A Big-10 Game in Another Moderate Downpour

Saturday, November 15, 2025

Rain, to any sound mind, should be a deterrent to any thoughts of attending a football game in an open air stadium for a second straight day.

Who ever said that we had a sound mind?

On the way home from last night's Moorpark-Ventura playoff game, I floated the idea of Jacob and Michael joining me for another game today.

I gave them two options, the Cal Lutheran at Chapman game for the SCIAC Championship or the Lancaster Baptist at Pasadena Poly C.I.F.-Southern Section 8-man DII playoff game, both games starting at 1:00 p.m.

Jacob's first response was "Which one is closer to El Tep?"

He was referring to our favorite Mexican restaurant in Boyle Heights. We had dined there after one of their Civil War reenactments in August and again before the Roosevelt-Garfield game in October.

We are training him well.

The answer to his question was the Pasadena Poly game.

When I got home, I decided to take one last look at the cost on StubHub of tickets to the Iowa-USC game at the venerable Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum kicking off at 12:30 p.m. today.

On Thursday I had looked at this site and found that the cheapest tickets to the Big-10 Conference game were selling for $85 apiece, a tad too rich for even my soul just to get soaked again.

My Friday night, 10:00 p.m. search of the site said that with the weather prediction of an "Atmospheric River" level of downpour expected all game long, the cheapest seats to the Iowa-USC game were now only $32 apiece.

A quick text message to my equally insane fellow travelers was answered instantly with a "YES!"

The tickets were purchased and, with the full endorsement of Paul Sabolić, we started our trek from Camarillo at 9:30 a.m.

A Big-10 Conference game featuring

two of the 18 team conference's better clubs

Iowa Hawkeyes

6–3 Overall, 4-2 Big-10 Conference

Big-10 Conference Sixth Place

2025 Results

vs. Albany (1-9) – Won 34-7

at Iowa State (6-4) – Lost 16-13

vs. UMass (0-10) – Won 47-7

at Rutgers (5-5) – Won 38-28 *

vs. Indiana (10-0) – Lost 20-15 *

at Wisconsin (3-6) – Won 37-0 *

vs. Penn State (3-6) – Won 25-24 *

vs. Minnesota (6-3) – Won 41-3 *

vs. Oregon (8-1) – Lost 18-16 *

* Big-10 Conference Game

at

Southern California Trojans

7-2 Overall, 5-1 Big-10

Big-10 Conference Tied Fifth Place

2025 Results

vs. Missouri State (6-3) – Won 73-13

vs. Georgia Southern (4-5) – Won 59-20

at Purdue (2-8) – Won 33-17 *

vs. Michigan State (3-6) – Won 45-31 *

at Illinois (6-3) – Lost 34-32 *

vs. Michigan (7-2) – Won 31-13 *

at Notre Dame (7-2) – Lost 34-24

at Nebraska (7-3) – Won 21-17 *

vs. Northwestern (5-4) – Won 38-17 *

* Big-10 Conference Game

After a fairly easy, one hour drive in the rain, we pulled off the freeway to park near the Metro's yellow line Expo/Sepulveda stop. First though, we were all in need of a hardy pre-game breakfast and had no clue where to find one in this neighborhood.

Jacob got on his phone and quickly guided us to the Cafe 50's located at 11623 Santa Monica Blvd. in Los Angeles.

It looked good as we walked

up the wet sidewalk

Oh, YES, a phone booth!

In retrospect, I should have checked to see if it was working.

The waitress was in a

period correct uniform

As for our decision maker . . .

. . . we are training him well

What an extensive menu!

Joanne Sabolić, take note, my blueberry cheese blintzes were simply AMAZING!

Pancakes, Eggs and Bacon for Jacob,

Salmon Eggs Benedict for Michael

This is now our new for sure, go-to spot before any future trips to the Coliseum for a game.

Awaiting our Metro yellow

line light rail ride to the game

The Metro's parking lot is free on weekends and the round trip ride cost us but $3.50 per person.

Enjoying a dry and uneventful

15 minute ride to the Coliseum area

It was a chance to discus the

world's political situation with Jacob

He had much to offer on the topic.

From the Expo/USC Metro stop we still had to walk about ten more minutes to the Coliseum's entry gates. 

USC Pride was on display

Finally, it was time to view my 62nd football game in calendar year 2025, having seen games in Spain, California and South Carolina.

The view from our seats in

Section 315, Row 25, Seats 18, 19 & 20

as the Trojans took the field

We were in the absolute LAST row

of the Coliseum's closed End Zone

What should one expect for $32 a seat?

We quickly took note of all of the empty seats and opted to move down a lot closer to the field.

Here come the Hawkeyes

Iowa returning the opening Kickoff

In the distance are the jersey numbers

of USC's eight Heisman Trophy winners 

Left to Right:

#20, RB Mike Garrett, 1965

#32, RB O.J. Simpson, 1968

#12, RB Charles White, 1979

#33, RB Marcus Allen, 1981,

#3, QB Carson Palmer, 2002

#11, QB Matt Leinart, 2004

#5, RB Reggie Bush, 2005

#13, QB Caleb Williams, 2023

No other school has this many Heisman Trophy winners on their alumni rolls although Notre Dame, Ohio State and Oklahoma are close, each boasting of seven Heismans in their trophy cases. 

No TD on this Iowa QB Sneak

The Hawkeyes scored on this

QB Sneak on the following play

Due to the wet weather and a desire to keep my phone dry and safe, I did not take too many photos.

As for the Quarter-by-Quarter scores . . .

End of the First Quarter

Iowa - 7

USC - 0

Halftime Score

Iowa - 21

USC - 10

Iowa had jumped out to the early lead but as the First Half was coming to a close, the Trojans were fighting back hard!

Workers blowing excess water

off of the field during Halftime

Our Baton Twirlers were a hit

Our friend, Brett Phillips, whose tailgate we had attended last night before the Ventura H.S. game was at this game too and was in contact with us via text messages.

He was with his high school friend and teammate, John Raymond, sitting in the USC football team's parent section. 

John's son, Tobias Raymond, is a 6'6", 315 lbs., Redshirt Sophomore who was the Trojans starting Offensive Left Tackle today.

They informed us of three empty seats next to them, so we opted to improve our seats yet again.

It did require a long walk though . . .

. . . but it was worth it to be sure!

Somewhere WAY up there were

our First Half seats

 

Thanks for the invite down

to these seats Brett!

Much better sight lines INDEED!

Trojans on the march

Trojan QB getting dismembered

TD USC!

USC's two-point pass play

fell incomplete

The USC mascot horse "Traveler"

is brought out after every Trojan TD

to excite the crowd while the band

plays "Conquest"

The Trojan rider is usually a buffed, formidable fellow wearing armor, charging along at a good pace.

Today, it was a slight young lady wearing a large parka over her armor at a slow walk on the wet grounds.

Trojans Receivers breaking off

their short routes

End of the Third Quarter

Iowa - 21

USC - 19

The Olympic Flame was lit to start

the Fourth Quarter as USC

inched closer to Victory

The final 15 minutes of the wet contest belonged completely to the Trojans as they ground down the Hawkeyes in all three phases of the game.

Shutting out Iowa in the Second Half was impressive thanks to what Paul Sabolić would lovingly call "good Halftime adjustments" by the USC coaching staff.

GREAT BALLGAME!

USC is now 8-2 overall and 6-1 in Big-10 Conference games. Their conference record ties them currently with Oregon and Michigan for third place in the conference standings. Already owning a win over Michigan, the Trojans game next week at Oregon looms huge for USC's final College Football Playoff rankings in a few weeks.

As for Iowa, they fell to 6-4 overall and 4-3 in Big-10 Conference play. They are now in a five way tie for Sixth Place in the conference with Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and Washington. The Hawkeyes will host Michigan State (3-7, 0-7 Big-10) next Saturday.

The game over, we now had to retrace our steps to get back home. 

The Metro after a game is

always much more crowded

We rode home in the Blueberry II in much drier warmth and comfort thanks, in part, to changing into dryer clothes and heated seats.

The drive was wet to be sure but

traffic moved along at a reasonable pace

We were hungry, so we stopped at one of our favorite spots, Two Doughs Pizza, in Agoura Hills.

It was a good choice as our

empty plates might imply

Jacob and I polished off those last two slices without skipping a beat.

We arrived home at a reasonable hour, just in time to watch the end of the Huskies game on TV.

Washington (7-3, 4-3 Big-10) cruised

while pounding Purdue (2-9, 0-8 Big-10)

We'll be back at it next Saturday at the Rose Bowl at 7:30 p.m., viewing another Big-10 Conference clash, this time between Washington and UCLA (3-7, 3-4 Big-10).

Now, if we can just find some cheap tickets . . .