Hi, everyone! I’m Ryan Kartje, the Times’ USC beat writer. It’s been a long few weeks for all of us. But after a week of fire-related anxiety, a few days of the whole family fighting a virus and a bummer of a night watching my Lions crumble in the playoffs, I come to you eager to talk about literally anything else! Fortunately, there’s a lot going on (as always) at USC.

We’ll get to all of it in a bit. But first, let’s turn our attention to a team we haven’t talked enough about yet in this space, a team that finds its season tiptoeing dangerously along the outside of the bubble, with six weeks still to go before the NCAA tournament.

The margin for error was always going to be razor thin for Eric Musselman in his first season as USC men’s basketball coach. He understood better than anyone how many variables needed to go the Trojans’ way in order for a totally rebuilt team to compete in Year 1 in the Big Ten. He didn’t have a pure point guard on the roster or a traditional big man. There were always going to be hiccups in figuring out the best formula for success this season.

Last week was a fitting example of that variance. In a win over Iowa, USC was firing on all cylinders offensively and looking like a tournament team as it rode a trio of 20-point performances from Desmond Claude, Saint Thomas and freshman Wesley Yates. Then, four days later, in a loss to Wisconsin, looked like a totally different team. Thomas was tremendous, but Claude and the rest of the Trojans offense was largely stagnant.

Now USC is entering a stretch that could determine the direction of its season. A trip to Nebraska is next. After that, UCLA and Michigan State await at Galen Center.

Musselman would tell you himself that this team is still trying to figure itself out. But after 18 games, a few things have crystallized about what it’s going to take from here to make the tournament.

The sudden ascent of Yates is a good place to start. No one expected Yates, who sat out all of last season, to suddenly become one of the Trojans’ best players this season. When he first arrived at USC, Yates was a regular source of ire for Musselman in practice. But he’s now giving the coach exactly what his backcourt desperately needed: More quickness, more aggressiveness on defense and another offensive creator alongside Claude.

Where he takes his game from here will say a lot about the Trojans’ trajectory. USC is now relying on him to help carry the load on offense. That’s a lot to ask of him, but his confidence continues to grow by the week.

A lot has been asked of Claude, too, and he’s continued to answer the call. He’s shooting a tremendous 50% from the floor, while serving as the primary playmaker on an offense that’s cycled through second options. But Claude has also turned the ball over too often. In three of his last five games, he’s had more turnovers than assists.

Claude is the engine that makes USC’s offense go. And he’ll have to be at his best for the Trojans to have any chance of earning a tournament bid.

“Once we fully locked in and continued to get more comfortable with each other, you see what happens,” Claude said.

One development that bodes well for USC from here: The recent emergence of Rashaun Agee, who’s averaging over 12 points and six rebounds per game over USC’s last three games coming off the bench.

Josh Cohen remains the starter, but his minutes have dwindled significantly over the last two weeks. USC continues to get off to great starts with Cohen in the lineup, but Agee has played most of the way down the stretch. Expect that to continue, with Agee at some point replacing Cohen in the lineup. With range to the three-point line, Agee adds another element that Cohen doesn’t have, while also being a better rebounder.

Even if all of those things align, the upcoming stretch for USC is going to be an uphill climb. But Musselman has shown already that he can adapt. Whatever he does next could determine USC’s season.

USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn on the sidelines during a game against LSU.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

—Of the many moves USC has made this off-season, signing D’Anton Lynn to a contract extension was the most important. Penn State made a serious effort to pry Lynn away from USC. James Franklin even made the trip to Southern California to make his case. But USC was able to hang on to its rising star defensive coordinator. For the time being, at least. Lynn’s contract extension is expected to once again rank him among the highest-paid coordinators in college football, pushing him past the $2-million mark. He’s worth every penny as USC seeks to take another leap this season on defense. The fact that USC was able to keep Lynn from leaving for his alma mater suggests that there are no coordinator jobs in college football that Lynn would leave USC for. But Lynn has a lot of admirers at the NFL level, and I don’t think it will be long before he gets the call from one of his former colleagues in Baltimore to be an NFL coordinator. Enjoy Lynn while he lasts at USC.

—Rob Ryan hasn’t coached at the college level since 1999. But I don’t think that really matters much anymore. The Trojans’ new linebackers coach won’t be expected to recruit off-campus, and as college football moves to more of an NFL model, it’s no surprise that USC is moving to more of an NFL structure with its staff. With Eric Henderson, a former Rams defensive line coach, also on staff, USC now has three defensive coaches with serious NFL experience. That’s a pretty good selling point on paper. Especially to recruits in the front seven. Though, with revenue-sharing on the horizon, that may not matter anymore either.

—The Department of Education dropped a bombshell memo in Joe Biden’s final week that could leave revenue-sharing plans in jeopardy. We aren’t able to report the specifics yet of how USC plans to distribute the $20.5 million it will be allowed to share in direct payments to athletes starting this fall. But we can assume that the distribution of that revenue will lean heavily toward football. Those plans, however, may now be on hold. In a nine-page fact sheet, the department’s Office of Civil Rights wrote that future payments to athletes would be considered “athletic financial assistance,” which, under Title IX law, would require they be “made proportionately available to male and female athletes.” That interpretation could eventually be upended by the Trump administration — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) suggested as much last week — but there are also a lot of other items on Trump’s docket that probably supersede college football. And then there’s the possibility that the whole House settlement falls apart before April. There’s a lot still to come on this front.

—A legal battle is brewing over whether revenue-sharing agreements are binding. Wisconsin star cornerback Xavier Lucas says that Wisconsin is blocking him from entering the transfer portal, which would violate NCAA bylaws. He has since enrolled at Miami anyway. Wisconsin, meanwhile, says that Lucas signed a two-year revenue-sharing agreement that should be binding. It has also accused Miami of tampering with Lucas in the process, albeit without providing any evidence. My take? I understand that Wisconsin is trying to draw a line in the sand here. Tampering is a major problem. But this just isn’t the way to go about changing the system. These agreements are not going to hold up as binding in court. Especially with the House settlement still not finalized. Wisconsin is trying to treat its deal with Lucas as an employment contract, even as schools argue that athletes aren’t employees. You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.

In case you missed it

JuJu Watkins scores 22 to lead No. 4 USC past Indiana for its 13th straight win

USC women taking ‘mad dog’ approach thanks to Beth Burns

USC’s upset bid crumbles in second half of loss to No. 24 Wisconsin

USC names NFL veteran Rob Ryan its linebackers coach, filling Trojans’ final vacancy

USC signs defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn to a contract extension

Looking like a changed team, USC celebrates return home with win over Iowa

No. 4 USC dominates Penn State in game that holds deeper significance for Trojans

Desmond Claude scores 31 in USC’s defeat of No. 13 Illinois

What I’m Watching This Week

Adam Scott in “Severance,” Season 2.

(Apple)

After a three-year hiatus, my favorite show in recent memory has finally made its triumphant return. “Severance” came back for its long-awaited Season 2 on Friday after dropping the mic with a stunning Season 1 finale. And it didn’t disappoint. No spoilers here, but I will say this: It never ceases to amaze me how this show’s aesthetic somehow makes a drab, white office building look beautiful. That’s the magic of Severance, I guess.