Morning Buzz

Well, without further adieu, it is time to address those questions from the Open Forum.

Q: SCFTBL1 said:
What is the USC allotment of tickets for the Nut Bowl? How are tickets sales going and how many people are expected to attend?

A: USC received 11,000 tickets. I’m told around 60 percent of those tickets were sold.

Q: Underachieving Troy said:
Who is more to blame for the lack of institutional control at USC, Pete Carroll or Mike Garrett?

A: Whether you ask this question about Florida, USC or Washington State, I think it is difficult to ever blame one person when you need to monitor more than 100 guys and every move they make. Ultimately, the A.D. and coach are responsible, but the reality is an athlete can do just about anything they want because it is impossible to watch them 24 hours a day. USC’s compliance office has been pretty strict since the Matt Leinart era about rental agreements and cars, but there’s always loopholes.

Q: JAG said:
Admit it, Scott. You’ve got to be a little pissed to spend Christmas in the fog. And those Boston cheerleaders are more sophisticated than our West Coast gals. They’re not going to warm up to every dude with a press pass, a practiced pitch, and a camera. Good luck.

This past decade, Pete Carroll’s Trojans have bought a lot of holiday joy to Trojan fans around the world. In particular, Carroll has provided you one of the sweetest bowl game assignments of any beat reporter in the country…home for the holidays (mostly), plus the Rose Bowl (mostly), plus a victory (mostly). My question, in the holiday spirit, is have you ever thanked Pete for any of this?

A: Well, I’m glad to see your comment on the Boston College cheerleaders because I will just happen to address it today (stay tuned).
Have I thanked Pete Carroll for all those Rose Bowls? I just spent a pretty fun week in San Francisco that beat the Rose Bowl in terms of atmosphere. And if I recall, there were probably trips to New Orleans (Sugar Bowl) and Phoenix (Fiesta Bowl) that I missed out on USC did not win games to make it to the national title game.
So no, I wasn’t thanking anyone for the annual trip to the Rose Bowl. And I think the players would agree with me.

Q: Caesar said:
USC is exploding with the news of a silent committ. Any word on who the secret committ is, or are these kept away from the press to give these big recruits their ESPN moment?

I know sometimes out of state recruits stay silent as the negative recruiting tactics come on pretty hard especially in SEC territory. So to save the kids some grief they are not announced till signing day in February.

That said they would have to keep this info quiet, especially to news service workers? Do the people at USC avoid answering your questions about recruiting?

A: I have not heard of this silent commit but I’ve said for quite awhile I know of two silent commits. If a recruit really wants to keep it quiet he can. T.J. Bryant kept his commitment quiet for months in Florida when he decided to go to USC.

Q: MRSAM said:
Will Joe McKnight, Stafon Johnson, and C.J. Gable enter the NFL Draft?

A: Johnson is supposed to enter the draft. I believe McKnight will enter the draft. Gable is up in the air.