DES MOINES — Rick Santorum won the Iowa caucuses in January, with Mitt Romney a close second, but neither was the true winner this weekend when the delegates who actually will vote at the Republican National Convention were selected. That would be Ron Paul.
The congressman from Texas finished a distant third in the Iowa caucuses more than six months ago, but of the 28 delegates selected Friday and Saturday to head to the national convention, 23 are Paul supporters – and they are not bound to support the victor of the state’s first-in-the-nation voting contest.
It’s part of a quiet strategy by Paul and his backers to amass an army of supporters at the GOP gathering in August in Tampa, Fla., to push Paul’s views on liberty, states’ rights, the monetary system and foreign policy. By working arcane electoral rules and getting supporters into positions of power in local, county and state party operations, the strategy is paying dividends across the nation.
Paul has stopped actively campaigning and has conceded that Romney will be the GOP nominee. It’s unclear whether Paul’s name will be submitted for nomination; mathematically, he does not have the numbers to derail Romney. But his supporters can have an effect on the party in other ways.
“We want to have a real big voice on the platform; we want to influence the direction of the party more than anything else,” said Joel Kurtinitis, a Paul supporter who was pleased after the Saturday vote.
He was Paul’s state director in Iowa until Paul suspended his presidential bid in May, and he said that although he would love to see Paul awarded a prime speaking spot at the convention, his followers’ efforts are about more than one man.
“We’re going to hold up our values and we’re going to bring conservatism back to the mainline of the Republican Party. That’s where my hopes are at and that’s my hope for this convention more than seeing Ron Paul do X, Y and Z,” Kurtinitis said.
Romney and his campaign have treated Paul and his followers deferentially, perhaps mindful of not alienating his incredibly loyal supporters. At the Iowa GOP convention, a Romney staffer who flew in from Boston watched the proceedings but did not get involved. At the Romney table, workers distributed three fliers to conventioneers – a general brochure about his candidacy, an invitation to a rally in Davenport on Monday and a news release that touted Romney’s endorsement by Paul’s son, Rand Paul, and effusively lavished praise on the Kentucky senator who many believe is the heir apparent for Paul’s movement.
But others say the move by the Iowa GOP is a black eye for the state’s caucuses and for the presumptive GOP nominee.
“Embarrassment is the word that comes to my mind,” said Jamie Johnson, who served as Santorum’s state coalitions director in Iowa. The former senator from Pennsylvania, who narrowly won the caucuses but has endorsed Romney since ending his presidential bid in April, appears to have one solitary Iowa delegate who supported him heading to the convention.
“I believe that it seriously puts the Iowa caucuses’ first-in-the-nation status in jeopardy,” Johnson said. “It will be a major embarrassment to Gov. Romney if there is a strong Ron Paul vote from the floor on the night in which the votes are counted.”
Paul is counting on having 200 delegates on the floor who can vote for him, and a few hundred more who are bound to vote for Romney but are his supporters.
“While this total is not enough to win the nomination, it puts us in a tremendous position to grow our movement and shape the future of the GOP!” Paul wrote in an email to supporters last week. “I hope every one of you continues the fight we have advanced so well this year. I hope you will finish your local and state conventions, and, if you were selected as a national delegate, that you will head to Tampa in August to force the Republican Party to listen to the voice of liberty.
“We have never had this kind of opportunity. There will be hundreds of your fellow supporters in Tampa who will be ready and willing to push the Republican Party back to its limited government, liberty roots.”
Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter. Hopefully, by the time you read this, you will have finally dried off. Or maybe it’s still pouring rain where you are. But whatever the weather, things are looking pretty sunny for Lincoln Riley and USC right now.
The Trojans are now just two wins away from a trip to the College Football Playoff. But the bigger statement Saturday, while rallying in the rain to beat a team like Iowa, wasn’t so much about this season, but rather the program’s trajectory after next week’s marquee matchup at No. 8 Oregon.
Riley said later that he sensed this shift at halftime, just as the team’s Playoff hopes were hanging by a thread. His Trojans were trailing Iowa, 21-10, once again having succumbed to the same slow start that plagued them the last two games. They’d been outplayed, outworked, outsmarted. The run defense was awful. The offense was stuck in the mud.
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Still, as Riley looked out over the locker room, he saw something he hadn’t last season or the season before that.
“You could tell from the look in their eye,” Riley said. “I felt very strongly we were going to come back out and make a run.”
We saw it for ourselves in the second half. USC’s defense shut out Iowa from that point on. It was the third game in a row in which the Trojans allowed three points or fewer after half. The offense came roaring back, scoring 16 unanswered points. The comeback felt almost run-of-the-mill in the moment. As if falling behind was just a part of the plan all along.
That it came in the pouring rain, against a team whose style is so quintessentially Big Ten, made it particularly meaningful.
“If there ever was one, that was a culture win,” Riley said. “Our team’s resilience, their response at halftime … we just keep coming, we have all year.”
Think of how different that feels from this time last season, when it was a foregone conclusion that USC would fold in the fourth quarter. Now, instead, there’s a sense of swagger and confidence that hasn’t been there since before Caleb Williams hurt his hamstring in the 2022 Pac-12 championship game.
Even that 2022 season, as magical as it may have been, was propped up by a Heisman winner at quarterback, one capable of willing his team to wins unlike anyone before him at USC. Riley has said on several occasions that that team, coming off a 4-8 campaign, overachieved relative to where the program actually stood.
Two frustrating seasons followed. There were times, during that stretch, where it seemed USC found something. But nothing felt quite as earned as Saturday’s breakthrough in the second half.
Eric Gentry was there for that first season under Riley. The senior linebacker has been an emotional leader ever since and a good barometer of where things stand in the locker room.
“It’s win or go home right now, and there’s no go home,” Gentry said after the game. “We’ve got to win. I think the whole team is understanding of what the culture is. Just fight to the last second, not feel like something bad is going to happen.
“Coach [Riley] said: ‘Don’t hope for [anything]. Make it happen.’”
Hope won’t be enough to win at Oregon, where it hasn’t won in 14 years. It will have to iron out its issues against the run to have any shot against the Ducks, who boast the best rushing attack in the Big Ten. It will need to start faster on both sides of the ball. And it will have to play up to its potential on the road against a very good team, which it hasn’t done … umm … ever during Riley’s tenure.
That’s not to say this can’t happen. (Which I may have suggested in this space three months ago.) If not for a game-winning field goal in the rain, Oregon would have lost to Iowa last week. But very few people will give USC a shot at Autzen, for reasons that are totally rational and understandable.
College football, though, is rarely ever rational or understandable. If USC is somehow able to upend Oregon, on the road, it would be the biggest win at the school not just since Riley started as coach, but well before that.
No matter what happens, we’ve seen enough this season to say that the team and the program are in a better place than they were a year ago. The question now is whether they’re ready to take that final step.
Makai Lemon
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
—Waymond Jordan was listed as “questionable” against Iowa. Could that hint at a return vs. Oregon? When Jordan underwent surgery last month, the hope was that his injury would only keep him out for four to six weeks. We’re basically at five-week mark right now, and by next weekend, will be near the end of that original timeline. Getting Jordan back was for this game was always a priority, and while King Miller has done great in his stead, Jordan was one of the best backs in America when he went down. His potential return would be huge news for USC’s offense. Some of this disparity is a factor of playing better defenses, but since Jordan departed the win over Michigan, USC’s offense has averaged just over six yards per play in its last four games, down from 8.3 yards in the previous six games with him.
—Give Makai Lemon the Biletnikoff already. How much more does anyone need to see to be convinced that Lemon is the best receiver in college football? Saturday was the third time in six weeks that Lemon has had 10 or more catches. And the afternoon started with Iowa double-teaming him. His leaping grab over the middle, as an Iowa defender knocked his legs out from under him, was truly something to behold. “He’s a fearless player,” Riley said. “Always has been.” But his game has gone to another level as a junior. I expect he’ll be a primary focus of Oregon’s secondary next week, which should open up opportunities for the rest of USC’s receiving corps.
Jazzy Davidson controls the ball against DeAvion Wilson of New Mexico State earlier this month.
(Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
—The USC women need time. Their schedule doesn’t exactly allow for it. Without JuJu Watkins, the Trojans are still trying to figure out their identity. They had no shot keeping up with No. 2 South Carolina on Saturday shooting 7% from deep. Jazzy Davidson is still getting the hang of things, just three games into her true freshman season, while USC’s frontcourt was pretty much non-existent against the Gamecocks. I agree with Lindsay Gottlieb that tests like this one, even when failed, help a team get better. But three of the Trojans’ next eight games come against top-25 teams, including a matchup with No. 1 Connecticut.
—Rodney Rice is better than advertised. When Eric Musselman put his roster together for Year 2 at USC, it wasn’t the plan for Rice to fully take on primary point guard duties. Freshman Alijah Arenas was presumed to be USC’s primary ballhandler. But his injury left Musselman with no choice but to trust Rice. And boy, has he delivered on that trust. Rice turned in a triple-double Friday in a win over Illinois State. But it’s his command of USC’s offense that was especially encouraging. He makes others better, which is going to be critical if the Trojans hope to be a tournament team this season.
—AD Jen Cohen laid out her perspective on non-conference scheduling in her State of Troy address. She never said the words “Notre Dame,” but the message might as well have been addressed to Irish athletic director Pete Bevacqua. Cohen wants to play the game in the first month of the season, as we’ve reported in this newsletter. In her letter to fans, she pointed out that no other Big Ten teams in the last two years have played a non-conference road game after Week 4. “Intentionally making our road to the CFP significantly more difficult than our Big Ten peers does not align with our goal to win championships,” Cohen wrote. That might make some fans bristle, but it’s the same sentiment that Riley has expressed for the last two years.
—Here’s what Cohen said on the Big Ten’s proposed private equity plans. In the same address, Cohen gave her first public comments on the private equity plan that USC and Michigan currently remain against. She didn’t reject the idea of a private equity deal outright, but noted that the school, in any deal, would need to consider USC’s “long-term value and flexibility” versus the benefit of a short-term payout. But the payout itself is part of the problem: USC is slated to get less than not just Michigan and Ohio State, but also Penn State. I still don’t see USC budging on its issue with that disparity, which could amount to something like a $10 million difference, per On3’s reporting. That’s led to some alarm bells about USC going independent. But there’s no reason to think we’re anywhere close to that. Let’s pump the brakes.
—You may have noticed that the Sams made another number change. Punter Sam Johnson and third-string quarterback Sam Huard were both listed as No. 0 this week, after both deceptively wore No. 80 a week ago. Watching USC line up for a punt this week, it dawned on me another brilliant layer to USC’s controversial fake punt ploy. From now on, every team the Trojans play will have to think to themselves, “Is that actually the punter?” Whether you thought USC’s ploy was bush league or not, Riley has only reaped benefits since. Though, maybe it’s no coincidence that Johnson’s first punt this week was a 24-yard shank. Karma? Perhaps.
Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba and Ariana Grande is Glinda in “Wicked: For Good.”
(Giles Keyte / Universal Pictures)
After waiting patiently for a year since the first installment, “Wicked: For Good” hits theaters this weekend, and I am counting down the days.
The first movie was tremendous, and the second has maybe the best song from the original musical (the name of which just happens to be in the title of the film). Early reviews suggest that Ariana Grande is given a lot more to do dramatically in this film, and I, for one, am here for it after her stellar performance the first time around.
With the early kickoff in Eugene, I may have no choice but to go see it that night — and thus, incur the wrath of my wife, who’s also waiting to see it, later.
Until next time …
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected], and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
They were battered, they were bruised, they were soaking wet and covered in stereotypes.
They’re not tough enough. They’re not resilient enough. They’re not Big Ten-enough.
Late in the second quarter Saturday afternoon at the Coliseum, a USC football team fighting for a playoff berth was crumbling beneath the weight of its worst national perception.
It was wilting under the weather and the weight of a team from Iowa.
Then, with big swings from a deep strength that few thought a Lincoln Riley team possessed, everything changed.
It’s raining wins, hallelujah.
Trailing 21-7, the Trojans got muddy and chilly and just plain mean, winning the line of scrimmage, winning the battle of skill, and eventually winning the game 26-21.
Yeah, afterward, that was Riley dancing in a downpour.
And, yes, USC is still in the national championship hunt, needing wins in its final two games at Oregon and against UCLA to qualify for the College Football Playoff.
Few will believe they can beat sixth-ranked and one-loss Oregon in Eugene. But then again, few believed they would survive Iowa after the Hawkeyes took that big second-quarter lead.
During the last 10 years, Iowa had an 83-5 record when leading by eight points or more. Translated, this is a program that knows how to protect a lead, and the Trojans were seemingly cooked.
But Makai Lemon made 153 yards worth of spectacular catches, King Miller ran for 83 bruising clock-killing yards, Jahkeem Stewart made a game-changing interception, Jayden Maiava held it together with a touchdown pass and no turnovers, and the game essentially appropriately ended with USC just being stronger.
On a fourth-down pass in the final minute, Kennedy Urlacher shoved Kaden Wetjen out of bounds as he was making a grab deep in Trojan territory.
No catch, game over, and in the end, the Trojans were as hearty as that section of fans that witnessed the game shirtless.
The afternoon started with groundskeepers drying the field with leaf blowers, the first rainy game at the Coliseum in nine years.
USC coach Lincoln Riley celebrates with wide receiver Prince Strachan during the second half of a 26-21 comeback win over Iowa at the Coliseum on Saturday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
But for USC under Riley, it felt the same, a late-season game requiring the sort of grimy toughness that his Trojans had yet to show.
Blew five fourth-quarter leads last season. Blew four of their last five games two seasons ago. Blew the Pac-12 championship game and a shot at the playoffs three seasons ago.
It looked like they were going to blow it again.
Iowa took the opening kickoff and drove 69 yards in seven plays in a bruising drive punctuated by a fourth-down, two-yard touchdown pass from Mark Gronowski to Dayton Howard in the back of the end zone.
Yes, the FBS’s 133rd ranked passing offense — out of 136 teams — had just scored on a pass play.
And Iowa was just getting started.
After stopping the Trojans’ Miller on a fourth-down run around just inside Iowa territory — a terrible Riley call against the nation’s best fourth-down defense — the Hawkeyes drove 45 yards in nine plays to score on a Gronowski one-yard push to take a 14-0 lead.
The Trojans came back while finally finding their groove, driving 74 yards on 11 plays featuring a leaping catch by Ja’Kobi Lane and ending with a one-yard touchdown run out of the wildcat formation by Bryan Jackson.
So USC had the momentum? Not so fast.
USC defensive tackle Jide Abasiri holds up the ball while celebrating with cornerback Decarlos Nicholson during the second half of the Trojans’ win Saturday over Iowa.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Iowa took the possession and pounded and pounded and nine plays and 75 yards later scored on a five-yard, trick-play pass from receiver Reece Vander Zee to Gronowski.
That gave Iowa a 21-7 lead that was shortened only by a Ryon Sayeri 40-yard field goal after a dropped pass and penalty stopped the Trojans.
USC took the ball at the start of the third quarter and seemed to be destined for a touchdown after a leaping sideline catch by Lemon. But a holding call against Lane ruined a long run by Miller, two failed pass plays stalled the drive, and the Trojans had to settle for a 29-yard field goal by Sayeri to close the gap to 21-13.
After the Trojans defense stiffened, the offense went back on a roll, using another leaping grab by Lemon — this one for 35 yards — to set up a 12-yard TD pass between three defenders to Lemon. Maiava overthrew Lemon on the two-point conversion attempt, but this time, the Trojans didn’t blow the momentum.
On Iowa’s next possession, with 1:52 left in the period, the powerful freshman Stewart grabbed a deflected pass for an interception to give the Trojans the ball on the Iowa 40-yard line.
From there, Maiava drove them 40 yards in six plays on a possession that was assisted by a pass interference penalty and gave them an eventual 26-21 lead after Jackson’s one-yard touchdown run.
With just three weeks left in the college football season, Lincoln Riley finds himself in a place he hasn’t been since his first year at USC. His Trojans are still within reach of the College Football Playoff in mid-November. Their fate is still in their hands: Win out from here, and USC should be in the CFP for the first time.
The stakes are incredibly high. And Riley isn’t hiding that fact from his team as it prepares to face No. 21 Iowa Saturday. In fact, he says, he wants them to “embrace” the opportunity at hand.
“This game coming up this weekend, it’s not the same. It’s just not,” Riley said. “The more you win, the more important these become and the bigger the opportunities become. So our team is very well aware of that.”
Pressure hasn’t always brought out the best in Riley’s teams at USC. Last season, the Trojans blew five fourth-quarter leads and lost five of their last seven games in devastating fashion down the stretch. In 2023, they dropped four of five to close out the regular season. Even the 2022 run ended on a sour note in the Pac-12 title game after USC lost a second time to Utah, this time with a playoff berth on the line.
USC quarterback Jayden Maiava throws the ball downfield against Michigan on Oct. 11 at the Coliseum.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
The path ahead isn’t exactly smooth this season, either. Iowa boasts one of the nation’s best defenses and a ball-control style different from any team USC has faced so far. Lane Kiffin was USC’s coach when the Trojans last won on the road at Oregon (in 2011) — they’ve lost four straight there since. Even UCLA, in the midst of a strange season, is very capable of playing spoiler in their rivalry matchup.
It’s a delicate balance for any coach to strike at such a critical time of the season, emphasizing the larger stakes at hand while also keeping his team focused on the task ahead. But it’s a tightrope that Riley walked this week.
“I think the biggest thing is just being where your feet are, being in the moment, not getting too far down the road,” quarterback Jayden Maiava said this week. “Just focus on what’s happening right now.”
Here’s what you should watch when No. 17 USC takes on No. 21 Iowa on Saturday:
