Reign of Troy
Fansided

Trojan War 30 for 30 Review and More USC Football News

By Alicia de Artola

facebooktwitterreddit

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

1st & 10:

First Take… The 30 for 30 documentary “Trojan War” was a fun, and sometimes painful, look back at the Pete Carroll era at USC. But it was also a missed opportunity. It told the wrong story.

What Carroll did for the Trojans was remarkable. The success he achieved, the players he produced, the accolades he and USC earned may never be matched.

Director Aaron Rahsaan Thomas certainly captured how much fun it was to be a Trojan fan during that era and how much it hurt to end the dynasty the way it ended. Talking head interviews with Snoop Dogg and Lendale White supplied the entertainment while quarterback guru Steve Clarkson shined throughout, offering valuable context for the events on screen.

The nation already knows his story however. Sports fans from Los Angeles to New York know that the Trojans were flashy, exciting and dominant. They know that USC won championships and Heismans, lost to Texas and underwent sanctions.

What the average sports fan does not know is the true story of those sanctions. To this day, many around the nation don’t even know what Reggie Bush did to bring the NCAA hammer down on the Trojans.

They don’t know how the NCAA molded a narrative around lack of institutional control, contorting themselves to include violations by the women’s tennis team involving long distance phone calls just to pump up their case.

They don’t know that how Todd McNair became a scapegoat. How enforcement staff conducted a shoddy investigation using incorrect information to convict the former running backs coach. How they allowed for no cross-examination of witnesses. How non-voting members of the NCAA’s committee on infractions improperly wielded influence in the decision-making process. How a judge has ruled that they did so with malice and an ax to grind.

They don’t know the extent to which USC’s sanctions were unprecedented and harmful to the student-athletes who bore their weight.

That is the story that still needs to be told to correct the record on Reggie Bush and the end of the Pete Carroll era.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that USC will get another opportunity to tell it with such a large national audience and as legitimate a stage as the 30 for 30 series.

For the record, Bill Plaschke that’s the “shame of the century.”

And Ten USC Football News Links…

  1. Reign of Troy: Vegas oddsmakers have made Kyle Whittingham the favorite to grab the USC job after Steve Sarkisian’s firing. Chip Kelly is unsurprisingly second in line, but do they know something we don’t about Boise State coach Brian Harsin, who also enjoys 6/1 odds?
  2. Reign of Troy: Speaking of USC’s next head coach, Clay Helton left no doubt at his press conference Tuesday — he wants the job. He also updated coaching shifts and injuries after practice.
  3. Reign of Troy: Pat Haden will be the man doing the hiring, despite local and national calls for his removal as the athletic director at USC.
  4. Daily Trojan: Luke Holthouse offers an alternate perspective on Haden criticism, cautioning against hindsight bias when judging the athletic director for decisions he made in the past.
  5. Athlon: Josh Webb raises concerns about how much Haden knew about Sarkisian’s drinking problem before hiring him, calling for the investigation not to end just because the head coach has been removed.
  6. RipsIt Blog: Clay Helton penned a letter to the Trojan family urging them to rally together through the tough times and vowing that USC’s goals for the season have not changed.
  7. Reign of Troy: How can Helton salvage USC’s 2015 season? He can start by channeling Coach O to the best of his abilities.
  8. Bleacher Report: Where does USC go from here? Bryan Fischer lays out a plan, beginning with winning on Saturday.
  9. Fox Sports: Oh yeah, USC plays football this weekend. Aaron Torres will take you down memory lane with the “Bush Push” game and how it still defines the rivalry.
  10. ESPN: Johnny Curren breaks down some recruiting info, including the USC offer for 2017 tight end prospect Colby Parkinson and his already strong relationship with Marques Tuiasosopo.

Stat of the Day:

Pete Carroll won 97 games at USC with a winning percentage of 83.6%.

Tweets of the Day:

More from Reign of Troy

Home/USC Trojans