-2 WAC 20.50 19.00 2.00 4.92 46.42 21
Michigan State 8-2 B10 17.75 23.50 2.00 3.64 46.89 22
California 7-3 P10 15.00 28.50 3.00 1.60 48.10 23
Oklahoma 7-2 B12 29.00 21.00 2.00 1.52 53.52 24
Arkansas State 8-2 SUN 20.00 31.00 2.00 3.76 56.76 25



-20-

[aztarheel]

Holy cow! What happened?!?!?!? You guys were rolling around so well ... Darn Arizona!

But, if you beat the Bruins the alums will be happy... ;)

[beargrowlz]

Completely fell apart. No idea what happened. Just got smoked the final three weeks. Is Marty Schottenheimer a Trojan?

[beargrowlz]

2014 SEASON (4TH Qtr.)


WEEK 13
@ #8 UCLA (9-1) (PAC-10) *TV2*
(UCLA -9) USC BCS RANK: #20

We'll be without WR Ronnie Wheeler and CB Tyrell Lyons for the game this week due to injuries.

Well, it comes down to the last game of our regular season in a showdown for the PAC-10 championship with our arch-rival UCLA again. We're playing the worst football we have since I came to USC 7 years ago.

Maybe that's a good omen? :)

Who knows. I don't think there's really anything to fix on this team. It's the same offense that got us off to an 8-0 start. We just lost a game we shouldn't have to Arizona and faced a far superior Notre Dame team. We'll go with what got us here and hope Malcolm Moreno and Junior Coffey can turn it around and win it for us.

On the recruiting front we landed Buddy Reed, an 85+ cornerback from Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, New York. That leaves one recruiting spot open and we have one scholarship offer outstanding.

Academically there was one D- this quarter and a few D's. I allocated coaching blocs to all of those players and hopefully those grades will come up. I have some coaching blocs reserved for 4th quarter grades.

We had nothing again this week as we got smoked 49-21.

We finish 2nd in the PAC-10 again. After being brutally outcoached these last three games, might be time for me to move on. Great recruiting class after great recruiting class and I can't seem to get over the hump.

God what a disaster the last three weeks were.

UCLA 49 -- USC 21
PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (8-3)

* * *

WEEK 14
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #25

The way we've played the past three weeks, we'll be lucky to remain in the Top 25.

PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (8-3)

* * *

WEEK 15
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: --

Still no word on our last scholarship offer.

And we fall out of the Top 25.

PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (8-3)

* * *

WEEK 16
MINOR BOWL TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: --

We'll be heading to the Liberty Bowl to play the Maryland Terrapins. Never been so depressed to get a bowl bid in my entire coaching career.

William Sutton, a 79+ defensive end from Dickinson High School in Dickinson, North Dakota, signed a letter of intent to play for us next season. That fills up our recruiting class for this year.

PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (8-3)

* * *

WEEK 17 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 17, 2014
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 12-0 SEC 1.75 1.00 0.00 3.84 6.59 1
Notre Dame 11-0 IND 1.25 4.50 0.00 1.16 6.91 2
Syracuse 11-0 BGE 4.25 2.00 0.00 4.84 11.09 3
Texas A&M 11-1 B12 5.25 4.00 1.00 2.24 12.49 4
Virginia 10-1 ACC 4.25 7.00 1.00 1.36 13.61 5
Iowa 11-0 B10 5.25 4.50 0.00 4.60 14.35 6
Keene State 12-0 NNE 6.00 5.00 0.00 4.88 15.88 7
UCLA 10-1 P10 8.25 8.00 1.00 2.44 19.69 8
Colorado State 11-0 MTW 6.25 9.00 0.00 4.64 19.89 9
Toledo 12-1 MAC 9.50 10.00 1.00 2.56 23.06 10
Georgia Tech 10-1 ACC 8.50 13.50 1.00 1.56 24.56 11
South Florida 10-1 USA 12.25 11.50 1.00 3.56 28.31 12
Penn State 9-2 B10 12.50 11.50 2.00 3.80 29.80 13
Rice 10-2 WAC 14.50 14.00 2.00 4.76 35.26 14
Boston College 9-2 BGE 13.25 19.50 2.00 3.68 38.43 15
Texas Christian 9-3 USA 17.00 19.50 3.00 1.88 41.38 16
Alabama 9-3 SEC 17.00 18.50 3.00 3.24 41.74 17
Michigan 8-3 B10 21.75 14.50 3.00 3.52 42.77 18
California 8-3 P10 15.25 27.00 3.00 2.08 47.33 19
Texas 8-3 B12 17.75 27.50 3.00 1.80 50.05 20
Oklahoma 8-3 B12 27.50 23.00 3.00 1.04 54.54 21
Miami of Ohio 10-2 MAC 29.50 18.50 2.00 5.00 55.00 22
Marshall 10-3 MAC 31.50 16.50 3.00 4.00 55.00 23
Louisville 9-3 USA 29.25 18.50 3.00 4.28 55.03 24
Michigan State 8-3 B10 20.50 30.50 3.00 3.48 57.48 25



-20-

[beargrowlz]

2014 SEASON (Final)


WEEK 17
MAJOR BOWL TIER
LIBERTY BOWL: vs. Maryland (7-4) *TV4*
(USC -2) USC BCS RANK: --

Use up the last of my coaching blocs as there were two players (one is Malcolm Moreno) with D-'s and three D's.

Somehow we're favored against Maryland in the Liberty Bowl - neither of us is in the Top 25. I guess a bowl game win would salvage the year, but I've got a real sour taste in my mouth about our finish.

Only WR Ronnie Wheeler will be out for the bowl game.

Malcolm Moreno and Junior Coffey show up to play this week and Bucky Riley changes around the defensive game plan and we win in a walk, 42-24, salvaging some semblence of dignity to end the season.

Moreno went 25/35 for 382 yards while throwing 5 TD's and 2 INT's and Junior Coffey ran for 160 yards and one touchdown on 29 carries.
Wideout Richie Warrick had a spectacular game making 9 catches for 176 yards and 1 TD. Senior WR Willie Davison had a fine game in his last as a USC Trojan, making 7 catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns.

CB Mo Napiecek led the defense with 10 tackles.

USC 42 -- Maryland 24
PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (9-3)

* * *

WEEK 18
FOUR STAR TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #21

Well, our victory in the Liberty Bowl put us back in the Top 25. A moral victory if we can stay there through the finals rounds of bowl games.

PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (9-3)

* * *

WEEK 19
NEW YEAR'S TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #21

We remain at #21.

PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (9-3)

* * *

WEEK 20
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #21

Florida crushes Notre Dame 38-0 for the National Championship.

Florida QB Heath Hammond wins the Heisman. Notre Dame QB Ricky Battle is denied his third straight Heisman but is named Offensive Player of the Year and 1st Team All-American. Weird voting.

We finish the year ranked #21 in the BCS.

A very disappointing year for me.

PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (9-3)

* * *

2014 FINAL BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Final 2014
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 13-0 SEC 1.25 1.00 0.00 2.88 5.13 1
Iowa 12-0 B10 1.50 2.00 0.00 3.44 6.94 2
Notre Dame 11-1 IND 3.50 6.50 1.00 0.40 11.40 3
UCLA 11-1 P10 4.50 5.00 1.00 1.20 11.70 4
Keene State 12-0 NNE 5.50 3.00 0.00 4.88 13.38 5
Syracuse 11-1 BGE 6.00 5.00 1.00 4.00 16.00 6
Texas A&M 11-2 B12 10.75 5.50 2.00 1.72 19.97 7
Penn State 10-2 B10 8.00 9.50 2.00 2.12 21.62 8
Georgia Tech 11-1 ACC 6.00 13.50 1.00 1.16 21.66 9
Toledo 12-1 MAC 9.25 9.00 1.00 2.80 22.05 10
Virginia 10-2 ACC 9.75 10.00 2.00 0.72 22.47 11
South Florida 11-1 USA 13.00 9.50 1.00 3.64 27.14 12
Colorado State 11-1 MTW 11.25 13.00 1.00 4.08 29.33 13
Michigan 9-3 B10 15.75 12.50 3.00 2.72 33.97 14
Rice 10-2 WAC 15.75 15.00 2.00 4.80 37.55 15
Boston College 10-2 BGE 14.50 18.00 2.00 3.52 38.02 16
California 9-3 P10 12.25 23.50 3.00 1.68 40.43 17
Texas Christian 9-3 USA 19.25 19.00 3.00 1.92 43.17 18
Michigan State 9-3 B10 11.75 26.50 3.00 2.20 43.45 19
Wisconsin 9-3 B10 17.75 20.50 3.00 3.84 45.09 20
**Southern California 9-3 P10 21.75 20.50 3.00 2.08 47.33 21
Miami of Ohio 10-2 MAC 27.25 19.00 2.00 5.00 53.25 22
Marshall 10-3 MAC 31.50 16.50 3.00 4.16 55.16 23
Louisville 9-3 USA 28.50 19.50 3.00 4.32 55.32 24
Tennessee 9-3 SEC 28.00 23.50 3.00 3.68 58.18 25


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2014 SEASON SUMMARY & REVIEW


SEASON REVIEW

What happened?

We were very dominant through our first eight games, lost a close game to a horrible Arizona team, then were thoroughly thrashed by Notre Dame and UCLA. It seemed almost as if the players had a national championship on the mind, and when we sufferred the loss at Arizona, the wind was taken out of the team's sails and we just coasted through Notre Dame and UCLA.

I know from looking at the numbers that despite our great start, our running game this season was putrid. For a flexbone team to average under 4 yards per carry, well, that's a recipe for losing.

QB Malcolm Moreno and our passing attack carried us while our running game struggled - even in big wins. When Moreno had some off games at the end of the season, there was no running game to pick him up.

Our pass defense was bad, though the games against Notre Dame and UCLA make it look worse than it actually was. Teams throw on us because we stop the run - and we couldn't stop the pass at all.

What bugs me the most about this season? The loss to Arizona. That just killed us, and there was no excuse for it at all. And I think we were a lot better than we played against Notre Dame or UCLA.

But the monkey's still on my back, haven't beaten UCLA and haven't won the PAC-10.

* * *


2014 University of Southern California
Individual Awards

* LB Tyrell Vaughn (Soph.)
- 1st team All PAC-10

* OG Ricky Estevez (Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* OT Joseph Shipman (5th yr Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* CB Tyrell Lyons (RS Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* WR Ronald Wheeler (RS Sr.)
- Academic All PAC-10

* WR Richie Warrick (RS Jr.)
- Academic All PAC-10

* S Louie Finch (Soph.)
- Academic All PAC-10

* OG Frank Elliot (Inc. Fr.)
- High School All-American


* * *


The College Years
2014 Summary for The University of Southern California Trojans
Head Coach: Bear Growlz (7th yr.)
Offensive Coordinator: Randy Edwards (3rd yr.)
Defensive Coordinator: Bucky Riley (7th yr.)
Syndicate Coordinator: Pete Prior (16th yr.)
Lead Scout: Bubba Embry (2nd yr.)

Record: 9-3
BCS Rank: 21
Coach's Poll: 22
Fan's Poll: 19
PAC-10: 6-2
PAC-10 Finish: 2nd Place

Southern California Team Rank
Rushes 440 42 (T)
Rushing Yards 1639 47
Yards Per Carry 3.72 53 (T)
Pass Attempts 381 30
Completions 229 17 (T)
Passing Yards 3559 7
Yards Per Attempt 9.34 8
3rd Down Conversions 46.2 6
Points Per Game 39.1 5
Turnovers 21 60 (T)
Turnover Margin +4 41 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 347 6
Rushing Yards 873 7
Yards Per Carry 2.51 10
Pass Attempts 393 119
Completions 197 99 (T)
Passing Yards 2783 113
Yards Per Attempt 7.08 64
3rd Down Conversions 27.8 16
Points Per Game 23.1 56
Turnovers 25 28 (T)

Primary Formation: Flexbone Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
2 41 at CLEM (111) 3
3 59 GEOR (82) 13
5 35 at AZST (79) 19
6 55 ORST (104) 0
7 27 at CALI (23) 24
8 79 OREG (76) 7
9 35 STAN (70) 28
10 35 WAST (47) 7
11 17 at ARIZ (110) 38
12 24 NODM (7) 66
13 21 at UCLA (6) 49
17 42 vs MARY (50) 24 ***LIBERTY BOWL***

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
14 Moreno QB 309 182 2712 8.77 28 13
8 Rayburn QB 67 45 773 11.53 6 2
Team --- 381 229 3559 9.34 35 15

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
35 Coffey RB 210 915 4.35 13 62 81
21 Castillo RB 114 492 4.31 6 22 31
14 Moreno QB 44 -44 -1.00 0 25 135
25 Whalen RB 34 132 3.88 1 9 10
Team --- 440 1639 3.72 21 127 279

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
1 Warrick WR 77 42 783 18.6 267 8
4 Wheeler WR 65 31 531 17.1 233 5
21 Castillo RB 52 34 355 10.4 192 2
7 Davison WR 51 27 596 22.0 260 7
25 Whalen RB 39 32 351 10.9 154 4
35 Coffey RB 34 26 238 9.1 134 3
85 Robinson WR 29 19 421 22.1 164 5
33 Guthrie FB 27 13 132 10.1 61 1
Team --- 381 229 3559 15.5 1517 35

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
41 Vaughn ILB 62 21 2.0 14 1 4
40 Horn S 58 15 0.0 2 3 4
49 Vinnick ILB 45 13 1.0 5 1 7
26 Napiecek CB 43 14 0.0 6 2 10
38 Finch S 39 16 0.0 1 1 5
29 Lyons CB 36 5 0.5 3 4 5
93 Morrison OLB 34 16 2.0 4 1 5
92 Dragon DT 33 13 4.0 11 0 0
23 Galloway CB 32 8 0.0 3 4 8
79 Chevrier DE 31 9 11.0 16 0 0
98 Taylor OLB 22 13 0.0 2 0 2
36 Majka CB 19 3 0.0 0 1 6
78 Aalders DE 17 6 5.0 7 0 1
4 Wheeler WR 14 0 0.0 0 0 0
Team --- 603 180 33.0 87 22 61




-20-

[beargrowlz]

2015 PRESEASON (Winter)

It was nice to see my Tailback from my KSC days, Eugene Paulin, get inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.He truly deserves it after the way he played for me.

Lead Scout Bubba Embry retired this winter. He'll be missed.

I've given some real serious thought to leaving Southern Cal this off season. It seems like I've been a terrific recruiter and gotten the program to a certain level, but can't get over that hump and win the PAC-10 or compete for a National Championship.

The thing is, I don't really want to leave. I'm just pissed and frustrated about last season's collapse I guess.

I get a bunch of job offers as usual. USC's prestige is rated Excellent (80). I get two offers from programs as prestigious or more prestigious than Southern Cal - Texas Christian (82) and Nebraska (80). Texas (76) also offers me their job. A number of PAC-10 teams also try and lure me away. None of the offers really appeal to me.

I decide I just need to get over my bitterness about how last season ended and get on with running the program - so I stay at Southern Cal.

First thing I need to do is hire a new Lead Scout and see what kind of talent we have returning.

I hire what is bound to be a short-termer, 68 year old Lance Coe, a scout with the San Diego Chargers. He's likely to retire in a year or two, but aside from being terrible at judging DB's, he's decent or better at everything else. Not a great hire, but my choices were pretty limited this year.

I consider making changes at both Coordinator spots. I don't think Randy Edwards has done as good of a job in developing the QB's we've recruited as he could have. My consideration of firing Bucky Riley, I realize after taking a look at him, was just change for the sake of change. And I can't find anyone who has the right combination of skills to replace Edwards, so aside from the new Lead Scout, the staff remains unchanged.

The NCAA suspended redshirt junior reserve OLB Reggie Buckley for the season for injuring another student in a fight.

Crazy SOB.

Here's a look at this year's recruiting class. TCY ranked it #5th in the nation - once again a good ranking, but we have to do something with it.


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
Recruiting List, Ranking View
TCY TODAY RANK: #5

Player Pos HT WT ST NRank ByPos StRank ByPos
$$Dole, Brock QB 6-0 189 NM 1 1 1 1
**Shultz, Mercury RB 5-11 179 CA 54 3 7 1
$$Book, Emmanuel FB 5-10 212 OK 187 3 4 1
$$Woolley, Jackie FB 6-5 239 CA 408 10 53 1
**Morrison, Ron WR 6-0 180 CA 2 1 1 1
$$Eliot, Frank G 6-3 274 CA 16 4 4 2
$$Molina, Graham G 6-4 295 WA 91 13 3 1
$$Joyner, Billy Joe T 6-6 295 KS 247 24 3 1
$$Aska, Dana T 6-5 267 CA 338 30 43 5
##Sutton, William DE 6-2 240 ND 234 38 1 1
**Milton, Trent DT 6-3 277 CA 5 1 2 1
##Pathon, Dale ILB 6-3 213 NJ 762 34 17 2
$$Mazzeo, Tyrus OLB 6-1 204 CA 747 31 94 9
**Reed, Buddy CB 6-2 171 NY 248 15 15 2
$$Arvold, Joel S 6-1 199 CA 210 9 27 1
$$Korinek, Dwight S 5-11 175 CA 431 19 59 3

Player All-St All-US Status
$$Dole, Brock Yes No Committed *
**Shultz, Mercury Yes No Committed *
$$Book, Emmanuel Yes No Committed *
$$Woolley, Jackie Yes No Committed *
**Morrison, Ron Yes No Committed *
$$Eliot, Frank Yes Yes Committed *
$$Molina, Graham Yes No Committed *
$$Joyner, Billy Joe Yes No Committed *
$$Aska, Dana No No Committed *
##Sutton, William Yes No Committed *
**Milton, Trent Yes No Committed *
##Pathon, Dale No No Committed *
$$Mazzeo, Tyrus No No Committed *
**Reed, Buddy Yes No Committed *
$$Arvold, Joel No No Committed *
$$Korinek, Dwight Yes No Committed *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.

Recruiting List, Worksheet View

Player Pos ST Visit Cost Dist. Fit Score
$$Dole, Brock QB NM 593 618 87
**Shultz, Mercury RB CA 251 54 95
$$Book, Emmanuel FB OK 782 1202 89
$$Woolley, Jackie FB CA 328 284 93
**Morrison, Ron WR CA 240 19 98
$$Eliot, Frank G CA 272 117 83
$$Molina, Graham G WA 673 948 82
$$Aska, Dana T CA 237 9 85
$$Joyner, Billy Joe T KS 803 1241 95
##Sutton, William DE ND 916 1225 82
**Milton, Trent DT CA 276 128 97
##Pathon, Dale ILB NJ 1185 2447 89
$$Mazzeo, Tyrus OLB CA 400 533 94
**Reed, Buddy CB NY 1242 2487 98
$$Korinek, Dwight S CA 259 78 85
$$Arvold, Joel S CA 250 52 86

Player Scout Phone Visit Emphasis Status
$$Dole, Brock 95+ 4 2 Dist*/Prest Committed *
**Shultz, Mercury 80+ 3 2 Acad*/Dist Committed *
$$Book, Emmanuel 79+ 3 2 Acad*/Dist Committed *
$$Woolley, Jackie 72+ 2 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
**Morrison, Ron 92+ 4 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
$$Eliot, Frank 82- 2 3 Dist/Acad Committed *
$$Molina, Graham 74++ 3 2 Dist/Acad Committed *
$$Aska, Dana 68- 2 2 Acad/Dist Committed *
$$Joyner, Billy Joe 68++ 1 1 Prest*/(DistCommitted *
##Sutton, William 79+ 3 2 Acad/Dist Committed *
**Milton, Trent 93+ 3 2 Acad/Prest Committed *
##Pathon, Dale 69+ 1 1 Acad*/Prest Committed *
$$Mazzeo, Tyrus 75+ 2 1 Prest/Dist Committed *
**Reed, Buddy 85+ 2 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
$$Korinek, Dwight 74+ 3 2 Dist*/Acad Committed *
$$Arvold, Joel 71+ 3 2 Prest/Dist Committed *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.




-20-

[beargrowlz]

SPRING, 2015

As usual, we have our annual game against Notre Dame, this year in South Bend. Every season there is one PAC-10 team we don't play, this season that school is Washington State. We have no home and home's left over, so we have two open dates on our schedule. The schedule as it is currently constructed is horrible - we play weeks 5 through 13 without a break.

I'll be looking for two early season tune-up games. We are ranked #17 in the preseason BCS.

Stage 1: We offer Maryland a rematch of our bowl game for Week 1. They rejected our offer.

Stage 2: Ball State (#75) offerred us a home and home for Week 2. We accept.

Stage 3: Colorado offers us an away game. We decline. We offered Virginia Tech a game at the Rose Bowl for Week 1. They decline.

Stage 4: North Carolina offers us a home and home, we accept. That fills our schedule.

Here's a look at our 2015 schedule.

The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2015 Schedule

BCS Rank: #17
Coaches Poll: #20
Fan's Poll: #15
Rival: UCLA
Stadium Capacity: 96,600
Season Tickets Sold: 95,200

Week Opponent Result Attendance Weather Television
1 NORTH CAROLINA
2 BALL STATE
$$5 at Oregon State
$$6 at Oregon
$$7 (19) CALIFORNIA
$$8 ARIZONA STATE
$$9 at Stanford
$$10 at Washington
$$11 ARIZONA
12 at (10) Notre Dame
$$13 (5) UCLA

Home Games in ALL CAPS
$$-Conference Games, ##-League Championship Games, **-Post-Season Games



-20-

[beargrowlz]

SUMMER, 2015

Got the incoming frosh's schedules set up and made some adjustments to the upperclassmen as well.

Put the kids through two-a-days and got a sense of what we have for this year. Not quite comfortable with Lance Coe's scouting reports yet, we'll see how that works out. Just can't seem to keep a good Lead Scout more than two years.

Put together our starting lineup, which I hope will produce a lot better running game and some big play passing. Returning as our starting QB will be 5th year senior Malcolm Moreno, who has some scores to settle this season. If he's going to have a big year, this is it. He'll have extremely talented wideouts to throw to, 5th year senior Ronnie Wheeler and redshirt senior Richie Warrick. We hope to see a lot of big plays out of those two this year.

In the backfield with Moreno will be redshirt senior Warren Guthrie at Fullback, blocking for 5th year senior Tailback Aaron Castillo and redshirt junior Wingback Gabe Whalen. We're looking for a very big season from Castillo.

The offensive line will be anchored by junior OC Chester Hoffman. Hoffman returns for his third season as a starter. The guards will be senior Ed Fuller and sophomore Ernie Cheatham and the tackles will be 5th year senior Nathan Padgett and freshman Billy Joe Joyner. This unit will take some time to gel, but we should be able to run behind Hoffman, Fuller and Padgett a lot.

Over on the defensive side of things, redshirt senior Bert Duncan won the NT job in summer camp. He'll be flanked by 5th year senior Alonzo Chevrier and redshirt sophomore Freddie Stender at the ends.

We've got a solid corps of linebackers again this season led by redshirt junior SILB Tyrell Vaughn. The WILB will be redshirt sophomore Chad Berg. Joinging them on the outside will be redshirt sophomore WLB Johnny El Nino and redshirt junior SLB Riddick Taylor.

5th year senior Tyrell Lyons is one of the best CB's in college football and he'll be manning the shutdown corner post. Over on the other side of the field will be senior CB Mo Napiecek. At the safety positions will be freshman Joel Arvold at Strong Safety and junior Louie Finch at Free Safety.

The explosive Ronnie Wheeler will be returning punts and kickoffs this season. Handling the punting duties will be sophomore Brett Thornton and handling the placekicking chores will be redshirt senior Walter Perez.

I think this will be a pretty sound team. Whether we'll be as good as we looked in our first eight games last season, or as bad as we looked in our final three, well, I think we're a lot better than our final three games showed we were.

Here's a look at our full roster for 2015.


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
Roster/Scout Overview
From the Desk of Lance Coe, Lead Scout

Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
Bernard, Walt 18 QB Sr* 37 100
Bjorke, Wayne 10 QB So* 22 89
Dole, Brock 9 QB Fr 35 100
Krieger, Jason 19 QB So* 37 78
Moreno, Malcolm 14 QB Sr 53 100
Rayburn, Mark 8 QB Sr* 48 100
Berberich, Ross 34 RB Sr* 62 83
Castillo, Aaron 21 RB Sr 69 93
Shultz, Mercury 37 RB Fr 48 70
Whalen, Gabe 25 RB Jr* 53 92
Vanderlaan, Levon 46 RB* Jr* 33 52
Book, Emmanuel 28 FB Fr 31 79
Guthrie, Warren 33 FB Sr* 47 75
Woolley, Jackie 40 FB Fr 20 72
Finley, Jeffrey 30 FB* So* 8 8
Irwin, Marty 80 TE* Sr 6 30
Shreves, Maurice 89 TE* Jr* 7 25
Specter, Jumbo 81 TE* Fr 3 11
Heekin, Sammy 86 WR Jr* 44 77
McConnell, Cole 2 WR Jr* 51 72
Morrison, Ron 82 WR Fr 47 100
Warrick, Richie 1 WR Sr* 60 76
Weiler, Darren 5 WR Sr* 28 46
Wheeler, Ronald 4 WR Sr 93 93
Erickson, Vinny 83 WR* Sr 9 23
Blackburn, Mitchell 58 C So* 35 76
Connell, Tim 53 C Sr* 21 53
Cook, Glenn 57 C So* 15 68
Hoffman, Chester 56 C Jr 55 72
Powell, Mark 52 C Sr 31 100
Rodriguez, Tony 50 C Jr* 22 81
Cheatham, Ernie 72 G So 35 63
Eliot, Frank 66 G Fr 33 63
Fuller, Ed 73 G Sr 51 91
Molina, Graham 64 G Fr 10 65
Pilgrim, Ty 68 G* Jr 8 27
Quinn, Leland 69 G* Jr* 1 1
Aska, Dana 74 T Fr 18 63
Blount, Hunter 67 T So* 24 68
Greene, Howie 76 T Sr 28 100
Harnisch, Vernon 62 T Jr* 27 50
Joyner, Billy Joe 75 T Fr 20 85
Kaplan, Gabe 63 T So* 33 78
Padgett, Nathan 61 T Sr 49 96
Thornton, Brett 12 P So 63 92
Brown, Robbie 15 P* Fr 1 1
Perez, Walter 11 K Sr* 54 84
Samuels, Zach 3 K So* 37 82
Buckley, Victor 16 K* Sr* 3 3
Aalders, Tracy 78 DE Jr 43 68
Chevrier, Alonzo 79 DE Sr 64 100
Stender, Freddie 90 DE So* 44 100
Sutton, William 93 DE Fr 18 73
Cobb, Colin 70 DE* Jr* 9 20
Choate, Clarence 71 DT Sr 26 58
Dragon, Tracy 92 DT Jr 38 78
Duncan, Bert 91 DT Sr* 42 85
Milton, Trent 77 DT Fr 15 94
Berg, Chad 45 ILB So* 37 96
Boone, Eric 96 ILB Sr 35 59
Pathon, Dale 97 ILB Fr 7 52
Sankey, Mo 55 ILB Sr* 32 78
Vaughn, Tyrell 41 ILB Jr 90 100
Vinnick, Brett 49 ILB So 43 88
Warren, Geoff 99 ILB Sr 35 62
Buckley, Reggie 48 OLB Jr* 39 100
El Nino, Johnnie 95 OLB So* 41 90
Holmes, Rick 47 OLB So* 32 81
Mazzeo, Tyrus 59 OLB Fr 11 71
Taylor, Riddick 98 OLB Jr* 52 80
Stagg, Jake 42 OLB* Jr* 16 50
Alexander, Sam 43 CB So* 29 43
Lyons, Tyrell 29 CB Sr 78 78
Majka, Roger 36 CB Sr* 45 97
Napiecek, Maurice 26 CB Sr 64 84
Reed, Buddy 44 CB Fr 20 67
Flowers, Tracy 32 CB* Sr* 27 44
Arvold, Joel 39 S Fr 36 66
Finch, Louie 38 S Jr 78 78
Griffin, Cris 24 S So 35 77
Korinek, Dwight 35 S Fr 23 55
Nordskov, Shaun 20 S Jr* 23 67
Etaton, Vinny 22 S* Sr 17 17




* * *

PRESEASON BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Preseason, 2015
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 0-0 SEC 1.00 1.00 0.00 2.04 4.04 1
Texas A&M 0-0 B12 2.00 2.00 0.00 1.24 5.24 2
Michigan 0-0 B10 3.00 3.00 0.00 0.52 6.52 3
Iowa 0-0 B10 4.00 6.50 0.00 0.48 10.98 4
UCLA 0-0 P10 5.00 4.50 0.00 1.92 11.42 5
Penn State 0-0 B10 7.00 6.00 0.00 0.72 13.72 6
Virginia 0-0 ACC 9.00 8.00 0.00 0.32 17.32 7
Syracuse 0-0 BGE 8.00 8.00 0.00 1.48 17.48 8
Keene State 0-0 NNE 6.00 8.00 0.00 4.84 18.84 9
Notre Dame 0-0 IND 10.00 8.00 0.00 4.56 22.56 10
Texas Christian 0-0 USA 12.00 12.00 0.00 3.16 27.16 11
Toledo 0-0 MAC 13.00 13.50 0.00 4.08 30.58 12
Rice 0-0 WAC 11.00 17.00 0.00 3.44 31.44 13
Wisconsin 0-0 B10 15.00 16.50 0.00 0.80 32.30 14
Marshall 0-0 MAC 16.00 13.50 0.00 3.80 33.30 15
Nebraska 0-0 B12 18.00 15.50 0.00 1.04 34.54 16
**Southern California 0-0 P10 20.00 17.50 0.00 1.88 39.38 17
South Florida 0-0 USA 14.00 21.50 0.00 4.60 40.10 18
California 0-0 P10 19.00 23.50 0.00 1.72 44.22 19
Georgia Tech 0-0 ACC 17.00 27.50 0.00 0.16 44.66 20
Alabama 0-0 SEC 24.00 21.50 0.00 2.28 47.78 21
Louisville 0-0 USA 22.00 24.00 0.00 3.04 49.04 22
Michigan State 0-0 B10 25.00 24.50 0.00 0.56 50.06 23
Colorado State 0-0 MTW 21.00 26.50 0.00 2.60 50.10 24
Boston College 0-0 BGE 23.00 27.00 0.00 1.32 51.32 25


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2015 SEASON (1st Qtr.)


WEEK 1
vs. North Carolina (0-0) *TV5*
(USC -9) USC BCS RANK: #17

We open the season at home against the North Carolina Tar Heels. I'd like to see us come out spitting fire.

Made our first contacts with recruits and already have some scholarship offers out there. We're shooting high again this year. Got to keep recruiting well in order to sustain what we've built so far.

Tailback Aaron Castillo had a big day to start the year, rushing for 162 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries and DE Alonzo Chevrier made 9 tackles and sacked the Tar Heel QB twice to lead the Trojans to a 28-9 victory in front of a sold out Rose Bowl.

DE Freddie Stender added 7 tackes and 1.5 sacks and wideout Ronnie Wheeler had a big day receiving, making 6 catches for 102 yards. ILB Chad Berg was lost for the season with a compound leg fracture.

We played well, and it was a solid, if unspectacular way to start the year.

USC 28 -- North Carolina 9
PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (1-0)

* * *

WEEK 2
vs. Ball State (0-0)
(USC -9) USC BCS RANK: #8

And as always, the BCS teases us with an extremely high early season ranking.

Spent my recruiting time rounding out our primary list of recruits. Haven't had any campus visits yet, hope to start getting some kids on campus next week.

Ball State completely clamped down on Ronnie Wheeler so he couldn't catch a pass all day, so the explosive wideout rushed for two touchdowns as he ran for 52 yards on 4 carries leading the way to a Southern Cal victory, 30-7.

With Ball State covering Wheeler all day, Richie Warrick stepped up and had a big day receiving, making 5 catches for 122 yards, 52 YAC.

On defense, OLB Johnny El Nino led the way with 10 tackles and the Trojans picked off three passes to secure the win.

A solid win - still trying to get Malcolm Moreno set up with the right game plan.

USC 30 -- Ball State 7
PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (2-0)

* * *

WEEK 3
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #4

Ranked #4, but that'll fall once most teams have played a couple of games.

Added some more recruits to our primary list and got our first campus visits this week. We're recruiting a bunch of good student-athlete types and trying to avoid the academic hard cases - really takes away from their practice time and devlopment when they have to spend so much of the day with tutors in study hall.

PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (2-0)

* * *

WEEK 4
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #3

The kids are feeling a little giddy right now seeing us ranked so high. But if we don't get Malcolm Moreno back on track that ranking will come tumbling down real fast.

Spent the week following up with kids we've already contacted and made offers to. There are currently a bunch of recruits on campus, so we're hoping to get some early signees out of it.

PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (2-0)

* * *

WEEK 5 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 5, 2015
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 3-0 SEC 2.50 1.00 0.00 3.16 6.66 1
Texas Christian 2-0 USA 1.50 6.50 0.00 1.80 9.80 2
Virginia 2-0 ACC 10.50 3.50 0.00 4.08 18.08 3
Colorado State 3-0 MTW 6.25 14.50 0.00 2.88 23.63 4
Texas A&M 2-1 B12 14.25 8.00 1.00 0.72 23.97 5
Nebraska 3-0 B12 13.75 8.00 0.00 3.92 25.67 6
Michigan 2-1 B10 9.00 15.00 1.00 0.96 25.96 7
**Southern California 2-0 P10 17.00 10.00 0.00 2.60 29.60 8
North Carolina State 3-0 ACC 8.00 21.50 0.00 2.40 31.90 9
Louisville 2-0 USA 18.00 12.50 0.00 2.32 32.82 10
California 2-0 P10 17.25 14.00 0.00 2.96 34.21 11
Rice 2-0 WAC 21.50 9.50 0.00 4.48 35.48 12
Notre Dame 3-1 IND 16.00 15.50 1.00 3.28 35.78 13
Louisiana-Lafayette 3-0 SUN 10.25 23.50 0.00 3.48 37.23 14
Green Mountain 2-0 NNE 13.75 22.50 0.00 2.00 38.25 15
Wake Forest 3-0 ACC 6.00 30.50 0.00 3.12 39.62 16
Keene State 3-0 NNE 33.50 4.50 0.00 4.68 42.68 17
Hawaii 3-0 WAC 25.75 14.00 0.00 3.88 43.63 18
Tennessee 2-0 SEC 26.00 15.00 0.00 3.96 44.96 19
Iowa 2-0 B10 38.50 3.00 0.00 5.00 46.50 20
Michigan State 2-1 B10 14.00 31.00 1.00 2.80 48.80 21
Syracuse 3-0 BGE 41.25 3.50 0.00 4.88 49.63 22
Mississippi State 2-0 SEC 10.50 39.00 0.00 1.60 51.10 23
Bowling Green 3-0 MAC 32.00 20.50 0.00 3.44 55.94 24
Pittsburgh 2-1 BGE 20.25 36.00 1.00 1.04 58.29 25



-20-

[beargrowlz]

This is really a fun read -- what bowl did ol' Keene State win to finish 12-0 last season -- and did anyone from there rub Bear's nose in the fact that they finished higher than USC in the final polls? Think you'll ever try to schedule them for a home and home?

Good luck -- and beat those Bruins this year, will ya?



Keene has won the "Georgia Bowl" which hosts the NNE's #1 ranked team and the Sun Belt Conf. #1, 4 years in a row.

I think you were asking about 2013, and they beat North Texas 49-0.

That's a really good idea about a home and home, be fun. And thanks for the praise.


-Bear

[aztarheel]

Might have to get this game before next football season ... sounds fun ...

[beargrowlz]

I was playing FOF2k7 since almost the day it came out and really played it and played it and played it - so much so that I just needed a break from it, then remembered how much I had enjoyed TCY and the fact that you've got player turnover every four (or five) years. I also like the chaos of the Bowl system - though I wish it's Bowl system was the pre-BCS anarchy where there was always an argument about who was national champion and there weren't automatic BCS seeded games.

I'd definitely recommend getting the game if you like college football. It looks like an antique compared to FOF2k7, but it's still a lot of fun.


-Bear

[beargrowlz]

2015 Season (2nd Qtr.)


WEEK 5
@ Oregon State (0-3) (PAC-10)
(USC -4) USC BCS RANK: #8

1st quarter grades came out, only two players with D's and 1 player with a D+. Gave all three of them a bunch of coaching blocs to help them get more study time.

OC Chester Hoffman and RG Ernie Cheatham just dominated the line of scrimmage opening holes for the Southern Cal running game with 9 key run blocks between them as USC took a solid road win over Oregon State 35-10.

Tailback Aaron Castillo led the Trojan running game with 122 yards and one touchdown on 27 carries while QB malcolm Moreno ran for 52 yards on 5 carries. Moreno also threw for 209 yards and 3 TD's, but also got picked twice.

It was a good, solid win on the road to open the PAC-10 season.

USC 35 -- Oregon State 10
PAC-10 (1-0) -- OVERALL (3-0)

* * *

WEEK 6
@ Oregon (2-2) (PAC-10) *TV3*
(USC -10) USC BCS RANK: #7

We stay in the great state of Oregon again this week, playing the Ducks of the University of Oregon after our solid win against the Beavers of Oregon State.

Three recruits signed letters of intent to play for USC next season. They are; J.B. Wilson, an 80++ (ranked #4) running back from North Cedar High School in Stanwood, Iowa; Albert Wilcox, a 70++ (rank #66) defensive tackle from Glendora High School in Glendora, California; and Max Fitzgerald, an 82- (Rank #45) cornerback from Atwater High School in Atwater, California. Three very good early signings.

OLB Riddick Taylor and WR Ronnie Wheeler look like they'll be out for the year after last week's game. That hurts.

It was a defensive struggle all day with DE Alonzo Chevrier leading the way to a Trojans road win, 19-14 at Oregon.

Chevrier made 7 tackles while assisting on 2 others while sacking the Ducks QB twice on the day. SILB Tyrell Vaughn added 8 tackles to help shutdown the Duck offense.

Kicker Walter Perez booted 4 field goals and the lone USC touchdown came on a 3 yard pass from Malcolm Moreno to Richie Warrick.

A tough win, but a win nonetheless.

USC 19 -- Oregon 14
PAC-10 (2-0) -- OVERALL (4-0)

* * *

WEEK 7
vs. California (3-1) (PAC-10) *TV3*
(USC -14) USC BCS RANK: #5

We're really getting hit by the injury bug early this season. Tyrell Lyons chose this week to come down with tonsilitis - when I was a kid they used to take our tonsils out when we were like 3. I remember watching the moon landing and sucking on grape popsicles in the hospital in the wee hours of the morning when we walked on the moon. Now they wait till college and disrupt football season.

The marvels of medical science.

We lost a DE we had recruit to UCLA, but landed two other erecruit this week. I have no doubt that because UCLA landed him, the DE will go on to be the next Richard Seymour. That's life.

Signing with us were Bobby Burgess, a 68++ (rank #100) offensive tackle from Tillamook High School in Tillamook, Oregon and Rodney Gardner, a kicker from Slater High School in Slater, Missouri. Gardner was the best kicker available in this year's recruiting class and is rated a 93+.

We could get no ground game going this week, but s tingy Southern Cal defense held the Gilden Bears to 166 total yards of offense, Walter Perez kicked 3 field goals and QB Malcolm Moreno seemed to be getting untracked as USC held on for a 14-14 nailbiter against Cal.

The USC defense was so dominating that it held Cal to 0.4 yards per carry on 20 carries, led by LB's Brett Vinnick, Tyrell Vaughn and Johnny El Nino, who made 5, 4, and 4 tackles respectively. This left Cal with no choice to throw the ball, where the Trojan pass rush pressured the Golden Bear QB all day recording 4 sacks, two of them by DE Alonzo Chevrier.

On offense it was all QB Malcolm Moreno, who put it all together this week to go 18/31 for 266 yards and one touchdown pass - that to WR Richie Warrick who had 3 catches for 79 yards.

It was a very hard fought victory for USC, but we'll take it.

USC 16 -- California 14
PAC-10 (3-0) -- OVERALL (5-0)

* * *

WEEK 8
vs. Arizona State (0-5) (PAC-10)
(USC -36) USC BCS RANK: #3

Our solid, if unspectacular play has vaulted us to #3 in the nation this week, just behind Virginia and Florida. Out for this week's game will be WR Ronnie Wheeler, ILB Chad Berg and OLB Riddick Taylor.

Landed two more recruit this week. Lester Kirkwood, an offensive tackle from Pueblo High School in Tucson, Arizona and Andrew Francis, a defensive tackle from Malibu High School in Malibu, California both signed letters of intent to play for USC in 2016. Kirkwood is a 67+ OT ranked 94th in his recruiting class. Francis is an 83-- DT who was ranked 32nd in his recruiting class, but I wasn' all that impressed with him. Still, he'll provide some solid depth at the nose if nothing else.

In what was mostly a defensive struggle for the 1st quarter, ASU struck first with 3:20 left in the 1st on a 79 yard touchdown bomb to take a 7-0 lead after one.

The Trojans wouldn't allow another point all day.

The stifling defense of Southern Cal, led by DE Alonzo Chevrier and his 7 tackles and 3.5 sacks, sacked the Sun Devil QB 8 times and held ASU to 33 yards rushing on 19 carries, and 115 total yards of offense on the day.

Offensively, after a sluggish 1st quarter in which ASU held the Trojans scoreless, 5th year senior QB Malcolm Moreno erupted for what was easily his best game of the year to date, passing for over 400 yards on a 26 for 36 day.

Three Southern Cal receivers broke the hundred yard mark on the day - Wingback Gabe Whalen made 9 catches for 116 yards, WR Cole McConnell had 7 grabs for 129 yards and Richie Warrick had 6 receptions for 112 yards and the lone USC touchdown through the air.

On the ground the Sun Devils were mostly successful in holding Tailback Aaron Castillo in check, limiting him to 93 yards and 1 TD on 26 carries (3.5 ypc) but Wingback Gabe Whalen, who had a fabulous all around performance today, ran for 65 yards and 3 touchdowns on 13 carries (5.0 ypc).

All in all once we woke up we played a thoroughly dominating game. Good win.

USC 47 -- Arizona State 7
PAC-10 (4-0) -- OVERALL (6-0)

* * *

WEEK 9 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 9, 2015
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 7-0 SEC 1.50 1.00 0.00 3.80 6.30 1
Virginia 5-0 ACC 2.50 3.50 0.00 3.56 9.56 2
Iowa 6-0 B10 4.25 3.00 0.00 4.44 11.69 3
Syracuse 6-0 BGE 4.75 3.50 0.00 4.64 12.89 4
**Southern California 6-0 P10 3.50 8.50 0.00 4.56 16.56 5
Keene State 7-0 NNE 10.50 4.00 0.00 4.92 19.42 6
Toledo 6-1 MAC 6.50 12.50 1.00 0.88 20.88 7
Texas A&M 5-1 B12 11.00 6.00 1.00 3.00 21.00 8
Notre Dame 6-1 IND 9.25 10.00 1.00 4.12 24.37 9
Penn State 5-1 B10 13.00 11.00 1.00 4.28 29.28 10
Nebraska 6-0 B12 19.00 7.50 0.00 4.68 31.18 11
Wisconsin 7-1 B10 13.75 12.50 1.00 4.52 31.77 12
Oklahoma 5-1 B12 11.50 17.50 1.00 1.88 31.88 13
Miami of Ohio 5-1 MAC 9.50 21.00 1.00 1.96 33.46 14
Michigan 4-2 B10 18.75 15.00 2.00 0.36 36.11 15
UCLA 6-1 P10 24.25 8.00 1.00 4.48 37.73 16
Rice 4-1 WAC 16.50 17.50 1.00 3.36 38.36 17
Texas Christian 4-1 USA 18.50 16.50 1.00 2.60 38.60 18
Southern Methodist 5-1 WAC 17.00 21.00 1.00 3.32 42.32 19
Colorado 5-1 B12 11.00 29.00 1.00 2.64 43.64 20
Alabama 5-1 SEC 23.75 18.00 1.00 3.92 46.67 21
Tulsa 5-2 WAC 10.25 36.00 2.00 0.12 48.37 22
North Texas 5-1 SUN 17.75 28.50 1.00 2.12 49.37 23
Louisiana-Lafayette 4-1 SUN 21.00 25.00 1.00 2.40 49.40 24
Louisville 5-1 USA 27.00 17.50 1.00 4.96 50.46 25

-20-

[Marathoner]

Wow bear, you have really set-up Keene State. Will they ever get a shot at the national title? Very well-written dynasty.

edited for spelling.

[beargrowlz]

Marathoner,

I think I did a solid job recruiting and building the program the four seasons I was there, as well as building up the program's prestige.

I don't think however, that as long as an AI coach is controlling them, they'll ever get to play for a national title. That's mainly because of the way the BCS rankings in the game are calculated. Strength of schedule counts for just enough to keep them out of one of the top two spots in the rankings. A human coach could make up for the weak NNE conference and schedule they play, along with the annual Northen Illinois game, by scheduling two Top 5 or Top 10 opponents.

But the AI isn't likely to schedule those games for them, so while they may make a BCS Bowl Game (Top 8 teams), they probably won't get to the National Championship game.

(Wouldn't it rock if TCY were multiplayer?) :)

And thanks again for the read and compliments!


-Bear

[beargrowlz]

2015 SEASON (3rd Qtr.)


WEEK 9
@ Stanford (5-1) (PAC-10) *TV2*
(USC -13) USC RANK: #5

Wheeler, Berg and Taylor will all be out for this week's game again - and likely the rest of the season. Tailback Aaron Castillo has been listed probable almost all season with a brusied rib cage - same again this week.

Have I mentioned how much I hate it when a new walk-on shows up with a failing grade? When your team loses players to injuries, new walk-ons come out for the team. Normally, if the kid shows up with a failing grade, I cut him and tell him to go to the library and study. In this case, the kid is popular with the rest of the squad, so instead of hurting team morale I allocated a bunch of coaching blocs to him. had two players with D-'s, so allocated blocs to them and 3 players with D's, so I gave them some. A bit worse than 1st quarter grades.

Good news on the recruiting front as we land three recruits this week. Pat Oxendine, a quarterback from East High School in Morristown, Tennessee, Louis Ballard, an offensive guard from Chenango Valley High School in Binghamton, New York and R.J. Lackey, a 76- (rank #45) defensive end from Mountain Valley High School in Rumford, Maine all signed letters of intent to play for Southern Cal next season.

Oxendine is the #6th ranked recruit in the nation and is scouted as an 80+ QB and the second best signal caller in this year's recruiting class. Our scout says he likes to run all the time but alas, his high school stats suggest otherwise. He comes with terrific academics and comes from high school with very good academic and athletic prep programs.

Ballard was the 19th ranked recruit in the nation and was scouted as an 86++ - he looked far better than the 86 my scout gave him, which was an excellent rating to begin with. Ballard's specialty is run blocking, which we need more of here at Southern Cal. His grades are average, nothing spectacular, though his prep athletic program was good - though not great.

That brings our recruiting class to 10. We can sign up to 16 players to letters of intent, but only have 15 scholarships available due to redshirting (I think I may "over-redshirt" in that I don't like to waste a year of a very good player's eligibility sitting on the bench as a backup that may play occassionally, but YMMV), so we may end up recruiting someone to walk-on nearer to the end of the season.

Southern Cal OC Chester Hoffman and FB Warren Guthrie dominated the line of scrimmage, throwing 6 and 5 key run blocks respectively as they opened up holes for Tailback Aaron Castillo all day en route to a 24-6 Trojan victory at Stanford.

Offensive Coordinator Randy Edwards just kept calling Tailback Castillo's number all day as Castillo had a whopping 44 carries, gaining 202 yards (4.5 ypc) while running for one touchdown as the USC running game controlled the ball for over 38 minutes.

Richie Warrick had a solid day at wideout, making 5 catches for 81 yards and hauling in a touchdown pass from Malcom Moreno. Moreno was quiet most of the day, going 10/22 for 143 yards while throwing the one touchdown to Warrick and getting picked once.

On defense the Trojans shut down the Cardinal in fine fashion. Nickel back Roger Majka ran an INT back for a touchdown while redshirt sophomore Rick Holmes, starting in place of injured OLB Riddick Taylor, had two sacks. CB Tyrell Lyons had two picks and the Trojan D had five interceptions on the day.

Even though we didn't put a ton of points on the board, we dominated every facet of the game, especially on defense, where we held the Cardinal to 10 net yards rushing on 19 carries and 115 net yards altogether.

We're playing pretty solid football, particularly on defense. Now if Malcom Moreno could just get untracked and our running attack be a little more consistent, that'd be some truly good news.

USC 24 -- Stanford 6
PAC-10 (5-0) -- OVERALL (7-0)

* * *

WEEK 10
@ Washington (5-2) (PAC-10)
(USC -5) USC BCS RANK: #6

No new injuries to report, and Castillo is still probable.

Both UCLA and us are 5-0 in the PAC-10, everyone else has lost at least a game to date. We just need to keep playing hard and taking them one game at a time and things will fall as they may.

We landed another big offensive lineman recruiting this week as Nate Lauvray, an offensive guard from Wethersfield High School in Wethersfield, Connecticut signed a letter of intent with USC. Lauvray is scouted at 84-- whose specialty is run blocking. He has very good grades and comes from a very solid academic program, but only a fair athletic program. He'll be a project.

QB Malcolm Moreno lit a fire under the Trojans this week, leading the way to a dominating win over the Washington Huskies, 44-10.

Moreno had a big day passing going 17/25 for 292 yards while tossing two touchdown passes - one of them an 86 yard strike to Wingback Gabe Whalen, who had three receptions for 102 yards on the day.

And then it was all defense and the special teams of the Trojans as SILB Tyrell Vaughn returned an INT for a touchdown and Mo Napiecek returned a punt for a touchdown and the rout was on, leading to a very big road win against a solid Huskie program.

USC 44 -- Washington 10
PAC-10 (6-0) -- OVERALL (8-0)

* * *

WEEK 11
vs. Arizona (0-8) (PAC-10)
(USC -39) USC BCS RANK: #4

Injury list the same as it has been; Berg, Wheeler and Taylor listed as out; Castillo as probable.

Deja vu all over again it seems. We lost to an 0-8 Arizona team last season that started our downward spiral out of conference (and national?) championship hopes and into the Liberty Bowl. This year the boys say they are more mentally prepared and have a score to setle with the Wildcats.

We'll see.

We had one more recruit sign a letter with us this week, Edwin Kidman, a wide receiver from Glencoe High School in Hillsboro, Oregon. Kidman is a 70++ receiver who is an outstanding punt returner. He comes to us from a school with an outstanding academic program and very solid grades. The atheletic program is fair to good.

We seem to be getting more players from the Pacific Northwest these days - maybe I'm just recruiting more up there, but as three of our PAC-10 opponents are from Washington state and Oregon, it's nice to win kids over from their backyards.

Invited a number of students to come to visit campus and come out for the program as walk-ons. Most were high academic types with good skill sets but under-recruited because they come from programs with poor athletic prep. As they'll be back of the roster types, that should work out fine for us and them - and you never know, one may turn out to be a solid contributor one day. But at least they won't be academic problems.

Arizona opened the game 9 minutes into it with a field goal. Then Safety Louie finch returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown and we never looked back, vengeance on the minds of the men of troy as we built a 31-3 lead at the half on the way to a dominating 52-6 victory over the Wildcats.

The passing attack was quiet all day - wasn't much need for it and backup Mark Rayburn played a good part of the game as Malcolm Moreno got much of the second half off.

Backs Aaron Castillo and Gabe Whalen had a field day running through the Arizona front seven, with Castillo galloping for 120 yards and four touchdowns on 21 carries (5.7 ypc) and Whalen rushing for 70 yards and a TD on 16 carries (4.3 ypc). Much of their success was due to the blocking of OC Chester Hoffman who had a terrific 6 key run blocks on the day.

Defensively DE Alonzo Chevrier got to the Wildcat QB 2.5 times and backup Safety Shaun Nordskov had two picks as we dominated all facets of the game.

And with UCLA's 16-14 loss at home to Stanford in Week 10, and their one point home loss to Cal this week, we are the only PAC-10 team undefeated - every other PAC-10 team has at least two losses. That means, that with our dominant win this week, we just captured our first PAC-10 Conference Championship of my tenure here at Southern Cal.

Damn that feels good. And give what Zona did to us last year, couldn't have worked out beter than to clinch by beating them, and beating them badly.

We've got two games left - one at Notre Dame and one at home against UCLA. We need to maintain our intensity.

Because now there's a lot more at stake than just the PAC-10 title.

USC 52 -- Arizona 6
PAC-10 (7-0) -- OVERALL (9-0)

* * *

WEEK 12
@ #9 Notre Dame (7-1) *TV5*
(ND -2) USC BCS RANK: #4

A big showdown this week in South Bend. This will easily be our toughest game of the year. The Irish blew us out last year en route to the National Championship Game. This year, the boys have some more vengeance to take. Let's see if they can do what it takes to win.

Starting OT Nathan Padgett is added to the injury list as probable. Castillo remains probable. Same guys are out as all year.

We landed two more recruits this week, Renaldo Elder, a 75++ (rank #25) inside linebacker from Malcolm X Shabazz High School in Newark, New Jersey and Artie Waugh, a 65+ safety from Glen Ridge High School in Glen Ridge, New Jersey have committed to USC for next season. turned out to be another very solid recruiting year for us.

At this point, we have two slots left open in our recruiting class. We have one scholarship remaining and one offer out there. We also have offerred four players walk-on spots, but I think the way it works is that only one will be able to accept because you're limited to a recruiting class of 16.

Well, we just weren't able to stay with the Fighting Irish, it was a game for the first half but they blew it open in the 3rd quarter. We couldn't run the ball or pass the ball against that defense, and eventually they just wore us down, beating us 34-10.

Our lone touchdown came on a Malcolm Moreno pass to wideout Richie Warrick, who had only two receptions on the day. Defensively Alonzo Chevrier got to the Irish QB twice and NT Bert Duncan had a sack and a half.

A tough loss, but not a heartbreaking one - we just didn't have the hosses to stay with them. Maybe next year.

Notre Dame 34 -- USC 10
PAC-10 (7-0) -- OVERALL (9-1)

* * *

WEEK 13 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 13, 2015
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 10-0 SEC 2.00 1.00 0.00 4.00 7.00 1
Virginia 9-0 ACC 1.25 3.00 0.00 4.80 9.05 2
Iowa 9-0 B10 3.50 3.00 0.00 4.16 10.66 3
Syracuse 9-0 BGE 5.00 3.00 0.00 4.96 12.96 4
Texas A&M 8-1 B12 7.25 5.00 1.00 2.32 15.57 5
Toledo 8-1 MAC 5.50 10.50 1.00 1.08 18.08 6
Notre Dame 8-1 IND 9.00 6.50 1.00 2.80 19.30 7
Rice 8-1 WAC 5.50 10.00 1.00 4.64 21.14 8
**Southern California 9-1 P10 8.75 10.00 1.00 3.80 23.55 9
Keene State 9-1 NNE 11.75 6.50 1.00 5.00 24.25 10
Wisconsin 10-1 B10 9.75 9.50 1.00 4.52 24.77 11
Louisville 8-1 USA 9.75 12.50 1.00 4.88 28.13 12
South Florida 9-1 USA 12.75 11.50 1.00 4.44 29.69 13
Penn State 8-2 B10 12.00 13.00 2.00 3.72 30.72 14
Michigan 7-3 B10 12.25 15.50 3.00 0.12 30.87 15
Virginia Tech 8-1 ACC 18.00 19.50 1.00 4.76 43.26 16
Hawaii 8-2 WAC 20.00 18.50 2.00 3.48 43.98 17
Nebraska 8-2 B12 22.75 16.00 2.00 4.32 45.07 18
Pittsburgh 7-2 BGE 17.25 25.50 2.00 2.20 46.95 19
Baylor 9-1 B12 13.00 29.00 1.00 4.40 47.40 20
Bowling Green 8-2 MAC 20.25 23.00 2.00 3.76 49.01 21
Middle Tennessee State 8-1 SUN 21.75 22.00 1.00 4.92 49.67 22
California 7-2 P10 23.50 21.50 2.00 4.48 51.48 23
Boston College 8-2 BGE 25.50 20.00 2.00 4.36 51.86 24
San Diego State 8-2 MTW 21.25 26.00 2.00 3.20 52.45 25


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2015 SEASON (4TH Qtr.)


WEEK 13
vs. UCLA (7-3) (PAC-10) *TV4*
(USC -7) USC RANK: #9

Even though we've already clinched the PAC-10 championship -woo! - this game is BIG in more ways than one. We're ranked #9 in the BCS rankings. We're close enough in the rankings that with a win here, we might be able to creep into one of the top 8 BCS spots and go to a BCS Bowl Game. That'd be a super huge accomplishment for our program and tremendous progress after a real downer of a season last year.

Oh, and besides, the alumni want this one real bad.

No changes to our injury list, good or bad.

Quarterly grades came out, three D-'s and one D+, major improvement from last quarter. Gave out a bunch of coaching blocs to those four students and still have 15 blocs left for the 4th quarter grades before finals. Two of the four players are walk-ons - grr.

Deron O'Neal, a 60+ outside linebacker from Chatsworth High School in Chatsworth, California accepted the last scholarship we could offer this season. Now we just wait to see if any of the players we invited accepts a walk-on spot.

96.600 fans at the Rose Bowl sat in stunned silence as UCLA returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. 9:30 into the game the Bruins added another touchdown and it looked like UCLA was going to win in a walk.

They wouldn't score again.

Tailback Aaron Castillo then took over the game, rushing for four touchdowns and WR Cole McConnell, playing in place of the injured Ronnie Wheeler made 10 receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown as Southern Cal put up 41 unanswered points en route to a crowd pleasing 41-14 win over our arch-rival the UCLA Bruins.

QB Malcolm Moreno had a fantastic day passing against the Bruin secondary, going 26/35 for 342 yards and one touchdown as he stayed mistake free the entire game. Aside from hitting McConnell ten times, Moreno also hit wideout Richie Warrick 5 times for 93 yards in a winning effort.

Castillo did not have a great day statistically - aside from the four, rather important touchdowns that is - as he ran for 145 yards on 38 carries (3.8 ypc), but he got the yards he needed to when it counted.

The defense came up big again, allowing only 119 total yards on the day and limiting the Bruins to 42 net yards rushing on 19 carries.

Just how dominating was the defense after UCLA's 1st quarter scoring drive? Here's a look at the Bruins drive chart.


UCLA Drive Chart
Quar Began Poss From Plays Yards Result
1 11:56 2:36 OWN 42 6 58 Touchdown
1 2:29 1:22 OWN 26 3 -3 Punt
2 9:12 4:32 OWN 30 7 35 Downs
2 2:58 2:00 OWN 22 4 16 Punt
2 0:10 0:10 OWN 20 1 -1 Half
3 10:34 0:58 OWN 20 3 -3 Punt
3 7:50 1:30 OWN 27 3 7 Punt
3 2:43 1:57 OWN 20 4 14 Punt
4 10:35 0:37 OWN 20 3 0 Punt
4 8:44 0:31 OWN 36 3 0 Punt
4 4:39 0:33 OPP 47 4 0 Interception
4 2:25 1:46 OWN 18 3 -4 Punt



Bucky Riley's defense played simply amazing.

Credit also needs to go to Offensive coordinator Randy Edwards and his play calling, whose offense controlled the ball for over 41 minutes in this big, big win.

So we go a perfect 8-0 in the PAC-10 and win the conference championship, and beat our arch rival UCLA to boot.

One terrific year.

Now let's see where we end up bowl game-wise.

USC 41 -- UCLA 14
PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (10-1)

* * *

WEEK 14
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #6

That big win catapulted us back into the top eight at #6. Hopefully we can stay in the top eight through conference championship week - then we'll go to a BCS Bowl.

PAC-10 (7-0) -- OVERALL (9-1)

* * *

WEEK 15
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #6

We stayed at #6, that's good news.

We're hoping Caly boy OC Cornell Ours, a 53+ OC accepts our walk-on offer. He's decent academically and probably won't be much more than an end of the bench player, but he's better than most walk-ons, academically and athletically, that we usually get.

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (10-1)

* * *

WEEK 16
MINOR BOWL TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #7

We got word, we'll be going to the Fiesta Bowl to play #4 Virginia (11-0). Truly outstanding for our program.

Cornell Ours, a center from Bret Harte Union High School in Angels Camp, California, has agreed to come out as a walk-on for USC next season, filling out our recruiting class.

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (10-1)

* * *

WEEK 17 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 17, 2015
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Iowa 11-0 B10 1.25 2.50 0.00 2.84 6.59 1
Florida 12-0 SEC 2.50 1.00 0.00 3.76 7.26 2
Texas A&M 11-1 B12 2.25 4.00 1.00 0.76 8.01 3
Virginia 11-0 ACC 3.00 2.50 0.00 4.80 10.30 4
Syracuse 10-1 BGE 6.25 5.50 1.00 4.44 17.19 5
**Southern California 10-1 P10 6.50 8.00 1.00 3.48 18.98 6
Rice 10-1 WAC 6.75 7.50 1.00 4.88 20.13 7
Keene State 11-1 NNE 10.00 5.50 1.00 5.00 21.50 8
Toledo 11-2 MAC 11.75 12.00 2.00 1.16 26.91 9
Notre Dame 9-2 IND 12.75 10.50 2.00 3.12 28.37 10
Hawaii 10-2 WAC 9.75 15.50 2.00 3.32 30.57 11
Penn State 9-2 B10 15.25 9.50 2.00 3.84 30.59 12
Michigan 8-3 B10 12.75 15.50 3.00 0.12 31.37 13
South Florida 10-1 USA 16.00 9.50 1.00 4.96 31.46 14
San Diego State 9-2 MTW 14.25 19.00 2.00 2.76 38.01 15
Pittsburgh 9-3 BGE 11.00 24.00 3.00 0.04 38.04 16
Wisconsin 10-2 B10 19.00 13.50 2.00 4.48 38.98 17
Boston College 9-2 BGE 17.50 17.50 2.00 4.00 41.00 18
California 9-2 P10 18.50 16.50 2.00 4.24 41.24 19
Miami of Ohio 10-3 MAC 16.50 21.50 3.00 2.04 43.04 20
Louisville 10-2 USA 22.00 14.50 2.00 4.68 43.18 21
Middle Tennessee State 10-2 SUN 20.50 23.50 2.00 4.60 50.60 22
Tulsa 9-3 WAC 17.50 30.00 3.00 0.32 50.82 23
Virginia Tech 9-2 ACC 23.25 22.50 2.00 4.64 52.39 24
Bowling Green 9-3 MAC 21.75 25.50 3.00 3.56 53.81 25



-20-

[aztarheel]

Nice job beating up on the Bruins -- one win away from likely competing for a national title ...

[beargrowlz]

Thanks.

Was a great season. And a much needed catharsis after the last one. ;)

[beargrowlz]

2015 SEASON (FINAL)



WEEK 17
MAJOR BOWL TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #6

QB Malcolm Moreno was ticketed by police for creating an unlawful disturbance for making too much noise by having a party at a house off campus. Moreno was apparently caught en flagrante delecto with two cheerleders along with some alcohol, but the police only cited him for the noise the party was making. The NCAA took no action. School officials wanted me to suspend him, but I'm not going to suspend the 5th year senior from going to the Fiesta Bowl for making too much noise and joining the glee club, so to speak.

Quarterly grades came out. A walk-on failing a class, a few D-'s. Allocated coaching blocs and hope that's enough to keep anyone from failing this semester.

News of note: UCLA lost to Georgia Tech in the Liberty Bowl, 20-17. Notre Dame beat UNLV 70-6 in the Patriot Bowl. Ouch. And my old school, Keene State, defeated Middle Tennesee State in the Georgia Bowl 13-7. Good for them.

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (10-1)

* * *

WEEK 18
FOUR STAR TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #6

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (10-1)

* * *

WEEK 19
NEW YEAR'S TIER
FIESTA BOWL: vs. #4 Virginia (11-0) *TV1*
(Virginia -3) USC BCS RANK: #5

We'll be facing off against a very good Virginia program, one that you could arguably make a case for that they should be playing for the national championship. A win for us would be a huge victory for our program. It would also give us 11 wins on the season, the most in a single season since I've been at USC.

Wheeler, Berg and Taylor will miss the game due to injuries as they have most of the year. WR Richie Warrick is listed as probable.

Bucky Riley expects the Cavaliers to come out trying to run the ball against us -- our defensive strength. I guess we'll see if he's right.

1st Qtr: We trade scores as Tailback Aaron Castillo takes it in from one yard out to give us a 7-0 lead before the Cavaliers tie it up on a Ryan Maas touchdown pass.

After 1: Tied 7-7.

2nd Qtr: Trojan QB Malcolm Moreno takes over and tosses two touchdown passes, the first a 15 yarder to WR Cole McConnell, the second to FB Warren Guthrie. Virginia is only able to answer with a field goal with 4 seconds left on the clock before the end of the half.

Halftime: USC 21-10

3rd Qtr: Cavalier QB Ryan Maas tosses his second touchdown pass of the day and Virginia adds a field goal. We are unable to answer. This game has suddenly gotten too close for comfort.

End of the 3rd: USC 21-20

4th Qtr: We start off the fourth and drive to the Cavalier 39 where we go for it on 4th and 5. Aaron Castillo ran for 4 yards and we turn the ball over on downs. Virginia takes over and our defense holds and they go three and out.

We then begin a 7 minute drive to the Virginia 9. Walter Perez tries a field goal but the Cavalier defense comes up big and blocks the kick - ouch! They take over at their own 24 with 6:11 left in the game.

Virgnia then proceeds to drive down the field to our 24 with 2:31 left on the clock. The Cavs send out placekicker Sean Oreck, who has already connected for two field goals today, to try a 41 yarder.

Wide right.

We take over at our own 24 with 2:24 left to play, ahead by one. They stop our QB option for no gain, then stuff Castillo for a 1 yard gain on 2nd down.

On third and nine QB Malcolm Moreno drops back and hits WR Cole McConnel for 14 yards and a first down, but he's forced out of bounds stopping the clock -- no harm no foul as it hit the 2 minute warning mark anyway.

On 1st down they stuff Castillo for no gain again. On 2nd Castillo pounds out three yards bringing up a 3rd and 7 on our own 42 with 1:07 left to play.

Offensive Coordinator Randy Edwards calls the QB option and Moreno sprints left and pitches to Aaron Castillo. Redshirt senior Fullback Warren Guthrie just hammers his man, throwing a key run block and springs Castillo for a 9 yard gain and a first down. Virginia is out of timeouts and Malcolm Moreno takes a knee a couple of times and that's the ball game -- one heckuva game but we hold on, 21-20.

Just reading from the game log the game was frackin exciting. What a big, big win for us.

Neither team could run the ball all day. They gained 69 net yards on 24 carries on the day. We gained a little more yardage (89 yards) , but ran the ball 46 times. But we got a big nine yards on that one play thanks to FB Warren Guthrie.

Malcolm Moreno played extremely well in his final game as a USC Trojan, going 16/24 for 240 yards and two touchdowns while getting picked off once. His favorite target was who it has been down the stretch, Cole McConnell, who started the year on the bench as a backup. McConnell, who caught the big 14 yard first down play to keep the ball in our hands late in the 4th quarter, had 6 receptions on the day for 100 yards and one touchdown. Moreno's other TD toss went to who else - FB Warren Guthrie.

Our defense was led by two other players who started the year as backups: redshirt sophomore WLB Rick Holmes, who made 7 tackles and sacked the Cavalier QB twice on the day; and WILB Brett Vinnick, who also made 7 tackles.

The play of guys who started the year on the bench, or at seemingly unimportant positions like Fullback, just show how important it is to recruit depth. Without the play of McConnell, Holmes, Vinnick and Guthrie, we probably don't win the Fiesta Bowl. They played a heckuva game.

What a truly exciting and terrific end to a fabulous season.


FIESTA BOWL
USC 21 -- Virginia 20
PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-1)

* * *

WEEK 20
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Week off.
USC BCS RANK: #4

We move up to #4 in the BCS Rankings off our tremendous Fiesta Bowl victory.

Florida hammers Iowa 42-14 to win its second consecutive National Championship. Florida QB Heath Hammond wins his second consecutive Heisman.

We end the year where we started the week, ranked #4 in the final BCS rankings.

Awesome.

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-1)

* * *

2015 FINAL BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Final 2015
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 13-0 SEC 1.25 1.00 0.00 2.44 4.69 1
Texas A&M 12-1 B12 1.50 2.00 1.00 0.56 5.06 2
Iowa 11-1 B10 3.25 3.50 1.00 1.20 8.95 3
**Southern California 11-1 P10 3.25 6.50 1.00 2.36 13.11 4
Virginia 11-1 ACC 5.50 4.00 1.00 4.16 14.66 5
Keene State 11-1 NNE 10.25 4.50 1.00 5.00 20.75 6
Syracuse 10-2 BGE 8.25 8.00 2.00 3.48 21.73 7
Notre Dame 10-2 IND 11.00 8.00 2.00 2.72 23.72 8
Michigan 9-3 B10 9.75 12.00 3.00 0.08 24.83 9
South Florida 11-1 USA 12.50 7.50 1.00 4.92 25.92 10
Toledo 11-2 MAC 12.00 10.50 2.00 1.64 26.14 11
California 10-2 P10 9.00 14.00 2.00 3.96 28.96 12
San Diego State 10-2 MTW 7.50 18.00 2.00 1.96 29.46 13
Hawaii 10-2 WAC 11.25 14.00 2.00 3.80 31.05 14
Rice 10-2 WAC 12.50 12.00 2.00 4.60 31.10 15
Boston College 10-2 BGE 14.75 16.00 2.00 3.64 36.39 16
Pittsburgh 9-3 BGE 12.75 24.00 3.00 0.04 39.79 17
Louisville 10-2 USA 22.75 13.50 2.00 4.76 43.01 18
Miami of Ohio 10-3 MAC 15.50 22.50 3.00 2.12 43.12 19
Virginia Tech 10-2 ACC 16.25 20.50 2.00 4.40 43.15 20
Tulsa 9-3 WAC 14.50 28.50 3.00 0.36 46.36 21
Penn State 9-3 B10 25.25 16.00 3.00 3.24 47.49 22
Wisconsin 10-3 B10 22.25 19.50 3.00 4.44 49.19 23
Middle Tennessee State 10-2 SUN 22.25 22.50 2.00 4.72 51.47 24
North Carolina State 9-3 ACC 21.00 25.50 3.00 2.96 52.46 25


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2015 SEASON SUMMARY & REVIEW


SEASON REVIEW

What a fabulous season. 2015 turned out to be the complete antithesis of 2014. We went undefeated in the PAC-10, smoked our arch-rival UCLA, earned a BCS Bowl bid, then defeated Virginia in a hard fought 21-20 victory in the Fiesta Bowl. We ended up ranked 4th in the BCS final rankings. We simply played very solid football all year, and it was tremendously rewarding to see it all come together. What a big step for our program here at Southern Cal.

As you'll see below, the All PAC-10 teams look like our starting lineup. Big congrats go out to graduating senior QB Malcolm Moreno for being named PAC-10 MVP. His play down the stretch and in the Fiesta Bowl was remarkable. It was good to see him put it all together.

From an analytical perspective, I still don't think we ran the ball as well as we could have. I was however quite pleased with our passing attack and very pleased with the fact we hardly ever turned the ball over - our turnover margin was 2nd best in the nation.

Defensively teams found they simply couldn't run the ball against us, and when they tried they just got stuffed by our front seven. Teams tried to throw at an incredible rate against us, but we held them to a 42.7% completion rate. And of those completions, our opponents averaged only 5.66 yards per reception - 12th best defensively in the nation.

And finally, on crucial third downs, we converted third downs at a rate of 44.1%, a very good 13th nationally, while our defense held opponents to a 26.4% third down conversion rate, good enough for 10th best in the country.

All in all it was a terrific year by both our offense and defense, with a wonderful outcome that matched the high statistical ratings we produced.

Clearly, Southern Cal football has taken a giant step up in the world.

* * *

2015 USC Award Winners


2015 University of Southern California Trojans
Individual Awards

* DE Alonzo Chevrier (5th yr Sr.)
- 2nd Team All-American
- Senior All-American
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* QB Malcolm Moreno (5th yr. Sr.)
- PAC-10 Most Valuable Player
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* S Joel Arvold (Fr.)
- PAC-10 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year

* WR Richie Warrick (5th yr Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* OC Chester Hoffman (Jr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* OG Ed Fuller (Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* OT Nathan Padgett (5th yr Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* K Walter Perez (RS Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* TB Aaron Castillo (5th yr Sr.)
- 2nd team All PAC-10

* FB Warren Guthrie (RS Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10

* OG Frank Elliot (Fr.)
- Academic All PAC-10

* CB Tyrell Lyons (5th yr Sr.)
- Academic All PAC-10

* S Louie Finch (Jr.)
- Academic All PAC-10



* * *

2015 USC Team Summary


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2015 Team Summary

Head Coach: Bear Growlz (8th yr.)
Offensive Coordinator: Randy Edwards (4th yr.)
Defensive Coordinator: Bucky Riley (8th yr.)
Syndicate Coordinator: Pete Prior (17th yr.)
Lead Scout: Lance Coe (1st yr.)

Overall Record: 11-1
BCS Rank: #4
Coach's Poll: #7
Fan's Poll: #6
PAC-10 Record: 8-0
PAC-10 Finish: 1st Place ***PAC-10 Champions***

Southern California Team Rank
Rushes 541 9
Rushing Yards 1934 23
Yards Per Carry 3.57 57
Pass Attempts 313 73 (T)
Completions 193 39
Passing Yards 2867 18
Yards Per Attempt 9.15 11
3rd Down Conversions 44.1 13
Points Per Game 30.5 27
Turnovers 11 4 (T)
Turnover Margin +16 2 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 322 1
Rushing Yards 652 3
Yards Per Carry 2.02 5
Pass Attempts 377 116
Completions 161 30 (T)
Passing Yards 2136 42
Yards Per Attempt 5.66 12
3rd Down Conversions 26.4 10 (T)
Points Per Game 12.5 7 (T)
Turnovers 27 17 (T)

Primary Formation: Flexbone Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 28 NCAR (80) 9
2 30 BALL (57) 7
5 35 at ORST (101) 10
6 19 at OREG (83) 14
7 16 CALI (13) 14
8 47 AZST (111) 7
9 24 at STAN (41) 6
10 44 at WASH (51) 10
11 52 ARIZ (123) 6
12 10 at NODM (9) 34
13 41 UCLA (28) 14
19 21 vs VIRG (5) 20 ***Fiesta Bowl (BCS)***

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
14 Moreno QB 300 185 2722 9.07 14 7
Team --- 313 193 2867 9.15 15 7

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
21 Castillo RB 351 1318 3.75 16 91 130
25 Whalen RB 82 318 3.87 5 27 38
14 Moreno QB 62 124 2.00 1 29 107
Team --- 541 1934 3.57 25 160 306

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
1 Warrick WR 78 48 876 18.2 354 8
2 McConnell WR 73 39 603 15.4 209 2
25 Whalen RB 44 29 389 13.4 176 1
33 Guthrie FB 39 30 304 10.1 153 2
21 Castillo RB 31 20 227 11.3 113 0
4 Wheeler WR 19 9 155 17.2 85 1
86 Heekin WR 17 11 197 17.9 64 1
Team --- 313 193 2867 14.8 1194 15

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
79 Chevrier DE 51 21 17.5 27 0 0
95 El Nino OLB 44 13 1.0 7 0 5
49 Vinnick ILB 43 17 0.0 3 2 4
39 Arvold S 40 17 0.0 2 3 7
41 Vaughn ILB 38 18 1.0 5 2 6
47 Holmes OLB 37 6 5.5 10 0 4
38 Finch S 36 9 0.0 4 3 17
26 Napiecek CB 35 11 0.0 5 1 10
91 Duncan DT 32 16 7.5 12 0 1
90 Stender DE 30 14 5.0 9 0 0
36 Majka CB 26 7 0.0 1 1 11
29 Lyons CB 20 3 0.0 1 5 9
Team --- 542 166 44.0 103 20 85




-20-

[beargrowlz]

2016 PRESEASON (Winter)

Big jump in USC's prestige rating after the 2015 Fiesta Bowl win, from Excellent (80) to Excellent (85). That makes Southern Cal the 10th most prestigious program in the nation.

Southern Cal's academic reputation is now Very Good (70), 11th highest in the nation. The GPA of students in the football program is now 3.18, still highest in the country. I do find it kind of funny however, that of the three majors USC doesn't offer, one is Spanish.

Just saying.

OLB Reggie Buckley left the football program because of last year's suspension. Hey, it's not like I suspended him for crying out loud.

QB Jason Krieger, a highly touted recruit coming out of high school, left the program because of a lack of playing time last season. Krieger would have been a redshirt junior this season and may have competed for the starting job. My fault for recruiting too many quarterbacks.

WR Thurman Whelan was inducted into the USC Football Hall of Fame. Thurman was here during the dark years of USC football when i first took over the program. He was an excellent wideout who made 227 receptions for 3829 yards and 24 touchdowns in his career. Interestingly enough, he becomes the first player inducted into the USC Hall.

I receive a large number of job offers, but don't seriously consider any of them - even though this is liable to be a major rebuilding year at USC. Among the more prestigious offers were Louisville (Excellent-81), San Diego State (Very Good-78) and Hawaii (Excellent-80). One PAC-10 rival, Arizona State also offerred me their job.

But I turn them all down and stay at USC for my ninth season at the helm of the Trojans.

The football program financials came out today and the program earned $54,870,000 for the university - 6th highest amount in the nation. Our television revenue was $14,950,000, also 6th best in the country. I'm sure the Board of Trustees is pleased with those numbers.

The entire staff remains intact. I'm not entirely pleased with Lance Coe's work at Lead Scout, but can find no one much better, so he'll stay.

TCY Today ranked our recruiting class #13 in the nation - one of our poorer showings as of late. Here's a look at the class.


The College Years
University of Southern California Trojans
2015 Recruiting List, Ranking View
TCY Today Ranking: #13

Player Pos HT WT ST NRank ByPos StRank ByPos
##Oxendine, Pat QB 6-0 188 TN 6 2 1 1
**Wilson, J.B. RB 5-9 190 IA 4 1 1 1
$$Kidman, Edwin WR 6-1 181 OR 235 19 5 1
##Ours, Cornell C 6-4 247 CA --- 97 --- 16
**Ballard, Louis G 6-3 271 NY 19 1 3 1
##Lauvray, Nate G 6-5 274 CT 376 23 4 1
$$Kirkwood, Lester T 6-6 291 AZ 94 16 2 1
$$Burgess, Bobby T 6-4 282 OR 100 17 1 1
$$Gardner, Rodney K 5-9 168 MO 13 1 1 1
$$Lackey, R.J. DE 6-2 246 ME 47 7 1 1
**Francis, Andrew DT 6-3 253 CA 32 2 2 1
**Wilcox, Albert DT 6-5 262 CA 66 4 5 2
**Elder, Renaldo ILB 6-1 227 NJ 25 1 1 1
##O'Neal, Deron OLB 6-0 214 CA 919 52 --- 8
**Fitzgerald, Max CB 6-2 184 CA 45 1 4 1
##Waugh, Artie S 5-10 164 NJ 996 62 24 1

Player All-St All-US Status
##Oxendine, Pat Yes No Committed *
**Wilson, J.B. Yes No Committed *
$$Kidman, Edwin Yes No Committed *
##Ours, Cornell No No Committed *
**Ballard, Louis Yes No Committed *
##Lauvray, Nate Yes No Committed *
$$Kirkwood, Lester Yes No Committed *
$$Burgess, Bobby Yes No Committed *
$$Gardner, Rodney Yes No Committed *
$$Lackey, R.J. Yes No Committed *
**Francis, Andrew Yes No Committed *
**Wilcox, Albert Yes No Committed *
**Elder, Renaldo Yes No Committed *
##O'Neal, Deron No No Committed *
**Fitzgerald, Max Yes No Committed *
##Waugh, Artie Yes No Committed *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.

The College Years
Recruiting List, Worksheet View

Player Pos ST Visit Cost Dist. Fit Score
##Oxendine, Pat QB TN 1210 1999 76
**Wilson, J.B. RB IA 987 1587 97
$$Kidman, Edwin WR OR 577 844 87
##Ours, Cornell C CA 335 305 91
##Lauvray, Nate G CT 1187 2554 74
**Ballard, Louis G NY 1199 2389 98
$$Kirkwood, Lester T AZ 384 459 83
$$Burgess, Bobby T OR 589 854 88
$$Gardner, Rodney K MO 980 1454 84
$$Lackey, R.J. DE ME 1213 2668 90
**Wilcox, Albert DT CA 244 32 94
**Francis, Andrew DT CA 237 10 99
**Elder, Renaldo ILB NJ 1200 2477 96
##O'Neal, Deron OLB CA 238 14 95
**Fitzgerald, Max CB CA 320 260 94
##Waugh, Artie S NJ 1201 2476 91

Player Scout Phone Visit Emphasis Status
##Oxendine, Pat 80+ 4 1 Acad/Dist Committed *
**Wilson, J.B. 80++ 3 2 Acad/Prest Committed *
$$Kidman, Edwin 70++ 3 2 Dist/Acad Committed *
##Ours, Cornell 53+ 2 2 Dist/Prest Committed *
##Lauvray, Nate 84-- 4 3 Dist/Acad Committed *
**Ballard, Louis 86++ 5 1 Prest*/Acad Committed *
$$Kirkwood, Lester 67+ 2 3 Acad/Dist Committed *
$$Burgess, Bobby 68++ 2 2 Acad*/Dist Committed *
$$Gardner, Rodney 93+ 2 2 Acad/Dist Committed *
$$Lackey, R.J. 76- 3 2 Acad*/Dist Committed *
**Wilcox, Albert 82- 3 2 Acad/Dist Committed *
**Francis, Andrew 83-- 2 2 Dist/Acad Committed *
**Elder, Renaldo 78++ 3 2 Acad*/Prest Committed *
##O'Neal, Deron 60+ 2 2 Prest*/Dist Committed *
**Fitzgerald, Max 70++ 4 2 Prest*/Dist Committed *
##Waugh, Artie 65+ 1 1 Acad/Prest Committed *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.



-20-

[beargrowlz]

2016 PRESEASON (SPRING)

We already have a full schedule for 2016. Besides our eight PAC-10 games, we have our annual game against Notre Dame, and the second half of home and home's against North Carolina and Ball State.

As always, there is one PAC-10 team we don't play each season. This year we don't play Oregon State.

Here's a look at our 2016 schedule.

The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2016 Schedule

BCS Preseason Rank: #11
Preseason Coach's Poll: #11
Preseason Fan's Poll: #10
Rival: UCLA
Stadium Capacity: 96,600
Season Tickets Sold: 96,600

Week Opponent Result Attendance Weather Television
2 at North Carolina
3 at Ball State
$$5 (43) STANFORD
$$6 at Washington State
$$7 ARIZONA
$$8 at Washington
$$10 OREGON
$$11 at (15) California
$$12 ARIZONA STATE
13 at (8) Notre Dame
$$14 at (9) UCLA

Home Games in ALL CAPS
$$-Conference Games, ##-League Championship Games, **-Post-Season Games

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2016 PRESEASON (Summer)

Well, we play seven road games this season, so we've got our work cut out for us. But time to manage academic schedules and all. No one was placed on academic probation this season. That's good news.

After setting up the schedules for the incoming frosh and tweaking the schedules of the upperclassmen, one thing that made me laugh is that one of my Tight Ends was angry at me because of his lack of playing time.

There's a reason we don't recruit tight ends, we run a flexbone. There are no tight ends in the formation. We've run that formation for 8 years. Why would a tight end walk onto the team, and then be angry that he doesn't play? Cripes.

Looks like this might be a rebuilding year for us, it really depends on how well the offensive line comes together and how well the secondary - easily our weakness this year, plays.

Starting at QB will be 5th year senior Mark Rayburn, but don't be surprised to see redshirt sophomore Brock Dole taking some snaps this season as well. If he continues to develop he'll likely be our starter next year. I'm not real happy with how well Offensive Coordinator Randy Edwards has developed quarterbacks as I don't believe they're achieving their full potential, but in this offense Malcolm Moreno played well enough to win the conference MVP, so we'll see.

Rayburn's primary targets this season will be 5th year senior receiver Richie Warrick and redshirt sophomore sensation Ron Morrison. We expect outstanding things from Morrison this year and in the future. Our third receiver will again be Cole McConnell, who filled that role quite ably last year.

Joining Rayburn in the backfield will be 5th year senior Fullback Warren Guthrie. He'll be blocking for 5th year senior Tailback Ross Berberich, who finally gets his chance to show what he can do. Returning as the starting Wingback will be redshirt senior Gabe Whalen, who is also an excellent receiver. Redshirt sophomore Mercury Schultz shoul;d also get some carries this season, and next year we expect him to step into the starting Tailback position.

A lot of our success will depend on how well the offensive line run blocks this year. Anchoring the line will be four year starter, senior OC Chester Hoffman - hard to believe he graduates already this year. At the guard positions will be junior Ernie Cheatham and sophomore Frank Elliot. And at the tackle positions will be redshirt junior Hunter Blount and redshirt sophomore Dana Aska. You can also expect to see OT Billy Joe Joyner and OG Graham Molina see a little action as well.

We'll have a strong front seven on defense once again this season, as Defensive Coordinator Bucky Riley always seems to develop a good unit. Anchoring the D-line will be 5th year senior NT Bert Duncan. He'll be flanked by DE's senior Tracy Aalders and redshirt junior Freddie Stander. Freshman R.J. Lackey will also see some time on passing downs.

Senior ILB Tyrell Vaughn returns at ILB along will redshirt junior Chad Berg. On the outside will be redshirt junior Johnny el Nino (got to love that name) and redshirt senior Riddick Taylor. We're not sure what to expect from taylor this season as he's coming off some serious ACL damage to his knee. In case he falters, redshirt junior Rick Holmes, who filled in ably last year, will step up into Taylor's position.

It's in the secondary where we may have our biggest problems. Aside from senior safety Louie Finch, there's not a lot of experience or developed talent here. Joining Finch at safety will be second year starter, sophomore Joel Arvold. At the corners will be 5th year senior Roger Majka and redshirt junior Sam Alexander, with redshirt sophomore Buddy Reed playing the nickel.

It's difficult to know at this stage how good we'll be. Our passing attack should be quite good as Mark Rayburn has plenty of highly talented targets to throw to. We'd like to improve our running game some, as that's our bread and butter, but much of that depends on how well the offensive line plays. Defensively, the secondary could be a seive, but the front seven looks to be as strong as ever.

Here's a look at our 2016 roster.

The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2016 Roster/Scout Overview
From the Desk of Lance Coe, Lead Scout


Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
Bernard, Walt 18 QB Sr 39 100
Bjorke, Wayne 10 QB Jr* 26 89
Dole, Brock 9 QB So* 35 100
Oxendine, Pat 4 QB Fr 26 87
Rayburn, Mark 8 QB Sr 49 100
Berberich, Ross 34 RB Sr 70 83
Shultz, Mercury 37 RB So* 49 70
Whalen, Gabe 25 RB Sr* 64 92
Wilson, J.B. 48 RB Fr 50 95
Vanderlaan, Levon 46 RB* Sr* 39 52
Book, Emmanuel 28 FB So 42 79
Guthrie, Warren 33 FB Sr 64 75
Woolley, Jackie 40 FB So* 31 72
Finley, Jeffrey 30 FB* Jr* 8 8
Glover, Randy 88 TE* Fr 9 26
Shreves, Maurice 89 TE* Sr* 8 25
Specter, Jumbo 81 TE* So* 6 11
Heekin, Sammy 86 WR Sr* 54 77
Kidman, Edwin 6 WR Fr 32 88
McConnell, Cole 2 WR Sr* 56 72
Morrison, Ron 82 WR So* 68 100
Warrick, Richie 1 WR Sr 72 76
Weiler, Darren 5 WR Sr 32 46
Blackburn, Mitchell 58 C Jr* 43 76
Connell, Tim 53 C Sr 29 53
Cook, Glenn 57 C Jr* 38 68
Hoffman, Chester 56 C Sr 69 72
Rodriguez, Tony 50 C Sr* 22 81
Ours, Cornell 52 C* Fr 10 66
Ballard, Louis 61 G Fr 34 84
Cheatham, Ernie 72 G Jr 47 63
Eliot, Frank 66 G So 34 63
Lauvray, Nate 71 G Fr 11 59
Molina, Graham 64 G So* 18 65
Pilgrim, Ty 68 G* Sr 16 27
Quinn, Leland 69 G* Sr* 3 3
Aska, Dana 74 T So* 38 63
Blount, Hunter 67 T Jr* 39 68
Burgess, Bobby 60 T Fr 5 79
Harnisch, Vernon 62 T Sr* 26 50
Joyner, Billy Joe 75 T So 34 85
Kaplan, Gabe 63 T Jr* 30 78
Kirkwood, Lester 79 T Fr 4 53
Thornton, Brett 12 P Jr 70 93
Brown, Robbie 15 P* So* 1 1
Gardner, Rodney 17 K Fr 44 100
Perez, Walter 11 K Sr 52 84
Samuels, Zach 3 K Jr* 44 83
Buckley, Victor 16 K* Sr 3 3
Aalders, Tracy 78 DE Sr 67 68
Lackey, R.J. 76 DE Fr 33 68
Stender, Freddie 90 DE Jr* 46 100
Sutton, William 93 DE So* 23 72
Cobb, Colin 70 DE* Sr* 10 21
Dragon, Tracy 92 DT Sr 37 78
Duncan, Bert 91 DT Sr 48 85
Francis, Andrew 99 DT Fr 31 60
Milton, Trent 77 DT So* 36 93
Wilcox, Albert 94 DT Fr 22 68
Berg, Chad 45 ILB Jr* 48 96
Elder, Renaldo 54 ILB Fr 38 75
Pathon, Dale 97 ILB So* 12 52
Sankey, Mo 55 ILB Sr 38 78
Vaughn, Tyrell 41 ILB Sr 98 100
Vinnick, Brett 49 ILB Jr 49 88
El Nino, Johnnie 95 OLB Jr* 39 90
Holmes, Rick 47 OLB Jr* 39 81
Mazzeo, Tyrus 59 OLB So* 27 71
O'Neal, Deron 96 OLB Fr 6 71
Taylor, Riddick 98 OLB Sr* 50 80
Hoffman, William 51 OLB* So* 6 18
Stagg, Jake 42 OLB* Sr* 17 50
Alexander, Sam 43 CB Jr* 35 43
Fitzgerald, Max 31 CB Fr 31 71
Majka, Roger 36 CB Sr 47 97
Reed, Buddy 44 CB So* 27 67
Flowers, Tracy 32 CB* Sr 29 44
Arvold, Joel 39 S So 46 66
Finch, Louie 38 S Sr 78 78
Griffin, Cris 24 S Jr 43 77
Korinek, Dwight 35 S So* 35 55
Nordskov, Shaun 20 S Sr* 28 67
Waugh, Artie 27 S Fr 21 50


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2016 PRESEASON (BCS RANKINGS)

The College Years
Preseason, 2016
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 0-0 SEC 1.00 1.00 0.00 2.04 4.04 1
Texas A&M 0-0 B12 2.00 2.00 0.00 1.24 5.24 2
Michigan 0-0 B10 4.00 3.50 0.00 0.52 8.02 3
Iowa 0-0 B10 3.00 5.00 0.00 0.48 8.48 4
Virginia 0-0 ACC 5.00 4.50 0.00 0.32 9.82 5
Syracuse 0-0 BGE 6.00 5.50 0.00 1.48 12.98 6
UCLA 0-0 P10 9.00 8.50 0.00 1.92 19.42 7
Notre Dame 0-0 IND 8.00 7.00 0.00 4.56 19.56 8
Penn State 0-0 B10 10.00 9.50 0.00 0.72 20.22 9
Keene State 0-0 NNE 7.00 9.00 0.00 4.84 20.84 10
**Southern California 0-0 P10 11.00 10.50 0.00 1.88 23.38 11
Toledo 0-0 MAC 13.00 13.00 0.00 4.08 30.08 12
Rice 0-0 WAC 12.00 17.00 0.00 3.44 32.44 13
California 0-0 P10 15.00 18.00 0.00 1.72 34.72 14
Louisville 0-0 USA 17.00 15.50 0.00 3.04 35.54 15
Hawaii 0-0 WAC 18.00 15.00 0.00 3.32 36.32 16
Boston College 0-0 BGE 16.00 20.00 0.00 1.32 37.32 17
South Florida 0-0 USA 14.00 19.50 0.00 4.60 38.10 18
Wisconsin 0-0 B10 19.00 19.50 0.00 0.80 39.30 19
Nebraska 0-0 B12 24.00 20.00 0.00 1.04 45.04 20
San Diego State 0-0 MTW 22.00 22.50 0.00 2.72 47.22 21
Pittsburgh 0-0 BGE 20.00 27.00 0.00 1.40 48.40 22
Oklahoma 0-0 B12 27.00 22.00 0.00 1.12 50.12 23
Texas Christian 0-0 USA 26.00 22.00 0.00 3.16 51.16 24
North Carolina State 0-0 ACC 30.00 24.50 0.00 0.28 54.78 25


-20-

[aztarheel]

Wow, only four home games? Nice reward for a great season the year before ...

[beargrowlz]

Yeah, you'd think I tagged the AD's daughter or something.

[beargrowlz]

2016 SEASON (1st Qtr.)


WEEK 1
Off week.
BCS Rank: #11

We don't open up Week 1, so most of my time is spent recruiting. Again we'll be targeting high profile recruits and expect to have a solid recruiting class. I'm not real pleased with the holes I perceive in the year's team - whether that has to do with recruiting too many players at certain positions so that developemtn gets blocked for some players, or whether my coordinators aren't doing their job in development - which I particularly think is true of Randy Edwards and quarterbacks - or some combination of both, I'm no Svengali so it's difficult to tell. Suffice to say it may be a bit of both phenomena.

PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (0-0)

* * *

WEEK 2
@ North Carolina (0-0)
(NC -1) USC BCS RANK: --

Ahh the fickle fates of early week BCS rankings. We fall out of the Top 25 - not sure we belong there yet anyway this year. I think our preseason ranking was based on last year's terrific season - but many, if not most, of those players graduated. But the polls are always screwey the first three weeks.

Resisted the strong, almost irresistable urge to recruit an OT named George Patton. Wasn't a good fit for our program, not a real run blocker, but halftime speeches would have been a blast.

Continued making more first time contacts and getting scholarship offers out there. Really trying to narrow mthe credentials of what I am looking for - high academic kids with high athletic preperation. Of course, that's what every school wants.

As if to say "I've been sitting here patiently on the bench for four years coach, it's my turn now", 5th year senior Tailback Ross Berberich led the way to a 35-0 stomping of the Tar Heels at Chapel Hill.

Berberich rushed for 3 touchdowns and 121 yards on 26 carries, while Wingback Gabe Whalen added another 33 yards and FB Warren Guthrie had 18 yards on three carries as USC just ground the ball into the NC defense. OC Chester Hoffman and company ldominated the line of scrimmage, Hoffman manhandling his opponent for 6 key run blocks while OG Ernie Cheatham and OT Dana Aska had four each.

5th year senior QB Mark Rayburn had an adequate performance in the first start of his career, going 13 for 20 for 180 yards while throing one touchdown and one INT.

The Trojan defense, led by ILB Tyrell Vaughn who made 8 tackles and assisted on 2 others and DE Tracy Aalders who got to the NC QB twice, stifled the Tar Heel offense and held North Carolina to 154 yards total offense on the day.

It was a very good road win to start the year and I'm pleased with the running game. Rayburn was mediocre - rather like a bowl of oatmeal or unflavored grits in the morning - good enough to get you through the day, but nothing to write home about.

USC 35 -- North Carolina 0
PAC-10 (1-0) -- OVERALL (1-0)

* * *

WEEK 3
@ Ball State (0-1) *TV5*
(USC -1) USC BCS RANK: #16

Oddsmakers don't like us much this season, underdogs last week, only favored by a point this week. Still, this year's squad is an unknown quantity, so i can see their point.

Spent the week adding even a few more kids to our primary list - a little unusual as I usually have my primary list done by now, but we've been forced to scramble at the end of the year to land our last one or two recruits so I thought I would expand our original pool a bit this year.

FB Warren Guthrie ran for one score and had another receiving in leading the Trojans to a narrow 26-22 win over Ball State.

Southern Cal rushed for two touchdowns on the day, the other by Wingback Gabe Whalen, and QB Mark Rayburn was on target all day with his passes - though the targets weren't always wearing the USC colors. Rayburn went 15/18 for 189 yards while throwing one touchdown, but also got picked off again in the win.

The Ball State D held Tailback Ross Berberich in check for the most part, making him earn every one of his 125 uards on 32 carries (3.9 ypc).

FB Warren Guthrie had 5 receptions for 69 yards on the day.

A solid, if unspectacular win on the road.

USC 26 -- Ball State 22
PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (2-0)

* * *

WEEK 4
Week off.
USC BCS RANK: #25

An off week and some time to contemplate what to do about the QB situation. Rayburn hasn't really developed as he should have - much of that comes from riding the pine behind Malcolm Moreno for most of his collegiate career, but a lot of the blame has to go to Offensive Coordinator Randy Edwards, who hasn't been developing QB to their potential - even Moreno didn't develop anywhere close to his potential.

But clearly, Rayburn is the best we have at this point in time. The thing is, if we give redshirt sophomore Brock Dole playing time now - lots of playing time - down the road he's likely to develop into a far better QB than Rayburn is now.

But I don't have the luxury of being at a program where we can say "the heck with it" and go 3-8 and start Dole all year. Dole is really raw and Rayburn is good, but not by any means as good as he should have become. There's a big qualitative difference in their development right now - Rayburn can at least keep us in games, I'm not certain Dole can.

Rayburn is going to throw a ton of INT's unless I completely check down the passing attack - which is an issue because his best asset is his arm strength. Bleh - I guess we'll see how the early season progresses and go from there.

PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (2-0)

* * *

WEEK 5 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 5, 2016
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Iowa 3-0 B10 3.75 4.00 0.00 2.80 10.55 1
South Florida 4-0 USA 1.25 13.00 0.00 1.48 15.73 2
Syracuse 3-0 BGE 7.25 4.50 0.00 4.28 16.03 3
Florida 3-0 SEC 13.00 1.00 0.00 3.48 17.48 4
Toledo 3-0 MAC 5.75 9.50 0.00 2.84 18.09 5
Texas A&M 2-0 B12 14.00 2.00 0.00 3.32 19.32 6
Wisconsin 2-0 B10 4.00 14.50 0.00 3.12 21.62 7
UCLA 3-0 P10 11.75 6.50 0.00 3.68 21.93 8
Keene State 3-0 NNE 14.75 6.50 0.00 4.44 25.69 9
Alabama 3-0 SEC 5.25 19.50 0.00 2.32 27.07 10
Marshall 3-0 MAC 8.00 16.00 0.00 3.24 27.24 11
Virginia 3-0 ACC 19.25 3.50 0.00 4.88 27.63 12
Louisville 3-0 USA 12.75 11.50 0.00 4.08 28.33 13
Arkansas State 2-0 SUN 2.25 25.50 0.00 1.32 29.07 14
Rice 2-0 WAC 17.25 13.00 0.00 3.88 34.13 15
Michigan 2-1 B10 14.75 18.00 1.00 0.68 34.43 16
Nebraska 3-0 B12 15.50 15.50 0.00 4.20 35.20 17
Notre Dame 3-1 IND 17.75 16.00 1.00 1.72 36.47 18
Colorado State 3-0 MTW 16.75 20.00 0.00 3.36 40.11 19
California 2-1 P10 12.75 28.50 1.00 0.96 43.21 20
Penn State 2-1 B10 19.50 22.50 1.00 2.36 45.36 21
Utah 2-0 MTW 18.75 24.50 0.00 4.84 48.09 22
**Southern California 2-0 P10 36.00 8.00 0.00 4.92 48.92 23
Hawaii 3-0 WAC 34.00 12.00 0.00 4.32 50.32 24
Boston College 2-0 BGE 29.75 16.50 0.00 4.48 50.73 25



-20-

[beargrowlz]

2016 SEASON (2nd Qtr.)


WEEK 5
vs. Stanford (2-1) (PAC-10) *TV5*
(USC -11) USC BCS RANK: #23

Quarterly grades came out this week. Five players had D+'s, no lower grades. I allocated 3 coaching blocs to each of them - I started the year with 63 blocs, keeping a lot in reserve for the rest of the year. Hopefully that will get them into the C- range or C range at best, at worst keep them from failing.

No recruiting committments or rejections yet, so I keep hitting the trail re-contacting the players we want and letting them know what we have to offer.

We took the apron strings off Mark Rayburn a bit this week and allowed him to air it out some, and he had a fine, fine day, leading Southern Cal to a 49-17 rout over the Stanford Cardinal.

Rayburn went 14/20 for 229 yards this week while throwing four touchdown passes and only being picked once. His favorite target on the day was redshirt sophomore wideout Ron Morrison, who caught 6 passes for 140 yards - three of them for touchdowns.

Tailback Ross Berberich also had a fine day running the ball, gaining 139 yards on 26 carries (5.3 ypc) while running for two touchdowns.

The defense was once again led by senior ILB Tyrell Vaughn, who made 9 tackles and also had a sack, as well as DE Tracy aalders, who had two sacks.

A fine way to open the PAC-10 season for us, especially on the road.

USC 49 -- Stanford 17
PAC-10 (1-0) -- OVERALL (3-0)

* * *

WEEK 6
@ #25 Washington State (3-0) (PAC-10) *TV3*
(USC -8) USC BCS RANK: #6

This week will be a tough road test against a very solid Washington State Cougar team. We've popped up to #6 in the BCS after last week's win. We're completely healthy at this point, knock on wood.

We land one recruit this week, losing three others to schools back east - fine with me so long as UCLA doesn't get them.

Gino Lyubashevsky, a center from Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, California has signed a letter of intent to play for us next season. Gino is a run blocking OC who is only rated a 68++, but it's the ++ and the excellent (98) athletic prep work that got me, as well as his solid grades. A 68 OC wouldn't normally excite me - not that we'd turn him away or anything, that's a solid scouting grade, but when I saw him play he looked much better (hence the "++" suffix), and the high athletic preperation indicates he might be a solid contributor as an underclassman.

5th year senior wideout Richie Warrick led the USC attack both through the air and on the ground as Southern Cal captured another big win on the road, 31-0, against the Washington State Cougars.

Warrick ran for a 28 yard touchdown on a reverse and hauled in 5 catches for 65 yards in leading the Trojans to victory. QB Mark Rayburn had another solid day, going 18/24 for 283 yards while throwing one touchdown, but was mistake free all day. He hit Tailback Ross Berberich for his lone touchdown pass, and Berberich added two more on the ground, though only rushing for 78 yards on the day.

Defensively this is getting to be the Tyrell and Tracy show, as ILB tyrell Vaughn led the way with another 10 tackles on the day and Tracy Aalders added two more tackles to his team leading total. The defense also picked off three Cougar passes and completely dominated Washington State on the road.

A very good win and solid play all around for us this week.

USC 31 -- Washington State 0
PAC-10 (2-0) -- OVERALL (4-0)

* * *

WEEK 7
vs. Arizona (0-4) (PAC-10)
(USC -34) USC BCS RANK: #5

We seem to be the only team Arizona can beat in recent years - hopefully like last year, we'll avoid playing down to their level. No injuries to report this week.

We lost a wideout I really would have liked to have to Florida this week, but we did get three more players to sign letters of intent with us. They are: Brian Barton, an 89-- offensive guard from Bloomfield High School in Bloomfield, New Mexico; Wally Knight, a defensive end from Cherokee High School in Marlton, New Jersey; and Moe Oben, an inside linebacker from Derby High School in Derby, Connecticut.

Oben is an 86+ ILB with top notch grades coming from an excellent (93) athletic program. It's quite possible he could make a solid contribution as an underclassman. Knight is a 91+ DE with good academics coming from one of the best prep athletic programs in the country (100). Again, exactly the type of player we were trying to land this year.

Made some new contacts with some OLB and DB recruits. Hoping to nbring in a few with high level of athletic preperation and good grades. I find myself not even looking at poor students these days. I just can't get them properly developed and keep their academics up.

This game was over at the half as Southern Cal built a 31-0 lead over the Wildcats on the strength of Tailback Ross Berberich's running en route to a 45-10 pasting of Arizona in front of a packed house at the Rose Bowl.

Berberich ran for four touchdowns and 164 yards on 20 carries (8.3 ypc) and Wingback Gabe Whalen also pounded out 61 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries as Arizona was totally unable to stop our running game.

Three QB's saw action for Southern Cal with Mark rayburn giving way early as USC built up a huge lead. Redshirt sophomore Brock Dole, expected to start next year, had a fine day in relief going 9/11 for 202 yards. Wideout Richie Warrick had 5 catches for 156 yards on the day, breaking open the Wildcat secondary.

DE Tracy Aalders had another 1.5 sacks and the Trojan defense limited the Wildcats to 17 yards rushing and 190 yards total offense on the day. Another game in which we dominated all facets of play.

Good, solid win in a game we should win. I'll take it.

USC 45 -- Arizona 10
PAC-10 (3-0) -- OVERALL (5-0)

* * *

WEEK 8
@ Washington (4-2) (PAC-10) *TV4*
(USC -18) USC BCS RANK: #7

We continue to play very good football and be ranked high. The team has come together pretty well and Ross Berberich has done a very solid job at Tailback in his senior year. Hopefully we can keep this brand of football up and have a very solid season. Another difficult road game this week however, so we've got to be at our best.

We landed another kid from the pacific northwest this week as Eddie Casillas, a quarterback from Naches Valley High School in Naches, Washington signed a letter of intent to play for USC next year. Casillas is a 68+ QB and was ranked the 5th best QB in his recruiting class. He is scouted an an above average running QB - though I have found those scouting reports to be unreliable, but he did run for over 500 yards in his senior year in high school. He has excellent academics and comes from s chool with excellent athletic prep (98) and academic prep(99). He'll likely redshirt then be a solid #2 QB for most of his collegiate career, with a shot at starting his 5th year.

In what can only be hailed as the most inexplicable of playcalling, we ran the ball only 16 times this week en route to getting whitewashed by the Huskies 19-0.

The defense played well, toughening up every time Washington got into the red zone and allowed only one touchdown. ILB Tyrell Vaughn had 10 tackles and assisted on 5 others, adding a QB sack. DE Tracy Aalders added another sack and made 8 tackles.

But our offense was inexplicably weird this week. We only ran the ball 16 times, QB Mark Rayburn went 3/12 and got picked off once and we didn't make a single visit to the Huskies redzone.

Our offense was just totally overwhelmed as you can see from our drive chart. We were just really bad.

Southern California Drive Chart

Quar Began Poss From Plays Yards Result
1 8:00 1:51 OWN 6 3 -5 Punt
1 1:08 2:05 OWN 35 3 7 Punt
2 7:01 3:02 OWN 32 4 15 Punt
2 2:02 0:33 OWN 44 3 0 Punt
3 15:00 1:58 OWN 29 3 5 Punt
3 10:12 2:14 OWN 31 3 -9 Punt
3 1:23 1:30 OWN 32 3 -1 Fumble
4 12:03 0:43 OWN 29 1 0 Interception
4 8:40 1:06 OWN 13 4 46 Missed FG
4 2:08 0:40 OWN 6 2 2 Interception


Washington 19 -- USC 0
PAC-10 (3-1) -- OVERALL (5-1)

* * *

WEEK 9 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 9, 2016
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 7-0 SEC 3.50 1.00 0.00 3.80 8.30 1
Iowa 7-0 B10 2.25 4.00 0.00 2.20 8.45 2
Texas A&M 5-0 B12 6.50 2.00 0.00 4.28 12.78 3
South Florida 7-0 USA 1.00 9.50 0.00 2.40 12.90 4
Keene State 7-0 NNE 7.00 6.00 0.00 4.24 17.24 5
UCLA 6-0 P10 6.50 6.50 0.00 4.64 17.64 6
Syracuse 6-0 BGE 12.75 5.00 0.00 4.76 22.51 7
Rice 6-0 WAC 9.00 9.50 0.00 4.84 23.34 8
Virginia 7-0 ACC 15.00 3.50 0.00 4.96 23.46 9
Nebraska 6-0 B12 9.00 10.50 0.00 4.48 23.98 10
Toledo 5-1 MAC 7.25 16.00 1.00 0.36 24.61 11
Louisville 6-0 USA 12.00 9.00 0.00 4.32 25.32 12
Arkansas State 6-0 SUN 4.25 19.00 0.00 3.04 26.29 13
Alabama 6-0 SEC 11.50 13.00 0.00 4.68 29.18 14
Notre Dame 5-1 IND 14.50 11.50 1.00 3.32 30.32 15
Bowling Green 5-1 MAC 8.75 22.00 1.00 1.04 32.79 16
**Southern California 5-1 P10 15.75 14.00 1.00 2.64 33.39 17
Pittsburgh 5-1 BGE 12.50 21.50 1.00 2.04 37.04 18
Penn State 5-2 B10 15.75 20.00 2.00 1.88 39.63 19
Boston College 5-1 BGE 16.75 20.00 1.00 3.68 41.43 20
Marshall 5-1 MAC 22.75 20.50 1.00 3.12 47.37 21
Hawaii 6-1 WAC 30.00 16.00 1.00 4.60 51.60 22
Michigan 5-2 B10 32.25 16.00 2.00 3.72 53.97 23
Michigan State 5-2 B10 22.50 28.50 2.00 1.08 54.08 24
Wisconsin 4-2 B10 22.75 30.00 2.00 1.60 56.35 25



-20-

[beargrowlz]

2016 SEASON (2nd Qtr.)


WEEK 9
Week off.
USC BCS RANK: #17

Quarterly grades came out this week. Five players had D+'s, nothing lower. Allocated three coaching blocs to each player, hopefully that will get them up to C-'s or at minimum keep them where they are. Still hav 31 blocs left for the final twp sets of grades.

Not able to land any of the WR recruits I wanted this year, but Dan Cipa, a cornerback from Windsor High School in Windsor, Connecticut did sign a letter of intent to play for us next season. Cipa is an unspectacula 71-- who comes to USC from a high school with very good academic and athletic programs, and his academics are stellar. A good signing, nothing to write home about though.

Spent a bunch of time smashing my keyboard against the desk, apparently despite me always typing 100% perfectly the keyboard insists on misspelling words.

Damn keyboard.

In any case, spent some time pursuing more new recruits, particularly at the OLB and DB positions as I'd like to add some freshmen at those positions.

PAC-10 (3-1) -- OVERALL (5-1)

* * *

WEEK 10
vs. Oregon (3-5) (PAC-10)
(USC -23) USC BCS RANK: #12

Back up to #12 in the BCS rankings, surprises me we're still that high. But we've played mostly well this season, especially so given the fact it's really a rebuilding year here.

Landed four recruits this week. Billy Vance, a 64+ running back from Baker County High School in Glen Saint Mary, Florida, Devin Benzer, a fullback from Yankton High School in Yankton, South Dakota, Dana Long, a center from Murray High School in Murray, Utah and Xavier Eason, a 100- punter from Stanwood High School in Stanwood, Washington all signed letters of intent to play for the Trojans next year.

Benzer is a 76++ Fullback that comes from an outstanding high school athletic program. We suspect he may be able to contribute immediately. His grades are outstanding and his prep school atcademic prep is very good, though not outstanding.

Long is a 77+ OC that also comes from a high school with a tremendous athletic program. Dana's grades are avera and his high school's academic programs were only slightly above average, so we may need to help him along some - but by no means are his academics bad.

Tailback Ross Berberich had a simply outstanding day rushing for 182 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries (9.1 ypc) in leading the Southern Cal Trojans to a 49-10 rout over Oregon in front of a pleased sellout crowd of 96,600 at the Rose Bowl.

5th year senior wideout Richie Warrick also had a fine day, making 7 catches for 134 yards and a touchdown reception from QB Mark Rayburn. Rayburn was quietly efficient on the day, going 12/17 for 226 yards with two TD strikes.

WR Ron Morrison caught Rayburn's second touchdown pass and also returned a punt 51 yards for another score.

Defensively OLB Riddick taylor led the way making 7 tackles and assisting on 3 others and 5th year senior NT Bert Duncan got to the QB for a sack and a half on the day.

A good, solid win and a good way to bounce back from the whitewashing at Washington.

USC 49 -- Oregon 10
PAC-10 (4-1) -- OVERALL (6-1)

* * *

WEEK 11
@ #21 California (6-2) (PAC-10) *TV4*
(USC -3) USC BCS RANKING: #12

I'm actually a little bit surprised to see us favored playing on the road against a good Cal team, especially after we got manhandled by Washington. Hopefully yhe oddsmakers are right.

We landed two recruits this week; Skipjack - mighty cool name - Walker, a 72++ running back from South High School in Parkersburg, West Virginia and Oliver Hartl, a 72+ wide receiver from Homestead High School in Homestead, Florida signed letters with USC this week.

Neither school did a whole heckuva lot on offense and both squads relied on their field goal kickers, but Cal eeked out a 20-16 win over us up in Berkeley.

They pretty much shut down our running game, which is really the key to defeating us. Mark Rayburn was ok passing the ball, but he just never developed into the player he was supposed to be coming out of high school and really can't carry a team when it gets no running game. Rayburn went 13/23 for 203 yards, tossing 1 TF while being picked off once.

Wideout Richie Warrick had a fine day however, making 5 catches for 103 yards and a score, while Wingback Gabe Whalen added 6 receptions on the day.

On defense, Johnny "The Storm" El Nino sacked the Golden Bear quarterback twice while picking off one of his passes. A big day for El Nino.

California 20 -- USC 16
PAC-10 (4-2) -- OVERALL (6-2)

* * *

WEEK 12
vs. Arizona State (4-4) (PAC-10) *TV4*
(USC -20) USC BCS RANK: #17

Still hanging around in the Top 25 with three games in the year - the last two on the road against Notre Dame and UCLA. Should be an interesting challenge to see if we can remain in the Top 25 with that rough end of the season.

We landed one recruit this week, Jon Brennan, a safety from Ravenna High School in Ravenna, Michigan. Brennan is an 81-- Safety from a poor prep athletic program but has excellent academics and comes from a high school with a great academic program. He'll be a project, but won't require much, if any, help from the staff maintaining his grades. So he stands a good chance of being a solid contributor as an upper classman.

We have three slots in our recruiting class left this year, but only one scholarship, as again I tend to "over-red-shirt". So we'll be inviting some good academic players with decent skill sets to walk-on for next season.

The defense was the story in this one as senior ILB Tyrell Vaughn made 12 tackles while the D held the Sun Devils to 37 yards rushing on 27 carries en route to a very solid 34-10 win at a filled to capacity Rose Bowl.

The Trojans manhandled the ASU QB all day, sacking him four times and causing three interceptions on the day.

Tailback Ross Berberich led the offense with another solid effort, rushing for 154 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries (5.9 ypc) while QB Mark Rayburn struggled mightily, going 10/18 for 79 yards and getting picked off twice.

Well, Rayburn has been mediocre at best this season. To date, through nine games he is 107/165 (65.1%) with 11 TD's and 8 INT's while being sacked 14 times. We're out of PAC-10 contention as UCLA is 7-0 at this point. I'm seriously considering starting redshirt sophomore Brock Dole in our final two games just to get him the reps. I know Rayburn gives us the best chance to win today, but his mediocre play hasn't helped a lot - though it hasn't really hurt aside from the one game where we really needed a QB who could be a playmaker. But going with dole might be what's best for the next three years.

USC 34 -- Arizona State 10
PAC-10 (5-2) -- OVERALL (7-2)

* * *

WEEK 13 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 13, 2016
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Iowa 11-0 B10 1.50 2.50 0.00 3.08 7.08 1
Florida 10-0 SEC 5.25 1.00 0.00 2.96 9.21 2
Virginia 9-0 ACC 6.50 2.50 0.00 5.00 14.00 3
Rice 9-0 WAC 3.75 6.50 0.00 4.84 15.09 4
South Florida 9-1 USA 2.75 11.00 1.00 1.20 15.95 5
UCLA 10-0 P10 7.25 4.50 0.00 4.88 16.63 6
Nebraska 10-0 B12 6.75 7.00 0.00 4.04 17.79 7
Keene State 10-0 NNE 10.00 4.50 0.00 4.96 19.46 8
Notre Dame 8-1 IND 9.50 7.50 1.00 4.24 22.24 9
Pittsburgh 8-1 BGE 6.25 14.50 1.00 0.52 22.27 10
Louisville 9-1 USA 10.25 11.00 1.00 2.76 25.01 11
Bowling Green 9-1 MAC 7.00 14.00 1.00 3.16 25.16 12
Texas A&M 7-2 B12 14.50 9.00 2.00 0.80 26.30 13
Boston College 8-1 BGE 8.00 13.50 1.00 4.28 26.78 14
Michigan 8-2 B10 13.75 11.00 2.00 2.16 28.91 15
**Southern California 7-2 P10 13.50 16.00 2.00 1.76 33.26 16
Toledo 7-2 MAC 16.00 18.00 2.00 0.36 36.36 17
California 8-2 P10 18.75 18.50 2.00 1.72 40.97 18
Alabama 8-2 SEC 18.75 23.00 2.00 3.56 47.31 19
Penn State 7-3 B10 19.25 24.00 3.00 2.68 48.93 20
Nevada-Las Vegas 8-1 MTW 21.50 22.50 1.00 4.16 49.16 21
Hawaii 8-2 WAC 28.00 18.00 2.00 4.00 52.00 22
Colorado State 8-2 MTW 21.50 24.00 2.00 4.92 52.42 23
Southern Methodist 8-2 WAC 22.25 26.00 2.00 4.20 54.45 24
Syracuse 7-3 BGE 27.75 20.50 3.00 4.44 55.69 25


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2016 SEASON (3rd Qtr.)


WEEK 13
@ #9 Notre Dame (8-1) *TV4*
(ND -5) USC BCS RANK: #16

A very tough road game for us this week against our annual foe, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. It'll be a big win for us if we can pull it off. Decided to go with Mark Rayburn again at QB, can't really justify starting Brock Dole when I know Rayburn gives us a lot more of a chance to win.

Quarterly grades came out - 6 D+'s and one D. Allocated three coaching blocs to the D and 2 each to the D+'s. That leaves me with 16 blocs remaining for before finals. I think we'll keep them all eligible.

No recruiting news to report this week as we wait to see if OT Bernie Kirk from North Carolina accepts the offer of our last scholarship this year.

DE Tracy Aalders and LT Hunter Blount are out for this week's game. OLB Riddick taylor is listed as questionable and WR Richie Warrick is probable.

Sophomore RG Frank Elliot and senior OC Chester Hoffman spent the day dominating the line of scrimmage, throwing 7 and 5 key run blocks respectively, as Tailback Ross Berberich ran for 226 yards and 3 touchdowns on 32 carries (7.0 ypc) en route to a wild 49-49 USC victory in overtime.

5th year senior Mark Rayburn rewarded the coaching staff for their confidence in starting him again by having a very solid, mistake free day, going 19/23 for 255 yards while throwing two touchdown strikes, one to wideout Richie Warrick (6 catches for 103 yards) and the other to WR Cole McConnell. FB Warren Guthrie added 7 receptions for 85 yards in the very efficient Southern Cal passing attack.

Senior ILB Tyrell Vaughn led the Trojan defense with 10 tackles while USC also picked off three Irish passes on the day.

Really a terrific win for us.

USC 49 -- Notre Dame 46 (OT)
PAC-10 (5-2) -- OVERALL (8-2)

* * *

WEEK 14
@ #3 UCLA (10-0) (PAC-10) *TV3*
(USC -3) USC BCS RANK: #12

Do the oddsmakers know something we don't? UCLA is undefeated and if they beat us stand a good chance of playing in the National Championship Game, yet we're at UCLA and favored by three.

Just saying.

We lost Bernie Kirk to Virginia - damn they're a mighty fine recruiting school, offerred our last scholarship to a middling OT. Invited an OLB to walk-on.

Aalders and Blount will miss this game as well. Backup NT Tracy Dragon is listed as doubfutl. DE R.J. Lackey is questionable and Riddick Taylor and Richie Warrick are probable.

Our arch-rivals contained Tailback Ross Berberich very well, but QB Mark Rayburn took over in leading Southern Cal to a 30-10 win at UCLA.

Rayburn had arguably the finest game of his collegiate career, going 21/37 for 320 yards and two touchdowns in a game when the Trojans needed him to carry the load.

Rayburn kept going to his wideouts all day, and the Bruins simply couldn't keep up with them, as Richie Warrick grabbed 8 passes for 135 yards and Ron Morrison made 7 more receptions for 115 yards and a TD. Wingback Gabe Whalen also had 4 catches for 52 yards and a touchdown to go along with a very solid day on the ground where he rushed for 62 yards and another score on 10 carries (6.2 ypc).

Defensively sophomore Safety Joel Arvold had two interceptions as the Trojan D picked off the Bruin QB three times on the day.

A very solid win on the road against our arch-rival, making two years in a row we've beaten them - making the alumni particularly happy.

And we probably just killed their national title hopes. Not too shabby for a rebuilding year.

USC 30 -- UCLA 10
PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (9-2)

* * *

WEEK 15
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #8

Well, that's a mighty fine surprise. With our win over UCLA, we passed them in the BCS rankings and jumped up to #8. If we can maintain that ranking through this week - in which a few conferences have championship games - we'll be going to a BCS Bowl game for the second year in a row. What a major success that would have to be considered for this year.

For now, we sit and wait and watch.

Kurt Berry, a 61- offensive tackle from Lakewood High School in Sumter, South Carolina signed a letter of intent with us to play for Southern Cal next year. He may be able to contribute as an upperclassman, but likely is a depth player.

PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (9-2)

* * *

WEEK 16
MINOR BOWL TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANKING: #8

We get jobbed as we are ranked #8 in the BCS rankings, but UNLV, ranked #19 goes to the Sugar Bowl instead of us.

I'm thoroughly perplexed how the decision was made. We're # 8 in the BCS, an average of #5.50 in all the computer polls, and #14 in both the Coach and Fan polls.

Meanwhile UNLV is #19 in the BCS, an average of #15.5 in the computer rankings, and #18 and #22 in the Coach and Fan polls respectively. I just don't get it - unless each conference can only have one team in a BCS Bowl - that being UCLA who snuck back ahead of us.

Anyway, it means a trip to the Hoosier Bowl against (11-1) Nebraska, ranked #9th in the BCS - a school that recently offerred me their job. Not a bad bowl bid to get, but still Top 8 is Top 8.

In recruiting news, Joe Merchberger, a fullback from Herndon High School in Herndon, Virginia and Wayne Biakabutuka, an outside linebacker from South San Antonio High School in San Antonio have agreed to come out for the Trojans next season as walk-ons, filling our recruiting class for the year.

PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (9-2)

* * *

WEEK 17 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 17, 2016
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 12-0 SEC 1.75 1.00 0.00 2.32 5.07 1
Iowa 11-0 B10 1.00 2.00 0.00 3.48 6.48 2
South Florida 10-1 USA 3.75 8.00 1.00 1.24 13.99 3
Rice 10-1 WAC 4.50 7.00 1.00 4.44 16.94 4
Pittsburgh 10-1 BGE 4.25 11.00 1.00 1.64 17.89 5
UCLA 10-1 P10 10.25 4.50 1.00 4.88 20.63 6
Nebraska 11-1 B12 8.25 9.00 1.00 2.60 20.85 7
Virginia 10-1 ACC 13.25 3.00 1.00 5.00 22.25 8
**Southern California 9-2 P10 7.75 13.00 2.00 0.48 23.23 9
Louisville 10-1 USA 14.00 7.50 1.00 2.92 25.42 10
Texas A&M 9-3 B12 12.00 11.00 3.00 0.20 26.20 11
Keene State 11-1 NNE 18.00 4.50 1.00 4.96 28.46 12
Toledo 9-2 MAC 11.50 14.50 2.00 1.48 29.48 13
Boston College 10-2 BGE 11.00 16.00 2.00 2.88 31.88 14
Michigan 9-2 B10 18.00 9.50 2.00 2.80 32.30 15
California 9-2 P10 13.50 16.00 2.00 1.20 32.70 16
Hawaii 10-2 WAC 12.50 15.50 2.00 4.20 34.20 17
Nevada-Las Vegas 10-1 MTW 14.25 18.00 1.00 4.60 37.85 18
Southern Methodist 10-2 WAC 14.75 20.50 2.00 2.04 39.29 19
Penn State 8-3 B10 13.50 21.50 3.00 2.84 40.84 20
Georgia Tech 9-2 ACC 16.25 21.00 2.00 1.80 41.05 21
Alabama 9-3 SEC 15.50 25.50 3.00 2.08 46.08 22
Notre Dame 8-3 IND 22.75 19.00 3.00 1.84 46.59 23
Bowling Green 9-3 MAC 26.00 25.50 3.00 1.52 56.02 24
Army 9-3 USA 19.50 34.50 3.00 1.96 58.96 25



-20-

[beargrowlz]

2016 SEASON (FINAL)


WEEK 17
MAJOR BOWL TIER
Week off.
USC BCS RANK: #9

4th quarter grades came out, 1 D- and three D's. Allocated 7 coaching blocs to the D- and three each to the D's. Hopefully the D+'s can handle it on their own till finals.

No recruiting news as our recruiting class is filled for this year.

PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (9-2)

* * *

WEEK 18
FOUR STAR TIER
HOOSIER BOWL: vs. #7 Nebraska (11-1)
(USC -4) USC BCS RANK: #9

A little jumping around in the BCS rankings has put us down at #9 and Nebraska at #7 this week. They look like a very good team and this should be a tough challenge for us.

Out: OT Hunter Blount
Doubtful: DE Tracy Aalders
Probable: DE R.J. Lackey, DE William Sutton and NT Tracy Dragon.

I noticed a decrease in injuries this year as I severely reduced the amount of specials teams time starters play - as it was only one season, could just be a coincidence or it could be something of merit to note. We'll try it again next season and see what happens.

A scoreless first quarter belied the end result, as Southern Cal poured it on the rest of the game for a 34-6 rout of Nebraska in the 2016 Hoosier Bowl.

Leading the Trojan attack was 5th year senior QB Mark Rayburn who just systematically picked apart the Cornhusker defense going 16/21 for 297 yards and one touchdown strike to wideout Ron Morrison. Morrison had a huge day against the Huskers, hauling in 4 passes for 137 yards, including the 87 yard scoring strike from Rayburn.

Wingback Gabe Whalen was as versatile as ever, catching 4 passes for 44 yards and breaking off a 47 yard run against an overwhelmed Nebraska defense. Tailback Ross Berberich broke the 100 yard barrier and ran for two touchdowns on the day.

The triumphant USC defense was led by redshirt junior ILB Claude Berg who made 8 tackles and 5th year senior NT Bert Duncan, who sacked the Cornhusker QB twice on the day.

A totally dominant victory to end a very good year.

Hoosier Bowl
USC 34 -- Nebraska 6
PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (10-2)

* * *

WEEK 19
NEW YEAR'S TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #5

PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (10-2)

* * *

WEEK 20
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #5

The Florida Gators win their unprecedented third consecutive National Championship by beating Iowa 45-21 in the BCS Championship Game.

Michigan QB Johnny Lake won the Heisman, throwing an incredible 50 touchdown passes this year.

We end the season ranked #5 in the nation. A very good year which far exceeded my expectations.

PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (10-2)

* * *


2016 FINAL BCS RANKINGS


The College Years
Final 2017
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 13-0 SEC 1.00 1.00 0.00 0.96 2.96 1
Iowa 11-1 B10 2.50 2.00 1.00 1.32 6.82 2
Rice 11-1 WAC 3.00 5.50 1.00 3.88 13.38 3
UCLA 11-1 P10 4.75 3.50 1.00 4.40 13.65 4
**Southern California 10-2 P10 4.00 9.00 2.00 0.24 15.24 5
Louisville 11-1 USA 9.00 6.00 1.00 3.12 19.12 6
Michigan 10-2 B10 9.75 6.50 2.00 1.84 20.09 7
South Florida 10-2 USA 6.75 11.00 2.00 0.72 20.47 8
Pittsburgh 10-2 BGE 9.25 14.50 2.00 1.48 27.23 9
Keene State 11-1 NNE 19.00 3.50 1.00 5.00 28.50 10
Boston College 10-2 BGE 11.25 12.50 2.00 3.44 29.19 11
Hawaii 10-2 WAC 11.50 11.50 2.00 4.24 29.24 12
Nevada-Las Vegas 11-1 MTW 10.50 14.50 1.00 3.76 29.76 13
Alabama 10-3 SEC 7.50 21.00 3.00 1.16 32.66 14
Southern Methodist 10-2 WAC 13.25 17.00 2.00 2.00 34.25 15
Virginia 10-2 ACC 21.25 8.00 2.00 4.76 36.01 16
Nebraska 11-2 B12 18.50 13.50 2.00 2.20 36.20 17
California 9-3 P10 16.25 19.50 3.00 1.00 39.75 18
Texas A&M 9-4 B12 23.00 13.50 4.00 0.16 40.66 19
Toledo 9-3 MAC 20.25 18.00 3.00 1.68 42.93 20
Wisconsin 9-3 B10 19.00 21.00 3.00 4.12 47.12 21
Colorado State 9-3 MTW 15.25 26.00 3.00 4.28 48.53 22
Georgia Tech 9-3 ACC 21.00 26.50 3.00 1.36 51.86 23
Notre Dame 8-4 IND 28.50 22.50 4.00 1.52 56.52 24
Penn State 8-4 B10 23.00 27.50 4.00 2.40 56.90 25



-20-

[beargrowlz]

2016 SEASON SUMMARY & REVIEW


SEASON REVIEW

Well, I really thought this would be a very rough season for us. I felt this season would pretty much be a rebuilding year after our PAC-10 championship run in 2015. Given the fact we played seven road games - two of them at UCLA and Notre Dame - as opposed to four home games, I wasn't expecting too much success from this group.

I really wasn't expecting us to play as well down the stretch as we did, especially after our losses at Washinton and at Cal. I really didn't expect to on on a run that saw us end the year winning at Notre Dame, at UCLA and then win the Hoosier Bowl against Benraska. The team really gelled and came together and I'm real happy about how well the season turned out.

Our defense really had a wonderful season. We posted two shutouts, held teams to ten points or less in seven games - including at UCLA and in the Hoosier Bowl against Nebraska - and only allowed 14.1 points per game. Teams once again found they simply could not run the ball against us, rushing for only 812 yards and 2.18 ypc. Our pass defense was considerably weaker this year than last, allowing a 48.7% completion percentage for opposing quarterbacks. We did however intercept 22 opponent passes - contributing to our very good +13 turnover margin for the season.

ILB Tyrell Vaughn had a terrific season, good enough to be named PAC-10 Defensive Player of the Year. He seemed to be everywhere the ball was this year. Tracy Aalders had a fine year rushing the passer and sophomore Safety Joel Arvold picked off five passes and seems to be growing into that position. While I felt our secondary was relatively weaker than it has been in years, I think as a whole our defense was quite strong and put us in position to win a lot of football games - when your opponent scores 10 or fewer points, you better win games.

On the offensive side of things, Tailback Ross Berberich played extremely well after being patient for four years and waiting his turn, when he finally got the opportunity he ran with it - literally. Berberich gave us our strongest running game in years rushing for over 1500 yards, 20 touchdowns and averaging 4.79 yards per carry. Very impressive numbers.

QB Mark Rayburn gave us little hope for a big season through the first half of the campaign. He was mediocre at best, couldn't generate much offense and turned the ball over as often as he hit our guys for scores. But about the midway point of the year he seemed to grow into the position and he was lights out down the stretch, leading, and sometimes carrying us when we needed it, culminating in his fantastic Hoosier Bowl performance.

None of Mark's, or the offense's success however, would have been possible without seniors WR Richie Warrick, FB Warren Guthrie and OC Chester Hoffman. All three played crucial roles and were very clutch down the stretch, Warrick as Rayburn's primary target, Hoffman as a dominating offensive lineman opening holes and protecting the passer, and Guthrie both for his blocking and as a check down receiver for Rayburn. Without them, we wouldn't have had the success we did this year.

I can't be anything but pleased with the results this season. It's true we didn't go to a BCS Bowl, but we did crack the Top 8 to qualify for one, we went to a Four Star Tier bowl game, we went 10-2 on the year, and we beat both Notre Dame and UCLA, on the road to boot. Given the expectations at the start of the year, this season goes down as an unqualified success.

* * *

2016 AWARDS


2016 University of Southern California Trojans
Award Winners

* DE R.J. Lackey (Fr.)
- Freshman All-American

* OC Chester Hoffman (Sr.)
- Senior All-American
- 1st Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* LB Tyrell Vaughn (Sr.)
- PAC-10 Defensive Player of the Year
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* TB Ross Berberich (5th yr Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* FB Warren Guthrie (5th yr Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* WR Richie Warrick (5th yr Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* K Walter Perez (5th yr Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10

* WB Gabe Whalen (RS Sr.)
- Academic All PAC-10

* OG Frank Elliot (Soph.)
- Academic All PAC-10

* LB Chad Berg (RS Jr.)
- Academic All PAC-10

* OC Gino Lyubashevsky (Inc. Fr.)
- High School All-American

* S Jon Brennan (Inc. Fr.)
- High School All-American



* * *

2016 USC TEAM SUMMARY


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2016 Team Summary

Head Coach: Bear Growlz (9th yr)
Offensive Coordinator: Randy Edwards (5th yr)
Defensive Coordinator: Bucky Riley (9th yr)
Syndicate Coordinator: Pete Prior (18th yr)
Lead Scout: Lance Coe (2nd yr)

Overall Record: 10-2
BCS Rank: #5
Coach's Poll: #9
Fan's Poll: #9
PAC-10 Record: 6-2
PAC-10 Finish: 3rd Place

Southern California Team Rank
Rushes 527 11
Rushing Yards 2101 18
Yards Per Carry 3.98 35
Pass Attempts 261 107
Completions 175 59
Passing Yards 2728 31
Yards Per Attempt 10.45 5
3rd Down Conversions 45.4 6
Points Per Game 33.1 19
Turnovers 13 14 (T)
Turnover Margin +13 9 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 372 25
Rushing Yards 812 6
Yards Per Carry 2.18 4
Pass Attempts 343 82 (T)
Completions 168 36 (T)
Passing Yards 2228 42
Yards Per Attempt 6.49 30 (T)
3rd Down Conversions 33.5 55 (T)
Points Per Game 14.1 5
Turnovers 26 20

Primary Formation: Flexbone Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
2 35 at NCAR (79) 0
3 26 at BALL (31) 22
5 49 STAN (58) 17
6 31 at WAST (49) 0
7 45 ARIZ (119) 10
8 0 at WASH (41) 19
10 49 OREG (98) 10
11 16 at CALI (19) 20
12 34 AZST (55) 10
13 49 at NODM (22) 46
14 30 at UCLA (4) 10
18 34 vs NEBR (16) 6 ***Hoosier Bowl***

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
8 Rayburn QB 246 163 2459 9.99 16 9
Team --- 261 175 2728 10.45 16 10

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
34 Berberich RB 317 1521 4.79 20 73 80
25 Whalen RB 113 432 3.82 6 29 47
8 Rayburn QB 45 -8 -0.17 0 24 137
Team --- 527 2101 3.98 32 136 277

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
1 Warrick WR 76 54 958 17.7 277 3
82 Morrison WR 61 34 666 19.5 211 7
25 Whalen RB 47 30 360 12.0 235 2
33 Guthrie FB 36 29 333 11.4 179 2
34 Berberich RB 18 13 143 11.0 75 1
2 McConnell WR 17 10 213 21.3 97 1
Team --- 261 175 2728 15.5 1113 16

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
41 Vaughn ILB 87 33 4.0 19 1 7
98 Taylor OLB 52 22 0.0 8 1 5
38 Finch S 47 10 0.0 8 0 21
95 El Nino OLB 39 14 3.0 7 1 4
91 Duncan DT 38 16 5.5 17 0 0
39 Arvold S 37 15 0.0 7 5 11
78 Aalders DE 35 13 10.5 16 0 0
45 Berg ILB 35 14 0.0 10 0 1
36 Majka CB 34 15 0.0 3 3 6
44 Reed CB 20 8 0.0 2 2 9
90 Stender DE 17 7 1.5 3 0 1
43 Alexander CB 17 11 0.0 1 0 2
55 Sankey ILB 13 4 0.0 2 0 0
32 Flowers CB 13 1 0.0 0 2 1
47 Holmes OLB 13 4 0.0 4 0 0
93 Sutton DE 12 2 2.0 5 0 1
Team --- 610 214 31.0 123 22 72




-20-

[beargrowlz]

2017 PRESEASON (Winter)

USC took another jump up in prestige, going from Excellent (85) to Excellent (88), now tied for the seventh most prestigious program in the nation (tied with the University of Virginia). The six schools more prestigious than Southern Cal at this point are (all "Excellent"); University of Florida (100) - three consecutive national championships will do that for ya - Texas A&M (96) - they won two in a row awhile back - Iowa (95), Michigan (91), UCLA (89) and, heh, finally, Keene State at (88).

For those interested, here is a list of the schools that have won the National Championship to date.

The College Years
Solecismic National Champion List

Year Champion
2016 Florida
2015 Florida
2014 Florida
2013 Michigan
2012 Syracuse
2011 Louisville
2010 Texas A&M
2009 Texas A&M
2008 Penn State
2007 Texas
2006 Michigan
2005 Oklahoma
2004 Georgia

* * *

USC's academic rating remains at Very Good (70), 11th best in the nation. The schools with better academic reputations than USC are listed below.

School GPA Overall Reputation
Duke 3.08 88
Rice 3.09 87
Wisconsin 3.01 82
Northwestern 2.92 81
Stanford 2.82 78
UCLA 3.05 76
Michigan 2.95 73
Maryland 2.89 72
Illinois 2.84 71 0
Tulane 2.82 71

I'm not sure if I can get Southern Cal's reputation over 70, as we don't offer three majors. Once again, the GPA of the players in the football program was best in the nation at 3.22. So we're doing all we can to make it a highly rated football program and academic school.

* * *

FB Jackie Woolley and TE Jumbo Specter have left the program because of a lack of playing time. Woolley I can understand, but Specter is just dumb as nails - we don't use tight ends, of course he's not going to play. Oy.

ILB Renaldo Elder has been suspended by the NCAA for, and I quote, "recording a truly awful rap album about the pain and humiliation of athletes foot."

When they're right, they're right.

I received a number of job offers over the Christmas holidays. The most pretigious school was SMU (Very Good-79), and the one with the most name cache was Florida State. I didn't give serious consideration to any of them and will return to Southern Cal for my tenth season.

TCY Today has ranked our recruiting class from last season 6th in the nation. Here's a look at the incoming freshman for 2017.


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2016 Recruiting List, Ranking View
TCY Today Ranking: #6

Player Pos HT WT ST NRank ByPos StRank ByPos
$$Casillas, Eddie QB 6-3 215 WA 67 5 2 1
$$Vance, Billy RB 5-7 171 FL 132 11 9 3
$$Walker, Skipjack RB 5-9 179 WV 280 21 3 1
$$Benzer, Devin FB 5-11 217 SD 45 2 1 1
##Merchberger, Joe FB 6-0 193 VA --- 76 58 4
$$Hartl, Oliver WR 5-11 166 FL 278 26 18 2
$$Lyubashevsky, Gino C 6-2 265 CA 69 1 9 1
$$Long, Dana C 6-6 299 UT 93 3 1 1
$$Barton, Brian G 6-6 295 NM 64 10 3 2
##Berry, Kurt T 6-3 272 SC --- --- 27 6
$$Eason, Xavier P 6-0 195 WA 58 1 1 1
$$Knight, Wally DE 6-2 241 NJ 1 1 1 1
$$Oben, Moe ILB 6-2 231 CT 25 2 1 1
##Biakabutuka, Wayne OLB 6-1 199 TX --- --- --- 9
##Cipa, Dan CB 6-0 168 CT 510 31 12 2
$$Brennan, Jon S 6-2 176 MI 853 52 32 5

Player All-St All-US Status
$$Casillas, Eddie Yes No Committed *
$$Vance, Billy No No Committed *
$$Walker, Skipjack Yes No Committed *
$$Benzer, Devin Yes No Committed *
##Merchberger, Joe No No Committed *
$$Hartl, Oliver No No Committed *
$$Lyubashevsky, Gino Yes Yes Committed *
$$Long, Dana Yes No Committed *
$$Barton, Brian Yes No Committed *
##Berry, Kurt No No Committed *
$$Eason, Xavier Yes No Committed *
$$Knight, Wally Yes No Committed *
$$Oben, Moe Yes No Committed *
##Biakabutuka, Wayne No No Committed *
##Cipa, Dan Yes No Committed *
$$Brennan, Jon Yes Yes Committed *


Player Scout Phone Visit Emphasis Status
$$Casillas, Eddie 68+ 2 2 Acad*/Dist Committed *
$$Walker, Skipjack 72++ 2 2 Acad/Prest Committed *
$$Vance, Billy 64+ 1 1 Acad/Dist Committed *
$$Benzer, Devin 76++ 3 3 Acad*/Dist Committed *
##Merchberger, Joe 54+ 1 1 Acad/Prest Committed *
$$Hartl, Oliver 72+ 2 1 Prest*/Acad Committed *
$$Long, Dana 77+ 2 2 Acad/Dist Committed *
$$Lyubashevsky, Gino 68++ 4 1 Acad/Dist Committed *
$$Barton, Brian 89-- 2 1 Prest/Acad Committed *
##Berry, Kurt 61- 1 1 Prest/Acad Committed *
$$Eason, Xavier 100- 3 2 Prest/Dist Committed *
$$Knight, Wally 91+ 3 3 Prest*/Dist Committed *
$$Oben, Moe 86+ 3 1 Prest/Acad Committed *
##Biakabutuka, Wayne 61- 2 2 Acad*/Dist Committed *
##Cipa, Dan 71-- 2 2 Acad/Dist Committed *
$$Brennan, Jon 81-- 1 1 Acad/(Dist) Committed *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.



* * *

No PAC-10 teams make coaching changes this off-season.

Our entire staff aside from Offensive Coordinator Randy Edwards will be returning for 2017. I have been displeased for some time the way Edwards has failed to develop players - most notably quarterbacks, and his playcalling was pretty good, not excepttional. Replacing Edwards will be Zach Fuchs. Fuchs comes to USC from the Florida State Seminoles where he was Offensive Coordinator. Fuchs is a brilliant play caller (rated Excellent) and excells at developing players, particularly quarterbacks. We'll continue to run the flexbone under Zach.

-20-

[beargrowlz]

2017 PRESEASON (Spring)


Spring, 2017

Time to set up our schedule for 2017.

All home and home contracts have expired. We have our annual game against Notre Dame, this year once again at South Bend. And every season there is one PAC-10 team we don't play. This season that school is Oregon.

So that leaves us two free games to schedule. As one of my readers suggested a couple of seasons back, I'm going to offer my old school, Keene State - which has become a national power - a home and home series.

Stage 1: Keene State rejected my offer. Perhaps if I offer them the game at Keene this year they will accept. Iowa State is offering me a home game for Week 2. I'm going to accept that and then offer Keene the home and home again during stage 3.

State 2: Changed the terms slightly on Iowa State, moving the game to Week 1. Now to see if Keene State will accept the home and home starting on their turf.

Stage 3: Keene State rejected us again. They simply won't play with the big boys. Chickens.

Stage 4: Akron has offerred me a home game for Week 2. Might as well accept it.

Stage 5: I changed the game to week 3 and Akron accepted. That fills our schedule.

Here's a look at our 2017 schedule.


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2017 Schedule
Preseason BCS Rank: #7
Preseason Coach's Poll: #8
Preseason Fan's Poll: #5
Rival: UCLA
Stadium Capacity: 96,600
Season Tickets Sold: 96,600

Week Opponent Result Attendance Weather Television
1 IOWA STATE
2 -Off Week-
3 AKRON
4 -Off Week-
$$5 OREGON STATE
$$6 at Arizona State
$$7 at (17) California
8 -Off Week-
$$9 at (43) Washington State
$$10 (42) WASHINGTON
$$11 ARIZONA
$$12 STANFORD
13 at (11) Notre Dame
$$14 at (5) UCLA

Home Games in ALL CAPS
$$-Conference Games, ##-League Championship Games, **-Post-Season Games



-20-

[beargrowlz]

2017 PRESEASON


Summer, 2017

Spent much of the summer getting the workout and practice schedules together, as well as the bulk of my time spent on student-athlete academics. We're obviously doing something right as we have the highest GPA of any Division 1 football program in America.

Once we got the kids into summer two-a-days in camp, two things became evident in regards to how far we go this season. First, how new starting QB, redshirt junior Brock Dole, and first year starting Tailback redshirt sophomore J.B. Wilson can avoid the turnover bug. Second, on how well the defensive secondary plays. Our secondary has been a big question mark for me ever since Lnce Coe took over as Lead Scout. He's not a real good of defensive backs, so it's kind of an educated blind duck hunt, so to speak. In any case, if they can cause more turnovers than they give up big plays, that'll be a big success and it'll help our cause.

Considering we lost a lot of seniors to graduation, including QB Mark Rayburn and Tailback Ross Berberich, our offense could even be better this season. We've got an explosive backfield with redshirt sophomore J.B. Wilson, just a phenominal talent, at Tailback. He'll be accompanied by Wingback Gabe Whalen, who has really developed nicely entering his final season for us. At Fullback will be junior Manny Book - but don't look for Manny to get many carries, he's there to block and to catch the ball. Backing them up is redshirt junior Mercury Schultz, who could start at Halfback for a number of Top 25 programs.

How explosive the passing game depends a lot on the arm of QB Brock Dole. Dole has some talented receivers to throw to, but he needs to avoid turning the ball over as he grows into the position. Our number one wideout will be redshirt junior Ron Morrison, who we expect to have a big season. He'll be paired with redshirt sophomore Ed Kidman, who has a lot of potential. Our third receiver will once again be the reliable Cole McConnel, a 5th year senior. Dole will also likely be throwing the way of Whalen, Wilson and Book a lot as well.

Blocking for what could be our most explosive backfield in years will be a solid run blocking offensive line. First year starting OC Mitchell Blackburn, a redshirt senior, anchors the line and is flanked by guards senior Ernie Cheatham and junior Frank Elliot. You can expect to see redshirt sophomore Louis Ballard a bit at OG as well this year. At the tackles will be redshirt senior Hunter Blount and junior Billy Joe Joyner. This unit will continue to have time to grow together, as only Cheatham graduates this season. We'll miss alumnus OC Chester Hoffman who was just a dominating presence at OC, but we're hopeful Mitch Blackburn can step in and fill some of that void.

On defense we look to be very strong against the run again this year. Our line is anchored by redshirt sophomore Nose Tackle Andy Francis, who won the job in summer camp as a big run stopper. He'll be flanked at DRE by redshirt senior Freddie Stender, who gets an opportunity to show off his pass rushing skills this year. At DLE, redshirt junior William Sutton will be starting, but he'll be subbed out on passing downs for sophomore R.J. Lackey.

Our linebacking corps is solid, if not spectacular, as we return all four starters from last season. Up the middle will be ILB's redshirt senior Chad Berg and true senior Brett Vinnick. Freshman Moe Oben is the first backup there, so he may see a good share of action as well. On the outside at WLB is Johnny "The Storm" El Nino, a redshirt senior. Over on the strong side will be 5th year senior Riddick taylor, who has had a very solid career here at Southern Cal.

In the secondary the only returning starter is junior Joel Arvold at safety. Joining Joel at safety is senior Shaun Nordskov. Our dime back will be redshirt junior Dwight Korinek.

On the corners will be first year starters redshirt senior Sam Alexander and redshirt junior Buddy Reed, who will man the shutdown corner position. Our nickel back will be redshirt sophomore Sam Alexander.

As you can see, we have a very inexperienced secondary, and in essence, a rookie quarterback. It'll be up to these two areas of the team to avoid mistakes and not beat ourselves. If our defensive backs and our Quarterback can play relatively mistake free football, we should go a long way this season.

Here's a look at our 2017 roster.


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2017 Roster/Scout Overview
From the Desk of Lance Coe, Lead Scout

Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
Bjorke, Wayne 10 QB Sr* 33 89
Casillas, Eddie 18 QB Fr 17 55
Dole, Brock 9 QB Jr* 48 100
Oxendine, Pat 4 QB So* 35 87
Shultz, Mercury 37 RB Jr* 62 69
Vance, Billy 40 RB Fr 37 53
Walker, Skipjack 36 RB Fr 39 80
Whalen, Gabe 25 RB Sr 72 93
Wilson, J.B. 48 RB So* 72 95
Vanderlaan, Levon 46 RB* Sr 50 52
Benzer, Devin 22 FB Fr 43 86
Book, Emmanuel 28 FB Jr 45 78
Finley, Jeffrey 30 FB* Sr* 9 9
Merchberger, Joe 32 FB* Fr 15 44
Dresselhaus, Graham 84 TE* Fr 0 4
Glover, Randy 88 TE* So* 10 26
Shreves, Maurice 89 TE* Sr 8 25
Hartl, Oliver 83 WR Fr 27 82
Heekin, Sammy 86 WR Sr 51 77
Kidman, Edwin 6 WR So* 51 88
McConnell, Cole 2 WR Sr 60 72
Morrison, Ron 82 WR Jr* 90 100
Blackburn, Mitchell 58 C Sr* 48 76
Cook, Glenn 57 C Sr* 31 68
Long, Dana 53 C Fr 29 71
Lyubashevsky, Gino 56 C Fr 29 70
Rodriguez, Tony 50 C Sr 39 81
Ours, Cornell 52 C* So* 22 66
Ballard, Louis 61 G So* 40 84
Barton, Brian 65 G Fr 23 93
Cheatham, Ernie 72 G Sr 54 63
Eliot, Frank 66 G Jr 54 63
Lauvray, Nate 71 G So 22 59
Molina, Graham 64 G Jr* 33 65
Pilgrim, Ty 68 G* Sr 16 27
Quinn, Leland 69 G* Sr 2 2
Aska, Dana 74 T Jr* 41 63
Berry, Kurt 78 T Fr 5 70
Blount, Hunter 67 T Sr* 57 68
Burgess, Bobby 60 T So* 35 79
Harnisch, Vernon 62 T Sr 31 50
Joyner, Billy Joe 75 T Jr 34 85
Kaplan, Gabe 63 T Sr* 40 78
Kirkwood, Lester 79 T So* 22 53
Eason, Xavier 8 P Fr 58 85
Thornton, Brett 12 P Sr 68 93
Brown, Robbie 15 P* Jr* 1 1
Gardner, Rodney 17 K So* 74 100
Samuels, Zach 3 K Sr* 54 83
Knight, Wally 91 DE Fr 40 74
Lackey, R.J. 76 DE So 40 68
Stender, Freddie 90 DE Sr* 63 100
Sutton, William 93 DE Jr* 30 72
Cobb, Colin 70 DE* Sr 10 21
Francis, Andrew 99 DT So* 40 60
Milton, Trent 77 DT Jr* 39 93
Wilcox, Albert 94 DT So* 30 68
Flynn, Buddy 73 DT* So 11 24
Berg, Chad 45 ILB Sr* 71 96
Elder, Renaldo 54 ILB So* 34 75
Oben, Moe 92 ILB Fr 27 78
Pathon, Dale 97 ILB Jr* 13 52
Vinnick, Brett 49 ILB Sr 63 88
El Nino, Johnnie 95 OLB Sr* 42 90
Holmes, Rick 47 OLB Sr* 38 81
Mazzeo, Tyrus 59 OLB Jr* 25 71
O'Neal, Deron 96 OLB So* 9 71
Taylor, Riddick 98 OLB Sr 61 80
Biakabutuka, Wayne 55 OLB* Fr 11 50
Hoffman, William 51 OLB* Jr* 5 18
Stagg, Jake 42 OLB* Sr 14 50
Alexander, Sam 43 CB Sr* 47 47
Cipa, Dan 21 CB Fr 30 68
Fitzgerald, Max 31 CB So* 37 71
Reed, Buddy 44 CB Jr* 39 67
Arvold, Joel 39 S Jr 57 66
Brennan, Jon 29 S Fr 20 62
Griffin, Cris 24 S Sr 48 77
Korinek, Dwight 35 S Jr* 42 55
Nordskov, Shaun 20 S Sr 28 67
Waugh, Artie 27 S So* 37 50



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[beargrowlz]

2017 SEASON (1st Qtr.)



WEEK 1
vs. Iowa State (0-0)
(USC -14) USC BCS RANK: #7

We open up with what should be a good tune up for our year. We'll get a chance to see how everyone meshes and works together as we have a lot of first year starters. Really high BCS ranking to start, let's hope it stays that way.

Made our initial recruiting contacts for the season. Looking mainly to bolster our defensive secondary and find a quarterback as heir to Brock Dole.

In what could only be labeled absolute dominance, the capacity crowd at the Rose Bowl saw its Southern Cal locals rout the Iowa State Cyclone 66-7.

First year starting QB Brock Dole got off to an auspicious start for the Trojans, going 20/24 for 344 yards and 5 touchdowns before giving way to backup Pat Oxendine. Wideout Cole McConnell had a big day hauling in those passes, making 6 catches for 120 yards and a touchdown. FB Manny Book lit the scoreboard as well, as he caught two touchdown passes on the day.

The USC backfield ran wild all day as well. Tailback J.B. Wilson carried the ball 20 times for 171 yards (8.5 ypc) and two scores and Wingback Gabe Whalen managed another 71 yards on 17 carries 4.1 ypc).

Defensively, OLB Johnny El Nino and CB Max Fitzgerald each returned an interception for a touchdown on the day and ILB Chad Berg made 9 tackles to complete the all around dominance of the Cyclones by Southern Cal.

Well, a damn fine start to the season - but they just weren't in our class.

USC 66 -- Iowa State 7
PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (1-0)


* * *

WEEK 2
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #2

Bad news as we lose wideouts Cole McConnel (up to 6 weeks) and Ron Morrison (up to 13 weeks) due to injury. We're going to remove the redshirt from freshman WR Oliver Hartl and he could see a bunch of action in the coming weeks as we're down to two healthy wideouts - redshirt sophomore Eddie Kidman and 5th year senior Sammy Heekin.

Spent the week making more contacts and expanding our recruiting poor. Really want to land Ike Daugherty, a RB from Nebraska - he'd be a perfect fit for our program though his academics are only average. But he'd make one heckuva tailback in this system.

PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (1-0)

* * *

WEEK 3
vs. Akron (0-1)
(USC -7) USC BCS RANK: #17

Ahh the fickle fates of early BCS rankings as we bounce from #2 to #17. Hopefully once the season gets rolling along we'll be moving up, not down.

Injury Report: (Out) - WR's Cole McConnell and Ron Morrison, (Probable) CB Max Fitzgerald.

Akron just came in and shut us down. Brock Dole had a rookie-like day going 13/33 and getting picked twice. We obviously didn't get the ball into the hands of J.B. Wilson enough, as Wilson ran for 83 yards but on only 10 carries.

Safety Joel Arvold made 12 tackles and ILB Chad Berg 11 as DE Freddie Stender recorded two sacks.

The perils of an untried and untested QB.

Akron 21 -- USC 18
PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (1-1)

* * *

WEEK 4
Off Week.
USC BCS RANK: --

Yup, definitely deserve to drop from the Top 25 after that one. We'll get back though, I have faith in the boys.

Spent the week heavily contacting recruits on our shortlist (house rule of only 1 phone call and 1 visit to their home per week). We've got a larger list than usual, and already have a number of kids visiting USC so far. Hopefully that's a good sign.

PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (1-1)

* * *

WEEK 5 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 5, 2017
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Hawaii 3-0 WAC 1.75 9.00 0.00 2.04 12.79 1
Boston College 4-0 BGE 1.75 10.00 0.00 1.68 13.43 2
Virginia 3-0 ACC 6.25 5.50 0.00 4.52 16.27 3
Keene State 3-0 NNE 7.50 6.00 0.00 3.56 17.06 4
UCLA 3-0 P10 11.50 3.50 0.00 4.04 19.04 5
Florida 2-0 SEC 13.50 1.00 0.00 4.64 19.14 6
Marshall 3-0 MAC 6.25 12.00 0.00 3.76 22.01 7
Wisconsin 3-0 B10 8.75 12.00 0.00 3.72 24.47 8
Iowa 3-0 B10 19.50 3.00 0.00 4.68 27.18 9
Georgia Tech 3-0 ACC 8.75 15.50 0.00 2.96 27.21 10
Fresno State 3-0 WAC 4.50 24.50 0.00 1.16 30.16 11
Virginia Tech 3-0 ACC 9.50 21.00 0.00 4.16 34.66 12
South Carolina 2-0 SEC 16.00 17.00 0.00 4.24 37.24 13
Penn State 2-1 B10 10.50 24.50 1.00 1.32 37.32 14
Michigan 3-0 B10 31.25 2.50 0.00 4.40 38.15 15
Memphis 3-0 USA 11.50 24.50 0.00 3.48 39.48 16
Alabama 3-0 SEC 23.00 12.00 0.00 4.60 39.60 17
West Virginia 3-0 BGE 17.75 18.00 0.00 4.12 39.87 18
Syracuse 3-0 BGE 30.75 7.00 0.00 4.72 42.47 19
Illinois 3-0 B10 7.50 32.00 0.00 3.12 42.62 20
Tulsa 2-0 WAC 20.00 20.00 0.00 4.28 44.28 21
Nevada-Las Vegas 2-0 MTW 20.00 20.00 0.00 4.36 44.36 22
Rice 3-0 WAC 31.50 8.00 0.00 5.00 44.50 23
Pittsburgh 3-1 BGE 23.75 22.00 1.00 3.40 50.15 24
Michigan State 3-0 B10 30.25 16.00 0.00 4.80 51.05 25



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[beargrowlz]

2017 SEASON (2nd Qtr.)


WEEK 5
vs. Oregon State (1-2) (PAC-10)
(OSU -2) USC BCS RANK: --

Going to do some rearranging of the gameplan a bit this week as we haven't been getting JB enough carries and perhaps we've been expecting too much out of Dole this early. We'll see.

3rd string QB Walter Bjorke was found possessing a small amount of marijuana in his car. The NCAA took no action, but he has been suspended by the program for the year.

Quarterly grades came out this week. A new walk-on failing a class but only two D+'s from everyone else, everyone else lowest grade was a C- or higher. Fewer coaching blocs to assign this year as Randy Edwards was quite good at that stuff, but live and learn. Gave 5 to the failing student and 3 each to the students with D+'s. That leaves me with 40 for the rest of the season.

Made some more recruiting trips and calls, offerred one or two more scholarships. If things break right we'll have a well rounded recruiting class.

We got the running game going today and ran all over the Beavers, 45-16. Tailback J.B. Wilson led the way with 167 yards and 2 TD's on 20 carries (8.3 ypc) and Wingback Gabe Whalen added another 59 yards and a touchdown to lead USC to victory.

Dole really couldn't get it going, my guess is he just doesn't have the experienced receivers to rhwo too, and that he's still young and inexperienced - though no mistakes today.

Still, a good, solid win to open the PAC-10 schedule.

USC 45 -- Oregon State 16
PAC-10 (1-0) -- OVERALL (2-1)

* * *

WEEK 6
@ Arizona State (1-3) (PAC-10) *TV5*
(USC -11) USC BCS RANK: --

Still not back into the BCS Top 25, but heavily favored at ASU. Some more fine tuning of the game plan for Brock until he develops - think we all got carried away with his lights out performance against Iowa State.

Great news on the recruiting front, we landed the back we were looking for. Ike Daugherty, a running back from South High School in Omaha, Nebraska signed a letter of intent o play for Southern Cal next year. Daughtery is an 87++ RB that comes from one of the best high school athletic programs in the nation (100). While it's too early to tell for sure, I think he may have the ability to be one of the best backs in the nation in our program.

Also signing with us this week were Austin Lew, an 89++ defensive end from Spring-Ford High School in Royersford, Pennsylvania and Monty Garcia, an 88+ inside linebacker from Barstow High School in Barstow, California. A terrific week of signings.

Offensive Coordinator Zach Fuchs continues to make every effort to get the ball into JB's hands more, and JB keeps rewarding us, rushing for 173 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries (6.4 ypc) for a 23-20 USC victory.

ILB Chad Berg made 8 tackles and DE Freddie Stender had two more sacks as the defense kept the Sun Devils in check most of the day.

But it was a close one.

USC 23 -- Arizona State 20
PAC-10 (2-0) -- OVERALL (3-1)

* * *

WEEK 7
@ California (3-2) (PAC-10) *TV4*
(USC -1) USC BCS RANK: #22

Popped back into the BCS rankings this week, but yet another tough game at the Golden Bears. Hopefully our play will continue to improve, particularly that of QB Brock Dole. I don't really have an alternative to go to yet if he can't cut it with Jason Krieger having left the program.

Three more good signings this week, though not the quarterback we were hoping for. Signing with us were Glen Jacobs, a wide receiver from Wishkah Valley High School in Aberdeen, Washington, Floyd Jeffers, a defensive end from Harriton High School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and Matt Blackston, an outside linebacker from Acalanes High School in Lafayette, California.

Blackston is an 82+ LB that comes to us from an excellent athletic program. Jacobs is an 85- wideout that comes from yet another outstanding athletic program. Finally, Jeffers is a 69++ DE who once again comes from an excellent prep program. All three could become key contributors early in their collegiate careers at Southern Cal.

J.B. Wilson ran for 113 yards and one touchdown while making 4 receptions and scoring another touchdown to lead USC past the Golden Bears at Berkeley, 31-17.

QB Brock Dole was alright but a bit shaky, though getting the job done when needed today, going 15/32 for 224 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT. His favorite target of the day was freshman wideout Oliver Hartl, who started the year as a redshirt. Hartl made 6 catches for 122 yards and a touchdown.

But it was on defense where the Trojans really dominated. Pass rush specialist RJ Lackey sacked the Golden Bear QB 3.5 times while Freddie Stender sacked him three times and OLB Johnny El Nino got him twice more. It's hard to complete a pass when you're sitting on you're ask him, he'll tell ya.

A big, big road win for us, though I haven't a clue about how to get Brock Dole on track. Maybe he just needs the year to grow into the job.

USC 31 -- California 17
PAC-10 (3-0) -- OVERALL (4-1)

* * *

WEEK 8
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #20

So far it seems like it's been a good move to give the starting Tailback job to J.B. Wilson. He and Gabe Whalen and Mercury Schultz all battled for it during the summer, but Wilson just had that something extra that makes you think he's going to be a superstar. Hopefully he'll prove me right.

Spent the week rounding up new recruits to invite onto campus. We've still got a bunch of slots to fill in this year's class.

PAC-10 (3-0) -- OVERALL (4-1)

* * *

WEEK 9 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 9, 2017
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Iowa 7-0 B10 4.50 2.00 0.00 2.12 8.62 1
Syracuse 5-0 BGE 1.50 5.50 0.00 2.24 9.24 2
Florida 6-0 SEC 5.00 1.00 0.00 4.40 10.40 3
Rice 6-0 WAC 2.25 5.50 0.00 3.84 11.59 4
Virginia 6-0 ACC 5.50 4.00 0.00 4.88 14.38 5
UCLA 7-0 P10 8.25 3.00 0.00 4.56 15.81 6
Michigan 6-1 B10 10.25 7.00 1.00 1.20 19.45 7
Memphis 6-0 USA 6.00 12.50 0.00 3.36 21.86 8
Miami of Ohio 6-0 MAC 8.00 10.00 0.00 4.60 22.60 9
Colorado State 6-1 MTW 7.50 16.50 1.00 0.60 25.60 10
Georgia Tech 5-1 ACC 6.25 19.00 1.00 1.68 27.93 11
Tulsa 5-1 WAC 4.75 24.00 1.00 0.68 30.43 12
Pittsburgh 6-1 BGE 15.50 11.00 1.00 3.24 30.74 13
Notre Dame 5-1 IND 17.50 8.50 1.00 3.80 30.80 14
Wisconsin 5-1 B10 15.50 15.00 1.00 2.56 34.06 15
West Virginia 5-1 BGE 12.00 22.00 1.00 2.60 37.60 16
**Southern California 4-1 P10 27.25 8.50 1.00 4.92 41.67 17
Alabama 5-1 SEC 23.25 14.00 1.00 4.80 43.05 18
Marshall 5-1 MAC 22.00 16.00 1.00 4.08 43.08 19
Nevada-Las Vegas 4-1 MTW 14.25 27.50 1.00 1.52 44.27 20
Boston College 5-2 BGE 20.50 22.00 2.00 1.24 45.74 21
Washington State 7-1 P10 23.50 20.00 1.00 5.00 49.50 22
Maine 5-1 NNE 16.75 30.00 1.00 2.28 50.03 23
Utah 5-1 MTW 22.50 25.50 1.00 3.12 52.12 24
Nebraska 5-2 B12 25.75 22.50 2.00 2.72 52.97 25



-20-

[beargrowlz]

2017 SEASON (3rd Qtr.)


WEEK 9
@ #22 Washington State (7-1) (PAC-10) *TV3*
(WSU -4) USC BCS RANK: #17

Big challenge this week as we play at a very good Washington State Cougar team. We'll have Cole McConnell back - he always seems to make a key catch at the right time.

A bunch of recruiting signings this week. Al Myers, a 79+ wide receiver from Sweet Home High School in Amherst, New York; Desmond Connell, an 81- offensive guard from Page High School in Page, Arizona; Walt Whalen, a 92+ inside linebacker from James Madison High School in Brooklyn, New York,; Brad Knight, an 89- cornerback from Fountain Valley High School in Fountain Valley, California; and Lawrence Abdul-Jabbar, an 81++ safety from Berkshire High School in Burton, Ohio all signed letters of intent to play for USC next fall. Shaping up to be a very good recruiting class.

It was a defensive struggle all day and we really couldn't get anything going offensively, but neither could the Cougars as the Trojan defense, led by ILB Chad Berg who made 10 tackles, held Washington State to 10 points while we were able to put up just enough to win, 13-10.

Tailback J.B. Wilson didn't have his best day, but he grinded out the yardage, rushing for 111 yards on 28 carries (3.9 ypc), and that was about it for us offensively.

In one of the weirdest stat lines I have ever seen, well, just take a look.


Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
6 Kidman 2 47 23.5 106 37 1


Those must have been some deep in the backfield screen passes.

Still, a terrific win for us on the road against a very solid PAC-10 opponent.

USC 13 -- Washington State 10
PAC-10 (4-0) -- OVERALL (5-1)

* * *

WEEK 10
vs. Washington (4-3) (PAC-10) *TV4*
(USC -10) USC BCS RANK: #15

That last win oputs us and UCLA alone atop the PAC-10 at 4-0, every other team has at least one loss. No looking ahead now though - we never have any idea how Brock Dole is going to play from week to week. OT Hunter Blount and FB Manny Book will be out for this week's game, along with WR Ron Morrison who is still out. if Ronnie could keep himself healthy, he'd be a star, But he hasn't been able to as of yet.

We landed two more recruits this week, bringing our current recruiting class to 13 on the season. Vinny Ratto, a 72++ quarterback from Morse High School in San Diego, California who probably will need some development time, and Jared Esparza, a 92-- safety from Westhampton Beach High School in Westhampton Beach, New York who comes from an excellent atheltic program in high school, both committed to playing for the Trojans in the fall. Esparza could make a contribution as early as next year given the weakness of our secondary.

Defense and Brock Dole were the stories of the day as the Trojan D held the visiting Huskies to 87 yards total offense and Brock Dole had a terrific game passing the ball in leading Southern Cal to a 48-3 rout over Washington.

Dole went 26/40 for 353 yards and 2 touchdowns while being picked off once, hitting WR Cole McConnell and Gabe Whalen with scoring strikes.

Meanwhile, the Trojan defense was as stifling as a D can be, holding the Huskie QB to a 4/36 passing day while picking him off 4 times. Backip NT Trent Milton and DE Freddie Stender each had a sack and a half in the victory.

While we couldn't get a running game going, we dominated every other phase of the game. A terrific win for us.

UCLA kept pace with us, moving to 5-0 in conference.

USC 48 -- Washington 3
PAC-10 (5-0) -- OVERALL (6-1)

* * *

WEEK 11
vs. Arizona (3-6) (PAC-10)
(USC -19) USC BCS RANK: #11

Notice some improvement in the Arizona program as compared to the previous few years and they're actually winning a few games this season. Here's to not being one of them.

Missing this week's game will be OT Hunter Blount, ILB Chad Berg, FB Emmanuel Book and DE Colin Cobb, a walk-on. WR Ron Morrison is questionable but we'll try and play him.

Wingback Gabe Whalen had a terrific day, rushing for two touchdowns and 50 yards on 9 carries and Tailback J.B. Wilson ran for another two scores as USC beat an up and coming Arizona Wildcat progra, 34-21.

QB Brock Dole through for a lot of yardage but no scores as he went 17/26 for 353 yards and 1 pick on the day. Brock's favorite target today was wideout Ron Morrison, who had 8 receptions for 157 yards. WR Cole McConnel also caught three passes for 128 yards.

Not a spectacular win, but a win in a game we should have won. We'll take it.

USC 34 -- Arizona 21
PAC-10 (6-0) -- OVERALL (7-1)

* * *

WEEK 12
vs. Stanford (5-4) (PAC-10) *TV4*
(USC -10) USC BCS RANK: #12

The Cardinal are playing solid, if not spectacular football this season and we have to watch out and keep our heads in the game. We're still tied with UCLA, both at 6-0 in the PAC-10, and they're are only conference game left after this one. No looking ahead now though, we've got to take care of Stanford.

Out for this game will once again be Blunt, Berg and Book.

Landed one more recruit this week as Nate Dillon, an offensive tackle from Montgomery-Lonsdale High School in Montgomery, Minnesota signed a letter of intent to play for USC next year. Dillon is a 100- OT and was the #1 rated OT coming out of high school this year.

Stanford came into the Rose Bowl and shut down our running game cold, but somehow we were able to stay in the game despite the mediocre play of QB brock Dole, just losing 42-39.

Freshman ILB Moe Oben ran an interception back for a touchdown and Freddie Stender sacked the Cardinal QB twice, but that was about it for Trojan highlights on the day.

UCLA won their game this week, but because we're only a game behind them, if we can beat them we'll still win the PAC-10 title.

If.

Stanford 42 -- USC 39
PAC-10 (6-1) -- OVERALL (7-2)

* * *

WEEK 13 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 13, 2017
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 9-0 SEC 1.75 1.00 0.00 3.00 5.75 1
Iowa 11-0 B10 4.25 2.00 0.00 4.32 10.57 2
Michigan 9-1 B10 3.00 6.00 1.00 1.04 11.04 3
Rice 10-0 WAC 2.50 5.00 0.00 4.76 12.26 4
UCLA 10-0 P10 5.50 3.00 0.00 4.64 13.14 5
Virginia 9-0 ACC 7.00 4.00 0.00 5.00 16.00 6
Miami of Ohio 10-0 MAC 4.50 8.00 0.00 4.40 16.90 7
Syracuse 8-1 BGE 9.75 8.00 1.00 2.28 21.03 8
Notre Dame 8-1 IND 8.00 8.00 1.00 4.48 21.48 9
Pittsburgh 9-1 BGE 9.25 10.00 1.00 2.20 22.45 10
Nevada-Las Vegas 8-1 MTW 6.25 14.00 1.00 2.68 23.93 11
Colorado State 9-1 MTW 11.00 11.50 1.00 1.84 25.34 12
Boston College 7-2 BGE 14.75 16.00 2.00 1.92 34.67 13
Alabama 8-2 SEC 15.75 14.50 2.00 4.00 36.25 14
**Southern California 7-2 P10 22.00 11.50 2.00 4.36 39.86 15
Wisconsin 8-2 B10 17.75 16.00 2.00 4.24 39.99 16
Memphis 9-1 USA 21.00 15.00 1.00 4.08 41.08 17
Maine 8-1 NNE 17.50 19.00 1.00 3.92 41.42 18
Penn State 7-3 B10 17.75 23.00 3.00 0.36 44.11 19
Southern Methodist 7-2 WAC 20.00 19.50 2.00 3.08 44.58 20
Tulsa 7-3 WAC 10.75 33.50 3.00 0.28 47.53 21
Michigan State 8-2 B10 25.00 20.00 2.00 4.88 51.88 22
Hawaii 7-3 WAC 23.25 24.00 3.00 1.72 51.97 23
Wake Forest 8-2 ACC 17.75 30.00 2.00 3.20 52.95 24
Georgia Tech 6-3 ACC 15.00 36.50 3.00 1.00 55.50 25



-20-

[beargrowlz]

2017 SEASON (4th Qtr.)


WEEK 13
@ #9 Notre Dame (8-1) *TV3*
(ND -12) USC BCS RANK: #15

Tough game against the Fighting Irish this week, like it is every year. They're looking to use us as a stepping stone to a BCS Bowl game and we're looking to stop them.

Blount, Berg and Book will once again miss this week's game because of injuries.

Two failing walk-ons, 2 D's and a D+. Gave them all coaching blocs of time - now have ten left for the end of the year. Used up way too many on the walk-ons but those two guys are real popular with the team, so I really can't cut hem without harming team morale.

No recruiting news this week.

Tailback J.B. Wilson and Wingback Gabe Whalen ran all over the Fighting Irish en route to a huge 48-25 Southern Cal win over Notre Dame at South Bend.

Wilson finished the day with two touchdowns and 116 yards rushing on 28 carries (4.1 ypc) and Whalen added 90 yards and another score on 16 carries (5.6 ypc) as the Irish were helpless against the Trojan rushing attack.

Senior walk-on punt returner Levon Vanderlaan - one of the walk-ons recruited when we were short of scholarships a few years ago - took a punt 79 yards to the house for a score. What a culmination of a collegiate career for a kid who paid his own way through school and worked hard for 5 years just to have this moment in the sun.

Bet no one's getting that football away from him.

A very big win for us and it takes us into the game with our arch-rival UCLA on a very high note.

USC 48 -- Notre Dame 25
PAC-10 (6-1) -- OVERALL (8-2)

* * *

WEEK 14
@ #5 UCLA (10-0) (PAC-10) *TV1*
(UCLA -11) USC BCS RANK: #12

This game is for all the marbles. Winner wins the PAC-10 championship. If UCLA wins, they might get a shot at the national championship. What better way to kill two birds with one stone by winning the PAC-10 and killing UCLA's national title hopes?

Blount and Berg will miss this week's game again.

Landed one more recruit this week, Dexter Leong, a 71- center from Central High School in Aurora, Colorado has signed a letter of intent to play for the Trojans. That leaves us with one recruiting slot and one scholarship offer pending.

UCLA just proved to be a little too much for us this year, beating us 29-20 on their home turf, in no small part due to picking off Brock dole three times on the day.

Tailback J.B. Wilson had a fine day, rushing for 105 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries (5.0 ypc) and Gabe Whalen had a solid day, rushing for 31 yards on 6 carries while hauling in 7 passes for 72 yards.

Dole, who was picked off three times, hit WR Cole McConnell for his only scoring strike of the day. He played pretty poorly today, he's still got quite a bit to learn.

Now we just sit back and see what bowl game we're going to.

UCLA 29 -- USC 20
PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (8-3)

* * *

WEEK 15
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK
Off week.

Tough loss last week, but some outstanding news on the recruiting front this week. After taking all season to make a decision, Mel McWilliams, a defensive tackle from Clovis High School in Clovis, California has signed a letter of intent to play for Southern Cal next year.

Mel is an 89+ run stopping NT who comes from an outstanding high school atheltic program. He was ranked the #3 recruit in the nation by TCY Today and the best NT in his graduating class. He fills our final recruiting slot - and boy does he fill it.

PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (8-3)

* * *

WEEK 16
MINOR BOWL TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #20

Well, I think they're going to get sick of us in Indianapolis, as we're headed to the Hoosier Bowl again, this time to play (7-5) Texas. I have confidence we'll acquit ourselves well once again.

PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (8-3)

* * *

WEEK 17 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 17, 2017
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 12-0 SEC 4.25 1.00 0.00 1.96 7.21 1
Iowa 11-0 B10 3.50 2.00 0.00 4.44 9.94 2
Rice 11-0 WAC 1.50 5.00 0.00 4.28 10.78 3
UCLA 11-0 P10 4.75 3.00 0.00 4.52 12.27 4
Michigan 10-1 B10 4.75 6.00 1.00 2.00 13.75 5
Syracuse 11-1 BGE 4.75 7.00 1.00 2.76 15.51 6
Virginia 11-0 ACC 6.75 4.00 0.00 5.00 15.75 7
Pittsburgh 10-1 BGE 4.75 9.00 1.00 1.44 16.19 8
Miami of Ohio 13-0 MAC 6.50 8.00 0.00 4.36 18.86 9
Nevada-Las Vegas 10-1 MTW 7.25 11.00 1.00 4.32 23.57 10
Colorado State 10-1 MTW 13.00 10.00 1.00 2.04 26.04 11
Wisconsin 9-2 B10 14.50 13.00 2.00 4.72 34.22 12
Boston College 9-3 BGE 14.50 17.50 3.00 1.48 36.48 13
Southern Methodist 9-3 WAC 12.25 20.50 3.00 0.80 36.55 14
Memphis 10-1 USA 22.50 12.00 1.00 4.92 40.42 15
**Southern California 8-3 P10 21.50 14.00 3.00 3.12 41.62 16
Hawaii 9-3 WAC 20.50 16.50 3.00 1.68 41.68 17
Alabama 9-3 SEC 16.50 19.00 3.00 3.44 41.94 18
Penn State 8-3 B10 19.25 19.50 3.00 0.40 42.15 19
Notre Dame 8-3 IND 21.50 16.00 3.00 3.72 44.22 20
Arkansas State 10-2 SUN 20.50 17.50 2.00 4.56 44.56 21
Toledo 8-4 MAC 20.50 23.50 4.00 0.64 48.64 22
Tulsa 8-4 WAC 14.25 34.00 4.00 0.84 53.09 23
Georgia Tech 7-4 ACC 14.00 35.00 4.00 0.48 53.48 24
Maine 9-3 NNE 23.25 28.50 3.00 1.72 56.47 25


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2017 SEASON (FINAL)



WEEK 17
MAJOR BOWL TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #16

Well, I ended up cutting the two walk-ons failing classes. Despite using an absurdly amount of coaching blocs on them to get them tutors and all, they still couldn't get their grades up to passing - so I let them go, they shouldn't be practicing football, they should be in the library studying.

The sad thing is, both were midseason walk-ons. Had they walked on at the start of the year, we could have worked out their academic schedules with enough study time for them to pass their courses.
Allocated the rest of the coaching blocs to kids with D's and just sense I used up too many on the walk-ons and we'll have some academic probations next year.

PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (8-3)

* * *

WEEK 18
FOUR STAR TIER
HOOSIER BOWL: vs. Texas (7-5) *TV2*
(USC -16) USC BCS RANK: #17

Only OT Hunter Blount is listed as out for the game.

I think if we play like we're capable of, we can win this one. The big question mark is Brock dole, our quarterback. He's been more off than on this season, and we need him to come up with a big game this week.

Well Brock Dole showed up to play this week, going 20/31 for 273 yards and a touchdown while remaining mistake free in leading Southern Cal to a resounding 31-7 victory in the Hoosier Bowl over the Texas Longhorns.

Offensive Coordinator Zach Faust just kept calling Tailback J.B. Wilson's number all day as the redshirt soph carried the ball a whopping 37 times, running for 2 scores and 136 yards (3.6 ypc). 5th year senior Wingback Gabe Whalen had a fine day in his last as a USC Trojan, rushing for 80 yards on 6 carries (13.3 ypc) in a winning effort.

Wideout Ron Morrison, finally fully healthy, hauled in 5 passes for 116 yards including a touchdown reception.

NT Andrew Francis had two sacks and nickel back Max Fitgerald had two interceptions as the Trojan defense slammed the door on the Longhorns all day.

A very solid win and great way to end the year for the program.

Hoosier Bowl
USC 31 -- Texas 7
PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (9-3)

* * *

WEEK 19
NEW YEAR'S TIER
Off Week.
USC BCS RANK: #12

Jumped up to #12 in the rankings. With Morrison and Wilson coming back and a year of experience under Brock Dole's belt, I'm going to be expecting a lot more next season. Still, not a bad year at all.

PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (9-3)

* * *

WEEK 20
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Off Week.
USC BCS RANK: #10

Moved on up to #10 this week. UCLA won its bowl game over Michigan, didn't get a shot at the national title. This year's title game is a rematch of last year's, Florida vs. Iowa, as the Gators go for an unprecedented fourth straight national championship.

Well, the Iowa Hawkeyes broke the Gators string, romping to a 41-21 victory in the Rose Bowl in the National Championship Game.

Florida RB B.J. Kanellitsas won the Heisman.

Southern Cal finishes ranked #10 by the BCS.

PAC-10 (6-2) -- OVERALL (9-3)

* * *

2017 FINAL BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Final 2017
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Iowa 12-0 B10 2.00 1.00 0.00 3.24 6.24 1
UCLA 12-0 P10 1.75 2.50 0.00 3.72 7.97 2
Rice 12-0 WAC 2.00 5.00 0.00 3.40 10.40 3
Virginia 12-0 ACC 4.00 3.50 0.00 4.96 12.46 4
Florida 12-1 SEC 8.75 3.00 1.00 1.08 13.83 5
Syracuse 11-1 BGE 5.50 6.00 1.00 2.84 15.34 6
Pittsburgh 11-1 BGE 5.25 8.50 1.00 1.24 15.99 7
Miami of Ohio 13-0 MAC 5.00 7.00 0.00 4.60 16.60 8
Michigan 10-2 B10 8.75 8.50 2.00 0.92 20.17 9
**Southern California 9-3 P10 15.00 10.00 3.00 2.44 30.44 10
Colorado State 10-2 MTW 16.25 11.50 2.00 1.48 31.23 11
Penn State 9-3 B10 13.75 14.50 3.00 0.20 31.45 12
Nevada-Las Vegas 10-2 MTW 12.00 14.00 2.00 3.84 31.84 13
Southern Methodist 9-3 WAC 11.00 19.00 3.00 0.84 33.84 14
Boston College 9-3 BGE 15.75 15.50 3.00 1.52 35.77 15
Notre Dame 9-3 IND 18.50 11.50 3.00 3.00 36.00 16
Hawaii 9-3 WAC 22.00 15.50 3.00 1.84 42.34 17
Georgia Tech 8-4 ACC 10.50 30.00 4.00 0.28 44.78 18
Arkansas State 10-2 SUN 22.50 15.50 2.00 4.80 44.80 19
Wisconsin 9-3 B10 19.00 19.50 3.00 4.48 45.98 20
Wake Forest 9-3 ACC 12.25 28.00 3.00 2.92 46.17 21
South Carolina 9-3 SEC 19.75 21.50 3.00 4.56 48.81 22
Alabama 9-4 SEC 22.25 22.50 4.00 2.48 51.23 23
Toledo 8-4 MAC 23.75 24.00 4.00 0.64 52.39 24
Memphis 10-2 USA 27.75 19.00 2.00 4.84 53.59 25


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2017 SEASON SUMMARY & REVIEW



SEASON REVIEW

2017 was a pretty good year for us. We blew out Notre Dame, went 6-2 in the PAC-10, won a Four Star Tier Bowl Game, and finished ranked #10 in the nation by the BCS.

But I don't think we played up to our potential. The early season loss to Akron was embarassing. I guess stuff like that happens every now and then, but there's no excuse for this program to lose to Akron when we are capable of winning a Four Star Tier Bowl and blowing out the Irish in South Bend. I also think we should have won the game against Stanford at home. We were a far better club than the Cardinal, plus we had home field advantage. So it wasn't all hugs and puppy dog kisses for us in 2017. We had a good year, but not as good as it could have been.

The development of Tailback J.B. Wilson was crucial to this team's success - and will be for the next three years. The progress he made during his redshirt year was remarkable, and his performance earned him 1st Team All PAC-10 honors. I think he'll be even better next year, and that bodes well for the Trojan program over the next three seasons.

Not sure what to think about QB Brock Dole. I realize he was a first year starter this past season, but I'm not at all sure he's the "one". I think right now, when you add in this incoming crop of freshman, easily our best recruiting class ever, we have the talent to make a serious run at the National Championship. The big question mark is Dole. He's got a rifle for an arm, but can't run worth a damn - which in our offense hurts him a lot - and he's very unreliable in the short passing game.

Where is Malcolm Moreno when you need him?

Defensively we were once again solid. Teams had difficulty running the ball against us - though not as much as in the past - and we held opponents to a 43.7% pass completion percentage. Our turnover margin was down, but that was mainly because we turned the ball over a lot more on offense than we did the year before.

The jury is still out on whether I made the right move in replacing Offensive Coordinator Randy Edwards with Zach Fuchs. One of the major reasons I made the change was that, aside from being a better tactician and play caller than Edwards was, Fuchs is outstanding at developing quarterbacks, a failing of Edwards. So I guess we'll see what happens with Brock Dole, and his successor signal caller, which I haven't recruited yet.

So all in all, I think we had a good, solid season, but not quite as good as it should have been. I'm counting on next season to be a big one for us.

* * *

2017 AWARDS


2017 University of Southern California Trojans
Individual Awards

* TB J.B. Wilson (RS Soph.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* OT Billy Joe Joyner (Jr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* LB Johnny El Nino (RS Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* OG Frank Elliot (Jr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* OT Hunter Blount (RS Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10

* P Brett Thornton (Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10

* LB Riddick Taylor (5th yr Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10

* OT Bobby Burgess (RS Soph.)
- Academic all PAC-10

* LB Chad Berg (RS Sr.)
- Academic All PAC-10



* * *

2017 USC TEAM SUMMARY


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2017 Team Summary

Head Coach: Bear Growlz (10th yr)
Offensive Coordinator: Zach Fuchs (1st yr)
Defensive Coordinator: Bucky Riley (10th yr)
Syndicate Coordinator: Pete Prior (19th yr)
Lead Scout: Lance Coe (3rd yr)
Overall Record: 9-3
BCS Rank: #10
Coaches Poll: #10
Fans Poll: #10
PAC-10 Record: 6-2
PAC-10 Finish: 2nd Place

Southern California Team Rank
Rushes 483 29
Rushing Yards 2035 19
Yards Per Carry 4.21 15
Pass Attempts 318 67 (T)
Completions 185 42
Passing Yards 2922 23
Yards Per Attempt 9.18 12
3rd Down Conversions 38.8 44
Points Per Game 34.6 11 (T)
Turnovers 21 62 (T)
Turnover Margin +4 40 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 372 23
Rushing Yards 920 12
Yards Per Carry 2.47 14
Pass Attempts 421 123
Completions 184 78 (T)
Passing Yards 2451 85
Yards Per Attempt 5.82 10 (T)
3rd Down Conversions 31.8 35 (T)
Points Per Game 18.1 25
Turnovers 25 33 (T)

Primary Formation: Flexbone Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 66 IAST (108) 7
3 18 AKRN (95) 21
5 45 ORST (123) 16
6 23 at AZST (90) 20
7 31 at CALI (24) 17
9 13 at WAST (42) 10
10 48 WASH (46) 3
11 34 ARIZ (89) 21
12 39 STAN (52) 42
13 48 at NODM (12) 25
14 20 at UCLA (3) 29
18 31 vs TEXS (53) 7 ***Hoosier Bowl***

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Com%
9 Dole QB 317 184 2910 9.17 21 13 58.0
Team --- 318 185 2922 9.18 22 13 58.2

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
48 Wilson RB 297 1409 4.74 14 50 53
25 Whalen RB 126 494 3.92 7 39 75
9 Dole QB 34 -44 -1.29 0 21 104
Team --- 483 2035 4.21 23 116 236

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
25 Whalen RB 51 30 355 11.8 191 2
6 Kidman WR 51 19 337 17.7 167 2
48 Wilson RB 42 33 400 12.1 225 4
2 McConnell WR 41 25 519 20.7 139 3
82 Morrison WR 40 25 485 19.4 186 2
83 Hartl WR 38 20 421 21.0 175 4
86 Heekin WR 23 12 200 16.6 98 2
28 Book FB 19 13 127 9.7 52 2
Team --- 318 185 2922 15.7 1271 22

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
39 Arvold S 64 19 1.0 11 2 16
95 El Nino OLB 49 13 5.0 13 4 1
98 Taylor OLB 45 19 0.0 13 0 4
45 Berg ILB 45 16 0.0 7 0 6
49 Vinnick ILB 45 17 0.0 9 0 3
44 Reed CB 44 7 0.0 4 2 10
90 Stender DE 38 14 15.0 16 0 0
20 Nordskov S 35 16 0.0 2 2 9
99 Francis DT 26 13 2.0 6 0 0
31 Fitzgerald CB 24 7 0.0 2 5 8
43 Alexander CB 23 11 0.0 1 1 7
77 Milton DT 20 10 4.0 7 0 0
92 Oben ILB 18 8 0.0 1 2 3
93 Sutton DE 17 4 1.5 5 0 0
76 Lackey DE 14 2 9.5 11 0 0
21 Cipa CB 13 4 0.0 2 1 4
Team --- 606 193 41.0 117 22 74




-20-

[beargrowlz]

2018 PRESEASON (WINTER)


Winter, 2018

Southern Cal's prestige remained at Excellent (88), but the football program is now the 8th most prestigious in the nation.

Among the job offers I received -and turned down - this offseason were two from schools with an Excellent (80 or higher) prestige level - Boston College and Texas A&M, which is the third most prestigious football program in the nation.

But I'll be staying at Southern Cal for my eleventh season. After ten years in a place, it gets to feel like home, and we really have done some great things with the program during my ten year tenure here. The only thing we haven't done is win a national championship, and I certainly think we have a terrific shot at competing for one over the next three years.

Redshirt senior Safety Dwight Korinek has been suspended by the NCAA for taking money from a Southern Cal booster.

QB Wayne Bjorke has left the program because I suspended him last season.

OC Glenn Cook has left the program because he wasn't playing enough.

And Defensive Coordinator Bucky Riley has retired after ten years on the job. Bucky will be sorely missed and definately hard to replace.

Tailback Donny "Big Money" Cash was inducted into the USC Hall of Fame. Always liked Donny and am happy he has received this honor.

Our academic reputation remains at Very Good (70) and I'm pretty well convinced it can't go any higher because we fail to offer three majors. Once again, the students in our football program had the highest GPA (3.20) of any Division 1 college football program.

I fired Lead Scout Lance Coe. After three years of his scouting, which in general was fairly good, we needed to make a change because of his inability to judge talent in the defensive secondary. Lester Stargell, the Head Coach at Los Angeles Community College, replaces Coe.

To replace the retired Bucky Riley we hired Clarence Ackerman, who was the Defensive Coordinator at the University of Miami (Fla). Ackerman is an outstanding tactician and we hope to see a step up in play calling from Riley, who was mainly a developmental expert.

The rest of the staff returns for another season.

We had a fantastic recruiting season, and TCY Today has ranked our recruiting class first in the nation. Here's a look at our incoming freshmen.


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2017 Recruiting List, Ranking View
TCY Today Ranking: #1

Player Pos HT WT ST NRank ByPos StRank ByPos
$$Ratto, Vinny QB 6-2 177 CA 57 9 8 2
$$Daugherty, Ike RB 5-11 196 NE 5 1 1 1
$$Jacobs, Glen WR 5-11 185 WA 28 1 2 1
$$Myers, Al WR 6-5 213 NY 51 2 6 1
##Leong, Dexter C 6-0 237 CO 860 39 14 1
$$Connell, Desmond G 6-5 288 AZ 37 3 1 1
$$Dillon, Nate T 6-4 277 MN 9 1 1 1
$$Lew, Austin DE 6-6 273 PA 1 1 1 1
$$Jeffers, Floyd DE 6-6 274 PA 4 2 2 2
$$McWilliams, Mel DT 6-5 287 CA 3 1 1 1
##Whalen, Walt ILB 6-0 217 NY 15 1 3 1
$$Garcia, Monty ILB 5-10 201 CA 273 19 42 5
$$Blackston, Matt OLB 6-1 205 CA 73 7 11 1
$$Knight, Brad CB 5-9 166 CA 32 4 4 2
$$Abdul-Jabbar, Lawrence S 5-10 192 OH 26 1 2 1
$$Esparza, Jared S 6-3 194 NY 33 2 4 1

Player All-St All-US Status
$$Ratto, Vinny Yes No Committed *
$$Daugherty, Ike Yes No Committed *
$$Jacobs, Glen Yes No Committed *
$$Myers, Al Yes No Committed *
##Leong, Dexter Yes No Committed *
$$Connell, Desmond Yes No Committed *
$$Dillon, Nate Yes No Committed *
$$Lew, Austin Yes No Committed *
$$Jeffers, Floyd Yes No Committed *
$$McWilliams, Mel Yes No Committed *
##Whalen, Walt Yes No Committed *
$$Garcia, Monty Yes No Committed *
$$Blackston, Matt Yes No Committed *
$$Knight, Brad Yes No Committed *
$$Abdul-Jabbar, Lawrence Yes No Committed *
$$Esparza, Jared Yes No Committed *

The College Years
Worksheet View

Player Scout Phone Visit Emphasis Status
$$Ratto, Vinny 78++ 2 2 Dist/Prest Committed *
$$Daugherty, Ike 87++ 2 2 Prest*/Dist Committed *
$$Jacobs, Glen 85- 2 2 Prest/Dist Committed *
$$Myers, Al 79+ 4 1 Prest/Acad Committed *
##Leong, Dexter 71- 2 2 Acad/Dist Committed *
$$Connell, Desmond 81- 3 3 Dist*/Prest Committed *
$$Dillon, Nate 100- 3 2 (Dist)/Acad Committed *
$$Jeffers, Floyd 69++ 4 2 Acad*/(Dist)Committed *
$$Lew, Austin 89++ 4 1 Prest*/Dist Committed *
$$McWilliams, Mel 89++ 4 2 Prest*/Dist Committed *
$$Garcia, Monty 88+ 3 2 Acad*/Dist Committed *
##Whalen, Walt 92+ 2 2 Acad/Dist Committed *
$$Blackston, Matt 82+ 2 2 Prest*/Acad Committed *
$$Knight, Brad 89- 3 3 Dist/Acad Committed *
$$Esparza, Jared 92-- 3 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
$$Abdul-Jabbar, Lawrence 81++ 3 2 Acad*/Prest Committed *

The College Years
Statistics View

Player Statistics Status
$$Ratto, Vinny 9 GP, 125-208-2228(10.7)-22-2 pass, 66-Committed *
$$Daugherty, Ike 9 GP, 265-2106(7.9)-21 rush, 53-900-11 Committed *
$$Jacobs, Glen 9 GP, 77-1886(24.4)-11 rcv. Committed *
$$Myers, Al 9 GP, 94-2180(23.1)-10 rcv. Committed *
##Leong, Dexter 9 GP. Committed *
$$Connell, Desmond 9 GP. Committed *
$$Dillon, Nate 8 GP. Committed *
$$Lew, Austin 9 GP, 89 tckls, 14.5 sacks, 1 Int. Committed *
$$Jeffers, Floyd 9 GP, 70 tckls, 15.0 sacks, 3 Int. Committed *
$$McWilliams, Mel 9 GP, 90 tckls, 11.0 sacks, 0 Int. Committed *
##Whalen, Walt 9 GP, 19-290-2 rcv, 118 tckls, 4.5 sackCommitted *
$$Garcia, Monty 9 GP, 16-294-2 rcv, 112 tckls, 5.5 sackCommitted *
$$Blackston, Matt 8 GP, 12-107-1 rcv, 99 tckls, 7.5 sacksCommitted *
$$Knight, Brad 9 GP, 51-322-7 rush, 21-492-4 rcv, 46 tCommitted *
$$Abdul-Jabbar, Lawrence 9 GP, 37-235-3 rush, 8-241-2 rcv, 76 tcCommitted *
$$Esparza, Jared 9 GP, 47-213-2 rush, 19-392-0 rcv, 67 tCommitted *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.



-20-

[beargrowlz]

2018 PRESEASON


Spring, 2018

Scheduling time. This year, as every year, we have our annual game against Notre Dame, and once again it will be in South Bend. Every year there is one PAC-10 school we don't play, and this season that school is Stanford. At least this year we get UCLA in the Rose Bowl instead of at them in the Colliseum.

That leaves us two games to schedule. I'll be looking for two home games this year against middling programs.

Stage 1: We offerred a game at the Rose Bowl to Georgia. They rejected our offer.

Stage 2: Louisiana-Monroe offerred us a home game for week 3 and we accepted.

Stage 3: UTEP offerred a home and home but we're not interested. We offerred Arkansas a game at the Rose Bowl for Week 1 and they rejected our offer.

Stage 4: Southern Mississippi offerred us a home game for Week 4. We countered with an offer for Week 1 and they accepted. That fills our schedule for 2018.

Here's a look at our 2018 schedule.

The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2018 Schedule

Preseason BCS Rank: #7
Preseason Coaches Poll: #8
Preseason Fans Poll: #7
Rival: UCLA
Stadium Capacity: 96,600
Season Tickets Sold: 96,600

Week Opponent
1 SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
2 at (10) Notre Dame
3 LOUISIANA-MONROE
4 ---off week---
$$5 OREGON
6 ---off week---
$$7 at Arizona
$$8 (46) WASHINGTON STATE
$$9 at Oregon State
$$10 ARIZONA STATE
$$11 at (23) California
$$12 at (50) Washington
13 ---off week---
$$14 (4) UCLA

Home Games in ALL CAPS
$$-Conference Games, (#)-Preseason Coaches Poll Ranking.



-20-

[beargrowlz]

2018 PRESEASON


Summer, 2018

Spent the early part of the summer putting together practice schedules and working on the academic schedules of our students. Looks like we'll have a few more coaching blocs this year - 59 instead of 52 - in case any of the kids get into academic difficulties.

Once we got the kids in two-a-days, my expectations rose a bit. QB Brock Dole looked really good in camp, though he still is barely average in the short passing game - but boy does he have a rifle for an arm. Joining him in the backfield will be 1st Team All PAC-10 Tailback J.B. Wilson and freshman sensation Wingback Ike Daugherty. Ike was just too good to redshirt this year, and ideally he'd play Tailback, but J.B. is something special. So to get Daugherty on the field we start him at Wingback and hopefully he'll get us 500+ yards and a bunch of scores there. Blocking for those two budding superstars will be senior Fullback Manny Book.

Dole's primary targets this season will be redshirt senior wideout Ron Morrison and redshirt junior Ed Kinman. We're still waiting for that breakout season from Morrison and hopefully this will be the year. Wilson, Daugherty and Book also will all figure prominently in the passing game out of our flexbone offense.

I think we've got the makings of a real exceptional offensive line - at least run blocking anyway. At OC will be Mitchell Blackburn - the one pass blocking specialist we have on the team. Mitchell is not too shabby a run blocker either. He'll be flanked by senior OG Frank Elliot who looked simply dominating in camp, and redshirt senior OG Graham Molina. At the tackles will be 5th year senior Hunter Blount and redshirt junior Bobby Burgess. All in all, this group should open up some big holes for JB and Daugherty.

On defense, the line is once again a strength of the team. Redshirt senior Trent Milton won the starting Nose Tackle job away from Andrew Francis in camp. On his right will be 5th year senior DE Freddie Stender, who led the team in sacks with 15 last season. Over at left end will be redshirt sophomore Wally Knight, who has the potential to become a dominant pass rusher. He'll likely move to DRE when Stender graduates.

The linebacking corps features three 5th year seniors, ILB Chad Berg, and OLB's Johnny "The Storm" El Nino and Rick Holmes. Redshirt junior ILB Renaldo Elder fills out the starting quartet. Not the best linebacking unit we've had since I've been here, but respectable.

The secondary is once again the weakest part of our defense - though I have a much better grasp of the talent with new Lead Scout Lester Stargell on the job. Starting at the corners will be 5th year senior Sam Alexander and redshirt junior Max Fitzgerald. Both are pretty average and that's likely where we'll be attacked the most. 5th year senior Joel Arvold returns in a starting role at Safety, and he's really developed into a fine player. Starting at the other safety spot will be freshman Lawrence Abdul-Jabbar. Abdul-Jabbar has the potential to become a standout safety, and he was just too good to redshirt this year, even though he's a little rough around the edges.

On special teams we have one of the best placekickers in the nation, redshirt junior Robbie Gardner. Redshirt sophomore Xavier Eason takes over the punting duties this year and he's got a pretty good leg. Handling our return duties will be wideout Ron Morrison, who is simply explosive returning both punts and kicks, with an assist from Ed Kinman on punts and J.B. Wilson on kickoffs.

I think we've got a solid chance at making a run at the PAC-10 title this year, and if we play up to our potential, we're a legitimate contender for the national championship.

That's if our corners don't get burned too bad.

We'll know fairly early on how much of a chance we stand, as we face Notre Dame in Week 2.

Here's a look at our 2018 roster.


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2018 Roster/Scout Overview
From the Desk of Lester Stargell, Lead Scout

Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
Casillas, Eddie 18 QB So* 35 65
Dole, Brock 9 QB Sr* 64 100
Oxendine, Pat 4 QB Jr* 42 72
Ratto, Vinny 2 QB Fr 18 89
Daugherty, Ike 24 RB Fr 66 100
Shultz, Mercury 37 RB Sr* 59 84
Vance, Billy 40 RB So 42 59
Walker, Skipjack 36 RB So* 48 66
Wilson, J.B. 48 RB Jr* 86 100
Benzer, Devin 22 FB So 50 71
Book, Emmanuel 28 FB Sr 61 68
Finley, Jeffrey 30 FB* Sr 9 26
Merchberger, Joe 32 FB* So* 23 51
Dresselhaus, Graham 84 TE* So 7 7
Glover, Randy 88 TE* Jr* 9 19
Leavitt, Joel 81 TE* Fr 10 27
Hartl, Oliver 83 WR So 20 54
Jacobs, Glen 7 WR Fr 32 66
Kidman, Edwin 6 WR Jr* 70 72
Morrison, Ron 82 WR Sr* 95 95
Myers, Al 86 WR Fr 31 62
Henderson, Norbert 87 WR* So 7 7
Blackburn, Mitchell 58 C Sr 48 84
Leong, Dexter 50 C Fr 11 77
Long, Dana 53 C So* 40 63
Lyubashevsky, Gino 56 C So* 38 61
Ours, Cornell 52 C* Jr* 23 58
Ballard, Louis 61 G Jr* 33 100
Barton, Brian 65 G So* 27 75
Connell, Desmond 68 G Fr 28 90
Eliot, Frank 66 G Sr 74 74
Lauvray, Nate 71 G Jr* 20 79
Molina, Graham 64 G Sr* 39 88
Aska, Dana 74 T Sr* 52 54
Berry, Kurt 78 T So* 19 51
Blount, Hunter 67 T Sr 53 76
Burgess, Bobby 60 T Jr* 54 88
Dillon, Nate 69 T Fr 19 81
Joyner, Billy Joe 75 T Sr 35 77
Kaplan, Gabe 63 T Sr 27 69
Kirkwood, Lester 79 T Jr* 30 61
Eason, Xavier 8 P So* 72 94
Brown, Robbie 15 P* Sr* 3 3
Gardner, Rodney 17 K Jr* 94 100
Samuels, Zach 3 K Sr 59 91
Jeffers, Floyd 72 DE Fr 42 99
Knight, Wally 91 DE So* 51 83
Lackey, R.J. 76 DE Jr 42 60
Lew, Austin 70 DE Fr 48 100
Stender, Freddie 90 DE Sr 57 95
Sutton, William 93 DE Sr* 29 65
Francis, Andrew 99 DT Jr* 43 88
McWilliams, Mel 98 DT Fr 31 100
Milton, Trent 77 DT Sr* 54 86
Wilcox, Albert 94 DT Jr* 29 77
Flynn, Buddy 73 DT* Jr 11 32
Berg, Chad 45 ILB Sr 80 80
Elder, Renaldo 54 ILB Jr* 50 84
Garcia, Monty 41 ILB Fr 12 76
Oben, Moe 92 ILB So 35 70
Pathon, Dale 97 ILB Sr* 32 61
Whalen, Walt 49 ILB Fr 31 91
Blackston, Matt 42 OLB Fr 32 81
El Nino, Johnnie 95 OLB Sr 41 81
Holmes, Rick 47 OLB Sr 57 90
Mazzeo, Tyrus 59 OLB Sr* 38 64
O'Neal, Deron 96 OLB Jr* 20 62
Biakabutuka, Wayne 55 OLB* So* 20 42
Hoffman, William 51 OLB* Sr* 6 26
Alexander, Sam 43 CB Sr 55 55
Cipa, Dan 21 CB So 39 50
Fitzgerald, Max 31 CB Jr* 44 88
Knight, Brad 26 CB Fr 37 97
Reed, Buddy 44 CB Sr* 35 79
Abdul-Jabbar, Lawrence 38 S Fr 46 85
Arvold, Joel 39 S Sr 67 78
Brennan, Jon 29 S So* 28 57
Esparza, Jared 20 S Fr 42 66
Korinek, Dwight 35 S Sr* 47 67
Waugh, Artie 27 S Jr* 37 61



Here's a look at the preseason BCS rankings.


The College Years
Preseason, 2018
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Iowa 0-0 B10 1.00 1.50 0.00 0.48 2.98 1
Florida 0-0 SEC 2.00 1.50 0.00 2.04 5.54 2
Texas A&M 0-0 B12 3.00 3.00 0.00 1.24 7.24 3
UCLA 0-0 P10 4.00 4.00 0.00 1.92 9.92 4
Virginia 0-0 ACC 5.00 5.00 0.00 0.32 10.32 5
Michigan 0-0 B10 6.00 6.00 0.00 0.52 12.52 6
**Southern California 0-0 P10 8.00 7.50 0.00 1.88 17.38 7
Rice 0-0 WAC 7.00 8.50 0.00 3.44 18.94 8
Syracuse 0-0 BGE 9.00 8.50 0.00 1.48 18.98 9
Notre Dame 0-0 IND 10.00 9.50 0.00 4.56 24.06 10
Penn State 0-0 B10 13.00 12.00 0.00 0.72 25.72 11
Pittsburgh 0-0 BGE 12.00 13.50 0.00 1.40 26.90 12
Keene State 0-0 NNE 11.00 12.00 0.00 4.84 27.84 13
Boston College 0-0 BGE 14.00 16.00 0.00 1.32 31.32 14
Hawaii 0-0 WAC 15.00 13.50 0.00 3.32 31.82 15
Wisconsin 0-0 B10 18.00 16.00 0.00 0.80 34.80 16
Southern Methodist 0-0 WAC 16.00 17.50 0.00 3.52 37.02 17
Colorado State 0-0 MTW 17.00 21.00 0.00 2.60 40.60 18
Toledo 0-0 MAC 20.00 18.50 0.00 4.08 42.58 19
Alabama 0-0 SEC 24.00 22.00 0.00 2.28 48.28 20
Louisville 0-0 USA 25.00 20.50 0.00 3.04 48.54 21
California 0-0 P10 23.00 24.50 0.00 1.72 49.22 22
Georgia Tech 0-0 ACC 22.00 28.00 0.00 0.16 50.16 23
Miami of Ohio 0-0 MAC 19.00 28.00 0.00 3.84 50.84 24
South Florida 0-0 USA 21.00 28.00 0.00 4.60 53.60 25



-20-

[beargrowlz]

2018 SEASON (1st Qtr.)


WEEK 1
vs. Southern Mississippi (0-0)
(USC -14) USC BCS RANK: #7

Spent the early part of the week making our first recruiting contacts. A priority this year was to find a quarterback that could run, throw, and had good academics. Does Jesus mind being redshirted?

The offensive line just dominated the line of scrimmage today, springing J.B. Wilson for 206 yards and 4 touchdowns as the Trojans won in a rout, 62-7.

LT Hunter Blount made 7 key run blocks while RG Graham Molina made 6 and LG Frank Elliot 5, completely controlling the point of attack and making it easy running for Wilson all day.

Redshirt sophomore DE Wally Knight made 3.5 sacks and ILB Renaldo Elder returned an interception for a score as the defense completely shutdown the Southern Mississippi attack.

A good way to start the season off and we head into next week's game against Notre Dame on a high note.

USC 62 -- Southern Mississippi 7
PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (1-0)

* * *

WEEK 2
@ Notre Dame (0-1) *TV1*
(ND -2) USC BCS RANK: #4

We head into this week ranked 4th in the BCS but #1 atop the nation in the Coaches Poll. Finding the right balance for Brock dole is the important thing however, as we don't want him throwing too many picks, but we need him to be able to hit the deep ball. So it's a work in progress. This week will be a big test for us.

Continued to work at rounding out this year's primary recruiting list. Hopefully we'll land a kid or two that can help us in the secondary some right away, like Abdul-Jabbar this year.

LT Hunter Blount and LG Frank Elliot continued their domination of the line of scrimmage, making 8 and 6 key run blocks respectively as they opened holes for J.B. Wilson all day en route to a big 30-24 road win at Notre Dame.

Offensive Coordinator Zach Fuchs knows a good thing when he sees one and he's determined to ride J.B. Wilson as far as he can go, calling his number a whopping 43 times today as Wilson ran for 153 yards (3.5 ypc) and 3 more touchdowns. Wingback Ike Daugherty added 47 yards on 9 carries (5.2 ypc) as the Trojans just kept running and running and running.

QB Brock Dole, while not shooting the lights out, continued to play solid, mistake free football and allowed the running attack to do the damage.

DE Wally Knight continues to excel in his rookie season, sacking the Irish QB twice rushing from the strong side. NT Trent Milton also got to the Notre Dame QB twice.

A big, big win for us early in the year.

PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (2-0)

* * *

WEEK 3
vs. Louisiana-Monroe (1-0) *TV3*
(USC -10) USC BCS RANK: #1

Moved up to #1 in the BCS rankings this week coming off our big win at South Bend. ILB Renaldo Elder will miss up to 9 weeks with some broken ribs. The team trainers didn't think it funny when I told him to rub some dirt on it and suit up. Oh well. Sophomore Moe Oben will move into his starting spot.

Made some second and third contacts with recruits, as well as making new contacts with some defensive backs that I think might be able to help us. In looking at the recruiting pool this year, there doesn't seem to be a lot of stud DB's to recruit.

Offensive Coordinator just kept pounding J.B. Wilson at Lousiana-Monroe and Wilson rushed for 150 yards and two scores as Southern Cal whitewashed the Indians 37-0.

QB Brock Dole was quite efficient on the day, going 14/18 for 223 yards while throwing for one touchdown. Dole hit wideout Ron Morrison for the scoring strike.

The Trojan D was strong as an entire unit this week, holding the Indians to 120 yards of total offense.

A good win for us, we played well and didn't play down to a weaker opponent's level.

USC 37 -- Louisiana-Monroe 0
PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (3-0)

* * *

WEEK 4
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #7

Ahh the fickle fates of early season BCS rankings. It's like pulling numbers out of a hat. Still, we're playing well and can't complain about that. The rankings will be what they will be.

With the off week spent most of the time on the recruiting trail. We've already had a few campus visits, that's a good sign. Still scouring the country for d-backs and also a linebacker or two.

PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (3-0)

* * *

WEEK 5 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 5, 2018
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Rice 2-0 WAC 4.50 6.50 0.00 3.08 14.08 1
UCLA 3-0 P10 9.50 3.00 0.00 3.72 16.22 2
Colorado State 2-0 MTW 1.00 13.50 0.00 1.80 16.30 3
Florida 2-0 SEC 11.75 1.50 0.00 4.08 17.33 4
Wisconsin 3-0 B10 4.75 11.00 0.00 3.52 19.27 5
Boston College 3-0 BGE 8.25 10.50 0.00 3.16 21.91 6
Hawaii 3-0 WAC 13.25 9.00 0.00 3.64 25.89 7
Miami of Florida 3-0 ACC 3.50 22.00 0.00 2.36 27.86 8
Iowa 3-0 B10 23.75 1.50 0.00 4.00 29.25 9
Michigan 3-0 B10 21.75 4.50 0.00 4.64 30.89 10
Marshall 3-0 MAC 14.25 17.00 0.00 2.12 33.37 11
California 3-0 P10 13.50 16.00 0.00 4.32 33.82 12
Alabama 3-0 SEC 15.50 15.00 0.00 3.96 34.46 13
**Southern California 3-0 P10 25.00 6.00 0.00 3.88 34.88 14
Keene State 2-0 NNE 24.00 8.50 0.00 4.52 37.02 15
Toledo 2-0 MAC 20.75 12.50 0.00 3.80 37.05 16
North Carolina State 3-0 ACC 11.50 22.00 0.00 4.24 37.74 17
San Diego State 3-0 MTW 8.75 28.00 0.00 2.76 39.51 18
Miami of Ohio 2-0 MAC 19.75 18.00 0.00 4.36 42.11 19
Pittsburgh 3-1 BGE 15.75 25.00 1.00 1.76 43.51 20
Georgia Tech 2-0 ACC 22.00 19.50 0.00 4.48 45.98 21
South Carolina 2-0 SEC 25.50 17.50 0.00 4.12 47.12 22
Arkansas 2-0 SEC 11.50 34.50 0.00 3.40 49.40 23
Kent State 3-0 MAC 14.25 32.50 0.00 3.36 50.11 24
Penn State 2-1 B10 20.50 27.00 1.00 2.64 51.14 25




-20-

[beargrowlz]

2018 SEASON (2nd Qtr.)


WEEK 5
vs. Oregon (0-3) (PAC-10)
(USC -12) USC BCS RANK: #14

Even with our two cupcake games I thought we'd be higher than #14, but Notre Dame isn't in the Top 25 right now so it kills our strength of schedule. But we move into the PAC-10 schedule which is always a dogfight. Are we ready?

Quarterly grades came out, three players with D's, tqwo with D+'s. Allocated 4 coaching blocks to each player with a D, 3 to each with a D+. Leaves me with 41 blocs left on the season.

Had to suspend walk-on punter Robbie Brown for stealing starter Xavier Eason's punting cleat so that Brown could start. He's gone for the year - the NCAA took no action.

Lost a CB I wanted to UCLA. Need to write the Board of Governors of the University System of California about closing that school or something.

The Ducks managed to contain Tailback J.B. Wilson to 116 yards and a score on 16 carries (3.8 ypc) but QB brock Dole was deathly efficient going 13/18 for 182 yards while throwing four touchdown passes and only being picked off once. Wideout Ron Morrison haukled in two of those scoring strikes while making 5 catches for 104 yards. Fellow wideout Eddie Kidman made 7 catches for 97 yards and a score.

A solid win in our PAC-10 opener.

USC 45 -- Oregon 20
PAC-10 (1-0) -- OVERALL (4-0)

* * *

WEEK 6
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #3

Moved up to #3 this week. Hopefully we can keep playing well enough to stay up there.
Lost a couple more recruits, none to UCLA thankfully. Got the week off this week before we get to the heart of our PAC-10 schedule. Will be following up with recruits mostly.

PAC-10 (1-0) -- OVERALL (4-0)

* * *

WEEK 7
@ Arizona (3-2) (PAC-10)
(USC -2) USC BCS RANK: #9

Arizona always gives us trouble and it looks like they have turned their program around the past couple of seasons, so this one could be a tough one. Backup NT Andrew Francis will miss up to 11 weeks due to injury.

We landed three recruits this week - I was starting to worry we might have to scramble around with no early committments. Jeffrey Thompson, a running back from John F Kennedy High School in Taylor, Michigan, Justin Jacobs, a 79+ cornerback from Gladstone High School in Covina, California and Stephen McElroy, an 82+ safety from Farmington High School in Farmington, Arkansas all signed letters of intent to play for Southern Cal next season.

Thompson is an 88+ RB that comes to us from one of the most impressive high school athletic programs in the state. Given our current backfield, he'll likely redshirt next year but should prove to be a fine back down the road. Thompson is rated the best RB in this recruiting class.

Tailback J.B. Wilson ran all over the Wildcat defense as OT's Hunter Blount and Bobby Burgess made 7 key run blocks each en route to a 44-14 schellacking at Arizona.

Wilson is interjecting himself into the Heisman race with his performance this season, and added to his numbers rushing for 271 yards and two touchdowns on 41 carries.

QB brock Dole was once again effective in a supporting role, going 14/22 for 239 yards and throwing three touchdowns while being picked only once, hitting wideout Ron Morrison, who made 5 catches for 94 yards, for one of his TD's.

Redshirt sophomore sensation DE Wally Knight added two more sacks as the defense harried the Wildcat QB all day.

Another big win for us on the road.

USC 44 -- Arizona 14
PAC-10 (2-0) -- OVERALL (5-0)

* * *

WEEK 8
vs. Washington State (3-2) (PAC-10) *TV5*
(USC -13) USC BCS RANK: #7

We need to keep playing solid football and avoid any early season mishaps. CB Sam Alexander will miss a week or two due to injury. ILB Renaldo Elder should be back this week and NT Andrew Francis is still out.

Landed another defensive back this week as Mel Kinsey, a 76++ safety from William C Bryant High School in Long Island City, New York committed to play for USC next season.

Tailback J.B. Wilson kept the Heisman talk going as he scored on runs of 54 and 48 yards while leading Southern Cal to a resounding 34-3 victory in front of a packed Rose Bowl.

Wilson dominated the game rushing for 193 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries (6.6 ypc) while QB Brock Dole continued his quiet, but effective play, going 13/18 for 200 yards and throwing for one score.

5th year senior Safety led the Trojan defense with 7 tackles while CB Sam Alexander ran an interception back for a touchdown as USC totally dominated the Cougars in every phase of the game.

A very solid win for us.

USC 34 -- Washington State 3
PAC-10 (3-0) -- OVERALL (6-0)

* * *

WEEK 9 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 9, 2018
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
UCLA 7-0 P10 2.50 1.00 0.00 2.44 5.94 1
Michigan 7-0 B10 1.75 2.50 0.00 2.12 6.37 2
Virginia 7-0 ACC 5.75 2.50 0.00 3.88 12.13 3
Hawaii 6-0 WAC 4.25 7.00 0.00 3.20 14.45 4
**Southern California 6-0 P10 7.25 4.50 0.00 4.32 16.07 5
Miami of Florida 6-0 ACC 4.25 11.00 0.00 1.76 17.01 6
Toledo 6-0 MAC 6.25 8.50 0.00 3.32 18.07 7
Rice 6-0 WAC 10.50 4.50 0.00 4.64 19.64 8
South Carolina 5-1 SEC 5.00 17.50 1.00 0.44 23.94 9
Florida 4-1 SEC 13.75 6.50 1.00 4.16 25.41 10
Michigan State 5-1 B10 6.75 18.00 1.00 0.56 26.31 11
Colorado State 5-1 MTW 13.25 14.00 1.00 1.12 29.37 12
California 6-1 P10 13.25 14.00 1.00 1.80 30.05 13
Iowa 5-2 B10 20.25 8.50 2.00 1.00 31.75 14
Marshall 5-1 MAC 11.25 17.50 1.00 2.92 32.67 15
Keene State 5-1 NNE 24.25 10.50 1.00 3.48 39.23 16
Maine 5-1 NNE 13.25 23.50 1.00 1.48 39.23 17
Utah 5-1 MTW 14.00 26.50 1.00 1.24 42.74 18
Penn State 4-2 B10 17.75 23.00 2.00 0.68 43.43 19
Syracuse 5-2 BGE 25.50 14.00 2.00 2.04 43.54 20
South Florida 5-1 USA 22.50 16.50 1.00 4.68 44.68 21
Pittsburgh 5-2 BGE 24.00 21.00 2.00 0.28 47.28 22
San Diego State 5-1 MTW 19.75 28.50 1.00 2.68 51.93 23
Arkansas 5-1 SEC 14.75 35.50 1.00 2.80 54.05 24
Alabama 4-1 SEC 30.25 18.00 1.00 4.96 54.21 25



-20-

[beargrowlz]

2018 SEASON (3rd Qtr.)


WEEK 9
@ Oregon State (2-5)
(USC -20) USC BCS RANK: #5

Quarterly grades came out this week. 2 D's and four D+'s. Gave the two D's 4 blocs each and the four D+'s two blocks each. Pointed out the direction to the library to two students that tried to walk on with failing grades. They're just numb.

Only NT Andrew Francis is listed as out for this week's game.

Spencer Washington, a 77+ fullback from George W Wingate High School in Brooklyn, New York and Walter Cheng, a 79+ cornerback from Blount High School in Maryville, Tennessee have signed letters of intent to play for the Trojans next fall.
This is shaping up to be a solid recruiting class, not spectacular like last year's, but pretty solid.

Tailback J.B. Wilson rushed for four touchdowns and QB Brock Dole threw for two more as Southern Cal put up 583 yards of total offense en route to a 58-0 trouncing of the Oregon State Cougars on the road.

Before Dole was pulled from the game when it got out of hand he went 12/20 for 246 yards and two scoring strikes. Wideouts Ron Morrison and Ed Kidman both broke the 100 yard receiving mark on the day, with Kidman making two touchdown grabs.

The Trojan defense held the Cougars to 53 yards of total offense as Safety Joel Arvold led the way with 7 tackles.

A terrific win for us on the road.

USC 58 -- Oregon State 0
PAC-10 (4-0) -- OVERALL (7-0)

* * *

WEEK 10
vs. Arizona State (0-8) (PAC-10)
(USC -33) USC BCS RANK: #5

We're really playing good football right now, and J.B. looks like a solid Heisman contender. I'm pleased with how well Brock Dole has fit into the offense, not trying to do too much but yet making some key plays and good throws. Let's hope we keep it up down the stretch.

We landed four recruits this week, but still no quarterback. Afraid I may have to wait until next year to land a quality QB. Alfred Snyder, an 86+ running back from Hoopeston Area High School in Hoopeston, Illinois, Tyrone Horie, an 84- fullback from Tucumcari High School in Tucumcari, New Mexico, Vince Andersen, a 95- inside linebacker from Dallastown Area High School in Dallastown, Pennsylvania and Kenneth Kariya, a 70+ outside linebacker from Red Mountain High School in Mesa, Arizona all committed to play for the Trojans next fall.

Good solid signings.

QB Brock Dole had a very difficult day passing the ball, going 11/26 and getting picked off twice, but J.B. Wilson and the Trojan defense took over the game leading USC to a convincing 34-7 victory over Arizona State in front of a capacity Rose Bowl crowd.

Wilson ran for three scores and 144 yards on 34 carries (4.2 ypc) while DE Wally Knight added a sack and a half, Safety Joel Arvold made two interceptions and CB Dan Cipa ran one back for a score as everything but the passing attack was clicking for Southern Cal today.

A good win, but today's performance raises some questions about Brock dole's reliability down the stretch.

USC 34 -- Arizona State 7
PAC-10 (5-0) -- OVERALL (8-0)

* * *

WEEK 11
@ #13 California (8-1) (PAC-10) *TV3*
(EVEN) USC BCS RANK: #5

Spent some time fine tuning the game plan for Brock Dole. This is a huge game for us, on the road against the Golden Bears. A must win - heck all of them are must win at this point. But we've got to be at our best this week, this is a damn fine Cal team this year.

Landed three more players this week, one of them a QB. Kenneth Finch, a quarterback from Ocean Township High School in Oakhurst, New Jersey, Casey Sly, a 91+ inside linebacker from North Salem High School in Salem, Oregon and Amos McCollum, a 100-- safety from Madison County High School in Madison, Florida signed letters with us this week. This brings our recruiting class to 13, with three slots open but only two scholarships to offer.

Finch might be the running QB we've been looking for as he ran for over 1400 yards in 9 prep games. He's a 94-- and his high school is not a top notch athletic program, so he's a project. McCollum was the highest rated safety in this year's graduating class.

Not a good game at all as Brock dole was simply atrocious, going 11/26 and getting picked off three times. Any hopes at a national championship we might have harbored sunk with this gameas we lose miserably, 38-13.

Even J.B. Wilson couldn't save us on this day as Cal shut him down, holding him to 98 yards and our sole touchdown on 30 carries.

A bad, bad loss.

California 38 -- USC 13
PAC-10 (5-1) -- OVERALL (8-1)

* * *

WEEK 12
@ Washington (3-6) (PAC-10)
(USC -6) USC BCS RANK: #7

Not too big a drop in the BCS rankings, but we've got to hope Cal loses its last PAC-10 game or we won't have a shot at the conference title.

NT Andrew Francis, ILB Chad Berg, OT Hunter Blount and NT Trent Milton will all miss this week's game due to injury.

We landed two more recruits this week; Desmond Warkentien, an offensive guard from New Berlin High School in New Berlin, Wisconsin and Peter Grodin, an offensive tackle from Oak Forest High School in Oak Forest, Illinois have signed letters of intent to play for the Trojans next season.

Brock Dole couldn't hit the broad side of a barn today going 8 for 31 as we served up a 41-14 gift to the Huskies.

The Huskies built a 31-7 lead at the half and we simply stopped trying to run the ball, and Dole could do nothing.

We really played about as poorly as we could and were completely outcoached by a bad football team. Hats off to them.

Washington 41 -- USC 14
PAC-10 (5-2) -- OVERALL (8-2)

* * *

WEEK 13 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 13, 2018
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
UCLA 10-0 P10 3.00 1.00 0.00 3.32 7.32 1
Michigan 10-0 B10 1.75 2.50 0.00 3.16 7.41 2
Miami of Florida 10-0 ACC 1.25 7.00 0.00 1.88 10.13 3
Virginia 10-0 ACC 6.00 2.50 0.00 4.68 13.18 4
Florida 8-1 SEC 7.00 4.00 1.00 4.96 16.96 5
Hawaii 9-1 WAC 7.75 7.00 1.00 3.00 18.75 6
South Carolina 8-1 SEC 3.75 14.50 1.00 0.56 19.81 7
Rice 8-1 WAC 9.00 6.00 1.00 4.08 20.08 8
California 9-1 P10 6.00 12.00 1.00 2.72 21.72 9
Toledo 9-1 MAC 10.50 9.50 1.00 3.88 24.88 10
Alabama 8-1 SEC 8.75 12.50 1.00 5.00 27.25 11
Keene State 9-1 NNE 19.75 7.00 1.00 4.40 32.15 12
Georgia Tech 8-1 ACC 12.75 15.50 1.00 4.28 33.53 13
South Florida 8-1 USA 15.25 14.50 1.00 4.60 35.35 14
Syracuse 8-2 BGE 15.00 15.00 2.00 3.68 35.68 15
**Southern California 8-2 P10 20.00 11.50 2.00 4.80 38.30 16
Green Mountain 8-2 NNE 7.75 25.50 2.00 3.28 38.53 17
Michigan State 8-2 B10 13.50 22.50 2.00 1.12 39.12 18
Iowa 8-3 B10 22.75 11.00 3.00 3.04 39.79 19
Pittsburgh 8-2 BGE 22.00 18.00 2.00 1.44 43.44 20
Boston College 8-2 BGE 18.50 19.50 2.00 4.36 44.36 21
Marshall 8-2 MAC 19.00 21.50 2.00 4.00 46.50 22
Penn State 7-3 B10 20.50 24.50 3.00 1.60 49.60 23
Wisconsin 7-3 B10 17.50 28.00 3.00 2.24 50.74 24
Nebraska 8-2 B12 28.50 22.50 2.00 4.24 57.24 25



-20-

[aztarheel]

Could this be the year of the Trojans? I think it could be ... Good get em Bear!

[beargrowlz]

Next year maybe. Dole just isn't good enough to avoid key turnovers. And even if we're down 30 I don't care, pitch the ball to J.B. Wilson for damn sakes. Ahh well. Got JB for two more years.

[beargrowlz]

2018 SEASON (4th Qtr)


WEEK 13
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #16

Tha Cal loss I could take, they're a very good team. Getting blown out at Washington was a stinker. Just bad, bad football on our part.

No recruiting news. We've used up all our scholarships so just looking for a WR walk-on.

PAC-10 (5-2) -- OVERALL (8-2)

* * *

WEEK 14
vs. #2 UCLA (10-0) (PAC-10) *TV3*
(UCLA -6) USC BCS RANK: #16

Nothing to play for here but pride and a chance to kill UCLA's national title hopes. Which is after all, better than nothing.

When the best rusher in the nation carries the ball 14 times, it's game over. We gave up on the run again and got plastered, losing to the Bruins 35-11.

Brock Dole proved he isn't yet - or ever? - capable of carrying a team as he went 14/30 and got picked twice.

Nothing good to say about this ass-dragging finish. Maybe next year.

UCLA 35 -- USC 11
PAC-10 (5-3) -- OVERALL (8-3)

* * *

WEEK 15
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #25

Fell to #25 this week, and I can't tell you how excruciatingly disappointing that is. I know we got hit by some injuries in the last few games, but for godsakes man, give the ball to J.B. Taylor and just let him run. Oy.

PAC-10 (5-3) -- OVERALL (8-3)

* * *

WEEK 16
MINOR BOWL TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: --

Going to Indy again to play Oklahoma in the Hoosier Bowl. It's a solid Four Star Tier Bowl, but this team was capable of so much more.

Kevin Linquist, a wide receiver from Empire High School in Duncan, Oklahoma, has agreed to play for Southern Cal next season. He's an end of the bench depth receiver with good grades.

PAC-10 (5-3) -- OVERALL (8-3)

* * *

WEEK 17 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 17, 2018
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Michigan 11-0 B10 1.25 2.00 0.00 3.56 6.81 1
UCLA 11-0 P10 2.75 1.00 0.00 3.32 7.07 2
Miami of Florida 11-0 ACC 1.75 6.00 0.00 3.00 10.75 3
Hawaii 11-1 WAC 3.75 5.50 1.00 2.48 12.73 4
Toledo 12-1 MAC 4.50 7.50 1.00 3.72 16.72 5
Rice 10-1 WAC 8.00 5.50 1.00 3.60 18.10 6
Virginia 10-1 ACC 10.50 3.50 1.00 4.56 19.56 7
California 10-1 P10 5.75 10.50 1.00 2.84 20.09 8
Georgia Tech 10-1 ACC 8.50 10.50 1.00 3.20 23.20 9
Alabama 11-1 SEC 9.75 9.00 1.00 4.96 24.71 10
Florida 10-2 SEC 17.50 5.00 2.00 4.84 29.34 11
South Carolina 9-2 SEC 9.00 17.50 2.00 0.84 29.34 12
Syracuse 9-2 BGE 13.25 12.50 2.00 2.28 30.03 13
Boston College 10-2 BGE 15.75 14.00 2.00 3.64 35.39 14
Green Mountain 10-2 NNE 9.00 22.00 2.00 3.08 36.08 15
Michigan State 9-2 B10 14.50 19.00 2.00 0.96 36.46 16
Pittsburgh 9-3 BGE 13.25 22.00 3.00 0.32 38.57 17
Iowa 8-3 B10 20.50 12.50 3.00 3.52 39.52 18
Miami of Ohio 10-2 MAC 15.50 17.50 2.00 4.92 39.92 19
Nebraska 10-2 B12 21.75 17.50 2.00 4.24 45.49 20
South Florida 10-2 USA 23.00 17.50 2.00 4.20 46.70 21
Wisconsin 8-3 B10 15.75 25.50 3.00 3.04 47.29 22
Marshall 10-3 MAC 19.50 24.50 3.00 2.96 49.96 23
**Southern California 8-3 P10 25.50 17.50 3.00 4.32 50.32 24
Colorado State 8-3 MTW 22.75 25.50 3.00 1.48 52.73 25


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2018 SEASON (FINAL)


WEEK 17
MAJOR BOWL TIER
Week off.
USC BCS RANK: #24

Allocated the last of my coaching blocs to help some players with their studies. Hopefully it'll be enough to get them through finals.

PAC-10 (5-3) -- OVERALL (8-3)

* * *

WEEK 18
FOUR STAR TIER
HOOSIER BOWL: vs. Oklahoma (9-3) *TV3*
(USC -10) USC BCS RANK: #22

I took over the game plan this week with good results. A 35 point 2nd quarter blew the game wide open and we gave the damn ball to JB, beating Oklahoma up pretty bad in the Hoosier Bowl, 55-7.

Tailback J.B. Wilson ran for 146 yards and three scores on 27 carries (5.4 ypc) and Brock Dole performed well in the new scheme, going 12/17 for 182 yards while throwing two touchdown passes.

Wideout Ed Kidman hauled in 7 passes for 118 yards on the day.

Defensively 5th year senior Safety Joel Arvold brought an interception back for a touchdown as Southern Cal completely dominated the Sooners.

Now maybe next year we go after that national title.

Hoosier Bowl
USC 55 -- Oklahoma 7
PAC-10 (5-3) -- OVERALL (9-3)

* * *

WEEK 19
NEW YEAR'S TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #15

Got a good bounce in the rankings off last weeks demolition of Oklahoma.

PAC-10 (5-3) -- OVERALL (9-3)

* * *

WEEK 20
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #17

Our arch-rival UCLA plays Michigan in the Rose Bowl for the national title. I consider dressing Tom Brady in Wolverine blue and yellow - hey he still looks young enough - and getting him to go play.

He had other plans.

Michigan routs UCLA 31-10 and wins the national title.

USC Tailback J.B. Wilson is a finalist for the Heisman and finishes 7th in the balloting. Michigan QB Tony Cullen wins the Heisman.

We end the season ranked #18 in the BCS.

PAC-10 (5-3) -- OVERALL (8-3)

* * *

2018 FINAL BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Final 2018
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Michigan 12-0 B10 1.25 1.00 0.00 2.00 4.25 1
UCLA 11-1 P10 3.75 2.50 1.00 1.92 9.17 2
Miami of Florida 12-0 ACC 2.00 6.00 0.00 2.20 10.20 3
Hawaii 11-1 WAC 3.75 5.50 1.00 3.08 13.33 4
Virginia 11-1 ACC 7.25 3.50 1.00 3.68 15.43 5
Toledo 12-1 MAC 4.75 6.50 1.00 3.92 16.17 6
Georgia Tech 11-1 ACC 4.75 10.00 1.00 2.84 18.59 7
Alabama 12-1 SEC 5.50 9.00 1.00 4.96 20.46 8
Florida 11-2 SEC 12.00 3.50 2.00 4.44 21.94 9
Rice 10-2 WAC 13.25 8.50 2.00 2.52 26.27 10
California 10-2 P10 11.50 15.00 2.00 1.72 30.22 11
Iowa 9-3 B10 15.75 10.00 3.00 2.60 31.35 12
Boston College 10-2 BGE 16.75 12.50 2.00 3.64 34.89 13
Green Mountain 10-2 NNE 9.50 20.00 2.00 3.52 35.02 14
Miami of Ohio 10-2 MAC 14.50 15.00 2.00 4.92 36.42 15
Nebraska 11-2 B12 16.50 14.50 2.00 3.80 36.80 16
Wisconsin 9-3 B10 10.25 21.50 3.00 2.08 36.83 17
**Southern California 9-3 P10 15.50 15.00 3.00 3.84 37.34 18
Pittsburgh 9-3 BGE 13.00 21.00 3.00 0.52 37.52 19
Syracuse 9-3 BGE 18.25 17.00 3.00 1.84 40.09 20
South Florida 10-2 USA 21.25 16.00 2.00 4.28 43.53 21
South Carolina 9-3 SEC 16.25 24.00 3.00 0.48 43.73 22
Marshall 10-3 MAC 20.00 21.50 3.00 3.28 47.78 23
Michigan State 9-3 B10 21.75 25.00 3.00 0.24 49.99 24
Penn State 8-4 B10 24.25 26.00 4.00 1.12 55.37 25



-20-

[beargrowlz]

2018 SEASON SUMMARY & REVIEW


SEASON REVIEW

All in all, I'd have to classify 2018 as a very disappointing season for me. I thought this team was capable of competing for the PAC-10 championship and the national championship. Down the stretch however we simply stopped giving the ball to our bread and butter runner, Tailback J.B. Wilson. We tried to become dependent on QB Brock Dole who simply wasn't ready to carry such a burden. Our inexplicable shift in offensive philosophy in the three games prior to the Hoosier Bowl not only may have cost us a shot at both titles, but likely harmed the chances of J.B. winning the Heisman - for which he finished seventh in the ballotting.

Defensively we handled the transition from Bucky Riley - who retired - to new Defensive Coordinator Clarence Ackerman smooth as silk. The defense kept up its clocklike precision, holding opponents to just over 16 points per game, and even improved dramatically as a pass defense, allowing the 4th fewest yards in the nation - all while still maintaining an outstanding run defense which held opponents to under 1000 yards on the season and less than 3 yards per carry.

The only areas where we were not exceptional was in creating opponent turnovers, and in preventing our own. We need to get better at both.

Southern Cal continues to be a very prestigious football program and annually goes to a major bowl game or higher. But this program is at a level now where it needs to step up, take that step up to the next level and compete for a national championship. Despite our successes this season, we didn't do that this year. And that's something we need to take a look at and reexamine why we didn't step up to the next level and how to fix it so we can.

* * *

2018 USC AWARD WINNERS


University of Southern California Trojans
Individual Awarda

* TB J.B. Wilson (RS Jr.)
- 2nd Team All-American
- Academic All-American
- 1st Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* OG Frank Elliot (Sr.)
- Academic All-American
- 1st Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* OT Bobby Burgess (RS Jr.)
- Academic All-American
- 1st Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* WB Ike Daugherty (Fr.)
- PAC-10 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year

* S Lawrence Abdul-Jabbar (Fr.)
- PAC-10 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year

* FB Emmanuel Book (Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* WR Ron Morrison (RS Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* OT Hunter Blount (5th yr Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* K Rodney Gardner (RS Jr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* S Joel Arvold (5th yr Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10

* OT Graham Molina (RS Sr.)
- Academic All PAC-10

* LB Rick Holmes (5th yr Sr.)
- Academic All PAC-10

* CB Justin Jacobs (Inc. Fr.)
- High School All-American



* * *

2018 TEAM SUMMARY


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2018 Team Summary
Head Coach: Bear Growlz (11th Season)
Offensive Coordinator: Zach Fuchs (2nd Season)
Defensive Coordinator: Clarence Ackerman (1st Season)
Syndicate Coordinator: Pete Prior (20th Season)
Lead Scout: Lester Stargell (1st Season)
Overall Record: 9-3
BCS Ranking: #18
Coaches Poll: #16
Fans Poll: #14
PAC-10 Record: 5-3
PAC-10 Standing: 4th Place

Southern California Team Rank
Rushes 533 12
Rushing Yards 2155 19 (T)
Yards Per Carry 4.04 33 (T)
Pass Attempts 315 64
Completions 176 56 (T)
Passing Yards 2991 17
Yards Per Attempt 9.49 10 (T)
3rd Down Conversions 43.1 21 (T)
Points Per Game 36.4 15
Turnovers 18 46 (T)
Turnover Margin +4 39 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 326 3 (T)
Rushing Yards 957 16
Yards Per Carry 2.93 24 (T)
Pass Attempts 339 84 (T)
Completions 156 19
Passing Yards 1672 4
Yards Per Attempt 4.93 4
3rd Down Conversions 23.8 5
Points Per Game 16.3 19
Turnovers 22 45 (T)

Primary Formation: Flexbone Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 62 SMIS (123) 7
2 30 at NODM (33) 24
3 37 LAMN (86) 0
5 45 OREG (110) 20
7 44 at ARIZ (74) 14
8 34 WAST (51) 3
9 58 at ORST (113) 0
10 34 AZST (122) 7
11 13 at CALI (15) 38
12 14 at WASH (73) 41
14 11 UCLA (3) 35
18 55 vs OKLA (34) 7 ***Hoosier Bowl***

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Cmp%
9 Dole QB 270 148 2575 9.53 16 10 54.8%
4 Oxendine QB 33 20 289 8.75 0 0 60.6%
Team --- 315 176 2991 9.49 17 11 55.9%

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
48 Wilson RB 359 1664 4.63 25 66 73
24 Daugherty RB 113 378 3.34 3 29 49
9 Dole QB 24 16 0.66 0 12 70
Team --- 533 2155 4.04 29 120 221

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
6 Kidman WR 92 44 801 18.2 341 6
82 Morrison WR 84 40 939 23.4 324 4
28 Book FB 38 27 316 11.7 141 2
48 Wilson RB 35 23 327 14.2 177 3
24 Daugherty RB 29 20 281 14.0 167 1
7 Jacobs WR 24 12 202 16.8 51 0
Team --- 315 176 2991 16.9 1237 17

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
39 Arvold S 50 16 2.5 11 5 12
47 Holmes OLB 36 9 0.0 6 0 3
38 Abdul-Jabbar S 34 9 0.0 6 4 3
31 Fitzgerald CB 28 14 0.0 1 3 7
92 Oben ILB 27 7 1.0 4 0 2
95 El Nino OLB 26 13 1.0 4 0 5
44 Reed CB 25 4 0.0 2 1 1
91 Knight DE 25 12 14.0 14 0 0
45 Berg ILB 24 6 3.0 6 0 5
43 Alexander CB 24 5 0.0 4 0 4
90 Stender DE 23 11 6.0 9 0 0
54 Elder ILB 22 7 0.0 5 1 0
59 Mazzeo OLB 21 6 0.0 4 0 2
97 Pathon ILB 19 6 0.0 1 0 1
27 Waugh S 19 6 0.0 4 0 1
21 Cipa CB 17 8 1.0 4 5 6
77 Milton DT 16 9 3.0 4 0 0
29 Brennan S 15 4 1.0 1 0 0
82 Morrison WR 13 0 0.0 0 0 0
94 Wilcox DT 13 6 3.5 3 0 0
Team --- 548 167 41.0 101 19 52




-20-

[beargrowlz]

2019 PRESEASON


Winter, 2019

Besieged with job offers this offseason. Most prestigious offers were from the University of Virginia (Excellent-92) and the University of Syracuse (Excellent-83). I didn't give any serious consideration to any of the offers, I'm not ready to leave Southern Cal yet.

Syndicate Coordinator Pete Prior retired from his position after twenty years of service to the University of Southern California. A few regional scouts also retired.

Players Robbie Brown and Dwight Korinek have left the team because of their suspensions last season.

I guess they were mad.

No academic suspensions this season, always a good thing.

We hired 50 year old Arnie Urlacher as our new Syndicate Coordinator. Arnie's expertise is keeping players academically eligible. We hired hima way from Rutgers, where he was their Syndicate Coordinator. We also filled the regional scout vacancies.

The rest of the staff remains intact.

TCY Today once again rated our recruiting class amongst the best in the nation, ranking our incoming freshmen as 7th best in the country. Here's a look at our recruiting class.

The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
Recruiting List, Ranking View
TCY Today Ranking: #7

Player Pos HT WT ST NRank ByPos StRank ByPos
$$Finch, Kenneth QB 6-4 205 NJ 121 11 5 1
$$Thompson, Jeffrey RB 5-9 188 MI 6 1 1 1
$$Snyder, Alfred RB 5-8 193 IL 25 4 1 1
$$Washington, Spencer FB 6-3 237 NY 441 7 31 2
$$Horie, Tyrone FB 6-0 204 NM 610 14 4 1
##Linquist, Kevin WR 6-5 206 OK --- --- 21 2
##Warkentien, Desmond G 6-5 271 WI 977 76 24 3
##Grodin, Peter T 6-7 283 IL 545 54 31 4
$$Sly, Casey ILB 6-1 199 OR 220 6 4 1
$$Andersen, Vince ILB 6-3 195 PA 250 7 13 1
##Kariya, Kenneth OLB 6-2 216 AZ 498 31 7 1
$$Cheng, Walter CB 6-0 176 TN 96 7 6 1
$$Jacobs, Justin CB 6-1 181 CA 145 12 12 3
$$McElroy, Stephen S 5-11 187 AR 114 5 3 1
$$Kinsey, Mel S 6-1 192 NY 124 6 8 1
$$McCollum, Amos S 6-1 174 FL 125 7 8 1

Player All-St All-US Status
$$Finch, Kenneth Yes No Committed *
$$Thompson, Jeffrey Yes No Committed *
$$Snyder, Alfred Yes No Committed *
$$Washington, Spencer No No Committed *
$$Horie, Tyrone Yes No Committed *
##Linquist, Kevin Yes No Committed *
##Warkentien, Desmond No No Committed *
##Grodin, Peter Yes No Committed *
$$Sly, Casey Yes No Committed *
$$Andersen, Vince Yes No Committed *
##Kariya, Kenneth Yes No Committed *
$$Cheng, Walter Yes No Committed *
$$Jacobs, Justin Yes Yes Committed *
$$McElroy, Stephen Yes No Committed *
$$Kinsey, Mel No No Committed *
$$McCollum, Amos Yes No Committed *

The College Years
Recruiting List, Worksheet View


Player Scout Phone Visit Emphasis Status
$$Finch, Kenneth 94-- 2 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
$$Snyder, Alfred 86+ 3 2 Acad/Prest Committed *
$$Thompson, Jeffrey 88+ 4 1 Acad/Prest Committed *
$$Horie, Tyrone 84- 3 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
$$Washington, Spencer 77+ 2 1 Acad*/Dist Committed *
##Linquist, Kevin 48- 1 1 Acad*/Prest Committed *
##Warkentien, Desmond 59+ 2 1 Dist*/Prest Committed *
##Grodin, Peter 72+ 2 2 Acad*/Dist Committed *
$$Sly, Casey 91+ 2 2 Acad*/Prest Committed *
$$Andersen, Vince 95- 2 1 Acad/Prest Committed *
##Kariya, Kenneth 70+ 1 1 Dist/Prest Committed *
$$Cheng, Walter 79+ 5 1 Acad/Dist Committed *
$$Jacobs, Justin 79+ 2 1 Acad*/Dist Committed *
$$Kinsey, Mel 76++ 3 1 Acad*/Prest Committed *
$$McElroy, Stephen 82+ 2 1 Prest*/Acad Committed *
$$McCollum, Amos 100-- 4 1 Prest/Acad Committed *

The College Years
Recruiting List, Statistics View


Player Statistics Status
$$Finch, Kenneth 9 GP, 238-362-4464(12.3)-20-6 pass, 203Committed *
$$Thompson, Jeffrey 8 GP, 263-1827(6.9)-23 rush, 50-840-8 rCommitted *
$$Snyder, Alfred 9 GP, 258-1823(7.0)-10 rush, 54-963-7 rCommitted *
$$Washington, Spencer 8 GP, 71-423-3 rush, 44-765-7 rcv. Committed *
$$Horie, Tyrone 9 GP, 79-538-5 rush, 47-681-4 rcv. Committed *
##Linquist, Kevin 9 GP, 48-957(19.9)-9 rcv. Committed *
##Warkentien, Desmond 9 GP. Committed *
##Grodin, Peter 9 GP. Committed *
$$Sly, Casey 9 GP, 7-104-1 rcv, 108 tckls, 6.5 sacksCommitted *
$$Andersen, Vince 9 GP, 9-131-1 rcv, 108 tckls, 5.0 sacksCommitted *
##Kariya, Kenneth 9 GP, 10-216-1 rcv, 97 tckls, 8.0 sacksCommitted *
$$Cheng, Walter 9 GP, 27-194-2 rush, 16-388-3 rcv, 43 tCommitted *
$$Jacobs, Justin 9 GP, 15-153-1 rush, 12-297-1 rcv, 39 tCommitted *
$$McElroy, Stephen 9 GP, 56-243-1 rush, 14-236-2 rcv, 71 tCommitted *
$$Kinsey, Mel 7 GP, 47-263-3 rush, 9-128-3 rcv, 47 tcCommitted *
$$McCollum, Amos 9 GP, 54-390-1 rush, 14-286-2 rcv, 82 tCommitted *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2019 PRESEASON


Spring, 2019

Time to make the schedule. We play Notre Dame in South Bend again this year. Luck o'the Irish I guess. Our annual matchup with UCLA is also a road game for us. We have no carry over home and homes, and as every year, there is one PAC-10 team we don't play. This season that school is Arizona State. That leaves us two games to be scheduled.

Looking for a tune up game for Week 1 as we play Notre Dame Week 2, then a more substantial game for Week 4. We're ranked #9 in the Preseason BCS.

Stage 1: We offer a game to San Jose State at the Rose Bowl for Week 1. They reject our offer.

Stage 2: Syracuse offers us a home and home but at them this year. We reject their offer and offer BYU a game at the Rose Bowl. They rejected our offer.

Stage 3: Keene State is offerring an away game. I'm going to see if they will accept a home and home, we play at KSC this year. They accepted for Week 4. That game should be a blast.

Stage 4: We offer Georgia a homa and home for Week 1, this year at the Rose Bowl. They accept. That fills our schedule. Here's a look at it.

The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2019 Schedule

Preseason BCS Ranking: #9
Preseason Coaches Poll: #9
Preseason Fans Poll: #8
Rival: UCLA
Stadium Capacity: 96,600
Season Tickets Sold: 96,600
Conference: PAC-10

Week Opponent
1 GEORGIA
2 at (21) Notre Dame
3 ---off week---
4 at (19) Keene State
$$5 OREGON STATE
6 ---off week---
$$7 ARIZONA
$$8 WASHINGTON STATE
$$9 at Oregon
$$10 at (34) Stanford
$$11 (15) CALIFORNIA
$$12 at Washington
$$13 at (4) UCLA
14 ---off week---

Home Games in ALL CAPS
$$-Conference Games (#)-Preseason Coaches Poll Ranking


-20-

[beargrowlz]

PRESEASON 2019


Summer, 2019

Spent a lot of summer working on the kids academic schedules. Getting the frosh set up to make sure they prepare adequately for academic life and tweaking the schedules of the upperclassmen.

Our academic reputation remains Very Good (70), I'm almost certain now it cannot go any higher because of our failure to offer three majors. The GPA of the student-athletes in the football program remains the highest among Division 1-A schools at 3.23. Our prestige did dip two points down to Excellent (86) this year.

Put the kids through two-a-days this summer and I really like the team we've got assembled for this season. Tailback J.B. Wilson will be leading our attack and most of the offensive burden will fall on his shoulders. We've redshirted Ike Daugherty this year, and starting at Wingback will be 5th year senior Mercury Schultz who really had a great summer camp. At Fullback will be junior Devin Benzer, but expect to see quite a bit of talented freshman Spencer Washington there.

We're expecting much better things out of our passing game this year. 5th year senior Brock Dole is once again at the helm of the offense and it looked like he had matured quite a bit since last season. His primary targets will be wideouts 5th year senior Ron Morrison and redshirt senior Ed Kinman. Both receivers will also be handling kick and punt return duties. It's time for Dole to step up and show what he's capable of.

Our offensive line this year is young, but so talented that it has the potential to be simply dominating. Redshirt junior Gino Lyubashevsky anchors the line at the center position. He's flanked by redshirt sophomore Desmond Connell at RG - this kid can block - and 5th year senior Graham Molina at LG. At the tackles we've got redshirt senior Bobby Burgess and redshirt sophomore Nate Dillon. This line could very well dominate the line of scrimmage this year, but as it grows together over the next two seasons it'll be simply fantastic.

Over on the defensive side of the ball we've put together a very solid defensive line. 5th year senior Trent Milton is a run-stopper at Nose Tackle, and he's flanked on the ends by redshirt sophomore Floyd Jeffers and redshirt junior Wally Knight who had 14 sacks his first season as a starter. This is going to be a very difficult unit both to run against and to get passes off against unpressured.

Our linebacking corps is probably the weakness of the defensive unit this year. Starting on the outside will be freshman Ken Kariya, who is talented but raw, and 5th year senior Tyrus Mazzeo. It'll be on the outside where I would guess most teams will attack us. Up the middle we're quite a bit stronger with redshirt senior Renaldo Elder and redshirt sophomore Monty Garcia starting. They should do a very solid job against the run.

The secondary is looking better and better every day. Sophomore Safety Lawrence Abdul-Jabbar, PAC-10 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year in 2018, has the potential to be a superstar. He's joined at the other safety spot by redshirt sophomore Jared Espanza, who has a lot of potential. Redshirt sophomore Brad Knight starts at the shutdown corner and we think he's going to be a really good player. At the other corner will be returning starter, redshirt senior Max Fitzgerald.

I think Defensive Coordinator Clarence Ackerman is going to have a very strong defensive unit that keeps us in games and allows the offense to win them. Now, it'll just be up to J.B. Wilson and Brock Dole to put some points on the board.

My expectations this year are to make a run at the PAC-10 championship and to be legitimate contenders for the National Championship. We've got a rough schedule this year, but I definitely think we've got a good enough team to go all the way.

I know my expectations are high, but this team has a lot of talent and even more potential for the future.

Here's a look at our roster, and the preseason BCS rankings.


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2019 Roster/Scout Overview
From the Desk of Lester Stargell, Lead Scout

Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
Casillas, Eddie 18 QB Jr* 36 64
Dole, Brock 9 QB Sr 75 100
Finch, Kenneth 1 QB Fr 16 92
Oxendine, Pat 4 QB Sr* 49 71
Ratto, Vinny 2 QB So* 28 89
Daugherty, Ike 24 RB So 69 100
Shultz, Mercury 37 RB Sr 69 84
Snyder, Alfred 25 RB Fr 48 69
Thompson, Jeffrey 47 RB Fr 57 76
Vance, Billy 40 RB Jr* 47 59
Walker, Skipjack 36 RB Jr* 48 66
Wilson, J.B. 48 RB Sr* 86 100
Benzer, Devin 22 FB Jr 53 70
Horie, Tyrone 28 FB Fr 31 95
Washington, Spencer 45 FB Fr 44 72
Merchberger, Joe 32 FB* Jr* 28 51
Dresselhaus, Graham 84 TE* Jr* 7 7
Glover, Randy 88 TE* Sr* 11 19
Leavitt, Joel 81 TE* So 11 27
Hartl, Oliver 83 WR Jr* 30 54
Jacobs, Glen 7 WR So 45 66
Kidman, Edwin 6 WR Sr* 80 80
Morrison, Ron 82 WR Sr 95 95
Myers, Al 86 WR So 33 62
Henderson, Norbert 87 WR* Jr 7 7
Linquist, Kevin 85 WR* Fr 11 28
Leong, Dexter 50 C So* 18 77
Long, Dana 53 C Jr* 36 63
Lyubashevsky, Gino 56 C Jr* 55 61
Ours, Cornell 52 C* Sr* 24 58
Ballard, Louis 61 G Sr* 39 100
Barton, Brian 65 G Jr* 26 75
Connell, Desmond 68 G So* 50 90
Lauvray, Nate 71 G Sr* 26 79
Molina, Graham 64 G Sr 62 88
Warkentien, Desmond 66 G Fr 1 47
Aska, Dana 74 T Sr 50 54
Berry, Kurt 78 T Jr* 27 51
Burgess, Bobby 60 T Sr* 73 88
Dillon, Nate 69 T So* 57 81
Grodin, Peter 67 T Fr 11 89
Joyner, Billy Joe 75 T Sr 42 77
Kirkwood, Lester 79 T Sr* 36 61
Eason, Xavier 8 P Jr* 67 94
Terry, Ronald 12 P* So* 1 1
Gardner, Rodney 17 K Sr* 92 100
Sharber, Louise 16 K* Fr 6 6
Jeffers, Floyd 72 DE So* 47 99
Knight, Wally 91 DE Jr* 60 83
Lackey, R.J. 76 DE Sr 37 60
Lew, Austin 70 DE So* 45 100
Sutton, William 93 DE Sr 44 64
Francis, Andrew 99 DT Sr* 53 88
McWilliams, Mel 98 DT So* 50 100
Milton, Trent 77 DT Sr 68 85
Wilcox, Albert 94 DT Sr* 37 77
Flynn, Buddy 73 DT* Sr 12 32
Andersen, Vince 43 ILB Fr 18 73
Elder, Renaldo 54 ILB Sr* 54 84
Garcia, Monty 41 ILB So* 43 76
Oben, Moe 92 ILB Jr 47 70
Pathon, Dale 97 ILB Sr 30 61
Sly, Casey 58 ILB Fr 13 79
Whalen, Walt 49 ILB So* 37 91
Blackston, Matt 42 OLB So* 38 81
Kariya, Kenneth 90 OLB Fr 32 72
Mazzeo, Tyrus 59 OLB Sr 39 64
O'Neal, Deron 96 OLB Sr* 19 62
Biakabutuka, Wayne 55 OLB* Jr* 24 42
Hoffman, William 51 OLB* Sr 5 26
Cheng, Walter 23 CB Fr 20 96
Cipa, Dan 21 CB Jr 48 50
Fitzgerald, Max 31 CB Sr* 47 88
Jacobs, Justin 35 CB Fr 30 62
Knight, Brad 26 CB So* 58 97
Reed, Buddy 44 CB Sr 42 79
Abdul-Jabbar, Lawrence 38 S So 71 85
Brennan, Jon 29 S Jr* 35 57
Esparza, Jared 20 S So* 56 66
Kinsey, Mel 34 S Fr 33 84
McCollum, Amos 46 S Fr 44 80
McElroy, Stephen 39 S Fr 33 98
Waugh, Artie 27 S Sr* 41 61



* * *

2019 Preseason BCS Rankings

The College Years
Preseason, 2019
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 0-0 SEC 1.00 1.00 0.00 2.04 4.04 1
Iowa 0-0 B10 2.00 2.00 0.00 0.48 4.48 2
Michigan 0-0 B10 3.00 3.00 0.00 0.52 6.52 3
UCLA 0-0 P10 4.00 4.00 0.00 1.92 9.92 4
Virginia 0-0 ACC 5.00 5.00 0.00 0.32 10.32 5
Texas A&M 0-0 B12 8.00 7.50 0.00 1.24 16.74 6
Hawaii 0-0 WAC 7.00 6.50 0.00 3.32 16.82 7
Rice 0-0 WAC 6.00 7.50 0.00 3.44 16.94 8
**Southern California 0-0 P10 9.00 8.50 0.00 1.88 19.38 9
Syracuse 0-0 BGE 11.00 10.50 0.00 1.48 22.98 10
Boston College 0-0 BGE 10.00 13.00 0.00 1.32 24.32 11
Toledo 0-0 MAC 12.00 11.50 0.00 4.08 27.58 12
Pittsburgh 0-0 BGE 14.00 15.50 0.00 1.40 30.90 13
Georgia Tech 0-0 ACC 13.00 19.50 0.00 0.16 32.66 14
Wisconsin 0-0 B10 17.00 15.00 0.00 0.80 32.80 15
Alabama 0-0 SEC 16.00 15.00 0.00 2.28 33.28 16
California 0-0 P10 15.00 18.00 0.00 1.72 34.72 17
Penn State 0-0 B10 20.00 17.50 0.00 0.72 38.22 18
Notre Dame 0-0 IND 21.00 16.50 0.00 4.56 42.06 19
Keene State 0-0 NNE 19.00 21.50 0.00 4.84 45.34 20
Nebraska 0-0 B12 24.00 21.00 0.00 1.04 46.04 21
Miami of Ohio 0-0 MAC 18.00 24.50 0.00 3.84 46.34 22
Southern Methodist 0-0 WAC 22.00 23.50 0.00 3.52 49.02 23
Louisville 0-0 USA 26.00 24.00 0.00 3.04 53.04 24
Colorado State 0-0 MTW 25.00 27.00 0.00 2.60 54.60 25



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[beargrowlz]

2019 SEASON (1st Qtr.)


WEEK 1
vs. Georgia (0-0) *TV5*
(USC -10) USC BCS RANK: #9

We start off the season against a proud Georgia Bulldog program. It'll be a good test to see how far we've come over the offseason.

Made a lot of first contacts with recruits. We're also going to be recruiting some Tight Ends as we seriously consider a transition to a wishbone with redshirt freshman Kenny Finch being our quarterback of the future - he's a 97 QB scramble and we think that'll add a lot to our offense.

A surprisingly strong Bulldog run defense managed to contain J.B. Wilson to 101 yards on 32 carries (3.1 avg) but QB brock Dole hit wideout Ron Morrison for three scoring strikes, throwing four touchdown passes on the day to lead Southern Cal to a 48-7 rout over Georgia in front of a very pleased capacity crowd at the Rose Bowl.

Dole went 18/22 for 302 yards while throwing for four scores and getting picked once. Morrison had an explosive day, hauling in 10 catches for 187 yards and 3 TD's.

An outstanding way to open the season and get prepped for our trip to South Bend.

USC 48 -- Georgia 7
PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (1-0)

* * *

WEEK 2
@ #14 Notre Dame (1-0) *TV1*
(ND -1) USC BCS RANK: #1

Big game on national TV this week, as we travel to South Bend for our annual matchup with the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Georgia did a solid job in containing J.B. Wilson, so we expect Notre Dame to try the same things against us the Dawgs did. Hope Brock Dole is up to the challenge.

OT Bobby Burgess is out for up to 9 weeks with a seperated shoulder. Not good.

Spent the recruuiting week making more first contacts. Already have a student on campus visiting, never seen a student show up that fast. Hope it's a good sign.

It was the Brock and Ron show in South Bend this week as QB Brock Dole went 20/29 for 443 yards and 4 touchdowns, connecting with Ron Morrison for three of them in leading USC to a 38-25 win over the Fighting Irish.

Morrison had a day that no doubt had pro scouts heads turning, as he caught 11 passes for 245 yards and three scores. Wideout Ed Kinman got in on the fun making 4 catches for 93 yards and a score.

Notre Dame kept J.B. Wilson relatively in check, limiting him to 126 yards and one score on 30 carries (4.2 avg).

Freshman OLB Ken Kariya led the defense with 8 tackles and a sack.

Definitely a good way to start the year.

USC 38 -- Notre Dame 25
PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (2-0)

* * *

WEEK 3
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #2

Drop to #2 behind Syracuse after our big road win. Guess we weren't impressive enough.

Continued to make more new contacts and follow up on many of the kids who are visiting campus. Getting a lot of early visits this year. That's a good thing I think.

PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (2-0)

* * *

WEEK 4
@ #20 Keene State (2-0) *TV1*
(USC -2) USC BCS RANK: #1

The year of the killer schedule continues. We have a big game against the program I built from the ground up, which has since become a national power. They'd love nothing better than to beat us and show me I was wrong to leave - and we'd love nothing better than to beat them and show people we're true contenders for a national championship.

That's what college football is all about.

What a defensive struggle. Tailback J.B. Wilson managed to grind 115 yards on 27 carries out on the ground against a tough Fighting Owl defense and wideout Ed Kinman returned a punt 91 yards for a touchdown as the Trojans nipped Keene State 20-17 at Owl Field.

Nose Tackle Trent Milton filled the gaps for Southern Cal making 8 tackles in leading a stifling USC defense. QB Brock Dole went 16/26 for 250 yards and hit FB Devin Benzer with a scoring strike, but was also picked off once on the day.

A very solid, if tough, win.

USC 20 -- Keene State 17
PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (3-0)

* * *

WEEK 5 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 5, 2019
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
**Southern California 3-0 P10 5.50 5.50 0.00 1.84 12.84 1
UCLA 3-0 P10 6.75 3.00 0.00 3.32 13.07 2
Miami of Ohio 3-0 MAC 4.00 13.50 0.00 2.32 19.82 3
Michigan 3-0 B10 15.50 1.50 0.00 3.40 20.40 4
Marshall 3-0 MAC 5.75 13.50 0.00 2.44 21.69 5
Rice 2-0 WAC 13.25 5.50 0.00 3.04 21.79 6
Georgia Tech 3-0 ACC 7.75 11.00 0.00 4.00 22.75 7
Syracuse 3-0 BGE 12.25 7.00 0.00 3.76 23.01 8
Fresno State 3-0 WAC 3.25 18.50 0.00 3.88 25.63 9
Louisville 3-0 USA 9.50 13.50 0.00 3.44 26.44 10
Toledo 3-0 MAC 15.00 8.00 0.00 3.64 26.64 11
South Florida 3-0 USA 9.50 16.00 0.00 4.24 29.74 12
Air Force 2-0 MTW 3.25 23.00 0.00 3.80 30.05 13
Wisconsin 3-0 B10 17.25 10.00 0.00 4.12 31.37 14
North Carolina State 3-0 ACC 14.00 22.00 0.00 2.76 38.76 15
Texas A&M 2-1 B12 18.50 19.00 1.00 1.00 39.50 16
Pittsburgh 3-1 BGE 16.75 22.00 1.00 3.16 42.91 17
Alabama 3-0 SEC 30.75 10.00 0.00 4.72 45.47 18
Virginia 3-0 ACC 36.75 4.00 0.00 4.92 45.67 19
Iowa 3-0 B10 42.25 1.50 0.00 4.84 48.59 20
Florida 1-1 SEC 29.25 18.00 1.00 0.92 49.17 21
Houston 2-0 USA 17.00 30.50 0.00 4.04 51.54 22
South Carolina 2-0 SEC 32.00 15.50 0.00 4.36 51.86 23
Washington 3-0 P10 16.00 36.00 0.00 3.92 55.92 24
Illinois 3-0 B10 19.00 34.00 0.00 3.68 56.68 25



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[beargrowlz]

2019 SEASON (2nd Qtr.)


WEEK 5
vs. Oregon State (1-2)
(USC -12) USC BCS RANK: #1

Back to #1 in the nation this week. What a stretch of games that was, but hopefully it has prepared us for a tough PAC-10 schedule. Winning a national championship pretty much means going undefeated, so we cab't have any let down weeks or we can kiss those hopes goodbye.

Burgess will still be out again this week and Ron Morrison is doubtful with a sprained knee.

Spent much of my time continuing to pester recruits we have already made contact with. It'll be interesting to see if we land enough tight ends to switch to a full blown wishbone next season. With Dole and Morrison graduating and Finch looking like a great running quarterback, that will be the time to do it.

Tailback J.B. Wilson scored twice and ran for 88 yards on 19 carries (4.6 avg) before leaving the game with an abdominal strain and Wingback Mercury Schultz filled the void running for another another score and 64 more yards as USC handily beat the Oregon State Beavers 31-14 at the Rose Bowl.

For redshirt OT Nate Dillon it didn't really matter who was carrying the ball, he simply dominated the line of scrimmage all day long, making 7 key run blocks to spring the Trojan backs for big gains.

ILB's Renaldo Elder and Monty Garcia had 8 and 7 tackles respectively to lead the Southern cal defense. Elder also assisted on four others.

A solid win, but JB is listed as doubtful for a couple-three weeks. Hope we can get the job done without him.

USC 31 -- Oregon State 14
PAC-10 (1-0) -- OVERALL (4-0)

* * *

WEEK 6
Week off.
USC BCS RANK: #2

We fell to #2 in the BCS rankings behind UCLA - wouldn't that be a hoot of a national championship game.

Good that we have the week off, gives Morrison and JB some time to heal.

Only 1 D and 3 D+'s at quarterly grade time - allocated each of them four coaching blocks. Pretty good academic performance this quarter.

Hrrm, recruiting tight ends is proving to be difficult. I wonder if something is built in that because I am running a flexbone - an offense that doesn't use tight ends - that getting tight ends to committ is more difficult. If so, you'd think that they wouldn't walk on to the team either - but hey, too early to tell.

We did land a QB who ran for 1400 yards this high school season, Anthony Felkey, a quarterback from Woodrow Wilson High School in Los Angeles, California. Felkey's high school atheltic program is seriously lacking in the fundamentals, so he'll be a project, but we can look at him as a longterm replacement for Finch eventually in our system - depending on how he runs in camp. Lots of rejections, mostly from TE's. Heh.

Pretty much maxed out contact with the kids who are visiting campus. Started making new contacts, trying to land one each of an OT, OG and OC. Concentrating on high academic types - we seem to land those easier than team prestige types, even though we're about the same relative to other schools in prestige and academic reputation - I think it's because out overall academic reputation is a 70, but many of our majors our in the high 90's, and the recruits take what they major into account moreso than the overall academic reputation - which is good for us.

PAC-10 (1-0) -- OVERALL (4-0)

* * *

WEEK 7
vs. Arizona (2-3) (PAC-10)
(USC -19) USC BCS RANK: #2

Injury report is a little better this week.

2019 USC Injury Report
Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Fitzgerald, Max 31 CB Sr* Questionable Torn Thumb Ligame 6 Weeks
Morrison, Ron 82 WR Sr Doubtful Sprained Knee 5 Weeks
Burgess, Bobby 60 T Sr* Out Separated Shoulde 5 Weeks
Wilson, J.B. 48 RB Sr* Questionable Abdominal Strain 2 Weeks

We're going to sit Morrison but try and play JB. Morrison did play a bit two weeks ago but only made 1 catch. So we'll sit him down to heal up.

Landed a bunch of recruits this week - including a tight end, woo! Hope he realizes when I told him he was going to be playing in LA I meant Los Angeles and not Baton Rouge.

Dustin Wynn, a 77-- tight end from South Terrebonne High School in Bourg, Louisiana, Marty Westbrook, a wide receiver from Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra, California, Broderick Frias, an inside linebacker from Germantown High School in Germantown, Wisconsin, Jessie Pritchett, an outside linebacker from Bonita High School in La Verne, California and Amos Carpenter, a safety from Troy High School in Fullerton, California all signed letters of intent this week to play for Southern Cal in the fall.

Frias and Carpenter are the 12th and 16th rated recruits in the country according to TCY Today. Westbrook is an 85+ wideout and Pritchett an 89+ LB, but both will need a redshirt year to work on fundamentals. Wynn is a good clutch receiver - but he's a tight end and we need a few of them this class, that's what matters most. Overrated, but we'll take him.

Continued re-contacting those recruits already on our list as well as widely expanding out list and making initial contacts and invitations to visit campus.

Tailback J.B. Wilson had a bust out game this wek, rushing for 255 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries (7.9 avg) to lead Southern Cal to a 34-27 victory over the Arizona Wildcats.

QB Brock Dole floundered all day, getting picked off three times and just didn't have it without wideout Ron Morrison in the lineup.

DE's Wally Knight and Austin lew each had 1.5 sacks and Tyrus Mazzeo returned a blocked punt for a touchdown.

Not a good win, but a win is a win is a win. I'll take it.

USC 34 -- Arizona 27
PAC-10 (2-0) -- OVERALL (5-0)

* * *

WEEK 8
vs. #23 Washington State (4-1) (PAC-10) *TV3*
(USC -6) USC BCS RANK: #5

Guess our win wasn't impressive enough for the BCS folks as we drop to #5 in the rankings. Tough game this week against the Cougars. Injuries look a little better this week and Ron Morrison should play.

2019 USC Injurt Report
Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Fitzgerald, Max 31 CB Sr* Questionable Torn Thumb Ligame 5 Weeks
Morrison, Ron 82 WR Sr Questionable Sprained Knee 4 Weeks
Burgess, Bobby 60 T Sr* Questionable Separated Shoulde 4 Weeks
Wilson, J.B. 48 RB Sr* Probable Abdominal Strain 1 Week

Lost an OLB we wanted to UCLA. No good news on the recruiting front whatsoever this week.

Tailback J.B. Wilson went down early re-straining an abdominal muscle but Wingback Mercury Schultz picked up the slack behind the dominating blocking of LG Graham Molina rushing for 112 yards and a score on 25 carries (4.4 avg) as Southern Cal handles the Cougars quite easily, 35-10.

OG Graham Molina made 6 key run blocks and opened holes all day for the Trojan running backs. WR Ron Morrison seems to be getting back in the swing of things after his injury, making 5 catches for 93 yards and a touchdown.

LB's Renaldo Elder and Ken Kariya led the defense with 9 and 8 tackles respectively. Elder also assisted on four others.

A very solid win for us.

USC 35 -- Washington State 10
PAC-10 (3-0) -- OVERALL (6-0)

* * *


WEEK 9 BCS RANKINGS


The College Years
Week 9, 2019
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
UCLA 7-0 P10 2.25 1.00 0.00 2.16 5.41 1
**Southern California 6-0 P10 2.25 3.00 0.00 2.72 7.97 2
Florida 4-1 SEC 4.00 5.00 1.00 0.20 10.20 3
Syracuse 6-0 BGE 3.50 4.50 0.00 3.88 11.88 4
Virginia 6-0 ACC 9.25 2.00 0.00 4.92 16.17 5
Miami of Ohio 6-0 MAC 6.25 8.00 0.00 4.68 18.93 6
Louisville 6-0 USA 6.75 9.50 0.00 3.52 19.77 7
Texas A&M 6-1 B12 8.00 9.50 1.00 2.52 21.02 8
Wisconsin 5-1 B10 6.25 15.50 1.00 1.72 24.47 9
Air Force 6-0 MTW 7.50 14.50 0.00 3.00 25.00 10
Rice 5-1 WAC 13.75 9.50 1.00 3.72 27.97 11
Toledo 7-0 MAC 18.75 5.50 0.00 5.00 29.25 12
Alabama 6-1 SEC 13.00 13.00 1.00 2.84 29.84 13
Georgia Tech 5-1 ACC 12.00 16.00 1.00 1.76 30.76 14
Michigan 5-2 B10 24.00 11.00 2.00 1.20 38.20 15
Iowa 5-2 B10 25.75 9.50 2.00 1.48 38.73 16
Marshall 5-1 MAC 15.75 18.50 1.00 4.56 39.81 17
Fresno State 5-1 WAC 14.00 24.00 1.00 2.48 41.48 18
Illinois 6-1 B10 8.50 30.50 1.00 2.08 42.08 19
Penn State 5-1 B10 22.00 16.50 1.00 2.96 42.46 20
Oklahoma 5-1 B12 18.50 22.50 1.00 3.64 45.64 21
Washington 6-1 P10 10.25 33.50 1.00 3.44 48.19 22
South Florida 5-1 USA 23.25 20.50 1.00 4.36 49.11 23
Arkansas State 5-1 SUN 21.00 25.50 1.00 2.92 50.42 24
Missouri 5-1 B12 18.75 29.00 1.00 1.68 50.43 25





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[beargrowlz]

2019 SEASON (3rd Qtr.)


WEEK 9
@ Oregon (3-4) (PAC-10) *TV5*
(USC -8) USC BCS RANK: #2

Slid back into #2 in the BCS Rankings behind our old friends UCLA. This season is shaping up to be quite interesting.

My problem is, I just can't seem to find the right gameplan to make Brock Dole effective. The one the scout puts together makes him suck lemons - and mine aren't much better.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Fitzgerald, Max 31 CB Sr* Probable Torn Thumb Ligame 4 Weeks
Morrison, Ron 82 WR Sr Questionable Sprained Knee 3 Weeks
Burgess, Bobby 60 T Sr* Questionable Separated Shoulde 3 Weeks
Wilson, J.B. 48 RB Sr* Doubtful Abdominal Strain 2 Weeks

We'll likely play everyone but JB, who we'll sit today and help him heal. It'll be nice having Bobby Burgess back at OT, the line hasn't been as dominating as I thought it would be. Mercury Schultz will move to Tailback and redshirt junior Skipjack Walker will start at Wingback.

Landed two recruits this week. Josh Woodson, a center from Winfield High School in Winfield, Kansas and Shaun McIntyre, a defensive end from Porterville High School in Porterville, California have committed to Southern Cal for next season.

McIntyre was ranked the #5 recruit in the nation and is an 82+ run stopping DE that comes to us from an excellent atheltic and academic high school. He provides us with tremendous depth on the defensive line and may have to redshirt next year even though it's likely he'll be ready to play. Woodson is a 79++ run blocking center that comes from a high school with a decent (50) athletic program but an excellent academic school.

QB Brock Dole lit up the airways this week with perhaps the best performance of his collegiate career, going 23/32 for 385 yards and four touchdown passes while only being picked off once in leading the Trojans to a 52-24 rout over the Oregon Ducks in Eugene.

Dole hit favorite target wideout Ron Morrison (4 rec/96 yds) for two of his scoring strikes and also hit FB Devin Benzer and 3rd WR Oliver Hartl for 1 score each.

RB Mercury Schultz filled in very ably for J.B. Taylor in the Tailback position, rushing for 146 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries (5.6 avg) and Wingback Skipjack Walker added another 61 yards rushing behind the completely dominating blocking of OG Graham Molina who made 9 key run blocks on the day.

DE Austin Lew had 1.5 sacks to lead the Trojan defense.

A terrific win for us on the road. Maybe, just maybe, I've found the right combination for Dole to be effective.

USC 52 -- Oregon 24
PAC-10 (4-0) -- OVERALL (7-0)

* * *

WEEK 10
@ Stanford (1-6) (PAC-10)
(USC -25) USC BCS RANK: #2

The only thing keeping us from passing UCLA in the BCS rankings are the voter polls - we have a tougher strength of schedule and a higher computer ranking. Hopefully we'll keep playing good, solid football and it won't matter.

We're going to sit J.B. down again this week, but play everyone else on the injured list. Hopefully JB will heal up completely by next week.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Fitzgerald, Max 31 CB Sr* Probable Torn Thumb Ligame 3 Weeks
Morrison, Ron 82 WR Sr Probable Sprained Knee 2 Weeks
Burgess, Bobby 60 T Sr* Probable Separated Shoulde 2 Weeks
Walker, Skipjack 36 RB Jr* Probable Influenza 1 Week
Wilson, J.B. 48 RB Sr* Questionable Abdominal Strain 1 Week

Landed a few more recruits this week and only lost one to UCLA. Phillip Freeman, a 77-- wide receiver from Stephens County High School in Toccoa, Georgia, Jesse Mercer, a 59+ center from Warren High School in Downey, California, Chester Deason, a 78+ offensive guard from Northridge High School in Layton, Utah and Mario Barber, an 86++ cornerback from West High School in Oshkosh, Wisconsin all signed letters of intent to play for USC next fall.

Barber is ranked the #1 recruit in the nation by TCY Today and comes to us from an excellent high school, both atheltically and academically. It's possible he could start right away next year depending on how he looks in summer camp.

The Cardinal made a game of it, holding Southern Cal to 44 net yards rushing, but QB Brock Dole hit wideout Ron Morrison on two scoring strikes and the Trojans prevailed on the road, 27-13.

Morrison had another ballistic day, making 7 receptions for 174 yards and two scores with 89 yards after catch. Dole went 16/26 for 277 yards, throwing two touchdowns and no interceptions. A good solid day, the kind we'd like him to have down the stretch.

DE Austin Lew and backup NT Andrew Francis each had a sack and a half to lead the Trojan defense.

A solid, if unspectacular win for us, on the road and without JB.

USC 27 -- Stanford 13
PAC-10 (5-0) -- OVERALL (8-0)

* * *

WEEK 11
vs. California (4-4) (PAC-10) *TV4*
(USC -15) USC BCS RANK: #2

We remain barely ahead of Syracuse for the #2 spot in the BCS rankings - didn't they offer me a job recently? We're playing solid football and we get J.B. Wilson back all nice and healed up this week. We're going to need him because Cal always plays us tough.

We'll sit Wally Knight this week because of his injury. Everyone else plays.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Fitzgerald, Max 31 CB Sr* Probable Torn Thumb Ligame 2 Weeks
Morrison, Ron 82 WR Sr Probable Sprained Knee 1 Week
Burgess, Bobby 60 T Sr* Probable Separated Shoulde 1 Week
Knight, Wally 91 DE Jr* Doubtful Abdominal Strain 4 Weeks

Heh, lost a Tight End recruit to Keene State - ain't that a kick in the teeth.

We did land one recruit this week, Ricardo Carley, a tight end from Lawrenceburg High School in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, signed a letter of intent to play for Southern Cal next season. He's a 77+ but his prep athletic program is only fair, so he's a project. But it's a start to adding TE's - he's the second we have landed this season.

QB Brock Dole didn't try and do too much and played mistake free football as he went 12/20 for 166 yards and two touchdown passes in leading USC to a tough 27-20 victory of Cal.

Dole hit FB Devin Benzer and wideout Ed Kidman with his scoring strikes, while Tailback J.B. Wilson worked overtime for the games he missed, carrying the ball 38 times for 122 yards rushing (3.2 avg) and one touchdown run. The Golden Bears did a pretty good job containing JB, but he got the tough yards when we needed them.

5th year senior NT Trent Milton sacked the Golden Bear QB twice on the day, and Safety Jared Esparza and ILB Monty Garcia had 8 and 7 tackles respectively to lead the Trojan defense.

A nice solid win that keeps us in the hunt for both the PAC-10 title and the National Championship.

USC 27 -- California 20
PAC-10 (6-0) -- OVERALL (9-0)

* * *

WEEK 12
@ #18 Washington (8-1) (PAC-10) *TV3*
(Wash -1) USC BCS RANK: #2

Going to be a tough game this week, on the road against a very good Huskies team. With UCLA at (10-0/7-0) we've got to win this one to have any chance at the titles. We're going to need J.B. Wilson and Brock Dole to step up big for us this week.

Got hit with the injury bug, as Knight will be out again and ILB Renaldo Elder will also sit due to injury. Elder will be gone until next year. Starting in his place will be redshirt sophomore Walt Whalen.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Fitzgerald, Max 31 CB Sr* Probable Torn Thumb Ligame 1 Week
Sutton, William 93 DE Sr Doubtful Hyperextended Elb 2 Weeks
Elder, Renaldo 54 ILB Sr* Out Elbow Ligament Su 23 Weeks
Knight, Wally 91 DE Jr* Doubtful Abdominal Strain 3 Weeks

We landed two recruits this week, and that brings our rrecruiting class to fifteen. We only had fifteen scholarships to offer, so we're hoping one of the students we invited to walk-on agrees to do so.

Signing letters of intent with us this week were Fred Hastings, a 76-- tight end from Villisca Community High School in Villisca, Iowa and Ryan Gash, an 81+ offensive tackle from Woodcreek High School in Roseville, California. Not big news, but they'll help us out eventually.

Wideout Ron Morrison returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown and scored twice more on pass receptions to lead the Southern Cal Trojans to a big road win against Washington, 35-17.

Besides his kickoff return for a score, Morrison had 5 catches on the day for 155 yards and two more touchdowns - including a 63 yard scoring strike from QB Brock Dole. It was the kind of dominating day the 1st team All PAC-10 receiver has begun to become known for and he no doubt turned some NFL scouts' heads yet again.

QB Brock Dole did not play particularly well, going 14/29 for 262 yards and two touchdowns, but he was also picked off twice on the day. Tailback J.B. Wilson only had 18 carries but he made the most of them, gaining 88 yards (4.8 avg), and one has to wonder about Offensive Coordinator Zach Fuchs' playcalling in this one.

The Southern Cal victory today creates a showdown between two undefeated teams, USC and UCLA, with the PAC-10 championship on the line, and perhaps much, much more.

USC 35 -- Washington 17
PAC-10 (7-0) -- OVERALL (10-0)

* * *

WEEK 13 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 13. 2019
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
UCLA 10-0 P10 3.00 1.00 0.00 4.52 8.52 1
**Southern California 10-0 P10 2.25 3.50 0.00 2.84 8.59 2
Syracuse 9-0 BGE 1.50 4.50 0.00 4.24 10.24 3
Florida 8-1 SEC 5.00 4.00 1.00 1.52 11.52 4
Virginia 9-0 ACC 5.00 2.00 0.00 4.92 11.92 5
Louisville 10-0 USA 7.25 6.50 0.00 2.80 16.55 6
Wisconsin 9-1 B10 5.50 9.00 1.00 2.44 17.94 7
Air Force 9-0 MTW 7.50 9.50 0.00 3.84 20.84 8
Rice 8-1 WAC 9.75 6.50 1.00 3.92 21.17 9
Georgia Tech 8-1 ACC 6.50 11.50 1.00 3.12 22.12 10
Penn State 8-2 B10 12.50 15.50 2.00 0.80 30.80 11
Texas A&M 8-2 B12 15.50 13.00 2.00 1.56 32.06 12
Arkansas 8-1 SEC 8.25 19.50 1.00 3.40 32.15 13
Miami of Ohio 9-1 MAC 14.75 12.00 1.00 4.84 32.59 14
Alabama 7-2 SEC 13.00 17.50 2.00 0.56 33.06 15
Toledo 9-1 MAC 18.75 8.50 1.00 5.00 33.25 16
Michigan 7-3 B10 20.50 15.50 3.00 1.32 40.32 17
Missouri 8-2 B12 13.75 24.50 2.00 0.28 40.53 18
Notre Dame 7-2 IND 19.50 18.50 2.00 2.12 42.12 19
Marshall 8-2 MAC 19.50 20.00 2.00 2.68 44.18 20
New Mexico State 9-1 SUN 16.50 22.00 1.00 4.96 44.46 21
South Florida 8-2 USA 18.25 20.50 2.00 3.72 44.47 22
Iowa 8-3 B10 25.00 13.50 3.00 4.36 45.86 23
Washington 8-2 P10 18.50 28.00 2.00 2.24 50.74 24
Miami of Florida 7-3 ACC 22.25 26.50 3.00 1.00 52.75 25



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[aztarheel]

Let's go Trojans -- clap, clap, clap clap clap
Let's go Trojans -- clap, clap, clap clap clap

[beargrowlz]

Thanks for the support man!

[beargrowlz]

2019 SEASON (4th Qtr.)


WEEK 13
@ #1 UCLA (10-0) (PAC-10) *TV1*
(UCLA -5) USC BCS RANK: #2

Unstoppable force meets immovable object. Things at rest stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force. Ten wins no losses vs. ten wins no losses, 7-0 PAC-10 record vs. 7-0 PAC-10 record. Maroon and gold vs. powder blue and yellow. Arch-rivals in their annual showdown game - cue the Star Wars theme, because this is what it's all about.

Easily the biggest game of my college football coaching career to date. A win, we win the PAC-10 and likely get an invite to the National Championship game in the Rose Bowl. A loss, we remain second class citizens in southern California to UCLA and have to start all over again next year.

These are the games where heroes are made - where bigtime players show they are bigtime.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Fitzgerald, Max 31 CB Sr* Probable Torn Thumb Ligame 1 Week
Sutton, William 93 DE Sr Questionable Hyperextended Elb 1 Week
Elder, Renaldo 54 ILB Sr* Out Elbow Ligament Su 22 Weeks
Knight, Wally 91 DE Jr* Doubtful Abdominal Strain 3 Weeks

Everyone but Elder and Knight will suit up.

But alas, first comes the ABC's.

Quarterly grades came out this week. Pretty good this quarter, one D-, one D, two D+'s. Gave them each some coaching blocs, but looking pretty solid academically.

Received an email from my trainer that stated " Brock Dole, a quarterback, is considered completely recovered from his most recent injury."

I can only hope he meant Brock's recent rash of Interceptionitis.

A capacity crowd of 111,100 fans filled the Los Angeles Coliseum to witness the biggest game Los Angeles had seen since the LA Xpress faced He Hate Me. As Pete Caroll would say, everyone was pumped and jacked.

Southern Cal's redshirt senior kicker Rodney Gardner booted a 39 yard field goal to give USC a 3-0 lead with 5:58 left in the first. That was it for the quarter.

End of 1st: USC 3-0

Early in the second, Southern Cal drives to the Bruin one yard line, where Brock Dole throws a little swing pass to Wingback Gabe Schultz for six points. Gardner makes the XP and follows with a field goal a couple of minutes later. UCLA can't answer.

End of 2nd: USC 13-0

We go in at halftime with a 13-0 lead. I'm not quite what you'd call confident, just I'd rather be on our side of the score than their's. UCLA is a mighty fine football program and I have no doubt they can put two TD's on the board in a jiffy. But again, I'd rather be up 13-0 than down 13-0.

Defenses absolutely dominate the third quarter and no one comes within a sniff of a score. You can just feel the crowd waiting for something, anything to break open between these two high powered offenses, but it doesn't happen in the third.

End of the 3rd: USC 13-0

Something has to give. The fans can feel it, the defensive players on both sides are exhausted, and two of the most explosive offenses in the nation have fifteen minutes of football left to play.

The final quarter drags on, defenses stiffening, playing beyond exhaustion, knowing this is the biggest game of their lives. One, two, then three minutes pass, still no one scores. The tension in the stands builds, still no one has scored in the second half and USC's 13 point lead has held.

UCLA is driving and has the ball at the Trojan 30. It looks like they're finally going to put some points on the board. 3rd add 19 due to a holding call, UCLA QB and PAC-10 MVP from last season Rod Gilmore drops back to pass and gets hammerred by Trojan ILB Monty Garcia for a loss of 6, moving the Bruins out of field goal range.

The Bruins decide to go for it, knowing Southern Cal will be stacked against the pass. In a call that will no doubt be questioned on talk radio everywhere, Gilmore calls his own number and runs off tackle for 6 yards and Southern Cal takes over on downs at their own 30 with 11:31 left.

The Trojans can't move the ball, J.B. Wilson is stuffed on first and 2nd down for losses. On 3rd and 12, with Coach Bear Growlz dreading a Brock Dole game-changing pick in our own territory, Dole drops back and finds All-World WR Ron Morrison for 19 and a first down.

Dole keeps the rhythm going. After a run by Wilson to keep the defense honest - he's stuffed for a loss again, Dole finds FB Devin Benzer for 10, setting up 3rd and 1 at the Bruin 44.

Offensive Coordinator Zach Fuchs calls JB's number again, figuring they can't stop him every play, and OT Bobby Burgess opens a huge hole for Wilson, who gains 8 and the first down.

1st and 10 on the UCLA 36, the Bruins D looking to stuff JB once again. Dole takes the snap, play action fake to JB, and bang - Dole nails Ron Morrison with a 36 yard scoring strike to break open the game. The crowd is deathly quiet, stunned as Rod Gardner kicks the extra point making it 20-0 USC.

We kickoff and both sides get a few yellow flags. 1st and five on the UCLA 24. UCLA QB Rod Gilmore drops back to pass and freshman OLB Ken Kariya nails him for a loss of 10. Big, big play for the freshman. UCLA gains a few yards on third but is forced to punt from their own 21 on 4th down.

It was a nice enough punt, 43 yards, but I guess the Bruins were just a little more tired than we were, as Ed Kidman broke free and returned the kick 41 yards to the UCLA 23 with 6:11 left and time running out on the Bruins season.

UCLA had to hold here, their entire season depended on it, and they knew who was getting the ball.

J.B. Wilson.

And they were right, 1st and ten from the Bruin 23, Brock Dole took the snap and pitched to JB who ran off right guard, where redshirt sophomore tackle Nate Dillon simply leveled his man, and Wilson was off to the races for a 23 yard touchdown run. Gardner kicked the single and all of a sudden it's 27-0 USC in the LA Coliseum.

UCLA still had more than five minutes on the clock, but they go three and out thanks to a sack by DE Austin Lew. Southern Cal takes over at our own 46 with 4:37 left on the clock.

The Bruins wisely look for the run. They stop Wingback Gabe Schultz for a gain of one - heck even gods like JB get tired once in awhile. 2nd and 9 and Brock Dole, playing the game of his life like that dude in "Heaven Can Wait" that ws played by Warren Beatty, drops back and connects with Wingback Gabe Schultz on a 30 yarder and the Trojans are in position to put the final nail in the coffin of their arch-rivals.

And boy do we want to swing that hammer.

1st and 10 at the UCLA 38, 3:52 on the clock. RB Skipjack Walker scampers around left end for a gain of 5 thanks to a great block by OT Bobby Burgess. The Bruins stuff Schultz for no gain on 2nd down. 3rd and 5 and Brock - who are you and what have you done with my quarterback? - Dole drops back and hits Skipjack Walker for 10 yards and a first down, but the inexperienced Walker goes out of bounds.

1st and 10 from the UCLA 28, Bruins looking to stuff the run again and Offensive Coordinator Zach Fuchs crosses them up. Dole drops back and nails WR Oliver Hartl for 19 yards before he's forced out of bounds at the Bruin 9.

1st and goal from the Bruin 9, and they're again looking to stuff the run - they really don't have much choice at this point - but they're just a little too eager and Dole forces them offsides with a hard snap count. Half the distance and it's 1st and goal from the 5.

You can only stop a great running back so many times before sheer exhaustion wears you down. And that's what happened here. Brock Dole takes the snap, pitches to J.B. Wilson, who gets a great block from backup OT Dan Aska and it's 5 yards untouched into the endzone. Garnder boots the single and all of a sudden what had been a 13-0 defensive struggle was Southern Cal 34, UCLA 0.

The Bruins got the ball back but the life had been drained from them. They completed a couple of passes downfield before time ran out and The USC Trojans are the 2019 PAC-10 Champions with a perfect 11-0 and 8-0 conference record.

Brock Dole was easily the star of the day with his clutch passing, going 17/24 for 276 yards and making two touchdown throws while avoiding any mistakes. UCLA made J.B. earn every yard as Wilson ran for two scores and 118 yards but it took him 34 carries (3.4 avg) to do so.

Redshirt sophomore DE Floyd Jeffers had 3 sacks on the day and ILB Monty Garcia made 8 tackles, sacked the quarterback once and also picked off a pass to lead the stifling Trojan D.

The game was a tough dogfight until midway through the fourth when we just blew it open. What a satisfying win and it had to be this way, against UCLA - our arch-rivals.

Damn that feels good.

USC 34 -- UCLA 0
PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)

* * *

WEEK 14
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #1

As expected, with our huge win over UCLA, we move into #1 in the BCS Rankings with an incredibly low 5.43 score (#2 Syracuse has a 10.13 for comparison). Still no respect from the polls though, as the Coaches Poll has us as #3 behind 10-0 Virginia and 9-1 Florida, and the Fans Poll has us at #2 behind Virginia.

Our season is done. All we can do now is sit and see where the cards fall, and which bowl game we'll be going to.

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)

* * *

WEEK 15
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #1

Us, Syracuse and Virginia are all 11-0, ranked 1-2-3 respectively. Florida sits at 10-1 but has a 12th game because the SEC has a championship game. Both voter polls have Virginia at #1, but they're 1.2 points behind Syracuse in the BCS rankings. Syracuse is still just over three points behind us in the rankings, so it looks like we'll finish #1 in the BCS rankings and get a shot at the national title.

Just don't know whether it will be against Syracuse (probably), Virginia (certainly possible) or Florida (outside shot).

We wait and see.

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)

* * *

WEEK 16
MINOR BOWL TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #1

A feel good story about the last player in our recruiting class - Conrad Mogolov, a tight end from Alta Loma High School in Alta Loma, California. Conrad has agreed to come out for the team as a walk-on. He grew up a fan of USC and now he'll get a chance to don the maroon and gold. He's not a very gifted player, but he's the "everyman" who dreamed of playing for his favorite college football team.

Now he'll have that chance.

Right about now I'd say there's a lot of pissed off college football fans in Charlottesville, Syracuse and Louisville as the University of Florida Gators at 11-1 get to play in the Rose Bowl for the National Championship rather than the undefeated Virginia Cavaliers, Syracuse Orangemen or Louisville Cardinals.

Florida just squeaked by Syracuse in the rankings with a 9.09 score compared to the Orange's 9.28 (our BCS score was 6.21 for comparison). The difference for Florida? Strength of schedule. The Gators schedule was rated at 1.84 (ours was 1.96 for comparison sake) as opposed to Cuse's 4.28. Interestingly enough however, both the Coaches and Fans Polls still rank Virginia #1 (we're #3 and #2 in the coaches and fan polls respectively).

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)

* * *

WEEK 17 BCS RANKINGS

Interesting to note, Syracuse jumped back ahead of Florida in the BCS rankings this week, but the Bowl Bids went out already - so it'll still be us against the Gators in the National Championship game.

Talk about controversy.

The College Years
Week 17, 2019
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
**Southern California 11-0 P10 1.75 2.50 0.00 1.64 5.89 1
Syracuse 11-0 BGE 1.50 3.50 0.00 4.12 9.12 2
Florida 11-1 SEC 3.25 3.00 1.00 2.04 9.29 3
Virginia 11-0 ACC 5.00 1.00 0.00 4.60 10.60 4
Rice 10-1 WAC 4.75 6.50 1.00 3.08 15.33 5
UCLA 10-1 P10 6.50 5.00 1.00 3.40 15.90 6
Louisville 11-0 USA 6.25 6.50 0.00 3.60 16.35 7
Wisconsin 10-1 B10 6.25 9.00 1.00 4.04 20.29 8
Toledo 12-1 MAC 7.75 8.00 1.00 4.72 21.47 9
Texas A&M 10-2 B12 13.50 10.00 2.00 0.56 26.06 10
Alabama 9-2 SEC 9.25 14.00 2.00 0.84 26.09 11
Georgia Tech 9-2 ACC 7.50 15.50 2.00 2.68 27.68 12
Marshall 10-2 MAC 11.00 15.00 2.00 3.16 31.16 13
Michigan 8-3 B10 16.50 13.00 3.00 1.72 34.22 14
Arkansas 10-2 SEC 12.00 19.00 2.00 2.92 35.92 15
Air Force 10-1 MTW 20.00 12.50 1.00 3.84 37.34 16
Miami of Ohio 11-2 MAC 18.00 15.00 2.00 4.28 39.28 17
Penn State 8-3 B10 17.75 19.00 3.00 0.92 40.67 18
Miami of Florida 8-3 ACC 16.50 22.00 3.00 1.44 42.94 19
Iowa 8-3 B10 25.50 13.00 3.00 4.80 46.30 20
Hawaii 8-4 WAC 24.25 20.50 4.00 1.36 50.11 21
Notre Dame 8-3 IND 26.00 20.00 3.00 3.12 52.12 22
Pittsburgh 8-4 BGE 23.50 25.50 4.00 0.40 53.40 23
Missouri 9-3 B12 26.00 28.50 3.00 0.24 57.74 24
Boston College 7-4 BGE 23.50 28.50 4.00 2.72 58.72 25



-20-

[Doudon]

Congratz Coach! :D Now, finish with a flurry... :eek:

[beargrowlz]

Thanks! Finally felt good to get that damn monkey . . . er bruin, off my back. ;)

[beargrowlz]

2019 SEASON (FINAL)


WEEK 17
MAJOR BOWL TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #1

Redshirt freshman Safety Amos McCollum committed "a serious violation of team rules". The NCAA chose not to act in the matter, but to maintain order and team morale I have chosen to suspend Amos for the rest of the year. He's very talented with lots of potential, hopefully he'll get his head on straight and come back next season.

Quarterly grades came out this week, 1 D-, 1 D, and 4 D+'s. Allocated coaching blocs to each of those students to help them prepare for exams and that uses them all up for the year. Needless to say one of the students was a late season walk on - which begs the question, if it was needless to say why did I....

Put the kids through some light workouts and going over film of Florida. They've got one helluva program down in Gainesville, not far removed from winning three consecutive national titles. It's likely going to be the toughest challenge we have ever faced.

I think we're ready.

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)

* * *

WEEK 18
FOUR STAR TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #1

Just working with the kids getting ready for the big game. We're still pumped and jacked from the big win at UCLA. Hopefully that'll carry over when we play the Gators.

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)

* * *

WEEK 19
NEW YEAR'S TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #1

Virginia plays this week in their Bowl Game, and the polls still have them as #1. Our players are really big on this no respect angle - I hope they'll use it as a positive like the New England Patriots did in the 2000's and whip some Gator ass.

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)

* * *

WEEK 20
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
ROSE BOWL: vs. Florida (11-1) *TV1*
(USC -2) USC BCS RANK: #1

What a mess the polls are. Virginia won their game and leapfrogged both Florida and Syracuse into 2nd in the BCS rankings - Florida has dropped to #4.

Unbe-frackin-lievable.

The good news is that aside from Renaldo Elder, we're completely healthy.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Elder, Renaldo 54 ILB Sr* Out Elbow Ligament Su 16 Weeks

My 12th season at USC. Never been more nervous before a game. This is it. This is what they hired me for - to bring Southern Cal back to the ranks of the major football powers in the nation. I brought in the players, I brought in the coaches, I brought in the dollars and the fans.

Now I just have to bring in the W.

The game doesn't start well for us. Holding on the kickoff return and we start off backed up to our own 7.

Seven straight pounding carries by Tailback J.B. Wilson puts us at the Gator 39. We're just chewing up the clock against this Florida team that passes and runs equally well. The best defense is just keeping possession.

A penalty on us and then Brock Dole throws his first pass of the day, a 26 yard bullet that takes us to the Florida 7. They stuff JB twice before he sprints to the outside and OG Nate Dillon nails the only man who can touch him and Wilson scores from 6 yards out. With the XP it's 7-0 and we've eaten up 7 minutes to start the game.

The Gators start moving the ball but DE Wally Knight and NT Trent Dillon put a stop to that with a QB sack. Gators punt - we take over at our own 28.

Florida stops us cold and they take over at their own 11. War of field position is in our favor right now - I want to keep it that way.

The Gators get a pretty good drive going and change the field position situation fast. The quarter ends with the Gators still driving.

End of 1st: USC 7-0

The short break between quarters must have helped us catch our breath, because we defend a couple of passes and the Gators have to punt. We take over at our own 15 - they're winning the field position war now.

Brock Dole changes that in a hurry, hitting three quick passes in a row for 7, 24, and 33 yards and all of a sudden it's first and ten at the Gator 26. the drive stalls at the 22 but Rodney Gardner gets us the 3 point consolation and we're up 10-0.

Florida starts off with pretty decent field position at their 32 and they drive the length of the field on the arm of QB Jamie Singhi. That cuts our lead to 10-7.

Ronnie Morrison returns the ensuing kickoff and gives us great field position at our own 47 and Brock Dole goes right to work. He hits Tailback J.B. Wilson for 13, then Fullback Devin Benzer for 17 and takes us down to the Gator 2, where he hits Ronnie Morrison on a little out pattern for the score. Gardner converts and it's 17-7.

Florida drives right back down and puts up 7 thanks to the running of RB B.J. Kanellitsas and the passing of Jamie Singhi. 17-14 good guys.

Florida would not score again.

J.B. Wilson and Brock Dole just simply took over the game at this point - it was as if they had been waiting for this moment their entire lives. JB carried the ball 40 times and rushed for 223 yards (5.5 avg) and 3 touchdowns and Brock Dole threw for 2 more scores, simply picking apart the Gator secondary as he went 17/23 for 346 yards and no picks.

Southern Cal just overwhelmed Florida, putting up 589 yards of total offense as the Trojans captured the National Championship, 41-14 over the Florida Gators.

Ed Kidman was Dole's favorite target on the day, making 4 catches - one a touchdown - for 131 yards. OT Graham Molina had a good day on the line of scrimmage, making 5 key run blocks. But where the offensive line really shined was that they didn't allow a sack of Brock Dole all day, giving the 5th year senior quarterback all the time he needed to shred the Florida secondary.

And as I said, the best defense is keeping your defense off the field, as USC controlled the ball for over 36 minutes of the game, keeping our defenders fresh and the Gator crew tired.

So, a perfect season, one that started way back in Week 1 with a 48-7 thwapping of Georgia, comes full circle and sees us win a national title by beating another SEC team, hammering them 41-14.

And Brock Dole...Brock Dole...the kid played the two best games of his life against UCLA and Florida. He played so far superior to what he had ever played, and he was so in command - he just took charge and seemed to be in a zone for our last two games.

And what more can you say about J.B. Wilson. Just sheer willpower alone - 34 carries against UCLA and a whopping 40 carries today - all I can say is wow.

And really, what else is there left to say?

Wow.


National Championship Game
The Rose Bowl
USC 41 -- Florida 14
PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (12-0)
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

* * *

2019 FINAL BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Final 2019
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
**Southern California 12-0 P10 1.50 2.00 0.00 0.80 4.30 1
Virginia 12-0 ACC 2.50 1.00 0.00 4.00 7.50 2
Syracuse 12-0 BGE 1.50 3.00 0.00 3.08 7.58 3
UCLA 11-1 P10 6.25 4.00 1.00 2.24 13.49 4
Louisville 12-0 USA 4.50 5.50 0.00 3.64 13.64 5
Florida 11-2 SEC 7.00 5.50 2.00 1.24 15.74 6
Wisconsin 11-1 B10 4.75 8.00 1.00 2.92 16.67 7
Toledo 12-1 MAC 7.25 7.00 1.00 4.76 20.01 8
Rice 10-2 WAC 8.00 9.00 2.00 1.88 20.88 9
Georgia Tech 10-2 ACC 9.00 12.00 2.00 2.60 25.60 10
Marshall 10-2 MAC 9.75 12.50 2.00 3.28 27.53 11
Penn State 9-3 B10 10.00 16.50 3.00 0.60 30.10 12
Iowa 9-3 B10 13.50 10.00 3.00 4.16 30.66 13
Texas A&M 10-3 B12 17.25 13.00 3.00 0.40 33.65 14
Miami of Ohio 11-2 MAC 15.75 12.50 2.00 4.44 34.69 15
Alabama 9-3 SEC 18.25 16.50 3.00 1.04 38.79 16
Michigan 8-4 B10 19.75 15.50 4.00 0.84 40.09 17
Boston College 8-4 BGE 14.50 23.00 4.00 1.68 43.18 18
Air Force 10-2 MTW 25.00 18.00 2.00 3.24 48.24 19
Pittsburgh 8-4 BGE 20.75 24.50 4.00 0.44 49.69 20
Notre Dame 9-3 IND 27.50 18.50 3.00 2.96 51.96 21
Hawaii 8-4 WAC 26.50 20.00 4.00 1.80 52.30 22
Tennessee 9-3 SEC 19.00 28.50 3.00 2.32 52.82 23
Arkansas 10-3 SEC 25.25 26.00 3.00 2.72 56.97 24
Arkansas State 8-3 SUN 22.25 28.00 3.00 4.12 57.37 25




-20-

[SFL Cat]

Great read (even though I'm not a SC fan).

Makes me want to jump back into TCY (or BBCF)

[aztarheel]

Good job, Bear ... sounds like the BCS is just as much of a mess in the future as it is now ... so is USC now "home" ?

[beargrowlz]

Great read (even though I'm not a SC fan).


Thanks Cat. Appreciate the read and the praise.

Good job, Bear ... sounds like the BCS is just as much of a mess in the future as it is now ... so is USC now "home" ?


Thanks again Az.

Your bring up a really interesting question. The title "Bear Goes Home" originally referred to me, being a New Englander living in the south, going back to my alma mater and starting a Division 1-A football program.

But after twelve years at Southern Cal, winning a national championship, and really getting into the heated rivalries against Notre Dame and especially UCLA, I find it difficult to even remotely consider other college jobs now.

At one point I even turned down Notre Dame, which was to me the penultimate college coaching position in America - because I had gotten so attached to the program I had built at USC.

If this were a Hollywood film, of course the story would end right here - USC wins national championship, coach gets carried off the field yadda yadda yadda.

But it isn't, so i don't think it will.

So in answer to your question, I guess USC is "home" now. Given what's transpired over the past sixteen years (four at Keene State and twelve at USC) I don't think Coach Bear the "character" in the dynasty, would ever seek another college coaching job. Given the program I've built, it's not likely (always possible though) that I get fired.

That would leave me three options I suppose.

1. End the story now like a Hollywood movie would.

2. Continue coaching at USC until I grow bored with this game and retire from there.

3. Figure out some way to start FOF2k7 in the year 2020, make one of the teams horribly bad, place it in LA - the only way Bear would leave USC at this point would be to bring the fans of LA, his new "home", an NFL franchise - and pretend it was an expansion team and try and turn it into a super bowl winner and thus be one of the few (only?) Coach/GM to win a National Championship and a Super Bowl.

Number three sounds really intriguing and would present another big challenge to Bear. I started the career in 2004 when I was 38 and have coached 14 years. That makes me 52. That gives me another 13-18 years (65 to 70 years old) before I'd bow out.

Thoughts anyone?
<!-- / message -->

[beargrowlz]

2019 SEASON SUMMARY & REVIEW


SEASON REVIEW

What an exciting season. 2019 was the culmination of everything I had started out to do at Southern Cal. When USC hired me twelve years ago, the program had fallen into a sad state of disarray. My first two years here were difficult, we had little talent and a declining reputation as a football program and academic institution. Now we've won the national championship, restored our prestige as a national football powerhouse, and built an academic reputation amongst the finest in the land.

Mission accomplished.

Key to our success in 2019 was that we simply didn't turn the ball over. As a team, we had only 11 turnovers in 12 games. On defense, we caused 27 turnovers giving us a whopping +16 turnover margin, 7th best in the nation. Much of the improvement in our turnover ratio was the maturation of Brock Dole as a quarterback. He simply did an amazing job for us down the stretch.

That's one of the real surprises of 2019. We always thought Brock could be a good quarterback. But we're a running team in a running offense in a running program. We're known for the J.B. Wilson's and Donnell Cash's, the O.J. Simpson's and Marcus Allen's. But we won the National Championship because Brock Dole threw and threw and threw some more - that coupled with JB carrying the ball 74 times in our final two games.

Southern Cal has once again become one of the dominant football programs in the nation. 2019 was merely the culmination of a process which began way back in 2008. 2019 and the glory it brought the Trojan Tradition are merely the fruits of the hard work that started those long twelve years ago.

And we're proud to have restored that Trojan Tradition to its rightful place in the southern California sun.

* * *

2019 USC Award Winners


University of Southern California Trojans
Individual Awards

* WR Ron Morrison (5th yr Sr.)
- 2nd Team All-American
- Senior All-American
- 1st Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* OG Graham Molina (5th yr Sr.)
- Academic All-American
- 1st team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* S Lawrence Abdul-Jabbar (Soph.)
- Academic All-American
- 1st Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* LB Kenneth Kariya (Fr.)
- Freshman All-American

* TB J.B. Wilson (RS Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* OT Nate Dillon (RS Soph.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* K Rodney Gardner (RS Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* QB Brock Dole (5th yr Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10

* FB Devin Benzer (Jr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10

* WR Edwin Kidman (RS Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10

* OT Bobby Burgess (Rs Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10



* * *

2019 USC Team Summary


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2019 Team Summary

Head Coach: Bear Growlz (12th season)
Offensive Coordinator: Zach Fuchs (3rd season)
Defensive Coordinator: Clarence Ackerman (2nd season)
Syndicate Coordinator: Arnie Urlacher (1st season)
Lead Scout: Lester Stargell (2nd season)

Overall Record: 12-0
BCS Ranking: #1 ***2019 National Champions***
Coaches Poll: #2
Fans Poll: #2
PAC-10 Record: 8-0
PAC-10 Standing: ***PAC-10 Champions***

Southern California Team Rank
Rushes 481 26 (T)
Rushing Yards 1794 31
Yards Per Carry 3.72 47
Pass Attempts 327 56 (T)
Completions 211 22
Passing Yards 3524 9
Yards Per Attempt 10.77 4
3rd Down Conversions 52.1 2
Points Per Game 35.1 14 (T)
Turnovers 11 6
Turnover Margin +16 7 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 365 20 (T)
Rushing Yards 857 8
Yards Per Carry 2.34 7
Pass Attempts 348 89 (T)
Completions 176 57 (T)
Passing Yards 2566 94
Yards Per Attempt 7.37 72 (T)
3rd Down Conversions 37.7 81
Points Per Game 15.6 15 (T)
Turnovers 27 24 (T)

Primary Formation: Flexbone Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 48 GEOR (93) 7
2 38 at NODM (19) 25
3 --- off week ---
4 20 at KSC* (30) 17
5 31 ORST (102) 14
6 --- off week ---
7 34 ARIZ (83) 27
8 35 WAST (38) 10
9 52 at OREG (101) 24
10 27 at STAN (96) 13
11 27 CALI (35) 20
12 35 at WASH (31) 17
13 34 at UCLA (4) 0
14 --- off week ---
15 --- off week ---
16 --- off week ---
17 --- off week ---
18 --- off week ---
19 --- off week ---
20 41 vs FLOR (5) 14 ***Rose Bowl/BCS National Championship Game***

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
9 Dole QB 308 200 3360 10.90 27 10
Team --- 327 211 3524 10.77 27 10

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
48 Wilson RB 282 1286 4.56 12 59 69
37 Shultz RB 116 452 3.89 6 24 21
9 Dole QB 40 -101 -2.52 0 29 147
36 Walker RB 32 126 3.93 2 7 10
Team --- 481 1794 3.72 20 123 249

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
82 Morrison WR 87 60 1239 20.6 620 15
6 Kidman WR 75 39 782 20.0 283 4
22 Benzer FB 50 36 424 11.7 197 3
37 Shultz RB 43 26 355 13.6 153 1
48 Wilson RB 34 23 285 12.3 151 1
36 Walker RB 16 13 186 14.3 102 1
Team --- 327 211 3524 16.7 1550 27

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
38 Abdul-Jabbar S 56 20 0.0 8 10 7
54 Elder ILB 54 22 0.0 12 0 5
41 Garcia ILB 53 18 1.0 9 1 4
90 Kariya OLB 42 18 3.0 7 1 2
20 Esparza S 41 13 0.0 4 1 7
77 Milton DT 36 22 7.0 13 1 1
59 Mazzeo OLB 31 16 0.0 9 0 3
31 Fitzgerald CB 31 12 0.0 1 1 11
21 Cipa CB 26 5 0.0 4 2 6
70 Lew DE 26 7 10.5 19 0 0
26 Knight CB 25 12 0.0 0 3 5
72 Jeffers DE 21 8 3.5 7 0 1
44 Reed CB 19 4 0.0 0 0 4
91 Knight DE 17 11 4.0 5 0 0
49 Whalen ILB 15 2 0.0 3 1 0
Team --- 590 205 33.0 112 21 56


* * *

Coach Bear Growlz Coaching Record

The College Years
Bear Growlz Coaching Record

Year Team Record Post Rank
2019 Southern California 12-0 Yes 1
2018 Southern California 9-3 Yes 18
2017 Southern California 9-3 Yes 10
2016 Southern California 10-2 Yes 5
2015 Southern California 11-1 Yes 4
2014 Southern California 9-3 Yes 21
2013 Southern California 10-2 Yes 14
2012 Southern California 8-4 Yes 28
2011 Southern California 9-3 Yes 24
2010 Southern California 9-3 Yes 14
2009 Southern California 6-6 Yes 55
2008 Southern California 5-6 No 42
2007 Keene State 10-2 Yes 20
2006 Keene State 6-5 No 73
2005 Keene State 5-6 No 80
2004 Keene State 4-7 No 100


-20-

[aztarheel]

OK Bear, what have you done for me lately ... I mean that Pete Carroll guy won multiple championships before he left USC ... John Wooden at UCLA won 10 freakin' titles in basketball. Can you do that?? Huh, can ya???

;)

[beargrowlz]

Az,

Good question.

But after I read your post, all I can think of is what an absolutely amazing feat John Wooden accomplished.

I'm not at all sure there wasn't a pact with ol'scratch involved. ;)

[aztarheel]

Yeah, if Coach K from Duke can't win that many (and I don't think he or Roy Williams at UNC ever will), that record won't fall for a long, long time ...

Of course, a certain guy by the name of Steve Victory might try to make a run at that legacy in a dynasty sequel coming soon to a message board near you ... (shameless plug, shameless plug)... ;)

[beargrowlz]

2020 PRESEASON


Winter (January), 2020

What do you do after you do what you were hired to do in the first place and the job is done?

That's a damn fine question.

A damn fine one indeed.

It's not like I didn't have many options. In fact, the interegnum between the 2019 and 2020 seasons were the busiest of my coaching career. Schools with big name cachet such as Nebraska and Oklahoma came a courting. The fact that neither school had much success the past few years and had seen their once great football programs fall in prestige matterred not - the big name cachet was still there, always would be.

I got a really big offer from Hawaii. Hawaii's no slouch anymore, they've become a very prestigious school (Excellent-83, 11th most prestigious in the nation - for comparison USC is now up to an Excellent-91 rating, 6th highest in the land, see end of this post for a complete listing of prestige ratings) these days, far more prestigious than Oklahoma or Nebraska. If I was ready to retire, man I'd snap that up in a heartbeat.

I even had an offer from a group of businessmen to be the lead frontman/pitchman of their group that was trying to bring an NFL franchise to Los Angeles again. LA had gotten an NFL franchise which Pete Carroll had left USC to coach, but we lost that team to Oakland when Al Davis moved the Raiders to Pyongyang to play in the 150,000 seat Rungnado May Day Stadium - incidentally changing the Raiders motto to, well, I can't write Korean characters and I can't read Korean, so I don't actually know what he changed it to. But he changed it. I think so anyway.

So to make a long story short, the LA Showtime moved on up to the Bay Area and LA was looking for an NFL team - again. I was really intrigued by the offer. They wanted me to come on in and be the GM of the club if we could land one for southern cal. But they had already picked out a head coach - and I wasn't it. They wanted 70 year old Denny Green to coach the team - and in the end I just wasn't ready to give up coaching yet.

Denny Green?

I guess in sixteen years of coaching I kind have gotten the reputation of being an outstanding recruiter but just a decent X's and O's guy. And with never having coached in the NFL - not even as an assistant, well they just didn't want me as coach. Not that being asked to be the General Manager/Player Personnel guy wasn't an honor, don't get me wrong, it was.

But Denny Green?

That's when I was hit with an epiphany - sort of like when you get really, really drunk and finish worshipping the porcelain goddess, and it suddenly hits you, hey there's more beer.

Denny Green?

That's when I realized these were not guys I wanted to be involved with.

In the end, I decided USC was where I belonged now. When I started coaching college football sixteen years ago, I was a burned out social worker and was the only guy my alma mater Keene State College could find that was dumb enough to take the job - and they were the only school dumb enough to even think about hiring me. I never dreamed Southern Cal (and Oklahoma) would come knocking at my door four years later asking me to take over their programs.

I guess in the end, I bleed maroon and gold now. How else to explain me turning down the Notre Dame job - a job I admit I had always fantasized about - to stay at Southern Cal?

I know we're not going to be as good as we were in 2019. We're making a transition this year from a flexbone to wishbone, our tight ends that have any talent are all frosh, and our starting QB is going to be a redshirt sophomore who can run like crazy but hasn't matured as a passer yet. They say a smart coach knows when to leave a program or team, and maybe a smarter coach would find this year to be that year to move on - and he'd probably be right.

But in the end I'm a USC Trojan now, so this is where I stay.

(Author's note: Which is kind of funny, because I've never actually been a Southern Cal fan. I've always been a Notre Dame fan, and then when I moved to Georgia, I started rooting for UGA. But the game just kind of pulled me in - big credit to TCY creator Jim Gindin for creating such a terrific game that I've found so immersing and emotionally satisfying. If you're reading this, thanks Jim.)

(Author's Note 2: From this point on, you'll notice the storyline will be a little less intensive on the particular details of recruiting. I'll still discuss it, but won't be listing every player we land ad nauseum. I'll be focusing more on the games and the story. I post the recruiting list with player details at the start of the next season anyway, so i don't think much will be lost, and I think the story will be easier to follow.)


School Prestige Ratings Through 2019


The College Years
Team History
Through the 2019 Season

Team Record Bowls Champ PStrk LWSt LLSt LPSt Prestige
Florida 177-28 10-6 3 16 55 2 16 97
UCLA 160-32 10-6 0 16 24 4 16 95
Virginia 157-33 9-5 0 12 27 6 12 94
Iowa 157-35 10-6 1 16 31 4 16 94
Michigan 155-37 11-5 3 16 15 4 16 92
**Southern California 140-51 11-3 1 11 13 3 11 91
Rice 149-39 8-4 0 9 20 4 9 88
Syracuse 160-32 10-6 1 16 26 3 16 87
Texas A&M 160-40 8-7 2 2 18 3 13 85
Toledo 147-48 8-3 0 7 14 4 7 83
Hawaii 139-51 9-4 0 5 14 3 7 83
Wisconsin 128-60 8-3 0 10 9 6 10 82
Georgia Tech 126-64 7-7 0 12 11 6 12 82
Alabama 151-53 9-7 0 16 12 2 16 81
Penn State 149-43 11-5 1 16 14 4 16 81
Louisville 145-44 3-10 1 1 23 4 8 81
Miami of Ohio 137-58 6-5 0 6 16 4 6 81
Boston College 131-56 7-4 0 7 10 3 7 81
Pittsburgh 135-55 10-4 0 12 12 3 12 80
Marshall 142-54 7-5 0 2 20 3 6 79
Notre Dame 146-46 12-4 0 16 20 4 16 78
South Florida 139-50 6-7 0 10 17 6 10 76
California 135-55 7-7 0 13 12 6 13 76
Keene State 143-45 7-5 0 0 39 3 12 75
Air Force 109-76 4-5 0 2 12 4 3 75
South Carolina 132-58 9-5 0 6 11 2 8 73
Miami of Florida 110-76 5-5 0 3 13 4 4 73
Arkansas State 99-80 1-2 0 0 9 6 1 73
Southern Methodist 98-81 2-1 0 0 7 8 3 73
Arkansas 90-91 1-3 0 2 9 6 2 73
Nebraska 153-49 8-8 0 16 11 4 16 72
Colorado State 125-64 3-9 0 0 12 5 9 72
Middle Tennessee State 118-63 1-4 0 0 9 5 2 72
Washington State 110-79 5-5 0 4 8 5 4 72
Fresno State 99-79 1-1 0 0 7 5 1 72
Texas 118-71 5-5 1 3 25 8 5 71
Green Mountain 118-65 4-3 0 0 8 4 4 71
Maine 96-85 1-3 0 3 8 4 3 71
San Jose State 61-115 0-0 0 0 4 24 0 71
Utah 127-63 3-11 0 1 10 5 11 70
Michigan State 123-65 7-5 0 0 10 5 5 70
Tennessee 116-74 9-5 0 3 8 5 10 70
Washington 97-87 3-5 0 1 11 14 4 70
Missouri 93-92 2-5 0 4 6 6 4 70
Illinois 73-106 1-2 0 2 6 7 2 70
North Carolina State 118-73 4-11 0 8 8 4 8 69
Memphis 105-76 0-4 0 0 8 5 2 69
Tulsa 99-81 3-1 0 0 8 6 1 69
New Mexico State 91-87 1-1 0 1 5 5 1 69
Kent State 85-92 0-1 0 0 6 7 1 69
West Virginia 118-69 5-6 0 1 13 5 5 68
Ball State 87-91 0-1 0 0 10 6 1 68
Houston 80-97 1-0 0 0 5 10 1 68
Bowling Green 116-68 3-2 0 0 8 5 2 67
Virginia Tech 111-77 5-7 0 2 9 6 7 67
Nevada-Las Vegas 111-76 2-9 0 0 14 5 3 67
Maryland 100-84 2-6 0 0 7 7 2 67
Stanford 95-89 3-5 0 0 5 6 3 67
Wake Forest 90-92 4-2 0 1 4 7 3 67
Purdue 78-102 0-4 0 1 8 8 2 67
Oklahoma 121-71 4-8 1 2 8 5 5 66
Louisiana-Lafayette 100-80 1-2 0 0 6 5 1 66
Colorado 116-76 6-7 0 0 9 4 9 65
Vanderbilt 103-81 4-3 0 0 7 6 3 65
San Diego State 91-94 1-8 0 2 9 21 5 65
Baylor 74-105 0-3 0 0 6 14 1 65
Army 73-104 1-0 0 0 7 16 1 65
Texas Christian 120-65 3-6 0 0 17 4 7 64
Navy 74-107 0-5 0 1 4 9 2 64
Maine Maritime 72-104 0-0 0 0 4 12 0 63
Central Florida 69-107 0-0 0 0 6 8 0 63
Western Michigan 93-90 3-1 0 0 6 8 2 62
Brigham Young 85-98 0-7 0 2 7 6 3 62
Plymouth State 73-104 0-0 0 0 5 7 0 62
Central Michigan 62-114 0-0 0 0 4 11 0 61
East Carolina 61-115 0-0 0 0 3 8 0 61
Connecticut 56-121 0-0 0 0 3 8 0 61
Eastern Michigan 50-126 0-0 0 0 3 10 0 61
Arizona 43-133 0-0 0 0 4 20 0 61
North Texas 92-88 3-1 0 0 8 11 2 60
Ohio State 73-106 1-2 0 0 7 18 3 60
Georgia 86-96 2-2 1 0 11 10 2 59
Mississippi 82-100 3-2 0 0 5 9 3 59
Texas Tech 71-106 1-0 0 0 4 9 1 59
Oklahoma State 67-110 1-0 0 0 3 10 1 59
Northwestern 59-118 0-0 0 0 4 8 0 59
Utah State 57-120 0-1 0 0 3 12 1 59
Kansas State 100-84 3-4 0 0 5 8 6 58
North Carolina 74-107 2-3 0 0 8 14 2 58
Kansas 43-133 0-0 0 0 3 19 0 58
Louisiana State 102-83 5-2 0 0 10 7 6 57
Boise State 102-77 0-3 0 0 10 6 2 57
Dartmouth 48-129 0-0 0 0 4 15 0 57
Florida State 81-101 4-2 0 0 7 12 6 56
Oregon 77-103 2-2 0 0 6 13 3 56
Northern Illinois 75-103 0-1 0 0 6 6 1 56
Texas-El Paso 49-128 0-0 0 0 3 21 0 56
Louisiana Tech 45-131 0-0 0 0 3 19 0 56
Auburn 44-132 0-0 0 0 3 25 0 56
New Mexico 43-133 0-0 0 0 5 11 0 56
Ohio 57-119 0-0 0 0 5 9 0 55
New Hampshire 54-122 0-0 0 0 5 10 0 55
Oregon State 44-133 1-0 0 0 3 17 1 55
Buffalo 40-136 0-0 0 0 3 14 0 55
Arizona State 78-105 2-5 0 0 8 15 4 54
Cincinnati 56-120 0-0 0 0 4 11 0 54
Louisiana-Monroe 56-120 0-0 0 0 5 12 0 54
Iowa State 53-124 0-1 0 0 4 19 1 54
Kentucky 46-130 0-0 0 0 3 21 0 54
Wyoming 42-134 0-0 0 0 3 12 0 54
Alabama-Birmingham 40-136 0-0 0 0 4 14 0 54
Mississippi State 30-146 0-0 0 0 3 19 0 54
Troy 79-98 0-1 0 0 5 12 1 53
Southern Mississippi 65-112 0-1 0 0 8 17 1 53
Clemson 57-122 2-1 0 0 7 21 2 53
Akron 39-137 0-0 0 0 2 16 0 53
Indiana 38-138 0-0 0 0 4 30 0 53
Tulane 41-135 0-0 0 0 4 11 0 52
Idaho 36-140 0-0 0 0 2 19 0 52
Duke 23-153 0-0 0 0 2 33 0 52
Nevada 26-150 0-0 0 0 2 23 0 51
Minnesota 57-123 1-3 0 0 9 22 3 50
Rutgers 41-137 0-1 0 0 5 15 1 50
Vermont 29-147 0-0 0 0 4 30 0 48
Temple 34-142 0-0 0 0 2 24 0 46

Champ - Solecismic Championships, PStrk - Consecutive Post-Season Appearances,
LWSt - Longest Winning Streak, LLSt - Longest Losing Streak, LPSt - Longest
Post-Season Appearance Streak






-20-

[beargrowlz]

2020 PRESEASON


Winter (February-March), 2020

As I was afraid he would, Safety Amos McCollum left the team because I suspended him last season. Well, it is what it is, good luck to him wherever he goes.

Received an email from a Fullback named Jeffrey Rosales at Central Florida. He expressed an interest to transfer to Southern Cal. Never gotten one of those before, think I'll check him out.

He's a redshirt junior (3 years of eligibility left - which means he would have two years left for us after he sat out the transfer year) with decent grades and a high potential. But I don't have any scholarships left. Wonder if he'll still transfer?

The answer to my own question would be a resounding "no."

My next question would be if I cut a scholarship player does that free up a scholarship. So we shall see.

The help file says yes, indeed it would free up scholarship. So, I look to see if there's anyone I'm giving a full boat to that sucks rocks - I really could use another Fullback.

I release Freshman OC Jesse Mercer from his scholarship with us as it's clear he's never going to see the field for us and arrange for him to go play at Georgia Southern where he may be able to start as an upperclassman in a couple of years.

Unfortunately, I am still listed as having zero scholarships available and Rosales won't transfer without a scholarship.

So, I decide to count my scholarship players.

Wow. I have 73 players with scholarships now. Didn't think that was possible.

Well, guess ol'Jeffrey isn't going to be coming to Southern Cal anytime soon. Tis a Shame. Could have used him.

* * *

Had a long meeting with Zach Fuchs, our Offensive Coordinator. Zach was not at all happy about my intention to switch us over to a full wishbone offense this year. Can't say I blame him as he switched to the flexbone for me when I hired him and another switch just makes him even less attractive to prospective employers looking for a new Offensive Coordinator. So we mutually agreed he wouldn't be returning this year.

Zach was immediately hired by Arizona and will be running a Trips formation there - much more to his liking.

In Zach's place we hired 48 year old Spencer Farley away from the University of Nebraska, where he was their Offensive Coordinator. Spencer has twenty years of experience running a wishbone program, so that should help our transition immensely.

The rest of the staff remains intact.

* * *

Apparently I was wrong about improving USC's academic reputation. This season saw a rise - albeit slight - in Southern Ca's academic reputation from Very Good (70) to Very Good (71). I was quite surprised to see that, as despite our program having had the highest GPA in the nation, I hadn't been able to get it above 70. That gives USC the 10th best academic reputation in the country. Once again we had the highest GPA, 3.25 this year, barely edging out a rapidly increasing Rice GPA of 3.21.

School Academic Reputations as of 2020

The College Years
2020 Academic Reputations and Undergraduate Average

School GPA Overall Reputation Ranking in Subject
Rice 3.21 89 1
Duke 3.02 88 2
Wisconsin 3.03 82 3
Northwestern 2.88 81 4
UCLA 2.98 77 6
Maryland 2.99 75 7
Michigan 2.89 73 8
Stanford 2.85 73 9
Tulane 2.87 72 10
**Southern California 3.25 71 5
Florida 2.94 70 11
Boise State 2.93 70 12
Notre Dame 2.89 69 13
Wake Forest 2.89 68 14
Air Force 2.89 67 16
Iowa 2.84 67 19
Illinois 2.72 67 20
Texas 2.95 66 15
Pittsburgh 2.93 66 17
Brigham Young 2.66 66 23
Dartmouth 2.97 65 18
Rutgers 2.66 64 30
Virginia 2.81 63 22
Ohio 2.69 63 31
Vanderbilt 2.58 63 40
Purdue 2.88 62 21
Ohio State 2.83 62 24
Maine 2.79 62 29
California 2.66 62 37
Texas Christian 2.86 61 27
Oklahoma 2.85 61 28
Tulsa 2.92 60 26
Arizona State 2.80 60 36
Colorado State 2.72 60 39
Alabama 2.97 59 25
Baylor 2.85 59 35
Washington 2.67 59 43
San Diego State 2.92 58 32
East Carolina 2.90 58 34
Akron 2.71 58 44
Hawaii 2.96 57 33
Oklahoma State 2.87 57 38
Texas-El Paso 2.82 56 42
Tennessee 2.74 56 50
Washington State 2.66 56 55
Wyoming 2.88 55 41
New Mexico 2.84 55 46
Clemson 2.82 55 49
Texas A&M 2.73 55 53
Green Mountain 2.53 55 64
Western Michigan 2.91 54 45
Indiana 2.89 54 47
Boston College 2.77 54 54
Nevada-Las Vegas 2.93 53 48
Minnesota 2.85 53 51
Miami of Florida 2.85 53 52
Utah 2.79 53 56
Georgia Tech 2.73 53 57
Utah State 2.74 52 61
South Carolina 2.80 51 60
Toledo 2.87 50 59
Kansas 2.68 50 65
Mississippi State 2.67 50 66
Navy 2.61 50 70
Arkansas State 2.88 49 62
Temple 2.86 49 63
Virginia Tech 2.72 49 67
Colorado 2.71 49 68
Alabama-Birmingham 3.01 48 58
North Carolina State 2.73 48 69
Nebraska 2.70 48 72
Arizona 2.62 48 76
Michigan State 2.62 47 80
Eastern Michigan 2.62 47 81
West Virginia 2.82 46 71
North Carolina 2.58 46 87
Southern Methodist 2.88 45 73
Marshall 2.85 45 74
Memphis 2.79 45 77
Arkansas 2.76 45 78
Penn State 2.74 45 79
Connecticut 2.73 45 82
North Texas 2.79 44 83
Miami of Ohio 2.77 44 84
Maine Maritime 2.70 44 86
New Hampshire 2.93 43 75
Army 2.78 43 85
Iowa State 2.68 43 89
Ball State 2.63 43 92
Vermont 2.73 42 90
Oregon State 2.85 41 88
Oregon 2.68 41 93
Kansas State 2.62 41 95
Central Florida 2.83 40 91
Fresno State 2.70 40 94
Louisville 2.74 39 96
Buffalo 2.63 39 100
Georgia 2.62 39 101
Nevada 2.77 38 98
Louisiana State 2.76 38 99
Louisiana-Monroe 2.72 37 102
Plymouth State 2.54 37 105
Keene State 2.47 37 109
Louisiana-Lafayette 2.95 36 97
Florida State 2.67 36 103
South Florida 2.55 36 108
Auburn 2.63 35 107
Texas Tech 2.66 34 110
Northern Illinois 2.65 34 111
Bowling Green 2.63 34 112
Idaho 2.88 33 104
Missouri 2.60 33 113
Syracuse 2.50 33 114
Kentucky 2.92 32 106
New Mexico State 2.56 32 116
Houston 2.66 31 115
Central Michigan 2.56 30 119
Middle Tennessee State 2.56 29 120
Southern Mississippi 2.80 28 117
Kent State 2.80 28 118
San Jose State 2.58 28 121
Cincinnati 2.48 27 124
Mississippi 2.65 26 122
Troy 2.92 23 123
Louisiana Tech 2.84 22 125

* * *

We had another fantastic recruiting class according to TCY Today, which ranked our incoming freshmen as second best in the nation. Here's a look at our incoming freshmen.


USC 2019 Recruiting Class



The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2019 Recruiting List, Ranking View
TCY Today Ranking: #2

Player Pos HT WT ST NRank ByPos StRank ByPos
$$Felkey, Anthony QB 6-5 204 CA 221 22 31 4
$$Wynn, Dustin TE 6-5 238 LA 335 11 13 1
##Hastings, Fred TE 6-3 222 IA 574 27 5 1
$$Carley, Ricardo TE 6-7 240 IN 651 31 19 1
##Mogolov, Conrad TE 6-3 206 CA --- 93 --- 9
$$Westbrook, Marty WR 6-1 186 CA 164 9 21 2
##Freeman, Phillip WR 6-0 174 GA 585 39 23 2
$$Woodson, Josh C 6-4 265 KS 64 2 1 1
$$Mercer, Jesse C 6-6 284 CA 752 35 --- 7
$$Deason, Chester G 6-4 264 UT 327 24 3 2
##Gash, Ryan T 6-4 269 CA 376 34 60 5
$$McIntyre, Shaun DE 6-5 243 CA 5 2 1 1
$$Frias, Broderick ILB 6-0 228 WI 12 2 2 1
$$Pritchett, Jessie OLB 6-2 207 CA 112 4 14 2
$$Barber, Mario CB 5-9 177 WI 1 1 1 1
$$Carpenter, Amos S 6-0 186 CA 16 1 3 1

Player All-St All-US Status
$$Felkey, Anthony No No Committed *
$$Wynn, Dustin No No Committed *
##Hastings, Fred Yes No Committed *
$$Carley, Ricardo Yes No Committed *
##Mogolov, Conrad No No Committed *
$$Westbrook, Marty Yes No Committed *
##Freeman, Phillip Yes No Committed *
$$Woodson, Josh Yes No Committed *
$$Mercer, Jesse No No Committed *
$$Deason, Chester Yes No Committed *
##Gash, Ryan Yes No Committed *
$$McIntyre, Shaun Yes No Committed *
$$Frias, Broderick Yes No Committed *
$$Pritchett, Jessie No No Committed *
$$Barber, Mario Yes No Committed *
$$Carpenter, Amos Yes No Committed *

The College Years
Recruiting List, Worksheet View

Player Scout Phone Visit Emphasis Status
$$Felkey, Anthony 82- 3 2 Acad/Dist Committed *
##Hastings, Fred 76-- 4 3 Dist/Acad Committed *
$$Wynn, Dustin 77-- 3 2 Acad/Dist Committed *
$$Carley, Ricardo 77+ 2 1 Prest*/Acad Committed *
##Mogolov, Conrad 55- 1 1 Prest*/Dist Committed *
$$Westbrook, Marty 85+ 2 2 Acad/Prest Committed *
##Freeman, Phillip 77-- 3 1 Prest/Acad Committed *
$$Mercer, Jesse 59+ 1 1 Acad*/Prest Committed *
$$Woodson, Josh 79++ 3 1 Acad*/Dist Committed *
$$Deason, Chester 78+ 2 2 Acad/Prest Committed *
##Gash, Ryan 81+ 2 2 Acad/Dist Committed *
$$McIntyre, Shaun 82+ 3 2 Prest/Dist Committed *
$$Frias, Broderick 82- 4 1 Acad/Dist Committed *
$$Pritchett, Jessie 89+ 3 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
$$Barber, Mario 86++ 4 1 Acad*/Prest Committed *
$$Carpenter, Amos 79+ 3 2 Prest/Dist Committed *

The College Years
Recruiting List, Statistics View

Player Statistics Status
$$Felkey, Anthony 9 GP, 116-174-2018(11.5)-17-2 pass, 200Committed *
$$Wynn, Dustin 9 GP, 29-416(14.3)-4 rcv. Committed *
##Hastings, Fred 9 GP, 21-311(14.8)-5 rcv. Committed *
$$Carley, Ricardo 9 GP, 34-475(13.9)-6 rcv. Committed *
##Mogolov, Conrad 9 GP, 27-291(10.7)-4 rcv. Committed *
$$Westbrook, Marty 9 GP, 84-2159(25.7)-12 rcv. Committed *
##Freeman, Phillip 9 GP, 63-1524(24.1)-10 rcv. Committed *
$$Woodson, Josh 9 GP. Committed *
$$Mercer, Jesse 9 GP. Committed *
$$Deason, Chester 9 GP. Committed *
##Gash, Ryan 9 GP. Committed *
$$McIntyre, Shaun 9 GP, 88 tckls, 15.5 sacks, 2 Int. Committed *
$$Frias, Broderick 9 GP, 18-312-3 rcv, 112 tckls, 4.5 sackCommitted *
$$Pritchett, Jessie 6 GP, 10-131-3 rcv, 75 tckls, 6.5 sacksCommitted *
$$Barber, Mario 9 GP, 58-339-6 rush, 8-189-3 rcv, 47 tcCommitted *
$$Carpenter, Amos 9 GP, 29-131-1 rush, 11-242-0 rcv, 75 tCommitted *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.




-20-

[beargrowlz]

2020 PRESEASON


Spring, 2020

Our schedule is full already, as we have our annual game against Notre Dame and the second part of two home and homes - one with Keene State, the other with Georgia. As in every year, there is one PAC-10 team we don't play. This season that school is Washington. Here's a look at our 2020 schedule.

2020 USC Schedule


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2020 Schedule

Preseason BCS Ranking: #6
Preseason Coaches Poll Rank: #6
Preseason Fans Poll Rank: #6
Rival: UCLA
Stadium Capacity: 96,600
Season Tickets Sold: 96,600

Week Opponent
1 ---off week---
2 (25) KEENE STATE
3 at Georgia
4 ---off week---
$$5 ARIZONA STATE
$$6 at Oregon State
$$7 (22) CALIFORNIA
$$8 at Oregon
$$9 at Stanford
$$10 at (32) Washington State
$$11 ARIZONA
12 at (21) Notre Dame
$$13 (2) UCLA
14 ---off week-
15 ---off week---

Home Games in ALL CAPS
$$-Conference Games



-20-

[beargrowlz]

2020 PRESEASON


Summer, 2020

Spent much of the summer dealing with freshman academic scheduling and player time management. We've attracted a good quality of student to the football program in recent years, so that's a big plus when it comes to football related activities - they need less time studying so they can more fully develop their potential.

One thing I did notice was the abject inability of Defensive Coordinator Clarence Ackerman to make any progress in developing our young linebackers. Clarence has a number of other superb traits that make him a fine coordinator, but developing LB's just isn't one of them. We'll likely switch to a 4-3 in camp because of this.

(Author's Note: TCY allows you to change your defensive formation every week. I play with a house rule that treats my defensive formation the same as my offensive - I can switch prior to the first game, but it has to stay that way all season long.)

After putting the kids through summer two-a-days, it became evident a switch to the 4-3 just wasn't very practical. We have enough talented defensive tackles to start in a 4-3, but not much depth and while Ackerman hasn't developed any stud linebackers in his two seasons with us, we do have a lot of depth there - well, at least moreso than at DT.

So we stick with the 3-4.

Defensively at the nose we'll have 5th year senior Andrew Francis, a run-stopper. He'll be flanked by defensive ends Wally Knight, who excells at putting pressure on the quarterback, and redshirt junior Floyd Jeffers, who has developed into a very good all around end.

Up the middle at ILB we'll have 5th year senior Renaldo Elder and redshirt junior Walt Whalen. Elder is a really well developed player left remaining from when Bucky Riley was Defensive Coordinator. Elder can do everything well and is really a polished player.

Where our weakness shows is on the outside. Despite starting 12 games as a freshman, Kenneth Kariya really hasn't shown significant development under Ackerman. He'll be starting at WLB, but I've got some real concerns about his development. Our other scholarship athletes at OLB either haven't developed well the past two years or are redshirt freshmen - so redshirt senior Wayne Biakabatuka - who was a recruited walk-on four years ago, earned the starting job at SLB. In normal years, Wayne would be a good solid backup, but this year he's our best OLB. He's good enough to be a scholarship player, but not really good enough to start in a major college program. Still, he's the best we've got.

In three short years our secondary went from easily being the weakness of this program to being a tremendous strength of the program. Redshirt junior Brad Knight plays the shutdown corner position withiout equal and his opposite number, 5th year senior Max Fitzgerald, more thana dequately covers our opponent's second receiver.

At safety is the incomparable Lawrence Abdul-Jabbar, who led the team with 10 picks last season and stops the run, defends the pass and creates turnovers. The 1st Team All PAC-10 Safety is entering his junior year with us. At the other safety position is returning starter, redshirt junior Jared Esparza. Esparza really developed well this off season and rounds out what is a terrific secondary.

As previously noted, on offense we've brought in Spencer Farley as Offensive Coordinator to switch to, and develop, our new wishbone offense. Farley was running the wishbone at Nebraska when we hired him, and he has run a wishbone offense for twenty years. His expertise will be invaluable in integrating our players into that offensive system.

My first fourteen years of recruiting I took my scouts word for it when they said "This QB likes to run all the time". More often than not - far more often than not - they were wrong and the kid couldn't run worth a pitcher of warm spit. So the past two years I've started taking a more in depth look at the high school rushing statistics of quarterbacks I might potentially recruit, with the idea towards finding a running QB that could also throw - but with an emphasis on running a wishbone.

While he has yet to fully develop his potential as a passer, I think we've found the perfect kid to run this offense - redshirt sophomore QB Kenny Finch. Finch ran for over 1400 yards in his senior season in high school and redshirted last season behind Brock Dole. His running skills appear well developed and I think he'll only get better as a passer. This first year might be rough with him calling the signals, but we're committed to sticking with him as we think he'll make an outstanding wishbone quarterback.

Finch will have plenty of tools to run the ground attack with. Returning for his fourth year as a starter is Tailback J.B. Wilson, coming off a tremendous national championship run in which he carried the ball 74 times in our final two games. Wilson is simply a fantastic back and if he stays healthy - unlike last season - we expect a huge season from him. At Wingback, after sitting out a season redshirting because we had such a talent surplus at running back, will be redshirt junior Ike Daugherty. Ike hasn't developed as well as I had hoped, but he's still a pretty good back. Backing JB and Daugherty up will be redshirt sophomores Jeff Thompson and Al Snyder, both of whom figure prominently in our program's future.

This season, in order to take advantage of the increased ability for power running a true wishbone offers, we've incorporated a tight end into the offense, dropping down to one wideout instead of two. Our starting wideout will be 5th year senior Ed Kidman, who was a key component to our national championship run of a year ago. He'll be backed up by junior Glen jacobs and redshirt senior Oliver Hartl. At the Tight End position, we basically had to start from scratch. We've found a pretty solid freshman starter - Fred Hastings. The other frosh we recruited that looks really good at this position is Ricardo Carley, but we're going to redshirt him this year to start building year to year depth at this position. Backing up Hastings though will be freshman Dustin Wynn and recruited walk-on Conrad Mogolov - the kid who has idolized USC since he was a kid and is a real feel good story. Well, Mogolov showed up at summer camp with quite a bit more talent than we thought and we won't be afraid to use him during his four years here at Southern Cal.

That's really a feel good story.

On special teams Ed Kidman and Max Fitzgerald will be returning punts while Brad Knight and Kidman handle kickoffs. There's a lot of potential from all three returners to make some explosive, game changing plays here. Our placekicker will be 5th year senior Rodney Gardner and punting will be redshirt senior Xavier Eason. All in all, this is a pretty solid unit.

There's not going to be a repeat national championship this season - at least I don't think so. But I am hopeful we'll be in the midst of the hunt for the PAC-10 title and you never know. But however far we go much depends on how well Kenny Finch can run the new wishbone offense we've put in. If that goes well - and it may very well given Spencer Foley's longtime experience coordinating such an offense - then Finch's unpolished passing skills will be far less of a detriment to our success than they would otherwise be. It should make for a very interesting season.

2020 USC Roster

The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2020 Roster/Scout Overview
From the Desk of Lester Stargell, Lead Scout

Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
Casillas, Eddie 18 QB Sr* 45 64
Felkey, Anthony 13 QB Fr 20 66
Finch, Kenneth 1 QB So* 30 92
Oxendine, Pat 4 QB Sr 53 71
Ratto, Vinny 2 QB Jr* 29 89
Daugherty, Ike 24 RB Jr* 66 100
Snyder, Alfred 25 RB So* 57 69
Thompson, Jeffrey 47 RB So* 61 76
Vance, Billy 40 RB Sr* 51 59
Walker, Skipjack 36 RB Sr* 50 66
Wilson, J.B. 48 RB Sr 86 100
Benzer, Devin 22 FB Sr 59 70
Horie, Tyrone 28 FB So* 33 95
Washington, Spencer 45 FB So 47 72
Merchberger, Joe 32 FB* Sr* 30 51
Carley, Ricardo 97 TE Fr 28 71
Hastings, Fred 82 TE Fr 30 55
Wynn, Dustin 80 TE Fr 30 62
Dresselhaus, Graham 84 TE* Sr* 8 8
Glover, Randy 88 TE* Sr 11 19
Leavitt, Joel 81 TE* Jr 12 27
Mogolov, Conrad 89 TE* Fr 21 65
Freeman, Phillip 3 WR Fr 21 58
Hartl, Oliver 83 WR Sr* 36 53
Jacobs, Glen 7 WR Jr 45 65
Kidman, Edwin 6 WR Sr 79 79
Myers, Al 86 WR Jr 31 62
Westbrook, Marty 9 WR Fr 23 80
Henderson, Norbert 87 WR* Sr 8 8
Linquist, Kevin 85 WR* So* 15 28
Leong, Dexter 50 C Jr* 23 77
Long, Dana 53 C Sr* 42 62
Lyubashevsky, Gino 56 C Sr* 58 61
Woodson, Josh 57 C Fr 22 98
Ours, Cornell 52 C* Sr 23 58
Ballard, Louis 61 G Sr 49 100
Barton, Brian 65 G Sr* 34 74
Connell, Desmond 68 G Jr* 70 90
Deason, Chester 74 G Fr 10 62
Lauvray, Nate 71 G Sr 23 79
Warkentien, Desmond 66 G So* 5 47
Berry, Kurt 78 T Sr* 28 50
Burgess, Bobby 60 T Sr 73 88
Dillon, Nate 69 T Jr* 67 81
Gash, Ryan 64 T Fr 14 87
Grodin, Peter 67 T So* 21 89
Kirkwood, Lester 79 T Sr 44 61
Eason, Xavier 8 P Sr* 65 94
Terry, Ronald 12 P* Jr* 1 1
Gardner, Rodney 17 K Sr 94 100
Sharber, Louise 16 K* So* 7 7
Jeffers, Floyd 72 DE Jr* 67 99
Knight, Wally 91 DE Sr* 66 83
Lackey, R.J. 76 DE Sr 51 59
Lew, Austin 70 DE Jr* 46 100
McIntyre, Shaun 77 DE Fr 36 70
Whiting, Conrad 95 DE* So* 1 22
Francis, Andrew 99 DT Sr 56 89
McWilliams, Mel 98 DT Jr* 51 100
Wilcox, Albert 94 DT Sr 51 77
Flynn, Buddy 73 DT* Sr 13 32
Andersen, Vince 43 ILB So* 28 73
Elder, Renaldo 54 ILB Sr 70 84
Frias, Broderick 93 ILB Fr 32 89
Garcia, Monty 41 ILB Jr* 44 75
Oben, Moe 92 ILB Sr* 46 70
Sly, Casey 58 ILB So* 17 79
Whalen, Walt 49 ILB Jr* 64 91
Blackston, Matt 42 OLB Jr* 32 80
Kariya, Kenneth 90 OLB So 25 73
O'Neal, Deron 96 OLB Sr 25 62
Pritchett, Jessie 46 OLB Fr 15 90
Biakabutuka, Wayne 55 OLB* Sr* 31 42
Barber, Mario 37 CB Fr 38 100
Cheng, Walter 23 CB So* 35 96
Cipa, Dan 21 CB Sr 47 50
Fitzgerald, Max 31 CB Sr 60 88
Jacobs, Justin 35 CB So* 42 62
Knight, Brad 26 CB Jr* 88 97
Abdul-Jabbar, Lawrence 38 S Jr 82 85
Brennan, Jon 29 S Sr* 44 57
Carpenter, Amos 44 S Fr 44 97
Esparza, Jared 20 S Jr* 71 71
Kinsey, Mel 34 S So* 40 84
McElroy, Stephen 39 S So* 48 98
Waugh, Artie 27 S Sr 47 61


* * *

2020 Preseason BCS Rankings

The College Years
Preseason, 2020
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 0-0 SEC 1.00 1.00 0.00 2.04 4.04 1
UCLA 0-0 P10 2.00 2.00 0.00 1.92 5.92 2
Virginia 0-0 ACC 3.00 3.00 0.00 0.32 6.32 3
Iowa 0-0 B10 4.00 4.00 0.00 0.48 8.48 4
Michigan 0-0 B10 5.00 5.00 0.00 0.52 10.52 5
**Southern California 0-0 P10 6.00 6.00 0.00 1.88 13.88 6
Syracuse 0-0 BGE 8.00 7.50 0.00 1.48 16.98 7
Rice 0-0 WAC 7.00 8.00 0.00 3.44 18.44 8
Texas A&M 0-0 B12 9.00 8.50 0.00 1.24 18.74 9
Hawaii 0-0 WAC 10.00 10.50 0.00 3.32 23.82 10
Wisconsin 0-0 B10 13.00 11.50 0.00 0.80 25.30 11
Toledo 0-0 MAC 11.00 12.00 0.00 4.08 27.08 12
Penn State 0-0 B10 14.00 13.00 0.00 0.72 27.72 13
Georgia Tech 0-0 ACC 12.00 16.00 0.00 0.16 28.16 14
Boston College 0-0 BGE 15.00 16.50 0.00 1.32 32.82 15
Alabama 0-0 SEC 16.00 15.00 0.00 2.28 33.28 16
Louisville 0-0 USA 17.00 17.00 0.00 3.04 37.04 17
Pittsburgh 0-0 BGE 19.00 19.00 0.00 1.40 39.40 18
Marshall 0-0 MAC 20.00 17.50 0.00 3.80 41.30 19
Miami of Ohio 0-0 MAC 18.00 22.00 0.00 3.84 43.84 20
Notre Dame 0-0 IND 21.00 18.50 0.00 4.56 44.06 21
California 0-0 P10 22.00 25.00 0.00 1.72 48.72 22
Miami of Florida 0-0 ACC 26.00 23.50 0.00 1.36 50.86 23
South Carolina 0-0 SEC 27.00 24.50 0.00 2.16 53.66 24
Air Force 0-0 MTW 24.00 27.50 0.00 2.52 54.02 25



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[beargrowlz]

2020 SEASON (1st Qtr.)


Week 1
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #6

Been working with Spencer Foley on the wishbone - the man's knowledge and expertise in the system is amazing. I think we've got the perfect personnel in here to run it successfully, it'll just take some time to get the offense through shakedown cruise mode and fine tune it a bit.

My scouts continue to tell me "this quarterback likes to run all the time" and he has 7 carries through 6 games in high school. Ha! Been there, done that - those guys don't turn out to be good runners at all. My scouts need a visene colonic.

Some of our prime targets in recruiting this year are a running QB from Nevada named Thomas Kluge, a run-stopping DE named Warren Bunn, and a couple of ILB Alan Brantley and Walter Nadeau. Those four recruits alone would have a significant impact on our program for years to come.

PAC-10 (0-0) --- OVERALL (0-0)

* * *

WEEK 2
vs. Keene State (0-0)
(USC -7) USC BCS RANK: --

As we all know by now, the early BCS rankings are silly. We fell from #6 to out of the top 25 after not playing. I don't start taking them seriously until week 5 or so.

Tough game against Keene State this week at the Rose Bowl. They're still running that wishbone I put in - in fact it's still Ernie Stuart running it. Ernie's a good coordinator, I'm sure he'll have his running attack primed for us.

We continue to expand our primary recruiting list - at the same time we narrow the types of players we look for. When I first took over this program, we were grabbing talented players no matter how raw they were, and weren't too concerned about academics. As we got a solid foundation laid we began concentrating on better student-athletes, academically better that is. Now, in addition to good academics we're looking for high tier, high athetic preperation guys - players that can help us immediately if we need them to, and who know how to hit the books so as to maximize their development time.

Our game with KSC this week started out slow, with us taking a 3-0 lead after the first. We then ran off 27 unanswered points and completely shut down the Owls offense en route to a 30-3 win.

Ecven with our other backs getting 12 carries, JB's number got called 40 times in this new offense and he had a terrific day, rushing for 209 yards (5.2 avg) and two touchdowns.

QB Kenny Finch surprised a lot of people with a superb day throwing the ball, going 15/17 for 224 yards and a 26 yard touchdown strike to TE Fred Hastings. WR Eddie Kidman was Finch's favorite target on the day, making 5 catches for 95 yards.

Some terrific defense held KSC to 51 net rushing yards on 25 carries. The Owls only managed 133 total yards as Southern Cal controlled the ball for over 38 minutes of play.

A good start with our new system.

USC 30 -- Keene State 3
PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (1-0)

* * *

WEEK 3
@ Georgia (0-1)
(USC -2) USC BCS RANK: #18

The BCS rankings are still screwey, as is to be expected. Right now we're 6th in the coaches poll.

Right now we're still at full strength, so no one will be out for this week's game against Georgia.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Francis, Andrew 99 DT Sr Probable Broken Nose 1 Week

Also started recruiting for a kicker and a punter. We'll need a new kicker next season and punter the season after.

Bobby Burgess had a dominant day at the line of scrimmage, making six key run blocks and opening up some big holes for the Southern Cal wishbone and the USC defense held Georgia to -13 net rushing yards as the Trojans walked away with a 35-15 victory at Sanford Stadium in Athens.

The Dawgs kept J.B. Wilson in check most of the day, as the star Tailback was held to 119 yards on 44 carries - though he got the yards when they matterred most, running for three scores and getting a fourth touchdown on the day receiving. QB Kenny Finch had a solid day running the ball, gaining 59 yards on 10 carries as the quarterback option was working with him keeping the ball today.

Finch had a rocky day throwing the ball - we're still not sure why we let him throw 23 passes, but hey - getting picked off three times while throwing for two touchdowns. Ed Kidman was again Kenny's favorite target, making 6 catches for 116 yards.

Reserve OLB Matt Blackston had 2 sacks on the day in leading a Trojan defense that limited Georgia to just 88 total yards. Southern Cal's wishbone offense controlled the ball for just over 39 minutes on the day.

A nice win, but now the tough part of our schedule begins.

USC 35 -- Georgia 14
PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (2-0)

* * *

WEEK 4
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #4

We're off this week prior to opening up our conference schedule. Two solid victories have given us some good ideas about whatw e're doing right and wrong with the new wishbone attack, and the defense has played extremely well.

We've got a large number of recruits on campus visiting. Southern Cal becomes more and more attractive to prospective players every year. We have been really spending a lot of time making follow up contacts and are experiencing a lot of competition from UCLA and Iowa this year. Hopefully we'll land more than we lose.

PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (2-0)

* * *

WEEK 5 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 5, 2020
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 3-0 SEC 5.75 1.00 0.00 3.88 10.63 1
Michigan 3-0 B10 3.75 5.00 0.00 3.08 11.83 2
UCLA 3-0 P10 9.50 2.00 0.00 4.68 16.18 3
Alabama 3-0 SEC 3.00 13.00 0.00 2.32 18.32 4
Rice 3-0 WAC 8.50 7.50 0.00 4.20 20.20 5
Virginia 3-0 ACC 14.50 3.00 0.00 4.56 22.06 6
Hawaii 3-0 WAC 9.50 9.00 0.00 4.16 22.66 7
Syracuse 4-0 BGE 13.50 7.50 0.00 3.80 24.80 8
Penn State 3-0 B10 9.50 11.00 0.00 4.44 24.94 9
Iowa 3-0 B10 19.00 4.00 0.00 4.84 27.84 10
Miami of Florida 3-0 ACC 7.75 18.00 0.00 4.36 30.11 11
California 3-0 P10 9.50 19.00 0.00 3.52 32.02 12
Louisville 3-0 USA 15.00 14.50 0.00 4.60 34.10 13
San Diego State 3-0 MTW 4.00 29.50 0.00 1.60 35.10 14
Colorado State 3-0 MTW 10.00 21.50 0.00 4.04 35.54 15
Utah 2-0 MTW 5.75 26.50 0.00 4.32 36.57 16
Wisconsin 3-0 B10 22.25 11.00 0.00 4.40 37.65 17
North Carolina State 3-0 ACC 10.50 22.50 0.00 4.96 37.96 18
Washington State 2-0 P10 14.00 20.50 0.00 4.52 39.02 19
Vanderbilt 3-0 SEC 10.75 29.50 0.00 2.04 42.29 20
Miami of Ohio 3-0 MAC 21.00 18.00 0.00 4.12 43.12 21
**Southern California 2-0 P10 33.75 6.00 0.00 4.48 44.23 22
Marshall 2-0 MAC 26.25 15.50 0.00 4.28 46.03 23
Boston College 2-0 BGE 25.25 16.00 0.00 4.88 46.13 24
Toledo 2-0 MAC 31.50 11.00 0.00 4.92 47.42 25




-20-

[beargrowlz]

2020 Season (2nd Qtr.)


WEEK 5
vs. Arizona State (0-2) (PAC-10)
(USC -10) USC BCS RANK: #22

Not getting much TV exposire with our early schedule - thought the KSC game might have been a regional broadcast, but no. ASU runs a single-back offense and they've got a very talented redshirt WR named J.C. Roberts, but they have a lot of difficulty getting the ball to him. Hopefully we'll be able to continue that helping cause that difficulty.

No injuries to report this week, though Andy Francis has a big honkin shnoz now.

We haven't received any committments yet, but still have a lot of players visiting campus. I think we'll land a few this week and hopefully they'll get a good show of a game and we'll play well.

It has become clear as we pursue the recruits on our primary list that our main competition for these recruits are far and away UCLA and Iowa - with to a lesser extent, Virginia being a major national recruiter.

The game against the Sun Devils of ASU was over quickly. CB Max Fitzgerald picked off a Sun Devil pass less than a minute into the game and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown.

From there it was all downhill for ASU.

The Southern Cal offense just took over the game, methodically controlling the clock for 37 minutes and putting up 424 yards of total offense while limiting the Sun devils to 125 yards on the day.

The USC reserves got in early today, as the game was well over by halftime as the Trojans built a 42-0 halftime lead. Wingback Ike Daugherty had a solid day, rushing for one touchdown while catching another. Backup QB Eddie Casillas threw the ball really well, going 9/13 for 152 yards and a touchdown. Spencer Thompson, a backup running back, had 67 yards on the day.

It was a dominating day - so dominating the starters barely rate mention - and a good game to take the visiting recruits to. A great way to start off the PAC-10 season.

USC 56 -- Arizona State 7
PAC-10 (1-0) -- OVERALL (3-0)

* * *

WEEK 6
@ Oregon State (1-2) (PAC-10) *TV5*
(USC -17) USC BCS RANK: #10

I must be on crack, as when I look back, the Keene State game was televised by the networks as a regional game. I'm getting old.

Oregon State runs the old Wing-T offense, and they really don't have much of a passing attack to speak of. The key will be stopping RB Lincoln Sherman, who has an injured thumb but is listed as probable - so we'll assume he'll play.

We're healthy again this week.

We landed a kicker this week, Burt Givens from down Fullerton way, and he'll likely be our starter next year. Lost a recruit to Virginia and one to Iowa - so it's real competitive out there right now. We didn't land Warren Bunn, the run-stuffing DE. I really was hoping we'd get him to sign a letter, but it didn't work out.

Defense was the word this week as Southern Cal held the Beavers to 77 yards total offense and blanked Oregon State 26-0.

The Trojan D held RB Lincoln Sherman to 24 yards on 11 carries and redshirt junior DE Floyd Jeffers sacked the Beaver QB 5 times to completely shutdown the Oregon State attack.

On offense the wishbone was once again operating pretty efficiently, as Tailback J.B. Wilson ran for 149 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries (4.6 avg) and QB Kenny Finch had another solid day running the ball, gaining 65 yards on 5 carries. Wingback Ike Daughterty continues to be under-utilized, but that's just because JB is so damn good.

USC 26 -- Oregon State 0
PAC-10 (2-0) -- OVERALL (4-0)

* * *

WEEK 6
vs. #17 California (5-0) (PAC-10) *TV3*
(USC -6) USC BCS RANK: #8

Our toughest game to date this season, and always a hard fought game, as we're in the Rose Bowl against the Cal Bears.

Cal runs the run and shoot offense and it's being run by freshman QB Heath Uhl this season. Uhl has thrown for 12 TD/12 INT and been sacked 13 times through 5 games. I think we can put some pressure on him and create some turnovers. Uhl has difficulty with the long ball, so we'll be basically mugging his receivers at the line of scrimmage.

We can't entirely ignore the run as they have a talented RB in redshirt sophomore Gus Mahoney, who is averaging 122 ypg. So we'll have to be carefull about overplaying the pass too, too much.

We'll be without backup NT Albert Wilcox.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Wilcox, Albert 94 DT Sr Out Broken Clavicle 11 Weeks

Landed four recruits this week, one of them was one of our top four priority recruits - Walter Nadeau, an inside linebacker from Marion High School in Marion, Kansas. We landed a terrific OLB to go with him, Russell Warren from Hobbs High School in Hobbs, New Mexico. The big question is, now that we've landed these stud linebackers, can we develop them?

In our game this week we only got to Heath Uhl for two sacks, and he did manage to throw three touchdown passes against us, but we succeeded in creating turnovers, picking him off four times en route to a 45-24 victory of the Cal Golden Bears.

Safety Lawrence Abdul-Jabbar and CB Brad Knight each returned INT's for scores and QB Kenny Finch was an efficient 8/11 for 1 TD and 150 yards on the day.

Cal did a pretty good job containing our running game, holding J.B. Wilson to 127 yards on 39 carries (3.2 avg) - but again JB was money when he smelled paydirt, rushing for three touchdowns on the day. Wingback Ike Daugherty touched the ball a little more today, gaining 32 yards on 6 carries (5.3 avg).

I would have liked our defense to shutdown the Cal passing attack more, but we did leave the door open by playing such tight man-to-man most of the time. Still, we accomplished what we wanted to do, cause turnovers, and came away with a solid win.

USC 45 -- California 24
PAC-10 (3-0) -- OVERALL (5-0)

* * *

WEEK 8
@ Oregon (3-3) (PAC-10) *TV4*
(USC -11) USC BCS RANK: #2

We've moved into the #2 slot in the BCS right behind our opponent in last year's national title game - Florida. Let's hope we keep playing this well and live up to that ranking.

We play Oregon this week, and the Ducks run a very solid flexbone offense. They've got a pretty good running QB Randall Burton running the show but it looks like it's their passing attack we need to worry about, as he has two fine receivers to throw to and their ground game hasn't had much luck this season. So what we'll do is we'll stack against the run in heavy running situations, but predominantly play some 3 and 4 DB sets to shut down the passing game.

For the second consecutive week reserve NT Albert Wilcox will miss the game due to injury.

We landed a bunch of recruits this week including an outstanding WR from Honolulu, Britt Wells, and a big run-stuffing NT from Louisiana, Jim Shepard. We also gained some young depth for our secondary this week. 2020 is looking like it's going to be another solid recruiting season for us.

Started to expand our recruiting list some, looking for some offensive linemen and tight ends. Continued making follow up calls to those on our list already. Our recruiting class is already 9 of 16, so we've only got 7 spots left.

The game at Oregon this week turned on who dominated the line of scrimmage - and that was Southern Cal. OG Bobby Burgess and OT Desmond Connell completely controlled the line, making 8 and 6 key run blocks respectively, springing star Tailback J.B. Wilson for 225 yards and two touchdowns on 46 carries (4.8 avg) and allowing the Trojans to control the ball for over 38 minutes in a 22-10 road victory.

QB Kenny Finch passed when he needed to but not much more, going 9/13 for 124 yards on the day, going mistake free which is crucially important in a ball control offense. Kenny's favorite target on the day was senior Fullback Devin Benzer, who made 4 catches for 53 yards.

DE Wally Knight, who was such an explosive pass rusher in his first season but was plagued by injury last year, had 1.5 sacks as the USC defense shut down the Duck attack, limiting the Oregon run & shoot to 124 total yards on the day.

A solid, if unspectacular win for us on the road.

USC 22 -- Oregon 10
PAC-10 (4-0) -- OVERALL (6-0)

* * *

WEEK 9 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 9, 2020
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 7-0 SEC 3.25 1.00 0.00 3.84 8.09 1
**Southern California 6-0 P10 2.25 4.00 0.00 3.36 9.61 2
Virginia 7-0 ACC 3.00 3.00 0.00 3.92 9.92 3
Penn State 7-0 B10 3.75 7.00 0.00 3.28 14.03 4
UCLA 7-0 P10 7.75 2.00 0.00 4.84 14.59 5
Boston College 5-0 BGE 5.25 10.00 0.00 2.08 17.33 6
Alabama 6-0 SEC 5.75 8.00 0.00 3.68 17.43 7
Rice 6-0 WAC 9.25 5.00 0.00 4.28 18.53 8
Michigan 6-1 B10 10.75 8.00 1.00 2.24 21.99 9
Iowa 6-1 B10 14.75 7.00 1.00 3.20 25.95 10
Georgia Tech 5-1 ACC 6.00 19.00 1.00 1.40 27.40 11
Notre Dame 5-1 IND 7.50 19.50 1.00 1.64 29.64 12
Wisconsin 5-1 B10 14.75 17.00 1.00 2.80 35.55 13
Texas A&M 6-1 B12 19.25 12.00 1.00 4.20 36.45 14
North Carolina State 5-1 ACC 8.25 26.00 1.00 2.40 37.65 15
Syracuse 6-1 BGE 21.75 11.00 1.00 3.96 37.71 16
Louisville 6-1 USA 16.75 16.00 1.00 4.36 38.11 17
Air Force 6-1 MTW 13.00 22.00 1.00 2.88 38.88 18
Hawaii 6-1 WAC 23.00 13.00 1.00 4.60 41.60 19
Miami of Ohio 6-1 MAC 20.00 19.00 1.00 4.04 44.04 20
Middle Tennessee State 5-0 SUN 28.75 14.00 0.00 5.00 47.75 21
Washington State 5-1 P10 19.75 24.50 1.00 3.44 48.69 22
Colorado State 6-1 MTW 19.75 24.50 1.00 4.52 49.77 23
Toledo 5-1 MAC 31.50 16.00 1.00 4.16 52.66 24
Vanderbilt 5-1 SEC 17.75 31.00 1.00 3.04 52.79 25


-20-

[beargrowlz]

2020 Season (3rd Qtr.)


WEEK 9
@ Stanford (5-2) (PAC-10) *TV4*
(USC -13) USC BCS RANK: #2

We play at a solid Stanford program this week. Their passing game is one of the best in the nation and their running game just about average. We'll be keying the pass mostly, using a lot of 5 and 6 d-back sets, trying to contain their passing attack and force them to run. It should be a tough game on the road.

Quarterly grades came out and the team as a whole is doing quite well. We had 1 player with a D- and 5 others with D+'s. Allocated a bunch of coaching blocs to those players to get them some tutor assistannce and hopefully they'll pick those grades right up.

Bad news, we didn't land Allen Brantley, the other stud ILB we had heavily recruited. He chose UCLA over us - that hurts. Still, we'll keep pounding the pavement so to speak. We're still holding out hope to land the 4th of our top four targets, QB Thomas Kluge of Nevada.

Our game against the Cardinal this week was very competitive with it all tied up at 10 at the half. Our defensive plan to force Stanford to run more worked, as we stacked the defensive backfield against them - and DE Wally Knight applied the pressure to the Cardinal quarterback registering 3 sacks on the day as USC went on to win 27-10 with 17 unanswered 4th quarter points.

The Cardinal concentrated on stopping J.B. Wilson, and while they didn't stop him, they at least contained him, holding the star Tailback to 135 yards on 35 carries (3.8 avg). QB Kenny Finch added 37 yards on 10 carries and Wingback Ike Daugherty ran for a score.

Finch had a solid day through the air, going 11/17 for 144 yards and hitting wideout Eddie Kidman on an 18 yard scoring strike. Kidman had 4 catches for 78 yards, including the touchdown reception.

Along with Wally Knight, leading the Southern Cal defense was 5th year senior ILB Renaldo Elder with 11 tackles, and senior nickel back Dan Cipa, who brought an interception back 65 yards for a touchdown. The defensive gameplan seemed to work quite well and Clarence Ackerman did a fine job of play calling to stifle the Cardinal run & shoot.

USC 27 -- Stanford 10
PAC-10 (5-0) -- OVERALL (7-0)

* * *

WEEK 10
@ Washington State (5-2) (PAC-10) *TV4*
(USC -4) USC BCS RANK: #3

We dropped down behind Virginia into the #3 spot in the BCS this week. Another tough game on the road for us against the Washington State Cougars, who are having a solid season.

The Cougars run the old Wing-T offense. That means lots of rushing - but they still have the potential to have a very strong passing game. QB Dexter Schwartz has two fine receivers to throw to so we'll have to be a little careful in not planning to overplay the run.

We landed two more recruits this week, one a running back that will be a solid contributor to our program down the line - Andrew McChane, a running back from Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California.

We also landed Mario Harper, an offensive tackle from Bergenfield High School in Bergenfield, New Jersey. Harper is a 90+ run blocking OT who comes from a very good prep athletic program. This kid could be our next dominant offensive lineman.

We've currently landed 11 recruits, so have only 5 more slots left. Made a few more offers to a couple of Tight ends and some more offensive linemen. We're still hopefull we'll land that QB Kluge - he hasn't committed to anyone yet.

Once we took the field this week, it was clear the Cougars were no match for us and we ran the ball all over them en route to a 45-17 thrashing at Pullman.

Tailback J.B. Wilson carried the ball 27 times for 172 yards (6.3 avg) and two touchdowns and QB Kenny Finch added another 63 yards and two scores on the ground in a game in which the second unit saw significant PT.

ILB Renaldo Elder had another big day on defense, making 8 tackles and assisting on 7 others. Safety Jared Esparza also played well on defense, intercepting two passes and making 5 tackles, while redshirt sophomore dime back Walter Cheng returned an interception 76 yards for a touchdown.

This was a game in which we dominated both offensively and defensively and it was a fantastic victory on the road against a pretty solid team. One thing of interest to note however, was that so far this season, our wishbone offense has allowed us to have a huge advantage in time of possession. This game, we were scoring so quickly that time of possession actually favored the Cougars who controlled the ball for about 33 minutes.

Fascinating.

USC 45 - Washington 17
PAC-10 (6-0) -- OVERALL (8-0)


* * *

WEEK 11
vs. Arizona (2-6) (PAC-10)
(USC -26) USC RANK: #3

Seven undefeated teams in the nation right now: Southern Cal; Virginia; Florida; UCLA; Penn State; Boston College; and Alabama.

So, who is #1 and who is #2?

Right now the BCS rankings have us at #3, right behind Virginia and Florida. Of the three, we've played the toughest schedule, 3.12 to UVA's 3.16 and Florida's 4.28. The various computer rankings have us anywhere from 2nd to 7th. And the coaches and fan polls both have us at #4.

So I guess we'll just have to keep playing good football and see where the chips fall.

We play a pretty bad Arizona team this week, but the game has it's noteworthiness. The Offensive Coordinator of our 2020 national championship team, Zach Fuchs, is now the Offensive Coordinator for the Wildcats where he is running a trips offense. I'm sure he's still a bit bitter about the change in offense we made over the winter and he'd like nothing better than to knock us out of the national championship race.

We'll just have to make sure he doesn't get the chance.

We'll be missing Al Wilcox again, as well as dime back Walter Cheng, who is gone for the season.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Wilcox, Albert 94 DT Sr Out Broken Clavicle 7 Weeks
Fitzgerald, Max 31 CB Sr Probable Bad Cold 1 Week
Cheng, Walter 23 CB So* Out ACL Damage to the 36 Weeks

The Cats spread the ball around to their receivers and like to go deep. They don't have much of a running game and they don't have one or two receivers to really key on, so we'll lay off the double teams and play a lot of nickel and dime sets against them as well as more than our usual amount of zone. That should keep them in check - I hope.

No good news on the recruiting front, lost a couple of kids to other schools, one to BYU so he could go do his foreign mission religious thing they have you do in the middle of your college career. Needless to say, we may have built a fine football program here, but God trumps us in the BCS standings every time.

The game this week featured perhaps the best defensive performance by one player I have ever seen - Arizona's ILB Jose Robasky made 20 tackles and assisted on three others. I can guess many, if not most, of those 20 tackles came from Robasky chasing Tailback J.B. Wilson all over the field, as Wilson had yet another big game running for 155 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries (4.5 avg) - no doubt putting JB into serious Heisman contention if he wasn't there already - en route to a Southern Cal 38-10 victory in front of 96,600 happy fans at the Rose Bowl.

QB Kenny Finch showed his versatility, running for one score and throwing for another as the redshirt sophomore went 13/18 for 269 yards and the one TD pass to Wingback Ike Daugherty on the day. Finch continued to play mistake free football, and if he doesn't make bad decisions in the air, we can win most games on the ground. Wideout Eddie Kidman also had a solid day, making 4 catches for 82 yards.

Defensively Southern Cal really put the heat on the Wildcat trips offense, getting to the QB 7 times on the day - 2.5 sacks by OLB Kenny Kariya alone. 5th year senior Andrew Francis added another 2 sacks as USC put this game in the win column in a big, big way.

Next up, just Notre Dame and UCLA.

Just.

USC 38 -- Arizona 10
PAC-10 (7-0) -- OVERALL (9-0)

* * *

WEEK 12
@ #21 Notre Dame (6-2) *TV5*
(USC -1) USC BCS RANK: #6

We fall to #6 in the BCS, and it looks like we're going to need wins over both the Irish and UCLA to have a shot at the national championship - which we figured anyway. The thing is, even if we beat both UCLA and Notre Dame, we may not get a shot at the national title. Nothing we can do about it but go play football and win.

The Fighting Irish have the best passing attack in the nation, averaging 426 yards a game through the air. They have some quality running backs, but they don't run the ball much. They run a run & shoot offense, but interestingly enough, like to go long a lot with it rather than the typical dink and dunk and middle of the field stuff. Our safeties will get a work out today, that's for sure.

We're going to try and slow down the passing attack by keeping 5 and 6 DB's in the game almost the whole way. We'll also be playing a lot more 3-deep and 4-deep zone than we usually do - a little similar to what we did against Arizona, but a bit more pronounced this game - and Notre Dame is a heckuva lot better than the Wildcats. We're going to give them the run and hope they stick to their M.O. of not running the ball and stay pass-happy. We'll see how that works.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Wilcox, Albert 94 DT Sr Out Broken Clavicle 6 Weeks
Cheng, Walter 23 CB So* Out ACL Damage to the 36 Weeks

Same players out as last week, Wilcox and Cheng. Both are reserves, so we're basically at full strength minus just a little depth. Not bad for this late in the year.

We landed a couple more recruits this week, nothing sensational, just some depth at TE and the O-line, places where we're kind of thin for the future.

As expected, the Irish came out running and gunning, throwing the ball over 50 times against us. We couldn't stop them entirely, their passing game is just too good to be shut down entirely, but the Trojan defense did yeoman's work in containing it, sacking the Irish QB 4 times and picking off 3 passes en route to a USC 42-10 win at South Bend.

Offensively, Tailback J.B. Wilson looked like a man on a mission in this contest, running for 260 yards and 4 touchdowns on 37 carries out of the wishbone. Wingback Ike Daugherty added another touchdown on the ground and OLB Kenny Kariya returned a pick for a score as Southern Cal dominated the Irish in every aspect of the game.

QB Kenny Finch passed just enough to let the Irish know we could, and again played mistake free football while concentrating on running the Southern Cal wishbone.

A very good win against a very good team, in their house. Can't beat that with a stick.

USC 42 -- Notre Dame 10
PAC-10 (7-0) -- OVERALL (10-0)

* * *

WEEK 13 MEDIA SNIPPETTS


LA TIMES
Week 13, 2020

It's like a sequel, only better. USC vs. UCLA, both undefeated, winner wins the PAC-10 championship and might get a shot at the national championship. We say might, because the BCS is so messed up right now we have no idea who the top two teams are going to be. A Southern Cal win would give them their second consecutive PAC-10 Championship and perhaps a shot at a second straight National Championship. But most importantly, it would send a signal to UCLA that USC was no longer the unwanted stepsister of college football in Los Angeles, but rather, the dominant football power here - and perhaps even the nation.

* * *

WEEK 13 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 13, 2020
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 10-0 SEC 4.00 1.00 0.00 4.72 9.72 1
Virginia 9-0 ACC 2.75 3.00 0.00 4.04 9.79 2
**Southern California 10-0 P10 2.50 4.00 0.00 3.60 10.10 3
Penn State 10-0 B10 2.00 5.50 0.00 3.32 10.82 4
UCLA 10-0 P10 6.25 2.00 0.00 4.56 12.81 5
Boston College 9-0 BGE 3.25 7.50 0.00 3.28 14.03 6
Iowa 10-1 B10 8.00 5.50 1.00 3.40 17.90 7
Alabama 9-0 SEC 7.50 7.50 0.00 4.16 19.16 8
Georgia Tech 8-1 ACC 7.75 12.00 1.00 2.20 22.95 9
Rice 9-1 WAC 9.25 9.50 1.00 3.92 23.67 10
North Carolina State 9-1 ACC 5.75 15.00 1.00 4.20 25.95 11
Texas A&M 9-1 B12 14.00 10.00 1.00 3.48 28.48 12
Syracuse 8-1 BGE 17.50 10.50 1.00 4.64 33.64 13
Vanderbilt 9-1 SEC 12.75 19.50 1.00 3.84 37.09 14
Wisconsin 8-2 B10 18.75 14.00 2.00 2.88 37.63 15
Michigan 7-3 B10 17.50 16.50 3.00 1.52 38.52 16
Air Force 8-2 MTW 15.25 20.50 2.00 1.64 39.39 17
Utah 8-2 MTW 12.25 25.00 2.00 1.56 40.81 18
Hawaii 8-2 WAC 22.25 14.00 2.00 4.84 43.09 19
Middle Tennessee State 8-1 SUN 24.00 16.00 1.00 5.00 46.00 20
California 7-3 P10 18.25 27.00 3.00 1.24 49.49 21
South Florida 8-2 USA 26.50 20.00 2.00 4.32 52.82 22
Notre Dame 6-3 IND 24.00 26.50 3.00 1.84 55.34 23
Marshall 8-2 MAC 31.75 17.50 2.00 4.48 55.73 24
Memphis 8-2 USA 26.00 26.00 2.00 3.52 57.52 25



-20-

[beargrowlz]

2020 Season (4th Qtr.)


WEEK 13
vs. #5 UCLA (10-0) (PAC-10) *TV1*
(USC -7) USC BCS RANK: #3

Just like deja vu all over again. Undefeated Southern Cal plays undefeated UCLA for the PAC-10 Championship and a possible invitation to the Rose Bowl to play for the National Championship.

Where have we seen this before?

UCLA runs a terrific pro formation offense. They throw the ball a lot, but still run for a lot of yards. Defensively they're a hard team to match up with. They've got a good receiving corps, but we're going to try and double up on their #1 receiver as he looks to be their single go to guy. We can't overplay the pass too much or their backs will run wild on us. So we've got to trust our corners to play man on man as we won't go to a lot of nickel or dime sets. Basically, we'll try and beat them with our regular 3-4 set.

We got bit by the injury bug last week and will be missing some key players this week.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Burgess, Bobby 60 T Sr Out Torn Wrist Tendon 10 Weeks
Francis, Andrew 99 DT Sr Doubtful Torn Thumb Ligame 6 Weeks
Benzer, Devin 22 FB Sr Out Separated Shoulde 8 Weeks
Wilcox, Albert 94 DT Sr Out Broken Clavicle 5 Weeks
Cheng, Walter 23 CB So* Out ACL Damage to the 35 Weeks

Francis is going to try and play but everyone else is out. Bobby Burgess' blocking is what we'll probably miss the most, he's a dominant force on the O-line.

Got fantastic news on the recruiting front today, Thomas Kluge, a quarterback from Laughlin High School in Laughlin, Nevada signed a letter of intent to play for Southern Cal next season. Thomas was one of the top priority recruits we mentioned back at the start of the year. He ran for over 1200 yards in his senior year as a quarterback and we feel he'll fit right into the new system we have.

We're just waiting on the last couple of recruits to make up their minds and we'll have a full recruiting class. I think it has turned out to be a very solid class this year.

It was not a pleasant start to this week's game. All my gameplanning and Clarence Ackerman's playcalling got us was a 14 point deficit after one as UCLA QB Jessie Graham threw two touchdown passes.

After 1Q: UCLA 14-0

Not a good start to the game, that's for sure. But our defense started to stiffen up and then QB Kenny Finch hit TE Fred Hastings with a 53 yard touchdown pass to pull us within 7. A Rodney Gardner field goal just before halftime pulled us to within 4 - and our defense kept the Bruins off the scoreboard for the quarter.

Halftime: UCLA 14-10

The 3rd quarter was all defense, neither team could do a thing. I started to take some comfort in knowing my gameplan hadn't been a total disaster, as it looked like it was going to be in the 1st quarter. The 3rd went scoreless and we headed to the 4th.

End of 3Q: UCLA 14-10

Again the defenses held for the first 5:30 before UCLA kicked a 3 spot, putting them up 17-10. That's ok, we were still only down by 7 and with our offense we could make that up - plenty of time left on the clock.

Back and forth it went, neither side could move the ball, punt, punt, punt, punt. We get the ball back on our own 26 with 2:16 left on the clock and I'm frustrated as hell - we haven't been able to do much of anything all day. An option play gains a couple and then Kenny tosses one away. 3rd and 8 and Spencer Foley calls for a bomb, Kenny Finch drops back and hits TE Dustin Wynn with a 48 yard heave to the Bruin 30 with 1:33 left on the clock.

Foley's got us in constant pass mode now, no time for clock controll or the grinding wishbone attack, but Kenny Finch can't find anyone open. First one, then two, then three incompletions leaves us with 4th and 10 from the UCLA 30 with 1:14 on the clock.

We can't kick a field goal, we're down by 7. Got to go for it. Finch drops back and again, no one is open. Kenny takes off - he earns his keep as a wishbone quarterback - and scrambles for a 13 yard gain and a 1st down at the Bruin 17 with 52 seconds left in the game.

Kenny drops back yet again, but his protection breaks down and he's sacked, loss of 7. We manage to call a timeout with 40 ticks left.

Everyone knows a pass is coming, but this time Kenny rolls out and scrambles, looking for a receiver. He spots TE Dustin Wynn in the corner of the endzone and hits him with a 24 yard scoring strike. Rodney Gardner boots the XP and overtime here we come.

End of Regulation: Tied 17-17

We win the toss and elect to start on defense so we know what we have to match if the Bruins score. UCLA drives 20 yards to our 5 but can't make any headway and they kick a field goal to take the lead. We need a 3 or we lose.

First play Kenny Finch goes deep and it's incomplete, but we get a pass interference call that takes us to the Bruin 10. A false start on us pushes us back to the 15. 1st and goal and Tailback J.B. Wilson runs off tackle for 2, followed by an option pitch to JB for another 2 yards down to the 11. Spencer Foley doesn't see any need to be creative here as all we need is a three to stay in the game, so he calls the option once again. This time OG Desmond Connell opens a huge hole and Kenny Finch keeps it and runs it in from 11 yards out, Southern Cal wins 23-20.

What an exciting game. we did manage to contain the UCLA passing game - not entirely shut it down, but enough to keep us in the ballgame, while not allowing them to run all over us. Our dbacks deserve a lot of credit for that.

We managed to sack the Bruin QB 3 times on the day without blitzing much - we wanted our linebackers in pass coverage and spying the run most of the time - 1.5 by DE Floyd Jeffers. Jeffers, Renaldo Elder and Lawrence Abdul-Jabbar kled the defense with 7, 8, and 7 tackles respectively. The entire defensive unit made a great effort and it paid off today.

Offensively we had a hard time today. UCLA is really the first team this year that just slammed the door on our wishbone - limiting JB to 97 yards on 37 carries. We did get the one rushing touchdown by Kenny Finch in overtime, but other than that they kept our ground game completely in check.

Aside from our defense, we won today because Kenny finch threw the ball, going 14/26 for 244 yards while throwing two touchdown passes and not making any mistakes. Quite a performance from a first year player in the biggest game of his life.

So we hoist our second consecutive PAC-10 banner undefeated yet again. Life is good.

Now we just have to wait and see what the BCS does.

USC 23 -- UCLA 20 (OT)
PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)
***2020 PAC-10 CHAMPIONS***

* * *

WEEK 14
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #1

The BCS took our win over UCLA seriously and we jumped up to #1 in the rankings with five other undefeateds in the mix - #2 Florida, #3 Virginia, #4 Penn State, #5 Boston College, and #7 Alabama. UCLA at 10-1, sits in the #6 spot. Hopefully we'll be able to hold onto this ranking or at worst #2, though both Florida and Virginia have 1 game each left to play.

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)

* * *

WEEK 15
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #2

Well, Florida moved ahead of us in the polls, and they still have one game left to play - the SEC Championship game. Penn State and Virginia, both 11-0, are about one point behind us in the BCS Rankings. Bowl bids go out next week, so we're hoping we can stay in the #2 slot.

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)

* * *

WEEK 16
MINOR BOWL TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #2

Florida won the SEC and moved way ahead of us in the BCS rankings. But we managed to hold onto #2 - increasing our lead just a wee bit, and we'll be playing Florida in the Rose Bowl in a national championship rematch.

That should be fun.

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)

* * *

WEEK 17 MEDIA SNIPPETTS

LA TIMES
Week 17, 2020

He did it again. Coach Bear Growlz managed to beat UCLA and win the PAC-10 conference championship in one of the most tense and exciting games in recent memory. Not only that, but Growlz has Southern Cal in position to repeat as National Champions, if they can just get by the University of Florida in the Rose Bowl.

It really is unbelievable how far the USC program has come in the past decade. Now let's see if Coach Growlz can do what Pete Carrol did - bring back-to-back national titles to USC.

Wouldn't that be something.

* * *

WEEK 17 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
wEEK 17, 2020
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 12-0 SEC 1.50 1.00 0.00 3.04 5.54 1
**Southern California 11-0 P10 2.50 3.00 0.00 2.84 8.34 2
Penn State 11-0 B10 2.50 5.00 0.00 2.96 10.46 3
Virginia 11-0 ACC 4.75 2.00 0.00 3.76 10.51 4
Boston College 11-0 BGE 2.25 6.50 0.00 4.00 12.75 5
UCLA 10-1 P10 7.00 4.50 1.00 3.40 15.90 6
Iowa 10-1 B10 8.00 6.00 1.00 3.92 18.92 7
Alabama 11-1 SEC 9.00 8.00 1.00 3.48 21.48 8
North Carolina State 10-1 ACC 5.50 12.50 1.00 4.92 23.92 9
Georgia Tech 9-2 ACC 10.50 14.00 2.00 1.52 28.02 10
Rice 10-2 WAC 14.25 9.00 2.00 4.16 29.41 11
Air Force 9-2 MTW 12.75 16.00 2.00 1.68 32.43 12
Syracuse 9-2 BGE 17.25 11.00 2.00 4.80 35.05 13
Hawaii 10-2 WAC 17.25 12.50 2.00 4.72 36.47 14
Wisconsin 9-2 B10 17.50 14.00 2.00 4.40 37.90 15
Texas A&M 10-2 B12 22.00 11.00 2.00 3.16 38.16 16
Utah 9-2 MTW 13.00 20.50 2.00 2.88 38.38 17
Ball State 11-2 MAC 15.25 19.00 2.00 3.96 40.21 18
Vanderbilt 9-2 SEC 13.25 22.00 2.00 3.08 40.33 19
California 8-3 P10 11.25 25.50 3.00 1.20 40.95 20
Memphis 9-2 USA 21.00 22.50 2.00 4.32 49.82 21
Michigan 7-4 B10 25.50 22.50 4.00 1.64 53.64 22
South Carolina 8-3 SEC 22.75 26.00 3.00 2.72 54.47 23
Middle Tennessee State 10-2 SUN 30.50 17.00 2.00 5.00 54.50 24
Marshall 10-3 MAC 33.50 18.00 3.00 4.28 58.78 25


-20-

[aztarheel]

Go get 'em Bear!! Nice win over UCLA -- one of the most thrilling wins I've seen on TV in years ...

AZ

[beargrowlz]

Thanks man!

[beargrowlz]

2020 Season (Final)


WEEK 17
MAJOR BOWL TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #2

Allocated the last of our coaching blocs this week in order to assist those players having academic difficulties. Not too many academic problems and no one failing a class. Good stuff.

Our recruiting class is all filled up - I think we landed a number of players who can contribute immediately - though we did go after a couple of "project" kids that will take some time to develop. Most of the kids we landed are also top notch students as well, which is always helpful to the program and to their development as football players because it means they can spend more time on football related activity.

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)

* * *

WEEK 18 MEDIA SNIPPETTS

espn.com
The Sports Guy
Week 18, 2020

Yes I still write this column, I'm an old man now - but I'm still a Pats and Red Sox homer, and no the Celtics still haven't won a title - Danny Ainge says next year is the year. I mean c'mon, enough is enough alredy bring back M.L. Carr.

Anyway, that's not my point. My point is BOSTON COLLEGE GOT JOBBED! They should be playing for the national championship, not Florida and Southern Cal. Who do they play anyway? The SEC and PAC-10? Bah! The BCS is broken when a team like BC doesn't get to play for the national title.

Oh, and by the way, that pass interference call against Hobbs was bogus.

* * *

WEEK 18
FOUR STAR TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #2

UCLA won their bowl game 59-6 over Air Force. Ouch.

Taking a look at the Florida Gators and putting together a gameplan for them. The Gators run an I-Formation offense and coordinator Billy Barton has been running that formation for 21 years, so it's very finely tuned. The Gators are averaging 153 ypg on the ground and 287 ypg through the air - one of the best passing games in the country, but still a very balanced attack.

It'll take some thinking to come up with a suitable game plan for them.

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)

* * *

WEEK 19
NEW YEAR'S TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #2

As I go through the process of putting together the game plan for next week, I want to emphasize defending against the pass, but also need to keep in mind this is a pretty good running Gator squad. What I think we'll do is overplay the pass on the game plan - as in calling pass over run, but only use our nickel and dime sets an average amount of time. This will require our defensive backs to be extraordinarily good and play the Gator receivers tough - especially our corners. It'll be a similar game plan as what we used against UCLA. It won't shut down the Florida aerial attack, but hopefully it'll slow it down some.

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)

* * *

WEEK 20
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
ROSE BOWL: vs. #1 Florida (12-0) *TV1*
(Florida -1) USC BCS RANK: #2

We're still a little banged up from the regular season despite the long layoff between our last game and the national title game.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Burgess, Bobby 60 T Sr Doubtful Torn Wrist Tendon 4 Weeks
Benzer, Devin 22 FB Sr Probable Separated Shoulde 1 Week
Kariya, Kenneth 90 OLB So Out Dislocated Elbow 6 Weeks
Cheng, Walter 23 CB So* Out ACL Damage to the 30 Weeks
Benzer will play and Bobby Burgess will try and go, the others are out. We could really use Bobby in this game, he's just so dominant on the offensive line and forms a great left side with Desmond Connell.

I'm kind of nervous as the game starts out. It's a defensive duel halfway through the first half, neither us nor Florida can get anything going.

The Gators manage to score first with 8:49 left in the 1st quarter on a field goal, 3-0 Florida.

We're forced to punt but pick off a Jamie Singhi pass right away and take it to the Gator 45. Kenny Finch had us moving down the field but was injured - he remained in the game. Tough kid but our drive stalled. Rod Gardner booted a field goal to tie it up with 1:44 left in the first.

End of 1Q: Tied 3-3

Florida has a nice long drive but our defense bends but doesn't break, forcing the Gators to setle for three. 6-3 Florida.

We get a decent drive going but it stalls and the Gators take over at their own 24. We're having a difficult time running the ball so far.

Florida hits on a couple of passes before redshirt junior ILB Walt Whalen makes a big play picking off a Singhi pass and we start with great field position at our own 47.

We spring a run every now and then, but the Gators are pretty much stymying our wishbone. Fortunately Kenny Finch is throwing the ball well and he hits a few passes and we drive to the Gator 12 with 4:17 left in the half. Three straight runs by J.B. Wilson puts the ball in the end zone - that kid is at his best when he smells paydirt. Bad news is the XP was blocked, but we go up 9-6.

Ouch. An 83 yard kick returns gives Florida the ball at our 7 with over 2 minutes left. We really need a defensive stand here.

We don't get one as Jamie Singhi tosses a touchdown pass and Florida goes up 13-9. Damn that hurt.

Kenny Finch is playing out of his mind and passes us down to the Gator 4 yard line with 4 seconds left - hitting on one big pass play to J.B. Wilson for 50 yards. Rod Gardner kicks the field goal and we're down by one at the half.

Halftime: Florida 13-12

Florida gets the second half kick but can do nothing, thanks in large part to a big sack by DE Floyd Jeffers. We get good field position on the punt at our own 43, but we're forced to punt as our own drive stalls due to stupid penalties.

The Gators get a good drive going, thanks in large part to a key 3rd and 14 draw play which caught us napping, but the drive stalls and they settle for 3. 16-12 Gators. Boy that blocked extra point is looming large right now.

We go three and out and need the defense to step up big and keep us in this game.

End of 3Q: Florida 16-12

Florida's drive from the third continues and they've taken the ball to our 34 to open the 4th. The defense stiffens and the Gators go for it on 4th and 14, hitting a 10 yard pass, we take over on downs with a big defensive stand.

Our offensive line just takes over and we pound the ball run after run after run, mixed in with a couple of Kenny Finch completions and then WR Ed Kidman runs a reverse for a touchdown. The XP is good and we go up 19-16.

The Gators go three and out and punt but ILB Walt Whalen makes his second big play of the day and blocks the punt - we take over at the Florida 33.

The Gator defense is determined to keep us out of the endzone and they do, as we have to settle for a Rod Gardner field goal, Southern Cal 22-16 with 4:27 left to go.

The Gators go three and out and punt. We get called for holding on the return and take over deep in our own territory at the 11 with 2:48 to go. Can we grind out the clock with our wishbone? We've run for 124 yards so far, and the Gators surely know what's coming.

Kenny Finch comes out throwing - boy Offensive Coordinator Spencer Foley has cajones. Another pass and a couple of runs and the Gators have used up their timeouts. 1st and 10 at our own 48 with 1:58 left. We run one play, then Kenny Finch kneels three times and that's the game and we're back-to-back national champions.

It was very much a defensive struggle. We accomplished what we set out to do, which was contain the Gator aerial attack. We sacked Singhi twice and picked off two of his passes while limiting Florida to 133 yards passing. Florida did the same to our running game however, containing us to 145 yards net - 105 by J.B. Wilson who finished 4th in the Heisman ballotting.

But it was the play of first year QB Kenny Finch, WR Ed Kidman and redshirt junior ILB Walt Whalen - who made two big plays at key points in the game - that really stood out. Finch went 12/17 for 218 yards and completed passes to keep scoring drives alive and that really made a big difference in the game. And once again, Kenny played mistake free ball. Wideout Ed Kidman meanwhile, was hauling in 5 of those passes for 85 yards and ran for 19 yards on 3 carries - including the game winning touchdown.

Tailback J.B. Wilson, who ran for 100 yards, also had 112 yards receiving on the day, making 5 catches. He may not have won the Heisman, but he'll be remembered as one of the best players in USC Trojan history.

Rose Bowl: National Championship Game
USC 22 -- Florida 16
PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (12-0)
***2020 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS***


* * *


2020 FINAL BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Final, 2020
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
**Southern California 12-0 P10 1.00 2.00 0.00 1.40 4.40 1
Virginia 12-0 ACC 4.00 1.00 0.00 3.20 8.20 2
Penn State 12-0 B10 2.25 4.50 0.00 1.84 8.59 3
Florida 12-1 SEC 3.00 3.50 1.00 1.48 8.98 4
UCLA 11-1 P10 4.50 4.50 1.00 2.00 12.00 5
Iowa 11-1 B10 6.75 5.50 1.00 3.16 16.41 6
Boston College 11-1 BGE 5.50 8.00 1.00 2.60 17.10 7
Alabama 12-1 SEC 6.75 7.00 1.00 2.88 17.63 8
Georgia Tech 10-2 ACC 9.25 11.00 2.00 1.32 23.57 9
Rice 10-2 WAC 14.75 9.00 2.00 4.28 30.03 10
Hawaii 10-2 WAC 15.50 10.00 2.00 4.84 32.34 11
North Carolina State 10-2 ACC 10.00 16.50 2.00 4.44 32.94 12
Utah 10-2 MTW 12.25 18.50 2.00 2.72 35.47 13
Vanderbilt 10-2 SEC 11.00 20.00 2.00 2.92 35.92 14
California 9-3 P10 10.75 21.50 3.00 0.84 36.09 15
Syracuse 9-3 BGE 18.25 12.50 3.00 4.24 37.99 16
Ball State 11-2 MAC 13.50 18.50 2.00 4.04 38.04 17
Wisconsin 9-3 B10 20.50 15.00 3.00 3.56 42.06 18
South Carolina 9-3 SEC 17.50 23.00 3.00 2.12 45.62 19
Air Force 9-3 MTW 19.00 23.00 3.00 1.04 46.04 20
Texas A&M 10-3 B12 30.75 12.50 3.00 2.36 48.61 21
Middle Tennessee State 10-2 SUN 30.00 15.00 2.00 5.00 52.00 22
Marshall 10-3 MAC 29.25 16.50 3.00 4.52 53.27 23
Miami of Ohio 8-3 MAC 24.75 22.50 3.00 4.64 54.89 24
Notre Dame 8-4 IND 22.25 28.50 4.00 0.68 55.43 25


-20-

[SFL Cat]

Time to go to the NFL, Bear!

[aztarheel]

Nah, stay at USC and be the BMOC for a long, long time ... ;)

So do you play out your games or are you getting all the game detail from a play-by-play log within the game? Just curious ... I like the detail ... I also like the guts of coming out throwing late in the game deep in your own territory ... wow -- a deserving champion...

AZ

**Also just curious -- how has the University of North Carolina (Tar Heels) done in your history ... I haven't really seen them show up in the top 25 so they must not be very good ...

[SFL Cat]

A thought just hit me...multiplayer TCY *drool*

[beargrowlz]

TCY doesn't allow you to call your own plays. Which is probably a good thing in my case, because with FOF I start a career calling plays, get 5 games into it and get sick of calling plays. ;)

But TCY does allow you to watch the play by play of the game as it is simmed. So for the games I go into detail on, I'm pausing the game, then writing my notes and thoughts, then allowing the play by play to continue.

I'm sure it's nothing more sophisticated than just simming the game without showing you the result and then reading from the log, but it's real enough to pull me in and make me feel like I'm actually on the sidelines.

TCY multiplayer would be a blast. Though I think there is a college football game that is multiplayer - bowl bound or something like that. Still, I like TCY, it has aged well I go back to it every now and then. Was a good value buy when you're still playing it three or four years later.

As for moving to the pros, I don't know. I had really seriously considered it before this season. I was stunned to win this year, Ken Finch was perfect for this system and threw a lot better than I thought he would. Bringing in that new coordinator with 20 years experience running a wishbone certainly helped I think. The other thing is, aside from scrambling, the one trait Finch had really well developed was third down passing. And our game plan was pretty much run, run then run some more or pass in a long yardage situation.

Now that I've won two in a row, Florida's mark of three in a row is only around the corner. Might be worth staying to try and tie or beat.

The other issue about moving the character to FOF is that I really don't have a good handle on customizing the game yet. But I guess the only way to figure it out is to try.

So we'll see. I expected to compete for the title in 2019, but the run of 2020 was a complete shock to me. I'm still waiting for it to wear off. ;)

Thanks for the read guys! And always look forward to your input.

[beargrowlz]

dola.

North Carolina's prestige ranking is Good-(58), they're 79-113 overall. They've been to a bowl game 5 times (2-3), and they were 5-6 this season (BCS Ranking # 145 out of 258 schools).

The school's academic ranking is only a Good-(46).

They could really use some help.

[aztarheel]

Maybe Steve Victory should consider football ... (or maybe your Tar Heels should call Butch Davis, like the real university did...)

[beargrowlz]

Maybe Steve Victory should consider football


Didn't he just take a job with NC State?

Man there would be some serious feuding and a fighting going on, eg. Rick Pitino Kentucky/Louisville.

[devynd]

Who thinks they can outcoach Bear now? Nobody!

Outstanding work with the latest USC team! That was one heck of a coaching job with those guys, and some great games. Congrats on the second title! Good luck on a third, but I know J.B. will be missed.

[Crim]

Seems like Keene State has finally taken a few steps backward... I haven't really been seeing them in your top 25 rankings...

[beargrowlz]

Outstanding work with the latest USC team! That was one heck of a coaching job with those guys, and some great games. Congrats on the second title! Good luck on a third, but I know J.B. will be missed.

Thanks Dev. Your're right about JB, boy will he be missed - best player I have ever had in TCY.

As always, thanks for the read.


Seems like Keene State has finally taken a few steps backward..

Crim,

Yeah they seem to have taken a significant step backwards, going 7-4 ranked #42 in 2019 and 6-5 #54 this year.

Thanks for the read!

PS: Az, in answer to your question re: North Carolina, I transposed columns. I should have realized this when I said it was out of 200 and something odd schools as there aren't that many schools.

North Carolina was actually ranked 70th out of 125 schools. Sorry about the mess up.<!-- / message -->

[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/usc-banner.jpg


2020 Season Summary and Review


Season Review

Well, I have to say, looking back on my remarks during the summer, this season was one heckuva surprise - and a pleasant one at that. The kids took to Offensive Coordinator Spencer Foley's wishbone offense like a fish to water and they ran with it - and boy did we ever run.

There were three significant factors that contributed greatly to our second consecutive national championship here at Southern Cal. First and foremost was the play of Tailback J.B. Wilson. Plain and simple, J.B. is the best football player I have ever coached. It's a damn shame that young man didn't win the Heisman in his time with us, he certainly deserved to. He's going to be one heckuva NFL player. J.B.'s performance this year was simply stellar. But aside from all the yardage and statistics he put up, Wilson is one of those rare backs that can smell the goalline and seems to be able to dial it up a notch - even though he's already a level above everyone else on the field. J.B. one us a lot of games this year - and over the past four years. He'll be missed tremendously as he goes on to a career in the pros.

The second key factor that was crucial to our success was the play of first year Quarterback Kenny Finch. We all knew Kenny could run the ball - he showed us that in practice during his redshirt year. But his abilityto avoid turnovers and his uncanny knack to make the big pass in a crucial situation showed us something about the young man that you can't really ever know until you get him on the field in the heat of battle. This kid has heart and guts. I really look forward to coaching Kenny over the next three seasons as he develops. He's a perfect fit for our offense and we hope he'll continue to develop as a passer as he did this year.

The third major factor in our success was our run defense. Teams simply could not run against us and eventually they just gave up trying. We held opponents to a total of 490 yards rushing on the season - an average of 1.53 yards per carry. This inability to run which led to teams going strictly to the air, helped contribute to our fantastic turnover ratio of +17, which was 4th best in the nation. We had such a terrific secondary that they managed 20 interceptions on the season, making it extremely difficult to do anything offensively against us.

All in all, our 2020 championship run was a joy to coach. Everything worked like clockwork, we controlled the clock almost every game, we didn't make many mistakes and we created a lot of opportunities by causing our opponents to make mistakes. And when you play that kind of football, consistently over your entire schedule, only good things can happen.

And in 2020 they did.

* * *

2020 USC Award Winners


University of Southern California Trojans
Individual Awards

* OG Bobby Burgess (5th yr Sr.)
- 1st Team All-American
- Academic All-American
- Senior All-American
- 1st Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* TB J.B. Wilson (5th yr Sr.)
- 2nd Team All-American
- Academic All-American
- Senior All-American
- PAC-10 Most Valuable Player
- PAC-10 Offensive Player of the Year
- 1st Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10

* S Lawrence Abdul-Jabbar (Jr.)
- Academic All-American
- Academic All PAC-10

* OC Gino Lyubashevsky (RS Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* OG Desmond Connell (RS Jr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* DE Wally Knight (RS Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* WR Edwin Kidman (5th yr Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10

* OT Nate Dillon (Rs Jr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10

* K Rodney Gardner (5th yr Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10

* NT Andrew Francis (5th yr Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10

* LB Renaldo Elder (5th yr Sr.)
- 2nd team All PAC-10

* DE Floyd Jeffers (RS Jr.)
- Academic All PAC-10





* * *

2020 USC Team Summary


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2020 Team Summary
Head Coach: Bear Growlz (13th season)
Offensive Coordinator: Spencer Foley (1st season)
Defensive Coordinator: Clarence Ackerman (3rd season)
Syndicate Coordinator: Arnie Urlacher (2nd season)
Lead Scout: Lester Stargell (3rd season)

Overall Record: 12-0
BCS Rank: #1 ***2020 National Champions***
Coaches Poll: #2
Fans Poll: #2
PAC-10 Record: 8-0
PAC-10 Standings: 1st ***2020 PAC-10 CHAMPIONS***

Southern California Team Rank
Rushes 605 2
Rushing Yards 2457 3
Yards Per Carry 4.06 25 (T)
Pass Attempts 211 124
Completions 140 101 (T)
Passing Yards 2139 68
Yards Per Attempt 10.13 4
3rd Down Conversions 44.9 13
Points Per Game 34.2 14
Turnovers 8 1
Turnover Margin +17 4 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 319 2
Rushing Yards 490 1
Yards Per Carry 1.53 2 (T)
Pass Attempts 356 102 (T)
Completions 169 36 (T)
Opponent Comp. Pct. 47.5% 13
Passing Yards 2069 32
Yards Per Attempt 5.81 18
3rd Down Conversions 29.2 20
Points Per Game 11.7 4 (T)
Turnovers 25 28 (T)

Primary Formation: Wishbone Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
2 30 KSC* (46) 3
3 35 at GEOR (93) 14
5 56 AZST (122) 7
6 26 at ORST (98) 0
7 45 CALI (21) 24
8 22 at OREG (86) 10
9 27 at STAN (65) 10
10 45 at WAST (44) 17
11 38 ARIZ (91) 10
12 42 at NODM (31) 10
13 23 UCLA (4) 20
20 22 vs FLOR (3) 16 ***Rose Bowl/BCS National Championship Game***

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Comp.%
1 Finch QB 195 130 1972 10.11 8 4 66.7%
Team --- 211 140 2139 10.13 9 4 66.4%

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
48 Wilson RB 439 1848 4.20 25 110 160
1 Finch QB 89 288 3.23 4 34 102
24 Daugherty RB 57 183 3.21 3 19 23
Team --- 605 2457 4.06 34 170 299

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
6 Kidman WR 71 43 801 18.6 235 2
48 Wilson RB 39 24 333 13.8 148 1
22 Benzer FB 35 26 256 9.8 137 1
24 Daugherty RB 23 18 299 16.6 161 2
82 Hastings TE 17 12 202 16.8 67 2
Team --- 211 140 2139 15.2 858 9

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
54 Elder ILB 75 21 1.0 19 2 4
38 Abdul-Jabbar S 46 18 0.0 10 4 17
20 Esparza S 41 14 0.0 8 2 10
49 Whalen ILB 39 14 0.0 11 2 6
31 Fitzgerald CB 34 15 0.0 3 2 5
99 Francis DT 28 8 4.0 12 0 0
91 Knight DE 28 10 10.0 16 0 0
90 Kariya OLB 26 10 5.5 10 1 4
21 Cipa CB 25 8 0.0 3 1 5
72 Jeffers DE 23 12 9.5 15 0 1
55 Biakabutuka OLB 17 3 0.0 3 0 1
42 Blackston OLB 17 8 5.5 7 1 4
26 Knight CB 16 10 0.0 2 2 6
98 McWilliams DT 14 8 3.5 5 0 0
35 Jacobs CB 12 3 1.0 2 0 2
Team --- 543 170 45.0 137 20 70



-20-

[beargrowlz]

2021 Preaseason


Winter, 2021

More news to take pride in. The Southern Cal football program now has a prestige rating on Excellent-96. Only one school has a higher prestige rating - Florida, which is Excellent-98. Both Virginia and UCLA are tied with us at Excellent-96. I take great pride in having built up this prestige level as I remember the days when minor programs had more prestige than us.

It certainly has been a busy winter though. Besides going through the ritual of declining a number of job offers - most notable being Michigan (Excellent-87) and Texas A&M (Excellent-82), both schools with multiple national championships - our days of playing in the Rose Bowl will be coming to an end in 2024. The USC Board of Trustees have decided to build a new state of the art football stadium which will seat 116,800 fans. The new stadium is set to open in 2024. That was the easy part - now comes the hard part.

They'll spend the next three years arguing over what to name it.


* * *


I decided to let Clarence Ackerman go after three years with us as Defensive Coordinator - no worries about Clarence, he quickly got hired by Northwestern as their new Defensive Coordinator. Clarence and I had some philosophical differences over the development of our young linebackers - he just didn't see them as crucial to the success of the defense as a whole. Our new Defensive Coordinator is 40 year old Leland Shepard. Leland is an excellent strategist, has a top notch conditioning and rehab program, and emphasizes development in all defensive aspects. Leland joins us from the Chicago Bears, where he was the Defensive Line Coach. I think he'll be an important addition to our staff.

The rest of the staff returns for the 2021 season.

* * *

I thought we had another pretty good recruiting class last season. TCY Today gave it the thumbs up again, rating it the 7th best in the nation. One of them, Britt Wells, a WR from Hawaii, is likely going to start for us as a true frosh - something that's very rare in this program. But he's that good. Here's a look at the class.


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2020 Recruiting List, Ranking View
TCY Today Ranking: #7

Player Pos HT WT ST NRank ByPos StRank ByPos
$$Kluge, Thomas QB 6-2 212 NV 5 2 2 2
$$McChane, Andrew RB 6-0 195 CA 204 8 28 2
$$Gardiner, Warren FB 5-10 207 AL 228 5 5 1
##Griffin, Arnold TE 6-6 238 OK --- 95 21 1
$$Wells, Britt WR 5-10 169 HI 20 2 1 1
$$Burroughs, Adam C 6-2 247 NJ 721 42 22 1
##McConnell, Gus G 6-3 267 NY 297 28 19 3
$$Harper, Mario T 6-3 277 NJ 7 2 1 1
$$Grbac, Calvin P 5-10 172 NY 88 1 7 1
$$Givens, Burt K 6-0 177 CA 70 4 11 1
$$Shepard, Jim DT 6-1 259 LA 11 1 1 1
$$Nadeau, Walter ILB 6-2 212 KS 12 2 1 1
$$Warren, Russell OLB 6-1 208 NM 24 1 1 1
$$Garcia, Marvin CB 6-0 170 CA 202 13 27 1
$$Swafford, Howard S 6-2 196 PA 9 1 1 1
$$Knight, Chester S 5-11 180 OH 23 2 1 1

Player All-St All-US Status
$$Kluge, Thomas Yes Yes Committed *
$$McChane, Andrew No No Committed *
$$Gardiner, Warren Yes No Committed *
##Griffin, Arnold Yes No Committed *
$$Wells, Britt Yes No Committed *
$$Burroughs, Adam Yes No Committed *
##McConnell, Gus Yes Yes Committed *
$$Harper, Mario Yes No Committed *
$$Grbac, Calvin Yes No Committed *
$$Givens, Burt Yes No Committed *
$$Shepard, Jim Yes No Committed *
$$Nadeau, Walter Yes No Committed *
$$Warren, Russell Yes No Committed *
$$Garcia, Marvin Yes No Committed *
$$Swafford, Howard Yes No Committed *
$$Knight, Chester Yes No Committed *

The College Years
Recruiting List, Worksheet View

Player Scout Phone Visit Emphasis Status
$$Kluge, Thomas 95- 3 3 Acad/Dist Committed *
$$McChane, Andrew 71+ 2 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
$$Gardiner, Warren 86+ 4 2 Acad/Dist Committed *
##Griffin, Arnold 67- 2 1 Prest/Dist Committed *
$$Wells, Britt 83++ 3 2 Dist/Prest Committed *
$$Burroughs, Adam 70- 3 2 Acad/Prest Committed *
##McConnell, Gus 69++ 3 1 Dist/Acad Committed *
$$Harper, Mario 90+ 3 3 Prest*/Acad Committed *
$$Grbac, Calvin 100- 4 1 Dist/Acad Committed *
$$Givens, Burt 91+ 3 2 Dist/Acad Committed *
$$Shepard, Jim 89+ 4 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
$$Nadeau, Walter 95+ 4 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
$$Warren, Russell 90+ 3 2 Prest*/Acad Committed *
$$Garcia, Marvin 69+ 1 1 Prest/Dist Committed *
$$Swafford, Howard 82+ 3 2 Acad/Prest Committed *
$$Knight, Chester 85+ 3 1 Acad/Prest Committed *

The College Years
Recruiting List, Statistics View


Player Statistics Status
$$Kluge, Thomas 9 GP, 200-312-3813(12.2)-26-1 pass, 173Committed *
$$McChane, Andrew 9 GP, 230-1691(7.3)-14 rush, 48-858-7 rCommitted *
$$Gardiner, Warren 9 GP, 97-646-9 rush, 58-1101-13 rcv. Committed *
##Griffin, Arnold 9 GP, 15-257(17.1)-1 rcv. Committed *
$$Wells, Britt 9 GP, 82-2211(26.9)-14 rcv. Committed *
$$Burroughs, Adam 9 GP. Committed *
##McConnell, Gus 9 GP. Committed *
$$Harper, Mario 7 GP. Committed *
$$Grbac, Calvin 9 GP, 16 FG, 50-2391(47.8) punt yds. Committed *
$$Givens, Burt 9 GP, 23 FG. Committed *
$$Shepard, Jim 9 GP, 82 tckls, 11.5 sacks, 0 Int. Committed *
$$Nadeau, Walter 8 GP, 17-383-4 rcv, 119 tckls, 1.5 sackCommitted *
$$Warren, Russell 9 GP, 21-316-1 rcv, 107 tckls, 11.5 sacCommitted *
$$Garcia, Marvin 9 GP, 21-152-2 rush, 14-355-3 rcv, 42 tCommitted *
$$Swafford, Howard 9 GP, 36-156-2 rush, 10-206-2 rcv, 79 tCommitted *
$$Knight, Chester 9 GP, 56-366-3 rush, 10-161-1 rcv, 83 tCommitted *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.



-20-

[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/trojan.jpg 2021 Preseason



Spring, 2021

Time to put together this season's schedule. We have no left over home and homes from last season. We have our annual game against Notre Dame, this year in the Rose Bowl. And as always, there is one PAC-10 school we don't play each year. This season we won't be playing Washington State.

Our schedule is all bunched up this season as we play from Week 5 straight through until Week 13. So I think I'm going to try and schedule games for Weeks 1 and 2.

We're rated higher in the preseason BCS than ever before - #3. I'm going to be looking for decent opponents, but very winnable games - don't want to hurt our strength of schedule but also don't want to take an early season loss that could hurt any national title aspirations we might have.

Stage 1: I offerred BYU a game in the Rose Bowl for Week 1. They weren't interested.

Stage 2: Dartmouth offerred us a home game for Week 2. I accepted. Don't think that'll help our strength of schedule though.

Stage 3: Indiana offers us a home game for Week 3, so I accept. That completes our schedule. Not exactly what I was looking for, but I'll take it. Here's a look at the complete schedule.

The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2021 Team Schedule

Preseason BCS Rank: #3
Preseason Coaches Poll: #3
Preseason Fans Poll: #3
Rival: UCLA
Stadium Capacity: 96,600
Season Tickets Sold: 96,600

Week Opponent Result Attendance Weather Television
1 ---week off ---
2 DARTMOUTH
3 INDIANA
4 ---week off---
$$5 OREGON STATE
$$6 OREGON
$$7 at (17) California
$$8 at Arizona State
$$9 STANFORD
$$10 (30) WASHINGTON
$$11 at Arizona
12 (23) NOTRE DAME
$$13 at (4) UCLA
14 ---week off---

Home Games in ALL CAPS
$$-Conference Games



-20-

[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/usc.jpg

University of Southern California Trojans
2021 Preseason




Summer, 2021

As I started working on the incoming frosh's academics, I noticed we took a big hit in coaching blocs. Leland Shepard isn't nearly as likable as Clarence Ackeman was, so we'll have about 20 fewer blocs to allocate this year.

Hopefully that won't be a problem.

Most of the academic management was just a case of tweaking the upperclassmen around. This year's freshmen aren't quite as well rounded academically as we have had in years past. They're not bad mind you, just not the grade A student-athletes we've come to expect.

Once summer workouts rolled around, it seemed apparent that this year's team was going to be far different than last year's squad. No more Big Bobby Burgess at LT, no more 40 carries a game J.B. Wilson - no Ed Kidman. Kenny Finch is really going to have to step it up a notch and become a leader.

Kenny will be calling the signals for his second season. In the backfield with him will be redshirt senior Ike Daugherty. Ike has a lot of talent but just doesn't have the stamina JB did. So I think we can expect to see the workload a bit more evenly distributed this year. At Wingback is redshirt junior Alf Snyder. Snyder has the potential to be an explosive player - but likely not this year, Wingbacks are hardly ever explosive. Backing them both up and likely to get a decent share of carries is redshirt junior Jeff Thompson, another very talented back.

Kenny Finch will probably throw a bit more this season - though you'll see our running backs featured a lot more with a new screen package we put in. Aside from our backs, Kenny will be throwing to freshman wideout Britt Wells. The kid from Hawaii is just that special that even in a wishbone offense I think you'll see Britt be a difference maker. Our starting Tight End will be sophomore Fred Hastings - known more for his run blocking than anything else. Dustin Wynn and Ricardo carley will also likely see some time there.

Our offensive line is pretty solid - though Burgess is irreplacable. Anchoring the line will be 5th year senior OC Gino Lyubashevsky. Gino has really developed into one heckuva lineman and should have a very good season. On his left - the clear strength of our line, will be redshirt senior OG Des Connell and redshirt senior OT Nate Dillon. If we're playing well, expect to hear those two names called a lot this year. Over on the right side is 5th year senior Brian Barton, probably the weakest link in the line. And to his right is freshman OT Mario Harper. Harper has the potential to be an outstanding offensive lineman and once Nate Dillon graduates we expect Mario to move over to LT. But he could be a key player this year if he works at it.

Defensive Coordinator Leland Shepard inherits a very strong defensive line, anchored by first year starter, redshirt senior Mel McWilliams. Mel is a major run stopper and should give opposing runners headaches all season. Flanking Mel will be returning starters at DE, 5th year senior Wally Knight and redshirt senior Floyd Jeffers. We expect to see Knight and Jeffers piling up the sacks this season.

The linebacking corps is easily the weakness of the defense - the main reason we brought in Leland Shepard to help develop some of our LB recruits. Only redshirt senior ILB Walt Whalen is above average for a major college program. He's joined by redshirt senior Monty Garcia on the inside. Monty has the potential to be a lot better, but just didn't get the work on his technique he needed to improve the past three years. On the outside will again be walk-on 5th year senior Wayne Biakabatuka. Wayne's worked hard as a recruited walk-on and easily deserves a scholarship. He's actually not too bad. He's gotten as good as he is going to get, but for now, that's a lot better than some of these high potential kids that are in the wings. On the other side is junior Ken Kariya. Kariya's development has been painfully slow and he shouldn't be starting, but he's qwhat we've got right now. I'm hopeful that given a year or two Leland Shepard will have this unit built back up to where it should be - and I should note it's not significantly worse than last season's unit, which helped us win a national championship.

The secondary is once again very strong. At shutdown corner will be redshirt senior Brad Knight. Knight has all-world talent - but rarely can play more than 50% of snaps - he just doesn't have the endurance to stay out there. Over at the other corner will be redshirt sophomore Mario Barber, who is really going to be a special player. Backing them up quite ably as our nickel back will be redshirt junior Justin jacobs, who will also see a lot of action subbing for Knight.

At the safety positions we have two of the best in the nation in senior Lawrence Abdul-Jabbar and redshirt senior Jared Esparza. Not a lot gets by those two. They are ably backed up by redshirt junior Stephen McElroy and redshirt sophomore Amos Carpenter, both of whom will play major roles for us in the future.

On special teams, 5th year senior Xavier Eason returns as our Punter while freshman Burt Givens takes over the placekicking duties from the graduated Rod Gardner. Returning punts will be CB Justin Jacobs and Chris Knight, while Knight and Mario Barber will be returning kicks. It's a difficult call whether to use Knight as a return man, but he's so explosive, and we have the depth at corner that using him some here makes sense.

Whether we contend for another PAC-10 and national championship this season will largely depend on the performance of QB Kenny Finch. Last season we only turned the ball over eight times all year. Finch is going to throw a little bit more this year, and we don't have J.B. Wilson to pound at opponents like we did last year. So we're expecting a lot out of Finch. The challenge will be if he can live up to that kind of pressure.

Tailback Ike Daugherty is a question mark. How much of a load a runner with his limited endurance can shoulder remains to be seen. We've got plenty of depth behind him, but we'd like to see him make an impact - no, we need him to make an impact. We're also looking for WB Alf Snyder and WR Britt Wells to be in positions where they could make a difference.

Defenseively we've got the same M.O. as we always do. Stop the run, pressure the quarterback, and let the secondary chase down the bad guys. We've got a defensive line that's good enough at getting to the quarterback we don't have to expose ourselves by blitzing much, and that always helps. And our secondary is top notch.

Life after JB should be interesting.


* * *



http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/pennants/usc-pennant.jpg

2021 USC Roster


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2021 Roster/Scout Overview
From the Desk of Lester Stargell, Lead Scout

Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
Casillas, Eddie 18 QB Sr 49 64
Felkey, Anthony 13 QB So* 38 65
Finch, Kenneth 1 QB Jr* 55 92
Kluge, Thomas 5 QB Fr 24 84
Ratto, Vinny 2 QB Sr* 32 89
Daugherty, Ike 24 RB Sr* 76 100
McChane, Andrew 48 RB Fr 44 54
Snyder, Alfred 25 RB Jr* 66 69
Thompson, Jeffrey 47 RB Jr* 67 76
Vance, Billy 40 RB Sr 58 59
Walker, Skipjack 36 RB Sr 54 66
Gardiner, Warren 31 FB Fr 48 89
Horie, Tyrone 28 FB Jr* 39 95
Washington, Spencer 45 FB Jr 54 72
Merchberger, Joe 32 FB* Sr 35 51
Carley, Ricardo 97 TE So* 41 71
Griffin, Arnold 96 TE Fr 28 56
Hastings, Fred 82 TE So 46 54
Wynn, Dustin 80 TE So 41 61
Dresselhaus, Graham 84 TE* Sr 8 8
Leavitt, Joel 81 TE* Sr* 12 28
Mogolov, Conrad 89 TE* So 19 66
Freeman, Phillip 3 WR So* 25 58
Hartl, Oliver 83 WR Sr 38 53
Jacobs, Glen 7 WR Sr 48 65
Myers, Al 86 WR Sr 41 61
Wells, Britt 6 WR Fr 49 100
Westbrook, Marty 9 WR So* 33 80
Linquist, Kevin 85 WR* Jr* 19 27
Burroughs, Adam 51 C Fr 22 58
Leong, Dexter 50 C Sr* 25 77
Long, Dana 53 C Sr 47 62
Lyubashevsky, Gino 56 C Sr 75 75
Woodson, Josh 57 C So* 40 98
Barton, Brian 65 G Sr 32 74
Connell, Desmond 68 G Sr* 76 90
Deason, Chester 74 G So* 16 62
McConnell, Gus 61 G Fr 6 81
Warkentien, Desmond 66 G Jr* 11 47
Berry, Kurt 78 T Sr 39 50
Dillon, Nate 69 T Sr* 79 81
Gash, Ryan 64 T So* 12 87
Grodin, Peter 67 T Jr* 28 89
Harper, Mario 76 T Fr 37 100
Eason, Xavier 8 P Sr 80 94
Grbac, Calvin 11 P Fr 17 86
Terry, Ronald 12 P* Sr* 2 2
Givens, Burt 14 K Fr 49 99
Gillespie, Tony 19 K* Fr 2 2
Jeffers, Floyd 72 DE Sr* 75 99
Knight, Wally 91 DE Sr 79 83
Lew, Austin 70 DE Sr* 55 100
McIntyre, Shaun 77 DE So* 45 70
Whiting, Conrad 95 DE* Jr* 2 22
McWilliams, Mel 98 DT Sr* 52 100
Shepard, Jim 94 DT Fr 35 100
Norton, Lawrence 75 DT* So* 12 34
Andersen, Vince 43 ILB Jr* 30 73
Frias, Broderick 93 ILB So* 42 89
Garcia, Monty 41 ILB Sr* 59 75
Nadeau, Walter 52 ILB Fr 37 100
Oben, Moe 92 ILB Sr 50 70
Sly, Casey 58 ILB Jr* 29 79
Whalen, Walt 49 ILB Sr* 90 91
Blackston, Matt 42 OLB Sr* 41 80
Kariya, Kenneth 90 OLB Jr 34 73
Pritchett, Jessie 46 OLB So* 22 90
Warren, Russell 99 OLB Fr 25 100
Biakabutuka, Wayne 55 OLB* Sr 49 49
Barber, Mario 37 CB So* 60 100
Cheng, Walter 23 CB Jr* 48 96
Garcia, Marvin 22 CB Fr 30 74
Jacobs, Justin 35 CB Jr* 59 61
Knight, Brad 26 CB Sr* 89 98
Abdul-Jabbar, Lawrence 38 S Sr 91 91
Brennan, Jon 29 S Sr 46 57
Carpenter, Amos 44 S So* 60 97
Esparza, Jared 20 S Sr* 83 83
Kinsey, Mel 34 S Jr* 53 84
Knight, Chester 30 S Fr 44 100
McElroy, Stephen 39 S Jr* 65 99
Swafford, Howard 27 S Fr 44 100


* * *



http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/bcs-sm.jpg

2021 Preseason BCS Rankings

The College Years
Preseason, 2021
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 0-0 SEC 1.00 1.00 0.00 2.04 4.04 1
Virginia 0-0 ACC 2.00 2.00 0.00 0.32 4.32 2
**Southern California 0-0 P10 3.00 3.00 0.00 1.88 7.88 3
UCLA 0-0 P10 4.00 4.00 0.00 1.92 9.92 4
Iowa 0-0 B10 5.00 5.00 0.00 0.48 10.48 5
Michigan 0-0 B10 6.00 6.00 0.00 0.52 12.52 6
Penn State 0-0 B10 8.00 7.50 0.00 0.72 16.22 7
Rice 0-0 WAC 7.00 8.00 0.00 3.44 18.44 8
Syracuse 0-0 BGE 9.00 8.50 0.00 1.48 18.98 9
Georgia Tech 0-0 ACC 10.00 13.50 0.00 0.16 23.66 10
Boston College 0-0 BGE 11.00 12.50 0.00 1.32 24.82 11
Alabama 0-0 SEC 12.00 12.50 0.00 2.28 26.78 12
Texas A&M 0-0 B12 14.00 12.50 0.00 1.24 27.74 13
Hawaii 0-0 WAC 13.00 11.50 0.00 3.32 27.82 14
Wisconsin 0-0 B10 15.00 13.50 0.00 0.80 29.30 15
California 0-0 P10 17.00 19.50 0.00 1.72 38.22 16
Marshall 0-0 MAC 18.00 16.50 0.00 3.80 38.30 17
Toledo 0-0 MAC 19.00 18.50 0.00 4.08 41.58 18
Pittsburgh 0-0 BGE 20.00 20.50 0.00 1.40 41.90 19
Miami of Ohio 0-0 MAC 16.00 22.50 0.00 3.84 42.34 20
Air Force 0-0 MTW 21.00 22.50 0.00 2.52 46.02 21
Louisville 0-0 USA 22.00 21.00 0.00 3.04 46.04 22
Notre Dame 0-0 IND 23.00 19.50 0.00 4.56 47.06 23
North Carolina State 0-0 ACC 26.00 22.50 0.00 0.28 48.78 24
South Carolina 0-0 SEC 24.00 23.50 0.00 2.16 49.66 25


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[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/usc.jpg

University of Southern California Trojans
2021 Season (1st Qtr.)



WEEK 1
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #3

We've got the week off, so I'll be on the recruiting trail all week. Some of the most highly touted recruits we're pursuing this year are OT K.C. Burress from Texas, TE Randall Fix from California, WR Myron Hill also from California, DE Jamie Battle from Louisiana and RB Kelvin preston from Indiana. They're all very highly ranked and come from excellent high school athletic programs which means they're more apt to make an immediate impact for us if we need them to.

PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (0-0)

* * *

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/other%20schools/dartmouth-sm.jpg Week 2
vs. Dartmouth (0-0)
(USC -10) USC BCS RANK: --

Don't play the first week you can kiss an early season BCS ranking goodbye. We don't take those rankings seriously until about weeks 4-5.

We play the Big Green of Dartmouth from my old conference the NNE. they're not a very good team and hopefully we'll have an easy day of it.

Dartmouth's biggest threat offensively is Tight End Thurman Washington, who looks like he's good enough to play major college football. The big question is, can we stop them from getting the ball to him?

I think we're going to play some tight man to man, use our straight 3-4 defense rather than drop into any nickel and dime sets too much. We won't totally avoid those sets, but nothing more than the usual use of them. That should keep them honest on the run. I think we'll also blitz a lot and really apply the pressure to their quarterback, Rich Hoover. Hopefully we'll hurry him and cause some turnovers.

1st Qtr: QB Kenny Finch was finding freshman wideout Britt Wells a couple of times early, one for a score as we dominate early and go up 14-0. Finch was picked once though, not good. Hopefully Kenny will settle down. Was one really nice option run by WB Alf Snyder that was real impressive. Looking for big things from him down the road. End of 1st: USC 14-0.

2nd Qtr: Ouch, blocked punt gave them the ball at our 24. We trying to give this game away or what?

We play toro D and they punch it in. 14-7.

Good news is we are putting pressure on their quarterback, without them creating that turnover they don't score as they're unable to move the ball. Bad news is, we should be blowing these guys out and we're not.

Oh what a beauty of a play. OC Gino Lyubashevsky just executed a perfect trap block and Ike Daugherty took it home from 42 yards out. Sweet. 21-7 Southern Cal.

Oh man, 4th and long and we rough the punter with 45 seconds left in the half. Stupid, stupid, stupid. gets them a field goal, Sheesh that was dumb. Sloppy, sloppy play. Halftime: USC 21-10
Halftime thoughts: the only reason they're in this game is because we're playing dumbass football right now. defensively we're stopping them in their tracks. Offensively getting some fine blocking and have run for 127 yards at the helf. I'd like to see some smarter football in the second half.

3Q: Ouch, Kenny Finch looks like he is seriously injured. Not a good thing for us. Means we'll go to another fleet footed QB, redshirt sophomore Tony Felkey. Not sure if he's ready - in fact I'm pretty sure he's not.

Well Tony started off well, running all over the place and running the option well. He's still driving us down the field as the quarter ends. End of 3Q: USC 21-10

4Q: Tony Felkey hits Britt Wells with a scoring strike a minute in, the kid looked really good on his first drive as a sub, we go up 28-10.
We then hold the Green to three and out and Justin Jacobs returns the punt 45 yards for a touchdown and we've suddenly started playing like we woke up or something, USC 35-10.

Not much else noteworthy happens, we grind up the clock running the ball and end up winning 38-10. I was impressed with Tony Felkey and with Ike Daugherty. Tony really handled the situation well and ran the ball well and Ike, even with his limited endurance, was able to pound the ball at the Green some. Daugherty ended the day with 157 yards and 2 TD's on 24 carries and Britt Wells had 6 receptions for 76 yards and two scores. Not bad for a freshman in his college debut.

Kenny Finch is going to need his knee scoped, we'll get him back around bowl time or so.

USC 38 -- Dartmouth 10
PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (1-0)

* * *

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/other%20schools/indiana-sm.jpg WEEK 3
vs. Indiana (0-1)
(USC -11) USC BCS RANK: #15

We'll be missing a couple of players from this week's game, but the biggest loss will be Kenny Finch. We're going to tone down the increased passing attack we put in, at least until Tony Felkey grows into the job.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Daugherty, Ike 24 RB Sr* Questionable Stretched Knee Li 6 Weeks
McWilliams, Mel 98 DT Sr* Out Hyperextended Kne 3 Weeks
Finch, Kenneth 1 QB Jr* Out Arthroscopic Knee 9 Weeks
Cheng, Walter 23 CB Jr* Probable ACL Damage to the 2 Weeks

We play the Indiana Hoosiers this week. They've got a big void at quarterback, lots of potentially good running backs who just aren't there yet, and one pretty solid wideout in Trevor Weber. We'll play lots of man coverage - our corners excel at that - and double Weber. We'll run mostly a straight 3-4, and blitz the daylights out of their QB.

Lots of kids on campus visiting this week. Two or three of the top recruits we're pursuing have been Southern Cal fans since they were kids - heck I was even the coach back then. God I've been doing this a long time. No new contacts this week, just pursuing follow-ups with kids already on our list.

Southern Cal vs. Indiana

1Q: Tailback Ike Daugherty was on his game early, pouunding the ball right down the Hoosier's throat to put us up 7-0.

We're just running all over Indiana right now. Tony Felkey is running the option to perfection and Daugherty and Alf Snyder are getting some great blocking up front.

Ike is over 100 yards after one. End of 1Q: USC 14-0.

2Q: Some serious pounding the ball down their throats and we're up 24-0. Wonder when Offensive Coordinator Spencer Farley is going to pull Ike.

Dumb play, Tony Felkey got picked when he shouldn't even be throwing the ball. We're running the ball at will and he goes and turns it over. Rookie mistake. Halftime: USC 24-0.

Halftime Notes: We've successfully pressured the Hoosier QB and taken away his favorite target, and even without Mel McWilliams at the nose, they still can't run the ball. We've held them to 1 yard of total offense the first half. Ike Daugherty is having a field day, but I assume he'll check out soon.

3Q: Ike just took it in for a score, he's way over 200 yards on the day, and we're up 31-0.

CB Chris Knight picked off a Hoosier pass and took it to the house. This is getting ugly. 38-0.

Looks like Farley finally pulled the starters. End of 3Q: USC 45-0.

4Q: Rest of the game was just spent grinding out the clock, which QB Eddie Casillas did a fine job of. We win in a walkover, 59-0.

USC 59 -- Indiana 0
PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (2-0)

* * *

WEEK 4
Week off.

Good, we get a week off. We're pretty banged up after our first two games. Might get some guys healthy enough to play next week with a light week.

LB Wayne Biakabatuka asked for a scholarship. To be truthful, he has earned one, but I just don't have one to give him. Damn shame, the kid plays hard.

Mainly made some follow up visits and phone calls, though did start recruiting a couple of centers. Otherwise pretty typical recruiting week.

PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (2-0)

* * *


http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/bcs-vsm.jpg WEEK 5, 2021 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 5, 2021
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida 2-0 SEC 7.25 1.00 0.00 4.16 12.41 1
UCLA 3-0 P10 8.75 2.00 0.00 4.12 14.87 2
Syracuse 3-0 BGE 4.00 7.50 0.00 4.04 15.54 3
Iowa 3-0 B10 8.25 5.00 0.00 3.08 16.33 4
Notre Dame 4-0 IND 3.50 11.50 0.00 2.16 17.16 5
Miami of Florida 3-0 ACC 3.00 18.50 0.00 2.44 23.94 6
Rice 2-0 WAC 13.75 7.00 0.00 5.00 25.75 7
Penn State 3-0 B10 15.50 6.50 0.00 4.28 26.28 8
Middle Tennessee State 3-0 SUN 9.50 15.00 0.00 3.88 28.38 9
South Carolina 2-0 SEC 11.75 13.50 0.00 4.24 29.49 10
Colorado State 3-0 MTW 6.00 21.00 0.00 3.40 30.40 11
Wisconsin 3-0 B10 19.00 9.50 0.00 4.96 33.46 12
Boston College 3-0 BGE 22.50 9.50 0.00 4.68 36.68 13
Toledo 2-0 MAC 22.50 12.00 0.00 3.64 38.14 14
North Carolina State 3-0 ACC 21.00 13.00 0.00 4.40 38.40 15
Navy 4-0 IND 13.75 20.50 0.00 4.56 38.81 16
Virginia 2-0 ACC 31.00 3.00 0.00 4.88 38.88 17
**Southern California 2-0 P10 30.75 4.00 0.00 4.84 39.59 18
Houston 2-0 USA 11.75 29.00 0.00 2.72 43.47 19
Tulsa 3-0 WAC 15.50 26.00 0.00 3.28 44.78 20
San Diego State 3-0 MTW 25.25 18.00 0.00 4.60 47.85 21
Kentucky 2-0 SEC 3.00 42.00 0.00 3.12 48.12 22
Washington State 2-0 P10 24.75 20.00 0.00 4.80 49.55 23
Maine 3-0 NNE 22.00 25.50 0.00 4.32 51.82 24
Baylor 3-0 B12 19.00 30.00 0.00 4.44 53.44 25


-20-

[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/pennants/usc-pennant.jpg
University of Southern California Trojans
2021 Season (2nd Qtr.)





http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/logos/osu_logo-sm.jpg WEEK 5
vs. Oregon State (1-1) (PAC-10)
(USC -11) USC BCS RANK: #18

We play the Beavers of Oregon State to open our PAC-10 schedule. The Beavers run a Wing-T formation and it looks like RB Lincoln Sherman is the guy we have to stop. Sherman in averaging over 5 yards per carry on the season. QB J.C. Milano is nothing special and they lack receivers of superior ability. Milano does like to throw deep when he throws, so we'll ease off the man to man and play a lot more zone against them - but still mostly in our straightforward 3-4 set. I don't really see a need to play nickel or dime sets more than usual in this game. We'll also be overplaying the run in our gameplan, trying to shut down Sherman.
We will be blitzing and double-covering an average amount, nothing unusually high or low.

We're a little banged up for this week, but I think we'll be alright. If we play like we're capable of, we shouldn't have a lot of trouble with this team.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Daugherty, Ike 24 RB Sr* Probable Stretched Knee Li 4 Weeks
Lew, Austin 70 DE Sr* Out Sprained Back 3 Weeks
McWilliams, Mel 98 DT Sr* Probable Hyperextended Kne 1 Week
Finch, Kenneth 1 QB Jr* Out Arthroscopic Knee 7 Weeks

Still no committments or rejections. No news is good news, right?

GAMEDAY

1Q: Penalties bog us down early and it's difficult to get anything going. Fortunately, our defense stymies the Beavers and they get nothing going either. Late in the quarter Tony Felkey gets on a roll running the option and hits Britt Wells a couple of times and drives us down the field for a score. Then we cause a turnover and it's time for the Britt Wells show - first Felkey hits him with an 18 yard pass play then Wells runs it in on a reverse from 19 yards out. End of 1Q: USC 14-0.

2Q: We're having a very difficult time stopping Sherman, the kid is pretty damn good. Penalties stall the Beaver drive that was all Sherman, and they settle for a field goal.

After the Beavers score, Tony Felkey runs the wishbone to perfection, even using Britt Wells in the option game, and drives us the length of the field for a touchdown. Each side misses a long shot at a field goal at the end of the half. Halftime: USC 21-3

Halftime Notes: As pretty much expected, (RB) Lincoln Sherman is really Oregon State's only offense right now. Our secondary has done a heck of a job shutting down the passing game. We haven't really put a lot of pressure on the quarterback, but we're not blitzing a lot. If we can manage to continue to keep Sherman contained, we should be fine.

3Q: They're winning the field position war as neither side can make much headway offensively early in the quarter, but we're backed up deep in our own end so far.

Big sack and a fumble recovery gives us the ball at the Beaver 29. The Beaver D stiffened and Burt Gives missed a chippy. End of 3Q: USC 21-3.

4Q: Tony Felkey led us on a great drive to start the 4th with his passing and running the option to perfection, putting another 7 on the board for Southern Cal. Once we got the ball back Felkey just ground the clock and we win going away, 28-3.

Freshman wideout Britt Wells put on quite a show, making 5 catches for 93 yards while rushing for 57 yards and a touchdown on 3 carries. Tony Felkey was a brilliant 14/16 for 179 yards and Ike Daugherty broke the 100 yard mark again.

OC Gino Lyubashevsky, LG Des Connell and LT Nate Dillon just dominated the line of scrimmage in the second half, making 5 key run blocks apiece.

It was a good, solid win for our conference opener.

USC 28 -- Oregon State 3
PAC-10 (1-0) -- OVERALL (3-0)

* * *

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/logos/oregon-logo.jpg WEEK 6
vs. Oregon (0-3) (PAC-10)
(USC -32) USC BCS RANK: #6

We're slowly climbing into the BCS race, moving up to #6 this week. UCLA is leading the pack at the moment.

The pundits have us favored by 32. That's crazy, can't believe any book would take action on a spread like that.

We play Oregon this week in the Rose Bowl. The Ducks run a flexbone, and their coordinator has been running it for 22 years, so it's finely tuned no doubt. The ducks are real short on offensive talent however, with their real only threat being WR Archie McClurken. Big void at QB and they just don't have the RB's to run this kind of system.

We're going to play our straight up 3-4 and bump and run their receivers, with a heavy double team on McClurken. We're also going to blitz a lot and try and pressure their QB into making some mistakes and cause some turnovers. I think if we can shut McClurken down, they don't have a chance.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Daugherty, Ike 24 RB Sr* Questionable Stretched Knee Li 5 Weeks
Lew, Austin 70 DE Sr* Doubtful Sprained Back 2 Weeks
Gardiner, Warren 31 FB Fr Doubtful Mononucleosis 7 Weeks
Finch, Kenneth 1 QB Jr* Out Arthroscopic Knee 6 Weeks

We're just a little banged up this week, not too bad. And Tony Felkey has done a good, solid job in place of Kenny Finch. We should be ok this week.

Good news on the recruiting front. We landed a couple of recruits this week, one of them the talented Tight End I wrote about earlier, Randall Fix. That's a good catch.

Started making some new contacts for our secondary recruiting list. A couple of RB's and DE's.

GAMEDAY

1Q: Tailback Ike Daugherty broke a 50 yard run off and a couple of plays later we punched it into the end zone. Good opening drive.
Late in the quarter CB Brad Knight picks off a pass and returns it for a score. That really demoralizes the Beavers, as they have been running fairly well against us. Felkey isn't throwing well today at all, he's missed some wide open guys by a lot. Still, we're up 14-0 end of the first.

2Q: Felkey runs a beautiful option pitch to Daugherty who takes it 21 yards for a score. 21-0. They can get nothing going through the air as CB Mario Barber picks off a lame duck pass.

They keep trying to go to the air but our secondary is just shutting them down. Safety Lawrence Abdul-Jabbar made a big pick. Felkey starts to get into a rythym passing and drives us down the field for another score. We go into the locker room at halftime with a 28-0 cushion.

Halftime notes: The Ducks have made a decent show of it running the ball with 47 yards at the half, but their passing attack is just self-destructing. Defensive Coordinator Leland Shepard is calling one heckuva game.

3Q: Redshirt senior DE Floyd Jeffers is all over the Duck QB this quarter, sacking him twice so far.
We get the ball and LG Des Connell makes an excellent block on a trap play and Tailback Ike Daugherty takes it 70 yards to the house for a touchdown. Wow.

Subs are in at this point, including QB Eddie Casillas. End of three, USC 42-0.
4Q: Just basically ran out the clock in the 4th, though Casillas aired it out some - guess he's trying to be the next Matt Cassel. We win going away, 42-0.

Tailback Ike Daugherty had a terrific game despite being pulled early in the 3rd quarter, rushing for 166 yards and 3 touchdowns on 21 carries (7.9 avg). Wingback Alf Snyder also ran for two scores.

USC 42 -- Oregon 0
PAC-10 (2-0) -- OVERALL (4-0)

* * *

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/logos/cal-bears-sm.jpg WEEK 7
@ California (4-1) (PAC-10) *TV3*
(USC -6) USC BCS RANK: #9

We'll face our real first test of the year this week against the Cal Golden Bears up at Berkeley. It'll be real interesting to see how Tony Felky fares against a good team. We'll really be holding the reins tight on his passing - he just isn't ready and can't throw the ball with any consistency. So look for a ton of runs by us this week.

Cal runs the Run & Shoot offense. They like to air it out, but their pass blocking is suspect and their QB, Wendell Bozeman, is prone to picks. They have at least four very talented wideouts, so we won't be double-teaming at all. We'll be playing a lot of man to man right off the line, and not worry about the deep zone as Bozeman has trouble throwing long. We're also going to use a lot of nickel and dime packages as Cal doesn't run the ball much - even though they have a pretty talented kid as their lone set back. We'll be overplaying the pass in our gameplan by a lot, and blitzing constantly, I want as much pressure on Bozeman as possible. He's a turnover waiting to happen.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Daugherty, Ike 24 RB Sr* Questionable Stretched Knee Li 4 Weeks
Lew, Austin 70 DE Sr* Questionable Sprained Back 1 Week
Gardiner, Warren 31 FB Fr Doubtful Mononucleosis 6 Weeks
Finch, Kenneth 1 QB Jr* Out Arthroscopic Knee 5 Weeks

Only QB Kenny Finch will definitely miss this week. Gardiner will probably try and play.

More great news on the recruiting front as one of our most sought after recruits, Myron Hill, a wide receiver from Ruben S Ayala High School in Chino, California, has signed a letter of intent to play for us next season. We landed a few other recruits as well and this year's class is shaping up to be another good one.

GAMEDAY

1Q: Bozeman just picked us apart on Cal's first drive but it stalled inside the 10 so the Golden Bears had to settle for a field goal.

We came right back with a 90 yard scoring drive on the legs of Ike Daugherty who just kept pounding the ball right at Cal.

We're definitly winning the field position war as the game is being played on Cal's side of the field. Tony Felky hits Freshman FB Warren Gardiner with a 16 yard scoring strike and we go up 14-3 at the end of one. Our defense has really tightened up and we're starting to apply pressure to Bozeman and we've stymied their last couple of possesions.

2Q: Farley has us go for it on 4th and 2 from the 50 - and we don't make it. Hope that doesn't come back to bite us. More pressure on Bozeman and their drive stalls and they settle for 3 again. Southern Cal 14-6.

Jeez. We go for it again and turn the ball over at midfield. Our defense better bail us out bigtime.

It does, with a big sack and again Cal settles for 3, we're up 14-9. But Felkey drives us down the field so Burt Givens can boot a 3 with no time left on the clock. Halftime: Southern Cal 17-9.

Halftime notes: Cal's actually ran the ball very well, 61 yards against us at halftime, as they're going to it more than I thought they would. We're getting good pressure on Bozeman and making it difficult for Cal to sustain their drives. A couple of 4th down attempts at conversions cost us 6 points - it could have been a lot worse though.

3Q: A big sack by ends Wally Knight and Floyd Jeffers kills a Cal drive just outside field goal range. They've really put the pressure on Bozeman today. Hopefully we can take some of the pressure off them with a nice long drive.

It doesn't happen, but Xavier eason pins the Golden Bears back at their 7 with an excellent punt.

Our defense continues to shut Cal down and they punt and we get excellent field position at the Golden Bear 38. Now's the time to make something happen.

And we do as we drive down the field and Tony Felkey hits Britt Wells with a 7 yard scoring strike and we go up 24-9. End of 3rd: USC 24-9.

4Q: Givens adds a field goal 7:30 into the 4th to put us up 27-9. Jeffers and Knight just keep pounding Bozeman, sacking him twice more and causing a key fumble as Cal drove deep into our territory. That should ice the game.

And it did, as we go on to win 27-9. Our defensive gameplan worked to perfection, though I'll admit I didn't expect them to try and run as much as they did - largely successfully. I think we're fortunate they didn't try and run even more, as we simply hammerred Bozeman all day and harried him into making bad passes.

DE Floyd Jeffers was simply fantastic, making 7 tackles and sacking Bozeman 4 times. He had a lot of help from fellow DE Wally Knight who recorded 2 sacks of his own.

Offensively, Tailback Ike Daugherty ran for 116 yards and one score on 28 carries (4.1 avg) and QB Tony Felkey didn't try and do too much and thus was a very accurate 14/17 for 142 yards and 2 touchdown passes.

A very good win for us, and you have to love the way Leland Shepard has our defense playing right now.

USC 27 -- California 9
PAC-10 (3-0) -- OVERALL (5-0)

* * *

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/logos/asu-sm.jpg WEEK 8
@ Arizona State (0-5) (PAC-10)
(USC -21) USC BCS RANK: #5

We head to Arizona State to play the Sun Devils on their home turf this week. The Sun Devils play a Single Back formation offense that is normally a versatile and effective system. ASU's starting QB is out however, and their backup, Sedrick Hill, is very prone to throwing picks. The Sun Devils don't offer much pass protection either, so we'll be blitzing up a storm to really apply the pressure to the kid. We've got to watch out for their RB, Tony Wentz, who is averaging over 5 yards a carry. So we won't be going to many nickel or dime sets, we'll play them straight up with our 3-4. They have one standout receiver, so we'll be doubling him the entire game and make the kid throw elsewhere.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Daugherty, Ike 24 RB Sr* Probable Stretched Knee Li 3 Weeks
Gardiner, Warren 31 FB Fr Out Reconstructive Kn 31 Weeks
Finch, Kenneth 1 QB Jr* Out Arthroscopic Knee 4 Weeks

We lost FB Warren Gardiner for the season last week - that's rough he is a very promising frosh.

We landed a couple more recruits this week, but none of the big five we were pursuing. None of them turned us down though, so that's a good thing.

GAMEDAY

1Q: A defensive struggle through most of the first quarter and Tailback Ian Daugherty goes down with what appears to be a serious injury. That means Alf Snyder will move over to Tailback and Jeff Thompson will play Wingback.

Daugherty surprises everyone and comes back into the game and breaks a 16 yard run on his forst play back from scrimmage, and then Tony Felkey ran off left guard for the score. 7-0 Southern Cal.

2Q: The Sun Devils have sacked Felkey twice today alread. He had only been sacked once all season. They're doing a good job getting to him.

We're definitely losing the war of field position, but the Sun Devils can't do anything once they get the ball, so it hasn't hurt us yet.

We turn it around and back them up deep in their own territory and then DE Wally Knight sacks QB Sedrick Hill, causing a fumble which we recover at their 11. Big money play right there. From which, Ian daughtery takes it into the endzone on an option pitch. 14-0 USC.

With 21 seconds left in the half Safety Lawrence Abdul-Jabbar picked off a Hill pass and brought it down to the ASU 29. We get nothing out of it but lead at halftime 14-0.

Halftime notes: Defensively we've been superb. We've held ASU to -17 yards rushing and only 78 yards passing. We've been in Hill's face all day. Leland Shepard really has this crew playing well and he's calling a good game. Offensively we've struggled up to this point. Hopefully the running game will get untracked.

3Q: Then suddenly boom. Mario Barber returns the halftime kick to the 50, Ian daughtery breaks off a run for 36 and then Alf Snyder takes it in from 14 yards out. Running game untracked.

We're just pounding Hill, you almost feel sorry for him.

Almost.

Tony Felkey proceeds to drive us 80 yards down the field where Ike daugherty takes it in for 7, killing most of the 3rd quarter in the process. At the end of 3, it's 28-0 Southern Cal.

4Q: Just need to get the ball back and have another nice, long drive.

We add a few points and the starters sit most of the 4th quarter and we come away with an easy 35-0 whitewashing of ASU. That;s the third time we've stoned a team this season.

Wally Knight and Floyd Jeffers continue to do a great job applying pressure to opposing quarterbacks as Knight had three sacks today while Jeffers added 2 more and Southern Cal sacked Hill 6 times total on the day.

Offensively, the Sun Devils held Ike Daugherty just under 4 yards per carry but Wingback Alf Snyder ran for 79 yards and a score on 13 carries (6.0 avg). QB Tony Felkey was very efficient once again, picking his spots and going 14/16 for 135 yards while throwing 1 touchdown. The key for Tony is to avoid mistakes and so far he's done a pretty good job of that.

A very solid win for us this week.

USC 35 -- Arizona State 0
PAC-10 (4-0) -- OVERALL (6-0)

* * *

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/newspaper-sm.jpg WEEK 9 MEDIA SNIPPETTS

LA TIMES
Week 9, 2021

Despite an injury to Southern cal's starting quarterback, Coach Bear Growlz has the Trojans sitting pretty at #5 in the BCS rankings, ready to make a run at a third consecutive PAC-10 championship, and, dare we say, a third straight national title. Only the Florida Gators have ever won three consecutive national championships - coincidentally the same school Southern Cal has defeated to win it's two national titles under Coach Growlz.

Can SC do it?

We don't pretend to know. But with the way that Trojan defense is playing, it wouldn't surprise us one bit.

Boy has Southern Cal come a long way.


* * *



http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/bcs-vsm.jpg 2021 BCS Rankings


The College Years
Week 9, 2021
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
UCLA 7-0 P10 4.50 2.00 0.00 4.20 10.70 1
Rice 5-0 WAC 4.00 5.50 0.00 2.32 11.82 2
Notre Dame 7-0 IND 1.75 8.50 0.00 2.64 12.89 3
Syracuse 6-0 BGE 5.25 6.00 0.00 2.96 14.21 4
**Southern California 6-0 P10 7.00 3.00 0.00 4.56 14.56 5
Florida 6-0 SEC 9.00 1.00 0.00 4.96 14.96 6
Virginia 5-0 ACC 10.50 4.00 0.00 4.28 18.78 7
Colorado State 7-0 MTW 1.75 14.00 0.00 3.56 19.31 8
Miami of Florida 6-0 ACC 3.50 13.00 0.00 3.04 19.54 9
Iowa 6-1 B10 10.50 6.50 1.00 2.72 20.72 10
Michigan 5-1 B10 10.75 8.50 1.00 2.40 22.65 11
Boston College 5-1 BGE 8.75 13.00 1.00 2.04 24.79 12
San Diego State 6-0 MTW 11.25 12.50 0.00 4.40 28.15 13
Penn State 5-1 B10 18.75 10.00 1.00 4.16 33.91 14
Stanford 6-0 P10 15.75 19.50 0.00 4.68 39.93 15
Wake Forest 5-1 ACC 11.50 25.00 1.00 3.52 41.02 16
North Carolina State 6-1 ACC 20.00 16.50 1.00 4.44 41.94 17
Michigan State 5-1 B10 17.75 20.50 1.00 3.72 42.97 18
Nevada-Las Vegas 6-0 MTW 16.50 21.50 0.00 5.00 43.00 19
Tulsa 6-1 WAC 14.00 27.00 1.00 3.12 45.12 20
Texas A&M 5-1 B12 30.25 12.50 1.00 4.64 48.39 21
Air Force 4-2 MTW 20.50 29.00 2.00 0.96 52.46 22
Nebraska 5-1 B12 25.50 22.00 1.00 4.04 52.54 23
Alabama 5-2 SEC 30.00 17.00 2.00 4.36 53.36 24
Middle Tennessee State 4-1 SUN 28.50 21.50 1.00 4.80 55.80 25


-20-

[CraigSca]

I read this entire thing last night and I'm sorry I missed this one earlier. Great job with this. Very well written and I encourage you to keep it up.

One of the great things about TCY is the annual letdown game I would have in my dynasties. Your losses to the teams from Arizona were absolute shockers and heartbreakers. I'm glad you overcame and brought a title home. I'm a Bear Growlz fan, but I'm still not a fan of USC :).

[beargrowlz]

CraigSca,

Thanks for the very kind words. I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

You're absolutely right about those losses though. I could deal with losing to UCLA every year, they simply were a better program and had better players.

But if a game can emotionally devestate you, those losses to those really bad teams from Arizona did.

But in the end it made the emotional investment in the story that much more of a rewarding payoff when we finally won a national title. So, it's a fair trade I think.

I talk about emotional investment, and this being the first dynasty I have ever written about, I have noticed that telling the story, writing it up, makes the game come alive more than any other FOF or TCY career I've ever played. I'd certainly recommend writing a dynasty to anyone who really wants to maximize their emotional attachment to their players or teams in the game. It's been lots of fun.

Most of all, thanks for the read! It's nice to know what you're writing is being read and enjoyed.

[CraigSca]

I've attempted a great many dynasties of my own, but usually get stuck in year 2 when it comes to write-ups. Your patience is amazing! I'm banking on it to keep this particular dynasty going :).

[aztarheel]

Yeah, good writeups ... I like the graphics in recent posts as well ... Sounds like you've "mastered" the game at this point ...

[beargrowlz]

Thanks!

Taking over gameplanning entirely from the AI really helps. And at some point, with great recruiting class after great recruiting class, the talent just has to come to fruition at some point.

If I can win a title this season, that'll make three in a row and tie Florida's record. Not counting my chickens mind you, my backfield isn't nearly as good as it was last season. But if I do, I'll make a run at breaking the record, and either see about bringing an NFL team to LA or wait one season until Kenny Finch graduates, and then see about getting an NFL team for LA.

[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/sclogo.jpg

University of Southern California Trojans
2021 Season (3rd Qtr.)


http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/logos/stanford-75-logo.jpg WEEK 9
vs. #15 Stanford (6-0) (PAC-10) *TV2*
(USC -10) USC BCS RANK: #5

We play a very good Stanford Cardinal team this week in the Rose Bowl. Stanford, UCLA and Southern Cal are all undefeated in the PAC-10, and overall. In essence, the loser of this game is virtually eliminated from the PAC-10 race - not to mention from contending for a national championship.

We're a little banged up heading into the game, but freshman FB Warren Gardiner is the only player defintely out.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Daugherty, Ike 24 RB Sr* Questionable Stretched Knee Li 8 Weeks
Gardiner, Warren 31 FB Fr Out Reconstructive Kn 30 Weeks
Finch, Kenneth 1 QB Jr* Questionable Arthroscopic Knee 3 Weeks

Spoke with Kenny Finch and he wants to play. This is a big game in our season, and if he's physically able to go we'll go ahead and start him. But the threshold for removing him will be set very low and we'll keep Tony Felkey loose and ready just in case.

Quarterly grades were given out this week. Four players had a D+, no one with anything lower. Allocated three coaching blocs to each of those players and still have plenty for the last two quarters.

We've landed a couple of linebackers this recruiting season - Jermaine Louks and Floyd Fauber - and we're looking for some good development of these two players what with being the first incoming class of new linebackers that Leland Shepard will get to work with.

We're still waiting for DE Jamie Battle - one of our prime recruiting targets - to make a final decision. He's going to be an outstanding defensive lineman.

Stanford runs a standard Pro Formation offense and their offensive coordinator has been running it for 14 years, so they have it well tuned. Their quarterback, Ralph Duffy, is no better than an average college QB. They do have an outstanding WR in senior Isaac Stone - we'll be double covering him a lot as he is clearly their best option in the passing game. They've got a solid offensive line - Duffy has only been sacked 7 times in 6 games. Our scouting report says Duffy doesn't like to go deep, and with our corners so good man to man, that means we'll be running lots of man to man coverage.

The Cardinal have a very solid running game with RB Jared Phillips leading the way. Phillips is averaging 112 yards per game and 5 yards per carry. He's a very dangerous runner.

I'm more worried about Phillips beating us than I am about Stanford's passing game doing so. However, our front seven is pretty adept at stopping the run, so I don't think we need to overplay it in our gameplan. In the end, after mulling this over some, I've decided we're going to look about equally as much for the pass as the run - overplaying the run in short yardage situations but otherwise playing for the run and the pass about equally.

We're not going to blitz an extraordinary amount. I want our backers spying the run and dropping back into pass coverage. The Cardinal don't give up a lot of sacks anyway - but our best pass rushers are our ends anyway, so they'll be rushing the passer no matter what. All in all we're looking at a pretty straightforward 3-4 with heavy man to man coverage in the secondary, and a heavy dose of double-team on Stone.

GAMEDAY

1Q: We kick off and right away Wally Knight gets 2 quick sacks of Duffy and the Cardinal are forced to punt. It's a real luxury when you can get that kind of pressure on a QB without having to blitz.

Kenny Finch drives us right down the field with a nice combination of running and passing capped off by a 12 yard run for a score by Tailback Ike Daugherty. We go up 7-0.

It's good to see Kenny play so well the first drive, but we've got a quick hook set for him if need be. Hopefully he'll stay away from reinjuring that knee.

Kenny is driving us down the field again - he sure likes having Britt wells as a target - when the quarter ends. End of 1Q: USC 7-0

2Q: Daugherty scores from 2 yards out and is really running all over these guys. They can't seem to lay a hand on him today. 14-0 Southern Cal.

DE Wally Knight got banged up on a play, don't know if he'll return. Stanford can't move the ball at all against us so far, they've got -11 yards total offense.

Both teams make defensive stands and we trade punts before Kenny Finch drives us downfield, mixing his highly accurate passing and our wishbone option game to perfection. Ike Daugherty takes it in from 9 yards out for his 3rd rushing touchdown of the day. We go up 21-0.

Looks like Wally Knight isn't coming back today, but his opposite number, Floyd Jeffers really starts harassing Duffy and the Cardinal just can't get anything going. we drive down the field again and Daughtery punches it in from 3 yards out for his 4th TD of the game. 28-0 USC at the half.

Halftime notes: Our defense has been superb the entire half, completely shutting down the Stanford offense, which has posted -17 yards of total offense. Our offense has been just as efficient, marching down the field over and over behind the dominating blocking of RG Brian Barton and his teammates. Now hopefully Offensive Coordinator Spencer Farley will get Kenny Finch out of the game and let Tony Felkey take over at QB. No need to risk re-injury to Finch.

3Q: Kenny Finch stays in the game and late in the third hits Brit Wells with a 56 yard scoring strike. Now maybe Farley will take him out as it's 35-0.

Farley finally pulls Finch and puts in Felkey. End of 3Q: Southern Cal 35-0.

4Q: The second unit just pours it on as we grind out the clock and we win going away, 49-0.

Southern Cal controlled the ball for over 36 minutes and we limited Stanford to 29 yards of total offense - their backup quarterback came in at the end and hit on some passes.

Tailback Ike Daugherty had a solid game despite checking out early, rushing for 111 yards and 4 touchdowns on 23 carries (4.8 avg) and WR Britt Wells had a big day, making 6 catches for 150 yards and 1 TD grab. QB Kenny Finch was a very efficient 13/16 for 218 yards and 1 score in his return to action, also rushing for 24 yards on 4 carries.

Defensively Wally Knight and Floyd Jeffers each had a pair of sacks as we sacked the Cardinal quarterback 6 times on the day, almost equaling the 7 sacks in the 6 games previous that Stanford had given up.

Wally Knight hyperextended his elbow and could miss up to 3 weeks, but that was the only bad news for us on the day as we played an excellent all around game.

USC 49 -- Stanford 0
PAC-10 (5-0) -- OVERALL (7-0)

* * *

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/logos/wash-sm.jpg WEEK 10
vs. Washington (4-3) (PAC-10) *TV4*
(USC -16) USC BCS RANKING: #1

We move into the #1 slot in the BCS rankings, but still have to play Notre Dame (#2) and UCLA (#3). No one said trying to win three national championships in a row would be easy.

We've got three slots left open in our recruiting class for this year - still waiting word from Jamie Battle. I have a feeling it's going to come down to us or Florida.

We play at home this week against the Washington Huskies. We're a little banged up this weekand we'll really miss DE Wally Knight. Redshirt senior Austin Lew will start in Knight's place.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Daugherty, Ike 24 RB Sr* Questionable Stretched Knee Li 7 Weeks
Cheng, Walter 23 CB Jr* Probable Strained Hamstrin Unknown
Jacobs, Justin 35 CB Jr* Questionable Sprained Ankle 2 Weeks
Gardiner, Warren 31 FB Fr Out Reconstructive Kn 29 Weeks
Knight, Wally 91 DE Sr Out Hyperextended Elb 3 Weeks
Finch, Kenneth 1 QB Jr* Questionable Arthroscopic Knee 2 Weeks
The Huskies run the Veer offense. They don't have much of a passing attack and their offensive line has had troubles protecting the quarterback when they do throw. Their best runner is RB Derrick Tudor, who is averaging 4.8 ypc, but we should be able to shut down their running game.

What we're going to do is play their receivers heavy man to man, but no double teams as their best receiver is out for the year and they don't have any other one standout receiver. We're going to overplay the run and stack it with some 4 man fronts - leaving us a man short in the secondary, but a risk I'm willing to take against these guys - blitz early and blitz often, and try and force QB Greg Orlasky to make some mistakes.

Offensively we'll keep the slightly opened up passing attack in place as Kenny Finch starts again, but again we've got an early hook out there for him. No need keeping him in the game if it gets out of hand.

GAMEDAY

1Q: Game starts off beautifully with a big sack on the first play by DE Floyd Jeffers. 8 minutes in and Kenny Finch hits freshman wideout Britt Wells with a 42 yard scoring strike, 7-0 USC. They're really containing our running game very well though.

Orlasky is throwing the ball pretty well for the Huskies when we don't get to him. But their kicker shanked a FG attempt and wasted a good drive for them. It was a hard fought first quarter. The only runs that are working for us are the option play and the trap - they've shutdown the power stuff and really contained Ike Daughtery. Kenny Finch is throwing the ball well though. After 1Q, USC 7-0.

2Q: Finch drives us down the field end of the first and first minute of the second and Ike Daughterty takes it in from 3 yards out, 14-0 Southern Cal. We drive down the field mostly on the arm of Kenny Finch and a lot of traps called by Offensive Coordinator Spencer Farley - they're overplaying the run and the traps are catching them way out of position. Kenny then hits senior wideout Glenn jacobs for an 8 yard touchdown pass - 21-0 SC.

We're really pouring the pressure on Orlasky now, no sacks but a lot of hurried throws and deflected passes. The Huskies can't get anything going and then Glenn Jacobs takes a punt return 51 yards to the house and we go up 28-0. Fnch is just on fire throwing the ball and he marches us down the field where Wingback Alf Snyder takes it in from a yard out, 35-0 Southern Cal. That's how the half ends.

Halftime notes: Kenny Finch just has blown the game wide open. The Huskies are so focused on stopping the run - and doing a relatively good job at it, that Finch is just able to pick apart their defense through the air. Orlaskey has been decent when he gets the time to throw, but we haven't been giving him much time at all. And we've held them to 21 yards rushing through the first half. It's pretty much time for Farley to pull Kenny, but I bet he lets him play the 3rd.

3Q: I was wrong, QB Tony Felkey starts the second half. Good move by Farley, no need to risk re-injury to Finch in a blow out.

Washington finally gets on the board with a 66 yard punt return for a score. 35-7 SC.

The Huskies pull Orlaskey as well. He didn't play poorly, and didn't make any mistakes, we just harried him all day.

No further scoring in the third. Felkey, when he throws the ball is simply awful today. the Huskies continue to do a good job containing our running game - though not shutting it down entirely. Felkey has a lot of growing into the QB role to do before he's ready for prime time.

4Q: We add a few more points and third string QB Eddie Casillas sees some playing time and we go on to win 45-7.

We controlled the tempo of the game by controlling the ball for 40 minutes. Kenny Finch, in one half of play, was 8 for 10 passing the ball for 165 yards and two touchdowns. He also carried the ball 4 times for 21 yards. His favorite target, as always, was wideout Britt Wells, who made 9 catches for 179 yards and a touchdown.

WR Glen Jacobs had a good day, returning a punt for a touchdown and also hauling in a pass for a score. Wingback Alf Snyder probably had his best day as a Trojan to date, rushing for 80 yards and two touchdowns - many of his runs were traps that just caught the Huskies out of position. Good play calling by Farley.

A very solid win for us against an average team.

USC 45 -- Washington 7
PAC-10 (6-0) -- OVERALL (8-0)

* * *

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/logos/ariz-sm.jpg WEEK 11
@ Arizona (2-6)
(USC -28) USC BCS RANK: #3

UCLA and Notre Dame climb ahead of us in the BCS rankings this week, and after this week's game against the Wildcats we have both Notre Dame and UCLA left to play.

That should settle some matters.

Still no word on Jamie Battle. His high school coach has already let me know nothing we do at this point will improve our chances of landinh him, so it's just sit and wait and see what he does.

Looks like Arizona has a new Offensive Coordinator, but they're running the same trips formation Zach Fuchs put in there when he left here. Zach has since moved on to Arkansas State as their Offensive Coordinator.

Their quarterback is A.J. Middleton who is very prone to throwing interceptions and he doesn't get a lot of protection from his offensive line. They don't even make an effort to run the ball, it's strictly a one dimensional attack. They have two receivers they throw to about an equal amount of the time - so we won't be using the double team. No reason to get burned when our guys our good single coverage guys anyway.

We will however, put in a full blitz package against Middleton and use some nickel and dime sets. We won't go to four down linemen at all, we'll expect our base 3-4 to stop their run even in goaline situations.

I think that should work.

We're pretty banged up this week, but I think only Gardiner will miss the game. Everyone else will try and suit up.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Daugherty, Ike 24 RB Sr* Questionable Stretched Knee Li 6 Weeks
Cheng, Walter 23 CB Jr* Probable Strained Hamstrin Unknown
Jacobs, Justin 35 CB Jr* Probable Sprained Ankle 1 Week
Gardiner, Warren 31 FB Fr Out Reconstructive Kn 28 Weeks
Knight, Wally 91 DE Sr Questionable Hyperextended Elb 2 Weeks
Finch, Kenneth 1 QB Jr* Probable Arthroscopic Knee 1 Week

Offensive Coordinator Spencer Farley again has orders to pull QB Kenny Finch early if the game gets out of hand. like I've said before, no need to risk re-injury unnecessarily and besides, it does have the added advantage of getting Tommy Felkey more snaps to help develop him.

GAMEDAY

1Q: A defensive stop on the first series is always nice, though I was stunned when Arizona ran three run plays to start the game.

Now I see why they don't try and run more.

Kenny Finch drove down the field on our first possesion, eating up half the quarter and then hit WR Britt Wells for an 18 yard touchdown. 7-0 SC.

We add a field goal off a turnover then pickoff a bomb in our own endzone. Don't know what Middleton was throwing at, but he sure threw it a long way. Just as good as a punt for them. End of one: 10-0 USC.

2Q: The Wildcats are doing a good job stopping our run - we've moved the ball on Kenny Finch's arm, nothing else.

They're playing really good D against us. But we stall every drive they start by pressuring the QB - ILB Walt Whalen and DE Floyd Jeffers leading the atack on the passer. With 3 minutes left Safety Lawrence Abdul-Jabbar picks off a Middleton pass at the Wildcat 26. Finch runs a couple of options plays and we finally spring Wingback Alf Snyder 11 yards for a score. 17-0 Southern Cal. That's how the half ends.

Halftime notes: They've really played our running game very well, holding us to 50 yards at the half. For an NFL team 50 yards might be ok, but we run a wishbone and running yards are our bread and butter. Kenny Finch has been solid passing today, nothing special, not like when he gets on one of his can't miss streaks. Defensively we've done exactly what I wanted. We've pressured their quarterback, created turnovers, shutdown their passing game and their running game is non-existent - they're simply not trying to run the ball after that first series - they just don't have the hosses to run.

Hopefully we'll see the offense pick it up a notch in the second half.

3Q: Nothing much happens offensively for either side. We pickoff another bomb at our own 16. For a quarterback, Middleton sure is a heckuva punter.

Kenny Finch was reinjured and was replaced by Tommy Felkey. That's not good news for us at all heading into the Notre Dame and UCLA games. But, at least we know what we have in Felkey and he's gotten a bunch of reps this year.

The wildcats are dropping a lot of Middleton's passes, so the inefficacy of the Arizona offense isn't entirely his fault. But we do pick him off again at our their 32 with about 5 minutes left in the quarter.

Wideout Britt Wells had a big 21 yard run off the option and then Felkey hit TE Dustin Wynn from 6 yards out to make it 24-0. That's how the quarter ends.

4Q: Barring an unforseen offensive spectacle by the Wildcats, the only question left to be answered is can out D post another shutout.

Middleton quickly answers that question with a 47 yard strike from midfield and then a 3 yard pass for a score. He's been trying to go deep all day and finally they caught one instead of us. 24-8 SC.

They're only down two scores and Middleton tries to go deep again but Brad Knight picks him off at our 31. We're having difficulty killing the clock because they're just stuffing our run.

We don't kill much clock but a reverse by Britt Wells for a big gainer and a trap by Alf Snyder finally open up the middle and Ike Daugherty pounds it in from 9 yards out giving us a 31-8 lead. That's how the game ends.

They stuffed our run pretty good until the very end, when Spencer Farley got creative with his playcalling. the freshman wideout Britt Wells continues to show he's a key part of this team, able to make plays catching the ball and a couple of running plays a game. Kind of reminds me a little of Tim Brown from his days at Notre Dame.

OLB Ken Kariya picked off two Wildcat passes and we picked off 6 on the day. We stayed away from turning the ball over ourselves, which is always good. We lost Kenny Finch for upto 5 weeks with his knee again - so I'm not exactly sure when he'll be back.

That's not good news.

USC 31 -- Arizona 8
PAC-10 (7-0) -- OVERALL (9-0)

* * *

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/other%20schools/nd-sm.jpg WEEK 12
vs. #1 Notre Dame (8-0)
(ND -1) USC BCS RANK: #2

Really good news on the recruiting front this week. Jamie Battle, a defensive end from Zachary High School in Zachary, Louisiana finally made a decision and signed a letter of intent to play for Southern Cal next season. I think he's going to be a real difference maker down the road for this program.

UCLA actually lost to Cal last week. What that means is a bit convoluted. If we beat UCLA, we win the PAC-10 as everyone else has at least one loss. If we lose to UCLA next week, and presumably Cal wins their last two conference games, that creates a three way tie for first. Head to head goes out the window, so I think best overall record would win the conference. UCLA is 9-1 right now and Cal is 7-2 (one of those losses is to us).

Make a long story short: We should just win our last two games. Duh.

Our recruiting class is full and I think we've brought in another top notch class of recruits. That's one thing I've been really good at from day one, even when we were prestige challenged, was finding kids with exceptional ability to come here. Now of course, it's a lot easier than it was then.

We're a lot banged up this week and will be without QB Kenny Finch, who has only been able to play in four games all year.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Daugherty, Ike 24 RB Sr* Questionable Stretched Knee Li 6 Weeks
Cheng, Walter 23 CB Jr* Probable Strained Hamstrin Unknown
Gardiner, Warren 31 FB Fr Out Reconstructive Kn 26 Weeks
Knight, Wally 91 DE Sr Probable Hyperextended Elb 1 Week
Finch, Kenneth 1 QB Jr* Out Arthroscopic Knee 5 Weeks

Everyone but Finch and FB Warren Gardiner will suit up.

Well, we've got a mini-national championship game on our hands here - #1 Notre Dame against #2 Southern Cal. What i can't believe is that network TV isn't picking this game up. Bizarre how they make their decisions sometimes.

The Irish are favored over us by a point. Our players don't like that one bit and hopefully will be able to use it as a positive motivator.

The Fighting Irish run a Run & Shoot offense and Offensive Coordinator Rod Howe has been running that system for a long time, so it's finely tuned. They've got a good, solid quarterback in J.B. Loveless - 35 TD's/12 INT's - and he's got a bunch of talented receivers to throw to. Loveless has been sacked 29 times in 8 games, so we're going to try and put as much pressure on his as we can. They also have an excellent running back in Tyrell Meche, but he's only averaging slightly over 10 carries and 55 yards per game - these guys like to throw and throw and throw.

I'll admit though, I'm a little leery of blitzing and leaving those receivers to run free. We've got some solid depth in our secondary, so I think given their propensity not to run so far this year, I'm going to go with a maximum amount of nickel and dime sets, play heavy man to man and try and contain their passing game that way. If they beat us with the run, well, it'll be out of character for them to try it, so we'll go with this and see how it works.

Offensively we've shortened the playbook passing wise a little bit for Tony Felkey - not as much as earlier in the year, but enough so that we think we can minimize him making any mistakes through the air - which he has proven to be pretty good at avoiding. Hopefully it won't make our offense too one dimensional, but I think it's our best chance to win.

GAMEDAY

1Q: This is a really big game, and I admit to being a bit nervous. I hope Felkey is up to the task. I'm going to be second guessed to high heaven over using Finch before he was fully healed if we lose.

Man are they good. They hit a 47 yard bomb the first play, but our D stiffens inside the red zone and holds them to a field goal. We really are going to need to grind the clock down and keep them off the field.

We fumble and turn it over on our own 18. Not a good start. A big sack by DE Floyd Jeffers keeps them from getting any more than another 3. 6-0 Notre Dame.

Tony Felkey marches us down the field, mostly by passing the ball, but the Irish D stiffens and we settle for 3. 6-3 Irish. That's how the quarter ends.

2Q: Well our defense has been alright in containing them, really stopping them inside our red zone. We've got be a little more careful with the ball though.

We have a nice drive to start off the second quarter and Tailback ike Daugherty takes the option pitch in from 22 yards out, SC 10-6. That was nice, we moved the ball well on the ground and through the air.

Man this kid Loveless is good. He marches them right down the field, boom, bang, bing, but another key sack by Floyd Jeffers pushes them out of field goal range and causes a punt. Floyd has come up big so far today.

We turn it over again, fumbling at our own 12 and they run it in for a score. ND goes up 13-10. Nothing our defense can do, it's our offense that is beating us.

Talk about taking over the game, QB Tony Felkey just marched us right down the field pass after pass, then ran an option off tackle for 6 yards and a score, Southern Cal goes up 17-13. And that's halftime.

Halftime notes: Our defense is playing great. We're in Loveless' face without needing to blitz, and we're containing their passing game for the most part - and as expected they haven't tried to run the ball much at all. Tony Felkey is on fire and playing a great game. But we've coughed the ball up too much - we're lucky to be up 17-13. Let's look for a better start to the second half.

3Q: We do nothing and the Irish start to drive, but yet again a crucial sack halts an Irish drive - this time it's redshirt senior NT Mel McWilliams. Our defensive line is playing out of their minds.

Felkey orchestrates an 82 yard, clock killing drive, mainly by throwing the ball, and hits Britt Wells with a 12 yard scoring strike and we go up 24-13. Felkey has 197 yards passing - sheesh that's unheard of in our wishbone. He really is playing a truly great game. The quarter ends with USC up 24-13, but the Irish are driving and have a 3rd and 3 at our 22 as the 4th starts.

4Q: Our defense holds up again and Notre Dame settles for a field goal. Our lead is cut to 8, 24-16.

Felkey hits Britt Wells on a 30 yard bomb to start the drive off. The kid is on fire. A big run by Wingback Alf Snyder takes us down to the Irish 13. We need a score here bad.

We lose 3 yards and the Spencer Farley calls a trap and a huge block by RG Brian Burton springs Ike Daugherty for a 16 yard TD run. 31-16 Trojans. Man that was a big score - another 80 yard drive btw.

Holy hell, Loveless comes right back with a 57 yard bomb and they're driving again. We can't keep them out this time and with 6:12 left we're ahead 31-23 - one score.

Let's see if the kid can do it one more time.

Tony hits a big pass play to Tailback ike daughtery for 29 yards taking the ball to the Irish 48 with 4:18 to go. The kid has ice water in his veins.
Felkey just starts grinding the clock, run, run, then an option pitch to Wingback Alf Snyder who takes it 19 yards to the house and we go up 15, 38-23. Man that's frackin awesome. Psyche.

Loveless comes right back hitting on a 33 yard bomb and is driving again when he heaves one into the end zone where Lawrence Abdul-Jabbar picks it off with 1:30 left. We run the clock out and that's it, USC 38-23 over the Fighting Irish.

My God, what a shoot out. Loveless threw for 332 yards against us despite us doing everything we could to shut him down.

Tony Felkey was absolutely lights out on the day. Felkey went 25 for 28, 25 for 28! He was on fire. The kid threw for 290 yards and a touchdown while rushing for another 41 yards and a score, while WR Britt Wells made 10 catches for 133 yards and a score.

Our running game wasn't spectacular, but we did run for four touchdowns - 2 by Ike Daugherty. OG Des Connell and OT Nate Dillon did have a good day on the line, making 7 and 5 key run blocks respectively.

Defensively we got to J.B. Loveless 4 times, two sacks by Floyd Jeffers. We got to the Irish quarterback just enough to stall a couple of key drives and keep us in the game. Boy does he have a rifle for an arm.

A great win for us against a great team. One of the best, most exciting wins in my coahing career.

USC 38 -- Notre Dame 23
PAC-10 (7-0) -- OVERALL (10-0)

* * *

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/newspaper-sm.jpg WEEK 13 MEDIA SNIPPETTS



http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/latimes-sm.jpg
LA TIMES
Week 13, 2021

What am amazing run Southern Cal is on, and the performance by redshirt sophomore QB Tony Felkey against the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame was, in a word, amazing.

But as they head into their annual match against their cross-city rival UCLA - again with the PAC-10 championship on the line and a possible chance at a third national championship in as many years - one has to wonder if SC Coach Bear Growlz rushed QB Kenny Finch back too soon. Finch will miss the UCLA game and his loss, notwithstanding Felkey's magnificent performance last week, could cost the Trojans a conference championship, a national championship, and a shot at making history.

Was it worth it?

We'll find out this week.

# # #

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/rivals-sm.jpg
RIVALS.COM
USC MESSAGE BOARD
Week 13, 2021

Poster: usC4eVr
Message: Felkey's a way better QB than Finch dude. Look how he took out ND. Dude he's got skillz.

Poster: Trojanman
Message: I don't know what you're basing your opinion on 4evr, but there's no quarterback controversy. Ken Finch is far better than Felkey and Growlz was dumb to waste him in the Arizona game. He should have sat him against that worthless team of garbage. Now we play UCLA with an unpolished kid who can't throw his way out of a paper bag.

Poster: southerncalchik
Message: 25 for 28 is some paper bag.

Poster: bruinz4life
Message: USC SUKZ! UCLA RULES! WE'RE GONNA KICK YOUR AZZ!!!!!!!

# # #

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/ESPN-logo-sm.jpg
ESPN.COM
Week 13, 2021

Could we be looking at the same national championship game for a third consecutive year? Right now Southern Cal and Florida are sitting at #1 and #2 in the BCS rankings - right where they have been the last two years. Wouldn't it be fitting that in order for USC to win a third consecutive national title, they'd have to beat the only team that has ever won three in a row?

But first, the Trojans need to get by UCLA - a game that will be on national TV1 and will have every college football fan glued to the television.

* * *

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/bcs-vsm.jpg 2021 BCS Rankings

The College Years
Week 13, 2021
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
**Southern California 10-0 P10 2.00 2.00 0.00 3.60 7.60 1
Florida 10-0 SEC 4.75 1.00 0.00 4.88 10.63 2
Virginia 9-0 ACC 6.00 3.00 0.00 4.84 13.84 3
Notre Dame 8-1 IND 3.25 11.00 1.00 0.96 16.21 4
San Diego State 10-0 MTW 3.50 9.50 0.00 3.44 16.44 5
UCLA 9-1 P10 7.25 5.00 1.00 4.28 17.53 6
Rice 9-0 WAC 9.00 4.00 0.00 4.80 17.80 7
Iowa 9-1 B10 8.75 6.00 1.00 3.76 19.51 8
Boston College 9-1 BGE 5.25 9.50 1.00 3.96 19.71 9
Colorado State 9-1 MTW 3.25 13.50 1.00 2.40 20.15 10
Penn State 9-1 B10 9.00 7.00 1.00 4.48 21.48 11
Syracuse 8-1 BGE 17.00 8.00 1.00 4.68 30.68 12
Alabama 8-2 SEC 16.75 12.00 2.00 4.36 35.11 13
Wake Forest 8-2 ACC 8.00 25.00 2.00 1.32 36.32 14
Nevada-Las Vegas 8-1 MTW 12.00 21.50 1.00 4.64 39.14 15
California 8-2 P10 20.25 15.50 2.00 3.08 40.83 16
Miami of Florida 8-2 ACC 14.75 22.00 2.00 2.20 40.95 17
Toledo 7-2 MAC 19.00 16.00 2.00 4.32 41.32 18
Texas A&M 7-2 B12 24.75 13.50 2.00 4.56 44.81 19
Maine 8-2 NNE 13.75 28.00 2.00 1.72 45.47 20
Michigan State 8-2 B10 19.25 20.50 2.00 4.08 45.83 21
Georgia Tech 7-3 ACC 20.50 22.50 3.00 1.68 47.68 22
South Florida 8-2 USA 24.25 20.00 2.00 4.52 50.77 23
Miami of Ohio 7-2 MAC 28.25 19.50 2.00 3.00 52.75 24
New Mexico State 8-2 SUN 17.00 30.00 2.00 4.16 53.16 25


-20-

[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/usc-nerf.jpg
University of Southern California
2021 Season (4th Qtr.)



http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/logos/ucla-bruin.jpg WEEK 13
@ #6 UCLA (9-1) (PAC-10) *TV1*
(UCLA -2) USC BCS RANK: #1

It always seems to come down to this game for us. This is my 14th year at Southern Cal, and I can't remember an unimportant game against UCLA - well I guess my first couple of seasons when we were really bad the game was just for pride. But since then, this game has more often than not decided the PAC-10 championship, and lately determined whether we get a chance to win the National Championship. It's going to be a tough game this year as we play at UCLA. I sure wish we had Kenny Finch for this game, but QB Tony Felkey has been on fire lately, so I am cautiously optimistic.

Quarterly grades came out and I assigned some of the staff to work with the students that had D's or D+'s. I've saved some coahing block time for the end of the year just in case anyone is in danger of failing a course, but I hope we'll be ok regarding academics.

No recruiting news this week as our recruiting class is full already.

We are banged up again this week, with QB Kenny Finch and FB Warren Gardiner out. Tailback Ike Daugherty has been playing hurt all season but that hasn't stopped him from averaging 126 ypg and 4.9 ypc. He's a tough kid and really has impressed me.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Daugherty, Ike 24 RB Sr* Questionable Stretched Knee Li 9 Weeks
Cheng, Walter 23 CB Jr* Probable Strained Hamstrin Unknown
Gardiner, Warren 31 FB Fr Out Reconstructive Kn 25 Weeks
Finch, Kenneth 1 QB Jr* Out Arthroscopic Knee 4 Weeks

UCLA runs an outstanding Pro Formation offense. They have a brilliant offensive mind in Offensive Coordinator Burt Boyer and they'll be difficult to stop.

The Bruins QB is Clarence Compton, who likes the short to medium passing game and has difficulty going deep. He's a solid quarterback, but not a superstar. Their leading receiver is out, and they're starting a very poor walk-on at the second receiver spot. So we'll likely double-team WR Deron Smith, normally their second receiver, but now forced into the primary role. We'll also play lots of man to man as Compton has trouble with the deep ball.

We're not going to be able to overplay the pass however, because the Bruins have an outstanding Running Back in senior Xavier Lindsay. Lindsay gets the ball about 19 times a game and is averaging 90 ypg and 4.3 ypc.

They don't seem to run enough to overplay the run, but just enough and the kid is talented enough so we won't be overplaying the pass.

Compton has only been sacked 9 times in 10 games, the Bruins O-line has been doing a good job of protecting him. I think we'll blitz quite a bit and try and add some pressure to that provided by our D-line.

We'll go with the normal setting to move to 4 downlinemen - goaline situations and such, but nothing out of the ordinary. We'll utilize more than the normal nickel and dime sets, but not extraordinarily so. I think this setup will provide us with the best chance to win.

GAMEDAY

1Q: UCLA put together a nice 6 minute drive to start the game, but a key sack by DE's Floyd Jeffers and Wally Knight knocked them out of field position, forcing them to go for it and turning the ball over on downs. Those two really make a lot of big plays for us.

Neither side gets anything going until near the end of the first, when Tony Felkey finds WR Britt Wells on a couple of big passes and Tailback Ike Daugherty takes the option pitch in for a score from 2 yards out. USC 7-0 and that's how the quarter ends. They've really shutdown our run. The only way we have been able to move the ball is through the air. Fortunately we're getting to Compton, already having sacked him twice - Austin Lew had the second sack forcing a punt.

2Q: We drive down the field, Felkey finally gets the option to work some, but we shank a field goal with 10:24 left in the half. Big missed opportunity there for us.

Neither team can get anything going at all. UCLA's offense consists of Compton scrambling to avoid pass rushers and our offense - well, we really haven't had one.

We make a key mistake with 3:14 left in the half, as Felkey completes a pass to FB Spencer Washington who then fumbles the ball at our own 35, Bruins recover.

Not good.

A big sack by DE Floyd Jeffers forced the Bruins into 3rd and long and redshirt senior ILB Walt Whalen picks off a Compton pass at our 23. That was a HUGE defensive stand.

And that's how the half ends, Southern Cal 7-0.

Halftime notes: The only thing working offensively for us right now is when Tony Felkey throws the ball. The Bruins are completely overplaying the run and shutting down our wishbone. We really need to get some kind of running game going in the 2nd half.

Defensively our guys are playing a gem of a game. Compton is facing all kinds of pressure, we've sacked him 4 or 5 times already and hurried him a number of times. Literally, their best offensive plays have been Compton scrambles. We need to keep the pressure on and try and create some more turnovers.

3Q: They're really pouring the pressure on Felkey - and we're not real good at protecting him. The essence of our passing game is surprise, if they know a pass is coming we're in trouble and they can get to him.

They've simply stopped our passing game by hammerring Felkey. He's getting pounded back there. Fortunately we're doing the same thing to Compton, as ILB Walt Whalen came up with a key sack to force a UCLA punt after a promising drive.

No one can do anything offensively in the third - it's total domination by both defenses. But UCLA will start off the 4th with the ball at midfield. Our defense will need to come up big again.

4Q: A key sack by Walt Whalen and Floyd Jeffers knocked the Bruins out of field position and they go for it on 4th, turning the ball over on downs at our 31. Yet another big stand by Leland Shepard's boys.

We have a promising drive snuffed out by a holding call and punt, UCLA takes over at their own 32 with 8:47 left in the game. We need the defense to stop them in their tracks. And they do, actually forcing them back 5 yards and we take over after a punt at our own 32 with 7:31 left in the game. Another score would be nice, but I'd settle for grinding the clock down too at this point.

We can do neither as we committ two stupid penalties and they get a nice punt return and good field position, starting at their own 40 with 5:28 left on the clock. If we win this thing, it's going to be the defense that does so.

Another big sack by ILB Walt Whalen forces yet another punt. We take over at our own 24 with 4:32 left on the clock. All we need is a first down or two and that'll be the game.

FB Spencer Washington makes up for his earlier turnover and pancackes a linebacker and springs backup Tailback Jeff Thompson for a 66 yard counter play and we take the ball down to the 4. The Bruins D stiffens but we get a 3 which should be the final nail in their coffin as we go up 10-0 with 1:58 left.

And it is, as we hold them and win a tough, completely defensive struggle, 10-0 over our arch-rival UCLA.

Their defense just stopped us cold. We just couldn't get any points - well we got ten, but you know what i mean. The only thing working for us offensive all day was Felkey to Wells. Tony had a decent day passing despite being under constant pressure, going 17/26 for 196 yards and no turnovers, while Britt Wells continues to play exceptionally well for a freshamn, making 5 catches for 110 yards. We also had that one big run play at the end that led to the field goal that iced the game, but other than that, hats off to the best defense we have faced all year.

Similarly, our defense is making a very good case for itself that it is the best defense in the nation. We sacked Compton 7 times, totally shut down both their passing and running games, and recorded our fifth shutout in 11 games. I'd be hard pressed to find a better defense than ours.

ILB Walt Whalen had the game of his career, making 7 tackles, assisting on 4 others, recording 2.5 sacks and picking off a Compton pass. That's about as complete a game as you can have.
Other defensive standouts were Safety Jared Esparza who made 8 tackles, and DE's Floyd Jeffers and Austin Lew who had 2 sacks each. It was a truly dominating performance by our defense, which played its best game of the season this week.

This victory wins us our third consecutive PAC-10 Championship. Now we just wait and see what the BCS decides about where we'll be going to play our Bowl Game.

USC 10 -- UCLA 0
PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)
***2021 PAC-10 CHAMPIONS***

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/banners/2021%20PAC-10%20CHAMPS2.jpg


* * *

WEEK 14
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #1

Coming off our big win over UCLA we're still at #1 in the BCS rankings, with Florida 2nd. Florida has a 12th game to play though, as they'll be playing for the SEC Championship. I'm not sure they can catch us though, as our BCS score is 5.73 and theirs is 10.51. Not impossible, but not likely.

Virginia is 3rd in the BCS rankings and still has one game to play at 10-0. Their score is 12.21 so it's not impossible they could overtake Florida - again not likely though.

We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)

* * *

WEEK 15
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK
USC BCS RANK: #1

Well, things have certainly gotten interesting. Virginia passed Florida this week with their win over Virginia Tech and is barely ranked #2 by 0.61 over Florida. But Florida plays in the SEC Championship Game this week, so I'm guessing a Florida win moves them ahead of Virginia. Allowing that 12th game must continually piss the Cavaliers off, as they keep getting shut out of a shot at the national title.

But hey, Florida could lose, right?

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)

* * *

WEEK 16
Off week.
USC RANK: #1

Florida narrowly beat Alabama 31-28 but the win wasn't enough to pass Virginia, who finally gets a shot at the national title. We remain #1, so we play 11-0 #2 Virginia in The Rose Bowl for the national championship.

QB Kenny Finch will be healthy.

But do we take the ball out of Tony Felkey's hot hands at this point?

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)

* * *

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/newspaper-sm.jpg WEEK 17 MEDIA SNIPPETTS


http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/latimes-sm.jpg
LA TIMES
Week 17, 2021

Well they did it again. Coach Bear Growlz' Southern Cal team knocked off UCLA and won their third consecutive PAC-10 Championship and now have a shot at winning their third consecutive National Championship in The Rose Bowl. But it won't be against Florida again, this year it'll be against ACC upstart Virginia, which has been left out in the cold the past couple of seasons despite being undefeated. Now Virginia gets a chance to show they deserve playing with the big kids.

For years and years Coach Growlz' Trojans have labored in the shadows of a superior UCLA Bruin football program.

No more.

The Trojans have shown, over the past three years, that they are not only the dominant college football team in Los Angeles, but the PAC-10 and perhaps all of college football. Not bad for a coach that had to endure 2-3 years of a website called "firebeargrowlz.net".

Not bad at all.

# # #

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/ESPN-logo-sm.jpg
ESPN NEWS
Week 17, 2021

So Florida won't get a chance to stop the rolling USC Trojans from tying their consecutive national championship streak after all. Instead, standing in Southern Cal's way will be a gallant Virginia Cavalier team.

Does Virginia have a chance?

Let's not forget that Virginia isn't an upstart. They've played great football the past three years and have been just as deserving of a shot at the national title as SC and Florida. So this isn't some tiny school from a tiny conference that snuck into the championship game by some technicality.

What we have looming here is a matchup between two very potent offenses - Virginia passes more and USC has the best rushing attack in the nation, averaging 219.9 ypg and over 4 yards per carry.

More importantly however, The Rose Bowl will feature the undisputed two best defenses in the land. Southern Cal held their opponents to an anemic
5.4 points per game to lead the nation while Virginia was right behind them holding their foes to a woeful 6.7 ppg.

USC also led the nation in run defense, allowing only 32.4 yards per game, and an average of 1.3 yards per carry. The Cavaliers had the 5th best run defense in the land, holding opponents to 52 yards per game and 1.8 ypc. That may give the vaunted Trojan wishbone some serious trouble come game time.

Both team's pass defense was also stellar, with Virginia leading the nation by only allowing 116.7 yards per game through the air. In second? That would be Southern Cal, which allowed only 122 yards per game passing.

And in an area most crucial in a contest of closely matched teams, it was again Virginia which led in Turnover Margin, with a triking +22. Right behind them? Tied for scond is USC with a +17 turnover margin.

With defenses like these, we wonder if anyone will score an offensive touchdown at all.


# # #

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/si-logo.jpg
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
Week 17, 2021

Southern Cal upcoming national title game against Virginia leaves SC Coach Bear Growlz with a damned if he does, damned if he doesn't decision to make. Redshirt sophomore backup QB Tony Felkey has led the Trojans to the brink of yet another national championship. But starter Kenny Finch is healthy enough to play in the national title game. Finch was the starter in Southern Cal's national title win last year, and started the season off as the starter before going down with injury twice this season. But Felkey has played extremely well in his time as the starter.

There's an old adage that you don't lose a starting job due to injury. That contrasts with the old adage that you dance with who brought you. The former clearly advocates the starting of Finch over Felkey, the latter Felkey over Finch.

Putting all old sayings aside, logic clearly dictates that Coach Growlz should start the quarterback that gives SC their best chance at winning.

But with the track record of Finch who has been outstanding, and the recent play of felkey, which has been equally as outstanding, we don't even know who gives them the best chance to win.

What a terrible, terrible problem to have.



* * *

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/bcs-vsm.jpg 2021 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Week 17, 2021
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
**Southern California 11-0 P10 1.25 3.00 0.00 2.28 6.53 1
Virginia 11-0 ACC 3.00 2.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 2
Florida 12-0 SEC 5.25 1.00 0.00 4.56 10.81 3
Notre Dame 10-1 IND 3.00 8.00 1.00 0.36 12.36 4
Iowa 10-1 B10 6.75 4.00 1.00 3.84 15.59 5
Penn State 10-1 B10 8.00 5.50 1.00 3.88 18.38 6
Colorado State 10-1 MTW 4.50 11.50 1.00 3.04 20.04 7
San Diego State 10-1 MTW 7.50 10.50 1.00 1.80 20.80 8
Rice 10-1 WAC 10.75 5.50 1.00 4.88 22.13 9
UCLA 9-2 P10 10.50 7.00 2.00 2.76 22.26 10
Boston College 9-2 BGE 8.50 11.00 2.00 3.40 24.90 11
Texas A&M 10-2 B12 14.00 9.00 2.00 3.64 28.64 12
Wake Forest 9-2 ACC 5.00 22.50 2.00 1.08 30.58 13
Nevada-Las Vegas 10-1 MTW 9.75 17.50 1.00 4.40 32.65 14
Toledo 9-2 MAC 15.50 13.50 2.00 4.48 35.48 15
Alabama 9-3 SEC 14.25 15.00 3.00 3.44 35.69 16
California 9-2 P10 20.25 13.50 2.00 2.60 38.35 17
Miami of Florida 9-2 ACC 14.25 19.50 2.00 3.48 39.23 18
Maine 9-2 NNE 15.75 23.00 2.00 4.08 44.83 19
South Florida 9-2 USA 19.75 19.50 2.00 4.76 46.01 20
Georgia Tech 8-3 ACC 21.75 20.50 3.00 2.32 47.57 21
New Mexico State 9-2 SUN 19.50 25.00 2.00 4.28 50.78 22
Middle Tennessee State 9-2 SUN 31.00 17.50 2.00 4.96 55.46 23
Miami of Ohio 9-3 MAC 27.25 22.50 3.00 4.12 56.87 24
Illinois 8-3 B10 22.50 31.50 3.00 2.12 59.12 25


-20-

[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/logos/horse.jpg
University of Southern California Trojans
2021 Season (Final)


WEEK 17
MAJOR BOWL TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #1

Quarterly grades came out.Fairly displeased with grades this quarter, too many D's. Used up the end of my coaching blocks to assign tutors and such, but I'm not happy. With the schedule the players have, they should be getting C-'s at the worst.
Florida passed Virginia is the BCS rankings this week - but the Bowl bids have already gone out. Pretty ironic as I think the shoe was on the other foot a year or two ago.

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)

* * *

WEEK 18
FOUR STAR TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #1

Colorado beat UCLA in the Hoosier Bowl 13-7. Five points to anyone who can tell me what "The Perfect Day" means to a Southern Cal fan.

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)

* * *

WEEK 19
NEW YEAR'S TIER
Off week.
USC BCS RANK: #1

Notre Dame pounded Colorado State 41-18 in the Fiesta bowl while Florida lost to Iowa 27-17 in the Orange Bowl.

PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-0)

* * *



http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/other%20schools/virg-sm.jpg WEEK 20
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
THE ROSE BOWL: vs. #3 Virginia (11-0) *TV1*
(USC -3) USC BCS RANK: #1


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11-1 Notre Dame moved into 2nd in the BCS rankings due to their strong performance in the Fiesta Bowl and the Cavaliers fell to #3. Virginia hiwever, is #1 in both the coaches and fans polls. We're #2 in both polls.

The Irish's one loss? When we won the Golden Shillelagh this season in the Rose Bowl.

Anyhoooo, we've got some football to play this week. Nothing like a 42 day lay-off between the end of your season and the championship game.

But hey, I'm not complaining mind you.

Just saying.

The Virginia Cavaliers run an I-Formation offense. Their coordinator Bert White has been running it for 22 years, the team has it down pat. White is not known for being what you'd call an offensive genius however. Their Defensive Coordinator on the other hand is Dwight Gann, a very good tactician.

The Cavaliers have an absolute stud at QB, a Georgia boy by the name of Adam Stone. Our scout says he has trouble avoiding INTS, but he only threw 5 picks out of 290 passes - so I think that's a bunch of hooey. He's been sacked 18 times, so I think some blitzing might put some pressure on him and stop some key drives.

He's got a couple of decent wideouts, but nothing special over there. Virginia's main weapon is running back Danny Murphy. Murphy rushed for over 1500 yards and had over 900 yards receiving. He's going to be difficult to contain. Last year he was a 1000/1000 player - pretty amazing in 12 games.

Ok, so here's what we've got. We know Murphy is going to hurt us - there's no real practical way to completely stop him. If we overplay the pass he'll run it on us and if we overplay the run Stone will just throw it to him.

I think the solution will be to play the run and the pass equally, but use some 4 down-lineman fronts and stay away from nickel and dime packages altogether. I also think just lining up man to man will be the best way to contain him and hope our linebackers can contain him.

I can't think of any other plan of attack that might work better - Murphy has a unique skill set that makes him difficult to play.

But that's not what everyone really wants to know. What everyone really wants to know is who are we going to start at quarterback.

There's never been a question in my mind though. Tony Felkey has played great for us, no doubt about that. But Kenny Finch is healthy.

So Kenny Finch starts.

You might ask why? And I'd say that's a pretty dmn good question. Felkey has the hot hand and has filled in superbly for Kenny.

But when there's a national championship on the line, I want my best players on the field, not holding a clipboard. Kenny Finch is by far my best quarterback, so that's why he plays. If I lose, I want to know I lost with my best players.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Daugherty, Ike 24 RB Sr* Probable Stretched Knee Li 3 Weeks
Gardiner, Warren 31 FB Fr Out Reconstructive Kn 18 Weeks
We're mostly all healed up. Gardiner will miss the game again, and Ike has been questionable all year - but he'll play anyway.

Do not be surprised to see Kenny Finch throw the ball a bit more than we usually do. I don't want to be too totally one dimesnional against these guys, so we'll throw a bit more with him back in the lineup.

I just know this kid Murphy is going to drive me nuts all day. We better get to Stone and pound him so Murphy doesn't make a difference.

GAMEDAY

1Q: First drive we got nothing. They return the punt to our 37. And the numbers on the scoreboard are purple. Never seen that before. Weird.

First play, boom Stone to Murphy 37 yard scoring strike. Dah-yam.

Penalties just kill our next drive. We're playing dumbass football right now. Our defense covers Murphy well, nice play by Safety Jared Esparza and we get good field position on the punt at our 42. Need to take advantage of this.

I see why they're one of the top defenses in the nation - we can't do anything against them. However we do pin them back at their 15 with a punt. So maybe our defense can create a turnover.

No turnover but we force another punt, again solid field position at our 39. We need to take advantage of this while we have the chance though. It isn't going to be this way the entire game.

Kenny Finch hit WR Britt Wells with a big 31 yard pass play and we get some semblence of a running game going but our drives stalls inside the 10, so we settle for a Burt Givens field goal, 7-3 Virginia. That's how the quarter ends.

2Q: Right now Danny Murphy is chewing up yardage on the ground as the quarter starts. Not good.

We finally stop him and they punt but now we're backed up to our own 14. We should have taken advantage of that really good field position we had. Now the shoe is on the other foot.

We got nothing and the Cavs return the punt 76 yards for a score. We're in deep trouble, 14-3 Virginia.

We exchange punts, but we're not getting any pressure on Stone at all. We have started to contain Murphy some, and our secondary is knocking down a lot of passes. But we've got to put some points on the board before the end of the half.

They just ram the ball right down our throats with a clock killing drive and go up 21-3. That's how the half ends.

Halftime notes: We're being completely outplayed in every phase of the game by a very good, a great team. This is by far the best defense we have played against this season. Offensively we've got nothing. Defensively we need to put more pressure on Stone and create some turnovers. And quick, or this game is getting out of hand fast.

3Q: And we do. NT Mel McWilliams makes a tackle causing a fumble which we recover at the Virgnia 34. Now we need to punch it in and make this a ball game again.

We get nothing because of stupid penalties. We're not playing like a team that's been here before. Not at all.

They drive the length of the field but miss a chipshot field goal. We need to take advantage of stuff like that, times a waistin.

We get two dumbass false start penalties and they return the punt to our 36. God are we playing horribly.

ILB Monty Garcia picks off a Stone pass in the endzone, keeping us alive.

Barely.

We get nothing. We've got 44 yards rushing with 3 minutes left in the 3Q. They've completely dominated us with their defense.

Stone hits Murphy for with a 16 yard touchdown pass and it's 28-3. Our defense is just exhausted as all we seem capable of offensively are three and outs.

Penalties put us in a 1st and 20 and Kenny Finch gets picked off and the Cavs take it to the house, 35-3. Ouch. The quarter ends with even more Southern Cal penalties. I'm absolutely befuddled. Not that we're getting an old fashioned ass-whuppin, these guys are damn good. But what's with all the penalties? Never, ever seen us play so undisciplined before.

4Q: 1:20 into the 4th quarter and we run our first option play. I think Spencer Farley fell asleep at the switch today.

Finally had a good drive going, gets killed by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. We've beaten ourselves today as badly as Virginia has.

They just finally show mercy and run the clock out against us. Danny Murphy gets my Heisman vote - he's the one player I couldn't do a damn thing about - but J.B. Loveless of Notre Dame wins it.
Well no doubt I'll be second guessed about starting Kenny Finch at QB, but I don't think Touchdown Jesus of Notre Dame could have beaten the Cavaliers today. They whupped us and whupped us good.

They held us to 88 yards rushing on the day - we held them to 82 yards rushing, but Danny Murphy had 1 rushing touchdown and 2 receiving. They returned a pick and a punt for a score as well. They whupped us in just about every area of the game.

Hats off to them, they certainly deserve this national title.

The Rose Bowl/BCS National Championship Game
Virginia 35 -- USC 3
PAC-10 (8-0) -- OVERALL (11-1)

* * *

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/bcs-vsm.jpg 2021 BCS RANKINGS

The College Years
Final 2021
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Virginia 12-0 ACC 2.25 1.00 0.00 4.80 8.05 1
**Southern California 11-1 P10 4.75 3.00 1.00 1.40 10.15 2
Notre Dame 11-1 IND 2.75 7.00 1.00 0.08 10.83 3
Iowa 11-1 B10 3.75 4.00 1.00 2.56 11.31 4
Penn State 11-1 B10 3.50 5.50 1.00 2.92 12.92 5
Florida 12-1 SEC 7.25 2.00 1.00 4.24 14.49 6
Rice 11-1 WAC 6.00 5.50 1.00 4.76 17.26 7
San Diego State 11-1 MTW 7.25 9.00 1.00 1.36 18.61 8
Boston College 10-2 BGE 8.25 9.50 2.00 2.84 22.59 9
Wake Forest 10-2 ACC 3.25 16.50 2.00 1.00 22.75 10
California 10-2 P10 11.75 11.00 2.00 2.96 27.71 11
Colorado State 10-2 MTW 9.25 15.50 2.00 1.44 28.19 12
UCLA 9-3 P10 18.25 8.50 3.00 2.52 32.27 13
Alabama 10-3 SEC 14.75 12.50 3.00 3.60 33.85 14
Texas A&M 10-3 B12 16.25 13.00 3.00 2.20 34.45 15
Maine 10-2 NNE 12.25 18.00 2.00 3.84 36.09 16
South Florida 10-2 USA 18.75 14.00 2.00 4.72 39.47 17
Toledo 9-3 MAC 18.00 17.00 3.00 4.48 42.48 18
Nevada-Las Vegas 10-2 MTW 17.75 21.50 2.00 4.16 45.41 19
Miami of Florida 9-3 ACC 19.75 22.50 3.00 3.20 48.45 20
Miami of Ohio 10-3 MAC 24.50 17.50 3.00 4.08 49.08 21
Pittsburgh 8-4 BGE 21.75 28.00 4.00 1.08 54.83 22
Colorado 10-3 B12 19.25 32.50 3.00 1.28 56.03 23
Green Mountain 9-3 NNE 24.50 26.00 3.00 3.00 56.50 24
Michigan 7-5 B10 25.75 30.00 5.00 0.76 61.51 25


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[beargrowlz]

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University of Southern California Trojans
2021 Season Summary & Review





http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/trojan.jpg 2021 Season Review

2021 definitely has to go down as another successful season for the Southern Cal Trojans. We won our third consecutive PAC-10 championship and our fourth since I have been here, and we went to the Rose Bowl to play for the National Championship for the third consecutive season.

Our defense was outstanding all season long. Teams found they couldn't pass or run against us. We recorded five shutouts on the season - including one over our cross city rivals UCLA.

Offensively we saw the emergence of freshman wideout Britt Wells as a gamebreaking playmaker. But we were hampered offensively by injury - losing our starting Fullback and starting quarterback for most of the season. Redshirt sophomore Tony Felkey stepped up and quite capably handled the signal calling duties in the absence of starter Kenny Finch and is in large part responsible for how successful a campaign we had this year.

Tailback Ike Daugherty showed he was capable of being the lead back in a wishbone offense, but we did miss the durability and endurance of the graduated J.B. Wilson who was able to shoulder the load of 40 carries per game. With Daugherty, we just didn't have that capability.

Our ofeensive player of the year though has to go to WR Britt Wells. He was an impact player from his first game as a Trojan and at times during the season when he exhibited his rushing abilities as well as his receiving talents, he reminded me of Tim Brown when Brown played at Notre Dame. With Wells being only a freshman, his future looks very bright.

Defensively our player of the year has to be redshirt senior DE Floyd Jeffers. Floyd recorded 20 sacks on the season and was simply a game-changer on the defensive line. He ended too many drives to count at crucial points in ball games with a key sack or QB pressure. There were many other standout players on defense, but no one player made the impact Jeffers did with his play alone.

While ultimately I am very pleased that we won our third consecutive PAC-10 championship and got to play for the national Championship yet again, I'll also admit to more than a little disappointment that we failed to win a third consecutive national title and that our 36 game consecutive winning streak was finally brought to an end. I realize our incredible run had to end sometime, but it was a disappointing end to an otherwise satisfying season nonetheless.

What the future holds for me, I'm not at all certain at this point. I've been coaching 18 years - 14 at Southern Cal. I haven't informed the school I'll be returning or that I'll be leaving - simply because I haven't decided what I am going to do yet. I just need some time to think about what I want to do now that our run is over.

But whatever I do, the future of Southern Cal football is indeed bright for at least the next four seasons.

And that's what's important.

* * *

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-fb-sm.jpg 2021 USC Player Awards


2021 University of Southern California
Individual Awards

* OG Desmond Connel (RS Sr.)
- 1st Team All-American
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* DE Floyd Jeffers (Rs Sr.)
- Academic All-American
- 2nd Team All PAC-10
- Academic all PAC-10

* S Lawrence Abdul-Jabbar (Sr.)
- Academic All-American
- Academic All PAC-10

* WR Britt Wells (Fr.)
- Freshman All-American
- PAC-10 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* OT Mario Harper (Fr.)
- Freshman All-American

* OC Gino Lyubashevsky (5th yr Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* OT Nate Dillon (RS Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* P Xavier Eason (5th yr Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* CB Brad Knight (Rs Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10

* TB Ike Daugherty (Rs. Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10

* DE Wally Knight (5th yr Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10



* * *

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/usc.jpg 2021 USC Team Summary


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2021 Team Summary

Head Coach: Bear Growlz (14th Season)
Offensive Coordinator: Spencer Farley (2nd Season)
Defensive Coordinator: Leland Shepard (1st Season)
Syndicate Coordinator: Arnie Urlacher (3rd Season)
Lead Scout: Lester Stargell (4th Season)

Overall Record: 11-1
BCS Ranking: #2
Coaches Poll: #3
Fans Poll: #3
PAC-10 Record: 8-0
PAC-10 Standing: 1st ***PAC-10 Champions***

Southern California Team Rank
Rushes 609 2
Rushing Yards 2507 2
Yards Per Carry 4.11 18
Pass Attempts 246 114 (T)
Completions 174 60 (T)
Passing Yards 2084 76 (T)
Yards Per Attempt 8.47 21
3rd Down Conversions 44.2 11 (T)
Points Per Game 33.7 13
Turnovers 6 1 (T)
Turnover Margin +19 2

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 307 1
Rushing Yards 439 2
Yards Per Carry 1.42 2
Pass Attempts 348 91 (T)
Completions 136 3
Passing Yards 1560 2
Yards Per Attempt 4.48 2
3rd Down Conversions 21.3 6
Points Per Game 7.9 2
Turnovers 25 22 (T)

Primary Formation: Wishbone Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 ---Open Week---
2 38 DART (49) 10
3 59 INDI (123) 0
4 ---Open Week---
5 28 ORST (104) 3
6 42 OREG (86) 0
7 27 at CALI (11) 9
8 35 at AZST (119) 0
9 49 STAN (52) 0
10 45 WASH (55) 7
11 31 at ARIZ (97) 8
12 38 NODM (7) 23
13 10 at UCLA (8) 0
14 ---Open Week---
15 ---Open Week---
16 ---Open Week---
17 ---Open Week---
18 ---Open Week---
19 ---Open Weel---
20 3 vs VIRG (1) 35 ***The Rose Bowl/BCS National Championship Game***

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Comp%
13 Felkey QB 161 118 1311 8.14 7 1 73.3%
1 Finch QB 69 46 648 9.39 5 2 66.7%
Team --- 246 174 2084 8.47 12 3 70.7%

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
24 Daugherty RB 298 1363 4.57 20 94 172
25 Snyder RB 159 523 3.28 13 59 116
13 Felkey QB 75 209 2.78 4 23 61
1 Finch QB 37 109 2.94 0 12 27
Team --- 609 2507 4.11 38 196 399

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
6 Wells WR 74 59 1010 17.1 376 7
45 Washington FB 35 26 202 7.7 99 0
24 Daugherty RB 34 24 187 7.7 79 0
25 Snyder RB 33 23 243 10.5 101 0
82 Hastings TE 21 8 80 10.0 32 0
31 Gardiner FB 16 10 89 8.9 39 1
7 Jacobs WR 12 10 149 14.9 88 3
Team --- 246 174 2084 11.9 888 12

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
49 Whalen ILB 53 20 6.5 19 1 10
20 Esparza S 44 17 1.0 14 2 19
91 Knight DE 35 9 13.0 19 0 0
72 Jeffers DE 31 8 20.0 20 0 0
41 Garcia ILB 30 14 1.0 6 1 2
26 Knight CB 30 12 0.0 5 3 11
38 Abdul-Jabbar S 29 15 0.0 4 4 4
90 Kariya OLB 24 7 0.0 3 2 1
35 Jacobs CB 22 8 0.0 2 0 4
37 Barber CB 22 9 0.0 4 1 10
23 Cheng CB 21 5 0.0 3 0 5
44 Carpenter S 15 2 0.0 6 1 1
94 Shepard DT 15 3 1.5 3 0 0
98 McWilliams DT 14 4 1.0 5 0 0
70 Lew DE 13 3 3.5 5 0 0
29 Brennan S 12 0 0.0 1 0 0
Team --- 519 157 49.0 127 15 75



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[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/newspaper-sm.jpg 2022 MEDIA SNIPPETTS



http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/sportingnews-sm.jpg

THE SPORTING NEWS
January, Winter 2022

College Football Notebook: Despite having yet another recruiting class ranked #1 in the nation by TCY Today, and despite having won three PAC-10 titles in a row, and also despite having played for the national championship for three consecutive years - winning two of those title games, the Southern Cal football program is at it's most unstable point in the last fourteen years - since Bear Growlz took over the football program.

USC's Lead Scout Lester Stargell announced his retirement this week and a few days later Defensive Coordinator Leland Shepard announced he was also retiring from coaching. With Head Coach Bear Growlz' having yet to make a decision about whether he will return to coach the Trojans for a 15th season, the direction of the Southern Cal program - now the second most prestigious program in the nation (Excellent-98) - for the future is uncertain.

Growlz has coached at Southern Cal for fourteen years, two years shy of tying the legendary John McKay for the longest tenure of a head Coach at SC. Prior to coming to Southern Cal, Growlz coached at tiny Keene State College in the Northern New England Athletic Association - starting that program at the small new Hampshire liberal arts school.

Over the past fourteen years Growlz has become a fixture at Southern Cal, even having turned down the top job at Notre Dame - ultimately leading the Trojans to two National Championships and four PAC-10 titles - the last three of them consecutively. Growlz has taken USC to a postseason bowl for thirteen consecutive seasons and finished rated in the BCS Top 25 the past nine years.

This season Growlz passed the legendary McKay's 127 for most games ever won as Head Coach of the USC football program. Growlz finished the 2021 season with 130 wins as the Southern Cal coach.

The College Years
Bear Growlz Coaching Record

Year Team Record Post Rank
2021 Southern California 11-1 Yes 2
2020 Southern California 12-0 Yes 1
2019 Southern California 12-0 Yes 1
2018 Southern California 9-3 Yes 18
2017 Southern California 9-3 Yes 10
2016 Southern California 10-2 Yes 5
2015 Southern California 11-1 Yes 4
2014 Southern California 9-3 Yes 21
2013 Southern California 10-2 Yes 14
2012 Southern California 8-4 Yes 28
2011 Southern California 9-3 Yes 24
2010 Southern California 9-3 Yes 14
2009 Southern California 6-6 Yes 55
2008 Southern California 5-6 No 42
2007 Keene State 10-2 Yes 20
2006 Keene State 6-5 No 73
2005 Keene State 5-6 No 80
2004 Keene State 4-7 No 100


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[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/newspaper-sm.jpg 2022 PRESEASON MEDIA SNIPPETTS (Winter)


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ESPN
Sunday Coversation
January, Winter-2022

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/kolber_1-sm.jpg
Suzy Kolber (SK): Good evening, I'm Suzy Kolber and this is Sunday Conversation. I sat down this week and had a long, and rather frank talk with Southern Cal's Head Football Coach Bear Growlz. His candor was refreshing and enlightening. Let's go to the interview now.

(SK): Coach, thanks for talking with me.

Bear Growlz (BG): My pleasure Suzy.

(SK): You've had quite a successful run at Southern Cal and almost won a third consecutive national championship. You must feel a tremendous amount of vindication after your first two years at SC.

(BG): Those first two years were a long, long time ago Suzy. They were hard, lean years. There really wasn't much left in the cupboard when I took over. The fans had a lot of good reasons to be upset - and I was the representative of a once great program that had fallen into complete disarray. *nods* But you're right, winning two national titles and three straight PAC-10 championships has been very rewarding - it has made all these years of effort worth every moment of hard work, every hour of pratice or film study, all worthwhile.

(SK): But you've also indicated this past season was personally disappointing for you - even though you won a conference championship and played in a third consecutive national title game.

(BG): *nods and looks pensive for a moment* It was tremendously disappointing for me personally. I felt like we had more talent on the field - a better team - and we were simply outcoached in the Rose Bowl. I was very dissapointed and upset with being unable to find a way to stop Danny Murphy from beating us, and also disappointed in not finding a way to get our offense going to win a game that was very winnable. So yeah, I'd say 2021 was pretty disappointing for me - but I was never disappointed in our players. The kids on our team - great, great kids. I was - am - really proud of them.

(SK): But you've lost games before. There were years and years when you couldn't buy a win against UCLA. What makes 2021 so different?

(BG): *thinks for a moment before speaking* That's a really good question. I guess two things make it different in my eyes. First, I guess we just got spoiled by winning 36 games in a row. I mean, when you don't lose a game over a three year period... *pauses*...you know, you just...well...forget how to lose, forget what it feels like. You know? Then I guess the second thing is, I've lost a lot of games in the past. The losses that really gnaw at me are the games where I felt we had the better team, the most talented kids out on the field, and we just didn't get it done gameplanning wise for them. Losing to a team that's better than you, well that happens. Losing a game where you feel like you've been outcoached, or as a coach couldn't put your team in the best position to win, well, that's upsetting. Does that make sense?

(SK): *nods in response to the question* It does. And you feel you were outcoached against Virginia. So that's what's so disappointing.

(BG): *leans back in his chair* Suzy, I don't want to take anything away from those Virginia kids - they earned that national title on the field. They outplayed us in every aspect of the game. But I think 36 wins in a row, three PAC-10 championships in a row, and two national titles in a row, well, I was kind of cocky, kind of had the mentality that I had all the answers and this was going to be a coronation. We got crowned alright...*smiles and pauses*...but not in the way we - I - planned.

(SK): So what's keeping you from coming back? Three national titles in four years wouldn't be such a bad thing, would it? *chuckles*

(BG): Don't know if I have the hunger for it anymore. If I have the hunger I'll be back. If I don't, I won't. I just am taking a little time to decide whether it's a grind that I'm tired of or whether it's hard work I enjoy and a chalenge to get back on top where we belong. It's a state of mind kind of thing.

(SK): That sounds very southern Californian coach. *chuckles and smiles*

(BG): *laughs* I guess it is - and I am - these days.

(SK): It's been reported you've been offerred other college coaching positions - including the very prestigious Syracuse and Texas A&M jobs. Any chance you'd leave Southern Cal for either of those jobs coach?

(BG): *shakes his head no* If I coach college football this season, it'll be at SC Suzy, nowhere else.

(SK): When you've put together a gameplan, you've got the players you recruited on the field, and it's out of your control and you're playing for a national championship or a big game like against UCLA for the PAC-10 title, what's it feel like? What goes through your mind at a time like that?

(BG): Well Suzy, two things I guess. First, you do feel helpless. You've built the team, you've designed the gameplan, and now it's up to other people to execute and there's not much left you can do. That's what makes you - well at least me - so nervous at the start of a game. You ask yourself questions like; Have I done all I could to put the team in a position to win?; Did I forget something I meant to do?; Sometimes you even ask yourself, are you totally out of your mind putting together this gameplan and is it going to be a complete disaster?

But then there's the feeling of - hrrm, don't really know how to describe it. It's almost like being God. You've got a grand design and have other people carrying out your plans and strategy - and someone else on the other sideline is doing the same thing. It's a tremendous feeling when you see perfect execution of what you've designed. It',s well, it's just awesome.

(SK): Thanks coach, it's been a pleasure chatting with you.

(BG): I've enjoyed it, thanks.


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[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/newspaper-sm.jpg 2022 MEDIA SNIPPETTS



http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/ESPN-logo-sm.jpg
ESPN NEWS
January, Winter-2022

Unnamed sources within the University of Southern California Athletic Department have told ESPN News that Head Football Coach Bear Growlz has signed an eleven year contract with the school that will for all intents and purposes, keep him at Southern Cal until he retires from coaching.

More details as the story develops.

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[beargrowlz]

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RIVALS.COM
USC MESSAGE BOARD
January, Winter-2022

Poster: uSc4lIfE
Message: Did you hear, the Bear is coming back 4 another yr?

Poster: r0zBolE
Message: You believe everything you see on ESPN? Hah!

Poster: Trojanman
Message: I still think he has to come back. He'd be a fool to walk away from the talent he has assembled. He's got the makings of a dynasty here and finally has the offense built the way he wants it. Why would he leave?

Poster: tr0janfan
Message: I heard he was considering trying to bring an NFL team to LA.

Poster: cardinalandgold
Message: Waste of time. LA won't support an NFL team. The only way it works is if they can play in the new stadium SC is building, and I don't see the school letting an NFL team take it's coach and then saying "Oh, and you can come play in our brand spanking new stadium we just spent the school's money on too!" It ain't happening.

Poster: scINsider
Message: I know for a fact Growlz is gone. I have a friend, who has a friend, who has a friend, that works with a friend, whose uncle's cousin is a bigwig in the SC AD's office, and he told me Growlz has told the AD he is going to take the coaching job at Troy State. It's a done deal.

Poster: Trojanman
Message: I have a friend who has a friend who has a friend whose uncle's cousin's dog told me scINsider is a dumbass. And I believe him.

Poster: scINsider
Message: screw u condomboy. U r just jelis I have inside sources n u dont.

Poster: Trojanman
Message: He'll be back. Nuff said.



-20-

[aztarheel]

Rumor has it Coach Bear and Steve Victory are both going to quit their respective sports jobs and buy a Major League Baseball franchise. That's just what the Sheriff told me anyways... ;)

[kingfc22]

How did I miss this dynasty thread?! One hell of a job my friend.

[beargrowlz]

Rumor has it Coach Bear and Steve Victory are both going to quit their respective sports jobs and buy a Major League Baseball franchise. That's just what the Sheriff told me anyways


Heh.


How did I miss this dynasty thread?! One hell of a job my friend.


Kingfc22,

Thanks for the praise and the read. Glad you are enjoying it!

[Tellistto]

Just thought I'd chime in with it being a good read. I've been reading now for a week or so, enjoyed it immensely. Hope it keeps up!

Tell

[Marathoner]

Still reading, you're doing a fabulous job.

[SFL Cat]

With a name like "Bear"growlz...my guess is he winds up at Alabama. :)

[beargrowlz]

Just thought I'd chime in with it being a good read. I've been reading now for a week or so, enjoyed it immensely. Hope it keeps up!

Tell


Thanks Tell. Appreciate it!

Still reading, you're doing a fabulous job.


Thanks Marathoner. Hope you keep reading!

With a name like "Bear"growlz...my guess is he winds up at Alabama.


Heh.
<!-- / message -->
<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/newspaper-sm.jpg 2022 Media Snippetts (January-Winter)




http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/usc/usc-sio.jpg
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Sports Information Office: For Immediate Release, January, 2022


USC Athletic Director Cynthia Cooper annouced this afternoon that there would be a press conference concerning the Trojans football program later this evening.

Ms. Cooper is a former woman's basketball star here at Southern Cal, two-time WNBA MVP, former Head Coach of the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, former Head Coach of Prairie View A&M Woman's Basketball program and ultimately rose to become Athletic Director at Prairie view prior to becoming AD at Southern Cal.


-20-

[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/newspaper-sm.jpg MEDIA SNIPPETTS (WINTER, 2022)




http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/usc/usc-sio.jpg
PRESS CONFERENCE
@ The Galen Center
USC Campus
January, 2022

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-sm.jpg USC Sports Information Director: Media and guests, welcome. Now entering the room to make brief statements will be USC Athletic Director Cynthia Cooper and USC Head Football Coach Bear Growlz. After both of them have made their prepared remarks, they'll be glad to answer your questions.

*Athletic Director Cooper and Coach Growlz seat themselves at a table in front of the room which is covered with dozens of microphones*

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-sm.jpg Athletic Director Cynthia Cooper (CC): Good evening. As most of you know, Southern Cal football has come a long way in the fourteen years Bear Growlz has been the head football coach here. We've won two national championships, played in three consecutive national title games, and won the past three consecutive PAC-10 conference championships. Coach Growlz has truly made SC one of the most prestigious football programs in the nation.

But it would be a mistake to say that the program's success has only been on the field of play. Coach Growlz has recruited student-athletes, not just athletes. He has set up mandatory academic schedules requiring even the best of our student-athletes to devote a significant portion of their daily life to academics, resulting in Southern Cal becoming one of the top ten educational institutions in the nation.

Thus it is with great pride in The University of Southern California that today I wish to announce the re-signing of Coach Bear Growlz to an 11 year contract - in essence a lifetime contract - so he can finish out his coaching career here in sunny southern California.

*A.D. Cooper turns to Coach Growlz and extends her hand*

Bear, we're glad you've decided to call Southern Cal home and finish out your career here. Welcome home coach.

*Coach Growlz shakes Ms. Cooper's hand and then speaks into the microphones*

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-sm.jpg Head Coach Bear Growlz (BG): I guess I have to say "dude" a lot now, eh?

*laughter fills the room of reporters*

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-sm.jpg (BG): In all seriousness, the last fourteen years have been a wonderful experience. I've experienced some of the most dramatic highs a coach can have, and some terrible lows over some losses - we don't need to talk about those much. Really, no need.

*more laughter*

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-sm.jpg (BG): I have to admit that fourteen years ago, when then SC Athletic Director Mike Garrett approached me about coming to Southern Cal, I was floored. But I was also hesitant. Following in the footsteps of Pete Carroll was a tall order. But once I made the decision to take the job, I've never had a single regret. We've been able to build a clean, academically sound, and athletically talented program here, and we've seen all the work of the past fourteen years be rewarded the past three seasons.

When Cynthia approached me about a longterm extension, I admit I hesitated. The loss to Virginia in the national title game hit me pretty hard. The loss kind of knocked me down off my high horse - that's not good for a Trojan to be knocked off Traveler you know.

*some more laughter fills the room*

But after taking a few days to think about it, I realized the SC had become my home, and I still think there's a few years of coaching left in the tank - and there's no place I'd rather coach than here at Southern Cal.

So, I'd like to thank Cynthia and the USC administration for the faith they have shown in me, not only with what is in essence a lifetime contract, but for their patience during the rough times when we were laying the foundations of what has finally come to fruition. This is a heck of a place to coach, and I plan on winning a lot more football games.

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-sm.jpg USC Sports Information Director: Ms. Cooper and Coach Growlz will take your questions now.

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/latimes-sm.jpg LA Times: Coach, why 11 years?

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-sm.jpg (BG): *chuckles* That is an odd number, isn't it? Well, 11 years from now I'll have coached at SC for 25 years, and I'll be 67 and don't imagine I'll want to coach much longer than that, so, it just seemed like a good number.

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-sm.jpg (CC): If I may...we wanted Coach to know he had a lifetime contract here at SC. We had to put some number on it, so like Coach said, 11 seemed like a good number.

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/latimes-sm.jpg LA Times: Coach, in three years you'll have passed John McKay and become the longest tenured head football coach at Southern Cal. What goes through your mind when you think about that?

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-sm.jpg (BG): Well, mentioning my name in the same breath as John McKay, well, that's an honor. It'll be a big honor when we get to that point. He coached this program for a good long time and did a great job with it. I hope, when we look back on my tenure here, the next coach can say the same about my time as coach.

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/ESPN-logo-sm.jpg ESPN News: Coach, if Notre Dame called and offered you the top job there again, would you consider it?

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-sm.jpg (BG): No, USC is my home now.

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/ESPN-logo-sm.jpg ESPN News: Not even a little?

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-sm.jpg (BG): It's not just SC that's making a commitment here. I'm making a commitment to this institution that I'm going to stay and finish my coaching career here. I take that commitment very seriously. So no, not even Notre Dame.

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/si-logo.jpg Sports Illustrated: What about the University of Virginia?

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-sm.jpg (BG): What about them? *smirks*

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/si-logo.jpg Sports Illustrated: If they offered you their job?

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-sm.jpg (BG): I'd tell them to get ready for a rematch in the Rose Bowl next year because we've got some payback to dole out.

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/sportingnews-sm.jpg The Sporting News: Ms. Cooper, what happens if the SC program falls from grace, takes a nose dive and isn't as successful as it has been the past few years. The university is on the hook for a big chunk of change, isn't that kind of risky?

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-sm.jpg (CC): We think it's a wise investment. With the Coach's track record over the past fourteen years, and with the commitment he's shown the university, I can't think of a better investment that would assure the programs success on the field, and the institution's academic, clean and honest reputations.

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/sportingnews-sm.jpg The Sporting News: Tell us a little about the negotiation process - how did this deal come about?

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-sm.jpg (CC): Once Coach decided he wanted to continue coaching, it took about fifteen minutes to work out a deal. We both wanted the same thing - for him to finish out his career here at SC.

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-sm.jpg USC Trojan: Coach? Boxers or briefs?

*laughter fills the room*

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-sm.jpg (BG): You kids been trying to get me to answer that for fourteen years. Like our playbook, that's top secret info.

*more laughter*

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/latimes-sm.jpg LA Times: Coach, gonna beat UCLA this year?

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-sm.jpg (BG): Going to try Marty, always going to try. *grins*

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-sm.jpg USC Sports Information Director: If that's all of your questions, that'll be all for tonight. We have working facilities down the hall for any of you who need to write copy or phone, fax or email your stories in. The University thanks you for coming out tonight.



-20-

[aztarheel]

Congratulations on your lifetime contact, coach. What's it like out on the West Coast by the way? I hear good things.

-- Steve Victory, head men's basketball coach at NC State

[beargrowlz]

Congratulations on your lifetime contact, coach. What's it like out on the West Coast by the way? I hear good things.

-- Steve Victory, head men's basketball coach at NC State


Thanks Steve. You should come on out. Now that Tim Floyd has retired, there's always the men's basketball program that needs a coach and the PAC-10 is a heck of a hoops conference.
<!-- / message -->

[devynd]

Congrats on the contract! It is well deserved.

It was a shame to see SC lose to Virginia, but it's also good that the game doesn't let you win it all every year. Now things will stay interesting. Hats off to Virginia, though; they look tough.

Good luck next season and the rest of the way!

[beargrowlz]

Thanks Dev,

I agree. Losing that big game just gave me more reason to continue the dynasty. Now there are more mountains to climb, challenges to face and all. The game would be boring if it could be "beat" every time.

But ouch, that was a kick in the teeth. ;)

Thanks again!

[aztarheel]

Thanks Steve. You should come on out. Now that Tim Floyd has retired, there's always the men's basketball program that needs a coach and the PAC-10 is a heck of a hoops conference.
<!-- / message -->

you read my mind, only I won't be at USC! Go Cal Bearz...

- Steve Victory, new coach at California

[beargrowlz]

*grin*

[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/usc/usclogo.jpg
2022 USC Preseason (Winter)



Winter, 2022


Well, first day back on the job after taking some time off, and the desk is piled high with shit that needs to be shoveled.

Redshirt senior OG Desmond Warkenstein will miss the entire season. He was suspended by the NCAA for getting into a fight with another college student. I wonder about some of these kids sometimes. It's like brain cells just disappear at times.

Quite a few schools offerred me the top job, but a polite letter declining those was all they got for their troubles. I don't think we'll be job hunting again - at least not by choice.

Lead Scout Lester Stargell and Defensive Coordinator Leland Shepard both retired. I was surprised by Shepard - only lasted one year. Oh well, time to find replacements. At least Spencer Farley and Arnie Urlacher will be back.

We settled on hiring Pitt's Defensive Coordinator, 40 year old Horace Brusca to fill that same position at SC. Brusca is an excellent play caller and very solid in player development, he just has the personality of a snail. That won't help recruiting matters, but can't have everything.

For the Lead Scout position, I prefer someone who is at least adequate in everything rather than being superior in some positions and poor in others. We settled on hiring 52 year old Fernando Farrell away from Tennessee to take over as Lead Scout. He's a solid, if unspectacular scout. It'll be difficult to fill Lester Stargell's shoes - he was an outstanding scout.

We had another outstanding recruit class last year, and TCY Today ranked it the best in the nation. Here's a look at the incoming freshmen for 2022.

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-sm.jpg 2022 USC Incoming Recruits



The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
Recruiting List, Ranking View
TCY Today Rank: #1

Player Pos HT WT ST NRank ByPos StRank ByPos
$$Rhodes, Joel QB 6-2 181 CA 78 11 15 4
$$Daniels, Reuben RB 5-11 191 NY 59 3 3 1
##Keisel, Joey FB 6-0 222 WA 901 23 14 1
$$Fix, Randall TE 6-2 224 CA 6 1 2 1
$$Hill, Myron WR 6-0 181 CA 7 1 3 1
##Slusher, Jim C 6-2 252 WA 403 14 4 1
$$Lucas, Dustin G 6-5 286 MI 77 3 6 1
##Lofton, Renaldo T 6-4 261 OK 91 7 1 1
$$Small, Norm P 5-7 161 CA 920 19 --- 4
$$Battle, Jamie DE 6-3 254 LA 9 1 1 1
$$Malcomson, Ronald DE 6-4 232 TN 166 18 3 1
$$Farr, Peter DT 6-1 258 CA 15 1 6 1
$$Fauber, Floyd ILB 6-0 213 CA 11 2 4 1
$$Andrews, Leon ILB 6-2 207 CA 827 46 --- 5
##Loucks, Jermaine OLB 5-11 198 CA 111 10 18 1
$$Washington, Toby S 6-0 199 CA 40 1 9 1

Player All-St All-US Status
$$Rhodes, Joel No No Committed *
$$Daniels, Reuben Yes No Committed *
##Keisel, Joey Yes No Committed *
$$Fix, Randall Yes No Committed *
$$Hill, Myron Yes No Committed *
##Slusher, Jim Yes No Committed *
$$Lucas, Dustin Yes No Committed *
##Lofton, Renaldo Yes No Committed *
$$Small, Norm No No Committed *
$$Battle, Jamie Yes No Committed *
$$Malcomson, Ronald Yes No Committed *
$$Farr, Peter Yes No Committed *
$$Fauber, Floyd Yes No Committed *
$$Andrews, Leon No No Committed *
##Loucks, Jermaine Yes No Committed *
$$Washington, Toby Yes No Committed *

The College Years
Recruiting List, Worksheet View

Player Pos ST Visit Cost Dist. Fit Score
$$Rhodes, Joel QB CA 274 123 96
$$Daniels, Reuben RB NY 1241 2485 93
##Keisel, Joey FB WA 695 864 89
$$Fix, Randall TE CA 240 18 98
$$Hill, Myron WR CA 248 42 95
##Slusher, Jim C WA 677 950 84
$$Lucas, Dustin G MI 1241 1998 97
##Lofton, Renaldo T OK 779 1173 78
$$Small, Norm P CA 246 36 97
$$Battle, Jamie DE LA 1026 1620 90
$$Malcomson, Ronald DE TN 1177 1801 90
$$Farr, Peter DT CA 234 2 98
$$Fauber, Floyd ILB CA 243 28 96
$$Andrews, Leon ILB CA 253 59 97
##Loucks, Jermaine OLB CA 352 357 84
$$Washington, Toby S CA 316 249 85

Player Scout Phone Visit Emphasis Status
$$Rhodes, Joel 76+ 3 3 Prest/Acad Committed *
$$Daniels, Reuben 88- 3 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
##Keisel, Joey 62+ 1 1 Acad*/Dist Committed *
$$Fix, Randall 92+ 4 3 Acad*/Dist Committed *
$$Hill, Myron 95+ 4 3 Acad*/Dist Committed *
##Slusher, Jim 72+ 5 2 Dist/Prest Committed *
$$Lucas, Dustin 77+ 3 3 Acad*/Prest Committed *
##Lofton, Renaldo 83+ 1 1 Dist*/Prest Committed *
$$Small, Norm 69- 2 2 Dist/Acad Committed *
$$Battle, Jamie 84+ 4 2 Acad/Prest Committed *
$$Malcomson, Ronald 76+ 1 1 Acad/Prest Committed *
$$Farr, Peter 88+ 3 3 Prest*/Dist Committed *
$$Fauber, Floyd 92+ 4 2 Prest/Acad Committed *
$$Andrews, Leon 66+ 1 1 Acad*/Dist Committed *
##Loucks, Jermaine 90+ 2 2 Acad/Dist Committed *
$$Washington, Toby 89+ 4 3 Dist/Acad Committed *

The College Years
Recruiting List, Statistics View

Player Statistics Status
$$Rhodes, Joel 9 GP, 119-215-2060(9.5)-12-4 pass, 208-Committed *
$$Daniels, Reuben 9 GP, 274-2027(7.3)-14 rush, 49-813-6 rCommitted *
##Keisel, Joey 9 GP, 72-592-2 rush, 37-555-6 rcv. Committed *
$$Fix, Randall 9 GP, 31-663(21.3)-5 rcv. Committed *
$$Hill, Myron 9 GP, 82-2251(27.4)-15 rcv. Committed *
##Slusher, Jim 9 GP. Committed *
$$Lucas, Dustin 9 GP. Committed *
##Lofton, Renaldo 7 GP. Committed *
$$Small, Norm 9 GP, 20 FG, 61-2698(44.2) punt yds. Committed *
$$Battle, Jamie 9 GP, 86 tckls, 14.5 sacks, 3 Int. Committed *
$$Malcomson, Ronald 9 GP, 78 tckls, 15.0 sacks, 1 Int. Committed *
$$Farr, Peter 9 GP, 91 tckls, 5.0 sacks, 0 Int. Committed *
$$Fauber, Floyd 9 GP, 13-248-1 rcv, 119 tckls, 6.0 sackCommitted *
$$Andrews, Leon 9 GP, 84 tckls, 4.5 sacks, 4 Int. Committed *
##Loucks, Jermaine 9 GP, 13-165-4 rcv, 106 tckls, 7.0 sackCommitted *
$$Washington, Toby 9 GP, 37-299-3 rush, 12-132-3 rcv, 79 tCommitted *

Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.



-20-

[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/usc.jpg
2022 USC Preseason (Spring)



Spring, 2022

That time of year to schedule again. As you know by now, we play our rivals Notre Dame every season - this year it's a home game in the Rose Bowl. Also every season there is one PAC-10 team we don't play, this year that school is Oregon State. We have no home & home leftovers from last year.

So, that leaves us two games we need to schedule.

Popular sentiment is to schedule a rematch against Virginia - but I don't think either school wants to be knocked out of the national title hunt week one, so I think I'll pass - and my guess is they would as well.
To be honest, we're going to schedule two mid-level to poor games. We've got a tough enough strength of schedule to make the top two in the BCS if we go undefeated, so no reason to beef up our schedule anymore than usual.

Our preseason BCS ranking is #2 right behind Virginia, and our school prestige is now Excellent (98), behind only that of Virginia (Excellent-100).

Stage 1: The Minnesota Golden Gophers - quite honestly one of the best nicknames in all of the sports world - have agreed to come to the Rose Bowl Week 3. That leaves us one more game to schedule.

Stage 2: Playmouth State, one of Keene State's rivals from back in my NNE days, offerred us a game at the Rose Bowl, so we accepted, and that sets our schedule. Here's a look at it.

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/small%20pac-10/usc-logo-sm.jpg 2022 Southern Cal Schedule


The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2022 Football Schedule
Preseason BCS Rank: #2
Preseason Coaches Poll: #2
Preseason Fans Poll: #2
Rivals: UCLA, Notre Dame
Stadium Capacity: 96,600
Season Tickets Sold: 96,600

Week Opponent
1 PLYMOUTH STATE
2 ---Open date---
3 MINNESOTA
4 ---Open date---
$$5 at Stanford
$$6 WASHINGTON STATE
$$7 at Arizona
$$8 (48) WASHINGTON
9 ---Open date---
$$10 at Oregon
$$11 (14) CALIFORNIA
$$12 at Arizona State
13 (13) NOTRE DAME
$$14 (5) UCLA
15 ---Open date---

Home Games in ALL CAPS
$$-Conference Games



-20-

[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/logos/horse.jpg
2022 Southern Cal Preseason (Summer)



Summer, 2022

Ahh, my favorite part of being a coach - setting up player schedules. Well, no one on academic probation this season, so the agony of the process is worth it I guess.

Some very good students in this past recruiting class. That should help them develop more fully, and more quickly as we don't have to allocate so much of their time just keeping them eligible.

* * *

Finally, after a long off season of speculation and introspection, we got to play some football, even if it was just summer camp. Putting the kids through two-a-days was cathartic for me after all the speculation - mainly fed by my own sulking after the Virginia loss - that I might not return. It was definitely good to play some football again.

On the defensive side of the ball, our defensive line, always a strength, looks to be the best it has been in years, maybe as long as I have been here. Returning at starting NT is 5th year senior and four year starter Mel McWilliams. Mel is one of the best run-stoppers in college football. Flanking him at DRE is 5th year senior Floyd Jeffers, who has become quite a solid run stopper to go along with his 20 sacks from last season. At the other end is 5th year senior Austin lew, who starts for the first time this year, but has seen plenty of action over the past four seasons. Lew is equally adept at stuffing the run and rushing the quarterback, so we look to have a defensive line that can make some big plays this season.

We've started to turn our linebacker deficit around, and this is most noticable on the inside, where we have two very solid starters and two future starters right behind them. Starting at the ILB spots will be 5th year seniors Walt Whalen and Monty Garcia. Both made a big jump in their development in their one year under former Defensive Coordinator Leland Shepard and look to be significant factors on a strong defensive unit. Right behind them, backing them up but pushing hard for starting jobs are redshirt junior Brod Frias and redshirt sophomore Walter Nadeau. We're hopeful their development will continue under new Defensive Coordinator Horace Brusca.

The weakness in our defense is at the outside linebacker spots - though even that is improving. Redshirt sophomore Russell Warren will start on the strong side and is developing into a very good OLB. His opposite number on the weak side will be 5th year senior Matt Blackston, who is a pass rush specialist and we'll be sending him a lot this year.

Our secondary continues to be among the best in the nation. 5th year senior shutdown corner Brad Knight returns for his fourth year as a starter and redshirt junior Mario Barber joins him at the other CB spot. 5th year senior Jared Esparza enters his fourth season as a starter at safety, and he is joined by redshirt sophomore Chester Knight, Brad's younger brother. Chester looks like he is going to be one hell of a safety for us, and this is one terrific unit back here.

Defensively I think we're going to really stop some teams cold this year. We're strong just about everywhere, can apply pressure to the quarterback, can stuff the run, and have a corners that can play man on an island defense with some nice safeties in deep zone - that's a recipe for success.

Offensively we're a little bit rock and roll and a little bit country - er, that's to say a little bit new and a little bit old.

Our offensive line regressively ages as we go from left to right. At LT will be 5th year senior Nate Dillon, an absolute stud run-blocker who gets winded changing television channels with his remote. Astride him like a colossus is All-American LG Des Connell - also a 5th year senior. We'll be running left.

A lot.

At OC is redshirt junior Josh Woodson who still has a long way to come before he's an elite blocker. The right side of the line is very young with OG Dustin Lucas being a freshman - I think Dustin has the ability to be a great run blocker by next season, he's already solid - and OT Mario Harper, a true sophomore and second year starter. I'm very disappointed in Harper's lack of development over the offseason and it's possible we could recruit a freshman that might step in as a starter right away next season.

Running the wishbone - if he can stay healthy this year - is redshirt senior Kenny Finch. Finch still has a lot of developing to do as a passer - which he probably isn't going to get done - but he is an outstanding runner, doesn't throw the ball away for turnovers and is a good clutch passer. Right behind him is redshirt junior Tony Felkey, who saw a lot of action last season. Tony isn't nearly as well developed as Finch, but I'll have no hesitation in using him this year if Kenny gets hurt again.

We've also got some very raw, but outstanding runners in the quarterback pipeline. Our third stringer this season will be redshirt sophomore Thomas Kluge, an excellent runner who has a long, long way to go throwing the ball. And redshirting for us this season may be the best running quarterback we've ever had here at Southern Cal, Joel Rhodes. if I had to make bank on it, I'd guess that once Finch graduates Rhodes will be our starter - even though Felkey has much more experience and Kluge far more potential, I think Rhodes is going to be the guy. Just a guess from looking at him in practice.

We had a very heated competition for the starting Tailback position this summer, with incumbent 5th year senior Ike Daugherty barely coming out ahead based on his yards per carry. Redshirt senior Alf Snyder really blossomed over the offseason after getting a fulltime role this year and you can expect to see more carries from our Wingback this season - he's become really explosive and a big playmaker. At least that's how he looks in practice.

At Fullback, redshirt senior Tyrone Horrie takes over what is primarily an offensive lineman's role/pass receiver in our offense. Joining him as primary targets will be freshman Randy fix, who won the starting Tight End job in camp, and sophomore Britt Wells, who looks to have another explosive year in the wideout position.

Handling special teams duties will be sophomore Placekicker Burt Givens and redshirt sophomore Punter Calvin Grbac. Returning punt will be CB's Brad Knight and Mario Barber and handling punt return duties will be Brad Knight and WB Alf Snyder. I wouldn't at all be surprised to see some big returns out of the four of those players - particularly Knight.

Overall I think we're strong enough for another run at another national title - and definitely should be a solid contender for the PAC-10 championship. I think defensively we're going to stop a lot of teams cold, and offensively the key will be just developing our passing game enough so that good defenses that stack against the run cannot shut us down completely.

If we can do that, we should do well this year.

Here's a look at our full roster.

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/pennants/usc-pennant.jpg 2022 Southern Cal Roster

The College Years
The University of Southern California Trojans
2022 Roster/Scout Overview
From The Desk of Fernando Farrell, Lead Scout

Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
Felkey, Anthony 13 QB Jr* 42 66
Finch, Kenneth 1 QB Sr* 57 74
Kluge, Thomas 5 QB So* 19 100
Ratto, Vinny 2 QB Sr 29 70
Rhodes, Joel 8 QB Fr 15 62
Daniels, Reuben 38 RB Fr 53 100
Daugherty, Ike 24 RB Sr 72 100
McChane, Andrew 48 RB So* 50 55
Snyder, Alfred 25 RB Sr* 71 71
Thompson, Jeffrey 47 RB Sr* 62 76
Gardiner, Warren 31 FB So 43 83
Horie, Tyrone 28 FB Sr* 47 95
Keisel, Joey 36 FB Fr 24 51
Washington, Spencer 45 FB Sr 56 72
Carley, Ricardo 97 TE Jr* 42 82
Fix, Randall 83 TE Fr 45 84
Griffin, Arnold 96 TE So* 35 71
Hastings, Fred 82 TE Jr 47 55
Wynn, Dustin 80 TE Jr 46 62
Leavitt, Joel 81 TE* Sr 5 5
Mogolov, Conrad 89 TE* Jr* 23 42
Freeman, Phillip 3 WR Jr* 36 59
Hill, Myron 88 WR Fr 27 77
Myers, Al 86 WR Sr 42 62
Wells, Britt 6 WR So 48 84
Westbrook, Marty 9 WR Jr* 40 96
Linquist, Kevin 85 WR* Sr* 28 28
Burroughs, Adam 51 C So* 18 58
Leong, Dexter 50 C Sr 39 55
Slusher, Jim 54 C Fr 7 94
Woodson, Josh 57 C Jr* 44 98
Connell, Desmond 68 G Sr 78 78
Deason, Chester 74 G Jr* 22 93
Lucas, Dustin 62 G Fr 33 96
McConnell, Gus 61 G So* 20 88
Warkentien, Desmond 66 G Sr* 20 47
Dillon, Nate 69 T Sr 91 100
Gash, Ryan 64 T Jr* 14 87
Grodin, Peter 67 T Sr* 27 55
Harper, Mario 76 T So 36 100
Lofton, Renaldo 78 T Fr 3 79
Grbac, Calvin 11 P So* 57 100
Small, Norm 18 P Fr 32 73
Terry, Ronald 12 P* Sr 3 3
Givens, Burt 14 K So 62 96
Gillespie, Tony 19 K* So* 9 18
Battle, Jamie 91 DE Fr 34 88
Jeffers, Floyd 72 DE Sr 78 78
Lew, Austin 70 DE Sr 70 83
Malcomson, Ronald 92 DE Fr 23 66
McIntyre, Shaun 77 DE Jr* 40 92
Whiting, Conrad 95 DE* Sr* 9 9
Farr, Peter 79 DT Fr 22 88
McWilliams, Mel 98 DT Sr 75 100
Shepard, Jim 94 DT So 36 82
Johnson, Stanley 71 DT* So* 6 6
Norton, Lawrence 75 DT* Jr* 11 33
Andersen, Vince 43 ILB Sr* 38 71
Andrews, Leon 59 ILB Fr 9 47
Fauber, Floyd 56 ILB Fr 35 79
Frias, Broderick 93 ILB Jr* 45 91
Garcia, Monty 41 ILB Sr 64 73
Nadeau, Walter 52 ILB So* 44 100
Sly, Casey 58 ILB Sr* 33 77
Whalen, Walt 49 ILB Sr 83 83
Blackston, Matt 42 OLB Sr 38 86
Kariya, Kenneth 90 OLB Sr 33 75
Loucks, Jermaine 53 OLB Fr 26 86
Pritchett, Jessie 46 OLB Jr* 30 69
Warren, Russell 99 OLB So* 33 75
Barber, Mario 37 CB Jr* 79 94
Cheng, Walter 23 CB Sr* 65 94
Garcia, Marvin 22 CB So* 40 72
Jacobs, Justin 35 CB Sr* 60 94
Knight, Brad 26 CB Sr 83 83
Carpenter, Amos 44 S Jr* 56 95
Esparza, Jared 20 S Sr 80 97
Kinsey, Mel 34 S Sr* 56 99
Knight, Chester 30 S So* 57 74
McElroy, Stephen 39 S Sr* 60 79
Swafford, Howard 27 S So* 45 72
Washington, Toby 32 S Fr 45 88


-20-

[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/newspaper-sm.jpg
2022 SEASON MEDIA SNIPPETTS (1st Qtr.)



http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/latimes-sm.jpg
LA TIMES
Week 1, 2022

As Will Shakespeare once put it, or would have had he been an SC fan,

To-ny, or with Ken-ny, that is the question.

There's an old fahioned quarterback controversy brewing with the local perennial powerhouse USC Trojans this fall, and that's whether Tony Felkey or Kenny Finch should start at quarterback. Finch was the rookie starter that led Southern Cal to a national title two years ago, but was injured much of last season and Tony Felkey carried the team down the stretch. Yet when it came time for the national title game, Head Coach Bear Growlz went with Finch over Felkey, with disastrous results.

Now that both signal callers are healthy, it looks like Growlz is going with Finch over Felkey again. This decision is bound to raise the hackles of many a Trojan fan, and to be completely honest, we here at the Times can't say we agree with the decision. We think Tony Felkey is the best quarterback for this team and he should be starting. We think he showed he should be starting for most of last season, and don't see any reason to change horses in mid-stream.

But we here at the Times are also cogniscent of the fact that what we write doesn't matter. Coach Growlz is going to start who Coach Growlz wants to start.

Let's just hope Kenny Finch plays like he did in 2020 and not like he did against Virginia in last year's title game.

# # #

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/rivals-sm.jpg
RIVALS.COM
USC TROJANS MESSAGE BOARD

Poster: scrappydoo
Message: Bad choice going with Finch man. He chokes in the big one. Got to go with Felkey, he's the dude.

Poster: trojanman
Message: They're both good quarterbacks and I don't see how Coach Growlz can go wrong starting either one. It's certainly a good problem to have.

Poster: eyehearttony
Message: I LOVE TONY FELKEY!!!!

Poster: usc4life
Message: Finch is the better QB, Finch should start. Any1 who can't c that is a maron.

Poster: scrappydoo
Message: u r a maron u moron.

Poster: godblessamerica
Message: The French suck.


# # #


http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/bcs-sm.jpg
2022 BCS RANKINGS


The College Years
Preseason, 2022
BCS Overall Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Virginia 0-0 ACC 1.00 1.00 0.00 0.32 2.32 1
**Southern California 0-0 P10 2.00 2.00 0.00 1.88 5.88 2
Iowa 0-0 B10 4.00 3.50 0.00 0.48 7.98 3
Florida 0-0 SEC 3.00 3.50 0.00 2.04 8.54 4
UCLA 0-0 P10 5.00 5.00 0.00 1.92 11.92 5
Penn State 0-0 B10 6.00 6.00 0.00 0.72 12.72 6
Rice 0-0 WAC 7.00 7.00 0.00 3.44 17.44 7
Michigan 0-0 B10 9.00 9.50 0.00 0.52 19.02 8
Boston College 0-0 BGE 8.00 10.50 0.00 1.32 19.82 9
Texas A&M 0-0 B12 11.00 9.50 0.00 1.24 21.74 10
Alabama 0-0 SEC 10.00 9.50 0.00 2.28 21.78 11
Syracuse 0-0 BGE 12.00 11.50 0.00 1.48 24.98 12
Notre Dame 0-0 IND 13.00 12.50 0.00 4.56 30.06 13
California 0-0 P10 14.00 15.50 0.00 1.72 31.22 14
Wisconsin 0-0 B10 17.00 15.50 0.00 0.80 33.30 15
Georgia Tech 0-0 ACC 16.00 18.00 0.00 0.16 34.16 16
Toledo 0-0 MAC 15.00 15.50 0.00 4.08 34.58 17
Hawaii 0-0 WAC 18.00 16.50 0.00 3.32 37.82 18
Pittsburgh 0-0 BGE 21.00 19.50 0.00 1.40 41.90 19
Miami of Ohio 0-0 MAC 19.00 23.00 0.00 3.84 45.84 20
San Diego State 0-0 MTW 23.00 23.00 0.00 2.72 48.72 21
Miami of Florida 0-0 ACC 25.00 23.00 0.00 1.36 49.36 22
Colorado State 0-0 MTW 24.00 25.00 0.00 2.60 51.60 23
Marshall 0-0 MAC 26.00 22.50 0.00 3.80 52.30 24
Wake Forest 0-0 ACC 20.00 32.50 0.00 0.36 52.86 25



-20-

[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/sclogo.jpg

2022 USC Season (1st Qtr.-A)



http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/other%20schools/PSU_panther-sm.jpg WEEK 1, 2022
vs. Plymouth State (0-0)
(USC -20) USC BCS RANK: #2

We face Plymouth State this week and should have a fairly easy time of it. It'll be a good tune-up game and a chance for reserves to get some reps in.

PSC runs a wishbone offense same as us. Their starting QB for the past three years is on academic probation, so I really don't know who they'll start at quarterback. They've got 5th year senior Al Sullivan who hasn't played in a game his four previous seasons at the school or redshirt sophomore Skip Roberson, who has a lot of potential but isn't very well developed. Our scouts tell us Sullivan likes to run more than average and Roberson no more than average. Your guess is as good as mine but if I had to pick one I'd say they start Sullivan because he's a little more developed.

They don't have a lot of offensive weapons on the team, so I don't think we need to go into constant goalline situations to stop their run. I think we'll heavily overplay the run in our game plan, but pretty much play a straight up 3-4 defense, with the corners in man and the safeties in zone. We'll use goalline, nickel and dime sets a normal amount as the situation dictates, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Made our first recruiting calls and visits today. Offerred quite a few scholarships right off the bat. There were an awful lot of top 100 kids very amenable to playing for us - or at least our scouts say so. We'll see come signing day.

GAMEDAY

1Q: They start Roberson. Glad I'm not a betting man.

They get nothing going and we take it right down the field for seven - highlighted by a 48 yard bomb from Kenny Finch to Brit Wells and a 13 yard Ike Daughtery touchdown run. 7-0 SC.

They're just not in our class. They go three and out and we drive downfield unabated to make it 14-0 on an 8 yard option keeper by Finch. It's going to be a long afternoon for the Panthers - who incidentally, have become a "university" since I graduated from Keene State instead of a "college". So it's PSU now. Learn something new every day.

That's how the first quarter ends, university or not, 14-0 Southern Cal.

2Q: We punch it in early in the second as Kenny hits freshman TE Randy Fix from 7 yards out. 21-0 USC. We recover a fumble at their 12 and Kenny Finch takes it straight up the middle from 12 yards out. 28-0. Penalties finally stop us and we do actually have to punt the ball for the first time in the game.

We hadn't been getting much pressure on Roberson until DE Austin lew came up with a 3rd down sack about 7:30 through the 2nd. They've been pass protecting very well up until now - very well.

Penalty, a sack and Kenny Finch tosses an INT and the Panthers are back in business, until DE Floyd Jeffers hammers Roberson for a 6 yard loss. Jeffers nailed Roberson on two consecutive plays, creating a turnover the 2nd time giving us great field position. It's as if someone flicked a switch and turned off their pass blocking, which until now had been so very good.

We score again and both Tony Felkey and Thomas Kluge see action at quarterback before halftime. End of half: USC 35-0

3Q: Kluge starts the second half for us at QB. Good to see Spencer Farley has his thinking cap on, though I personally would have prefferred FFelkey get the snaps as he's the one who is going to play if Finch goes down, but hey, just sayin.

Good to see Brod Frias and Walt Nadeau getting some action in at ILB - they'll be our starters there next year and the PT can't hurt their development one bit.

Kluge is running the ball real well. Passing isn't half bad either - though that's just the level of competition, he's a very raw and undeveloped passer. But the running is for real.

They put together a pretty impressive drive near the end of the 3rd and make it 42-7 as we contribute by making a couple of stupid penalties and that's how the quarter ends.

4Q: We add a few points and end up winning 52-7.

A pretty convincing and dominating win against a team that isn't in our class. Good way to get some development time in for our younger players though. And a "W" never hurts.

USC 52 -- Plymouth State 7
PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (1-0)

* * *

WEEK 2, 2022
Open Date
USC BCS RANK: #2

Continued making first contacts with student-athletes we have identified as our top priority recruits, and made just a few follow up calls this week. Among the top prep stars we are pursuing are OT Ray Herbert from Maine, RB Phillip Farrell from NY, DE Bucky Lauritzen from Illinois, CB Levon Stokes from Massachusetts and OG Lincoln Fleming from New York. Among the top california high schoolers we're recruiting are DE Reggie Crawford, Safety Phillip Crawford and CB Rich Springer.

If things go according to plan, we should land a bumper crop of recruits this year.

PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (1-0)


-20-

[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/helmets/usc.jpg
Southern Cal 2022 Season (1st Qtr-B)


http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/other%20schools/Minnesota-sm.jpg WEEK 3, 2022
vs. Minnesota (0-1)
(USC -10) USC BCS RANK: #9

As always, the early BCS rankings jump all around. They're not worth paying attention to until about week 4 or 5.

We play the Golden Gophers of the University of Minnesota this week. The Gophers run a Pro formation offense but have a below average quarterback at the helm - 5th year senior Vinny Murray.

They've got average to slightly above average runnings backs and receivers, so again, a straight up 3-4 defense with normal nickel, dime and goalline usage should do the trick. We're not going to double cover anyone -- there's not a big enough disparity in their receivers in my opinion to require that. We'll be sending WLB Matt Blackston practically the entire game - though last week he didn't have much to show for his efforts.

Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Myers, Al 86 WR Sr Out Dislocated Elbow 13 Weeks
McIntyre, Shaun 77 DE Jr* Out Broken Fibula 15 Weeks

Our bench is a little banged up this week, but our starters are all healthy.

Spent the recruiting week making follow up phone calls and visits. Already have a kid visiting campus. If everything works out it should be another pretty solid recruiting year for us.

Gameday

1Q: We start off the game nicely, picking off Vinny Murray's first pass of the day and CB Brad Knight takes it to the house - 7-0 SC. They return a punt later on in the quarter for a score to tie the game. They're doing a very good job of containing our running game so far. And that's how the quarter ends, 7-7. We've done a great job stopping their offense so far, but we can't really get anything going yet either.

2Q: We get a good drive going and our running game cranked up to start the second quarter and push the ball in to take a 14-7 lead on a counterplay by WB Alf Snyder after a great block by freshman TE Randy Fix.

Safety Jared Esparza picks off another Murray pass and brings it back to the Gopher 8. A couple of penalties by us push us back to the 18 where TB Ike Daugherty takes it in from 18 yards out behind a Des Connell block. 21-7 USC.

ILB Walt Whalen picked off a Murray pass on the next drive and took it to the house to give us a 21 point lead, 28-7. Defensively we're just killing them.

They punt on their next drive and QB Kenny Finch gets injured but remains in the game, hitting WR Britt Wells with a 16 yard scoring strike. 35-7 Southern Cal. CB Chris Knight then proceeded to pick off a Murray bomb in our endzone for a touchback. As the half was winding down Finch hit Britt Wells again with a 56 yard bomb to set up a 3 yard scoring run by Ike Daugherty. 42-7 SC. Minnesota pulled Murray and that's how the half ended.

Halftime notes: We played absolutely dominating defense in the first half and the offense finally started to get in gear. Vinny Murray had no chance as he was pressurred all half and our secondary just outplayed his receivers.

I expect to see Offensive Coordinator Spencer Farley pull Finch soon.

3Q: Tony Felkey replaced Finch on the first drive of the second half. WB Alf Snyder appears to be seriously injured - not good. We score once and the quarter ends with us up 49-7.

4Q: We score some more and basically just run the clock out for a 59-7 win.

Our defense was overwhelming today, holding Minnesota to 80 yards total offense.

Offensively we controlled the ball for over 39 minutes and just ran them into the ground. TB Ike Daugherty had 106 yards and 2 touchdowns on 18 carries and our backups got plenty of work.

A very good win against a team clearly not in our class.

USC 59 -- Minnesota 7
PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (2-0)

* * *

WEEK 4
Open Date.
USC BCS RANK: #15

UCLA and Virginia are off to good starts, ranked #1 and #2 in the BCS at the moment. We have an open date this week, so most of our time will just be spent following up with recruits.

PAC-10 (0-0) -- OVERALL (2-0)


-20-

[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/newspaper-sm.jpg 2022 MEDIA SNIPPETTS



http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/latimes-sm.jpg
LA TIMES
Week 5, 2022

It's still very early in the college football season, but we can't help but note the Southern Cal Trojans appear to be a team on a mission this season. Through their first two games, the men of troy have scored 111 points and allowed only 14. Clearly we here at the Times thought, SC is playing exceptionally high quality football.

Thus it was much to our surprise that one notable exception to that chain of thought could be found in none other than USC's Head Coach, Bear Growlz. Growlz told the Times, "I'm not entirely pleased with how our offense has been playing. I'd like to see more consistency and a higher level of focus from our offensive unit."

Is the coach watching the same team we are?

Or is it simply that only one thing will satisfy Coach Growlz this season.

A return to The Rose Bowl and another National Championship.

# # #


http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/errata/cnf-logo-sm.jpg
COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS
Week 5, 2022

Coach Growlz Did it in the Library With the Candlestick

Anyone familiar with the childhood game of Clue readily will recall such a line as our headline.

But whats that got to do with USC and Coach Bear Growlz?

The Southern Cal football program has been written about, praised and cursed extensively over the past three seasons of their outstanding run of title game appearances. But one item has, unbelievably so, been overlooked by all the media scions that cover the team.

Coach Growlz is a scout killer.

Bear Growlz is in his 15th season at Southern Cal - amazing for any coach to stay with a program for so long, aside from the eternally stuffed Joe Paterno at Penn State who coaches the Nittany Lions from the grave while communicating through seances with his Psychic/Taxidermist who then relays the plays in to the quarterback via hand signals. But that's another story altogether. Let's just leave it at saying that when folks take home a Joe Paterno bobblehead from a Penn State game, they never actually know if they've got a piece of game worn Joe Paterno or not.

Anyway, while Growlz' 15 year tenure at SC is pretty amazing these days, his scouts alas, can't say the same thing. Oliver Henry lasted a year and got the axe. Wally Campana lasted two before he retired due to stress. Daryl Hester two years before he got his pink slip.

Then came Bubba Embry who lasted two seasons before he couldn't handle the stress and retired. Lance Coe, three years and the axe fell.

Finally, the longtermer - Lester Stargell, lasted four years before he retired due to overwork and stress.

Four years on the job for a Southern Cal Lead Scout?

Clearly Coach Growlz has mellowed with old age.


-20-

[Tellistto]

Bear Growlz is in his 15th season at Southern Cal - amazing for any coach to stay with a program for so long, aside from the eternally stuffed Joe Paterno at Penn State who coaches the Nittany Lions from the grave while communicating through seances with his Psychic/Taxidermist who then relays the plays in to the quarterback via hand signals. But that's another story altogether. Let's just leave it at saying that when folks take home a Joe Paterno bobblehead from a Penn State game, they never actually know if they've got a piece of game worn Joe Paterno or not.
Classic, had me laughing quite well.

Glad to see we're back!

Tell

[beargrowlz]

heh.

Glad you like it. It was an inspired moment.

[beargrowlz]

http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/logos/horse.jpg
2022 USC Season (2nd Qtr.-A)




http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/e/beargrowlz/pix/logos/stanford-75-logo.jpg WEEK 5
@ Stanford (3-0) (PAC-10) *TV4*
(Even) USC BCS RANK: #9

We open our PAC-10 schedule with a bit of a surprise challenge. Stanford is playing well and this could be a difficult challenge if we're not careful.

The Cardinal run a pro formation offense and offensive coordinator Freddie Morrisey has been running it a good fifteen years. He's by no means an offensive genius, but Stanford should have the offense down pretty pat with him calling the plays. Their quarterback is senior Ralph Duffy. Duffy doesn't have the strongest arm in the world and is prone to being picked off and sacked quite a bit. So we'll be blitzing him a lot trying to make him throw with pressure and create some turnovers. They don't run the ball a lot, but have fairly talented backs - senior Arnold Doebler might give us some trouble if they decide to run. Their receivers are fairly capable, with no one standing out particularly, so we won't be double teaming much. We probably won't go to an extraordinary amount of nickel or dime sets - I know they don't run a lot but I am somewhat concerned about Doebler. I think our secondary can handle the passing game in a straight 34, man to man set.

The College Years
Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Snyder, Alfred 25 RB Sr* Questionable Stretched Knee Li 8 Weeks
Myers, Al 86 WR Sr Out Dislocated Elbow 11 Weeks
McIntyre, Shaun 77 DE Jr* Out Broken Fibula 13 Weeks

Myers and McIntyre are both out and Alf Snyder probably won't play - or play much if he does get into a game. I still can't quite figure out, after all this time, how to completely prevent a player from appearing in a game. Even if I remove him from my offense, he still will end up making an appearance on special teams - and that stinks when you're trying to get a player to recover from an injury. In any case, redshirt senior Jeff thompson will start at Wingback in Snyder's place.

Quarterly grades came out this week and the team is doing extremely well academically. We only had one student-athlete with anything below a C-. So we'll allocate some coaching blocks to some players with C- grades as well.

Many of the recruit we're pursuing are also being recruited by the University of Virginia. We're rapidly developing what looms as a major rivalry with them. It'll be interesting to see if both schools can make it back to the national title game again.

Gameday.

1Q: Kenny Finch struck lightning fast with two big pass plays in the first 1:40 of the game, one a 37 yard scoring strike to Alf Snyder, who insisted on playing, for a touchdown. 7-0 SC.

The Cardinal came out running and Doebler was putting together some decent runs against us, but then Stanford went to the air and their drive stalled.

Later in the first the Cardinal drove into field goal range but their kicker missed a 44 yarder. And that's how the first quarter ended, USC up 7-0.

2Q: Burt Givens kicked a field goal to get the 2nd off on the right foot and we go up 10-0.

Our defense is stopping them cold, but we're not generating a lot of offense. we're getting into 3rd and long situations and their pass rush is getting to Finch. We're not exactly the best pass blocking team in the nation, and they've taken Kenny down twice already.

Finally, we got what we'd been looking for. ILB Monty Garcia picked off a Duffy pass and returned it to the Stanford 45 where we ground it down the field and Kenny finch ran it in from 4 yards out for a 17-0 Trojan lead. Ike Daugherty carried the load on that drive and is having a solid game at tailback.
Our defense continues to dictate the game to Stanford, as we backed them up to their own 1 yard line and forced a punt, giving us great field position at their 37, from which we proceeded to run and grind the clock down leading to an Ike Daugherty touchdown run putting us up 24-0. A quick interception and a field goal by Burt Givens as time expired gave Southern Cal a 27-0 lead at the half.

Halftime notes: defensively we've completely shut the Cardinal down in the first half, allowing only 45 yards of total offense. Every pass by Duffy is being swatted down at the line or being picked off or he's being harassed into throwing early. It's nice when your game plan works exactly as you designed it.

Offensively, Kenny Finch isn't getting a lot of time to throw, but fortunately our running game started to pick it up and we have run for 128 yards through the end of the half. We're getting great field position thanks to our defense and we've blown this one wide open - much to the surprise of the oddsmakers who had the spread at even. Hopefully we'll keep it up in the second half.

3Q: We get a Burt Givens field goal in the third, but nothing else as we spend most of the third just grinding the clock out. Wideout britt Wells goes down with an injury - not good news.

4Q: A couple more Burt Givens kicks and we grind out the clock pretty successfully and win impressively, 36-0. A very good win for us and that'll make the pundits sit up and take notice that we're for real again this season.

USC 36 -- Stanford 0
PAC-10 (1-0) -- Overall (3-0)


-30-

[beargrowlz]

http://www.bearsruletheworld.com/tcy/images/usc-med.gif

After a long, long respite, I really began to miss TCY so I decided to pick this up to bring some closure to this career. I didn't feel like leaving it hanging, so on we go, picking up with Week 6, 2022.


Bear Growlz Coaching Record

Year Team Record Post Rank Perf Acad Recr TV Tick Don Score
2021 Southern California 11-1 Yes 2 93 76 87 90 87 92 87
2020 Southern California 12-0 Yes 1 95 78 87 90 88 95 89
2019 Southern California 12-0 Yes 1 95 79 53 94 88 95 87
2018 Southern California 9-3 Yes 18 62 77 52 66 88 70 70
2017 Southern California 9-3 Yes 10 76 77 93 81 90 73 79
2016 Southern California 10-2 Yes 5 90 77 73 62 87 77 80
2015 Southern California 11-1 Yes 4 92 79 83 91 88 93 88
2014 Southern California 9-3 Yes 21 67 76 62 63 87 58 69
2013 Southern California 10-2 Yes 14 86 76 78 82 83 86 82
2012 Southern California 8-4 Yes 28 60 76 91 88 87 61 72
2011 Southern California 9-3 Yes 24 61 77 48 58 88 63 67
2010 Southern California 9-3 Yes 14 86 71 74 88 83 83 81
2009 Southern California 6-6 Yes 55 25 65 51 73 85 72 57
2008 Southern California 5-6 No 42 36 53 63 20 83 71 52
2007 Keene State 10-2 Yes 20 83 60 95 70 35 85 71
2006 Keene State 6-5 No 73 69 54 95 45 10 67 56
2005 Keene State 5-6 No 80 69 66 95 70 6 19 52
2004 Keene State 4-7 No 100 72 76 95 35 8 33 54

Post - Post-Season Appearance, Perf - Team Performance Score, Acad - Academic
Performance Score, Recr - Recruiting Score, TV - Television Revenue Score,
Tick - Ticket Revenue Score, Don - Alumni Donations Score

[beargrowlz]

http://www.bearsruletheworld.com/tcy/images/usc-helmet-med.gif

WEEK 6, 2022

We're well into recruiting season now and commitments and rejections should start flowing in. We also have a big matchup this week against conference foe Washington State.

Recruiting: We landed two recruits this week, one very highly coveted, OLB Perry Bouton from Frenchtown, NJ. Bouton was rated a 91 by our scouts but when I saw him play he looked better than that. With our linebacking corps very thin as it is and three of our starters graduating at the end of the season Bouton stands a chance to start as a true Freshman, even though his high school preparation is only mid-level - we really need to bring in some quality recruits at the backer spots.

Also signing a letter of intent with USC this week was local run-stuffing DE Reggie Crawford from Huntington Beach. Crawford was rated a 69 by our scouts but he looked a lot better than that when I saw him play - and he comes from a top high school football program. With two graduating starting defensive ends, Crawford may see a lot of playing time next year.

http://www.bearsruletheworld.com/tcy/images/washington_state-med.jpg Gameday
vs. #23 Washington State (3-0)(PAC-10) *TV3*
(USC -5) USC BCS RANK: #6

We have the Cougars of Washington State coming into the Rose Bowl this weekend. They're off to a very solid start and are ranked in the BCS top 25. The Cougars are 3-0 in the Pac-10 and tied with us a half game behind 4-0 UCLA. We'll need to concentrate on stopping the run as Washington State Tailback Jared Garcia has 641 yards and a 5.6 YPC average through his first three games. I'm not really knocked over by the Cougars passing game, but Garcia looks like he'll be mighty tough to stop.
We're a bit bitten by the injury bug and starting Wingback Al Snyder will be a scratch. Wideout Britt Wells will give it a go even though he's got turf toe.


USC Trojan Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Wells, Britt 6 WR So Probable Turf Toe Unknown
Snyder, Alfred 25 RB Sr* Questionable Stretched Knee Li 7 Weeks
Myers, Al 86 WR Sr Out Dislocated Elbow 10 Weeks
Esparza, Jared 20 S Sr Probable Bruised Ribcage 3 Weeks
McIntyre, Shaun 77 DE Jr* Out Broken Fibula 12 Weeks


1st Qtr: A very defensive first quarter left both teams struggling to get anything going. A Southern Cal drive was stopped at the Washington State 37 and the ball went over on downs when Kenny Finch couldn't convert a 4th down pass. Our run defense has been exceptional, holding Garcia and Company to -7 yards on the ground. I'd like a little more from our offense though. No score after one.

2nd Qtr: A Russell Warren interception around midfield gives us a big break. We're having difficulty running the ball as well today, but Kenny Finch seems to be moving us downfield through the air pretty well right now.

After Finch loosened things up through the air Ike Daugherty pounded it into the end zone on the ground the last two plays of the drive to put us up 7-0.

We were really doing a number shutting down the Cougars' running game until sprung a trap off left guard for 30 yards. Hopefully that's an anomaly and we get back to the shutdown run defense we have been playing.

Another solid run for Garcia for 15 but then the Trojan D stiffened and forced a punt. Good stuff.

The rest of the half was uneventful except for an injury to Britt Wells. Don't know whether he'll be back or not. That's a big loss. Our defense is playing spot on, holding Washington State to 54 total yards of offense - 36 of them on the ground. We head into halftime up 7-0 and we could use a little more offense.

3rd Qtr: Britt Wells did return from that 2nd quarter injury and announced his presence with authority, hauling in a 43 yard scoring strike from kenny Finch 3 minutes into the third to put USC up 14-0.

The defense steps up to the plate and a big pick by Senior ILB Monty Garcia stops Washington State in their tracks and puts us in scoring position in Cougar territory.

Our running game finally gets going on the shoulders of Tailback Ike Daughtery who simply pounds the ball downfield eventually scoring on a three yard triple option out of our wishbone attack. That puts us up 21-0 and the way our defense is playing that should be enough. But we'll see.

After trading ineffective drives Washington State (QB) Gerald Jaster hits (WR) Bryce Blackner on a 39 yard scoring strike narrowing the score to 21-7. Jaster has, for the most part, been rather ineffective today, but he sure got the job done on that play.

That'll be enough of that.

And that's how the 3rd quarter ended, USC 21, Washington State 7.

4th QTR: The Trojans pass rush is really making Jaster pay every time he drops back, sacking him a couple of times early in the 4th quarter and forcing a punt from the Cougar 2 yard line - setting USC up in prime scoring position at the Washington State 37.

Despite moving the ball well we shoot ourselves in the foot with some dumb penalties and miss an opportunity to ice the game, having to settle for a field goal and going up 24-7. We've got 364 total yards of offense and only 24 points - we're keeping State in the game at this point.

Our defense dominates the rest of the way and we add another two touchdowns when State goes for it on 4th and long deep in their own territory and fittingly enough gets sacked - as the Trojan defense records 6 sacks on the day, 2.5 by (DE) Austin Lew and another 2 by (DE) ??? Battle.

Our defense really won the day holding Jared Garcia to 39 yards on the ground on 15 carries and making life utterly miserable for Gerald Jaster, who went 8 for 35 for 125 yards, 1 touchdown and was picked off 3 times on the day. A thoroughly dominating defensive performance by 1st year Defensive Coordinator Horace Brusca's unit.

USC (QB) Kenny Finch was the offensive star of the day going 22 for 31 for 276 yards and tossing 1 score to Brott Wells, who led the way receiving with 7 receptions for 112 yards and one score.

All in all a nice win for us, a little more difficult than I would have liked early, but the defense just shut down State and we ended up running away with it at the end.

USC 38 -- Washington State 7
PAC-10 (2-0) -- Overall (4-0)

[Izulde]

Glad to see this back. :)

[beargrowlz]

http://www.bearsruletheworld.com/tcy/images/usc-med.gif

Week 7, 2022

After a convincing PAC-10 win over Washington State we head into Week 7 ranked #1 in the BCS and #2 in the voter polls behind old nemesis Virginia. The Cavaliers whipped up on us in last year's National Championship Game to the tune of 35-3. So we've got a score to settle there.

Here's to hoping we get the opportunity.

Aside from beating us in last season's BCS title game, Virginia is the only school that has a higher prestige than Southern Cal. Our prestige right now is Excellent-98 while the Cavaliers prestige is Excellent-100. So there's even more reason to get that unfinished business done and get back to the BCS title game and stick a whuppin on the University of Virginia - we'd sure like to say we're the most prestigious football program in the country, bar none.

Here's a look at all Division I prestige rankings.



Team Record Bowls Champ PStrk LWSt LLSt LPSt Prestige
Virginia 186-33 11-5 1 14 42 6 14 100
**Southern California 167-52 12-4 2 13 36 3 13 98
Florida 204-32 10-8 3 18 55 3 18 97
Iowa 184-37 12-6 1 18 31 4 18 96
UCLA 184-36 11-7 0 18 24 4 18 94
Penn State 177-44 13-5 1 18 17 4 18 88
Rice 174-42 9-5 0 11 20 4 11 87
Boston College 156-59 8-5 0 9 14 3 9 84
Alabama 177-57 11-7 0 18 12 2 18 83
Michigan 172-49 12-6 3 18 15 4 18 83
Texas A&M 183-46 8-9 2 4 18 3 13 82
Syracuse 182-39 10-8 1 18 26 3 18 81
Notre Dame 170-51 14-4 0 18 20 4 18 81
Toledo 168-56 8-5 0 9 14 4 9 79
California 158-60 9-7 0 15 12 6 15 79
Hawaii 158-61 10-4 0 0 14 3 7 78
Wisconsin 148-68 9-4 0 12 11 6 12 78
Georgia Tech 147-71 8-8 0 14 11 6 14 78
Miami of Ohio 159-64 7-5 0 1 16 4 6 77
South Florida 157-59 7-7 0 1 17 6 10 76
Pittsburgh 154-65 12-4 0 14 12 3 14 76
Wake Forest 113-98 6-2 0 3 10 7 3 76
San Diego State 115-99 2-9 0 4 10 21 5 75
Colorado State 147-71 3-11 0 2 12 5 9 74
Marshall 160-65 8-5 0 0 20 3 6 73
Miami of Florida 129-86 5-7 0 5 13 4 5 73
Middle Tennessee State 141-68 1-6 0 2 9 5 2 72
Green Mountain 135-76 5-3 0 1 8 4 4 72
Air Force 129-85 5-6 0 4 12 4 4 72
Louisville 161-54 3-10 1 0 23 4 8 71
South Carolina 152-66 10-6 0 8 11 3 8 71
Maine 115-95 2-3 0 1 8 4 3 71
Baylor 96-112 1-4 0 2 6 14 2 71
Utah 145-72 4-11 0 0 10 5 11 70
Michigan State 141-76 8-6 0 2 10 5 5 70
North Carolina State 139-81 4-13 0 10 8 4 10 70
Nevada-Las Vegas 128-86 2-10 0 1 14 5 3 70
Kent State 101-102 0-1 0 0 6 7 1 70
Navy 93-117 2-5 0 3 5 9 3 70
Fresno State 115-90 1-1 0 0 7 5 1 69
Tulsa 115-91 3-1 0 0 8 6 1 69
Ball State 107-99 1-1 0 0 10 6 1 69
New Mexico State 106-99 1-2 0 1 5 5 1 69
Illinois 91-117 2-3 0 4 6 7 4 69
Nebraska 172-58 8-10 0 18 11 4 18 68
Tennessee 128-89 10-5 0 1 8 5 10 68
Army 87-115 1-0 0 0 7 16 1 68
Keene State 159-56 7-5 0 0 39 3 12 67
Memphis 124-85 0-6 0 2 8 5 2 67
Washington 115-98 4-6 0 3 11 14 4 67
Western Michigan 109-102 4-1 0 1 10 8 2 67
Dartmouth 66-138 1-0 0 0 7 15 1 67
Vanderbilt 122-89 5-4 0 2 7 6 3 66
Arkansas State 117-88 1-2 0 0 9 6 1 66
Stanford 112-101 3-7 0 2 6 6 3 66
Oklahoma 134-84 4-9 1 1 8 5 5 65
Colorado 130-91 7-7 0 1 9 5 9 65
Louisiana-Lafayette 112-94 1-2 0 0 6 5 1 65
Purdue 92-116 0-5 0 1 8 8 2 65
East Carolina 79-125 0-1 0 0 5 8 1 65
Washington State 125-91 6-5 0 0 8 5 5 64
Southern Methodist 111-94 2-1 0 0 7 8 3 64
Missouri 106-107 2-6 0 0 6 6 5 64
Brigham Young 100-109 0-7 0 0 7 6 3 64
Central Florida 84-119 0-0 0 0 6 8 0 64
Louisiana-Monroe 72-130 0-0 0 0 5 12 0 64
West Virginia 131-85 5-7 0 0 13 5 5 63
Virginia Tech 124-91 5-8 0 0 9 6 7 63
Maryland 111-100 2-6 0 0 7 7 2 63
Arkansas 101-106 1-3 0 0 9 6 2 63
Houston 92-111 1-0 0 0 5 10 1 63
San Jose State 71-131 0-0 0 0 4 24 0 63
Texas Christian 133-79 3-6 0 0 17 5 7 62
Texas 131-84 5-5 1 0 25 8 5 62
Connecticut 68-136 0-0 0 0 3 8 0 62
Ohio State 86-120 1-2 0 0 7 18 3 61
North Carolina 84-123 2-3 0 0 8 14 2 60
Bowling Green 125-85 3-2 0 0 8 9 2 59
Iowa State 63-141 0-1 0 0 4 19 1 59
Georgia 95-113 2-2 1 0 11 10 2 58
Plymouth State 79-125 0-0 0 0 5 8 0 58
Texas-El Paso 64-140 0-0 0 0 7 21 0 58
Eastern Michigan 61-141 0-0 0 0 3 10 0 58
Auburn 54-148 0-0 0 0 3 25 0 58
Kansas State 108-103 3-4 0 0 5 8 6 57
Mississippi 90-118 3-2 0 0 5 9 3 57
Northern Illinois 87-117 0-1 0 0 6 6 1 57
Oregon 85-122 2-2 0 0 6 13 3 57
Ohio 64-139 0-0 0 0 5 9 0 57
Boise State 110-94 0-3 0 0 10 6 2 56
Troy 88-116 0-1 0 0 5 12 1 56
Texas Tech 82-121 1-1 0 0 8 13 1 56
Maine Maritime 78-124 0-0 0 0 4 15 0 56
Cincinnati 63-140 0-0 0 0 5 11 0 56
Kansas 51-151 0-0 0 0 3 19 0 56
Mississippi State 38-164 0-0 0 0 3 19 0 56
New Hampshire 65-137 0-0 0 0 7 10 0 55
Tulane 50-152 0-0 0 0 4 13 0 55
Alabama-Birmingham 44-158 0-0 0 0 4 14 0 55
Louisiana State 109-102 5-2 0 0 10 7 6 54
Florida State 87-122 4-2 0 0 7 12 6 54
Arizona 51-151 0-0 0 0 4 20 0 54
Oregon State 49-155 1-0 0 0 3 17 1 54
North Texas 100-107 3-1 0 0 8 11 2 53
Northwestern 66-138 0-0 0 0 4 8 0 53
Central Michigan 65-137 0-0 0 0 4 12 0 53
Utah State 64-138 0-1 0 0 3 12 1 53
Clemson 61-144 2-1 0 0 7 21 2 53
Kentucky 51-151 0-0 0 0 3 21 0 53
Akron 43-159 0-0 0 0 2 16 0 53
Duke 27-175 0-0 0 0 2 33 0 53
Arizona State 80-130 2-5 0 0 8 18 4 52
Southern Mississippi 69-135 0-1 0 0 8 17 1 52
New Mexico 48-155 0-0 0 0 5 11 0 52
Buffalo 46-157 0-0 0 0 3 14 0 52
Oklahoma State 72-132 1-0 0 0 3 10 1 51
Nevada 32-170 0-0 0 0 2 23 0 51
Rutgers 44-161 0-1 0 0 5 15 1 50
Wyoming 43-160 0-0 0 0 3 25 0 50
Idaho 39-162 0-0 0 0 3 19 0 49
Minnesota 58-149 1-3 0 0 9 22 3 48
Indiana 39-163 0-0 0 0 4 30 0 48
Louisiana Tech 48-155 0-0 0 0 3 19 0 47
Temple 36-167 0-0 0 0 2 24 0 46
Vermont 30-173 0-0 0 0 4 30 0 44

Champ - Solecismic Championships, PStrk - Consecutive Post-Season Appearances,
LWSt - Longest Winning Streak, LLSt - Longest Losing Streak, LPSt - Longest
Post-Season Appearance Streak


Recruiting: Center Terrel Sebastian from North Miami High School in Miami,FL has decided to become a Trojan next season. Sebastian comes from a good program at North Miami and should be a monster run blocker - though he may be a little weak in pass protection. Our scouts rated him an 88 but he looked better than scouted when I saw him play. With Sophomore starter Joel Woodson returning next season Sebastian should compete with redshirt Jim Slusher for the backup role next year.

http://www.bearsruletheworld.com/tcy/images/arizona-med.gif Gameday
@ Arizona (2-2) (PAC-10) *TV4*
(USC -15) USC Coaches Poll Rank: #2

The Trojans travel to Tuscon this week to face a middle of the pack Wildcat squad. Definitely need to avoid a let down type of game which we've sometimes been guilty of falling into in the past. Offensively Arizona doesn't appear real immpressive - starting (QB) A.J. Middleton is out for the year undergoing knee surgery. I think we'll try and focus on stopping (RB) Jerald Perralta - (WR) Ronald Johnston may be the bigger threat but the Wildcats don't have anybody that can get the ball to him. Let's hope I'm right about that anyway.

We got a bit banged up last week and our injury list just keeps growing longer and longer.


The College Years
Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Wells, Britt 6 WR So Probable Turf Toe Unknown
Snyder, Alfred 25 RB Sr* Questionable Stretched Knee Li 6 Weeks
Myers, Al 86 WR Sr Out Dislocated Elbow 10 Weeks
McWilliams, Mel 98 DT Sr Probable Bruised Shoulder 2 Weeks
Esparza, Jared 20 S Sr Probable Bruised Ribcage 2 Weeks
Jeffers, Floyd 72 DE Sr Out Broken Wrist 8 Weeks
McIntyre, Shaun 77 DE Jr* Out Broken Fibula 11 Weeks
Horie, Tyrone 28 FB Sr* Out Arthroscopic Knee 7 Weeks


We're really going to miss (DE) Floyd Jeffers who has 4.5 sacks, 7 TFL and 3 hurries through 4 games. We're getting really thin at the end position on defense. We'll keep Snyder out again but Wells will give it a go.

1st QTR: #1st team All Pac-10 (CB) Brad Knight puts an end to an early Arizona drive by picking off the Wildcats backup passer Alvin George early in the first quarter. Jerald Perralta looked pretty good on that drive. I'd like to take advantage of the turnover and put some points up right away.

We put together a nice drive with Kenny Finch throwing the ball around but the wildcats keep our running game in check and we settle for a Burt Givens field goal to go up 3-0 with 7:10 left in the first. We've only managhed 7 yards rushing - we really need Ike Daugherty to start picking up his game this year.

Defensively Southern Cal forces a three and out and then we score off a pretty option play Finch to Daugherty followed up by a trap play by Ike Daugherty who scampered 37 yards for the touchdown. That's what I mean by picking your game up Ike.

Arizona finished the first quarter driving to the Trojan 8 and getting into deep scoring position on the arm of Wildcat (QB) ??? George. We'll need to dig in to try and keep them out of the end zone.

2nd Qtr: The Trojan D bent but didn't break keeping Arizona out of the end zone and the Wildcats settled for a trey, leaving USC up 10-7.
Both teams dug in defensively for most of the rest of the second period but then Southern Cal Tailback Ike Daugherty took over pounding the ball on the ground - breaking one run for 39 yards - and paving the way for a one man drive to put USC up 17-3 with 3:05 left in the half. We've pounded out 122 yards on the ground so far mainly on the legs of Daugherty. Like to see us keep that up and just dominate on the ground the rest of the way.

Neither offense could do anything with the limited time left and we went into the halftime break up 17-3.

Halftime Notes: Mission accomplished so far in containing Arizona (RB) jerald Perralta as we've held the Wildcats to 25 yards rushing in the first half. Kenny Finch isn't having his greatest day throwing the ball but he's running the option play very well and Tailback Ike Daugherty is having a terrific day rushing the ball. I'm quite pleased Arizona hasn't been able to get anything going against our defense and we're playing mistake free football on offense, grinding down the Wildcat defense. Now if we can just rinse and repeat for the second half we'll be home free.

3rd Qtr: Most of the third quarter was a defensive struggle, neither club able to do much with the football. Then Jerald Perralta busted a 30 yard run against us and George started throwing the ball around and all of a sudden our lead had been cut to 7, 17-10 with 4 minutes left in the third. A bit too close for comfort against these guys. Time for us to wake up.

So much for mistake free football as we cough the ball up on our own 33 and the Wildcats just overpower us with their running game with Perralta ultimately taking it in from 3 yards out to tie the score at 17 - and that's how the third quarter ended.

4th Qtr: Starting late in the third Southern Cal began a slow, methodical drive down the field, mixing Ike Daughterty runs and the occassional big Kenny Finch pass play culminating in a Finch 8 yard scoring strike to Senior backup (FB) Spencer Washington - starting in place of the injured Tyrone Horie - to put us up 24-17 with 9:42 left in the game.

We've really started to grind the ball on the ground with Ike Daugherty as we've rushed for 172 yards now. Finch has been hot and cold today, so Ike needs to keep carrying the load.

Arizona began a nice looking drive that stalled around our 35 with some timely double coverage on Wildcat (WR) Ronald Johnston and the Cats missed a file goal giving us the ball back and a chance to wrap the game up with 5:21 left on the clock.

After a couple of changes of possessions Ike Daugherty took over and just rolled over the Arizona defense, running our the clock and preserving the Trojan 24-17 victory.

Postgame Notes: A big game for Southern Cal Tailback Ike Daugherty, who rushed for 193 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries (6.8 YPC) and really led the way to the Trojan win.

As expected Arizona (RB) Jerald Perralta was the biggest threat we faced, rushing for 110 yards and 1 touchdown on 23 carries (4.7 YPC). But on a sour note, Perralta left the game late in the fourth quarter with a concussion and his career appears to be over as he has been diagnosed with Repetitive Concussion Syndrome. What a bad, bad break for the young man.

Overall I'm pleased with the outstanding performance from Daugherty but a bit let down with Kenny Finch's hot and cold efforts. I think we played well defensively - allowing only 246 total yards - but this isn't by any stretch of the imagination a dynamic Arizona offense. A win is a win is a win, but I think we'll need to bring our game to the next level if we want to be playing for a national championship - let alone the PAC-10 crown.

USC 24 -- Arizona 17
PAC-10 (3-0) -- Overall (5-0)

[beargrowlz]

http://www.bearsruletheworld.com/tcy/images/usc-sc-med.gif

USC Trojans
Week 8, 2022

Recruiting: Fullback James Sawyer out of Starpoint High School in Lockport, NY has signed a letter of intent with Southern Cal this week. Starpoint has a very solid football program and our scouts rated sawyer at 88 - but when I saw him play he looked much better than that. Sawyer could find himself in the mix next season as we're currently a bit thin at the fullback spot and Spencer Washington will be graduating this year.

We didn't impress anyone with out struggle against Arizona last week, but we didn't lose any ground in the Coach's Poll either, still ranked 2nd behind Virginia. We've just got to keep our eyes on the prize and focus on getting through our PAC-10 schedule undefeated and getting back to the BCS title game to topple Virginia and bring that national championship trophy home to Southern Cal.

Hard enough to do at that - and then there's our annual game against the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame in Week 13. Let's see if we're up to the job.

We'll be facing the Washington Huskies at the Rose Bowl this week. The Huskies come into the game at 3-3 (1-2 in the PAC-10) and are another team that we'll need to stuff the run against. Washington's passing game doesn't look too threatening so we'll be stacking against the running of (RB) Norman Barlow who has over 500 yards in 6 games and is averaging 5 yards per rush.

Our defensive line has been decimated by injuries - 3 of our 6 defensive ends are out for the game, one of our starters - Jeffers - and our first man off the bench - McIntyre - among them. We're so thin at end that walk-on Conrad Whiting may get some serious playing time today.

The College Years
Southern California Roster, Injury Report

Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Wells, Britt 6 WR So Probable Turf Toe Unknown
Snyder, Alfred 25 RB Sr* Probable Stretched Knee Li 5 Weeks
Myers, Al 86 WR Sr Out Dislocated Elbow 9 Weeks
McWilliams, Mel 98 DT Sr Probable Bruised Shoulder 1 Week
Esparza, Jared 20 S Sr Probable Bruised Ribcage 1 Week
Jeffers, Floyd 72 DE Sr Out Broken Wrist 7 Weeks
McIntyre, Shaun 77 DE Jr* Out Broken Fibula 10 Weeks
Battle, Jamie 91 DE Fr Out Broken Ankle 8 Weeks
Horie, Tyrone 28 FB Sr* Out Arthroscopic Knee 6 Weeks

http://www.bearsruletheworld.com/tcy/images/washington-med.gif Gameday
vs. Washington (3-3) (1-2, PAC-10) *TV5*
(USC -16) USC Coaches Poll Rank: #2

Gametime: As noted we're going to stack the line and try and stuff Barlow. I figure if we can shut him down our normal pass defense should be able to keep unimpressive Huskie (QB) Greg Orlaskey in check. We will however double team their best wideout, Winfred Hitchcock, about 1.3 of the time. We'll be running our normal Triple Option Wishbone with one wideout, Britt Wells (20 receptions for 387 yards) and one Tight End, usually Randall Fix. Alfred Snyder will be back in the lineup at Wingback, opposite Tailback Ike Daugherty.

1st Qtr: An early defensive stop gave the Trojans a short field to work with and Kenny Finch made short work of the Washington defense hitting Alf Snyder on a 13 yard scoring strike giving USC an early 7-0 lead. Good way to set the tone for the day, here's hoping we keep up the pressure early.

2nd Qtr: Neither team managed anything remotely resembling offense for the rest of the first quarter and Southern Cal took a 7-0 lead into the second period from whence the Trojans began a 10:30 minute drive from their own 9 yard line before the drive stalled and we settled for a field goal, going up 10-0 with about 4:30 left in the half.

Washington came right back on the kickoff, returning the kick 106 yards for a touchdown and narrowing our lead to 10-7. We've completely shut down the Huskies offense but our offense hasn't taken advantage of our defensive efforts and now we're being outplayed on special teams. This game is far too close for comfort, the way we're playing defense we should be blowing Washington out.

Neither school was able to get anything going the rest of the quarter and Southern Cal went into the break with a 10-7 lead.

Halftime Notes: The Trojan defense has stymied Washington's offensive unit, holding the Huskies to 28 total yards - 3 on the ground - and 2 first downs in the first half. But the Southern Cal offense has been unable to take advantage of the Huskies futility and Tailback Ike Daugherty went down with an injury late in the second quarter - I don't know if he'll be back for the second half. If not it'll be up to Alfred Snyder to carry the load on the ground.

Bottom line is we've got to start making plays offensively. Despite playing lights out defense we've let Washington hang around and hang around, and bad things happen when you do that.

3rd Qtr: We continue to be outplayed on special teams, a dumb penalty on the opening kickoff backs us up to our own 4 yard line. But Kenny Finch and Ike Daugherty run the triple option to perfection on the first play from scrimmage in the second half and Ike scampers 96 yards for a touchdown. Big, big play.

Guess Ike was ok after all.

USC 17-7.

Our defense stones the Huskies on the next drive giving us a short field. Despite that, we get nothing going but decide to go for it on 4th and 13 fronm the washington 30. on a gutcheck play Kenny Finch hits Tailback Ike Daugherty on a 30 yard bomb to put the Trojans up 24-7.

Talk about a quick momentum shift.

Our defense continues to play flawlessly but bad news on the offensive front as (QB) Kenny Finch goes down with a serious injury and is replaced by Tony Felkey. Deja vu all over again it seems.

The Huskies managed to put together a solid drive before the end of the third and close the gap to 24-10 as we head into the final frame. The game seems well in hand at this point, but the loss of Finch looms.

4th Qtr: Felkey really has trouble getting anything started against the Huskies defense and Greg Orlaskey suddenly looks like Tom Brady and picks apart the Trojan D, closing the gap to 24-17.

The game that seemed well in hand a few minutes ago seems much less so now, especially when we fumble the kickoff return with a full 10 minutes left in the game. The defense will really need to step up now.

And it does, forcing a punt and Southern Cal takes over at our own 11, whereupon Tony Felkey hits speedster Britt Wells on an 89 yard scoring strike to move the Trojans out in front 31-17 and in the process giving us a little breathing room. Well done defense and Felkey and Wells!

The USC defense kept the pressure on with a sack and then a pick but the offense could manage nothing more than a trey, upping the lead to 34-17. Whilst the offense looked unimpressive that drive and didn't take advantage of the turnover, that should be good enough to seal the "W"with 5 minutes left in the game.

Got to give credit to Washington (QB) Greg Orlaskey. There's simply no "quit" in him, as he leads the Huskies down the field with his arm for a touchdown that closes the USC lead to 10, 34-24, with 2:30 left in the game. The Huskies tried an onside kick but we recovered. But damn for an unimpressive looking passer Orlaskey has done a mighty fine job keeping Washington in this game.

We tack on a field goal and a pick-six in the closing minutes to make the margin of victory deceptively large, 44-24.

Postgame Notes: Offensively Tailback Ike Daugherty had another outstanding game, carrying the ball 31 times for 183 yards (5.9 YPC) and 1 touchdown while making 4 catches for 64 yards and another score. Wideout Britt Wells had a big day as well making 6 receptions for 162 yards and 1 score. Big numbers - 499 total yards - but lots of trouble punching it into the end zone until late in the game.

Defensively we held Washington to 278 total yards and picked off two Orlaskey passes while holding Hitchcock to 2 catches and Barlow to 58 yards on 13 carries. (NT) Mel McWilliams also sacked Orlaskey twice.
Looming over all however was kenny Finch's torn wrist ligament. Finch will miss the rest of the regular season and likely any bowl game Southern Cal plays. Finch played only 5 games last season and it looks like he'll top out at 6 this year.

The rest of the season is in Tony Felkey's hands.

Or more likely on Ike Daugherty's legs.

USC 44 -- Washington 24
PAC-10 (4-0) -- Overall (6-0)

[dunkie23]

Glad to see you back at this one, Bear! I'll be reading.

[Groo]

This was an awesome dynasty report... made me go out and buy TCY :)

I hope you come back and continue it, or start a new one and maybe take Keene State all the way...