Oregon legend Dan Fouts knows just how violent football can be.

Last week, in the second quarter of the Ducks’ 41-20 victory over USC, linebacker Desman Stephens hit a sliding Dante Moore in the head with a dangerous late hit. Stephens celebrated in the immediate aftermath, and Moore was carted off in a scary scene.

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Fouts praised Oregon head coach Dan Lanning for how he handled the emotional and scary situation.

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"I think the way that Lanning handled it was perfect. He brought the team together, calmed them all down, said a prayer for Dante. And it reminded them about focus, and reminded them about the importance of what they're doing, why they practiced so hard, why they're prepared, and got back into a football mindset. But the order in which he did that, I thought was absolutely perfect," Fouts told OutKick in a recent interview.

When he first saw the play, Fouts said he was concerned about Moore's health.

"It's a violent, violent game, and anybody who's played the game has suffered injuries. That one obviously looked just terrible," Fouts said while speaking on behalf of "Miller Night Football."

As for Stephens’ celebration? Fouts said kids are kids.

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"Kids are kids, and I think the player got caught up in the moment of something that I'm sure he regrets now, his actions, but in the heat of the moment, he made a mistake," Fouts said.

USC announced it had suspended Stephens for Saturday’s game against Washington. The junior linebacker apologized for his "inappropriate" behavior.

"I want to sincerely apologize for my actions during yesterday's game," he said. "Seeing a player injured like that is incredibly serious, and my reaction in the moments afterward was completely inappropriate and inexcusable. Regardless of what was going through my mind at the time, there is no justification for smiling or celebrating while another player receives medical attention."

"I take full responsibility for my actions. That is not the person or teammate I want to be, and I will learn from this. I am deeply sorry to Dante, his family and everyone who saw my reaction. It is not representative of USC or our program. I hope he makes a full and speedy recovery."

Lanning called Stephens’ hit on his quarterback "disgusting." Moore has no official return date as he remains in the NCAA’s concussion protocol.

Fouts starred at Oregon for three seasons before going to the NFL. He was drafted in the third round of the 1973 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers, with whom he played 15 seasons.

The 75-year-old was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

OutKick's Ryan Gaydos and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The bad news is official for SASSA pensioners. The October payment date – Friday 2 October 2026 – has rolled through and, for the first time in two years, there was no top-up. It’s an even harder landing after what highly active pensioner groups had been marching for.

Numerous marches on parliament this year have seen SASSA pensioners pushing for R5 000 a month. It’s a ballpark even the EFF’s Julius Malema echoed on his campaign trail, pledging R4 500. And despite total silence from the agency, many were still hopeful an October top-up might still materialise at the eleventh hour …

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DEVASTATION FOR SASSA PENSIONERS

What SASSA pensioners got instead was … nothing. Their grants sit exactly where they were in April 2026: R2 400 for beneficiaries aged 60 to 74 and R2 420 for 75 and older. Worse still, the R80 increase earlier in the year barely stretched far enough to begin with. Followed by war in the Middle East, SASSA Old-Age Grant recipients have watched the cost of living outpace that miserly bump month after month.

However, there might be a reason to look ahead to something other than dread. Running the Treasury’s own published numbers reveals something encouraging. That is, if South African Social Security Agency sticks to its current plan, next year’s increase could offset the October bummer. Here’s how Treasury sees its Old-Age Grant budget and beneficiary numbers:

• 2025: R115.7 billion budget, 4.19 million beneficiaries
• 2026: R121.8 billion budget, 4.26 million beneficiaries
• 2027: R129.6 billion budget, 4.33 million beneficiaries

WHAT COULD THIS MEAN FOR SASSA PENSIONERS?

Is new SASSA minister Dina Pule to blame for the total inactivity around increases? Image: File

What matters here is the gap between how fast the budget grows and how fast the beneficiary count grows. It is this gap that effectively funds the actual per-person increase. In 2026, the budget grew by roughly 5.14%, against beneficiary growth of just 1.60% – that’s a gap of 3.54 percentage points. However, for 2027, figures suggest budget growth of 6.20% against beneficiary growth of only 1.62% – therefore a wider gap of 4.58 percentage points.

Extrapolating those percentages could mean an increase of roughly R100, pushing the SASSA Old-Age Grant to around R2 500 for those 60 to 74, and R2 520 for those 75 and older, in April 2027. None of this is confirmed, of course. And for an agency that cannot even rectify the date clash with November 4 elections, five months is long enough for anything to happen …

But what do you think? Are SASSA pensioners entitles to R5 000 per month, do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below …

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