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.
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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.
Code:
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
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