[Goose]

Why is that, do you suspect? Other than that they are the personification of evil, etc.

I think it is the culture. There are a lot of guys there who have been told for their entire lives that they are great football players and destined for great success in college and the NFL. For these guys, it is all about them. When things aren't going well, infighting starts. Players do their own thing. After a few losses, the players realize they aren't going to "win" anything that year and basically quit.
 
Other programs have the same kind of recruits, but their culture isn't Hollywood (as USC's is). The head coach and "the program" dictates to the athletes, not visa-versa. When USC had their "iconic" coaches, like Carroll, Robinson, and McKay USC could control the personalities and harness the superior talent. Most other coaches at USC, and basically all "recent" coaches haven't been able to do that. The inmates, or a subset thereof, run the asylum. Thus the chronic under-performance. NIL and all the hype surrounding college football has of course made the problem worse. I am not sure it is possible to "fix" the issues at USC today no matter who the coach is.

[Goose]

Why is that, do you suspect? Other than that they are the personification of evil, etc.

I think it is the culture. There are a lot of guys there who have been told for their entire lives that they are great football players and destined for great success in college and the NFL. For these guys, it is all about them. When things aren't going well, infighting starts. Players do their own thing. After a few losses, the players realize they aren't going to "win" anything that year and basically quit.
 
Other programs have the same kind of recruits, but their culture isn't Hollywood (as USC's is). The head coach and "the program" dictates to the athletes, not visa-versa. When USC had their "iconic" coaches, like Carroll, Robinson, and McKay USC could control the personalities and harness the superior talent. Most other coaches at USC, and basically all "recent" coaches haven't been able to do that. The inmates, or a subset thereof, run the asylum. Thus the chronic under-performance. NIL and all the hype surrounding college football has of course made the problem worse. I am not sure it is possible to "fix" the issues at USC today no matter who the coach is.