Bowl Preparation

Yesterday, the Trojans began prepping for Penn State. Today, we are back on the field for day 2 of 5. We will be practicing up until, and including, the 22nd. 

With a practically empty USC campus, it can be pretty boring here for the Jimokes. While the team gets to stay at a Santa Monica hotel for the week, we have to stay in the abandoned college campus. 

We are also trying to salvage any Christmas spirit we have. Not being home or with our families during this time of year can be pretty hard. 

Bowl Practices

Yesterday and today, the football team had practice after a week off for studying for finals. We will also have tomorrow off, including Mnday - Wednesday for more exam days. That means, we won't be back practicing until Thursday. 

While I have completed my exams, most of the team, including the JImokes, still have finals to complete next week. We wish everyone good luck!

Back At It!

After a crazy and hectic week of finals, the Jimokes blog will be back up and running. My apologies go out to the readers that I haven't been up to date in the past week.

Updates and posts will continue to come as regular, including pictures from the UCLA game last week!

Apologies...

My apologies go out to all the readers out there.

This week has been FINALS week at USC, and I have been swamped with studying. 

Friday, however, we will be back on regular schedule and the blogging will resume, right when the Trojans begin to practice for Penn State!

Stay tuned...

Manager Game

Last night, the USC and UCLA student managers had their annual football game.

With a very defensive game, the USC Jimokes outlasted UCLA 14-7!

Props go out to Joe Gibson, who dominated the game for USC. Scoring both touchdowns, he also had two goal line stop (including a sack on the final play of the game), to give the Jimokes the victory! Eloy Ledesma had one interception, while head Jimoke Matt Burkhard grabbed two!

Great blocking all around (Daniel Mai, Eric Ziskin, David Toper) and satisfactory quarterback play from Brent Cochran was enough to give us the win! 

Check out highlights here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3746761

Beat the Bruins!

Today, the Jimokes went to the Rose Bowl and set up the locker room in preparation for tomorrow's Crosstown Showdown!

The early start allows us to have more time to have everything perfect tomorrow!

Last Week of the Regular Season

Today marked the beginning of the last week of the regular season for USC Football. It seems the season flew by, and all the Jimokes can't believe it. We feel like we were back at Fall Camp on August 5. 

Last week of practice, then the UCLA game! Get excited. 

Last Game at the Coliseum...

Saturday's victory against Notre Dame was the final home game played this year. Senior night was in full swing, and the atmosphere was amazing. Here are some pictures from the memorable day, including a special Notre Dame tradition...

Game Day at the Coliseum!

GAME DAY!

Today marks the last time the Trojans will march out into the Coliseum this season! For some, it will be their last. 

Nothing is better than a Saturday night game at the Coliseum against the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame!

While a lot of other important games with title implications are taking place today, our game is the MOST IMPORTANT!

Happy Thanksgiving!

On behalf of all of the Jimokes, I would like to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving! 

The Trojans just were dismissed for the day, so they can spend time with their families. We are back tomorrow afternoon for the regular Friday walk-thru. 

Cromwell it is!

Due to last night's heavy rain and today's rain that has been going off and on , the Trojan's football practice will be at Cromwell today. Howard Jones/Brian Kennedy Field is very wet and dirty right now, so conditions aren't prime. 

Cromwell's FieldTurf will have to settle for today.

Storm Watch

With the weather forecasts predicting heavy rain for the next few days, the football team, staff, and the Jimokes are ready for anything. 

If the practice field will be too muddy and not in pristine condition for practice tomorrow, we will move to Cromwell Field, the track and field stadium on campus, for our drills. Cromwell was FieldTurf, so the wet grass won't be as much as an issue compared to that of natural grass. 

Back to the Daily Grind

After three days off of Trojan football, the team was back last night for meetings, and they are back with their regular schedule today. The players are coming in for their morning workouts, and back to practice this afternoon. 

Notre Dame is next!

Spring Clean Up!

After practice today, the Jimokes will go through a "spring clean up" for the football program. Our two sheds we have out on the practice football field become very disorganized throughout the season, so the time has come to clean it up and throw away things that are unnecessarily in there. 

We will also be in the locker room, and cleaning up all the lockers, while taking care of some apparel of the players. 

Although spring cleaning is a rigorous task, once we are done, everything we work with everyday will much more organized and make our life a lot easier!

Hoping for UCLA Battle!

It is nearing that time again: the USC/UCLA crosstown rivalry, one of the greatest college football rivalries in the country. 

But, the Jimokes of USC and the managers of UCLA are trying to get something together to play a game during Troy Week (the week leading up to the game). Our squad is desperately trying to get into contact with the UCLA managers to set something up.

We are all pumped for the possible match-up, and believe we are ready for the game. During the season, we have developed chemistry with each other, and know each other's tendencies, putting us in great position to compete with the kids from Westwood!

We will let you know in the coming weeks, if the showdown will ensue!

Back at It!

After the Monday off, and with the first bye week in two months, the Jimokes are back on the practice field today. With the day off, a number of Jimokes didn't know what to do with the extra time: we did a lot of productive things, but there was still plenty of time to do other things and lounge around. 

El Cholo

Tomorrow night, the Jimokes will have a dinner together at El Cholo. The dinner will be a great time for all of us to eat together and we're excited to do it!

Monday Off!

After the great win on Saturday, Coach Carroll and Sarkisian decided to give the players a day off on Monday. The day off comes at a great time,  as everyone is ready for one. The Trojans have had eight gamed in as many weeks and are exhausted from it. After this week's bye week, we have two more rivalry games against Notre Dame and UCLA, and then the bowl game. 

Travel Photos

During the trip, the Trojans boarded planes and went through security. Here are some behind-the-scenes photos from the traveling aspect from the weekend:

Friday Walk Thru

Here are some neat images from the Friday Walk Thru: