One of the biggest reasons I became such an ardent college football fan was because for more than two decades the city I call home didn’t have an NFL franchise. Sure, I have my tribal roots, which made me a poster child for Sunday Ticket, but when it came to local media we were considered a satellite market for teams 130 and 450 miles away, respectively. And most of that time neither the Chargers nor the 49ers were all that great.
For Angelenos, college football was the big ticket, and while working for one of the schools and having many friends who were alums of the other, the USC and UCLA bandwagons were ones I eagerly glommed onto. The Trojans were almost always dominant; the Bruins occasionally so. Last year, both teams arguably disappointed, with Southern California especially underwhelming compared to expectations and the Blue and Gold downright lousy. Things had to change this season.
Thanks a somewhat soft schedule, USC has at least gotten off a positive start, sweeping their first three games. That said, yesterday’s road test at Purdue was more of a crucible than first blush might indicate; while the Boilermakers are firmly in the bottom tier of the newly bloated Big Ten, they do play in the Eastern time zone. Which last year proved to be a continuation of USC’s woes dating back to 2012–they hadn’t won a single test with that three-hour time difference since then, which included several Notre Dame visits and both of last year’s inaugural conference road games at Michigan and (ugh) Maryland.
But yesterday, the Trojans at last conquered those demons as well as Mother Nature, as USC TROJANS ON SPORTS ILLUSTRATED’s Caden Handwork reported:
After a three-hour and fifteen-minute weather delay to begin the game, the USC Trojans outlasted the Purdue Boilermakers 33-17 with its defense stepping up when it mattered the most in its Big Ten opener. USC’s defense was the difference in the game, as they recorded three interceptions off Purdue starting quarterback Ryan Browne, one of which featured a big man touchdown, a favorite among college football fans. The 6-foot-5, 360-pound defensive tackle, Jamaal Jarrett, recorded a 70-yard interception return late in the third quarter for the Trojans.
There was more than a slight bit of symbolism in Jarrett’s earthquake-like rumble, stumble and bumble that ultimately gave USC an insurmountable edge. It signaled that if nothing else, Lincoln Riley has taken note of what is demanded from a hungry and well-heeled fan base, especially those that reside in the immediate area. And considering how their rivals have fared, that appetite even among the less ardent has grown considerably.
Hours before back at the Rose Bowl, the Bruins were being showcased in a Friday night Big Ten network home game designed to give the conference’s coast-to-coast network a doubleheader that the FOX executive partners hoped would keep eyeballs on the afterthought a bit longer. What they got instead was a performance that likely led fans to scatter to the winds. Per the LOS ANGELES TIMES’ Ben Bloch:
Once scheduled for a Saturday, UCLA’s final nonconference game was quietly pushed up a day last spring to provide a bigger spotlight for the Bruins.
It revealed perhaps the biggest embarrassment of the early college football season.
There’s no other way to spin it for UCLA after a third consecutive loss during what was supposed to be the soft part of the schedule raised a frightening prospect: Will the Bruins win a game this season?
UCLA’s 35-10 loss to New Mexico on Friday night at the Rose Bowl represented new depths after the Bruins once again looked lost on both sides of the ball.
“It’s pretty low right now,” UCLA coach DeShaun Foster acknowledged after stoically walking off the field and later remaining expressionless when he met with reporters. “I’ve been around this program for a long time and it’s just unfortunate, what’s going on right this moment. Just not executing.”
At least they can say they’ve got the same winning percentage at what at least until a few hours after this posts was a Top Ten national team. One that their crosstown rivals have more than a shred of familarity with. Per THE ATHLETIC’s dynamic duo of Jason Kirk and Alex Kirschner:
No. 16 Texas A&M 41, No. 8 Notre Dame 40. The 3-0 Aggies beat a ranked team on the road for the first time since 2014, and now get No. 24 Auburn next (and don’t play Alabama or Georgia). The 0-2 Irish are so close to being 2-0, with last night’s difference ultimately being a bobbled extra-point snap, but close feels bad, I’m guessing. Worrying night for ND’s defense.
- From Stewart Mandel’s Final Thoughts on the weekend: “In 2024, Notre Dame finally earned some national respect with its run to the final night of the season. And Marcus Freeman successfully recast himself from the over-his-head young coach who lost to teams such as Marshall and Northern Illinois to the cool cucumber who took down guys such as Kirby Smart and James Franklin. It only took the 2025 Irish two games to unravel both narratives.”
And at least they can take solace that the quarterback who bailed on them last fall who now croons Good Ol’ Rocky Top at bonfires, Joey Aguilar, had a waaay more crushing defeat bestowed upon him yesterday, once again per K & K:
The last time No. 15 Tennessee beat No. 6 Georgia, in 2016, it took a 43-yard Hail Mary as the clock hit zeroes…Tough spot, though, needing to split the uprights in a checkerboarded Neyland Stadium, with eight years of rivalry demons joining 11 Dawgs during the last play of regulation in a tie game. He pushed the kick wide right from the left hash, granting UGA a reprieve that it wouldn’t waste. Gilbert impressively hung in there to make a 48-yarder in overtime, but that didn’t stack up well against Georgia’s prompt touchdown drive. Final: Dawgs 44, Vols 41 in OT.
So if you do run into Joe or Josephine Bruin any time this week on the Westside, be nice. And Trojans nation–you especially. Remember, basketball season isn’t all that far off.
Courage…