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Mike Bohn evaluates how close USC football is to reaching his vision

Stephen Samraby:Steve Samra•12/14/22•

SamraSource

USC Trojans players celebrate on the field after the Trojans defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 38 to 27 in a college football game played on November 26, 2022 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportsw
USC Trojans players celebrate on the field after the Trojans defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. (Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Mike Bohn has a clear vision for USC, and the Trojans began to reach it and then some throughout the 2022 season.

Joining the crew on Trojans Live, the USC athletic director evaluated how the program regained their status as one of college football’s top brands throughout this past season.

“No question,” Bohn responded, asked if it felt like USC was back to being one of the biggest programs in the sport over the course of the season. “I think that intensity of interest wins. You think back of how this season really rolled out, and you look at the UCLA game. My hats off to UCLA, what did they do? They treated us with a lot of respect. They put our band behind the goal post, just like their band was right behind the goal post. Hats off to them, and my hats off to our fans and their fans, and people in LA that maybe just like both schools or maybe don’t pick one. Just watch great college football. The fact that that game was on a national broadcast. Everybody’s seeing it, with A-crew in town. It was awesome.

“That’s high intensity of interest. It’s on. And then you follow up with what? National broadcast, A-team coming in against Notre Dame.”

Of course, Bohn is elated that USC was back to being a premier destination for great college football in 2022, but he knows it’s not possible without the immense support the program has from a myriad of places.

“I’m just so appreciative of our fans and the way they came and made a difference, and I think you all know, when our fans, when it’s on, and we’ve got all the magic in the Coliseum that you have seen,” added Bohn. “I have a picture in my office and I look at it every single day, because when Pete Carroll told me the thing he was most proud of was that the Coliseum was full every game, and guess what? I put it up on the wall and I was like, that’s it. That’s the vision, that’s the standard.

“That intensity of interest wins. It wins in recruiting. It wins in television ratings. It wins in the way the game is played and the home field environment. So that’s why I’m so appreciative of our fans and making that going. Our marching band and our spirit squad and our student section. … I can’t talk about it enough, because it’s so important to us, and I’m so appreciative of everybody that put their heart and soul into this season.”

College football is better when USC is competitive, and the Trojans were that and then some in 2022. Mike Bohn’s vision is coming to fruition, and USC isn’t going anywhere.