Mike Bellotti and Pete Carroll do not hate each other. But there is a spirted rivalry there and it relates as much to USC's first trip to Eugene in 2001 under Carroll as anything else. So that game will always have a heated atmosphere but the coaches do respect each other and sometimes work together, such as when they agreed last season's clock rules sucked.

From what I've seen, Mitch Mustain has a nice touch and a strong arm along with being fairly mobile. But this is question to be asked more next week, when I've seen him against the defense in pads.

I have no idea if Youssoupha Mbao has the grades to go to USC or if he is seriously interested. USC's already had a center from Senegal (Abdoulaye N'diaye) and one from Mali (Mamadou Diarra), so maybe the Senegalese Mbao would be interested. Dwayne Polee Jr.'s stock continues to rise and we hear even UCLA's started recruiting him. So maybe Tim Floyd was shrewd to take Polee at young age. He was also the MVP at the Rumble in the Bronx tournament, which raised more eyebrows among coaches that wished they offered him earlier.

O.J. Mayo plays every night with and against his new teammates in pickup game. He's extremely consistent although the best moments are usually when fellow freshman Marcus Simmons defends him and gives him quite a challenge. He also played against Jason Kidd at UCLA and then was at Kobe Bryant's basketball camp.
Every time I've seen Mayo, he's very serious and disciplined and tries to improve himself instead of screwing around in pickup games.

Rivalries go in cycles. Right now, the players view Notre Dame as a huge, marquee national game. A showplace that almost no other schools can match. It's also considered a classy rivalry right now. If you asked during the Lou Holtz era, I'd answer that quite differently.
That leaves the UCLA game for the less-classy of the two, mainly because it's a game that consists of trash talking for 364 days in Southern California and then playing it. So in some ways it's more important to shut your rival up. But USC players over the past five years have not placed more importance on either game. Maybe that's why they've been successful most of the time.

I don't consider Vidal Hazelton in the Steve Smith/Keary Colbert mold yet for one simple reason. They both showed quite a bit of maturity as freshmen that was unique to each of them. Hazelton still needs to prove himself after his freshman season.

I haven't read the ESPN article on Mitch Mustain mainly because I never read ESPN magazine. But I did read part of the Matt Leinart article after ESPN emailed it to me. Or was that Sports Illustrated? So little time, so many articles. Let's all just blog instead.

Pete Carroll's finger is gnarlier than Ronnie Lott because Carroll has more finger left. Ironically, it took me months after meeting Carroll before I noticed it. I was too busy thinking up witty questions for him.

Garrett Green always wanted to go to USC. He's getting a free education and playing football, so he's happy.

Brendan Beal is probably the five-star to commit next with Will Hill and Arthur Brown the next-best opportinuties. Pete Carroll's status is addressed more below.

Charlie Weis didn't really have any redress on the Bush Push. It's kind of like when a player fumbles and the refs call a dead ball. What are you going to do? But maybe he could have called a fourth timeout on the 3 yard line to make things interesting? Oh wait, that was USC.

Damian Williams is not supposed to practice this season because of two shoulder operations but it would not surprise me if he came back early.

If Pete Carroll leaves, I'm sure he'll take his family with him to his next job.

I believe last week's Open Forum answers addressed whether Booty would be kept in games longer.

When all is said and done, USC will get several more high profile commitments and have another highly regarded recruiting class. Why you care if some Internet service ranks it high enough is beyond me, but remember one thing. If USC does not sign a QB or TB, the class will probably not be ranked as high because the Trojans usually get a top 10 prospect at those spots lately.

Dallas Sartz actually graduated a year ago and took some classes during his fifth year that were not critical to his degree. Ryan Kalil might still need a few classes since he did not redshirt.

For those who asked, we already have video of Mitch Mustain's bike and will recreate ``pedal-gate'' during a crucial scene of ``Mitch and Me.''

Tom Hansen will not be retiring soon, unless he no longer wants to be interviewed by Colin Cowherd. Bowl arrangements are pretty fluid, so it's always possible the Pac-10 could change them. Personally, the biggest mistake in my view was abandoning the Cotton Bowl, the one bowl that felt like a reward instead of driving down the freeway to San Diego or being placed in exile in El Paso or sent to a no-money bowl in Hawaii.

Pete Carroll says he will be back next season. Now will it happen? We never really know until it actually does. Some coaches within the conference think seven years is about the time for Carroll to get going. I'd say if Norv Turner gets fired in San Diego, things could get interesting. I've also never ruled out Carroll might want to take a year off at some point. But right now, he's staying.

On average, I'd say there are usually about four commitments that are ``secret.'' Howver, it's worth noting that sometimes those ``secret'' commitments end up changing their minds. A case in point is quarterback Gavin Dickey, who secretly committed to USC before his senior year then ended up at Florida. At this point, I don't need anyone to tell me he didn't pan out because the point is he was a secret commitment who changed his mind, not how he did in college.

Yes, nepotism is alive and well at USC. Several times in the past 12 years, I've seen someone get a scholarship because their dad or uncle donates huge sums of money to the athletic dept. Or maybe they had an older brother on the team and magically get a scholarship offer. You would think the No. 1 program in the nation would be beyond this stuff, but alas, it is not.

Maybe Ronald Johnson has the most upside of the receivers because I haven't seen him in pads yet. He seems fast enough to make an impact. It will interesting to see if Ausberry, Hazelton or Patterson emerge (I think the coaches would be happy if one did) this season. Someone needs to become a reliable option able to stretch a defense.

USC's always used three wide receiver sets but the key word is always balance. I think three receivers will emerge in a rotation but not at the expense of Fred Davis or maybe more likely Anthony McCoy, who looks like a million bucks in practices but never got into games last season.

I haven't discussed new videos with our technical producers and technicians (it's an intricate business here at the blog) but I'd like to do something in training camp, especially since every Tom, Dick and Harry is now encouraged by USC to do video reports. A daily Mitch Mustain feature sounds like a terrific idea, however.

Sam Baker's strained ligament in his toe could limit him in training camp. So far, his knee, which bothered him last season, feels fine but let's see in a week.

I would easily say Jeff Tedford is the coach most likely to beat Pete Carroll twice. He already almost did it, with a narrow loss in 2004 and last year's tough game. This year, USC goes up to Berkeley and Cal remains it's most formidable threat in the Pac-10. Tedford also could use another win over USC to erase some growing doubts within the coaching community about winning the big one.

Captains will be picked in a couple weeks. I'd bet on Booty, Baker, Lawrence Jackson and either Sedrick Ellis or Terrell Thomas.

USC practices are generally open during training camp except for August 12 for sure. It's generally best to call the football office the day before just to avoid wasting the trip but they should be open on most days.

Carson Palmer is a very laid-back, grounded person. He didn't seek attention at USC but was respected by his teammates and had a good sense of humor with people he was comfortable around.

My top 25 will be released later this month with the first AP poll.

Pete Carroll is probably the highest-paid or second-highest paid coach in college football from what I hear. He's in the neighborhood of Nick Saban, who makes $4 million.

Time for the first practice!