Answer Friday!

Q; HANDICAPPED PARKING said:
Scott, a while back, you referred to a famous incident where Kiffin got into an altercation when he was a young assistant at SC. I never heard of it. Can you give us as much detail about it as you feel comfortable doing, such as, was more than one player involved, did it turn physical, etc. and etc., just as much info about it as possible. Thanx much.

A: I believe you are referring to an incident in the 2003 season where one player became upset and tried to start something with the then-assistant coach. At this point, I think I will refrain from using a name. But it was a well-known thing to people who were around back then. I don't believe it got physical.

Q: winforever said:
What is Amanda Pflugard up to these days? She hasn't been cheering during the basketball season.

A: She told me she missed the Pac-10 Tournament to focus on school because this is probably her last year of cheerleading and she wants to start concentrating on her career.

Q: schammer47 said:

Scott,

Would you count the games SC starters missed or barely played in due to injuries, begining with Bush and Leinart's last year and ending with last years team. I believe you will find that the number of games the season starters missed or played hurt increased each year, ending with last years disaster. Why the increase in injuries? Practices becoming more physical, stength coach at fault, bad luck? Your thoughts.

A: Injuries due to Pete Carroll's tough practices were a common trait during his tenure. Players did not like it but Carroll thought it was worth it for the attitude it instilled in the team. I know there were a lot of injuries last year and it definitely hurt the team. The problem was that in the past, USC suffered injuries and seemed to be able to plug anybody in without a dropoff. Famously, I remember walk-on Collin Ashton starting against UCLA at linebacker and doing a good job. It seemed like last year the depth was a problem. Maybe it's natural because of years where 10-plus guys go to the NFL.
But if the depth issue is not better this season, we could see another repeat of that dropoff and there could be a loss or two attributed to it.