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September 17th, 2012
 Notre Dame moves to ACC With the recent announcement that Notre Dame will be joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in all sports but football, college football fans are left wondering about the landscape of their sacred game. And with all of the conference realignments and possible future conference shifts, how does Notre Dame’s move impact college football?
Well, Notre Dame still remains an independent in football, but the agreement with the ACC will allow the Fighting Irish to schedule five games against ACC opponents every year. The plus? Notre Dame can renew old rivalries with the likes of Miami Hurricanes and the Florida State Seminoles, both of which played some very meaningful games against ND in the 1990s.
The negatives? Some of the Irish’s traditional rivalries, like the “battle of the Catholics” (Boston College Eagles), will likely end. Some rivalries will continue and the university has announced that it will keep its annual contests with Navy Midshipmen, USC Trojans, and Stanford Cardinals. Years ago, it was Navy that bailed Notre Dame out of a financial crisis and the Irish will never forget the gesture.
With the current 12-game schedule allowed by the NCAA, Notre Dame will play the five ACC opponents, Navy, USC, and Stanford, and still have room for four more games each year. Traditional opponents Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, and Purdue, all of the Big Ten, will likely remain on the schedule, though not yearly. Pittsburgh Panthers, which ND has played every year since 1982, is moving to the ACC and will continue to be on the schedule, though the Panthers may not be a yearly opponent either.
In scheduling opponents, it is important to the university to maintain a national awareness of the Notre Dame brand. Keeping USC and Stanford brings the West Coast, ND is already a fixture in the Midwest, and now with the ACC gig, the Irish will be able to have a presence in the largest media markets in the United States.
In the grand scheme of college football, Notre Dame’s move to the ACC really doesn’t change anything. The Irish will not be a full-fledged member of the conference and, other than facing a few new opponents each year, the schedule will not change that much. They may get a few extra wins per year playing the Marylands and Dukes of the league, but get a chance to renew some old rivalries (Miami and Florida State) and keep another (Pitt).
Tags: ACC, ncaa football, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
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September 13th, 2012
When the NCAA announced its rules changes for the 2012 college football season, it was the kickoff adjustments that were creating the most uproar. Now two weeks into the new season, it’s the helmet rule that has coaches, players, and fans questioning its merit.
The NCAA’s new “Helmet Rule” requires a player who loses his helmet during play to leave the game for one play (unless the helmet was removed as the result of a penalty), much like what occurs when a player is injured and cannot leave the field immediately following a play. The player who loses his helmet is also barred from further participation during that play. If he continues to play without the helmet, he will be penalized 15 yards for a personal foul.
No one questions the intent or spirit of the rule. Clearly, the helmet rule was implemented for player safety, but the rule has created some interesting results. The new rule promotes and rewards tackling high since the removal of the headgear will mean that player must leave the field for a play. It also creates a situation where players may be wearing helmets that are fitted improperly. Equipment managers may over-tighten helmets to make sure they stay on defeating the purpose of the helmet.
Fans noted the impact of the rule during Week One in two nationally televised games. Clemson Tigers QB Tajh Boyd lost his helmet three times during their game with Auburn Tigers and his backup, Cole Stoudt, was forced into the game in his place. “I understand the rule, but for us it’s a little bit of a challenge when you run your quarterback, he gets hit and sometimes he gets in some piles, and sometimes helmets find their way from getting off their head,” said Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney.
Swinney wasn’t the only coach expressing concern about the new helmet rule. In Georgia Tech’s Labor Day match-up with Virginia Tech, GT quarterback Tevin Washington lost his helmet prior to a crucial third-and-eight play from the Hokies’ 21-yard line. Washington’s backup, Synjyn Days, entered the game, ran for four yards and the Yellow Jackets kicked a field goal.
Johnson commented, “Well, clearly you don’t want to lose your starting quarterback on third down but that’s the rule. It looked like the helmet came off when he was on the ground. … It’s just one of those things.”
It will be interesting to see how the helmet rule plays out. Sooner or later, though, this rule change is going to affect the outcome of a game. Think about it. With under two minutes remaining in a game and facing a third-and-goal from inside the 10-yard line, your team’s quarterback is on the sideline because a defender ripped his helmet off on the previous play. Definitely not the intent of the rule, plays like that (deliberately removing headgear) are an unfortunate result.
Tags: NCAA College Football Helmets Rule
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September 4th, 2012
 Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama Crimson Tide are the new No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll, moving past Southern California after its resounding victory against Michigan.
The Crimson Tide swayed more than enough voters with its 41-14 win Saturday night in Texas to overtake the preseason No. 1 Trojans, who beat Hawaii 49-10. USC entered that game a 40-point favorite at home.
Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, AP Poll, Michigan Wolverines, ncaa football, USC Trojans
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August 7th, 2012
 USC Trojans With a school-record 39 touchdown passes, 3,528 yards passing, and a 10-2 record under his belt, it looked as if USC QB Matt Barkley had nothing left to accomplish and would declare for the NFL Draft. As ESPN’s Lee Corso says, “Not so fast, my friend.” Barkley will be one of the big reasons why the Trojans are set to rival the dominance of the SEC, which has claimed the past six BCS national championships.
Barkley is one of eight returning starters on an offense that could be the nation’s best. No one will have a better tandem at wide receiver than the Trojans with All-American Robert Woods (JR) and sophomore Marqise Lee. Woods set a Pac-12 single-season record with 111 receptions a year ago, while Lee added 73 catches, 11 for touchdowns.
Four starters return on the offensive line, minus All-American and first-round draft pick Matt Kalil, led by senior center Khaled Holmes. The line will pave the way for a talented backfield that added another star in Penn State transfer Silas Redd. Redd, a senior, is eligible immediately as part of the NCAA sanctions levied against Penn State last month.
Defensively, head coach Lane Kiffin welcomes back seven starters. The Trojans were young last year, starting three freshman linebackers. But, the best thing about freshman is…they become sophomores and with a year of experience under their belt, Hayes Pullard, Lamar Dawson, and Dion Bailey will lead an effective unit.
While the defense won’t be dominant, the USC offense is the reason why they may wind up in the BCS national title game next January. That and a favorable schedule that includes rivals Oregon and Notre Dame at home and early season non-league contests with Hawaii and Syracuse. The Trojans do have to travel to Stanford in week three, but the Cardinal will be entering year one without QB Andrew Luck.
With their high-flying offense, formidable defense, and a special teams unit that blocked seven kicks last year, USC has what it takes to run the table in the Pac-12 South. The Nov. 17th rivalry game with UCLA isn’t what it used to be (the Trojans destroyed the Bruins last year, 50-0) and the next week, the Men of Troy close the season at home against the Fighting Irish. Take that into a Pac-12 title game and come January, expect to see the Trojans in the BCS title game.
Tags: 2012, Notre Dame, SEC, stanford cardinals, UCLA Bruins, USC Trojans
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August 3rd, 2012
1 LSU (18)
2 Alabama (20)
3 USC (19)
4 Oklahoma
5 Oregon
6 Georgia
7 Florida State
8 Michigan
9 South Carolina
10 Arkansas
11 West Virginia
12 Wisconsin
13 Michigan State
14 Clemson
15 Texas
16 Nebraska
17 TCU
18 Stanford
19 Oklahoma State
20 Virginia Tech
21 Kansas State
22 Boise State
23 Florida
24 Notre Dame
25 Auburn
Others receiving votes: Washington 64, Louisville 46, Georgia Tech 35, Cincinnati 32, Texas A&M 28, Baylor 23, Utah 22, Mississippi State 21, SOUFLA 12, NCSTATE 11, Louisiana Tech 10, Brigham Young 10, Virginia 9, Houston 7, Southern Miss 6, Rutgers 5, UCF 5, Tennessee 3, Missouri 3, FLAINTL 3, Northern Illinois 2, TEXASTECH 1
Tags: 2012 NCAA Football Rankings Preseason, USC Trojans
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August 2nd, 2012
 Silas Redd USC Trojans Penn State running back Silas Redd is transferring to the USC Trojans.
Redd, a junior and Penn State’s leading rusher in 2011, is the first starter from the Nittany Lions to leave in the wake of the heavy NCAA sanctions handed down last week. The NCAA is allowing Penn State players to transfer immediately and be eligible to play right away, provided they don’t practice with or play for the Nittany Lions in 2012.
The Trojans open up their 2012 season at the LA Memorial Coliseum against the Hawaii Warriors on Sept 1st. Some other notable games at home are the Oregon Ducks on Nov 3rd and Notre Dame on Nov 24.
See Matt Barkley Silas Red and the rest of the USC Trojans as they go for it all, we stock USC Tojans tickets for all home and away games as well as all bowl games.
Tags: Matt Barkley, oregon ducks, Penn State Nittany Lions, Silas Redd, USC Trojans
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July 10th, 2012
USC’s banner 2013 recruiting season just got even more superior. Michael Hutchings, one of the nation’s leading players regardless of position, fully commited to the USC Trojans on Sunday.
Michael Hutchings from football powerhouse De La Salle High in Concord, California, made a spoken commitment to the University of Southern California Trojans. The 6’2″ 210 lb linebacker was attracted by academics and athletics.
Hutchings had long already been a Trojan “lean,” but things got exciting when Washington made a big push in latest several weeks. One of the prep ratings systems had Hutchings as the 5th best football player in the region. Michael furthermore considered offers from a host of some other schools, such as Pac-12 members Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona, Arizona State, Washington, Washington State and UCLA.
He performed safet yearly on in high school prior to moving to linebacker, playing all the linebacking positions. His pace and explosiveness alongside with being a tough hitter makes him perfect for the fast if somewhat smaller sized linebackers that USC deploys on defense.
He plays for one of the greatest high schools in the state at De La Salle. Ranked near or at the top of the nationwide ratings yearly, the Spartans’ level of play is outstanding.
It had been thought Hutchings was hovering towards USC and had even been assisting to get other players though he himself had not committed. At the recent Trojans Rising Stars Camp, Hutchings lastly talked to Trojan head coach Lane Kiffin and gave his spoken promise.
Coming from a different private institution with an exceptional educational system, what eventually drew Hutchings and was quite essential to him is the entire deal. Hutchings revealed: “We’re talking academics, business opportunities and what the school has to offer location wise. Then you have the football tradition with a dynamite coaching staff.
There was no comparisons with the other schools I was considering.” He’s curious in business and hopes to be a company major. USC has one of the top business divisions in the country and is the biggest school at the university in Marshall School of Business.
For the Trojans, they get the guy they have been approaching at the position all along. In a year where the linebacker talent out west has been somewhat thin, Hutchings is the best in the region. Essentially sound, well-coached and possessing excellent physical tools, Hutchings’ skill set converts very well to the next stage, where he will likely stay at the outside position.
With his commitment, the Trojans now have 11 players accounted for the Class of 2013.
They may be obstructed by limited scholarships due to their probation but they continue to have arguably the ideal recruiting class for next season.
Tickets for all USC games are onsale now including the cross town rival game USC Vs UCLA.
Tags: Michael Hutchings, UCLA Bruins, USC Trojans
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June 25th, 2012
Although the start off of the 2012-13 college football season is about three months away, it is certainly not too early to estimate who will play for the 2013 national championship.
A sellout audience of 20,586 attended last year’s game, which was won 17-6 by North Dakota State beyond Sam Houston State. This was the very first year of the game being played on Saturday after traditionally being played on a Friday evening, including 2011 in Frisco. Eastern Washington conquered Delaware 20-19 in that game, which was the first of three scheduled championship games in Frisco.
People with direct knowledge of the selection tell that the semifinals of a proposed college football championship would rotate between the major bowls and not be linked to standard conference sites. They said Wednesday that under the strategy, a selection panel would help pick the schools involved in a four-team playoff. The Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) is made up of the conferences and institutions that compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championshi. Total of 1,281 Colleges that are members of the NCAA.
While there are the absolute favorites like Alabama, Oregon, LSU, USC, Georgia and Oklahoma, there are also some teams that have the potential to amaze some people and put up with national championship. Top five surprising teams for season 2012-13 are: Kansas St, Stanford, Michigan, Arkansas and West Virginia. These teams are not the too high favorites, but if a few points go their way, there is a chance they could find them selves playing for all the marbles in the BCS National Championship next January.
The NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee has introduced that the 2013 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game will be played at midday on Saturday, Jan. 5 at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The championship game will again be organised by the locally based Southland Conference, the City of Frisco and the Hunt Sports Group.
Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Arkansas Razorbacks, BCS National Championship, ncaa football, oregon ducks, Standford Cardinals, USC Trojans
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May 9th, 2012
 USC Best in the Nation With the college football season just over 100 days away, the best team in Los Angeles is clearly USC, but UCLA, with a new head coach, looks to battle the rest of the PAC-12 South Division for the runner-up slot. USC, coming off a season of probation, returns a wealth of talent from a team that finished 10-2 (7-2 in the league) last year. Not eligible for post-season play, the Trojans deferred to their cross-town rival, UCLA, who backed itself into the PAC-12 South championship a year ago. How will the two schools fare in 2012?
USC, 2011 Record: 10-2, 7-2 Pac-12 South
The USC Trojans will have the nation’s best quarterback in senior Matt Barkley who passed on the NFL to return for a shot at a national title. Barkley was masterful in leading the offense with 3,528 yards passing, 39 TDs, and just seven interceptions. He, along with a talented group of skill players, is the reason USC sits atop ESPN’s pre-season college football poll. RB Curtis McNeal ran for 1,005 yards last year and the wide receiver tandem of Robert Woods (111 rec., 1,292 yds.) and Marqise Lee, may be best in the country. The Trojans do lose OT Matt Kalil to the NFL and depth could be a problem due to scholarship limits imposed as a result of last year’s probation. Still, the Trojans return eight starters on offense and seven on defense, including stud safety T.J. McDonald. McDonald made the same decision as Barkley and put his NFL aspirations on hold. The schedule gods are in USC’s favor what with an average at best South Division, a non-conference schedule that features Syracuse, and a week 3 match-up with the Stanford Cardinals minus Andrew Luck which just doesn’t seem to be the kind of game it has been the past two seasons. The Trojans could run the table and will be favored to meet their nemesis the Oregon Ducks in the conference championship game.
UCLA, 2011 Record: 6-8, 5-4 Pac-12 South
Not even the golden boy of years’ past could save the UCLA Bruins as former QB and head coach Rick Neuheisel was let go after mediocre 2011 season. The Bruins did make it to the conference title game where they were subsequently dismissed by Oregon, 49-31. Enter Jim Mora, who hasn’t coached at the college level since the 1980s, as the guy to try and rebuild a program that has lost at least five games in 11 out of the last 13 seasons. Mora surrounded himself with talented coaches including offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone who has introduced his up-tempo offense this spring. Who will run it is still being determined but Kevin Prince, who went 126-for-224 for 1,828 yards last year, gets the first shot. Regardless of who runs the show, the offense will focus around senior RB Jonathan Franklin (5-10, 205) who rushed for 976 yards and five TDs last year. Six starters return on offense and the offensive line will need some retooling. Eight starters return on defense, but it’s a defense that ranked 11th in the conference in rush defense giving up 191 yards per game. Even so, hopes are high and with a South Division that, after USC, is up for grabs, Mora is posed to make sure his Bruins are in the thick of it. He’ll be tested early as UCLA takes on Nebraska in week 2 and if they pass the test, who knows, the Nov. 17th showdown at the Rose Bowl with USC may be for a division title.
We stock USC Vs UCLA Tickets as well as tickets for both home and away games for the Trojans and the Bruins.
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March 5th, 2012
Hey everyone, here are the matchups for the Pac 12 Tournament at Staples Center starting this Wednesday
First Round: Wednesday, March 7
Noon: No. 8 Washington State vs. No. 9 Oregon State (Fox Sports Net)
2:30 p.m.: No. 5 UCLA vs. No. 12 USC (Fox Sports Net)
6 p.m.: No. 7 Stanford vs. No. 10 Arizona State (Fox Sports Net)
8:30 p.m.: No. 6 Colorado vs. No. 11 Utah (Fox Sports Net)
Second Round: Thursday, March 8
12 p.m.: No. 1 Washington vs. Oregon State/Washington State winner (Fox Sports Net)
2:30 p.m.: No. 4 Arizona vs. UCLA/USC winner (Fox Sports Net)
6 p.m.: No. 2 Cal vs. Stanford/Arizona State winner (Fox Sports Net)
8:30 p.m.: No. 3 Oregon vs. Colorado/Utah winner (Fox Sports Net)
Semifinals: Friday, March 9
6 p.m. – Semifinal #1: Winners of early Thursday games (Fox Sports Net)
8:30 p.m. – Semifinal #2: Winners of evening Thursday games (Fox Sports Net)
Championship: Saturday, March 10
3 p.m. – Championship Game (CBS)
We have Pac 12 Tournament tickets for all days and times.
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