Bennie Boatwright was out with a wart on his foot. Sounds like nothing but I had one and it was painful with rubbing by the shoes and it affects play.

Once again USC held a huge lead-15 points at the half (41-26). They got there by being more athletic and aggressive versus Stanford's system of passing often, and touching near all 5 players before a shot. It seems like David Shaw was coaching this team as well as football. They stuck with it, disciplined and not particularly inventive. USC made them pay with the majority of their points in the paint (48by USC to 28 by Stanford) and by inducing turnovers (16 Stanford turnovers to 7 for USC). .

But one nagging thing was that USC fouls were coming quickly while Stanford was not (9FTs to USCs 4 in 1H). Since USC was more aggressive on O that seemed strange, particularly at home. Sometimes I wonder if refs subconsciously see one team pounding on another and start thinking they need not give the lead team any more advantage. And in the 2H Stanford gets 10 FTs and USC only the 4 -McLaughlin FTs at the end of the game. Getting points at the FT line with the clock stopped is an easy way to get back.

Sure enough the second half US had its normal dry spell and Stanford like the tortoise was getting back in the race. Still leading by 12 at 57-45 (11:11 to go) it became 66-64 with 0:32 to go. McLaughlin potted 1 FT and missed the second. 3 ahead and McLaughlin made a great anticipatory steal of a pass, was fouled and missed both FTs. Now still up by 3 Trojan Killer Davis launched a three to tie….but from where I sat it looked off and it was hitting the iron in back of the net and going out of bounds. USC inbounded it on a half court pass and Stewart dunked it while the faithful let out a synchronized breath of relief.

Star of the game from the bench was Jonah Matthews and his 18 points on 7-12 shots and 4-6 on threes. He kept Stanford D a little honest. USC is now technically tied for first with Arizona (7-2 vs. 6-1) but UA has 2 more games to play. The crowd was late arriving and filled about 40% of the arena. Come out Sunday vs. Cal and support this team.

Curious, I had never heard of him but my son tells me a fair amount of Millennials are following Jordan Peterson's podcasts. He is a clinical psychologist that clearly knows his sh*t. This hostile interview with a British journalist shows that JBP is very impressive, never loses his composure, sticks to the facts, high level of critical thinking, pushes back on group think, never backs down.

Hope more Millenials give JBP a listen.

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If you have not listened before, Rivals SE analyst Chad Simmons and I host the Rivals Ranking Podcast talking prospect evaluations and recruiting rankings. In today's episode we had a pretty candid conversation about the discussion we had on where JT Daniels fit in the 2018 rankings after re-classifying. That specific discussion starts at the 5:10 mark in the player below, but there's some references to Daniels even earlier in the podcast:

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USC is his dream school:

https://n.rivals.com/news/top-2020-db-elias-ricks-has-dream-school

I've been told that there isn't an exact number of players that USC is looking to take in this class and that it's still a bit of a wait and see approach as NSD approaches

without Bennie.

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https://usc.rivals.com/news/smith-offered-by-a-dream-school

Why does he always question if California kids love football?

Sources have informed me of the following:

1. Keary Colbert is going to become the tight ends coach, with John Baxter remaining the special teams coach.

2. Defensive backs coach Ronnie Bradford is not expected to remain on staff for the upcoming season, with a change potentially coming around signing day.

3. There’s still a very real possibility that defensive line coach Kenechi Udeze won’t return.

USC technically has one vacancy left.

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@ the USC Bookstore?

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https://usc.rivals.com/news/where-usc-recruits-stand-in-the-final-rivals-rankings

Breaking down the perfect USC signing class, including where the Trojans stand with their top remaining targets and roster needs in 2018.

The Perfect Class 3.0

regarding the latest rankings for J.T. You said earlier in the year before reclassification to 2018 that he is the best qb regardless of class. So what happened for this to change because he’s a year younger or 3 compared to what Lawrence (looks like he’s 22) is. He didn’t bkiwbtjbriofboff if anything and J.T. plays in arguably the toughest division in football in the country. Lawrence didn’t look like the greatest thing in 20 years either. What gives? And why is Fields ranked higher. I understand his finger was hurt but does that give him the number 2 overall spot over J.T. or even Amon-Ra who dominated everyone and ever event this year? Thanks

Peep where JT is at:

https://n.rivals.com/prospect_rankings/rivals100/2018

From a quick glance, noticed:

• USC has #3 and #4 players in nation
• Griffin now a 5* (Lets go USC!)
• IST dropped 21 spots
• Jalen Hall nowhere to be found in Rivals 100 now
• Devon Williams plummeted in rankings

Timeline:

• Rivals 100 Announced - Today
• Rivals 250 Announced - Tuesday
• Final Position Rankings Announced - Wednesday
• Final State Rankings Announced - Friday

As you all remember, not long ago, Tuli Letuligasenoa told us he was planning to take an official visit to Utah.

I've been told there's a good chance he doesn't make the trip to see USC's conference rival in Salt Lake City.

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does he stick with USC @Chris Swanson

An updated breakdown of the perfect USC signing class, including where the Trojans stand with their top remaining targets and roster needs.

Perfect Class

I don’t understand how we can take any of the kids we’ve offered that aren’t yet committed. Is expediting transfers over next two weeks even possible?

Calls USC his dream school. Will see much more of him through the spring:

http://rvls.co/2DwREbE

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Good get for the P12. Sure he's excited to work with Khalil Tate.

in the country? Am I seeing this right on Swanson’s thread?