LAS VEGAS — On Friday, Nov. 15, 270 miles from USC, workers at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas walked off the premises amid an ongoing fight for a new contract. Presumably, of course, this did not – and would not ever – have anything to do with USC’s football program. This was a labor dispute in Nevada, after all.
Except a month later, with workers still picketing on the corner of South Paradise Road in Las Vegas, USC’s hotel accommodations for the Las Vegas Bowl were none other than the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
Suddenly, USC found itself breaking the picket line of the Culinary Workers Union – and establishing it was in no way their choice to do so. On Friday morning, nine hours before kickoff for the game between USC and Texas A&M, USC sent an unprompted statement to the Southern California News Group saying the university was “very disappointed” it had been “placed in the middle of an ongoing labor dispute” by the Las Vegas Bowl.
“Since learning about the strike by hospitality workers, USC has repeatedly asked the Bowl for viable hotel alternatives, so that our team would not have to cross a picket line,” USC wrote in the statement. “Unfortunately, the Bowl has been unable to change hotels on such short notice.”
“USC greatly values its longstanding relationship with our labor partners,” the statement continued. “We hope that this matter does not distract from an event that our student-athletes have worked very hard to prepare for.”
The Las Vegas Bowl declined to comment.
A spokesperson for the Culinary Workers Union told the SCNG that the group had been in communication with USC regarding the strike, and referred the SCNG to a statement released on Dec. 16, which asserted that the university still had time to find alternative lodging before the Vegas Bowl on Dec. 27.
“The ruling on the field is clear: Crossing a picket line is unsportsmanlike conduct,” Ted Pappageorge, the Culinary Union’s secretary treasurer, said as part of a statement overwhelmingly rich with puns. “USC has a proud football tradition, but staying at Virgin Las Vegas would be a penalty flag on their legacy.”
As if USC’s season hadn’t already been strange enough.
One NCAA rule change actually gave the Trojans a big lift: senior linebacker Eric Gentry, who had redshirted the rest of his 2024 season after suffering multiple concussions, was active against Texas A&M on Friday night.
“Guess Who’s back,” Gentry tweeted on Dec. 4 with a picture of himself.
In the summer, the NCAA announced that postseason games would no longer count toward the four-game redshirt maximum, meaning Gentry was suddenly able to play against Texas A&M while preserving his extra year of eligibility. It was as important an addition for USC as any subtraction across the last month, as Gentry had looked like USC’s best defensive player through four games before going down with injury against Wisconsin on Sept. 28.
Gentry, however, was used sparingly on Friday night, spending USC’s first defensive drive on the bench and going without a tackle in the first half.
With USC’s offensive line depth already razor-thin for the bowl game, amid transfers and center Jonah Monheim’s opt-out for the NFL draft, a nightmare situation unfolded for the Trojans in the first quarter at Allegiant Stadium.
Starting left tackle Elijah Paige, the most important member of USC’s offensive line, went down on the turf after a play on the Trojans’ second drive. After limping off to the medical tent, he emerged a few minutes later and was taken off the field on a cart, a significant loss for an offense in need of some semblance of cohesion. True freshman Justin Tauanuu, a Huntington Beach High product, filled in for Paige for the rest of the first half Friday night.
