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 LA Coliseum is one step closer to hosting the Olympics…and all the upgrades that will come with it.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Olympic Committee named Los Angeles America’s official candidate for the 2024 games after the Los Angeles City Council approved the bid by a unanimous vote.
Earlier details of the bid included up to $800 million of renovations for the Coliseum — $500 million from USC and $300 million from Olympic organizers.
Now, Los Angeles will compete with the likes of Rome, Paris, Hamburg and Budapest for the ultimate prize.
Whether or not the Olympic bid is successful, the Coliseum will certainly receive upgrades from the Trojans’ pocket book.
Some of the funding from that will come from hosting an NFL team, Pat Haden said in his State of Troy address for September.
"I have not spoken directly with the NFL in some time, but from all accounts, I absolutely believe the NFL will be here in 2016 or at the latest 2017. It could very well be two teams, but we would welcome one team in the Coliseum, and we have told that to the NFL. They would be a tenant of ours for likely two seasons, while they built their own stadium. And, we would use those dollars as part of the money that we need to remodel the Coliseum."
The Coliseum is already a beautiful stadium, but the “Grand Old Lady” should be even grander soon enough.
And Ten USC Football News Links…
- OC Register: Clay Helton confirms that the decision to hand him play calling duties was not out of the blue. In fact, according to the offensive coordinator, this has been in the works since Sarkisian kept Helton on staff in December 2013.
- Bleacher Report: Ready to get ready for the Arkansas State game? Brian Leigh has a complete preview of the game including keys to victory and players to watch.
- ESPN: The Pac-12 Blog is not looking forward to Arkansas State at USC. The game ranks No. 9 among the openers in the conference this week. Unsurprisingly, it’s Arizona State vs. Texas A&M which takes the top spot. Also no surprise, this is the part we point out that Texas A&M backed out of playing USC this season due to “scheduling issues.”
- ESPN: Chris Hawkins is USC’s representative for the six players in the Pac-12 South who have something to prove this season.
- USCFootball.com: JuJu Smith-Schuster is No. 5 on Shotgun Spratling’s rundown of the 30 most important Trojans for 2015.
- Reign Of Troy: Tarik LaCour wants to see three things from the Trojans against Arkansas State. One of those is the true no-huddle, uptempo offense.
- Reign Of Troy: USC’s depth coming into this season is a breath of fresh air says Sara Kakuris in her C&G Shades On column.
- Sports Illustrated: Another expert projects USC to face Michigan State in the Rose Bowl this postseason.
- Bleacher Report: In recruiting news, Byron Murphy has USC in his top eight, which also includes ASU, Texas A&M, Texas, Washington, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Arizona.
- Reign Of Troy: We know you’re sick of drunk gate, but Josh Webb delves into the other side of the story with his deeply personal story about addiction and treatment.
Stat of the Day:
In his Heisman winning season, Charles Woodson had 44 tackles, eight interceptions, 12 receptions for 238 yards with two touchdowns and one punt return touchdown.
Last year, Adoree’ Jackson had 49 tackles, 10 deflections, ten receptions for 138 yards with three touchdowns and two kick return touchdowns.
Tweet of the Day:
More from Reign of Troy
- Markese Stepp enters transfer portal intending to leave USC football
- USC football’s Alijah Vera-Tucker declares for NFL Draft
- USC football adds Xavion Alford as transfer from Texas
- USC Podcast: RoT Radio Ep. 396 on the Football Season’s Fallout
- Talanoa Hufanga named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, USC football with five first-teamers