January 2010 Archives

Do referees have less incentive to give USC calls in Pac-10 games since the Trojans have nothing at stake this season?

Wide receiver Markeith Ambles visited Tennessee this weekend but we hear he is still likely to sign with USC.

I think Notre Dame made a shrewd move hiring Brian Kelly. But I'm not sure stealing recruits from Toledo and Cincinnati made this something to celebrate.

OK, I'm open to suggestions here for the best times to hold a chat.

USC coach Kevin O'Neill confirmed today that student manager Stan Holt was fired after receiving a technical foul against Oregon. Holt received the technical with USC trailing 49-47 with 4:35 left.
``He definitely is no longer with us,'' O'Neill said.

Here's the magazine's top 50 All-Americans for all-time.

Running back Dillon Baxter, wide receivers Robert Woods and Kyle Prater, tight end Xavier Grimble and defensive end George Uko were the USC commits named to Parade magazine's All-American team.
Offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson and linebacker Hayes Pullard, who are getting recruited by USC, also made the team.

Despite getting swept in Oregon, I'm still impressed with Kevin O'Neill. And I like the way he took accountability for the manager's technical foul yesterday. I've championed O'Neill since the day he got hired. By the way, did I say something similar two weeks ago regarding another hire . . .

This report from Eugene quotes Kevin O'Neill saying he fired a graduate manager for getting a technical foul in today's game.
``"That's on me, and that will be rectified - it already has been - he's gone,'' O'Neill said.

Dwight Lewis scored 16 points but the Trojans were outscored 20-10 to end the game as they dropped both games on the Oregon road trip.

USC offensive lineman Jeff Byers recovered one of Tim Tebow's fumbles today at the Senior Bowl.

Tailback Stafon Johnson was interviewed during the Senior Bowl:
``It's wonderful. To come here and play against some of the great guys in the country. It's awesome. i was more anxious than nervous to be here. I'm a football player. I've been playing all my life. I'm just happy to be here.''

Former USC wide receiver Vidal Hazelton, currently at th University of Cincinnati, is working out at USC today with some of his former teammates.

Stafon Johnson gained 4 yards in his first carry at the Senior Bowl.

USC senior associate athletic director Mark Jackson's been offered a front-office job with the Seattle Seahawks. He actually was offered right after Pete Carroll got hired but is still weighing his options.

ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said Tim Tebow hurt himself this week at the Senior Bowl.

There's been little buzz around USC that linebacker Jordan Zumwalt of Edison High in Huntington Beach would become a Trojan after Pete Carroll quit. But will Zumwalt's visit this weekend make a difference? He remains a soft verbal to Stanford. And USC desperately needs some linebacker commitments.

A sizable majority of poll respondents (40 percent) said they will blame Lane Kiffin if USC does not make a BCS bowl next season. So much for a grace period. Mike Garrett was blamed by 24 percent.

New linebackers coach Joe Barry is in Los Angeles but needed to get certified before he can recruit.

Here's ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay on this year's quarterback class. It sort of refutes last year's assumption that Mark Sanchez would face tough competition if he came out this year.

Here's some recruits that will announce on ESPNU on Wednesday.

We hear a couple NFL teams are interested in former USC offensive line coach Pat Ruel.

Former USC linebacker Rey Maualuga plead not guilty to drunken and careless driving.

USC now placed Jethro Franklin's name back on its coaching staff on usctrojans.com. Franklin's name was missing yesterday. This is the second time a Pete Carroll assistant had his name disappear and then reappear.
The first time (with Todd McNair), the excuse was that rosters were being updated. So it is merely a coincidence that two of Carroll's assistants names were deleted. Franklin's been looking for a job recently, either with an NFL or college team.
It's a tough time, however, because it's considered late in the year to join a new staff.

Highly regarded defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat announced he will attend Texas.

Stafon Johnson plays his first game since his accident tomorrow at 10 a.m. in the Senior Bowl.

Following tonight's loss to Oregon State, USC's basketball team two games out of first place and one game out of last in the Pac-10.

Right now, USC's received confirmations that the following recruits will visit this weekend:

OT Chaz Green
LB Christian Jones
TE Christian Thomas
S Demar Dorsey
DB Nickell Robey
OT Arie Kouandjio

With the number of linebacker prospects dwindling, USC's making a concerted effort right now for Christian Jones of Winter Park, Fla. He will visit this weekend.

Can USC pull defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat away from Texas and Oklahoma, even if he is friends with Trojans linebacker Devon Kennard?
``He's been as tight-lipped as any prospect in the country,'' Rivals.com recruiting analyst Barton Simmons said.

I'm getting a lot of suggestions for a nickname for Lane Kiffin. Suggestions welcome here.

Tim Floyd's buddy, former NBA player Paul Shirley, gets fired by ESPN for offensive comments about Haiti.

Don Banks of Sports Illustrated is not impressed with Taylor Mays.
``Mays, the celebrated ex-Trojans safety, hasn't been impressive at all in Mobile at the Senior Bowl, and some scouts believe he's overrated and could fall into the second round. We'll give him to Houston for now, because of its need at safety, but keep an eye on Mays' stock for further devaluation.''

Defensive line coach Jethro Franklin was finally removed from USC's official website, leaving Todd McNair, Brennan Carroll and John Morton as the only current holdovers, although more changes are expected.

Former USC assistant coach Rocky Seto's been offered a job as a quality-control coach with the Seattle Seahawks.

USC cornerbacks coach Kris Richard was hired by Pete Carroll for a similar position with the Seattle Seahawks.

Here's the last batch of forum questions (we promise).

Here's more on USC's basketball schedule for next season.

USC is planning to play a home-and-home series with Marquette in basketball beginning next season. The first game would be at the Galen Center.

Finally done with the Forum!

Time to polish off the forum.

USC's added Brett Kan, who was a quarterback at Princeton.

Here's what Randy Taylor, a former recruiting coordinator at UCLA and currently a recruiting analyst thinks are the most interesting classes:
``Florida may have the best class ever based on the talent level of their committed players on paper; Washington who may be in the top 10 to 15 classes in the end; Stanford and BYU, who are going to sign top 25 classes even with their academic restrictions and traditional campus lifestyles; and Texas A&M who is putting together a top 20 class even though they have to compete with Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in their home state.''

Offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson will announce his college choice Wednesday afternoon between noon-4 p.m. on the CBS College Sports Network.

We're finishing up the last forum but things are moving fast, so we'll start another one with the idea of answering all of these questions by signing date. One question per person please.

Here's the current coaching staff:

Lane Kiffin (head coach)
Monte Kiffin (defensive coordinator)
Ed Orgeron (defensive line)
Joe Barry (linebackers)
Willie Mack Garza (secondary)
James Cregg (offensive line)

With Lane Kiffin getting rid of long-time assistant coach Rocky Seto, is Pete Carroll going to return the loyalty and hire him in Seattle? He convinced Seto to stay at USC last year after Steve Sarkisian offered him the Washington defensive coordinator's position. Now it's Carroll's move?

Penn State has frozen the 2010 prices for season-ticket holders. Will USC follow suit?

More rain?

It will be interesting to see if defensive line coach Ed Orgeron can convince defensive tackle Calvin Smith of Hialeah, Fla., to come to USC. Smith committed to Tennessee but changed his mind when Lane Kiffin left. USC needs as much help as it can get on the front seven in this recruiting class.

Back to the forum.

Joe Barry was quoted this morning saying he was hired at USC. Lane Kiffin said about 35 minutes ago he was not hired. It's going to be interesting to see how this turns out. Does anyone think Barry would say he was hired if he was not?

Lane Kiffin just denied this morning's report that Joe Barry was hired as linebackers coach.

Questions about Jon Gruden and Norm Chow.

BCS executive director Bill Hancock neglected to mention this fact yesterday on revenue distribution.
Notre Dame is guaranteed 1/66th of the net revenues after expenses, or approximately $1.3 million.
Notre Dame, which did not even participate in any bowl this year, gets a guaranteed BCS payout better than any school in any other conference, except for the two AQ conferences with two teams each in the BCS games. But Hancock forgot to mention it.
By the way, Army and Navy receive $100,000 for making their teams available.

Questions about recruiting and the Emerald Bowl.

USC announced that QB Matt Barkley underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right wrist this morning because of stiffness and inflammation. Barkley is expected to recover within four weeks and be available for spring practice.

Former USC linebacker Joe Barry is hired as the Trojans' linebackers coach.

Here's a look at where some USC and UCLA recruiting targets stand as signing date approaches.

USC is in a strong position with offensive linman Chaz Green of Tampa, Fla., who committed to Tennessee under Lane Kiffin, but is now looking at schools again.

USC strength coach Chris Carlisle is going to Seattle with Pete Carroll. Don't be surprised if Lane Kiffin tries to hire his Tennessee strength coach, Aaron Ausmus, who used to work at USC.

Mike Smail of Baton Rouge, La., reports that he sat behind Pete Carroll on his flight to the Senior Bowl. He reported on his twitter site: ``Pete Carroll loves apple juice and doesn't return his seat to the full upright position.''

USC coach Lane Kiffin's offered 50 players scholarships, mainly from the South, since taking over for Pete Carroll.

We are still mulling nicknames for you-know-who.

Here's a really neat letter to Stafon Johnson from Kevin Plank, the CEO of Under Armour. Johnson is in Alabama for the Senior Bowl, sponsored by Under Armour and is scheduled to play. Plank gave the letter to Johnson in a team meeting today.

Matt Leinart talked with Phoenix station KTAR about Pete Carroll going to the Seahawks. Leinart said he ``wasn't shocked.''
Here's the full comments:

Offensive lineman Brice Schwab of Palomar Community College in San Marcos, Calif., switched from USC to Arizona State when Pete Carroll resigned.
But USC was no longer interested in Schwab once Lane Kiffin got hired, so I would not consider this a ``lost'' commitment. Kiffin's kept everyone he wanted that was already committed since he got the job.

Remember to follow us at twitter.com/InsideUSC.

Back to the 73-question forum!

The BCS released its revenue distribution today. The Mountain West and WAC took home substantially less than the other conferences with teams in the BCS games. This means that the standard payout information given in bowl listings is a bit misleading, and that, this year, at least, the payouts to the teams playing in the Fiesta Bowl were less than to the teams in the other BCS Bowls.

Here is this week's ballot for the Associated Press basketball poll.

Linebacker Frankie Telfort said he underwent tests this month on his heart condition but that USC doctors will not clear him to resume his career.

For what it's worth, I've spoken to several people who were around wide receiver Markeith Ambles and they were confident he will sign with USC.

I've heard USC was No. 1 with offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson of Saint Paul, Minn., before Pete Carroll left for Seattle. That makes Lane Kiffin's visit this week even more important.

So with Markeith Ambles expected to commit to USC, the Trojans' wide receiver class will be Kyle Prater, Robert Woods, Dillon Baxter and Ambles.
But where are the linebackers? That's the worry at the moment.

Here's more on last night's basketball victory over Washington.

Former USC coach Pete Carroll made a strong push for Edison linebacker Jordan Zumwalt, who committed to Stanford in the fall. We hear with the coaching change, Zumwalt intends to honor his commitment to Stanford.

Lane Kiffin said Willie Mack Garza will coach the secondary next season. That was expected when he was hired but the press release did not specify Garza's role.
It also means that unless long-time USC assistant Rocky Seto coaches linebackers next season, he will not return as an assistant coach.

Reggie Bush makes an extra $1 million if the Saints win the Super Bowl. Maybe he can donate it to USC if sanctions come down next month.

USC coach Lane Kiffin departed this morning for the East, where he will be recruiting this week. One player he will be visiting is offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson, the No. 2-ranked prospect in the country, according to Rivals.com.

One person who will not be USC's offensive coordinator is current Tennessee offensive coordinator Jim Chaney. Chaney will remain with the Volunteers.

The wide receiver from Georgia was at the USC-Washington game on Saturday night as part of his recruiting visit. I heard he will probably go to USC but there is still an outside chance he could go to North Carolina.

USC coach Kevin O'Neill on Nikola Vucevic bouncing back with 11 points and 13 rebounds tonight after missing all seven shots on Thursday.
``II told him that he and I were going to have a fight if he didn't play better,'' O'Neill said.
Said Vucevic: ``I asked him after the game if we were fighting and he said no.''

New USC wide receiver Kyle Prater attended tonight's basketball game.

It's a final as Marcus Johnson scored 22 points.

Marcus Johnson scored eight straight points to put the game away.

It's halftime. USC shot a sizzling 63 percent and Marcus Johnson scored 10 points.

The Trojans open up the lead again. Can they keep it this time?

The Trojans are still ahead but Washington's cut the lead as one-time USC commit Venoy Overton's scored five points.

Dwight Lewis' 3 caps a 13-2 run as Marcus Johnson already has eight points.

And they're off at the Galen Center, where some students have shown up tonight.

From Caesar, of course:

PeteCarroll: Hey @mark_sanchez you are the symbol of the power of believing in yourself and realizing your dreams...let it rip again tmw!

That's not quite what he said 12 months ago.

A Tennessee fan web site claims Lane Kiffin already committed a violation.

The Onion says Lane Kiffin found his dream job and it's not at USC.

Willie Mack Garza's upset the mother of wide receiver Justin Hunter, who committed to Tennessee earlier this week. Hunter's mother didn't know Garza left UT until told on the phone Friday by the Knoxville News-Sentinel. "It's all about the money," she said.

USC coach Lane Kiffin hired former Tennessee assistant Willie Mack Garza on Friday for the Trojans' coaching staff.
Kiffin did not announce Garza's role but he coached defensive backs at Tennessee last season and always worked with the secondary in previous coaching jobs. The move could spell the departure of current USC secondary coach Rocky Seto, unless Kiffin moves him to linebackers.
When he was hired, Kiffin said his coaching staff would be, ``the best staff in America,'' and said he would not name coaching candidates ``out of respect to colleges and NFL programs.''
So far, all of his hirings are from Tennessee.
Garza, 40, is the fourth Tennessee assistant to join Kiffin's staff along with defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, defensive line coach Ed Orgeron and offensive line coach James Cregg.

It's another wet day in L.A.

A reader submitted this job posting from Oregon.

Back to the forum.

If you are going to tomorrow's basketball (granted, that's a big if), be warned that some streets will be closed because of the SAG Awards show at the Shrine Auditorium.
Closures listed after the jump:

Mike Thornton, a defensive tackle from Stephenson, Ga., is expected to visit USC next weekend after being courted by Lane Kiffin and Ed Orgeron. Thompson is considered the top uncommitted player in the state.
It is going to be interesting to see how many Southern players sign with the Trojans with all the time currently being spent recruiting them since Kiffin got hired.

For the first time in Pac-10 history, six teams finished the season with eight or more wins.

Here's ESPN.com's Top 10 programs for the 2000s:
1. USC
2. Florida
3. Oklahoma
4. Texas
5. Ohio State
6. LSU
7. Boise State
8. Georgia
9. Virginia Tech
10. TCU

Here's what USC coach Michael Cooper told Washington reporters about his ``(bleep) UCLA'' remark. It's the only public statement he's made following the expletive he used after USC's win over UCLA on Sunday, other than the apology letter he sent to UCLA coach Nikki Caldwell.
"My apology statement (to coach Caldwell) will stand to speak for me. It's said and done. Obviously I'm not proud of it (the comment). My apology has been made, and we're moving forward."

USC entered tonight's game averaging 3,883 fans per game, the worst mark in the Pac-10. The conference average is 7,462.

USC's played great defense this season, so blowing a 15-point lead against Washington State was even worse than usual. The Trojans held the Cougars to 33 perent shooting in the first half but WSU shot 56 percent in the second.

``We pride ourselves on our defense and that's definitely upsetting to us.''
-- USC guard Mike Gerrity on blowing a 15-point lead in the second half against Washington State.

``We said coming in that (point guard Reggie) Moore was equally as dangerous as Klay Thompson. He lit us up. He tore us apart. I haven't seen a better point guard in the Pac-10.''

Quite a meltdown at the end for a tough home loss.

Mini-meltdown for the Trojans as the Cougars are hot from the perimeter and Reggie Moore has 19 points.

Nikola Koprivica hits a 3 but Alex Stepheson answers back with a basket with 7:13 left.

The Cougars making a mini-run as Klay Thompson and Reggie Moore each have 13 points but Mike Gerrity just hit a 3.

The Trojans are holding the Cougars to 34 percent shooting and Dwight Lewis has 11 points.

Here's Pete Carroll's comments to ESPN radio about Lane Kiffin.

Is Lane Kiffin going to get more recruits than Pete Carroll would?

The answers continue.

We hear the idea that former USC offensive line coach Tim Davis return was suggested by athletic director Mike Garrett and not Lane Kiffin. With former Tenneseee assistant James Cregg coaching the offensive line, Davis will now remain at Minnesota.

Another rainy answer session.

We hear Lane Kiffin is calling a much larger pool of recruits than USC was recruiting before he got the job.

Kevin O'Neill does not think last weekend's victory over UCLA will have a lasting impact and believes Fordham transfer Jio Fontan is the Trojans' best guard.

Michael Cooper was publicly reprimanded by the Pac-10 today for his ``(bleep) UCLA'' comment after Sunday's victory over UCLA.
"The Pacific-10 Conference expects the highest standards of sportsmanship from all participants,
including coaches. All coaches are expected to conduct themselves in a manner which
will reflect credit on their institution and the Conference, and create a positive environment in
which to conduct competition," commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement.

USC coach Lane Kiffin is visiting Narbonne High School in Harbor City today.

Here's my story on Pat Ruel's dismissal.

Does USC want to eventually remove Pete Carroll's assistant coaches as a sign to the NCAA that it is cleaning house from the Reggie Bush era?

Answer time!

Former USC coach Tim Floyd spoke out Wednesday night on his departure, blaming it on athletic director Mike Garrett.

Excerpt: ``I'd like to ask the people who have tended to judge me based on that departure and the allegations is (that) I knew about those allegations six months before they came out.
``If I felt like I had done something wrong, why would I not have left when I was offered the Arizona job and the Memphis job, to run away from the issue like others have done in our business? I stayed because I knew that I had not done anything wrong. All I asked for was support and loyalty in return, which I received none.''

USC coach Lane Kiffin officially fired offensive line coach Pat Ruel, who he ironically offered the Tennessee offensive line job to last year.

If you are reading this outside of Los Angeles, it's pretty much pouring rain right now.

A question here about Norm Chow.

Remember to follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC.

If you look at the link at the earlier post, James Cregg is announced as an ``asssistant coach,'' with no official position. Does that mean he will coach offensive line unless a better candidate comes along? Then he can go coach tight ends? Or the defensive line?
By the way, this morning Todd McNair's name was missing on the USCTrojans.com website but then was quickly restored.

USC announced the hiring of former Raiders and Tennessee offensive line coach James Cregg.

Back to answer mode.

Former USC assistant coach Hue Jackson is a candidate to become the Raiders' offensive coordinator.

Here is the letter Michael Cooper wrote apologizing to UCLA coach Nikki Caldwell.
Caldwell-Cooper_letter[1].pdf

Here's my always entertaining appearance on the Petros and Money show.

Michael Cooper wrote an apology letter to UCLA coach Nikki Caldwell for his ``(bleep) UCLA'' comment following Sunday's game.

Approximately 40,000 fans showed up at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday to celebrate Alabama's first national championship since 1992.

Answers, answers, answers.

Back to the answers on a rainy Tuesday.

Let's try to attack some of those Open Forum questions. Remember to follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC.

Just to follow up possible questions, Kyle Prater is currently the only recruit enrolled at USC. Anthony Brown was supposed to enroll early but as of today he has not.

Wide receiver Kyle Prater, who graduated from high school in December, is enrolled at USC and attending classes. This goes back to what I said when Pete Carroll resigned that most recruits usually honor their commitments once a new coach is hired.

Whenever Pete Carroll's departure was discussed last week, the primary reasons listed were his desire to return to the NFL, his relationship with Mike Garrett and the looming NCAA sanctions.
But what about the idea that Carroll thought his program maxed out and would never recapture its heyday with this year's 9-4 record only the first sign of decline?
If Carroll believed that, it would increase his desire to return to the NFL, he would know his relationship with Garrett would deterioriate even more and NCAA sanctions would only reinforce his fears. I would not discount this theory based on how shrewd a thinker Carroll was over the nine years I knew him.

USC wide receiver commits Robert Woods and Kyle Prater are ranked the Nos. 3 and 4 players in the nation in Scout.com's final rankings. Offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson, still being recruited by USC, is No. 1.
USC is also recruiting the No. 7 player, defensive lineman Jackson Jeffcoat, and the No. 19 player, wide receiver Christian Green.

Mark Sanchez is not going to shave during the Jets' playoff run.

Since the crowd was a joke at Saturday's USC-UCLA basketball, can we allow the USC band and spirt squad back into Pauley Pavilion next year? UCLA won't sell out with its product. And USC can gladly return the favor at the Galen Center.

Here's a little nugget from the Knoxville News Sentinel:
``The News Sentinel reported last week that (Ed) Orgeron called an employee of UT's football department to obtain recruiting materials and became irate when he was denied access to those files.''

Here's a chart comparing Pete Carroll and Lane Kiffin's first year as a college head coach. Note that I do not endorse any suggestion that this means USC will win seven straight Pac-10 titles under Kiffin.

OVERALL RECORD: Carroll 6-6; Kiffin 7-6.
CONFERENCE: Carroll 5-3 Pac-10, 5th Place; Kiffin 4-4 SEC-East, 2nd Place.
NON-CONFERENCE: Carroll 1-2; Kiffin 3-1.
BOWL GAME: Carroll - L 10-6 Utah, Las Vegas Bowl; Kiffin - L 37-14 Virginia
Tech, Chick-Fil-A Bowl.
VS. CONFERENCE CHAMP: Carroll - L 24-22 Oregon at Eugene (Oregon #2 in 2001
Final AP/BCS Poll); Kiffin - L 12-10 Alabama at Tuscaloosa (Alabama #1 in 2009
Final AP/BCS Poll).
VS. ARCHRIVAL: Carroll - W 27-0 UCLA; Kiffin - W 30-24 (OT) at Kentucky.
VS. RICK NEUHEISEL: Carroll - L 27-24 at Washington; Kiffin - L 19-15 UCLA.
FINAL 6 GAMES OF SEASON (not including bowl): Carroll - 5-1 (loss at Notre
Dame); Kiffin - 4-2 (losses at Alabama & Mississippi).

Here's the column I wrote that talks about Michael Cooper's use of the f-bomb and Mike Garrett's personal visit to the UCLA student section. UCLA has yet to comment about the (bleep) UCLA comment.

Nearly a week into the Kiffin era, here is how things stack up:

Recruiting will be a program strength and USC might add a few surprising commits before signing date. It will probably be a B+.
The defense should be fine although Monte Kiffin will still need to brush up on facing the spread offense in the Pac-10. I'd give it a B.
And then their is the offense. No Norm Chow. And probably no big-name coordinator since they will not call plays. I'd give it an incomplete but looking like a C.

Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews and Mark Sanchez were named to the Pro Football Writers' all-rookie team. Cushing was named rookie of the year.

Here is this week's ballot for the AP basketball poll.

1. Texas
2. Kentucky
3. Villanova
4. Syracuse
5. Kansas
6. Michigan State
7. Duke
8. Pittsburgh
9. Tennessee
10. BYU
11. Kansas State
12. Gonzaga
13. Vanderbilt
14. West Virginia
15. Georgetown
16. Purdue
17. Northern Iowa
18. Wisconsin
19. Virginia
20. Clemson
21. Alabama-Birmingham
22. Temple
23. Butler
24. Baylor
25. Georgia Tech

According to Daily News columnist Jill Painter, this was Michael Cooper's first comment at his press conference after beating UCLA.
``My opening statement is (expletive) UCLA,'' he said.

OK, it's time for the first post-Kiffin forum. One question per person please.

Here's a candidate for the offensive coordinator's job: David Reaves, who is Lane Kiffin's brother-in-law and worked on his staff at Tennessee.

Tim Davis' name is still getting thrown around for the offensive line position.

Does anyone think Lane Kiffin will not respond to Rick Neuheisel's comments?

Rick Neuheisel also said the following to Daily News columnist Jill Painter: ``Until the new regime proves itself, we feel we have every right to claim this city.''

A USC fan at Pauley Pavilion told a UCLA fan, ``What was (Rick Neuheisel) smoking?''

St. Francis safety-cornerback back Dietrich Riley was at tonight's USC-UCLA basketball game.

This was UCLA's worst loss to USC in Pauley Pavilion and worst loss to USC since the 1944-45 season, when the Trojans won 53-25.

The Trojans are maintaining the rout as Dwight Lewis has 20 points with 14:49 left.

UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel could not resist taking on Lane Kiffin in his halftime comments at Pauley Pavilion.
``If you paid any kind of attention to what's going on in college football this week, you can see the landscape is slightly shifting. A few of our guys, we want to welcome Coach Kiffin to Los Angeles.
``We have competed with him before and we look forward to competing with him and his program again. Make no mistake we're not going to rest until we being back the Pac-10 championship, the Rose Bowl championship and a national championship.''

By the way this was said at a ceremony celebrating the EagleBank Bowl championship.

Dwight Lewis hits a 3-pointer to really open things up.

Dwight Lewis has 12 points and Alex Stepheson 7 for the Trojans.

The Trojans are still maintaining their advantage.

Norm Chow is at the USC-UCLA game at Pauley Pavilion. Maybe I will ask him how unenthusiastic Lane Kiffin sounded when he left a phone message.

The Trojans are off to a strong start at Pauley Pavilion today.

Ed Orgeron will be defensive line coach, assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator.

Linebacker Christian Jones of Winter Park, Fla., athlete Hayes Pullard of Crenshaw in Los Angeles, cornerback/safety Dietrich Riley of St. Francis of La Canada and tailback D.J. Morton of Taft of Woodland Hills are among this weekend's visitors.

One story going around Heritage Hall is that Lane Kiffin told all the Pete Carroll-era assistants to start looking for jobs.

This is an interesting video of some of the arguing that went on before Lane Kiffin officially announced he left Tennessee.

Even though Tim Davis is not expected to be hired as offensive line coach, Pat Ruel is not going to return as offensive line coach.
UPDATED: Until a new offensive line coach is hired, we should stress that it is possible that Ruel might be retained.

Interesting that none of the holdovers from Pete Carroll's coaching staff attended today's team meeting with Lane Kiffin.

Lane Kiffin and Ed Orgeron will visit Tampa Catholic offensive lineman Chaz Green next week. Tennessee, USC, Ohio State and Florida were Green's top choices. Green visits Florida this weekend and will visit USC at the end of the month.

USC coach Lane Kiffin hired Tennessee graduate assistant Scott Thompson to work with special teams and also do some administrative work. Thompson joins Monte Kiffin and Ed Orgeron as Tennessee transplants on the coaching staff.

Here's one more from bodog.com. Will the Seattle Seahawks draft a player from USC in the 2010 NFL draft?
Yes -155
No +125

This is amid the fact Caesar's already said he would select Taylor Mays and his line at the players' meeting Monday, ``Garrett Green, you're coming to mini-camp!''

New defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin came out to USC last year to study defending the spread-option offense, which he did not see in the NFL. Kiffin said he's now familiar with the offense after a year in college football.
``We were going to see Oregon next year anyways (at Tennessee), so we might as well play them in the Pac-10,'' he said.

Last night I mentioned that it was unlikely Tim Davis would return to USC as offensive line coach now that Norm Chow remained at UCLA. It always seemed odd because when Davis coached at USC previously, he did not get along with new USC coach Lane Kiffin.

Grant Teaff is the president of AFCA, which held its coaches' convention this week. Teaff usually opposes anything that will improve college football. He said 73 percent of the coaches want to keep the current BCS system. Teaff said 96 of the 120 coaches voted to keep transparency in the final regular-season coaches poll. And 95.7 percent want to maintain the final coaches poll voting the BCS champion No. 1.
He did not ask the coaches about transperency in every regular-season poll.

Here's the odds from bodog.com on how many wins the Seattle Seahawks will have in the 2010 NFL regular season?

Over 8 -130
Under 8 Even

I will take the under.

Here's the post-Lane Kiffin odds from bodog.com that show USC's chances of winning the BCS title.

Sorry for the delay in following up the earlier post. Here's my analysis on just how little effort was made to bring Norm Chow back to USC.

Here's a Daily News podcast where I discuss Norm Chow, Lane Kiffin and Pete Carroll.

Despite all the buzz and hoopla surrounding the possible return of Norm Chow, there was precious little actual effort made to hire him. We'll say more in the next hour.

We hear it is unlikely former USC offensive line coach Tim Davis will return now that Norm Chow is staying at UCLA.

We hear Pete Carroll tried to push Washington coach Steve Sarkisian for the USC job earlier this week.

Wide receiver Markeith Ambles from McDonough, Ga., was dropped by USC last summer for personal issues and then committed to Tennessee. We hear Ambles is now trying to arrange a visit to USC.

Caesar's been turned down by a couple coaches (not at USC) for assistant jobs in Seattle. So it's not quite a no-brainer to go work for the Seahawks as it might sound.

USC should be in pretty good shape with cornerback Dietrich Riley of St. Francis High School in La Canada. We heard his top two choices were USC and Tennessee. And Ed Orgeron recruited him for the Vols.
Riley is scheduled to visit USC this weekend.

We hear USC graduate assistant Kris Richard, who coached the cornerbacks the past two seasons, might be going to the Seahawks with Pete Carroll.

At least now everyone knows that Lane Kiffin will probably call plays next season.

Why didn't Norm Chow return to USC? I'm going to guess it had something to do with the fact you would be working for the person who tried to clean out your office before you quit your job at USC five years ago.

As expected, Norm Chow spurned USC during talks this morning.

USC basketball coach Kevin O'Neill was asked about former football coach Pete Carroll as a recruiting resource.
``Pete was a great resource for all of us because anytime that ticker can up, or name was scrolling across it during football season,' O'Neill said. ``When we had guys here during recruiting visits, he was very active with it. He is gonna be missed by everybody here.
``I mean, the guy is a one-in-a-million type guy. He has an unbelievable personalty.
Unbelievable loyal to the people he worked with and for. We are going to miss Pete very very much.''

USC is talking to Norm Chow right now. I would still say he is leaning toward staying at UCLA but talks are taking place at the moment.

USC defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin on his son, USC coach Lane Kiffin.
``People say he's arrogant, if he was I would slap him upside the head. If he was arrogant, I wouldn't coach with him. I'd still love him and he's my son but I wouldn't coach with him.''

I heard earlier tonight that Norm Chow was leaning toward staying at UCLA. But I also heard that nothing was settled yet. I think this is going to boil down to how much Lane Kiffin can demonstrate he is committed to hiring Chow and whether he can show some contrition over the way Chow was cast aside five years ago.

``I do not wait for people to win (before I hire them). I try to capture them at the point where they burst out, i.e. Pete Carroll.''
-- USC athletic director Mike Garrett

USC athletic director Mike Garrett on the NCAA investigation into the Reggie Bush situation.
``We think we have a case and will fight that case.''

USC coach Lane Kiffin is currently meeting upstairs with some coaches. He still has not had a chance to contact Norm Chow.
Here is Mike Garrett's quote:
``That's something on our itinerary, to go after Norm. It has to be the right fit.''

``To my knowledge, I did not knowingly break a rule.''
-- USC assistant coach Ed Orgeron

``All I did was explain options to families that called. I had families call me and ask me questions. I did call and give suggestions to families that called.''
-- USC assistant coach Ed Orgeron on reports he called Tennessee recruits and told them not to enroll.

Monte Kiffin said tonight he did not know anything about reports that Dat Nguyen was hired as the linebackers' coach.

Interesting that Lane Kiffin said he always called plays. But that could change, of course, if the right offensive coordinator is hired (Norm Chow).

Everyone should probably relax a little bit regarding the Norm Chow situation. He is flying back to L.A. right now from Florida while Lane Kiffin is flying in from Tennessee. They have not even spoken to each other yet, so even though USC wants Chow, whether there can be a comfortable pairing needs to be discussed.
Something might happen tonight. Or tomorrow. But right now, not a lot of action. It will need to be wrapped up in the next day, however, because no one wants to be left dangling.

Wide receiver Kyle Prater of Hillside, Ill., who delayed his enrollment at USC this week is now planning on enrolling next week.

Lane Kiffin's press conference will now start at 5 p.m. due to travel delays.

Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton just sent out a letter to calm down fans following the untimely departure of Lane Kiffin.

USC's press release announcing the hiring of Lane Kiffin said he has a son, ``Monte, 1.'' Kiffin said he would go by his middle name, ``Knox,'' when he was born. Apparently, no more.

A former band member emailed to say that USC band director Art Bartner once said that he was going to retire when Pete Carroll left the program.

USC is talking to Norm Chow and salary figures being discussed are between $1-1.5 million per season.

We hear UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel will hire former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach if Norm Chow goes to USC.

A rival athletic director had this to say on USC's hiring of Lane Kiffin: ``If they get Norm Chow plus Ed Orgeron and Monte Kiffin, Winnie the Pooh could be the head coach.''

I first heard Lane Kiffin was a candidate Monday afternoon but was clearly behind Jack Del Rio. When Del Rio fell through Tuesday morning, a call was made to Boise State coach Chris Petersen but Kiffin was already in full negotiations.
People started acting strange in Heritage Hall in the early afternoon and the football offices were ordered vacated at one point (with Ed Orgeron apparently en route). It was clear an announcement was imminent. There were indications that Steve Sarkisian was in play, as he was communicating with parties at USC about the job. But in the end, Kiffin got the job.
Sources said the overriding factors were his ability to deliver assistant coaches like Monte Kiffen and Ed Orgeron while continuing the Pete Carroll style of running a program (with perhaps many more controversial comments).
The interesting part was USC called Norm Chow on Tuesday morning and suggested he become offensive coordinator (without saying who the coach would be).
Chow was interested and we will see what happens. If Chow comes aboard, I consider this to be a pretty good overall hire under the circumstances. But that is with Chow. Without him, I'm less certain of this.

>Here's more details on Lane Kiffin's hiring at USC.

We hear that Norm Chow is interested in returning to USC but a deal is not yet finalized. Chow is currently in Florida.

How long before we get a controversial comment from Lane Kiffin?

So Monte Kiffin, Ed Orgeron and Norm Chow will join Lane Kiffin at USC. I spoke to Chow on Tuesday before the announcement and he confirmed USC approached him to become offensive coordinator.

New assistant coach Ed Orgeron is already in Heritage Hall working.

USC wanted to Pete Carroll disciple. And that meant either Kiffin or Steve Sarkisian. The irony is several sources said athletic director Mike Garrett was not a big Kiffin fan when he was an assistant at USC.

Here's the Lane Kiffin official announcement.

We've heard from 2 sources that Lane Kiffin will be USC's next football coach.
UPDATED: Announcement expected shortly.

Enough said. We're also hearing Lane Kiffin's name being tossed around. Either choice would mean a Pete Carroll disciple.

Several sources report USC is close to offering its head-coaching position to Washington coach Steve Sarkisian.

We hear USC might make an announcement in the next 24 hours.

NFL Network analyst Steve Mariucci declined to comment this afternoon on being a candidate for the USC job.

We hear some within the football program are pushing the DeWayne Walker/Norm Chow ticket we supported earlier this week.

We hear that Pete Carroll's son, Brennan, will stick around USC as recruiting coordinator until a new coach is hired.

ESPN analyst Beano Cook does not know who will be USC's next coach. But he does know who will play in next year's BCS title game: USC and Ohio State. Beano did qualify the pick by wanting to see who will coach SC, hinting that an assistant coach hire might lead him to change his mind.

USC's contacted Boise State coach Chris Peterson regarding its coaching vacancy in the wake of Jack Del Rio's withdrawal from the race. Peterson would be a big-name hire but luring him to the big city could be an issue.

Here's the names floating now:

1. Steve Mariucci
2. Herman Edwards
3. Steve Sarkisian
4. Lane Kiffin

Kiffin and Sarkisian remain in the mix because of their USC ties. But here's another name to throw out there: Mike Bellotti.

USC special teams coach Brian Schneider has been hired by Pete Carroll and will join the Seattle Seahawks.

Here's Pete Carroll's press conference in Seattle today.

Herman Edwards remains a candidate, which is also something to be concerned about.

Jack Del Rio is staying in Jacksonville according to Peter King of Sports Illustrated. Del Rio told people last night to sit tight today and see what happens. I consider this a good development for USC because I did not think it was a good fit with his lack of college experience and personality quirks.
I'm guessing Steve Sarkisian and Lane Kiffin's names will surface as the search continues.

We hear that Jack Del Rio informed USC he will not walk away from the $15 million left on his Jacksonville contract, which could prove fatal to his candidacy.

Here's more detail on Jack Del Rio and USC. He has not accepted the job but was presented with a contract.

USC would be hardpressed to do a worse job filling out its coaching staff than the Seattle Seahawks. The idea that Jeremy Bates is basically in control of the offense (with hiring power!). Is that what Seattle is paying Pete Carroll $6.5-7 million a year for?

Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio was sent a contract by USC tonight to become the next football coach.
Now comes the tricky part: If Del Rio takes the job, he forfeits more than $15 million in salary from the Jaguars. If Jacksonville fires him, they must pay him the money. Why would Jacksonville fire him if they know USC wants him? Should make Tuesday interesting.

I'll have some news a bit later tonight.

Is it possible to hire a football coach without interviewing them? At USC, the answer is, yes.

Now we hear that USC offensive line coach Pat Ruel will not go to Seattle because Jeremy Bates wants to make his own hire for the position. Again, is this the recipe for NFL success?

Jeremy Bates will be the Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator and call plays for Pete Carroll next season, which means he will actually have more power than he did at USC.
This is Carroll's recipe for NFL success?

Defensive line coach Jethro Franklin has not been offered a job in Seattle yet and is currently in limbo.

``I was a little more surprised to hear (Jeremy Bates) was gone.''

``I want to be in the NFL and he's an NFL coach now. Who knows what will happen?''
-- Matt Barkley on Pete Carroll's departure

``I'm working on the next step and when I finish, you'll hear from me.''
-- USC athletic director Mike Garrett on the coaching search

Heritage Hall is packed with players, media and others right now with more TV trucks parked outside than ever before.

By my count, Jeff Fisher's not been interested in the USC three times (1998, 2001, 2009).

``We are excited to add Pete as our coach. He brings a great passion for winning and a positive attitude that is contagious,'' said CEO Tod Leiweke. ``We now turn our full attention to the hiring process for a general manager. Our intended structure is for Pete and the new GM to work in a collaborative capacity on football matters.''

Here's USC's official press release on Pete Carroll's departure.
And here's a Mike Garrett quote:
``We did everything we could to keep Pete at USC, but he was presented with a rare opportunity to really build a program in the NFL. We know he will do a great job with the Seahawks. We'll be rooting for him.''

I'm reminded that my first question to Pete Carroll at his 2001 press conference was to guarantee that he would not leave USC for the NFL?
Over the years, Carroll playfully told me I was proved wrong by his staying at USC. And even though he is leaving for Seattle, I'm going to cut him a break with nine years quite a long tenure.
Of course, I'm also reminded of the fans, often at booster club meetings, who became hostile when I mentioned I thought he would return the NFL one day. Perhaps they will get back to me now.

Would you believe some connected to this job search feel there's a problem finding candidates because some coaches are turned off by the idea of following Pete Carroll's success and possible NCAA sanctions looming.

In 2008, I went up to Mike Riley before the USC-Oregon State game (which the Beavers won) and told him that he might be coaching at USC in a couple years.
``You never know,'' Riley said.
It could have happened but I hear Riley did not want the extra pressure.

Things are jumbled a bit now following Mike Riley's rejection.

1. Mike Riley -- not interested
2. Jeff Fisher -- not interested
3. Jack Del Rio -- interested
4. Herm Edwards -- interested
5. Find more candidates

Here's my ballot for the AP basketball poll.

With Mike Riley staying at Oregon State, USC now needs to scramble a bit to find a coach. Jack Del Rio and Herm Edwards are on the list but someone needs to push Jim Harbaugh, Gary Patterson and Chris Peterson.

I will be on Channel 9 around 10:30 tonight to discuss you know what.

As Caesar departs in his chariot for Seattle, an athletic dept. official said, ``this department is in flames.''

Pete Carroll turned in his resignation to USC, according to sources.

My new recommendation is a DeWayne Walker/Norm Chow/Ed Orgeron troika in charge of USC football next season. Walker will be head coach/defensive coordinator, Chow will be associate head coach/offensive coordinator and Orgeron will be assistant head coach/recruiting coordinator. It only takes three phone calls and $1.5 million per coach.

ESPN says Ken Norton Jr. will join Pete Carroll in Seattle.

I admit to being surprised Steve Sarkisian was contacted to gauge his interest in the USC job. But upon further review, it was probably an attempt to call the only coach who might try to emulate Pete Carroll's system and keep those traditions going . . . without Caesar, of course.

If I know Caesar, he's already called NFL assistants like Brad Seely of the Cleveland Browns to be his special teams coach. He will want his own people and guys who have NFL experience.
He knows he cannot win in the NFL with a weak staff and will go after as many veterans as possible, which explains why Pat Ruel was offered a job.

Post your favorite memory of Caesar here as he prepares his departure.

Washington coach Steve Sarkisian was contacted by USC to gauge his interest but said he was happy to remain in his current job, according to sources.

Norm Chow's name is coming up a lot as Pete Carroll gets set to finalize his deal with Seattle.

The Beavers are trying to fend off USC.

Mike Riley remains the top choice. I'm repeating myself but I just want to make sure everyone knows where things stand right now.

We hear Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross recommended former Kansas City Chiefs coach Herm Edwards for the USC job. Wasn't hiring Greg Robinson enough?

One candidate for the USC job told me tonight that a big question for guys like Stanford's Jim Harbaugh or Oregon State's Mike Riley is whether they think USC will be more successful than their own programs, especially if the Trojans get hit by probation. Not to mention the decreased pressure in Palo Alto compared to USC.

We hear Mark Sanchez jokingly got back at Pete Carroll in his post-game press conference after leading the Jets past the Bengals and said something like, ``excuse me, but i just wanted to say that I think Coach Carroll is making a mistake. I looked at the track record.''

The Associated Press reports that the chief executive of the Seattle Seahawks is
headed to California to meet with Pete Carroll on Sunday ``to interview Carroll for the coaching position and that the talks could last into Monday morning.''
Sounds like the Seahawks are trying to avoid violating the Rooney Rule. Remember Seattle CEO Tod Leiweke is the brother of AEG president Tim Leiweke, who gives office space to Carroll's organization, A Better L.A.

Here's my suggestion for the USC job: Hire a joint ticket of DeWayne Walker as head coach and Norm Chow as associate head coach/offensive coordinator.
Walker would handle the defense and recruiting and Chow would be in charge of the offense. Pay each $2 million. USC would not skip a beat and would probably be better than if Pete Carroll stayed.

Herm Edwards is being mentioned as a candidate for the USC job. In NFL circles, he is not viewed as an X's and O's genius (which was Pete Carroll's calling card nine years ago) and was not a proven winner. I'd be a little nervous if I was a USC fan over this one.

Here's a sign that Pete Carroll might be putting his ego in check and realize he is not going to thrive in the NFL with a weak staff: This report says he wants to hire Norm Chow.

We heard today that Notre Dame is trying to work on wide receiver Kyle Prater, who was scheduled to enroll Monday at USC. The Irish were making calls today and yesterday to figure to convince Prater to switch schools.

Jack Del Rio is definitely interested in the USC job, according to sources. He might get fired in Jacksonville. If he did come to USC, he would bring former USC player and assistant coach Kennedy Pola with him.

Cornerback Demetrius Wright of Corona, ranked the No. 6 CB in the nation by ESPN, committed to USC.
Maybe USC should just not hire anyone and it will help recruiting.

Here's quite a picture. Aaron Corp (15) getting instructed from quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates with Pete Carroll nearby. So Corp is off to Richmond, Bates is expected to end up in Chicago and Caesar will move to Seattle, where this picture was taken.
By the way, one of the things that bugged Corp's family was that Bates spent less time instructing him during this Washington game than he spent with Matt Barkley.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham is interested in the USC job. And why not after the great job he's done with the Utes?
But right now, there's Mike Riley and everybody else in the coaching search.

USC focuses on Mike Riley as Pete Carroll prepares to head for Seattle.

So Mr. Twitter, who has something to say about everything, is suddenly on radio silence when he's taking the Seahawks job. And how about a post on his web site? Anyone? Anyone?

He is not a candidate but if I were doing a search, I would immediately contact Gary Patterson of Texas Christian.

I'm reminded of a conversation with a booster who spoke to Mike Garrett when reports were rampant that Pete Carroll would go to the Atlanta Falcons two years ago and asked for his thoughts.
``We'll wish him well and thank him for his service,'' Garrett reportedly said.

Would quarterback Aaron Corp transfer if he knew Pete Carroll was leaving? And of course Carroll knew what was going on with Seattle but did not let Corp know.

We hear former USC defensive line coach Ed Orgeron expressed an interest in returning in some capacity but obviously not as the head coach.

Not that it wasn't known two weeks ago, but Damian Williams picked a good day to formally announce he is going pro.

There's already groundwork on lining up Pete Carroll's replacement at this moment. His departure apparently cannot be announced before at least tomorrow because the Seahawks must interview Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier under the NFL's Rooney Rule.

Who leaves first? Pete Carroll or Conan O'Brien?

A couple USC assistant coaches left Heritage Hall this afternoon not looking too thrilled at the atmosphere with everyone thinking about Pete Carroll.

Remember Dennis Erickson wanted to go to the NFL and accepted a job with the Seattle Seahawks too.

1. He always wanted to go back to the NFL one more time. 2. The Pac-10 caught up and the talent disparity disappeared. 3. His schemes no longer worked or were innovative. 4. His relationship with Mike Garrett. 5. NCAA sanctions. 6. Money. 7. Power.

Pete Carroll was acting like college football's expert analyst on ESPN this week while talking to Seattle about being its new coach. Typical.

Here's the wild-card candidate: Jim Harbaugh.
His success impressed USC even though he's a little rough around the edges. Clearly behind the first 3 but Pete Carroll was No. 4 too.

Just to review: 1. Mike Riley. 2. Jeff Fisher. 3. Jack Del Rio.

We hear Pete Carroll decided he would take Pat Ruel with him to Seattle if he reaches an agreement.

We hear Pete Carroll's already putting together a coaching staff if he can reach a deal with the Seattle Seahawks.

ESPN says the Seattle Seahawks are interested in Pete Carroll.

Former USC baseball coach Mike Gillespie is inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame.

Jeff Byers and Kevin Thomas will play in the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 23 in Orlando, Fla.

Alabama picked up the MacArthur Trophy this morning in Newport Beach, which the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame present to its national champion.
Here's the full list of winners since 1959.

Here's an interesting article on whether the Bears should hire Jeremy Bates. Here's one passage: ``In Los Angeles, Bates struck people as an enigma -- over-caffeinated and unapproachable.''

Joe McKnight tells ESPN he is going pro. As expected, McKnight said the investigation into his girlfriend's SUV did not influence his decision.

Here's a recap of Aaron Corp's decision to transfer to Richmond.

Here's my column on how Alabama deserved to be No. 1 but there still needs to be a college football playoff.

Here is my Top 25 ballot for the Associated Press poll.

In its history, the SEC is 196-170-13 in post-season bowl games, a 53.4 winning percentage. The SEC has the nation's top bowl winning percentage surpassing the Pac-10 (120-107-6, 52.8 percentage).

Aaron Corp has officially transferred to Richmond and was given his release from USC. Here's the release from Richmond:

Texas is 7-0-1 in its all-time series against Alabama.

We hear Aaron Corp still has not asked for a release from USC although there are reports he will transfer to Richmond.

Over its last two games, both wins over ranked opponents including Stanford, Oklahoma's defense held its opponents to a combined 1-of-26 on third down.

Former Texas players Vince Young, Ricky Williams, Demeco Ryans, Michael Huff and John Parker Wilson will be greeting fans and signing autographs for fans at the AT&T Fan Zone today at the Rose Bowl.
If you go, ask Huff how much he enjoyed the fact Reggie Bush was not in the game on the critical fourth-down play that gave Texas the chance to win the national title game. He said after the game that without Bush, it allowed him to move up to the line of scrimmage and tackle LenDale White.

This Richmond TV station reports Aaron Corp will transfer to Richmond and start classes Monday. Corp's father, Chris, said Tuesday night his son had not obtained any releases yet.

Here's Rutgers' talking points to be included in the top 25 poll. How do they match up with USC?

Here's some of the stuff Pete Carroll had to say in his role as an ESPN analyst for the BCS title game.

USC defensive end Nick Perry was named to the Football Writers' Assn. of America's freshman All-American team. Here's the full team:

Time to pick a winner in today's national title game. I'll start off by picking Texas, 27-24.

USC's eight-game winning streak ends at Stanford.

The Texas BCS Championship Game media guide is 312 pages and weights 2.4 pounds even though the NCAA limit for media guides is 208 pages. Alabama's guide came in at 132 pages.

Tickets BCS title game are $275, except for the tickets distributed to the competing schools, which have a face value of $200. Texas and Alabama each received 19,000 tickets.

An former NFL executive currently working as an NFL Network analyst thinks the Chicago Bears should hire Jeremy Bates to be the offensive coordinator. Many USC fans would probably agree.

From my vantage point, there is a clear dilemma for Aaron Corp. He does not want to transfer from USC. On the other hand, there was absolutely no faith placed in him by the coaching staff, starting with the shoddy treatment the week of the Washington game when he was never named the starter and then the quick demotion to No. 3.
He could stay and hope for the Matt Cassel route (something Mitch Mustain is also hoping for) but he still has a chance to go elsewhere and actually play.
This is less about Pete Carroll's infatuation with Matt Barkley than just wondering if you can get a fair shot to even be the back up (in my opinion).

Texas coach Mack Brown received advice from John Robinson before his first trip to the Rose Bowl for the 2005 game against Michigan.
``I actually called John Robinson and said, 'help me with what to do; what's the Rose Bowl like? Tell me about the parade. Tell me about what the kids are supposed to do.'
``What he said was very unique. He said, it's very, very hard to get to the Rose Bowl as a player or coach; very few people get to do it.
``What you need to do is be really proud, and when you stand out on the field before the game, make sure you go out there by yourself, stand in a corner, look up in those beautiful mountains, see the sun setting and say this is pretty cool, and then go back and do what you always do. But take a moment to appreciate it.''

USC's basketball team readies for its first game tonight since the self-imposed sanctions.

Since the 1993 Rose Bowl game, the Big 10 is 8-1 in Rose Bowl games NOT involving USC. The Big 10 is 0-5 against the Trojans in the same time period. Home advantage for USC? Maybe but during the same time frame, two of the Pac 10 losses were by UCLA.

Here's a little more from Chris Corp on whether his son will transfer.

The father of USC quarterback Aaron Corp said no decision has been made on whether Corp might transfer before next season.
``Has (transferring) come up?'' Yes,'' Chris Corp said. ``Like the subject always has. Even when he was in high school.''
Chris Corp said his son has not asked for his release or made a list of schools he would transfer to.
``Aaron hasn't made any decisions about anything,'' Chris Corp said. ``I think really what we're talking about instead of transferring is what are Aaron's options at USC? I'm trying to recommend as a father what his choices are.
``To be honest with you, I truly don't know (if he will transfer). I know Aaron loves the sport and loves it at USC. What's the lifelong lesson if he comes back and drives it 110 percent the next two years and forces the coaches to see he's improved and pushing Matt (Barkley).

Here's USC's announcement on who will replace Rory Markas for the rest of the basketball season.

The SEC is having an off year by its standards with a 5-4 record in bowl games so far with one game left.
Since 2006, the SEC is 24-11 in post-season bowl games (.686). The league has posted a non-losing bowl record for seven straight seasons (counting 2009-10). The last time the league finished under .500 in bowl games was in 2002 (3-4).

If the Redskins hire Mike Shanahan, will Jeremy Bates follow suit? Maybe. But in NFL circles, there is talk Shanahan would hire his son, Kyle, away from the Houston Texans for playcalling duties.

Linebacker Brian Cushing of the Houston Texans was named the Associated Press defensive rookie of the year.

USC forward Alex Stepheson said he did not think the Trojans will coast in games now that they no longer can play in the postseason.
``Every game I'm out to win,'' he said. ``I think we're all still motivated.''

Navy is making a case to be ranked in the Top 25 with the following reasons after the jump. How do they stack up vs. USC?

There is speculation in Chicago that Jeremy Bates is a candidate for an assistant coaching position with the Bears.

Here's USC press release on the death of basketball announcer Rory Markas.

Forbes announced its Top 20 most valuable college football teams: Texas, Notre Dame, Penn State, Nebraska, Alabama, Florida, LSU, Ohio State, Georgia, Oklahoma, Michigan, South Carolina, Tennessee, Auburn, USC, Michigan State, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma State.
The criteria is after the jump.

Rory Markas, who was USC's play-by-play announcer, died according to radio station AM-830. He was also the Angels' play-by-play announcer.
I knew Markas since the mid-1990's when he did play-by-play for the Clippers. He was the nicest guy in the radio business and a great professional.

USC players leave for the Bay Area today fresh off the sanctions announcement, so how do they feel about O.J. Mayo?

TCU lost for just the second time in 64 games when allowing 17 points or less. The only other loss was a 13-10 defeat at Utah in 2008.

Here's forward Alex Stepheson on the sanctions.
``I was a little devastated but there was nothing I could do about it,'' Stepheson said. ``I really don't even know what exactly happened. Most of us weren't even here.''

Point guard Mike Gerrity said USC's announcement on basketball sanctions was even more difficult to take because of the Trojans' eight-game winning streak and weekend sweep of the Arizona schools.
``To hear the news at this time is very different because the post-season was likely,'' Gerrity said.

Here's the Pac-10's 2010 football schedule.

The Rose Bowl averaged 15,071,000 households, an increase of 12 percent over last year's USC-Penn State broadcast (13,429,000 homes, based on a 11.7 rating).

TCU's Gary Patterson was named the Football Writers' coach of the year. Anyone think TCU can make a case for No. 1 if it wins the Fiesta Bowl?

Despite sweeping the Arizona schools, no one from USC was nominated for Pac-10 player of the week honors. Oregon sophomore center Michael Dunigan won the award.

As I finish up the last forum, time to start a new one. As usual, no shortage of topics. One question per person please.

Finally finishing up the forum.

Back to that pesky forum before we start new questions today.

Should O.J. Mayo write USC a check for the money it repaid the NCAA from its 2008 Tournament appearance?

The Rose Bowl can sigh in relief that the prickly Nick Saban is OK with the Orange County practice facilities for this week's BCS title game . . . so far.
On what he wants out of a practice facility at a bowl site...
``First, I want good fields, convenient location, a place for the players to lift, we felt fortunate
enough that we have not only grass fields here bust turf as well, so if we had bad weather, and as the people from Southern California know, we couldn't find a place with an indoor facility, and we have all of the things here that we have back in Tuscaloosa, and the people from the Rose Bowl staff have done a wonderful job getting the facilities ready, the fields ready.''

Here's my ballot for the Associated Press college basketball poll and it's looking a little light on Pac-10 teams.

USC slaps itself with sanctions, but the real question is whether it influences what happens with the football investigation?
``It will be interesting to see if the NCAA ratifies what USC did with the basketball program,'' attorney Anthony Salerno said. ``That will show if USC has some control over its football fate and possible sanctions. If it doesn't, the NCAA might whack them.''

``I talked to Louis this afternoon and I guess it does (validate) him. He doesn't feel good that USC got in trouble. He liked the program and Coach Floyd.''
-- Anthony Salerno, the lawyer for Louis Johnson, who made the original allegations about O.J. Mayo receiving cash and gifts from Rodney Guillory

Kevin O'Neill told the basketball team about the self-imposed sanctions this morning.
``They were disappointed, shocked, dismayed. As is everybody,'' O'Neill said. .``It is what it is. I'm not sure anybody expected that. I have a lot of respect for Mike Garrett and the people that make these decisions.''

The irony of today's announcement is that these sanctions were obviously decided upon well before the basketball team's current eight-game winning streak and signs that it could be a major player in the Pac-10.
Aside from that, it's obvious that the athletic dept. is pointing a finger at Tim Floyd in a major way without actually mentioning him and this is why Floyd got out before he officially got fired.
And where does this leave football? Were these penalties imposed with the thought it might mitigate possible penalties in the flagship sport?

Here is Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott's statement on USC's self-imposed basketball sanctions:

USC tailback Stafon Johnson will make his return to football at the Senior Bowl, it was announced tonight. Johnson joins offensive tackle Charles Brown, safety Taylor Mays and tight end Anthony McCoy at the all-star game.
``This is a great opportunity for Stafon with all that he's been through and he's excited to play with some of the greatest players in the country,'' USC head coach Pete Carroll said. ``He's grateful to the Senior Bowl for giving him this chance. He's been a great player for us and everybody is ecstatic about him showing his playing ability there at the Senior Bowl.''

Florida announced after the Sugar Bowl that Urban Meyer's is 4-0 in BCS bowl games. And that his four BCS wins since 2005 are tied with USC coach Pete Carroll for the most by a head coach in that time frame. But Carroll's also got BCS wins in 2003 and 2004 in BCS games.

Here is USC's announcement on its self-imposed basketball sanctions, including no NCAA or Pac-10 Tournament this season.

Can the Pac-10 still be considered perhaps the nation's top conference following its 2-5 bowl record?

Alabama coach Nick Saban on the importance of being focused in Southern California this week.

``I think the clutter is all about how important the game is, what it means, the
consequences of the game, positively or negatively. Those are all the things you don't want to think about. What you want to think about is what do I have to do to play my best game? ``What do I have to do to play my best football? What do we have to do as a team? There are a lot of little things that are going on while this is all happening. You have to stay
focused on the right things. I am proud of what our players have accomplished thus far this year and no one can take away what they have done to get here.''

USC coach Kevin O'Neill likes winning ugly as the Trojans are 2-0 in the Pac-10 for the first time since 2002.

``If you had told me at the beginning of the year we would have an eight-game winning streak, I would have thought you lost your mind.''
-- USC coach Kevin O'Neill after tonight's victory over ASU

It's over. And the Trojans are tied for first place in the Pac-10 with Oregon after a low-scoring struggle.

It's ugly and it's pretty much over and Marcus Johnson's 12 points help put the Sun Devils away with 1:40 remaining. ASU is down to 22 percent shooting.

Not much to say but the defense is keeping USC ahead as the Sun Devils are shooting a paltry 28 percent with 11:09 left.

ASU briefly cut into the lead but Dwight Lewis just hit a jumper and the advantage is back to six points.

It's halftime and Mike Gerrity hit a 3-pointer and a jump shot to help boost the Trojans' lead. Gerrity led all USC scorers with five points. Jamelle McMillan led ASU with eight points.
USC shot 41 percent while Arizona State shot just 30 percent.

It's a tight game but USC's outrebounded the Sun Devils 14-8.

The Trojans are up to 29 percent shooting and Arizona State is 0-4 on 3 pointers.

The Trojans miss their first six shots and are 2 for 9 but only trail by a point.

We're blogging the USC-Arizona State game live from the Galen Center!

Cal tailback Jahvid Best is going pro. What's the fallout? None because backup tailback Shane Vereen was as good or better without him.

Texas QB Colt McCoy on Vince Young telling him he'd be in the same position during the Longhorns victory over USC.
``I don't know if he necessarily meant that I'd been in the Rose Bowl in that position, but he just said, `Hey, you'll be in these shoes some day so just watch and learn.‛ This was when we got the turnover and there was a TV timeout.
``I was just the kid with the clipboard, always out there with . . . and helping relay the play from upstairs, so it was pretty special.''

Texas QB Colt McCoy on his memories from the USC-Texas BCS title game.
``I actually re-watched the game a couple of days ago, it was on ESPN Classic, so I watched that game and it kind of fired me up and that kind of made it all sink in. Watching that last drive and the big stop on fourth down, those are memories that I'll have forever. Now you want to go out there and actually play in the game and create some memories of your own.''

USC's hot start in basketball is a not a surprise to the Trojans' players.

Florida improved to 5-1 in BCS bowl games. The five BCS wins are tied for second with Ohio State, trailing only USC's total of six.
Florida became the first program in FBS college football history to notch 13 wins in consecutive seasons. The Gators finished 13-1 for the third time in four seasons. This is the first time in FBS college football history that this has happened.

Oregon's Kenjon Barner on making it to the Rose Bowl.
``This was a big thing for us. We're a young team, and to be where we are with everything that we went through the injuries and all, I think that's pretty impressive for your team.
``It was good for us to get a taste, you know, get a taste of this Rose Bowl and get that feeling. Kind of tough to deal with this loss, but also get that hunger for next year, come back and want the National Championship, want everything, come back and fight.''

Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor on the importance of the victory for the Big Ten's reputation.
``We needed it, just for the Big Ten as a whole in general because I know we battled them all year long, but we're also playing for each other because it's a rep.
``We're playing for each other, and when schools like Penn State are playing in other Bowls. It's a reputation for us. It was huge for us to get over that hump and win this game, and we've just got to keep on winning.''

Former USC tailback Emmanuel Moody scores on a 6-run during Florida's rout of Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl.

Oregon loses to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, dropping the Pac-10 to 2-5 in bowl games.

Immediately after tonight's Rose Bowl, the field will be torn out and new sod planted for next Thursday's BCS title game between Alabama and Texas.

Hope everyone got a chance to either witness the Ohio State band at the Rose Parade or at the Rose Bowl. A magnificent band.

Taylor Mays, Charles Brown and Anthony McCoy were selected for the Senior Bowl.

Florida State's band is called the Marching Chiefs. And they are billed as ``the largest marching band in the world.''
Over to you Spirit of Troy or Trojan Marching Band or whatever it's called these days.

Here's what ESPN offers for today's Rose Bowl.

TV: Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit & Lisa Salters
Radio: Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden & Shelley Smith

Guess that means no players will be dancing behind Erin Andrews like last year.

Time to make a prediction for today's Rose Bowl. Amanda Pflugrad gets things started by picking Oregon to defeat Ohio State, 34-20.

USC gets off to a winning start in the Pac-10 with a victory over Arizona even though Kevin O'Neill said point guard Mike Gerrity was ``awful.''