SCliff Notes: Shiny Helmets Could Be Worse and More USC Football News

Can’t get enough of USC football? We’ve got your morning dose of all the best content from around the web concerning the men of Troy.

1st & 10:

It could be worse… Deep breaths Trojan fans. Rumor has it USC will debut a controversial uniform change this Saturday against Arizona State. No, it’s not black jerseys, you can put down your pitchfork and torch. Here come…shiny helmets.

[Pause for grumbling about tradition, not fixing what isn’t broken, tradition, not turning into Oregon, tradition and tradition.]

Here’s the thing about shiny helmets: It could be worse. Much, much worse. Mindbogglingly worse. If a shiny new plaything that doesn’t defecate on USC’s iconic look gets the players a little extra revved up for an important Pac-12 South match up then by all means, polish those helmets.

In Other News…

• This week’s tongue-in-cheek primer of the Arizona State University includes an examination of the many Sun Devil campuses…as Seinfeld characters. (Reign Of Troy)
• In news which should bolster the Trojan defense’s chances of slowing the high-flying ASU offense, Taylor Kelly has been ruled out for the game against USC. (Reign Of Troy)
• We’ve got a round up from Tuesday’s practice, including Tre Madden’s continuing frustration with a nagging toe injury. (Reign Of Troy)
• For a statistical look at the coming Pac-12 match ups, including the basis for our “Stat of the Day,” check out Kyle Bonagura’s Pac-12 by the numbers post. (ESPN)
• The criminally underrated Cody Kessler got some love from ESPN’s Pac-12 QB Power Rankings this week. (ESPN)
• As John Taylor reported, Oregon State’s defensive coordinator Mark Banker has accused USC of injuring two Beaver defensive tackles with illegal chop blocks. He stops short of calling it intentional, but his gripe comes through loud and clear. (College Football Talk)
• The Trojans will need some increased fire-power on offense to match up with Arizona State. Kyle Kensing has the story on how Sarkisian plans to use increased rotation to get more out of his offense. (Bleacher Report)
• Shotgun Spratling has a detailed analysis of Aundrey Walker’s impact on the Trojan offense as a sub against the Beavers. (Conquest Chronicles)
• Rahshaun Haylock warns of a track meet at the Coliseum with two offenses intent on running a whole lot of plays ready to take the field. (Fox Sports)
• Wondering how your favorite Trojans of the past did in the NFl this weekend? Jordan Moore has you covered as always. (RipsIt Blog)

Reign Of Troy Radio:

Be sure to check out the latest episode of Reign of Troy Radio, in which we discuss “Beast Mode” Su’a Cravens, the dominant pass defense, Justin Davis’ stellar outing and the “criminally underrated” Cody Kessler.

Stat of the Day:

Arizona State is the least-penalized team in the Pac-12, averaging 5.5 flags per game. USC is the third most flagged team in the conference with 9 per game, behind only Cal and Oregon State.

The Sun Devils are also second in the Pac-12 in opponent penalties per game.

Tweets of the Day: