Musings from Arledge: Big Ten Schedule, Recruiting Uptick and the Return of Mr. Warrior Ball

It’s sometimes tough to find topics in the offseason. Not this week.

Let’s start with the release of the Big 10 schedule. There has been a lot of debate about whether conference realignment is good for college football. But make no mistake: it is great for college football viewers. These schedules are insane. 

In 2024, USC will have a neutral-field game against LSU, home games against Michigan, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and Iowa, and road games against Penn State and UCLA. Wow.

And that’s just the regular season. It’s obviously possible they could get a conference title bid. So, yeah, why not, let’s throw Ohio State on at the end! And remember that 2024 will be the first year of the expanded playoff. If the Trojans make it through that gauntlet with two losses (maybe even three with that schedule), we can look forward to playoff matches against another top-twelve foe. I’ve never seen anything like it.

But USC isn’t alone. Michigan gets Texas, USC, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and UCLA.

And speaking of Texas, the Longhorns get Michigan and Oklahoma and, I have to assume, games against the rest of the SEC West – so Alabama, LSU, and Auburn – and potentially a cross-division matchup with Georgia, Florida, or Tennessee.  

We’ll know for sure when the SEC releases its schedule. I think they’re waiting for every SEC team to lock down their dates with Furman and Mercer.

And don’t forget about our friends to the north. Oregon gets Hawaii, Idaho, Texas Tech, Boise, SMU and San Diego State (if all goes to plan). And Washington, I suppose, unless the Huskies leave the conference. And obviously the Human Highlighter v. Pumpkin Bowl with the Beavs. Thrilling stuff. Oregon: it’s not just about drizzle and weak education anymore.

The 2023 schedule is great. Well, the second half is. And this will be a very exciting season watching Caleb Williams take one more lap around the west coast and leave as one of the greatest college football players of this generation. I’m pumped.

But after seeing that 2024 schedule, I’m not willing to listen to any of you complain about the loss of the traditional games against Cal or ASU or Wazzu. The future is full of monster matchups on national television in sold-out stadiums. I’m in no mood to pine for the good-old days of weekday games against teams that nobody cares about on a network that nobody can watch. Get with the program, fellas. The train is picking up speed.

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Speaking of this coming season and brutal second-half schedule, I was one of a number of WeAreSC staff members who predicted that USC would go 11-1 in the regular season. It made me sick to my stomach to predict a loss to Oregon, but that game at Autzen scares me. Beating Oregon at their place is always tough. But doing so after playing Notre Dame, Utah, and Washington in the prior four weeks make it an epic challenge. Only Superman can pull that off. I’m glad he’s on our side.

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But, umm, Georgia Southern? Why? 

Look, I understand that USC has to schedule some feeble teams to fill up the schedule. But that doesn’t mean they need to schedule games against feeble-minded ex-coaches, does it? 

This is where a significant portion of the USC fanbase chips in to tell us that it was Clay Helton’s fault that he was a terrible coach; it was Pat Haden’s fault, and Lynn Swann’s fault, and everybody’s fault other than Clay’s. Fine. Maybe so. Or maybe not. I don’t know what Clay was capable of had he worked hard and given it his best. Maybe – frighteningly – what we saw really was his best.

If so, that’s sad. But I’m pretty sure we don’t owe the guy any favors. USC gave him somewhere north of $30 million dollars. He gave us delusional quotes, bad football, embarrassing scenes of butt-kissing his superiors, and the most iconic sideline look since Charlie Weis snotted into his own mouth. I’m pretty sure he got the better end of that deal. I don’t think we should be offering up anything more of value to Mr. Warrior Ball. 

And I don’t want to see him again; not in that building; not on that field. I got my fix already, thank you very much. Besides, do we want to invite into the Coliseum the guy who may have done more than anybody else to think up new and creative ways to devastate USC football fans. There may only be one way for Clay to top all of his old tricks, and I’m not even going to say what it is. I’ll just say it’s too big a risk. Cancel the game. Get Fresno or San Jose State on the line.

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Just when USC fans were starting to worry about this recruiting class, USC hosts a big group of recruits … and all of them decide to commit. That’s more like it!

Taking corners that Oregon was confident they would sign is wholesome and good. We should keep doing that. And having that corner talk about choosing USC because of the education and the life after football makes it even sweeter. Somebody saw through the smokescreen. Smart kid. 

But landing an edge rusher out of Georgia really takes the cake. That I didn’t expect. If Annie Hanson is ever looking for some help in the recruiting office, she could do a lot worse than Kameryn Fountain’s mother. Her statements after the trip were amazing. That’s a woman who understands the value of USC. Mother of the year! Lifetime membership to WeAreSC! Welcome to the family.

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Can it be that USC has started to close the gap with the major NIL powers? USC is beating Oregon and the SEC for recruits, and Nick Saban is crying about how much USC spends (while admitting that Bama is paying for its recruiting class). 

Look, Nick is still the king, and USC is not yet in a place to talk trash to the Tide. (Soon, I hope.) But it’s sure nice to hear Nick talking about USC again. It’s been a long time since USC was relevant enough to get badmouthed by SEC bluebloods.

I also like what Saban’s statements tell us about Oregon football – granted, it’s stuff we already knew. But it’s still fun. Check it out.

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It’s almost time for the Musings Season Predictions. I’ll put on the WeAreSC message board a post where you can respond and give me the topics you want me to predict. I promise I won’t duck any issue on which you want a prediction. In return, you will pretend that my predictions made sense, even if they later prove to be wrong.

I’ll give you the first one for free, so you can make your prop best now: the first special teams touchdown of the year will be a punt return by Zachariah Branch against Nevada. You’re welcome.