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2 years ago

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1:00 PM ET

  • Pete ThamelESPN

USC enters the 2023 season with the returning Heisman Trophy winner, the sport’s buzziest analyst hire and College Football Playoff aspirations based on recent production rather than reputation.

As Lincoln Riley enters his second season at USC, he has led a turnaround that appears to be waking the echoes of the Pete Carroll glory years. After going from 4-8 in 2021 to 11-3 in 2022, there’s a surge of relevance that has again helped the program capture Los Angeles and the country.

Beyond quarterback Caleb Williams walking the runway in fashion shows and Kliff Kingsbury’s splashy return to college football, there has been a rare recruiting overhaul that has upgraded the roster and reaffirmed to Riley what USC can become in this new era of college football.

USC brought in a star-studded top 10 recruiting class in 2023 to create a base for the future, all while transforming the top part of the roster with 36 transfers — so far, anyway — in the past two classes.

“It speaks to this place and what it’s capable of,” Riley told ESPN in a recent phone interview. “If you could bring in that type of class with all the uncertainty and still rebuild the rest of the roster. I don’t know other places that could have gone through that overhaul and still done that.

“Any lingering question out there, ‘Does USC still have the firepower it had in other great eras?’ This is as good an indication as you could look at.”

By the time USC kicks off next year, at least 55 of the 85 scholarship players will be additions since Riley’s hire following the 2021 regular season. (There are at least 60 total players, as that number doesn’t include the five players like receiver Jordan Addison and tailback Travis Dye who have come through and departed already.)

Riley’s burgeoning recruiting juggernaut at USC includes luaus doubling as recruiting dinners at his Palos Verdes mansion, Pacific Ocean beach trips for out-of-town recruits and courtside breakfasts at Crypto.com Arena to remind everyone of legends like Kobe and Shaq who’ve played in town.

Beyond the flash, USC’s quintessential modern roster overhaul may end up being remembered as the archetype of how to flip a program in the new age of college football. With the transfer portal, one-time transfer rules and waiver of annual counter limits, roster remakes have changed seismically in the past five years. At USC, the changes have come thanks to a 17-month sprint that’s included his staff learning a new school and city with the unexpected twist of recruiting to a new league after USC’s sudden jump to the Big Ten last summer.

USC’s roster refurbishment came from two directions. Riley began last spring with what he referred to as the “most unique roster” in USC history. The 25 transfers broke down this way — 20 from a four-year university, four from junior college and one international player, according to the school. They added just 13 high school recruits.

This year, those numbers were essentially reversed. USC brought in 22 high school players and 11 transfers — again, so far — in Riley’s first full recruiting class.

The No. 10 recruiting class in ESPN’s 2023 rankings is highlighted by offensive skill, starting with ESPN’s No. 1 overall recruit, local quarterback Malachi Nelson (Los Alamitos). They also bring in the country’s top two wide receivers — the No. 7 player in Zachariah Branch (Las Vegas) and the No. 13 player in local star Makai Lemon (Los Alamitos). The recent addition of the top tight end in the class, No. 40 recruit Duce Robinson, gives the class a final critical bedrock from high school.

USC football general manager Dave Emerick pointed out that Riley’s commitment to recruiting includes getting involved early in the players’ careers and building deep relationships with them and their families. Branch’s first listed power offer came from Oklahoma during Riley’s tenure there in February 2020, and both Nelson (July 2021) and Lemon (August 2021) were verbal commitments to Riley at Oklahoma before flipping to USC soon after he left Norman.

Riley said what he has appreciated most about his staff’s recruiting effort is that with all the energy geared toward portal players, they still found the time for the phone calls, road hours and rapport building for the first full recruiting class.

“This 2023 class, to bring in that quality of a class,” he said. “And, oh by the way, you’re also rebuilding half or, honestly more, of the older part of your roster. I think that’s gotten lost in translation a little bit.

“For us to sit back 1½ years later having rebuilt the upper part of our roster in the way we did and bring in the quality of high school players on top of that, it was a monumental effort and a testament to this place.”

Perhaps only TCU (5-7 to 13-2), Washington (4-8 to 11-2) and LSU (6-7 to 10-4) executed comparable on-field turnarounds with a first-year coach at a program with national title aspirations. (Only LSU had similar recruiting success.) Traditional strong brands like Florida (6-7), Miami (5-7) and Oklahoma (6-7) all endured transition years, which are normal when head coaches depart.

If USC is going to build on the momentum, they’ll need to beef up on the defensive side of the ball. The Trojans finished outside the top 100 nationally last season in total defense (423.9), passing yards allowed (264.1) and third-down defense (43.2%). There’s a reason that USC brought in six defensive transfers in the 2023 class.

But there are early signs of improvement on defense, which looms as the biggest impediment to USC’s CFP aspirations. Riley’s excitement about early enrollee inside linebacker Tackett Curtis was clear, as he said he hasn’t been around a player at that position who has had a better spring after arriving to college early. “We’ve been thrilled with him,” Riley said.

Anyone who watched USC give up the most yards per game and per play (6.5) in program history last year realized the Trojans were deficient on the front seven. That’s why Riley said they’ve remained aggressive in those areas in the transfer portal, as five of the six defensive transfers are in the front seven. Those include interior defensive lineman Kyon Barrs (Arizona) and linebacker Mason Cobb (Oklahoma State), who were both second-team all-league performers at their prior schools.

“The talent base on the front seven, just watching us now in the spring, there’s a giant difference now,” Riley said. “We’ve got a few guys to get here in June. We’re getting closer to getting the talent base to where we want it.”

It’s difficult to discern how much of USC’s recruiting success can be attributed to name, image and likeness. Riley said upon the new staff’s arrival that USC’s NIL required a similar jump-start to the roster. He compares the leap in the effectiveness of the NIL program to the “radical” progress the roster has taken, calling USC’s NIL availability “very good and rapidly getting better.”

The next class USC brings in will play exclusively in the Big Ten, and it’s something Riley and Emerick say has been greeted well on the recruiting trail. Riley said some of the games USC will play are essentially Rose Bowl matchups, only now they’ll happen every year — think Ohio State or Penn State.

Riley expects questions about the league switch to pick up in the coming year. He’s frequently asked about travel and referenced a study that USC did to counter one of the biggest arguments against the move. After UCLA, the closest conference game is at Nebraska, which is nearly 1,300 miles away.

Riley said that compared to normal years in the Pac-12, the Trojans will end up on planes four to six more hours, perhaps an hour longer per trip. He called the travel questions a “nonissue” for football and added that they are fortunate flying east to west on the way home, as they’ll gain hours coming back.

“We’re selling that you’re going to have an opportunity to build your brand across the country — from New York to Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles,” Emerick said. “All those markets. In this day and age of NIL, the opportunity to build a nationwide brand is something that’s unique.”

There’s still a lot of work to be done for USC to catch the ghosts of its championship past. But 17 months into Riley’s tenure, he’s confident in both the foundation that’s been put in place and USC’s ability to continue to attract top talent.

“It wasn’t as if we won some games so the roster was fixed,” he said. “[The number of transfers] will taper down as time goes down, as there’s a few less immediate needs. As the portal recruiting tapers down, the high school recruiting will go up.”

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Bell rings up first Cup 3-race win streak since ’21

Published

2 hours ago

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March 10, 2025

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Bell rings up first Cup 3-race win streak since '21

  • Associated Press

Mar 9, 2025, 08:17 PM ET

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Christopher Bell became the first NASCAR Cup Series driver to win three straight races in the NextGen car, holding off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin by 0.049 seconds to win the second-closest race in Phoenix Raceway history Sunday.

Bell started 11th in the 312-mile race after winning at Atlanta and Circuit of America the previous two weeks. The JGR driver took the lead out of the pits on a caution and stayed out front on two late restarts to become the first driver to win three straight races since Kyle Larson in 2021.

The second restart led to some tense moments between Bell and Hamlin — enough to make their team owner feel a bit queasy.

“I was ready to upchuck,” JGR Racing owner Joe Gibbs said.

Bell became the fourth driver in Cup Series history to win three times in the first four races — and the first since Kevin Harvick in 2018. The last Cup Series driver to win four straight races was Jimmie Johnson in 2007.

“We’ve had four races this year, put ourselves in position in all four and managed to win three, which is a pretty remarkable batting average — something that will be hard to maintain, I believe,” Bell’s crew chief Adam Stevens said.

The Phoenix race was the first since Richmond last year to give teams two sets of option tires. The option red tires have much better grip, but start to fall off after about 35 laps, creating an added strategic element.

A handful of racers went to the red tires early — Joey Logano and Ryan Preece among them — and it paid off with runs to the lead before they fell back.

Bell was among those who had a set of red tires left for the final stretch and used it to his advantage, pulling away from Hamlin on a restart with 17 laps left.

Hamlin pulled alongside Bell over the final two laps after the last restart and the two bumped a couple of times before rounding into the final two turns. Bell barely stayed ahead of Hamlin, crossing the checkered flag with a wobble for his 12th career Cup Series win. He led 105 laps.

“It worked out about as opposite as I could have drawn it up in my head,” Bell said. “But the races that are contested like that, looking back, are the ones that mean the most to you.”

Said Hamlin: “I kind of had position on the 20, but I knew he was going to ship it in there. We just kind of ran out of race track there.”

Larson finished third, Josh Berry fourth and Chris Buescher rounded out the top five.

Katherine Legge, who became the first woman to race on the Cup Series since Danica Patrick at the Daytona 500 seven years ago, didn’t get off to a great start and finished 30th.

Fighting a tight car, Legge got loose coming out of Turn 2 and spun her No. 78 Chevrolet, forcing her to make a pit stop. She dropped to the back of the field and had a hard time making up ground before bumping another car and spinning again on Lap 215, taking out Daniel Suarez with her.

“We made some changes to the car overnight and they were awful,” Legge said. “I was just hanging on to it.”

Logano, who started on the front row in his first race at Phoenix Raceway since capturing his third Cup Series at the track last fall, fell to the back of the field after a mistake on an early restart.

Trying to get a jump on Byron, Logano barely dipped his No. 22 Ford below the yellow line at the start/finish. NASCAR officials reviewed the restart and forced the Team Penske driver to take a pass through on pit road as the entire field passed him on the track.

“No way,” Logano said on his radio. “That’s freakin’ ridiculous.”

Logano twice surged to the lead after switching to the red tires, but started falling back on the primary tires following a restart. He finished 13th.

Preece took an early gamble by going to the red option tires and it paid off with a run from 33rd to third. The RFK Racing driver dropped back as the tires wore off, but went red again following a caution with about 90 laps left and surged into the lead.

Preece went back to the primary tires with 42 laps to go and started dropping back, finishing 15th.

The series heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway next weekend.

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Who aced the NHL trade deadline? Eight winners and seven losers

Published

16 hours ago

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March 9, 2025

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Who aced the NHL trade deadline? Eight winners and seven losers

  • Multiple Contributors

Mar 7, 2025, 08:20 PM ET

The days leading up to the 2025 NHL trade deadline were a furious final sprint as contenders looked to stock up for a postseason run while rebuilding clubs added prospects and draft capital.

After the overnight Brock Nelson blockbuster Thursday, Friday lived up to expectations, with Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand and other high-profile players finishing the day on different teams than they started with. All told, NHL teams made 24 trades on deadline day involving 47 players.

Which teams and players won the day? Who might not feel as well about the situation after trade season? Reporters Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski identify the biggest winners and losers of the 2025 NHL trade deadline:

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NHL playoff watch: Is Jets-Hurricanes a Stanley Cup Final preview?

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16 hours ago

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March 9, 2025

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NHL playoff watch: Is Jets-Hurricanes a Stanley Cup Final preview?

There are some who saw what the Carolina Hurricanes did at the trade deadline — or perhaps failed to do after they traded Mikko Rantanen — and believe they’re cooked when it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, based on the projections from Stathletes, the Canes remain the team with the highest chances of winning the Cup, at 16.7%.

Standing before them on Sunday are the Winnipeg Jets (5 p.m. ET, ESPN+). The Jets had a relatively quiet deadline, adding Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev, though sometimes these additions are the types of small tweaks that can push a contender over the edge. As it stands, the Jets enter their showdown against the Canes with the sixth-highest Cup chances, at 8.7%.

Carolina has made two trips to the Cup Final: a loss to the Detroit Red Wings in 2002 and a win over the Edmonton Oilers in 2006. The Canes have reached the conference finals three times since (2009, 2019, 2023). Winnipeg has yet to make the Cup Final, and was defeated 4-1 in the 2018 Western Conference finals by the Vegas Golden Knights in the club’s lone trip to the penultimate stage.

Both clubs are due. Will this be their year?

There is a lot of runway left until the final day of the season on April 17, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide detail on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.

Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.

Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Saturday’s schedule
Friday’s scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick

Current playoff matchups

Eastern Conference

A1 Florida Panthers vs. WC1 Ottawa Senators
A2 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. A3 Tampa Bay Lightning
M1 Washington Capitals vs. WC2 Columbus Blue Jackets
M2 Carolina Hurricanes vs. M3 New Jersey Devils

Western Conference

C1 Winnipeg Jets vs. WC2 Calgary Flames
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Colorado Avalanche
P1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. WC1 Minnesota Wild
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Los Angeles Kings

Sunday’s games

Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+ (local blackout restrictions apply).

New Jersey Devils at Philadelphia Flyers, 1 p.m. (TNT)
Seattle Kraken at Washington Capitals, 3:30 p.m.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Minnesota Wild, 3:30 p.m. (TNT)
Winnipeg Jets at Carolina Hurricanes, 5 p.m.
Columbus Blue Jackets at New York Rangers, 6 p.m.
Los Angeles Kings at Vegas Golden Knights, 8 p.m.
Dallas Stars at Vancouver Canucks, 9 p.m.
New York Islanders at Anaheim Ducks, 9 p.m.

Saturday’s scoreboard

Ottawa Senators 4, New York Rangers 3 (OT)
Seattle Kraken 4, Philadelphia Flyers 1
Boston Bruins 4, Tampa Bay Lightning 0
Florida Panthers 4, Buffalo Sabres 0
Colorado Avalanche 7, Toronto Maple Leafs 4
Calgary Flames 1, Montreal Canadiens 0
Nashville Predators 3, Chicago Blackhawks 2 (OT)
Los Angeles Kings 2, St. Louis Blues 1 (OT)
Edmonton Oilers 5, Dallas Stars 4
New York Islanders 4, San Jose Sharks 2

Expanded standings

Atlantic Division

Points: 83
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: A1
Games left: 18
Points pace: 106.3
Next game: @ BOS (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 79
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: A2
Games left: 19
Points pace: 102.8
Next game: @ UTA (Monday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 78
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: A3
Games left: 19
Points pace: 101.5
Next game: @ CAR (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 69
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 20
Points pace: 91.3
Next game: vs. DET (Monday)
Playoff chances: 85.4%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 85.9
Next game: @ OTT (Monday)
Playoff chances: 8.3%
Tragic number: 37

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 85.9
Next game: @ VAN (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 19.8%
Tragic number: 37

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 17
Points pace: 83.3
Next game: vs. FLA (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 2.5%
Tragic number: 33

Points: 54
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 71.4
Next game: vs. EDM (Monday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 27

Metro Division

Points: 90
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: M1
Games left: 19
Points pace: 117.1
Next game: vs. SEA (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 78
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: M2
Games left: 19
Points pace: 101.5
Next game: vs. WPG (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 72
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: M3
Games left: 18
Points pace: 92.3
Next game: @ PHI (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 86.5%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 68
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 20
Points pace: 89.9
Next game: @ NYR (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 27.1%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 68
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 88.5
Next game: vs. CBJ (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 31.1%
Tragic number: 39

Points: 65
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 86.0
Next game: @ LA (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 29.7%
Tragic number: 38

Points: 62
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 79.4
Next game: vs. NJ (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 9.5%
Tragic number: 31

Points: 58
Regulation wins: 16
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 17
Points pace: 73.1
Next game: @ MIN (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 25

Central Division

Points: 92
Regulation wins: 36
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 18
Points pace: 117.9
Next game: @ CAR (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 84
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: C2
Games left: 19
Points pace: 109.3
Next game: @ VAN (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 78
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 18
Points pace: 99.9
Next game: vs. CHI (Monday)
Playoff chances: 99.6%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 76
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 19
Points pace: 98.9
Next game: vs. PIT (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 94.4%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 69
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 17
Points pace: 87.1
Next game: @ PIT (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 37.2%
Tragic number: 34

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 85.9
Next game: vs. TOR (Monday)
Playoff chances: 26.4%
Tragic number: 35

Points: 55
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 71.6
Next game: @ SJ (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 24

Points: 49
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 62.8
Next game: @ COL (Monday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 16

Pacific Division

Points: 82
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: P1
Games left: 20
Points pace: 108.5
Next game: vs. LA (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 78
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: P2
Games left: 19
Points pace: 101.5
Next game: @ BUF (Monday)
Playoff chances: 99.7%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 73
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: P3
Games left: 21
Points pace: 98.1
Next game: @ VGK (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 84.1%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 70
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 19
Points pace: 91.1
Next game: vs. VAN (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 27.5%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 69
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 91.3
Next game: vs. DAL (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 30.9%
Tragic number: 40

Points: 61
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 80.7
Next game: vs. NYI (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 32

Points: 58
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 74.3
Next game: @ WSH (Sunday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 25

Points: 43
Regulation wins: 12
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 17
Points pace: 54.3
Next game: vs. NSH (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 8

Race for the No. 1 pick

The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Sitting No. 1 on the draft board for this summer is Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters.

Points: 43
Regulation wins: 12

Points: 49
Regulation wins: 17

Points: 54
Regulation wins: 20

Points: 55
Regulation wins: 20

Points: 58
Regulation wins: 16

Points: 58
Regulation wins: 22

Points: 61
Regulation wins: 19

Points: 62
Regulation wins: 17

Points: 65
Regulation wins: 23

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 20

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 21

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 22

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 22

Points: 68
Regulation wins: 29

Points: 69
Regulation wins: 22

Points: 69
Regulation wins: 23

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