USC Needed Alabama Game

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ALABAMA

USC’s decision to play Alabama in 2016 was sorely needed for the Trojans’ future schedule. Even the school’s press release notes a “ tradition of playing challenging non-conference opponents in the regular season.” As an example it cited games with BYU in 2019, 2021 and 2023. Thrilling.

USC does play Texas in 2017-18. But recent schedules lacked the Pete Carroll era matchups of Ohio State, Nebraska, Arkansas, Auburn, Virginia Tech and Kansas State. Texas and Tennessee are about the only marquee matchup in the next 10 years.

Meanwhile, UCLA will play Michigan, Oklahoma, Rutgers, Texas A&M and Texas.

66 thoughts on “USC Needed Alabama Game”

    • The USC/ALA game will be huge! Great match-up which dwarfs the other games played in Texas that day by ND (Longhorns) and ucla (Aggies).

      • Rah-Rah Sis Boom Baa, Jacky B. if you enjoy watching an old fashioned slaughter and Tide taking scalps, then Alabama/SUCC is the game to watch.

        • And good luck to you too, against the infrequently good Aggies, the team that was afraid to play us and pulled out, substituting you instead. First the Aggies had to bail on the Big 12, because they got no respect, ever. Next they had to bail on USC, because they didn’t want to lose. And without Johnny Football, they’re just, well…the little ‘ol Aggies, ya know – perfect for ucla. Yet once again, the Trojans are the team on the big stage against the Tide in Texas. Too bad you’re second/third fiddle again! Most others will tune into ND/Texas, two other programs with vastly more clout than the bruins.

          • You’re always second and third fiddle, yawning all the time. Have you ever beat ND, even once? Yawn. Of course not. You couldn’t even beat Charlie Weis-coached teams! Amazing. Troll on. It becomes you.

          • That nitwit knocked us out of the 2006 BCS championship. I still can’t understand how we lost to that crummy team.

          • Yes, that was one of the inexplicable things about Pete’s tenure…. those unexpected losses to seemingly weaker teams were extremely difficult to understand…….including those loses to Cal, Oregon State and Stanford, back when they weren’t a perennial Top 10 team…

          • I wasn’t aware I played a second or third fiddle. I yawn whenever I read your boorish SUCC Rah-Rah. You yap about A & M and Alabama, when you should worried about Stanford. You remember the bush league SUCC lemming stampede to the mausoleum field. after SUCC’s lucky Stanford regular season victory.

          • I wasn’t aware I played a second or third fiddle. I yawn whenever I read your boorish SUCC Rah-Rah. You yap about A & M and Alabama, when you should worried about Stanford. You remember the bush league SUCC lemming stampede to the mausoleum field. after SUCC’s lucky Stanford regular season victory.

          • I wasn’t aware I played a second or third fiddle. I yawn whenever I read your boorish SUCC Rah-Rah. You yap about A & M and Alabama, when you should worried about Stanford. You remember the bush league SUCC lemming stampede to the mausoleum field. after SUCC’s lucky Stanford regular season victory.

          • Typical whiner. You’re so unlucky. Hard luck bruins. Can’t beat Stanford. Can’t win a conference championship. Always second fiddle. Oh, you play that fiddle alright. It’s your only instrument. Whine on. When did you last play in the Rose Bowl game? Thirty years ago. Get that fiddle out.

          • You’re always second and third fiddle, yawning all the time. Have you ever beat ND, even once? Yawn. Of course not. You couldn’t even beat Charlie Weis-coached teams! Amazing. Troll on. It becomes you.

          • You’re always second and third fiddle, yawning all the time. Have you ever beat ND, even once? Yawn. Of course not. You couldn’t even beat Charlie Weis-coached teams! Amazing. Troll on. It becomes you.

    • Yeah, ummm. WHO is the program coming off 4yrs of sanctions and are a disgraced program that had 4 head coaches last season??

      Bama plays for the title every year….so they REALLY NEEDED a Southern Cal game.

      #NeedRealityCheck

      • They needed the USC to strengthen their schedule. They can’t get by playing Georgie Southern-type schools for every OOC game anymore with the way the new playoff works. If they beat USC, it looks great, if they lose a close game to USC, its still probably better than a romp over Georgia Southern.

      • Yup…Last season was an unmitigated disaster alright….. only 10 measly wins……Did I miss something?…Did Bama play for the title earlier this year?….Per ESPN, “By adding the nonconference tilt with USC, Alabama fulfills its new obligation from the SEC to begin scheduling at least one nonconference game against a Big Five conference opponent starting in 2016.”…..so yes, Alabama needed us as much as we needed them,…….sorry, Charlie…..

        • You missed SC getting blown out by ASU, firing the coach at LAX, losing to Notre Dame and f ucla.

          • No, I didn’t. ….but I did miss Bama playing for the title every year, per Bucket

          • Wouldn’t you consider any season where we lose to the Irish and the ruins an unmitigated disaster?

          • Under normal circumstances, of course, I would… but my comment was directed at Buckets statement about Bama being in the title game EVERY year….You and Goux are misunderstanding me….and last year was anything BUT normal……

  2. By the way… Wang posted HIS preseason Pac-12 media voting on his blog today…. where is YOURS????

    North Division

    1. Oregon — Mark Helfrich hasn’t proven that he can keep the Ducks in perennial title contention, but the return of star quarterback Marcus Mariota

    2. Stanford — The Cardinal never seem to drop off, but losing three All-Pac-12 offensive lineman — including consensus All-American David Yankey — and four all-conference first-team defenders might be enough to knock them down a bit.

    3. Washington — An eight-year run at Boise State ended with an eight-win season, the only time Chris Petersen failed to notch double-digit wins as a head coach. Matching that total in the tougher Pac-12 would be a decent debut for him.

    4. Oregon State — The Beavers aren’t as formidable as they were six to eight years ago, but head coach Mike Riley gets a relatively friendly schedule as well as the return of quarterback Sean Mannion — who is 1,891 yards away from Matt Barkley’s Pac-12 career passing record (12,327).

    5. Washington State — WSU only has one string of consecutive bowl appearances in program history, making the Sun, Rose and Holiday Bowls from 2001 to 2003. They have a decent shot to return to the postseason after last year’s New Mexico Bowl loss, but need to pull a few upsets along the way.

    6. Cal — The Bears will likely win more than one game, but more than three seems optimistic.

    South Division

    1. UCLA — Given the Bruins’ growing status as a trendy pick for the College Football Playoff, not winning at least the Pac-12 South would be a tremendous disappointment.

    2. USC — Steve Sarkisian has never won more than five conference games as head coach, but USC’s late-season resurgence under interim coach Ed Orgeron proved there’s plenty of talent left on the roster.

    3. Arizona State — A defense that ranked seventh nationally in turnover margin last season loses most of its stars, but quarterback Taylor Kelly should end his career with some of ASU’s all-time passing records.

    4. Arizona — Somewhat surprisingly, the Wildcats have never had a first-team all-conference quarterback since joining the then-Pac-10 in 1978. This won’t be the year the streak ends; after overseeing the Pac-12′s most anemic passing offense last season, Rich Rodriguez must choose between a pair of transfers in Jesse Scroggins (USC) and Connor Brewer (Texas), or opt for redshirt freshman Anu Solomon.

    5. Utah — Not sold that Utah has found stability at quarterback, even if Travis Wilson has been cleared for contact. The Utes do have arguably the best kicker/punter combo in the conference in Andy Phillips and Tom Hackett.

    6. Colorado — The Buffaloes made the right hire in Mike MacIntyre, but Year 3 will be a better bet for a breakthrough season.

    • Those are safe picks, but any of the top 4 in the south could win the division, Stanford and Ducks will be a battle, Cal Utah and the Buffs are going to get crushed by the rest.

      • Concur……….Wang will rarely go out on a limb…….and I am not so sure about ASU’s defense being experienced enough to slow down many of the challenging offenses in the Pac-12…..

      • So the picks are safe, but correct. I do agree that competition among the South’s top 4 is the locus of the drama this year. Each of the four has issues.

        I think that these four will be pretty close for quite a few years if the coaching remains stable. I don’t like it, but the monopoly IS over. First among equals is still a reasonable objective.

  3. Rutgers, huh? Really? Bottom feeder team. No clout whatsoever. They literally make the Big Ten a worse league.

    A&M, huh? The Aggies cancelled their series with USC, wanting no part of the Trojans.

    Scottie, did you not know this?

    • Besides the Name.. “Michigan” and Rutgers are not that huge of a game.. And A&M is always “iffy”..

          • Arguably, EVERY team, EVERY year, is in some kind of a rebuilding mode, I suppose….Except the demise of Michigan and Texas had nothing to do with NCAA sanctions, and Kifin, unlike USC,,,,,,,,Michigan were 2-6 in their final 8 games of last season, ending with a humiliating 31-14 loss to Kansas State….Texas did a little better, finishing with an 8-5 record, even though they lost 3 of their last 4 games, including a 30-7 embarrassment to Oregon, in San Antonio….And having several skill position players with basically 3 years college experience (redshirt or otherwise) puts us slightly ahead of Texas and Michigan in our rebuilding curve….I’ll take Sarkisian over Brady Hoke anyday….And we’ll have to wait and see how Charlie Strong holds up to the high expectations and the pressure that comes along with coaching a team like the Longhorns

          • BM is in rebuilding mode thanks to Miralax. BM says that in the past 3 days he’s noticed ZERO sniffing and even the rah rahs told him that his body odor was gone.

          • Don’t be so humble BM, give credit to Miralax for doing great work for you.

          • I heard you did nap off into your porridge last night. Luckily your care giver was there to perform CPR.

        • Difference is USC should be in rebuilding mode.. Michigan and Texas are stocked piled with talent and should always be legit teams

          • That’s where coaching and developing talent come into play…… I think would agree, we’ve recently had some issues there…..aka The Kiffin Krisis……..

  6. Wolf in his never ending crusade to rip anything he can. What is so special about UCLA’s upcoming games? Michigan has been an also ran for a number of years and there is talk of a another coaching change there. Rutgers? Please one good year and they are annoited by Wolfie.

  8. wolfman, you CRAZY, man!!

    disgraced Southern Cal doesn’t need no stinking Bama game!!!

    how many coaches will Southern Cal HAVE this year anyway??? you had four last season…..(chortle)

    #TheTruthHurts

  9. Nice job, Trojans! Don’t hesitate to give a little positive reinforcement to your team, Scottie, when they do what you’ve been asking them to do. Feel free to take YES for an answer.

  10. Nice job, Trojans! Don’t hesitate to give a little positive reinforcement to your team, Scottie, when they do what you’ve been asking them to do. Feel free to take YES for an answer.

  11. Why no respect for the Notre Dame football program Wolf? At the end of the 2012 regular season you voted them #1 in the AP poll, but seem to ignore them as a factor on future USC schedules. The Trojans play (OOC) Texas & Notre Dame, BYU & Notre Dame, Tennessee & Notre Dame, Alabama & Notre Dame…Notre Dame every year!

    • Tom, surely you can see that USC’s OOC schedule is not as strong recently as it was 7-10 years ago. But Scott’s tone is not constructive.

      I imagine that you agree that USC should be scheduling the best college teams, Scheduling Alabama is a strong statement that USC intends to upgrade recent practice. It’s a big deal, which is why it is a leading sports story on ESPN and everywhere else. Kudos to Haden!

      • Don’t think many teams outside the SEC would turn down this opportunity to play Alabama in Texas. But my bitch is with Wolf comparing our future scheduling with UCLA’s. Rutgers? (BYU same). Texas/Texas A&M? (scheduled both). Michigan? (see them more than UCLA does at the Rose Bowl Stadium). Oklahoma? (great inter-sectional games, who will they schedule with them?). Look at the Bruins other opponents on future schedules and compare with USC’s.

        • You’re right that many teams would agree to play in that game. But USC got the nod, because of the program tradition, the L.A. market size, different offensive styles (in flux right now) and contrast in Southeast/Pacific lifestyles/attitudes/politics. And of course, the TV broadcaster has begged Saban not to fire Kiffin until after that game. 🙂

          It’s a very good thing, and Scott should present it in that light.

          As to UCLA, what can be said except: “Always compete!?” I don’t like it, but the monopoly IS in fact over. USC has 11 commits, averaging a 92 rating, and UCLA has 10, averaging a 91 (247sports). That’s another plus for the Alabama game.

          I particularly commend USC for instituting the nutritious snack/rehydration program. I hope it’s the first step in elevating the overall training program, via the methods employed/developed by Stanford & 49ers and via adopting the GPS biometric devices that FSU has used so effectively (and are now in use at none other that Alabama). USC should be a national leader in player health, injury control, and permissible performance enhancement.

          Complacency is not going to work, if it ever did, and the rear-view mirror “entitlement” among many fans and alumni seems silly to me. “Most players in the NFL” is very nice, but how many since 2010? That was then; this is now! Every day, each of us has to earn our excellence, by fighting on. Really, it’s been that way since Eden, but it’s more pronounced and apparent today.

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