EppsNet Archive: USC

Passion

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The theory of evolution claims that only the strong shall survive. But the theory of competition says that just because they’re the strong doesn’t mean they can’t get their asses kicked . . . Read more →

USC 38, Oregon 35

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We’re here to ruin your season. — Matt Kalil The Ducks were 15-point favorites at home — 21-game home winning streak, 19-game conference winning streak . . . the Men of Troy haven’t had the speed to play with these guys the last couple of years but this year they do. It looked like the Trojans had fumbled the game away with 2:54 left, up 3 on the Duck 15-yard line — a blown handoff between a fifth-year senior (Marc Tyler) and a Heisman Trophy candidate (Matt Barkley). Oregon had already scored two fourth quarter touchdowns and the Trojan defense was tired. Ironically, the up-tempo Duck offense ran out of time. They never called timeout — they had all three available — as the clock ticked down between every play and they wound up having to send out their lousy kicker (60 percent, career long 40 yards) to try a… Read more →

From the Notre Dame Photo Album

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This is either the 2011 version of the Four Horsemen or an Irish production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Read more →

USC 31, Notre Dame 17

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Notre Dame came into the game at 5-2, USC at 5-1, both unranked, but for some reason Notre Dame was a 9-point favorite. The Trojans dominated on offense and defense, gave up a touchdown on a kickoff return, and left some points on the field at the end of the game when they let the clock run out on the Notre Dame 2-yard line. Looking ahead, the Irish played a lot of juniors and seniors, while the Trojans were playing a lot of freshmen and sophomores. I don’t know why the Irish, trailing by 14, let the Trojans run out the last four minutes of the game without ever calling a timeout to try to get the ball back. FIGHT ON! Read more →

Rick Neuheisel is the Right Man for UCLA

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We have to say it was a game that obviously got away from us in the first half. We take from it what we can learn. We put the tough loss behind us and go forward. — Rick Neuheisel, after last night’s 48-12 loss to Arizona Amazing . . . Neuheisel’s in his fourth year at UCLA. He’s playing Arizona, a program in disarray, in a critical game for Bruin bowl aspirations. The Wildcats haven’t won a game against an FBS opponent in a year, since last season’s victory over UCLA. They fired their coach last week. Doesn’t Neuheisel expect to win games like this? And after losing 48-12, in a game that wasn’t even as close as the score indicates (it was 42-7 at halftime), all he can say is “Good learning experience. Let’s move on.” I can only echo what I said four years ago: Rick Neuheisel is… Read more →

Northwood 2011 College Decisions

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Unlike highly recruited athletes, kids who are highly recruited academically don’t get to go on TV and turn over hats so everyone knows what college they’re going to. Northwood doesn’t have highly recruited athletes, so there’s a Facebook site where they can check in and state their college choice. Also unlike athletes, who are evaluated on a 5-star scale, Northwood students are evaluated on a 3-star scale, according to the commencement program that I have right here in front of me: *** = Highest honors (4.3 GPA or above)  ** = High honors (4.0 or above, but below 4.3)   * = Honors (Not sure; close to a 4.0 but not quite there) It looks like Cal got the best recruiting class this year with three 3-star prospects and no one lower than 2 stars. USC and Stanford each got one 3-star recruit, as did Harvard and Yale. To the kids… Read more →

Two Things I Love About Southern California

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The USC Trojan Marching Band and the beach — together at last. Read more →

My Kid is Going to Cal

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I always kind of assumed that the boy would follow in his pappy’s footsteps at USC, but he just sent in his intent to register at Cal, thus ending (effectively) a journey that started on his first day of kindergarten last week. It wasn’t last week? It was 13 years ago? It seems like last week. I picked him up after school and he sat in the back seat of the car sipping a juice box while we talked about his day. I have a video of it. There are three schools in California that you could plausibly go to ahead of USC: Stanford, Cal Tech — two small, private schools with ultra-low admit rates — and Cal. Cal has a better academic reputation than USC. USC has cranked up the academics over the last 20 years, and especially over the last 10 years, to the point where if you… Read more →

Sparky Anderson, 1934-2010

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I was a Reds fan as a kid when Sparky was the manager. He’s in the front row center in this photo, wearing a white t-shirt, as a USC batboy in 1948. R.I.P. Sparky. Read more →

The Destined Reign of Troy

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Here are provided seats of meditative joy Where shall rise again the destined reign of Troy — Virgil, Aeneid Read more →

College Interview

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All these years later, my son went to USC this morning, my alma mater, for a college interview, wearing a red shirt and his lucky tie bar. Around noon, he texted me: “Sitting right next to jurrell casey and nick perry in the student center. No big deal” Jurrell Casey is one of my favorite football players, not just because his last name is the same as my son’s first name. Every time we watch a game and he makes a good play, I yell “CASEY!” There are two major universities in Los Angeles but at the other one, UCLA, no one will talk to you. Literally. They won’t talk to you. It’s a government-run institution. Imagine the DMV operating a college. Or the IRS. Or the Post Office. UCLA is actually worse than any of them. At those other places, eventually you’ll get to talk to someone. You’ll take… Read more →

Twitter: 2010-09-18

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USC earns top polls among “College Bests” | Daily Trojan http://goo.gl/cAAV # The only limits are, as always, those of vision. — James Broughton # Read more →

Fight On, Bozo!

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I learned today that Larry Harmon, a.k.a. Bozo the Clown, was a USC grad, class of 1950. Read more →

Twitter: 2010-07-27

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RT @PetrosAndMoney: Pola is the best coach ive ever been around and a better person and a dear friend…he can make great backs-p # Read more →

Pat Haden

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Patrick C. Haden, acclaimed civic and business leader and USC alumnus, will become new athletic director effective August 3, 2010. — USCTrojans.com Pat Haden — athlete, scholar, businessman. He’s a lot like me, except for the athlete part. “You’re not a businessman,” my son says. “I’m kind of a businessman.” “No you’re not,” he says. “Okay. So Pat Haden’s a lot like me, except for being an athlete and a businessman.” Read more →

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