USC tackle Bear Alexander is redshirting after dispute over playing time
When Bear Alexander flirted with the transfer portal last spring, USC and its staff did whatever they could to keep the former five-star defensive tackle in the fold. At the time, Alexander looked like the Trojans’ best hope to bring a disruptive defensive presence to the Big Ten.
But as USC’s new defense came together, Alexander’s role diminished. Even as coaches praised his progress, the former all-Pac-12 performer didn’t start any of USC’s first three games. Relegated to a rotational role up front, Alexander played just 28 snaps, then 20, then 21 last Saturday against Michigan, before frustrations finally boiled over into public view, posted on social media for all to see.
How to watch USC vs. Wisconsin and betting odds
No. 13 USC will play its first Big Ten game in the Coliseum on Saturday against Wisconsin at 12:30 p.m. PDT. The game will air on CBS and Paramount+ and be available on 710 AM in the Los Angeles area.
Here’s a look at the betting odds heading into the game:
USC vs. Wisconsin three things to watch: Alex Grinch returns to L.A.
When Lincoln Riley was hired at USC in 2021, one of his first calls was to Alex Grinch. The defensive coordinator had already helped turn around his Oklahoma defense, and in the process, the two coaches had come to trust each other. Their families got close. So when Riley arrived in L.A., on an early-morning plane that November, Grinch was on the same flight.
It turned out to be a rocky ride for Grinch at USC. He lasted less than two seasons and presided over two of the worst defenses in school history. But when the two coaches reunite Saturday at the Coliseum — this time, with Grinch wearing a different shade of red — Riley won’t be thinking about how things ended for him, less than a year ago, at USC.
“It’ll be good to see him,” Riley said. “It’ll certainly be unique, being on opposite sidelines, with all the good times and great memories we had together, all the years working together.”