Notes & Observations Report: USC’s Final Pac-12 Football Media Day

The USC 2023 season’s first Notes & Observations Report is now available for your viewing pleasure! So here we go–again!

**Friday, July 21st marked the final Pac-12 Media for the USC Trojans. And I have to be brutally honest; they should have kept the event in Los Angeles. Las Vegas is a fun place to visit and it’s a great place for conventions. However, how hard is it to find a venue that can accommodate everyone with a place to sit and working Wi-Fi? Lots of folks standing up in the back of the room.

**The Zouk Nightclub venue itself was nice. And I’d imagine if you’re going to a nightclub it would have a nice vibe. I may or may not have the personal experience to draw from, however, the decor, lighting, and VIP booth seating are exactly what a gentleman’s club would look like.

**One of the perks that media gets for these types of events is the meals that we’re served. And nothing beats cold soft scrambled eggs, bacon bathing in lukewarm grease, and coffee that has a hard time staying hot. There were bagels, pastries, and toast too. For lunch, we were served a couple of different pasta dishes and salads.–Not bad! The desserts were the best part if you like tiramisu and cannolis.

**Commissioner George Kliavkoff took the stage at 8:00 AM and I’m sure he would have rather been somewhere else. I know if I had some sick days in the bank, I’m using one of them. Almost everything the commissioner said from the dais felt disingenuous from the get-go. “Speaking of football, the Pac-12 is the strongest it has been in two decades,” said Commissioner Kliavkoff.

**Now I fully understand the need for a positive spin from dealing with all the outside noise. However, no, the Pac-12 Conference is not the strongest it’s been in 20 years. A conference that is losing two members to a competing conference is not a sign of strength regardless of how many data points the commissioner points to.

**“We have the reigning Heisman Trophy winner returning to a Pac-12 school for the first time since 2005 and have several of the most highly touted challengers for the Heisman.”

**George’s above quote and the way it was parsed felt intentional. Yes, it’s true, the “conference” has the returning Heisman Winner for the first time since 2005. But the school that accomplished both of those feats should be referred to as USC, or the University of Southern California, which is home to 8 of the Pac-12 Conference’s Heisman Awards.

**Another thing, I don’t think the commissioner mentioned USC or UCLA’s name once during his remarks. So while it’s true, the conference has the reigning Heisman Award winner coming back in 2023. Next season, USC will be taking 8 of the conference’s Heisman Awards to the B1G Conference for their trophy case.

**His next disingenuous comment and follow-up had everyone in the room shaking their heads because no one believed a word of it. Kliavkoff said, “We are purposely not talking about the new media deal so we can focus on football today.” When he asked does that mean you have a deal in place, Kliavkoff said, “I wouldn’t read that much into it.”

**For the life of me, I cannot figure out why he would say that football was the day’s focus and not have an update. And then to say that the longer it takes, the better it is for the conference.–———BIZARRE RESPONSE

**”I will tell you that our recruiting has never been stronger. That kind of reinforced the decision to not engage with that and stay with the high road.”

**That was another one of the commissioner’s data points that he liked to use for clout. And since the door was open, I walked through when Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham took the stage. Honestly, I could have asked this question to all of the head coaches, however, Kyle was up first.

**With Kliavkoff’s comment still relatively fresh in everyone’s mind, I asked Coach Whittingham,“This is probably going to be the last time you get to play USC and UCLA in Los Angeles. How is that going to affect recruiting for you, knowing those families won’t be able to watch their kids play in L.A.?“

**Did I strike a nerve? “I would say to be determined. I think it certainly will have an impact on recruiting. Without a presence in Southern California, that’s been a real focal point of our recruiting for years and years. I can’t give you a great answer other than we’ll have to see how that shakes out…But report back to me in a year or two, I’ll have a lot better answer for you on how that’s going (smiling).“

**Just so everyone understands the context of his smiling that the Pac-12 chose to highlight, and my observation of striking a nerve. Later when the Utah players, Cameron Rising and Cole Bishop took over, you could sense that Utah does not like USC. Especially when the media reminds the back-to-back conference champs of the preseason vote.

**Cam Rising’s answer about how he and his teammates were feeling before Caleb pulled up lame in the Conference Championship game, could only be described as pure manure.

**Lincoln Riley was up next. He answered the questions tossed in his direction like a pro who has been around the Pac-12 for years. Which made one of the questions interesting considering Riley is entering his 2nd season in Los Angeles.

**Q. I probably speak for some of my colleagues here. Is there, from a historical perspective, some sense of melancholy, like you guys are leaving this great conference, going to a new frontier in the Big Ten? Do you feel a sense of loss as you enter into your final
season here in the Pac-12?

**“Yeah. Sure we do. I haven’t been in this conference very long. When I made the decision to
come coach at USC, it was to come coach here. In a short time, been able to make and create great relationships within this conference, whether it’s the other coaches, the other schools, the administrators here, getting to play at the different venues. So, yeah, sure there is.”

**Riley may have said, “yes.” However, it was forced and just as disingenuous as Kliavkoff’s answers. He went on to say, “This is not a battle between good and evil, right?” My first thought was Marvel’s Civil War. LOL

**When people say. “He gets USC.” It has a negative connotation. It goes back to previous hirings and why they were hired; It’s because they “get USC.” Lincoln Riley understands the job he took.

**During the lunch break I noticed Coach Riley and his boss with the firm hand, Sports Info. Director Katie Ryan looking for a place to sit so I asked them to join the cool kids table with Erik McKinney and Scott Schrader, as well as the guy who runs the REDDIT college football platform.

**The backstory to the Twitter block is all about Coach Riley’s infamous brisket.

**During the lunch break we also got the chance to just talk with the coach like a bunch of guys on his deep sea fishing trips that he loves. I learned that he was probably one of the last people to find out that Tackett Curtis committed to USC because of no cell coverage. We heard some fish tales from his and Coach Dennis Simmons trip.

**The more I get to know Coach Riley and his personality, the more I like the guy. We see things through a similar prism as far character and “the guy” in the locker room who needs to tell someone they suck when they’re not doing their best. Mason Cobb is this season’s Travis Dye.

**I also learned the Coach Riley loves big loud stadiums and he cannot wait for the move to the B1G Conference.

**This was the last Pac-12 Media Day for me and for the University of Southern California. One day this season Commissioner Kliavkoff will utter those words for the final time.

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