Thomas Williams practiced at linebacker today because Brian Cushing (knee) and Dallas Sartz (hip) are ailing.
UPDATED: Cushing and Sartz say they will play in the Rose Bowl and both could return as soon as today.

Michigan defensive end Lamarr Woodley’s eye lit up today when asked if he noticed what UCLA’s pass rush did to USC.
“Being a pass rusher, I was definitely look at UCLA,” he said.

Yahoo might come out with another Reggie Bush story before the Rose Bowl for maximum exposure.

USC almost suffered a key injury during Wednesdays practice in one of the seasons more embarrassing moments.
Freshman tailback Emmanuel Moody broke free on a run, and in a practice tradition, was supposed to run all the way to the end zone without any defensive players following him. But assistant coach Dave Watson, who urged Moody to keep running, slipped on the wet turf and fell, with his feet upending Moody and knocking the back down hard to the turf.
Moody, already recovering from torn ankle ligaments that forced him to miss several games, slowly got up and appeared to be hurt before eventually jogging back to the huddle.
“I bruised my knee, Moody said. “He got me pretty good. I dont know what happened.
Watson, who yelled at Moody to “get up, said he knew Moody was not hurt.
“As an effort coach its my job to chase the back, he said. “Hes a tough guy. It was a minor collision. I tackled him with my feet like a soccer player.

Pundits like Jeff Sagarin consistently ranked the Pac-10 as the top conference in America this season, but right now the Pac-10 looks more like the best conference in Western America.
After UCLA’s loss, the Pac-10 is off to an 0-3 start.

Linebacker Brian Cushing skipped practice with a sore knee that he hurt right before Christmas break.
“Its puffed up, USC coach Pete Carroll said. “We think he could play today if he had to.

One of our spies attended a couple Michigan practices and reports that while the tempo is slower than USC practices, the Wolverines’ timing appeared crisp.

Tonight’s bowl activity is a trip to the Improv for some stand-up comedy. No word if Michael Richards will be performing.
It will give the Trojans a chance to dry off following a crazy practice included a rain outburst followed by warm sunshine.

Sorry to intrude on Scott’s space, but I just wanted everyone to know of a change to the blog: beginning immediately, registration is required through Typekey to post comments. We apologize for the inconvenience, but registration is free and takes two minutes to do – this just reduces spam and makes it easier to moderate the discussions. And your comments will get published much quicker…

If anyone has any questions, concerns or problems about this, please direct them to me, not Scott. I can be reached at josh.kleinbaum@dailynews.com.

USC offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin marveled at a 36-yard touchdown run by Titans quarterback Vince Young on Sunday after a play broke down in a 30-29 victory over Buffalo.
“A lot of people said he wouldn’t be able to do the things he did in the Rose Bowl in the NFL,” Kiffin said.
Did that make Kiffin feel any better about last year’s Rose Bowl against Texas?
“No, we still lost,” he said.