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  • USC football breakdown: How the Trojans look at running back, receiver and tight end

    USC receiver Makai Lemon addressed reporters in a press conference shortly after he declared for the 2026 NFL Draft. It felt like a step toward closure on his time with the Trojans, but also reassurance for the future at USC.

    “I realized that I can be a resource to help the younger guys, knowing that they look up to me in certain ways on and off the field,” Lemon said. “Just try to be the best example and the best person that I can be to lead the younger guys and make sure that they go in the right direction.”

    Lemon and fellow receiver Ja’Kobi Lane, who also declared for the draft, were two of the biggest offensive pieces this season. The Trojans have no choice but to move forward, and their former receivers have set a standard for the returners and incoming skill players to recognize.

    The wide receiver room is brimming with both returning and new talent. Tanook Hines, who started at receiver last season, is coming back and six receivers join the Trojans from the 2026 signing class, which was ranked as the best in the nation.

    There’s also plenty of returning talent at running back in Waymond Jordan and King Miller, who both started at the position at different points in the season. Riley Wormley, who received increased playing time in the Alamo Bowl, is also coming back and two incoming freshmen will join the group, too.

    The tight end group will be the most changed next season, especially after losing Lake McRee and Walker Lyons, who both started at the position this season.

    USC’s offense will still be humming; it’s just a matter of which pieces get plugged in and where.

    As the first transfer-portal window has wrapped – although exceptions are always possible – here’s a full breakdown of the movement at USC’s skill positions entering spring, the second in a six-part series examining the post-portal scholarship outlook for every part of the roster. 

    Running back

    Returning: Waymond Jordan, Jr.; Riley Wormley, Fr.; King Miller, R-Fr.; Cian McKelvey, R-Soph.

    Arriving: Deshonne Redeaux (Oaks Christian); Shahn Alston (Harvey)

    Departing: Eli Sanders, R-Sr. (NFL Draft); Bryan Jackson, So. (Portal, Wisconsin); Harry Dalton, Fr. (Maryland)

    Wide receiver

    Returning: Zacharyus Williams, Soph.; Jay Fair, Sr.; Tanook Hines, Fr.; Corey Simms, Fr.; Cameron Sermons, Fr.; Seth Zamora, R-Fr.Brady Jung, R-Fr.; Collin Fasse, R-Fr.

    Arriving: Terrell Anderson, So. (transfer, NC State); Kayden Dixon-Wyatt (Mater Dei); Ethan Feaster (DeSoto); Trent Mosley (Santa Margarita); Luc Weaver (Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks), Roderick Tezeno (Opelousas); Ja’Myron Baker (Sierra Canyon)

    Departing: Corey Nerhus, R-Sr. (eligibility); Makai Lemon, Jr. (NFL Draft); Ja’Kobi Lane, Jr. (NFL Draft); Jaden Richardson, R-Sr. (NFL Draft); Josiah Zamora, R-Sr. (eligibility); Asante Das, R-Sr. (eligibility)

    Tight end

    Returning: Joey Olson, R-Fr.; Carson Tabaracci, R-Jr.; Walter Matthews, R-Fr.; Fisher Melton, Fr.; Taniela Tupou, Fr.

    Arriving: Tucker Ashcraft, Jr. (transfer, Wisconsin); Mark Bowman (Mater Dei); Josiah Jefferson (Southwestern College)

    Departing: Lake McRee, R-Sr. (NFL Draft); Walker Lyons, Soph. (Transfer, BYU)

    Top questions

    Can the run game be restored?

    The running backs dealt with season-ending injuries to the one-two punch of Waymond Jordan and Eli Sanders, leaving space for King Miller to step up and become arguably the most valuable walk-on in the country with 972 yards in 13 games.

    Jordan was USC’s golden goose, and likely will be that again this season. He’ll also be prepping for an NFL career. The Trojans may choose to use Jordan and Miller as their two primary running backs, and mix in sophomore Riley Wormley and incoming freshman Deshonne Redeaux to prep for the future.

    How will Tanook Hines embrace his leadership role?

    Hines is the only starting receiver to return from the 2025 season, and he’ll be back without Lemon and Lane by his side.

    He had two games of 100-plus yards, against Oregon and in the Alamo Bowl against TCU. Quarterback Jayden Maiava targeted him more than any other receiver against TCU, and Hines finished with 163 yards on six catches as a result.

    Hines gained immense experience in his first year of college football. It’s up to him how he uses it to affect the team as a sophomore.

    Which two tight ends will USC choose?

    Head coach Lincoln Riley effectively used sets involving two tight ends this season, and he had two great ones to work with in McRee and Lyons. Carson Tabaracci and Taniela Tupou both played in the Alamo Bowl, which indicates that they could be next in line.

    A position battle could ensue, however, if the coaching staff likes what it sees in Wisconsin transfer Tucker Ashcraft or incoming freshman Mark Bowman. Both are big bodies with talent who could get reps early if they can learn the system quickly.

    Haley Sawyer

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  • Chad Baker-Mazara, USC edge Minnesota in OT to finish 3-game trip

    MINNEAPOLIS — The flight home will be a lot less gloomy than it looked 24 hours earlier for the USC men’s basketball team.

    Chad Baker-Mazara scored 29 points and made two free throws with 10 seconds left in overtime to rally USC to a 70-69 victory over Minnesota on Friday night, the long bright spot during an eight-day stay in the Midwest that included a pair of lopsided losses to No. 2 Michigan and No. 12 Michigan State.

    Baker-Mazara made 9 of 20 shots from the field with four 3-pointers and all seven of his free throws for the Trojans (13-3 overall, 2-3 Big Ten). He added eight assists. Ezra Ausar pitched in with 14 points and nine rebounds.

    Cade Tyson had 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists to pace the Golden Gophers (10-6, 3-2), who had won five straight. Bobby Durkin had 13 points, Langston Reynolds scored 12 and Jaylen Crocker-Johnson 10.

    Jacob Cofie hit a 3-pointer to put the Trojans ahead 53-40 with 9:48 left in regulation, and they stayed in front until Tyson made two foul shots with 45 seconds left to put Minnesota ahead, 63-62. Gabe Dynes, who came into the game 5 for 13 at the foul line, made the second of two free throws with 33 seconds left, forcing overtime after Tyson and Ausar missed jumpers.

    There were seven lead changes and three ties in the first 7:24 after Grayson Grove’s first 3-pointer of the season gave Minnesota a 22-21 lead.

    Both teams went scoreless from there until Ausar’s layup with 7:06 left put the Trojans in front. Isaac Asuma answered with a 3-pointer to end Minnesota’s scoring drought at 5:27 and Tyson scored for a 27-23 advantage and the game’s first two-possession lead.

    Baker-Mazara hit three free throws, Ausar stole the ball and dunked, and Dynes added back-to-back dunks as USC followed with a 9-0 run that led to a 35-30 advantage at halftime.

    UP NEXT

    USC hosts Maryland on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

    Staff and news service reports

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  • No. 21 USC women moving forward from rivalry game ‘disappointment’ and on to Oregon

    Disappointment and embarrassment. Two words that USC women’s basketball head coach Lindsay Gottlieb used to describe how her team felt after losing 80-46 to No. 4 UCLA on Saturday in the first of two regular-season games between the crosstown rivals.

    “But we own it,” Gottlieb told reporters after the game. “We get a lot of basketball to achieve our goals and we’ll get back to work and take it on the chin. We’ve had great wins and celebrations here and tough losses. And all we can do is just handle it and get better. And that’s what our team’s looking forward to doing.”

    The Trojans dropped four spots in the Associated Press rankings to No. 21 after the loss, but can quickly begin to turn the page after the defeat. They’ll host Oregon (13-3 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

    It’s part of a brief break of non-ranked opponents before USC (10-4, 2-1) hosts No. 8 Maryland on Jan. 15. In addition to playing the Ducks on Tuesday, they’ll also play unranked Minnesota on the road on Sunday.

    USC has already played three out of the four top teams in the country in No. 1 UConn, No. 3 South Carolina and, most recently, UCLA.

    “We’re trying to be the national champions,” Gottlieb told reporters. “We’re trying to be the best program in the country, so I’m not sorry we scheduled them all. You’ve gotta learn where we had big strides and where we haven’t. And we’ve fallen short in those games.”

    Oregon achieved a bounce-back win and its first win of the Big Ten Conference season when it beat Northwestern 87-54 on Thursday. The Ducks are also battle-tested and played No. 6 Michigan and UCLA in their first conference games of the season.

    They lost to the Wolverines 92-87 on Dec. 29 and to UCLA 80-59 on Dec. 7

    The Northwestern win was a well-rounded offensive performance that saw 10 different players contribute points. Five-foot-11 sophomore guard Katie Fiso led her team with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 6-foot-2 Australian forward Mia Jacobs had 16 points and six rebounds.

    “We’re keying in on those little details but also just worrying about ourselves,” Fiso told reporters after the game. “It’s just a bunch of other people with a jersey on. And once we focus on ourselves, then we can be the best version of ourselves. It’s us vs. anyone, really.”

    Oregon had 33 rebounds as a team in the game, and 23 of them were defensive. The Ducks also had 13 steals and are tied for second in the conference in that category with 12.8 steals a game.

    USC struggled in the post against UCLA and shot 27% from the field while grabbing a season-low 26 rebounds on Saturday night.

    Some positives, however, included the 17 turnovers that the Trojans forced and freshman Jazzy Davidson’s 11th straight game of scoring in double figures. The 6-foot-1 guard continues to carry a heavy load at 32.6 minutes per game in her first season of college basketball.

    She has support from 6-foot-1 sophomore guard Kennedy Smith, who is averaging 10.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists.

    “They pretty much are the core of how they attack,” UCLA head coach Cori Close said after Saturday’s game.

    “Kennedy is an elite passer and she is their best defender. Jazzy has been one of the most impactful freshmen in the country. They’ve done a really good job fighting to find different ways to score and use them in creative ways.”

    OREGON (13-3 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) at No. 21 USC (10-4, 2-1)

    When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

    Where: Galen Center

    TV/Radio: Big Ten Network/USCTrojans.com/listen

    Haley Sawyer

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  • No. 17 USC’s defense rains down on Iowa

    LOS ANGELES — No. 17 USC overcame an 11-point first-half deficit and its defense pitched a shutout in the second half to complete a 26-21 comeback win over Iowa on a rainy Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and stay in contention for its first bid to the College Football Playoff.

    Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava went 23 of 32 for 254 yards and a touchdown and King Miller was USC’s leading rusher with 83 yards on 19 carries. Running back Bryan Jackson scored two short-yardage touchdowns. Makai Lemon had a game-high 153 receiving yards and a touchdown off 10 receptions.

    The Trojans, who gave up 212 yards in the first half, limited the Hawkeyes to 108 yards in the second half, with only 25 yards coming through the air.

    Iowa, known for a rushing attack that slowly wears down opposing defenses, leaned into its passing game to score 21 points with only one punt in the opening half.

    Hawkeyes quarterback Mark Gronowski had a passing, rushing and receiving touchdown all in the first half. He finished 12 of 19 for 132 yards. Kamari Moulton led Iowa with 90 rushing yards on 15 carries.

    Gronowski completed a 14-yard pass to tight end DJ Vonnahme on the first play of the game to start a 69-yard touchdown drive. Iowa capped it by lining up at the 2-yard line, with Gronowski dropping back for a quick scoring pass to Dayton Howard with 11:26 remaining in the first quarter.

    Gronowski put Iowa up by two touchdowns with his second score of the game on a 1-yard run 48 seconds into the second quarter. USC cornerback DeCarlos Nicholson appeared to have broken up a pass to stall the drive at the 28-yard line, but a defensive pass interference call kept the Hawkeyes chugging along.

    USC got on the scoreboard with 9:15 remaining in the first quarter when Jackson took a direct snap and ran up the middle for a 2-yard touchdown to trim Iowa’s lead to 14-7.

    Even though USC pulled off one of the most talked-about trick plays of the season last week against Northwestern, it was Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz who dug deep into his playbook first Saturday.

    Late in the secondd quarter, Gronowski handed the ball off to receiver Kaden Wetjen, who then pitched it to receiver Reece Vander Zee. The touchdown play was fully executed when Vander Zee, who played quarterback in high school, hit Gronowski with a 5-yard pass 3:24 before halftime.

    USC’s Ryon Sayeri made a 40-yard field goal with 39 seconds left for a 21-10 halftime deficit. Two miscues prevented USC from potentially turning that drive into a trip to the end zone. Maiava connected on third down with Ja’Kobi Lane for a 14-yard gain, but center Kilian O’Connor’s movement downfield nullified the play. Miller dropped Maiava’s next pass and USC settled for a field goal.

    Maiava came out firing on the other side of halftime. After Sayeri made a 29-yard field goal, the quarterback hit Lane with a 12-yard pass on the Trojans’ second drive of the half and followed up with another 12-yard pass – this one to Lemon in double coverage for Maiava’s first passing touchdown of the day. The 2-point conversion attempt failed, but the touchdown cut Iowa’s lead to 21-19.

    USC’s defense was depleted by the second half, especially in the secondary. Defensive tackle Keeshawn Silver, safeties Kamari Ramsey and Bishop Fitzgerald and cornerback Marcellus Williams all left the game with apparent injuries.

    True freshman defensive tackle Jakeem Stewart stepped up in their place, grabbing a deflected pass for the USC’s first interception of the day.

    The Trojans were able to capitalize on the pick and went 40 yards in six plays for a touchdown. Jackson took the ball up the middle into the end zone from one yard out for USC’s first lead of the day at 26-21 with 13:37 remaining.

    Iowa had one last chance to reclaim the lead. The Hawkeyes returned to the rushing attack and were able to drive down to the Trojans’ 29-yard line. But on 4th-and-6, USC safety Kennedy Urlacher leaped for a pass breakup that all but ended Iowa’s comeback with 1:59 to play.

    Haley Sawyer

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  • Jayden Maiava isn’t ‘comfortable,’ and it’s working in USC’s favor

    LOS ANGELES — USC quarterback Jayden Maiava is not comfortable, despite the Trojans getting out to a 3-0 start to the season. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s uncomfortable.

    “I don’t think I’m comfortable at all right now,” Maiava told reporters after practice on Tuesday. “There’s a lot to learn from. You don’t want to get complacent. When you get a little success, you don’t want to fall back. You just want to work harder, and sharpen that edge.”

    The efforts to become a smarter – and better-rested – quarterback are culminating in a forceful start to the season.

    Maiava has emerged as the top quarterback in the Big Ten Conference when it comes to passing yards per game (329.7) and he’s averaging 14.1 yards per attempt.

    Training fixtures like the Trojan Period continue to breed the competitive mindset that Maiava seeks, and they are also helping the team close out games strong. The first-team offense goes against the first-team defense with less elaborate play calls and more hard-nosed competition.

    “It’s more about physicality and technique and finishing, and we move it around day to day, so they don’t know exactly when it’s actually going to show up in the practice and how it’s going to play out,” Riley said.

    “It’s become really competitive and just a period that I think the guys always look forward to. A period that as a program we hang our hat on.”

    Maiava has yet to throw an interception and is playing behind an offensive line that has only allowed two sacks. The only statistic where he has dropped off from last season is rushing yards.

    “We’ve got better guys to run the ball,” Maiava told reporters. “Like Waymond Jordan and Eli Sanders. Being able to get them the rock is huge for me and in terms of me running the ball, it’s just whatever the defense gives me.”

    USC’s expanded options in the passing game complement Maiava’s enhanced skill set, especially when it comes to decision-making. Tanook Hines is making a name for himself alongside Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane in the receiving corps, and a built-up tight ends room allows the coaching staff to experiment more with 12 personnel.

    “Since the day I got here, we have been like, all right, we have to build there,” Riley said of the tight ends. “That room was a ways off when we got here in terms of the depth and talent and skill sets that we want to have. It’s certainly gotten closer to where we wanted to be, and it’s cool to see those guys being able to affect our team in some positive ways.”

    The tight ends didn’t contribute a single touchdown last season, but this year have already chipped in three between Lake McRee, Walker Lyons and Carson Tabaracci.

    INJURY REPORT

    Cornerback Chasen Johnson will be out for the remainder of the season due to a knee injury, Riley told reporters on Tuesday. He had played in only the Sept. 6 game against Georgia Southern this season and recorded one tackle.

    The UCF transfer started four games for the Knights in 2024 and finished that season with 18 tackles and two pass breakups.

    Receiver Zacharyus Williams is also expected to miss time due to an undisclosed injury sustained against Georgia Southern.

    “We’ll see how it is,” Riley said. “It’s probably gonna be a few weeks, so we won’t have him for sure for the next couple weeks.”

    Williams had three receptions in the first two games, including a season-long catch of 61 yards against Georgia Southern.

    Haley Sawyer

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  • How USC football made the decision to wear matching gameday outfits

    LOS ANGELES — The USC football program is embracing change this season, and not just when it comes to a shift in developmental focus. One of the most noticeable differences has been in how the Trojans arrived at the Coliseum on Saturday for their game against Missouri State.

    All players wore matching all-black warmups – a striking contrast to the highly individualized gameday outfits that players were able to choose for themselves last season.

    “There’s been a lot of changes in our program, particularly in the last couple of months,” head coach Lincoln Riley told reporters after the game. “And if you ask these guys, we don’t show up to a meeting, we don’t really do anything unless it’s all together.”

    The change represents a unification within the team, according to the Trojans, and a willingness to trust in the Leadership Council.

    The council is comprised of players and coaches who have been selected by Riley or recommended by teammates. They’re consulted throughout the season for feedback on decisions that will affect the entire team.

    “This is one of the bigger ones that we’ve had,” Riley told reporters on Tuesday. “It’s important and we rely on those conversations and that feedback when we make some of the decisions for the team.

    “It’s a good, healthy group right now. It’s a good mix of staff and players, and so far, the group has been taking it really personal. That’s how you want them to take it.”

    Offensive lineman Tobias Raymond – who started at left guard on Saturday – told reporters that the council is ego-less and has opportunities to make an immediate impact in addition to participating in more long-term decision-making.

    Players and coaches keep each other in check, making sure that no hats are worn during meetings, drills are done correctly during individual periods and the energy is always high.

    “When we’re in practice and energy is low, it’s on us to come try and bring it back up together,” Raymond said. “That’s obviously something that we’re all still learning, but I think that’s kind of the main goal of the leadership council is to come together and figure out like, OK, what are we going to do at this time?”

    The collective decision to have a unified gameday look is a permanent one, at least for this season. Some variation in accessories appears to be allowed – some players had heavy jewelry draped around their neck and others had swaths of tropical flowers or leaves.

    Others, like running back Eli Sanders, kept the look simple.

    “The tracksuit’s cool,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “Being a team, being professional. I didn’t have any accessories on. I had some headphones with wires on – I know it’s kind of outdated, but that’s what I rocked with.”

    This team decision is a noticeable and public one, but some leadership council conversations stay behind closed doors.

    Riley, quarterback Jayden Maiava and safety Bishop Fitzgerald sat at the podium together during Saturday’s postgame press conference and when a reporter asked about the matching warmups, Fitzgerald and Riley immediately looked toward a smiling Maiava.

    “That’s stuff that we just discuss as a team,” Maiava said when asked about the smile. “‘Unify’ is a huge one for us, and we’re all just trying to move as one, and move together.”

    Haley Sawyer

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  • USC crumbles late in crushing 29-28 loss to Maryland

    USC crumbles late in crushing 29-28 loss to Maryland

    COLLEGE PARK, Md. — At long last, after a season scorned by losses, after the “few plays away” that had defined USC’s season, they seemed set to close a football game on the steady leg of Georgia Southern transfer kicker Michael Lantz.

    41-yard try. Two minutes left. USC up six. Snap. Kick. Ballgame, it should’ve been.

    But Lantz’s boot never quite made it in the air.

    Maryland’s Donnell Brown burst through and deflected the field-goal attempt, the loose football scooped up by the Terrapins’ Caleb Wheatland, and a USC program that’s shown a complete inability to simply close games in 2024 left the door open just long enough for a fleet of red to streak through.

    They’d all been bad. They’d all been heartbreaking. There was the gut-wrencher in Ann Arbor, and the frustration in Minneapolis, and the Penn State madness at the Coliseum last week, and yet nothing quite compared to the sheer bafflement that unfolded in College Park on Saturday afternoon as USC fell 29-28 to Maryland.

    First came the blocked kick after a second half of calamities, and then a Maryland drive that gave the Terrapins a stunning lead in the span of but five plays, and then a final USC drive that seemed momentarily destined for glory until Miller Moss dropped back on fourth down.

    Needing two yards to set up another Lantz try, with 10 seconds left, he darted a ball over the middle to the normally steady-as-a-rock Woody Marks.

    The ball popped out, off a Maryland tackle, the kind of break that’s never gone USC’s way in a shocking 3-4 start – and 1-4 Big Ten – that somehow, some way, could still be 7-0.

    Moss put his hands to his helmet, and two plays later, these Trojans trudged off the field again as a thin crowd of Terrapins red stormed the field.

    Again, a strong first half was flushed down the drain. Again, Lincoln Riley refused to turn heavily to the running game as time wound down in the second half. Again, a fourth quarter and an eventual loss had come down the “few plays away” that have defined Riley’s time in Southern California.

    Things looked just peachy at the end of the first half, when Moss found tough-handed sophomore Makai Lemon – rapidly becoming a favorite target – for a 24-yard gain over the middle, Marks punched in a touchdown after a couple handoffs, and USC held a 21-7 lead. After a season of youthful inconsistency for USC’s sophomore receiving corps, they put on a 30-minute clinic, Lemon totaling five first-half catches and young Megatron Ja’Kobi Lane somehow twisting on one second-quarter ball from Moss for a one-handed TD grab that defied all of Isaac Newton’s scientific epiphanies. And after a couple weeks of iffy performances, Saturday’s first two quarters saw the return of the Moss that fans saw in the Holiday Bowl, a gunslinger who dotted his way to a 196-yard first half.

    But even in his best games of 2024, even as Riley stuck with self-described “zero question” to Moss as his starter, the junior’s been prone to head-scratching mistakes that have doomed USC’s fortunes. And with USC moving in the third quarter, another brutal decision set disaster in motion, firing off his back foot and floating an interception that resulted in a Maryland score not a play later.

    After another ineffectual USC drive, cornerback Jaylin Smith momentarily played superhero, skying for a remarkable one-handed pick on a fourth-and-goal to put the Trojans back in the driver’s seat. With momentum at the start of the fourth quarter, buoyed by a steady ground attack from Marks, Moss found Duce Robinson for a 26-yard push into the end zone for another sophomore-starring moment.

    Luca Evans

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  • USC’s Anthony Lucas out for season, leaving defensive line thin

    USC’s Anthony Lucas out for season, leaving defensive line thin

    LOS ANGELES — A year ago, Anthony Lucas was better in practice than he was in actual football games.

    A year later, during USC’s fall camp, a confidence steadily built that these Trojans wouldn’t only see the best version of him on Howard Jones Field.

    “It feels a bit different,” head coach Lincoln Riley said a month ago, of Lucas. “More mature. More steady.”

    Through six games in 2024, USC has gotten the version of Lucas the coaches first envisioned when they plucked a 6-foot-5, 295-pound former five-star recruit out of the transfer portal from Texas A&M in 2023. Beefed back up to 275 pounds after slimming as a sophomore, Lucas quickly established himself as USC’s most important defensive line piece, racking up a team-high 12 pressures and proving stout against the run off the edge.

    But they only had that different version, it turns out, for six games, as Riley told reporters on Tuesday that Lucas would be out for the rest of the season after undergoing a procedure on his leg.

    Lucas had limped off with an injury and was taken to the medical tent late in USC’s Week 5 loss to Minnesota, still managing to play 38 snaps and record six tackles against Penn State last weekend, according to Pro Football Focus. He wasn’t seen working with USC’s defensive line group during the early period of USC’s practice on Tuesday, however, and Riley clarified that Lucas had an an injury to a “lower extremity.”

    “Hate it for Anthony, because he’s really improved,” Riley said. “He had a really strong impact on our defense.”

    “He’s in a good frame of mind,” Riley continued. “We’ll be excited to get him back next year and get him rolling and build on all the progress he made. And in the meantime, it’s going to create an opportunity for some more guys to step up.”

    The question is who, exactly, as USC’s defensive line room is already dangerously thin – and its front was further weakened Tuesday by the announced medical redshirt of senior linebacker Eric Gentry. Lucas was praised throughout the fall for his versatility in rotating at interior and edge spots, and both groups will feel his loss, a junior who has played more snaps than anyone else on the Trojans’ defensive line in 2024. Starting defensive tackle Gavin Meyer is banged up, carted off midway through last the loss to Penn State. Former difference-maker Bear Alexander is out of sight and out of mind, not seen at a USC practice since settling on a redshirt three weeks ago.

    “You rely on the development that’s been going on (behind) the scenes, and the guys that you’ve recruited,” Riley said, when asked the plan for USC’s defensive line with Lucas’ absence. “And maybe there’s some guys that you thought, ‘Well, maybe their role won’t be quite as much this year, maybe they redshirt’ – that, now all of a sudden, they’re going to have that opportunity.”

    Luca Evans

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  • USC’s Lincoln Riley contends replay rules were ‘ignored’ on Minnesota’s game-winning TD

    USC’s Lincoln Riley contends replay rules were ‘ignored’ on Minnesota’s game-winning TD

    LOS ANGELES — Sitting in his office last Thursday, two days before the call that might have shifted the course of USC’s season, head coach Lincoln Riley laughed when asked if the Trojans ad to adjust to the way games were officiated in the Big Ten.

    “Yes,” Riley smiled, on a Zoom call with members of the media. “Yes. Very much so.”

    He spoke, then, in nothing but positive light. The Big Ten, Riley said, let them play more. There were less “ticky-tack” fouls called, as he put it, a slight over-the-shoulder toss at the days of the former Pac-12. He said he appreciated the conference and appreciated officiating coordinator Bill Carrollo, and he made explicitly clear he preferred this way things had become.

    “I don’t think I got fined there,” Riley grinned, after pausing for a few seconds. “We’ll see.”

    It was tongue-in-cheek, then, because there was no level of discontent in that response that could have warranted any such punishment.

    The discontent came exactly five days later.

    On Tuesday, after wholeheartedly deflecting the topic following Saturday’s 24-17 loss to Minnesota, Riley took his place for media availability after USC’s practice with a lengthy off-the-cuff statement ahead of questions: there had been plenty of conversations with the Big Ten postgame, he said, on a “number of misses.”

    Riley referenced a pass interference call on cornerback Jaylin Smith in the fourth quarter, a couple of plays before Minnesota scored a game-tying touchdown. There was a pass interference that “wasn’t called,” as Riley put it, potentially referring to an incomplete toss from quarterback Miller Moss to receiver Ja’Kobi Lane on a third-and-4 on USC’s ensuing drive. There was an intentional grounding call on Moss that same drive.

    And then there was the mother of them all, the hotly debated game-winning fourth-and-goal score for Minnesota that was initially ruled a stop by USC’s defense – before being overturned and ruled a touchdown.

    “Just to sum it up so we can all move on,” Riley said, “the explanation that we got on the last play was that they believed – or they thought that the runner had scored – and they felt like that was enough to overturn it.”

    “I’ve not been given any explanation why we ignored the part of the rules that obviously state that, to overturn something, alright, that it has to be absolutely, completely clear-cut … that part was ignored,” Riley continued, “which is unfortunate for us.”

    He was correct, in that the play was in no way clear-cut. With a minute left and and USC’s hopes riding entirely on a stop with the score tied on Saturday, Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer took a snap and received a tush-push into a pileup at the goal line, officials on the field determining he had not reached the end zone. Any track of his body relative to the plane vanished, completely, in replay angles shown on a Big Ten Network broadcast. Brosmer even lost control of the football.

    But after review, the call was overturned, and a minute later Minnesota students were streaking onto the field amid a 24-17 Golden Gophers victory.

    When Riley called the conference, officials admitted they hadn’t known when the ball came out – and agreed video evidence to overturn the call wasn’t indisputable, the coach alleged Tuesday.

    “Did he score?” Riley said. “Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t. I don’t – but I mean, that’s the problem, is, I mean, nobody knows.”

    The Southern California News Group has reached out to a Big Ten representative for comment.

    Luca Evans

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  • USC women outlast UCLA in double-OT classic to reach Pac-12 tournament title game

    USC women outlast UCLA in double-OT classic to reach Pac-12 tournament title game

    LAS VEGAS — She rocked back and forth for a moment on the hardwood, trying to summon the strength to pull herself up, to rejoin the action continuing without her at the other end of the court.

    Finally, a whistle blew in overtime, and USC’s JuJu Watkins crumpled.

    The freshman guard groped at her left ankle, writhing back and forth in agony, rolling into the fetal position as a trainer rushed over and sat her up. It seemed the death knoll for USC’s Pac-12 tournament hopes, a pall settling over a throng of thumping loyalists and stragglers alike at MGM Grand in Vegas. Not a minute into Friday night’s 80-70 victory over UCLA in a Pac-12 tournament semifinal, Watkins had collapsed similarly after a drive, limping off the court and straight to the tunnel with a sprained left ankle as head coach Lindsay Gottlieb sifted through mental worst-case contingency plans.

    No need. Two minutes later, in that first quarter, she’d hobbled out from the tunnel. And about a minute and a half after she exited on the same ankle sprain in overtime, she somehow came trotting back, throwing herself back into a thicket of UCLA trees like she had never left.

    “Even when I went out, I knew I’d get back in, because my team needed me,” Watkins said, adding later, “it’s just an ankle. Nothing I’m not used to. Feel great.”

    Just an ankle. Yet another gutsy performance that could sit with the rest in Watkins’ freshman year, in what coach Lindsay Gottlieb has called the “storybook of Ju:” 33 points, 14 for 17 from the free-throw line, an ugly 9-for-27 line from the field in an at-times ugly double-overtime descent into madness in the desert.

    But this is simply her, bandages and forehead welts and all, putting her body through a gauntlet through this February and March’s Pac-12 gauntlet and never once accepting the thought that her limbs might simply give way. This was the same kid, Gottlieb remembered with a smile, who she had seen turn her ankle during a 6 a.m. practice back in her high school days at Sierra Canyon and run right back out like nothing was the matter. And when asked postgame about the source of her competitive fuel, Watkins deflected onto her teammates with a bashful grin.

    “We’re talking about it, like, Ivys,” Watkins said, referring to USC’s group of senior Ivy League transfers, “this is their last year. Like, you don’t know what’s going to happen next year. So we’re really taking advantage of everything.”

    This is no longer a program on the rise. This is a USC program (25-5) that has arrived ahead of schedule, officially snatching a season series – barring another matchup in the NCAA tournament – from a UCLA team (25-6) that has long been the standard in Los Angeles, officially earning a berth in the Pac-12 championship game to play a top-seeded Stanford team (27-4) that has long been a standard of women’s college basketball as a whole. And Watkins’ grit was matched in whole by her fellow Trojans on Saturday night, the Ivys – McKenzie Forbes, Kaitlyn Davis and Kayla Padilla – all coming up with big-time plays in a game that seemed set to slip.

    With the score knotted at 59-all in the final seconds of a back-and-forth regulation, a flurry of Watkins attacks was thwarted by UCLA stalwart center Lauren Betts and forward Angela Dugalic and Bruins guard Londynn Jones streaked to the rim for what could’ve been a game-closing layup. Except Padilla – a lithe 5-foot-9 guard who wasn’t known for her defense before arriving at USC from Penn – chased down and swatted Jones’ layup away, setting the stage for overtime.

    As UCLA again held momentum in the first extra period, holding a four-point lead with less than a minute to go, Watkins stepped to the line for a pair of free throws. She made one. Missed the second. Back-breaker – except Davis, who stampeded around the paint like a baby elephant during a 16-rebound night, snared a board and kicked to Forbes for a 3-pointer to tie. On the next possession, Davis swallowed up a Betts layup attempt for a jump ball, roaring and flexing to her bench in glee.

    “I felt like, all of us collectively came into it with a confidence, especially when the game is that tight,” Davis said postgame, “knowing that we can lock in and we’ve done it before.”

    The third-seeded Bruins had every chance to close, a sobering reality for a group that might have lost its chance at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Both at the end of regulation and the end of the first overtime, they had two seconds for a final shot to win the game, only for guards to dribble nowhere and not even get a shot off before the buzzer. Betts feasted all night, with 17 points and 18 rebounds, but when asked postgame if her 16 shots were enough, Close responded simply: “No.”

    Close, repeatedly, pointed the finger at herself and took accountability for all of it. She noted her displeasure with a lopsided first quarter, second-seeded USC ending the frame on a 16-0 run before a corresponding 16-0 run by UCLA the next period. She emphasized UCLA was out-toughed by USC; beaten, in a sense, at its own game. It’s on me, she repeated, in different variations.

    And it was fitting in a bruising effort Friday night, really, that it ended with one final body bump, Forbes collapsing to the hardwood after a final-second foul from UCLA’s Gabriela Jacquez. Falling unceremoniously, smacking the court again – but with a smile, because there was nothing left but to smile.

    And as Forbes drained her late free throws and the buzzer sounded on a USC win, Marshall snagged a rebound and roared with every decibel left in a tired voice, every fiber left in weary muscles, Kaitlyn Davis and teammates leaping for joy after felling their cross-town rivals once more and proving themselves in the desert.

    Luca Evans

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  • Alexander: JuJu Watkins will lead the next generation of women’s basketball

    Alexander: JuJu Watkins will lead the next generation of women’s basketball

    LOS ANGELES — To really understand the impact JuJu Watkins has had on USC women’s basketball in just a few short months, consider the concession stands.

    No, seriously.

    A year ago, the Women of Troy played and defeated Oregon at home on a mid-February Friday night – a T-shirt giveaway, no less – and drew 1,126 fans, and my search for an open snack bar at the Galen Center was truly a search – one on the lower level just happened to be open. Smaller crowds, fewer concession staffers needed, right?

    Sunday afternoon, when USC played Utah – and Watkins broke the school record for 30-point games in a 74-68 loss to the Utes – there were 7,129 in the house, food stands were fully stocked and staffed … and lots of those in attendance were little girls waving signs, boys and girls – and adults – wearing JuJu jerseys, and certified basketball royalty in the courtside seats.

    Yes, Cheryl Miller has four season tickets directly across from the USC bench. The fulcrum of the school’s two NCAA championship teams in 1983 and ’84 – and indisputably the greatest player of her era – is prominent in her presence and one of a number of program alumni encouraged to come back by head coach Lindsay Gottlieb and lead assistant Beth Burns.

    They may have been attracted because they’re loyal alums, but they’re mainly there because of JuJu.

    This is a prime era for women’s college basketball, with more televised games, more attention, and as Gottlieb noted in a phone conversation this week, more investment in the women’s game than ever before. On the other side of the country, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark has set the NCAA Division I women’s career scoring record and is creating a nice living for scalpers wherever the Hawkeyes go. Connecticut’s Paige Bueckers and LSU’s Angel Reese are among others who have taken advantage of the attention.

    But JuJu is the vanguard of the next generation of superstars. More significantly, she’s an L.A. kid who, rather than migrating to one of the sport’s established powers to chase a championship, opted to stay home and help build something.

    The amazing thing is that for all of the attention she gets here – including the throngs of well-wishers and autograph seekers who wait for her to come out of the Galen Center after home games – she’s a well-kept secret nationally so far. USC has played only two national TV games this season and most of its exposure has come from the Pac-12 Network, meaning a large swath of the country only sees JuJu highlights on SportsCenter or YouTube.

    There are plenty of highlights. Going into USC’s Thursday night game at Arizona, she has a school-record 12 30-point games (eclipsing Miller’s 10 in a season), a single-game school record 51 points in a victory at Stanford, three Pac-12 Player of the Week awards and 13 conference Freshman of the Week honors.

    Watkins leads the Pac-12 in scoring (28.2) and is 10th in rebounding (7.0), third in free-throw percentage (.861), third in steals per game (2.64), seventh in blocked shots (1.64) and seventh in minutes played (34.01). Nationally, she’s second in scoring to Iowa’s Clark (at 32.1 a game) and is 35th in free-throw percentage and 27th in steals per game.

    She is a 94-foot player, a potential difference maker at both ends of the floor with a significant skill set.

    “It’s been fun to watch JuJu,” Elise Woodward, a former player at Washington and now a broadcaster for ESPN and the Pac-12 Network, messaged on the Platform Formerly Known As Twitter.

    “JuJu has elite body control that is world class. The way she can elevate so quickly to get her jump shot off even with the defender close is special. The ability to change pace and tempo to freeze defenders, even when they have good position, and then explode by them, allows her to get easier looks in the paint than most other players. And when she misses, she pursues her own rebounds with a vengeance and her body control allows her to grab rebounds in tight spaces without fouling.

    “She is a shot maker at all three levels, with the height of a forward but the skills of a point guard.”

    And she seems to have accepted the responsibility of lifting the performances of those around her.

    “We have a really good team and we have other good players around her, but she was put in a situation where she’s had to shoulder the load from Day One, whereas some of those other players walk onto a top 10 team, a top 15 team,” Gottlieb said. “She’s all over the floor impacting the game in a lot of different ways. … I think the threat of her being able to drop 40 at any time affects game plans, which opens things up for other people.

    “She raises the level of play of those around her. I mean, she’s a complete player that most importantly has impacted winning. And I think for a young player to come in and have individual success, but more importantly lift the team is, I think, her greatest accomplishment.”

    The legend and the up-and-comer haven’t interacted a lot – “maybe 10 minutes, max,” Miller said – but there’s a link, given the expectations when Cheryl arrived at USC. The legend’s advice: Give JuJu time.

    “You know, Caitlin wasn’t Caitlin until her last two seasons,” Miller said. “Everything looks great on paper. Everything looks great for right now. But let’s see where she elevates her team. … Her junior and senior years, she’ll pretty much have it figured out. But right now a lot of that falls on Lindsay’s shoulders. You want JuJu to be JuJu, and that’s a fine line. Lindsay’s got to say, ‘Hey I’ve got to keep those reins a little tight. I’ll have them a little loose. But I have to be able to reel her in.’”

    The parallels? When Miller got to USC, she had a respected coach in Linda Sharp – “Anything she told me to do, I never rolled my eyes because I knew she had my best interests at heart,” she said – and two strong veteran teammates in twins Pam and Paula McGee. If she strayed, she heard about it.

    “I needed that, too,” she said, “because you can’t help when you’re coming in with all of that attention and all of the accolades to somehow think, yeah, you are the center of the universe. And then you find out very quickly you’re not.”

    It is a different environment now, of course.

    Miller said she’s impressed that JuJu understands that all of those little girls are looking up to her and that she has an opportunity, and responsibility, to set an example, be it in interviews, one-on-one interactions or social media posts.

    “She has an incredible following,” Gottlieb said. “I think the diversity of it is really interesting. It’s boys. It’s girls. It’s older, it’s younger. It’s just – it’s cool to have a JuJu jersey. It’s cool to be a fan here now. But also I think it speaks to JuJu and her family understanding the bigger picture. … it’s JuJu who wants to spend the time and interact with people. And I think she understands her place in all of this, you know, maybe beyond her years.”

    Gottlieb mentioned a road game at Colorado where the players were already on the bus, ready to leave for the airport, when an assistant coach saw a little girl waiting for Watkins.

    “He came on the bus and said, ‘Hey, JuJu, would you come out and sign for her?’ ” Gottlieb said. “And she said of course. She comes out, and as soon as she’s signing for the one kid, 50 other people started running down a hill to come to her. And we’re like, ‘Oh, man, we didn’t know we were opening her up to that.’

    “But this is what we’re starting to see, and I only think it’s going to grow from here.”

    If the JuJu Phenomenon does become the hottest ticket from coast to coast, it will only be positive for a sport that is beginning to hit its stride in the public consciousness – and, with the success of USC and UCLA, establishing a beachhead in the nation’s second-largest market.

    For years, the star stories have been concentrated in Storrs, Conn., Knoxville, Tenn., and more recently in such far-flung outposts as Eugene, Iowa City and Baton Rouge.

    “People used L.A. in some ways as a negative, like, ‘Oh, you know, women’s college basketball can’t be big in L.A. because there’s too many other things going on,’” Gottlieb said. “Or, historically, the L.A. schools haven’t drawn crowds. And I think she’s turned that narrative on its head, because L.A. loves winners and L.A. loves a show, and there’s no bigger winner or no bigger show than JuJu right now.”

    Jim Alexander

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  • Alexander: UCLA ‘humbled’ by USC, but will it matter?

    Alexander: UCLA ‘humbled’ by USC, but will it matter?

    LOS ANGELES – It is hard to imagine a team not showing up energized and focused for a rivalry game. Especially a team that had more to play for.

    But that six-game winning streak UCLA compiled before losing at the buzzer to Utah last week? That’s old news, getting smaller in the rear view mirror.

    The chance of getting back to the NCAA Tournament, and giving Mick Cronin his 12th straight trip to March Madness (if you forgive 2020, when there was no tournament because of COVID-19)? It’s hanging by the skinniest of threads. USC, which played its way out of contention for an at-large bid weeks ago, likely extinguished it’s rival’s at-large hopes as well Saturday night with a 62-56 decision at Pauley Pavilion that was a lot more convincing than the final score looked.

    “There’s only one way we can make the tournament,” he said. “You gotta win the conference tournament, by my math.”

    But that might have been the least of his worries, following a discouraging loss and the attitudes during the week of practice that led up to it.

    “It’s a simple game – the team that plays harder usually wins,” Cronin said. “They played much harder than us. They were more physical. They had humility. They came in here looking for redemption. We had no humility. Show me somebody that’s not humble, and I’ll show you somebody getting ready to get humbled.

    “We had our worst week of practice of the season. I failed miserably to get my team ready for the fight that was coming today. And I’m thoroughly embarrassed. I apologize to the people wearing the four letters. Yes, we really struggled making open shots, but that has nothing to do with all the stuff I talked about. The team that wins the fight usually wins the game, and they won the fight in every way. We were awful.”

    Exhibit A: Cronin noted that the top priority listed on the locker room board before the game was to put the clamps on the Trojans’ Boogie Ellis.

    “Do not let him shoot,” Cronin said. “Make somebody else beat us. How’d that work?”

    Ellis had 18 points at halftime, on 6-for-10 shooting and 3 for 5 from 3-point country. He finished with 24. Meanwhile, UCLA’s guards were 5 for 17 from the field in the first half, 7 for 35 for the game with 11 turnovers. And after using a 15-1 run at the end of the first half to tie the game 34-34, UCLA didn’t score a point for the first 7:15 of the second half to fall back again.

    “We missed our first five shots (after halftime), so we just came out flat with no energy,” Adem Bona said.

    The 15-1 run was, Cronin said, the only time during the game he felt his team played hard. Otherwise, “We let them run whatever they wanted to run. We took nothing away from them.”

    The signs evidently were there in the days leading up to the game, and Cronin seemed befuddled that he had to “put guys on the treadmill, yell and scream and run my team the day before you’re playing your rival in front of your biggest crowd of the season … I should have to calm them down.”

    Would this be the sort of experience that might get his players’ attention for the final four regular season games and the conference tournament? Maybe. Maybe not.

    “You would assume they’re extremely humble” after a loss like that, Cronin said, adding that he didn’t expect them to take it as hard as he did.

    “I’m not going to talk to anybody tonight,” he said. “I’m going to hate myself, the job I did. The only person I’m talking to tonight is my dog, okay? And that’s it. I have a recruit in town, so somehow I have to rally tomorrow.

    Jim Alexander

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  • Paralympian Ezra Frech commits to USC track team, making history

    Paralympian Ezra Frech commits to USC track team, making history


    LOS ANGELES — Two years ago, in his own words, Ezra Frech set a goal to make a Division I track and field team.

    Two years later, he tugged on a USC hat in front of a wall of Team USA jerseys – and made history, yet again.

    Frech, a Paralympian and world record holder in the T63 high jump, announced to his 131,000-plus Instagram followers on Monday that he has committed to USC’s track and field team. According to Team USA, the 18-year-old Frech is the first above-the-knee amputee in history to commit to a Division I track program.

    “I’m excited to continue my academic and athletic career competing against able-bodied athletes at … the University of Southern California,” Frech said in an Instagram video, unzipping his jacket to reveal a USC shirt. “Let’s go, Trojans! Fight on, baby!”

    It’s a truly monumental get for USC track coach Quincy Watts, as Frech will join USC following the Paris Summer Olympics. That will be his second stint as a Paralympian, as Frech finished fifth in the men’s T63 high jump with a mark of 1.80 meters (5 feet, 9 inches), before setting the world record at the 2023 Para Athletics World Championship at 1.95 meters (6 feet, 4 inches).

    According to his website, Frech was born with congenital limb differences and missing fingers, having his left leg amputated when he was 2½ years old and a toe transplanted to his left hand. He’s since become a widespread inspiration and viral sensation, documenting his track journey through his social media accounts. In 2013, he and his father Clayton founded Angel City Sports, an organization that provides equipment and clinics for para-athletes. The organization has hosted the Angel City Games, an event for adaptive sports and athletes with disabilities, annually since 2015.

    At the end of the day, the caption on his Instagram announcement spoke for itself.

    “HISTORY.”

    Courtesy of Marcel Padilla/SportsSourceMedia





    Luca Evans

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