Football | September 24, 2024
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THE B1G PREMIERE
*Paparazzi, lights, a red carpet and movie stars — there’s nothing like a Hollywood premiere in Los Angeles. This weekend will be the B1G Premiere as USC hosts its first-ever Big Ten Conference game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
*No. 13 USC will host the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 12:30 p.m. PT.
MICHIGAN GAME RECAP
*USC fell 24-27 in an extremely close game to Michigan in the Big House on Saturday, Sept. 21.
*The attendance of 110,702 was the largest crowd USC has played in front of since it faced off against Notre Dame at Soldier Field in Chicago in front of a sold out crowd of 120,000 in 1927.
*QB Miller Moss went 28-of-51 (.549) with a season-high 3 TDs and 1 INT.
*The last time a USC QB recorded at least 51 attempts in a game was when former Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams recorded 52 passing attempts against Tulane in the 2023 Cotton Bowl.
*RB Woody Marks led the Trojans with 13 carries for 100 rushing yards (7.7 avg.). It was his fourth career 100-yard rushing game and his second consecutive 100-yard rushing game.
*Marks also recorded 5 receptions for 40 yards.
*In a key moment, Marks ripped the football out of Michigan DT Kenneth Grant’s hand after the big defensive tackle had recovered a fumble for Michigan.
*WR Zachariah Branch led the Trojans with a career-high 6 receptions for a career-high 98 yards.
*WR Duce Robinson scored his first TD of the 2024 season and the third of his career. He caught 2 passes for 19 yards.
*WR Ja’Kobi Lane also caught a TD pass. It was the second of the 2024 season and the fourth of his career.
*WR Jay Fair caught his first TD as a Trojan. He notched 3 receptions for 42 yards. It was the third TD of his collegiate career.
*K Michael Lantz scored a 29-yard FG. He is 5-of-6 on field goals this season.
*LB Eric Gentry led the team with 12 tackles, including 3 for loss of 8 yards (with 1 sack for minus 6 yards). He also recorded 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.
WELCOMING WISCONSIN
*USC and Michigan have only played 7 times (USC is 6-1).
*This will be the teams’ first meeting in 9 years (the last meeting was the 2015 Holiday Bowl).
*This will be Wisconsin’s first visit to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum since 1966 (58 years ago) and just the second time ever.
MILLER TIME
*QB Miller Moss ranks No. 8 in the nation (and No. 3 in the Big Ten Conference) in completions per game (25.33).
*USC’s passing offense ranks No. 1 in the Big Ten Conference (318.7).
POWERFUL PUNTING
*P Eddie Czaplicki is currently the No. 1 ranked punter in the nation averaging 52.1 yards on his 11 punts this season recording 573 yards. Four of his punts have been inside the 20 and 8 of them have been over 50 yards.
*He was outstanding in USC’s first Big Ten game against Michigan on Saturday (Sept. 21). He recorded a career-high average of 53.1 yards on 7 punts with a long of 60 yards, which is a season-best. He was instrumental in flipping the field as 5 of his 7 punts were over 50 yards (60 yards, 59 yards, 56 yards, 50 yards and 57 yards).
MAKING HIS MARK
*With his 5 receptions against Michigan, RB Woody Marks extended his streak of consecutive games with a catch to 48, which is the longest active streak in the nation.
PLAYERS WITH A CATCH IN AT LEAST 25 CONSECUTIVE GAMES
NAME
POS
SCHOOL
CATCHES
Woody Marks
RB
USC
48
LaJohntay Wester
WR
Colorado
41
Kyle Williams
WR
Wash. St.
41
Brant Kuithe
TE
Utah
36
Jaylin Noel
WR
Iowa St.
35
Brennan Presley
WR
Ok. St.
34
Andrew Armstrong
WR
Arkansas
31
JP Richardson
WR
TCU
31
Derwin Burgess Jr.
WR
Ga. Southern
31
Elijhah Badger
WR
Florida
30
Corey Dyches
TE
California
30
Raylen Sharpe
WR
Fresno State
30
Jordan Moore
WR
Duke
30
Kaedin Robinson
WR
App. State
29
Elijah Sarratt
WR
Indiana
29
Donavon Greene
WR
Wake Forest
29
Money Parks
WR
Utah
28
Ife Adeyi
WR
Sam Houston St.
28
Emeka Egbuka
WR
Ohio State
27
Bru McCoy
WR
Tennessee
27
Joey Hobert
WR
Texas State
26
Luther Burden III
WR
Ohio State
26
B1G TIME TACKLES
*LB Eric Gentry leads the Big Ten Conference in tackles for loss (2.2 per game) which is No. 2 in the nation. He also leads the Conference in solo tackles (6.0 per game) which is No. 10 in the nation.
NATIONAL DEFENSIVE STATS
*USC ranks No. 3 in the nation (and No. 2 in the Big Ten Conference) in first downs defense (43).
RANKINGS
*USC is ranked No. 13 in the latest AP Poll and in 16th the USA Today Coaches Poll.
*Wisconsin is not ranked in either poll.
BIG TEN COMPETITION
*USC has won 35 of its last 47 games against Big Ten foes.
IN SEPTEMBER
*USC has a 198-56-8 (.771) all-time record while playing in the month of September (does not include 3 wins vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 201-56-8, .774).
SUPER BOWL SITES
*Just 3 teams in the nation are scheduled to play at 3 different Super Bowl sites:
*USC – All home games are at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum; USC defeated LSU 27-20 at Allegiant Stadium on Sept. 1; USC will play UCLA at the Rose Bowl on Nov. 23
*Notre Dame – The Irish will play Georgia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Oct. 19; Notre Dame will face Navy at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 26; The Irish will challenge the Trojans in the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 30
*Navy – The Midshipmen will play Notre Dame at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 26; Navy will face Rice at Rice Stadium on Nov. 2; The Midshipmen will challenge South Florida at Raymond James Stadium on Nov. 9.
OLYMPIC RECORD
*USC is 205-71-10 (.734) in seasons that the Summer Olympics have been held (including this season). The Trojans won 4 national titles (1928, 1932, 1972, 2004) and played in 11 bowls (winning 8) during those Olympic seasons. (Does not include 2 wins–including 1 bowl appearance and 1 bowl win–vacated by NCAA penalty; original record: 207-71-10, .736.)
PRESIDENTIAL RECORD
*USC is 223-71-14 (.747) during presidential election years (including this season).
*To be determined later this season, but the Trojans are 127-29-5 (.804) in years when Republicans won the White House and 94-41-9 (.684) when Democrats won. (Does not include 1 win vacated due to NCAA penalty; revised record: 223-70-14, .748 overall and 128-29-5, .806 with Republicans.)
*USC has won 4 national championships (1928-32-72-2004) during presidential election years.
TURNAROUNDS
*In USC’s 135 seasons, the Trojans have lost 4 or more games 45 times. Following 9 of those 4-plus loss seasons, USC “turned it around” to win the Rose Bowl the next year (1938-43-62-67-72-76-78-84-16).
TV OUTLETS
*USC has appeared live on 35 different television broadcasting outlets. The Trojans have won on the air of all but 3 of those outlets (KTLA, Innovative and a local Memphis station).
*USC has appeared on live national, regional or local telecasts 582 times.
*The last time USC was nationally broadcast on CBS for a game in the Coliseum was on Nov. 29, 1986 when USC lost to Notre Dame 37-38.
HOME SWEET HOME
*Just 13 players across the nation returned to their previous school after spending one or more seasons at another NCAA institution.
NAME
SCHOOL
PREVIOUS
Beau Allen
Kentucky
Ga. Southern & Tarleton State
Jori Benson
Utah
UConn
Tyler Buchner
Notre Dame
Alabama
Vita Calvaruso
Arkansas
Wisconsin
Duce Chestnut
Syracuse
LSU
Omarion Cooper
Florida State
Colorado
Gilber Edmond
South Carolina
Florida State
Kyle Ford
USC
UCLA
Jam Griffin
Oregon State
Ole Miss
Henry Ikahihifo
Nevada
California
Lorando Johnson
Baylor
Arkansas
Christian Rorie
Duke
Texas State
Corey Rucker
Arkansas St.
South Carolina
SELLOUT
*This weekend’s game versus Wisconsin is a sellout.
*It was also announced that the Nebraska game on Nov. 16 is sold out.
*USC’s last two home sellouts were in 2023 against No. 5 Washington and UCLA.
*USC boasted stellar attendance numbers in its home opener on Sept. 7 versus Utah State. With 68,110 fans in the Coliseum, it was the largest crowd for a home opener since 2015.
*Additionally, the Utah State game recorded the best attendance numbers for a non-conference / nonNotre Dame game since the Trojans hosted Texas in front of a sold out crowd in 2017.
*In 2006, USC’s 6 home sellouts, 10 regular-season sellouts and 11 season (including bowls) are all school records. USC’s 10 consecutive home sellouts in 2005-06 (last 4 home games of 2005 and all 6 in 2006) is a school record.
WISCONSIN SCOUTING REPORT
*Wisconsin is 2-1 on the season.
*Luke Fickell is in his second season (9-7 record)
*Wisconsin lost 10-42 to then No. 4 Alabama on Sept. 14.
*It marked Wisconsin’s worst home defeat in 16 years, a 41-point loss to Penn State in 2008.
*Alabama finished with 407 total yards of offense compared to the Badgers’ 290.
*The Badgers were on a bye this last weekend.
*Starting QB Tyler Van Dyke suffered a season-ending right knee injury.
*Newly cemented starting QB Braedyn Locke finished 13 of 26 passing for 125 yards with 1 TD.
*Against Alabama, the running game was led by RBs Chez Mellusi and Cade Yacamelli, but both players lost fumbles that led to Alabama TDs.
*WR Will Pauling recorded 9 catches for 83 yards and a TD. He eclipsed the 1,000 receiving yard-mark in his UW career against Alabama. He has tallied 19 receptions for 191 yards and 1 TD this season.
*Through the first 3 weeks of the season, sixth-year RB Chez Mullusi leads the Badgers’ offense in scoring with 3 TDs on top of 213 rushing yards on 46 carries.
*S Hunter Wohler leads Wisconsin’s defense with a total of 17 tackles with 2 PBUs.
USC-WISCONSIN CONNECTIONS
*USC has 1 player from the state of Wisconsin (DT Gavin Meyer), while Wisconsin has 2 players from the state of California (WR C.J. Williams [a former Trojan] and K Gianni Smith).
*Wisconsin Co-Defensive Coordinator / Safeties Coach Alex Grinch spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons as USC’s Defensive Coordinator.
*Grinch and USC Head Football Coach Lincoln Riley also coached together at Oklahoma from 2019-21.
*Grinch and USC Offensive Coordinator / Offensive Line Coach Josh Henson coached together at Missouri from 2012-14.
*Wisconsin’s Senior Advisor to the Head Coach Jack Del Rio was a consensus All-American linebacker at USC in 1984. USC was 30-15-1 in his career (1981-84). He played in the 1982 Fiesta Bowl and 1985 Rose Bowl (he was the Rose Bowl Co-MVP). He was the 1984 Lombardi Award runnerup, and he won the 1984 Pop Warner Award (formerly given to the most valuable senior on the Pacific Coast). He was a 2-time AllConference first teamer (1982-83), and he won USC’s Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1983. He also won USC’s Defensive Player of the Game versus UCLA Award in 1984. Del Rio was Inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.
*Wisconsin LB Tackett Curtis played at USC in 2023. He made 8 starts as a freshman at USC and appeared in 12 games recording 40 tackles.
*Wisconsin WR CJ Williams played at USC in 2022. He played in 11 games, catching 4 passes for 34 yards.
*Wisconsin’s Director of Football Video, Alex Nederhoff, held a similar position at USC from 2020-23.
*USC LB Mason Cobb and Wisconsin WR Bryson Green were teammates at Oklahoma State in 2021.
*USC SNP Hank Pepper and Wisconsin WR Tyrell Henry played at Michigan State together in 2022 and 2023.
*USC WR Zachariah Branch and Wisconsin WR Trech Kekahuna were teammates at Bishop Gorman in 2022.
*USC RB Woody Marks, USC CB DeCarlos Nicholson and Wisconsin QB Braedyn Locke played at Mississippi State together in the 2022 season.
*USC DT Nate Clifton and Wisconsin OL Leyton Nelson were teammates at Vanderbilt for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
*USC DT Nate Clifton and Wisconsin DL Hank Weber prepped at Brentwood Academy.
*USC WR Josiah Zamora, USC LB Raesjon Davis and Wisconsin WR CJ Williams were teammates at Mater Dei from 2018-20.
*USC LB Eric Gentry and Wisconsin CB Omillio Agard are from Philadelphia, PA.
*USC DT Kash Amos, Wisconsin RB Darrion Dupree, Wisconsin DL Jamel Howard Jr. and Wisconsin WR Will Pauling are from Chicago, Ill.
*USC DT Elijah Hughes and Wisconsin OLB John Pius are from Arlington, Va.
*USC OL Makai Saina and Wisconsin WR Cam Fane are from Arlington, Texas.
*USC Director of Sports Nutrition Rachel Suba was the Director of Sports Nutrition at Oklahoma when Wisconsin RB Tawee Walker was on the Oklahoma roster in 2022.
*USC Senior Associate Athletic Director (Sport Administration) Lindsay Jaffe and Wisconsin Head Football Coach Luke Finkell held positions at the University of Cincinnati together in 2017.
*USC Senior Associate Athletic Director (Sport Administration) Lindsay Jaffe served as Assistant Athletic Director of Sports Services at Cincinnati, while Wisconsin LS Cayson Pfeiffer played on the Cincinnati football team from 2019-20.
*USC men’s basketball Head Coach Eric Musselman served as Arkansas men’s basketball Head Coach, while Wisconsin LB Jaheim Thomas was on the Arkansas Football team from 2020-22.
HOLLYWOOD TROJANS
*To go with the “premiere” theme…
*Among the USC footballers who gained fame on the silver screen are:
*John Wayne (tackle in 1925-26 under his real name, Marion Morrison)
*Ward Bond (1928-30 letterman best known for his role in “Wagon Train”)
*Mike Henry (1956-58 tackle played Tarzan)
*Marlin and Mike McKeever (1959 All-American twins were in several movies)
*Tim Rossovich (1967 All-American defensive end was in various movies)
*O.J. Simpson (1968 Heisman Trophy winner starred in TV and movies)
*Anthony Davis (1974 All-American tailback was in movies)
*Patrick Muldoon (mid-1980s walk-on tight end starred in soaps, including “Melrose Place,” and films, including “Starship Trooper”)
*Brian Turk (lineman in the late 1980s appeared in various TV sitcoms and commercials)
*Mazio Royster (1990-91 tailback was in TV commercials and shows)
*Shane Foley (1989-90 quarterback was in TV commercials)
*Matt Willig (1988-91 lineman has been in TV, movies and commercials)
*Nick Pappas (ex-USC player, assistant coach and assistant athletic director doubled for Pat O’Brien as Knute Rockne in the football scenes of “Knute Rockne — All-American”)
*John Walker (2002-05 cornerback appeared on such TV shows as “E.R.” and “7th Heaven” as a child)
*Cyrus Hobbi (2012-15 TE/C/OG) has appeared in the film “Babylon” and the TV show “Ballers”
*Ceyair Wright (2021-23 cornerback, an actor and model since a youngster, has appeared in movies, television shows such as “2 Broke Girls,” “Training Day,” “Life in Pieces”, “Instant Mom” and was a series regular on “Grown-ish”, commercials and music videos, and played the son of LeBron James in the 2021 movie, “Space Jam: A New Legacy”).
*Also, Irvine “Cotton” Warburton (1933 All-American back) won an Oscar for film editing on “Mary Poppins”
*Aaron Rosenberg (2-time All-American guard in 1932-33) was a well-known TV and movie producer, Jess Hibbs (2-time All-American tackle in 1927-28) was a prominent film and TV director
*Nate Barragar (1929 All-American lineman) and Russ Saunders (1927-28-29 fullback) were assistant directors
*Mickey McCardle (halfback in the 1940s) was a TV and movie director
*Ken Del Conte (halfback in the early 1960s) was a producer
*Allan Graf (offensive guard in the early 1970s) is a stunt man and second unit director
*Producer Hilton Green was a team manager and producer Barney Rosenzweig was a Yell Leader.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
*Staying on the theme of the entertainment industry, many films and TV shows have used the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as a filming location including “Old School”, “Jerry McGuire”, “Rocky II” “D2: The Might Ducks”, “Charlie’s Angles”, “The Amazing Race”, “Emergency!”, “The Biggest Loser”, “24”, “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Catching Kelce”.
USC SCHOOL OF CINEMATIC ARTS PARTNERSHIP
*USC is never in a shortage of talent among its students. USC students from the School of Cinematic Arts have been working with the football creative team in a variety of capacities including photography, videography, music and even helping to create this year’s intro video, “Arrival of the Trojan”.
*Said head coach Lincoln Riley, “Here at USC, we have the best cinema school in the nation just 50 yards from our practice field. USC SCA students have a unique opportunity to partner with our creative team to collaborate and promote our program’s national brand on the brightest stage. We’ve been thrilled with the partnership, and we’re excited to see the work that will continue to be produced. This is just another example of how USC is different than any other place in the country
