Goodbye Lane Kiffin (And What Lies Ahead for USC)

Now that the dust has settled a bit on Lane Kiffin's departure, I'll pass along my thoughts from Bro Jackson on his firing. I've said plenty about him already this year so I'll just bring this point up.

People have mentioned how USC has suffered from scholarship reductions. While that has hurt depth issues, the bigger problem isn't how deep they are. It's how unprepared the current Trojans are. It's how USC has slowly lost its luster with recruits in the area. This is according to 24/7 Sports ranking kids out of California who committed to USC

2011: 5 Top 10, 3 more in Top 20, Antuan Woods at 25 (Marqise Lee's year)
2012: 6 Top 20, Jordan Simmons at 23
2013: 3 Top 10, plus current freshman phenom Justin Davis at 21. As a non-Cali bonus, they snagged the No. 1 QB in the country.
2014 class: 1 Top 20. ZERO Five star commits. Several four stars.

The numbers declined sharply. That's where USC's problem was. Local kids didn't want to go there anymore because the program was getting toxic and as much as losing the fans hurt, losing relevance among recruits hurt. Nobody wanted to play for Kiffin similar to how local basketball talent didn't want to play for Ben Howland at UCLA after a while.

So as I did my current video on where they go from here, that's where they have to start. Re-endear themselves to the public and to the kids. Lane Kiffin's damage can be easily reversed but it might not happen this year. It's like solving pollution - you can't get rid of it right away but every step helps.

Video Soul: Recapping UCLA and USC

Regretfully I took a week off from making my weekly videos. Unless I get sick or crazy busy, I'll try to be better with it. Anyways, here's my thoughts on UCLA and USC.

Late kudos to UCLA for fundraising to build a new football facility. It's long overdue and it finally shows that the school is committed to building up their football program to a level it demands. One more strike to show recruits they are committed to winning them over and Jim Mora that they want him to keep building something.

As for USC, I'm still trying to burn that second half out of my mind. It's fitting they're heading to the desert because just like Walter White, I feel like that's where their failures will catch up to them. Arizona State's got something to prove and I think Will Sutton and that defense will be licking their chops to see the mediocre Trojan offense.

For more of my Pac-12 reactions, check out my weekly roundup over at Bro Jackson

USC's Glorious Fall (In Words and Video)

I finished uploading this video right before work so apologies for the late post. But USC's loss to Washington State bears a double dose of my commentary so enjoy that short video on Lane Kiffin's failures and then read my in-depth thoughts over at Bro Jackson.

That game reminded me of watching UCLA and Notre Dame in 2007. One of the worst games I've ever seen where both teams could barely score points and UCLA couldn't get touchdowns despite being inside the 5-yard line twice. That was rock-bottom for UCLA under Karl Dorrell so now it's USC's time.

Seriously. They only scored seven points at home?? Three days later I'm still smirking and hopefully Lane Kiffin doing the right thing giving Cody Kessler the starting job will be a start. But who am I kidding. I'm just waiting for Arizona State to tear them a new one on September 28 to continue the Pac-12 shellacking the Cougars started.

Pac-12 Football Preview: USC's Identity Crisis

To say USC’s 2012 season was a failure is being nice. Preseason No. 1 to unranked at season’s end due to a freefall I’ve never seen at the House of Troy. The fall was best symbolized by Matt Barkley ending his career with a shoulder injury at the hands of UCLA’s Anthony Barr.

Lane Kiffin deserved the lion’s share of the criticism for his arrogance and questionable playcalling. I called his coaching into question several times. and there’s no doubt that he’s on the hot seat this year.

With Barkley and Robert Woods in the NFL, the big question entering 2013 is who is USC now? The 2nd best team in Los Angeles? 3rd best in the Pac-12 South? Will they still rely on their passing game or finally trust their backfield?

They still have the country’s best wide receiver in Marqise Lee and a surefire NFL prospect in Morgan Breslin, who’s switching to linebacker after playing defensive end in 2012. They still have Silas Redd, who Kiffin said would be a more prominent factor in the offense. But they have a few kinks to work out so let's break down what they're working with.