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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
College football recruiting: USC surges as Lincoln Riley lands three top-100 defensive commits
The Trojans picked up impressive steam on the recruiting trail.
The first two years of the Lincoln Riley era at USC featured modest success on the high school recruiting trail, but the Trojans' fortunes may be beginning to turn. Following a remarkable weekend in which they landed three commitments from top-100 prospects, the Trojans skyrocketed up the 2025 recruiting rankings from No. 54 to No. 11 nationally, joining college football's elites in the talent acquisition race.Five-star defensive lineman Justus Terry, who ranks No. 13 overall in the 2025 class and No. 2 at his position, flipped his commitment from Georgia to USC to get the ball rolling for Riley and his staff. Four-star prospect Isaiah Gibson, the class' top-ranked edge rusher, followed in pledging to the Trojans, and four-star safety Hylton Stubbs rounded out the top-100 haul. Three-star defensive lineman Gus Cordova also joined the fold.
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calibuck
Too soon old, too late smart
Have always opined that the only thing holding Pac12 back was that they live in a timezone where Easterners are asleep when they play. So noone notices them until playoff time. Yeah, I know about TVO etc, but now, they'll be wandering into the midwest, playing either the B10's heavyweights or a lesser light on primetime. Winning might against current elite B10 teams might up the ante considerably. The exposure can do nothing but elevate their national status if they can win. PS, gonna cost midwesterners sleep, as all eyes will be on tOSU as it invades Oregon, in what is certain to be an ESPN game of the week game. Cannot see a 7:00am start, so maybe a 12:00pm start, which is 3:00pm in Ohio? Will be interesting to see how this plays out. Go Bucks!
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I’m in central, and a college football junkie, so I’d try to stay up to watch PAC 12 after dark. But even when I do manage to stay awake I’m usually unwinding from a full day of games that I’m not fully engaged or paying attention.
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buckeyeintn
Legend
Uh, you do realize the B1G doesn't have a contract with Mickey Mouse, don't you? Fox, CBS, NBC.
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Won't be on the 4 letter.......they no longer have a contract to broadcast B1G games. The conference completely washed their hands of The Mouse last year.
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calibuck
Too soon old, too late smart
Thanks gmen, guess that went over my head, or through my ears. Never equated Game Day with ESPN, sounds silly I know, but guess I thought that it was above all that, as an independent splinter that went where the best game was to be played. ESPiN sometimes sat in on B10 games, even they were broadcast by Fox, B10 or ? (not them). That takes 40% of the games away (if they're not allowed into the B10 stadia), so maybe that'll be just one more nail in ESPiN's coffin? We looking at an expanded Gerry Dinardo & Co broadcast on Saturday mornings?
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Do you even Big Noon Bro?
*Abruptly segues to threads topic*
Trojan defensive recruiting seems to have had an uptick recently. Makes one wonder if recruits aren’t more tempted by the move to a more defense minded conference
Makes one wonder if the B1G didn’t just hand USC a golden ticket back to the top echelon
Then one remembers that it’s a fake sport now anyway
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
B1G Thoughts: Should the Big Ten be concerned about USC?
After failing to capitalize on future No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams’ career by employing an objectively bad defensive coordinator, Lincoln Riley finally came to his senses and hired a new defensive staff. Led by new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, USC hopes to fix its defensive woes and chase a national championship.
Now is a great time for the Trojans to work on their defense, as the road to success has gotten much harder with them joining the Big Ten.
Riley’s quest to fix his defense may be led by his 2025 class, which is currently on fire. USC has eight commits, with six of them being on the defensive side. USC landed all six of its defensive recruits in the last two weeks, adding three top-100 players, including two five-star defensive ends from Georgia on March 24.
Since the 24th, USC has landed the No. 13, No. 17, No. 71, and No. 95 ranked players in the country — all on the defensive side of the ball. For reference, last season USC only landed two top-100 recruits total, with only one being on defense.
In this class, USC already has a five-star quarterback, which is to be expected. Under Riley, USC will always recruit well on offense and have a star quarterback. It has historically been his defense that’s held him back from reaching the pinnacle of the sport. That same defense stopped Riley from even winning a PAC-12 championship with his most talented quarterback in Williams.
Heading into the 2024 season, the favorites to win the Big Ten are Ohio State and Oregon. Penn State has historically been a great team and hopes to be better now that it doesn’t have to play Ohio State and Michigan every year. The Big Ten is a much tougher conference than the PAC-12, and USC is facing an uphill battle in the trenches.
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
USC quarterbacks, defense excite Lincoln Riley in noteworthy spring game
The Trojans coach had a lot to like about his team's scrimmage performance.
OPENING STATEMENT:
"A lot of great competition out there today. Defensively, I think you saw some flashes of what we've been seeing on the practice field. Defense did a great job, obviously, creating the turnovers. That was probably the story of the day: The defense making the offense pay for their mistakes. There was a lot of really good individual plays out there, a lot of players on both sides of the ball that we're really excited about."ON THE SECONDARY FORCING FOUR TURNOVERS:
"That's just, to me, another example of the development. I mean, it's plays that good defenses and good secondary players make, and we made most of them. A little tough to tell on the tackling at times, but for the most part, it felt like we tackled well in the field. We made plays on the ball. We didn't really bust much, really the entire day. It's a well-coached group. You got two of the best guys in the business that are coaching those guys, and when you have that, you see the results of it.".
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Let's see if they can hang on to those two five stars from Georgia through signing day before we all start shaking in our shoes.
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The B1G was far too kind to the Trojans with their inaugural schedule
They have three “long travel” games, but the last of them is on October 19th at Maryland. They play 5 games after that, 4 of them south of the Sepulveda pass. Their only November game outside of SoCal is in Seattle
No Oregon
No Ohio State
They have three “long travel” games, but the last of them is on October 19th at Maryland. They play 5 games after that, 4 of them south of the Sepulveda pass. Their only November game outside of SoCal is in Seattle
No Oregon
No Ohio State
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