Sunday’s Takeaway: The End Is Now USC’s New Beginning
The offseason is nearly over for USC’s football program. Since the 2023 season ended, Lincoln Riley has been busier than a one-legged man competing in a hopscotch contest. He replaced nearly his entire defensive coaching staff, navigated two transfer portal windows with varying degrees of success, put Bennie Wylie to work achieving big success, coached spring practice, held official visitor recruiting weekends while also observing summer workouts, attended the B1G Conference Media Days, and played the muse for national pundits howling at the moon.
The Trojans now transition into the preseason this week because camp starts this Friday at 7:00 AM on Howard Jones.
After everything that’s happened, all of the questions answered, the only thing left is to play football.
The End Of An Era Is A New Beginning
After all of the traditions USC built up over its history and the dominance recorded in the history books, it’s the end of the era. The Trojans are starting over.
“History is Written by Victors” implies that history is not grounded in facts, instead, it’s the winning side’s interpretation that gets the ink.–That the victors can force their narrative down everyone’s throats. Think of those certain up-and-coming “Victors” that try and create history with billboard gimmicks, and oversized bathtub toys floating in rivers. I’m sure some will make the narrative that is innovative while others will call it desperate.
USC’s history doesn’t require a narrative or creating alternate facts even though they are starting over.
Part of the B1G conference’s history shows USC’s dominance over time. All of that history and the spoils collected don’t get packed into boxes and stored in the attic. All of those Rose Bowl beatdowns, Heismans statues, and championship banners will be on display when USC opens its house to its new members.
Hopefully, no one gets lost on their way. Including USC’s identity.
Does Anyone Know Who USC Is
I’m starting to get concerned that USC’s identity is getting lost during the move. The topic of out-of-conference scheduling has been put under the microscope lately. Everyone is analyzing the benefits and potential negative side-effects of playing someone your own size instead of picking on the littlest kid looking for a fight. I’m also starting to get the feeling that USC’s head coach is partly at fault for the Trojans losing their identity.
In Indianapolis, Coach Riley mentioned Alabama when it comes to scheduling and playing for championships. ‘Bama was ahead of the curve for years, I thought, on how they scheduled in the non-conference. They would occasionally hit the marquee non-conference game, they’d play two other not-very-good teams, they’d play one late so they got essentially a little bit of a bye week there late in the season…They didn’t schedule for their fans.–They scheduled to win championships. My hope is we can do the best thing, schedule to win championships that include a rivalry game for all that comes with that and all that it means, said Riley.” ———But if you get in those positions, you’ve got to decide on what the priority is. It’s not an easy answer.”
Riley’s central point is correct; The main goal at a place like USC has to be winning a national championship.
However, coming on the heels of reports that it was USC who wanted to back out of the upcoming neutral site game against LSU, plus dropping the home-and-home series with Ole Miss, the discussion of avoiding difficult games to chase a championship is going to get more national attention, and not in a good way.
History will record what is said. And it doesn’t matter what the context is, certain things need to be left unsaid so it doesn’t come across as complaining.
Riley was asked if this rebuild at USC was more “tedious” than he originally thought it would be.
“It’s a process to get there. Has my patience been tested on it? Hell yeah. No doubt. Every day. But my resolve hasn’t been tested. My commitment to being here hasn’t been tested. I know this is the right place. I know what this is going to be and that’s what makes that confidence every day, whether the day goes perfectly the way you want it or something goes wrong that day, I don’t ever leave that day discouraged. There’s just a bigger picture to what we’re building here and I’m really focused on that and I’m really confident in what we’re doing and that we’re doing it at the right place.”
And, now, Riley is hinting that he might like the Notre Dame series to disappear.
Just to remind Coach Riley and a reporter from the IndyStar at the B1G Conference Media Day who asked Jonah Monheim and Miller Moss if they knew which city Purdue University is located in, and if they’ve ever played in the state of Indiana. USC plays Notre Dame every year. It’s part of its history and tradition.–It’s part of college football’s history!
So to the IndyStar reporter quizzing USC’s players’ knowledge, Notre Dame plays in the state of Indiana that USC visits on the years ending with an odd number. And yes, USC’s players knew the answer was Lafayette.
With all of this talk about re-imagining USC’s scheduling identity, head coaches questioning Lincoln Riley’s effect on the Trojans, and with little response from USC’s head coach defending itself, it’s no wonder no one knows who USC is anymore.
When USC starts a new era on September 1st against LSU, it’s not so much a new beginning as much as a continuation of history being recorded.
“To the Victor go the spoils.
The post Sunday’s Takeaway: The End Is Now USC’s New Beginning appeared first on On3.
