What’s the big deal? Money, free agency and more money
Chasing Sports, By Chase Campen
I’m not originally from here, but it doesn’t take long to know that the rivalry between USC vs. UCLA is a pretty big deal. And sure, UCLA is by far the top dog. But football is king, and on the gridiron, USC is big brother, and they aren’t letting UCLA up for air anytime soon. If you’re a UCLA fan, don’t shoot me. I’m just the messenger. USC has an 11-1 lead in national titles and an 8-1 edge in Heisman trophy winners; the gap isn’t close.
How big is the chasm?
MORE MONEY produces better teams?
If you were on one of those around-the-world cruises the last four years and missed those changes, allow me to briefly fill you in. Four years ago, it became legal to start paying college players for their performance on the field, and they are now getting paid — handsomely. Also, seven years ago a thing called the Transfer Portal was created, enabling college football players to transfer schools one time in their career for any reason; this was a game changer. However, beginning last season, continuing legislation in the sport caused the Transfer Portal to be open every year. That’s unfettered free agency, and the players are getting paid.
But let’s take a deeper dive on our two local teams. Four years ago, USC, ending the Clay Helton era, hired the hottest coach available on the coaching carousel, Lincoln Riley. Considered an offensive mastermind, his teams won 55 games in five years, won their conference four times and advanced to three playoffs. His hiring was a coup for USC. It’s rumored his contract paid him more than $10 million per year. Or so it seemed.
Meanwhile, when he arrived at USC’s Heritage Hall and prepped for his first season there, UCLA had just completed a fourth season with Chip Kelly at the helm. Kelly himself was basically an older version of Riley; an offensive wunderkind who won 46 games in four years at Oregon University, three conference championships and had a national championship game appearance. By the time Riley got to L.A., Kelly was one game under .500 through four years at UCLA. Today he’s long gone, replaced by a former Bruin who’d never even been a coordinator, Deshaun Foster. Advantage USC, right?
Well, not so fast. Despite arriving with his own uber-talented and eventual Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams, Riley is only 26-14 through three years at USC. Since arriving, his programs have lacked two critical things: defense (easy to measure) and toughness (harder to measure). To address the former, USC lured UCLA’s defensive coordinator (remember, USC IS big brother) to fix their defense beginning in 2024. Considering that USC out-recruits the Bruins every year, you’d think this would tilt the scales significantly in their favor, right? Nope. This year the Bruins, with a first-time head coach, a new defensive coordinator and seemingly lesser talent, finished 39th nationally in total defense. USC, with the Bruins’ old coordinator and seemingly every advantage, finished 77th and trailed UCLA in seemingly every defensive category. Remember that comment about toughness? As for roster turnover, consider this: USC’s last Pac 12 championship came in 2017. That team was led by quarterback Sam Darnold and received key contributions from Michael Pittman, Jack Jones, Ronald Jones and Austin Jackson…players who had long Trojan careers. In fact, Darnold is the last quarterback to begin AND end his career at USC.
Everything you thought you knew about USC football has changed. They still hold nearly every competitive advantage over UCLA, yet have a mere 4-3 edge over the Bruins in the last seven matches. In the last recruiting cycle USC finished with the fifth best class in the Big 10; UCLA finished last. Will it matter this fall, and will it matter when they play in November?
Foster is going into his second season, and his quarterback is likely to be a transfer from Appalachian State. Riley heads into his fourth season at USC in a year many suggest could be his last to show true progress. The Trojans have made several important hires in the player personnel side of the sport. It’s yet another edge the program has over the Bruins, but the question remains — will it matter?
Category: Entertainment
