November 2008 Archives

This is one of the first pictures I've seen with a proper view of what looks like the old Bovard Field. Many of us are too young to ever see this field, which used to be the main athletic field. It was taken by Loomis Dean in 1951 and is part of the recently released Life magazine collection available on Google.

Here's the penalties from Saturday's game.

Here's the first of a week's worth of bland quotes between Pete Carroll and Norm Chow.
``He's a really good coach,'' Carroll said of Chow. ``He's proven to be one of the great coaches in college football. It'll be a challenge.
``We're fellow coaches who had a great time together and he moved on and now he is back. I like stuff like thus. I like going against guys I know.''

Pete Carroll on Texas not making the Big 12 title game.
``That makes no sense to me,'' he said. ``said. ``They're going to say the other team (Oklahoma) is better when they played head-to-head (and Texas won)?''

Pete Carroll said he was not sure if Malik Jackson would be eligible to play against UCLA. Jackson was ejected from the end of the Notre Dame game.
``I don't know if it's an automatic deal or not,'' Carroll said.

Pete Carroll on the chances of both USC and UCLA wearing their home uniforms Saturday.
``I don't know anything about that at this point,'' he said. ``There's been no exchange of phone calls. I don't know anything about that.'''

Quarterback Mark Sanchez was asked last night about his future plans.
``I haven't even entertained thoughts yet or thought of leaving. It's so much fun being here. That will affect my decision,'' he said.

This is for those who did not ask football questions in the Open Forum.

Mark Sanchez threw 31 passes against Notre Dame. He threw 32 against the Irish last year . . . in the first half.

USC's fifth, Oklahoma grabs the valued No. 2 spot and Oregon State goes tumbling out of the top 25. Mighty Penn State, the likely bowl opponent, is No. 8.

We talked to former USC assistant coach Carl Smith yesterday before the game. He said he would consider coaching again next season after taking a year off, either in the NFL or college football. He also denied an Internet rumor last summer that he assisted the USC coaching staff with the offense.

Only 19 points were scored on the Trojans at the Coliseum this year. In 86 seasons at the Coliseum, only twice did USC teams gave up fewer points, both National Championship years: 1939 (14 points in six games), and 1932 (7 points in 7 games).
The 1962 National Champions allowed only 19 points in 5 Coliseum home games, and 22 in 6 Coliseum games (including the UCLA match, in which UCLA was the home team).
The 1952 PCC Champions allowed 13 points in 6 Coliseum home games, and 25 points in the 7 games they played at the Coliseum.
Most years, the Trojans give up at least 19 or more points in at least one game. In fact, since 1940, the Trojans have kept all home opponents under 19 or more points in only seven seasons: 1948, 1952, 1962, 1982, 1989, 2004, and, now, 2008.

Here's this week's ballot for the Associated Press poll.

USC's defense (and Oregon's victory) set the stage for another trip to Pasadena on New Year's Day.

Right tackle Nick Howell suffered a high-ankle sprain and was forced to leave the game. Fullback Stanley Havili suffered a mild ankle sprain.

Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen on facing USC.
``I was frustrated a little bit,'' said Clausen, who finished 11 for 22 for 41 yards and two interceptions. ``They were getting pressure by rushing four and it disrupted everything else. It's tough but that's what football is. It was a tough day but the team will bounce back from this.''

Linebacker Brian Cushing on the scuffle: ``I can't tell you who instigated it but I can tell you nobody backed off.''

``It's a little scuffle,'' USC defensive lineman Fili Moala said. ``They thought they were hyped and they weren't as hyped as us.
``It started in the tunnel. They started talking and we were talking. We bit before they did and their bite wasn't hard.''

Mark Sanchez on his first interception.
``I was thinking, `That's one way to start,' '' Sanchez said. ``The coolest thing is (offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian) and Coach Carroll said, `It's OK, let it rip.' Sark said, `I'm still going to throw the heck out of the ball.
``We let it go. We let it rip. I felt like I was playing really relaxed.''

USC clinches a berth in the Rose Bowl with a victory next week over crosstown rival UCLA. If USC loses and finishes it a three-way tie with Oregon State and Oregon, the Trojans go to the Holiday Bowl and Oregon State goes to the Rose Bowl.

I'll start it with 7:05 left. Talk about the blowout. And the fact will probably go to the Rose Bowl now.

The attendance was just announced at more than 90,000. Uh, ok.

USC's got Marc Tyler in the game but Mark Sanchez is still playing quarterback. Isn't this an ideal time to play someone else with a 31-3 lead?

The Irish kick a 41-yard field goal to end the shutout bid with 11:45 remaining.

Notre Dame crossed midfield for the first time with 14 minutes left in the game.

Notre Dame recorded its initial first down on the last play of the third quarter.

It's refreshing that fans who never travel to South Bend got a chance to hear the Notre Dame band. And they laid down a marker at halftime when they formed a car and had smoke come out the back of it.
They received a rousing round of applause at the end of the number. I especially applaud band director, USC graduate Ken Dye, who not only rebuilt the band, he has a small enough ego to let the students direct the band instead of positioning himself atop a ladder.
Art Bartner followed up with a Jackson 5 song, ``I want you back.'' Zzzzzzzz.

USC's defense is nearly perfect as Notre Dame's got nine yards in 20 plays. But Notre Dame is also awful. And Mark Sanchez overcame his interception and weekly fumble to complete 15 of 19 passes for 175 yards.
Chris Claiborne, Carl Smith and Joe Montana are among those watching the game.

An amazing scene took place in the first quarter. The student section is more than half empty and all the people relegated to section 29 were allowed to move over two or three sections. Thousands of people were moving across the Coliseum. It will be interesting to see what the announced attendance is tonight.

USC achieved a rare feat: It committed a clipping penalty on Stafon Johnson's punt return and then received a penalty for excessive celebration. The Trojans have five penalties for 45 yards.

There was quite an altercation during the warmups when both teams inexplicably gathered around the same time in the end zone and started jumping up and down. Then came trash talking, shoving and a few punches. I saw security people, players, coaches and staff get knocked down and I was observing from right in the middle of the field.
The melee continued to midfield, where players were still trying to get back at each other. It was quite a scene and emotions were high. The calmest person was Charlie Weis, who avoided the conflict.

Pete Carroll remembers how much he can't stand Charlie Weis. Or Charlie Weis decides to coach for about a quarter like last season. Quarterback Mark Sanchez fumbles less than four snaps. Joe McKnight fumbles less than three carries. Jimmy Clausen is as intimidated by USC's defense as he was with the thought of signing with the Trojans.

Charlie Weis wears his XXXXL sweatshirt. Lou Holtz, Tony Rice and Stan Smagala fly in and deliver rousing speeches about the 1988 game at the Coliseum when the teams were ranked Nos. 1 and 2. Jimmy Clausen gets all his former Oaks Christian teammates (including Marc Tyler) to transfer to Notre Dame for one game.

I'll take a wild guess that Tennessee will start calling Broderick Green and attempt to lure the former USC tailback during his search for a new school.

Is this what Pete Carroll will say to Charlie Weis before today's game?

In honor of today's USC-Notre Dame game, here's the famous photo of the winning touchdown from the 2005 game.

Mater Dei quarterback Matt Barkley's prep career ended as he completed 11 of 31 passes for 236 yards and one touchdown with four interceptions in a loss to Tesoro on Friday night. Mater Dei receivers also dropped at least eight passes.

We hear that right now it is unlikely Lane Kiffin will be able to bring his father, Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, with him to Tennessee.

I almost forgot the title of Charlie Weis' autobiography is, ``No Excuses.''

Looks like Lane Kiffin got a job.

Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga were two of the 12 finalists for the Butkus Award. The prep finalists include Marquis Simmons and a couple other linebackers USC is recruiting.

A record 39 different schools have appeared in the 2008 BCS standings with two standings remaining.
Numbers of teams gracing BCS standings annually from 1998- 2008 (Top 15 from 1998-Oct. 18, 2003 - Top 25 starting on Oct. 25, 2003) include: 1998 - 26; 1999 - 19; 2000 - 23; 2001 - 23; 2002 - 21; 2003 - 32; 2004 - 34; 2005 - 32; 2006 - 35; 2007 - 34; and 2008 - 39.

On Nov. 26, 1988, for the first time in series history, Notre Dame and USC entered the game undefeated and occupying the top two spots in the nation.
Fighting Irish quarterback Tony Rice rushed 65 yards for a touchdown, while cornerback Stan Smagala intercepted USC quarterback Rodney Peete's pass and returned it for a score to secure a 27-10 victory at the Coliseum.

Pete Carroll and Charlie Weis are currently downtown at the traditional USC-Notre Dame luncheon.
``I was surprised I couldn't justify getting out of it,'' Carroll joked Thursday,when asked about attending the lunch the day before the game. ``But I understand the tradition.''
The event conflicts with the 12:30 p.m. coaches' meetings Carroll holds on Fridays before home games.
``We have meetings I can't make,'' he said.

This might be the last time to pick a Notre Dame-USC game involving Charlie Weis.

Here's info on the parking shuttle available from Staples Center on Saturday.

Will USC air it out against Notre Dame?

Football questions may be asked here. One per person please.

Time to ask questions again.

With two regular-season games remaining, Mark Sanchez has thrown 267 passes. Two years ago, quarterback John David Booty threw 324 passes through his first 10 games.

Former USC offensive line coach Tim Davis was hired as the offensive line coach at Minnesota. Davis was the director of player personnel at Alabama.

With USC forward Kasey Cunningham out for the season, it suddenly means wide receiver Jordan Cameron will be an even more welcome addition when football season is over. Cameron originally attended BYU on a basketball scholarship before he transferred to Ventura College.

Defensive tackle Armond Armstead, who broke his hand last week, will not be available against Notre Dame.

Safety Kevin Ellison will not play against Notre Dame after his knee failed to respond following Tuesday's practice.
``He's real frustrated by it,'' USC coach Pete Carroll said.

Tight end Blake Ayles will undergo surgery Monday because he has a bone chip in his knee that was caused when he collided with quarterback Mark Sanchez a few weeks ago. Ayles said trainers thought the bone might heal but his knee never improved.
He said he hopes to return two weeks before a bowl game.

The USC-Notre Dame game will be on ESPN. The last time a USC-Notre Dame game from the Coliseum was not on broadcast network television was 1966, the Trojans los 51-0.

Not everyone gets Thanksgiving off. The basketball team is practicing twice today before Friday's game with Tennessee-Martin.

Doctors discovered forward Kasey Cunningham tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during surgery tonight and he will miss the remainder of the season.
Cunningham's torn his left ACL three times, including twice at USC. Cunningham has two years of eligibility remaining but could petition for a sixth year.

Pete Carroll's charity, A Better LA, will be having a toy drive at the USC vs. Notre Dame game. The collection point for donations or new unwrapped toys or USC gear will be in front of the statues at the Coliseum at the ESPN booth/tailgate location.

Kasey Cunningham is currently in surgery on his knee, so there might be an update later tonight.

Joe McKnight suffered a shoulder stinger in practice. Pete Carroll said he thought McKnight would be fine but it will be interesting to see if he practices tomorrow.

Safety Kevin Ellison participated in warmups but was unable to practice Wednesday.
``He didn't feel he could push around on it,'' Pete Carroll said. ``He wasn't able to practice two days in a row. It's really, really understandable.''

I don't expect USC to sign a tailback recruit with Andre Debose fading but the Trojans still seem in prime position to land fullback Tyler Gaffney. And if for some reason, they really needed a tailback, Patrick Hall of St. Bonaventure could always switch over from safety.

That's the buzz in some parts of the state.

Football practice is currently scheduled today at Cromwell Field.

We've been mentioning this since last week but now the ticket office officially announced even more Notre Dame tickets will be released Friday at 10 a.m. Charlie Weis must be killing attendance.

We hear from Florida sources that USC's fading in its chances of tailback Andre Debose.

"We have as much to play for as the Beavers do (but) there's less pressure on us."
-- Oregon coach Mike Bellotti on facing Oregon State.

Time to ask a question, if you haven't already been picked. Deadline is 8 a.m. Thursday.

Tailback Allen Bradford showed up at Tuesday's practice on crutches, four days after a three-hour hip operation to repair a torn labrum.
``I'm already riding an exercise bike and starting rehab,'' Bradford said.

One of you asked about what USC's coaches think of Matt Cassel's recent performances. Pete Carroll was asked at today's press conference.

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis, who is 28-21 overall, has just eight victories against teams that finished the season with records better than .500.

Forward Kasey Cunningham will undergo knee surgery Tuesday to remove torn cartilege from his knee. Doctors will also check for any ligament damage. USC officials said no timeframe has been established for his return until after surgery.

Doctors cleared Kevin Ellison to play Saturday against Notre Dame. Ellison participated in most of Tuesday's practice and said he felt fine. Pete Carroll has not decided yet if Ellison will start.

Now we've heard from a couple readers who supplied more information that says Tricia Pillsbury was a print journalism major. The plot thickens!

The first page of USC's game release says Saturday's game is a sell-out. The first page of the Notre Dame release says it is not. Meanwhile tickets are still available at the USC ticket office (limit four to a customer).

Pete Carroll found common ground with Barack Obama today at the press conference.

Maybe the readers can help out a fellow questioner with the last question in this segment.

Here's the 22 teams still under BCS consideration.

Here's Pete Carroll's press conference today.

Where will USC end up in January?

USC opened a 27-point favorite over Notre Dame then quickly moved up to 29, the same margin Hawaii is favored over Washington State.

A reader wrote in this morning to tell us Tricia Pillsbury was NOT a print journalism major. Good thing we've settled that.

Flip-flopping back to the non-football forum.

Ole Miss, with first-year coach Houston Nutt, is ranked for the first time since 2003. Pete Carroll's coaching tree looks more like a coaching weed.

The questions definitely show people do their homework.

We'll start off this song-girl forum with the longest question ever.

Here's a couple names tossed around for openings on the coaching gravevine right now.
Washington: Dennis Franchione.
Syracuse: Skip Holtz.

Here's the latest on whether Josh Pinkard will return next season.

``Pete Carroll has to win the easy games.''
-- ESPN analyst Beano Cook on the Tony Bruno show.

USC defensive coordinator Nick Holt was also at the Mission Viejo-Loyola game last Friday along with UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel. Both have sons that attend Loyola. Holt said he and Neuheisel spoke to each other during the game.

Pete Carroll complimented freshman quarterback Aaron Corp after practice Monday.
``Mitch (Mustain) is still No. 2. Aaron had a really good week last week and (Steve Sarkisian) and I kicked it around. We have haven't changed anything yet but Aaron made a statement.''

Forward Kasey Cunningham will have an MRI tomorrow on his injured knee.

Some quick hits in this section.

Does anyone know of another team in the country that stations its offensive and defensive coordinators on the sideline during games?

Taylor Mays is a finalist for the Thorpe Award, so he will be at the college football awards show on Dec. 11 in Orlando, Fla., along with Rey Maualuga, who is a finalist for the Bednarik Award. Here's the list of finalists.

I'm sure you've all been waiting with baited breath for these answers.

Which bowl do you really want USC to play in?

Wonder how linebacker Man'ti Teo enjoyed that snowfall in Notre Dame over the weekend on his visit?

It's time to answer questions, brought to you by Puerto Rico, no passport (or basketball team) required.

BCS hopes up. Rose Bowl hopes down.

Pete Carroll thinks the Ohio State game led to USC's downfall against Oregon State.

Pete Carroll on Texas Tech's upset loss to Oklahoma.
``Everybody expects things to go a certain way and they just don't. Things can just happen when you expect them to be even Steven. It happens every year.''

Pete Carroll on Notre Dame.
``(Notre Dame) is a lot better than last year,'' Carroll said. ``The defense is a lot more aggressive. They get after it. They'll go after you and won't stop. The quarterback (Jimmy Clausen) is just being groomed. He can throw any ball you want. He's way more comfortable.''

Pete Carroll joked about moving up to No. 5 in the BCS rankings with a bye.
``Can we not play this week too and keep climbing,'' he said.

Q. Do you feel pretty comfortable right now with your job status?

COACH WEIS: I think that the team has a chance of being pretty darn good next year. I can't worry about my job status. I'm the head football coach. And that's what I intend to be.

USC moved up to fifth this week as it remains in the title hunt.

Matt Cassel's passed for more yards in the past two weeks (815) than Matt Leinart in the past two years (662).

Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian said USC's offense needs to overcome adversity and here's some interesting history on the 60th anniversary of the first USC-Notre Dame telecast.

If you did not ask a football question in the Open Forum, fire away! One salvo per person please.

We forgot to mention the atrocious free-throw shooting (15-28). In the pre-game Galen Center days, the excuse was always that gym time was limited for players who wanted to spend time working on free throws. That doesn't wash anymore.

Who booked that basketball trip to Puerto Rico? Actually, this was supposed to be the year Tim Floyd had a core group of experienced players back, but the Trojans are 3-2 following today's 83-72 loss to Missouri.
Daniel Hackett had eight turnovers and DeMar DeRozan was 2-9 from the field. I don't doubt the hype that DeRozan will be a top five pick in the NBA draft but the thing that always worried me was that he is 18 years old and not a finished product like 20-year-old O.J. Mayo. So it will take him time to develop this season. More distressing is the lack of production from guys like Hackett, who is supposed to be a leader this season.

Here's this week's ballot for the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

Abilene Christian 93, West Texas A&M 68 . . . in the Division II playoffs. Quarterback Keith Null passed for 595 yards and seven touchdowns in a losing effort. Wide receiver Charly Martin caught 14 passes for 323 yards and five touchdowns, also in a losing effort.

USC is two victories and one Oregon State victory away from NOT going to the Rose Bowl and instead going to another BCS bowl game.

"I don't think we made Pete Carroll's night tonight.''
-- Arizona coach Mike Stoops on the Wildcats' loss to Oregon State.

Will USC be ranked ahead of Texas Tech tomorrow?

From today's AP Notre Dame game story.
``SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame football players were pelted by snowballs from fans sitting in the student section during their 24-23 loss to Syracuse on Saturday.
Defensive lineman Ian Williams got hit in the helmet, defensive end Ethan Johnson was struck on the left cheek and a St. Joseph County police officer on the sideline looking into the crowd got hit in the chest.''

Charlie Weis can't even beat an awful team (Syracuse), which makes USC fans happy but does not help the Trojans' strength of schedule.
Of course, this means Daryl Gross didn't do USC any favors either.

Pete Carroll's won 76 percent of games following a bye. But he's won 88 percent of his regular-season games without a bye.

A look at the USC-Stanford game film showed the Trojans had 11 men on the field when they called timeout. Pete Carroll said he called the timeout because there were 10 men on the field. Also, Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga were on the field for the final three plays, blitzing the first two and dropping into coverage on the last play.
Like we said, the Carroll-Jim Harbaugh rivalry is a beautiful thing.

Here's some in-depth stats on USC's third-down proficiency, which includes 38 percent on third-and-7-10 yards.

USC quarterback Mark Sanchez and UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel at the Mission Viejo-Loyola playoff game.

So if we do two questions this week, we don't have to do one next week? Right? Just kidding.

We're going to try to answer two questions this week.

And that's a wrap before 53 bystanders in Puerto Rico. Mamadou Diarra wraps up the scoring with awkward shot that goes in and it's on to Missouri.

Romeo Miller is in! He lofts a 3-pointer that misses. The Trojans have blocked 10 shots. There's 1:44 left in the game.

Leonard Washington got hit in the face and is now wearing a different jersey (No. 33) with 8 minutes left.

Dwight Lewis hits a 3-pointer and gets an three-point play to lead a 17-6 run that should be enough to put the game away.

Taj Gibson scores the first four points of the second half as the Trojans expand their lead and still can't hit an outside shot.

The Trojans' 3-point shooting is still atrocious (2-8) but the Trojans shot 48 percent overall in the first half, so maybe they need to ignore the 3's until they get used to the new distance.

Do they open the doors to the arena for this basketball game? The attendance is between 50-60. And USC's coaches are wearing another version of the bad striped T-shirts.

Here's USC first announcement regarding bowl tickets.

Ask your Bay Area friends why tomorrow's ``Big Game'' is not sold out.

Here's 10 defensive stats and a video put out by USC.

The ticket office says it is selling Notre Dame tickets.

The reason Lane Kiffin was at USC earlier this week was to compile offensive film from when he was offensive coordinator and could show it during job interviews.

Defensive end Brandon Rankin of Butte Community College is drawing interest from USC. He recorded six sacks in a game last weekend. However, we hear Rankin's transcripts are full of P.E. units, which mean it could be very difficult to gain admission.
This is a good example of bad idea by the university, when it dropped P.E. as a major. There was a time when many high school coaches were USC graduates who majored in P.E. and formed a bond throughout Southern California. But it's a dying breed today since the university made the move because it was not considered a prestigious enough major.

USC coach Pete Carroll will attend tonight's Long Beach Poly-Bishop Amat game and another game to be determined as he heads out to watch recruits.

USC has hit just 4 of its 24 three-point shots in the past two games (.167).

One lingering question from the Stanford game is what happened to the run defense? USC entered the game ranked No. 3 in the nation and allowed tailback Toby Gerhart and quarterback Tavita Pritchard to each break off 40-yard gains in the first half.
But Pete Carroll claimed he was not concerned about the defensive lapse ``We tried some stunts early in the game to see what would work and didn't play as well as in our base defense,'' he said.

Can someone explain why DeMar DeRozan played only 20 minutes tonight? Or the awful Nike-provided striped shirts the coaches wore in Puerto Rico?

USC and UCLA's basketball teams both flew to New York this week and both lost Thursday night. But UCLA actually played there.

I only saw the last 15 seconds with Pete Carroll, but some of the stats are pretty ugly, led by Daniel Hackett going 0 for 7 on FGs.
And why didn't Romeo Miller play?

Freshman defensive tackle Armond Armstead broke a bone in his hand and wore a cast after practice tonight. He said doctors told him he could play next week against Notre Dame. He will be fitted for a hard cast on Monday.

USC coach Pete Carroll said after talking to pro scouts, Brian Cushing will probably play inside linebacker in the NFL.

When USC wins or ties its opponent in turnovers, it lost just once in the past five years. The only loss was to UCLA in 2006. Each team had one turnover in that game.

USC is 10 for 15 (67 percent) on fourth-down conversions this season. One reason for the success is USC often decides to go for it before third down, and call a play to set up an easier fourth-down conversion.

Time for all those bye week questions. One per person please.

One question per person please.

We hear tailback Broderick Green is also considering Central Connecticut State, whose coaching staff is dominated by former Trojans.

USC announced its two-member recruiting class for the fall signing period. USC dropped commit Demetrius Walker after he started talking to Arizona State.

USC forward Nikola Vucevic, who is currently ineligible, could hear by Friday from the NCAA regarding how long he might be out for playing two games with European pro team. The suspension could be so short that he would eligible by the time the Trojans return from Puerto Rico.
Vucevic is unlikely to redshirt now that Alex Stepheson is ineligible.

Former USC offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin was on campus yesterday

Former USC tailback Broderick Green's set up a couple of visits and is looking at more than eight schools overall.

A USA Today special report into athetes' majors showed clustering in certain majors ``without the academic demands most students face.'' A chart of the Top 25 football teams in 2007 showed 57.9 percent of USC's juniors and seniors (22 of 38) majored in sociology.
The only top 25 schools with more football players in a certain major were Michigan (75.6 percent in general studies) and Virginia Tech (63.3 percent in apparel, housing and resource management).
Outside the top 25, Georgia Tech had 81.8 percent major in management while UCLA had 50 percent major in history.

Here's where you can vote on a Pac-10 game-changing performance and win two season tickets for next year. But where's Jacquizz Rodgers' performance against USC?

USC's coaching staff will naturally attend high school football playoff games on Friday, but the coaches will probably be watching more sophomores and juniors because the Trojans are looking ahead to the next two recruiting classes.
``We're pinpointing a number of games for next year's recruiting class and even the year after that,'' Pete Carroll said.

USC coach Tim Floyd on the NCAA's decision to deny a waiver for Alex Stepheson to be eligible this season.
``We were disappointed to learn about this decision, but I respect the NCAA process. We understand this has been a very complicated process and appreciate the efforts of the USC staff, the NCAA, North Carolina and Alex and his family.
``Alex would have really helped our team this season and would have had a big impact in the Pac-10, but we will have to move beyond this now.
``He practiced hard and showed us the kind of player he is. I'm confident he'll work even harder now and prepare himself for next season. Even though it appears he won't be suiting up for us this year, he'll be an integral part of our Trojan basketball team.''

Safety Kevin Ellison, who underwent knee surgery two weeks ago, did some running today but will not return to practice until next week.

USC players are forced to run laps when they commit penalties this week
``We're not settling with our great comeback we made last week with six penalties,'' Pete Carroll joked.

USC will officially announce sometime today (or tonight at this rate) that Alex Stepheson did not receive a waiver to gain instant eligibility. This comes as no surprise because Stepheson heard since the summer it was unlikely the NCAA would grant the waiver.

Washington, with a 12-game losing streak, playing on the road, not having covered a spread since the BYU game, opened as an 8.5-point favorite against Washington State.
Scott Ramsey, an analyst at Las Vegas Sports Consultants, which helps set the spread, told the Seattle Times: "I was thinking the same thing -- it doesn't seem right. But you have two bad teams. One just happens to be much worse than the other."

Another forum bites the dust.

A question about the conservative offense.

I had the pleasure of speaking to a class at USC last night and was given a gift afterward: A USC song girl doll, in tribute to the readers' interest in this subject and the selection process.

Is USC the best team in L.A.? Occidental is 9-0 and opens the Division III playoffs this week against Willamette. Occidental is 42-3 in the past five seasons.

Last year, Arizona State played USC on Thanksgiving night, in a game which essentially decided the Pac-10's Rose Bowl representative.
This year, the Sun Devils host UCLA on the day after Thanksgiving, for slightly different stakes. Since both schools have six losses, the loser will guarantee the a bowlless season. The winner will have to beat its natural rival to become bowl eligible.

Another vital question regarding the selection process.

USC linebacker Rey Maualuga, TCU end Jerry Hughes, Texas end Brian Orakpo, Wake Forest cornerback Alphonso Smith and Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes are the finalists for the award that goes to the best defensive football player in college football.

BEST CONFERENCE RECORDS IN LAST 20 GAMES

Rk. Team Conference Record

1. Boise State Western Athletic 19-1

BYU Mountain West 19-1

3. Ohio State Big Ten 18-2

Central Michigan Mid-American 18-2

5. Hawai`i Western Athletic 17-3

Virginia Tech Atlantic Coast 17-3

7. Houston Conference USA 16-4

Troy Sun Belt 16-4

USC Pac 10 16-4

10. TCU Mountain West 15-5

Offensive guard Zack Heberer did not see action against Stanford but assistant coach Pat Ruel said he expects to play him in the final two regular-season games.

Mark Sanchez on the offense's recent close-to-the-vest nature.
``It's a real fine line to stay aggressive and make throws and then to pull back the last three games,'' he said. ``I've been more conservative than I'm used to, but it's working because we're 9-1.''

Versus announced the USC-Stanford garnered a 1.0 HH rating, making it the most-watched college football game among households (742,937) and total viewers (1,031,532) ever on the network.
By comparison, ESPN averages 2,020,000 households and a 2.1 rating for its college football coverage.
In Los Angeles, USC-Stanford delivered a 2.8 HH rating, making Versus the No. 1-rated cable station and the fourth--highest-rated station overall in the market for that time period.

.

Tailback Allen Bradford said he would undergo hip surgery for a torn labrum on Friday. The recovery period will probably last until next year's training camp.

Defensive end Clay Matthews missed practice because of an ear infection caused when offensive tackle Charles Brown poked Matthews in the ear during practice last week. Offensive guard Jeff Byers sat out with a sore shoulder. Tailback Joe McKnight (turf toe) practiced but his foot will probably be sore the rest of the season, Carroll said.
Safety Kevin Ellison (knee) is expected to do some running this week with the hope he returns for next week's game against Notre Dame.[

Tonight's basketball game against New Mexico State tips off at 6 p.m.so the team can fly to Puerto Rico immediately afterward. This reminds us of the last strange tipoff not due to television.
It occurred when USC moved a game to 5 p.m. against Siena. Why? Because Elizabeth Hackett, the wife of former USC Paul Hackett, had a birthday party at a downtown hotel and moving up the tipoff allowed the athletic dept. to attend.

Did the offense overachieve or underachive this season?

Time to ask Pete Carroll a question. If you had a question selected already, please let others ask. Thanks.

Yesterday's blog meltdown prevented us from posting the grades for the Stanford game.

Why did USC send out a press release announcing who its fill-in basketball announcers are while Rory Markas recovers and then NOT announce that Isaac Lowenkron was added late last week to do some of the games? Kind of shoddy when you consider Lowenkron is a USC alum and deserves to be mentioned as one of the official USC basketball play-by-play men this season.

Who gets the Syracuse job?

If you had trouble posting a comment, it's likely because the system was experiencing delays, but things appear to be better.

Flip-flopping between the forums. This segment is brought to you by CaesarTV, which will not change its fill-in announcers on the eve of basketball season.

A question over why some big-name recruits did not choose to attend USC.

When is the last time USC and UCLA had byes in the same weekend in November?

Back to the forum answers. Hopefully posting will not be delayed.

No surprise after Fox passed yesterday. Here's the announcement.

Stanford's pass defense is ranked ninth in the Pac-10 but it forced USC to become a running team.

We're hoping we can get through this without any more technical problems.

Mark Sanchez's 17 passes against Stanford were the fewest by a USC quarterback since Carson Palmer attempted 14 against Washington in 2001, Coach Pete Carroll's first season.

Blogging got derailed today by the return of a technical problem. Hopefully, things are back to normal soon.

Garenn Figueroa, the 15-year-old-boy from Palmdale who suffered from
bone cancer and whose name was inked on Mark Sanchez's eye-black
earlier this season, died over the weekend.
Here's a statement from Sanchez:

I think the reason USC defeated Stanford was pretty simple: The Cardinal did not have the depth or players to last a full game against the Trojans.
So it wasn't any brilliant decision to run the ball. Or that the defense figured out Stanford's offense.
It was plain physical superiority. That is fine in a run-of-the-mill conference. But too many USC games are won by this method. As one reader noted in an email today, ``It was Stanford, for crying out loud.''

I believe today might be the day the new squad is officially selected.

Another question about socks.

Fox Sports released the following statement today.

``FOX Sports has elected not to match an offer the BCS Group has received from ESPN to televise BCS games from 2011-2014, and plans to notify the organization by phone today.

``Even with today's vast economic uncertainties, FOX Sports made a very competitive bid to keep broadcasting BCS games free to every home in America, one that included a substantial rights fee increase, and certainly as much as any over-the-air network could responsibly risk. Unfortunately, the University presidents and BCS commissioners were not satisfied and they've decided to take their jewel events to pay television. We wish everyone well.''

It's also that time of the week for the good-old . . . oh you know.

Did anyone notice tomorrow's basketball game against New Mexico State tips off at 6 p.m.? That's a great time for a game if you have to work. And you can't blame TV for this one.
USC wants to take a red-eye flight to Puerto Rico after the game so the starting time was moved up. Even worse, the flight goes to Puerto Rico via New York. Who does that?

C.J. Gable was named a co-special teams player of the week by the Pac-10 today. He shared the honor with Oregon State's James Rodgers.

And now without further delay, it's Answer Monday!

There are now 60 bowl-eligible teams for the 68 spots. There are 18 additional schools with five overall victories and at least one game remaining facing 12-game regular- season schedules.
In the Pac-10, the Vegas Bowl would like Arizona and the Emerald Bowl prefers Cal right now.

After 100 games, some losses still bother Pete Carrroll.

Although linebacker Rey Maualuga said he thought he suffered a concussion during the game, Pete Carroll said he did not.
``He got banged in the head and we took him out for a series, but he wound up being OK,'' Carroll said.

Pete Carroll amended his comments regarding that timeout with three seconds left in the game. He said Sunday night that he called it because USC had only 10 men on the field.

Pete Carroll said the emphasis on running the ball was not a sign that he is unhappy with quarterback Mark Sanchez.
``He's doing a solid job in all areas,'' Carroll said. ``He's not forcing balls. He's playing good football. We're happy to have him.''

Let's hope Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh fails to land the Raiders job (or any other job) after the season because he and Pete Carroll are quickly becoming the best rivalry in the Pac-10.
Harbaugh's provided the necessary ingredients for a good rivalry: Some smack talk (saying Carroll would leave for the NFL) and backing it up (the upset victory last year). The gamesmanship at the conclusion of Saturday's contest showed they like to get under each other's skin.
And it's needed in the moribund Pac-10. Carroll's had his own moments over the years, having Mike McDonald throw a TD pass against Arkansas with a 63-17 lead in 2005 and putting C.J. Gable in to score a TD against Washington State with a 62-0 lead this year. Yes, Broderick Green was tired but D.J. Shoemate and Adam Goodman were available.

Mark Sanchez's 17 passes were fewer than any game in the past three seasons. John David Booty threw 20 against Cal last year, but that game was played in a downpour. Booty threw 21 passes against Stanford in 2006 but USC won that game 42-0.

USC remains No. 6 in the BCS rankings.

If you did not ask a football question in the Open Forum, here's your chance.

Here's this week's ballot for the Associated Press poll.

Tailback U. returned, least for one game.

USC tailback Joe McKnight needed to be helped to the locker room after the Trojans' victory over Stanford on Saturday because he aggravated a sore toe that's bothered him for several weeks.
McKnight, who missed a game with turf toe, said he suffered the injury on a 23-yard run where he was tripped at the end by a Stanford player.
``It hurts,'' McKnight said. ``I think I'll be all right though.''

Here's a followup to our post near the end of the game on why USC could not pass the ball against Stanford?
``We thought coming in we had to get to the perimeter more. It didn't pan out and we went to Plan B,'' offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian said. ``They got after Mark (Sanchez) and he wasn't feeling comfortable in the pocket.''

Did anyone take USC and 24 points and then watch the final seconds in horror with the timeout? If Pete Carroll doesn't call a timeout with three seconds and Stanford actually kicks a field goal, the alums make money.

USC amassed 554 yards on kickoff returns, including C.J. Gable's 93-yard touchdown return.

Stanford gained the most yards (367) and compiled more first downs (23) than any USC opponent this season. Oregon State gained 343 yards and had 22 first downs. Stanford also had the most rushing yards (202), which was better than Oregon State's 176.

``There was a lot of talk about revenge coming into this game. That's a word I don't use in college football. We knew USC was coming to play and our team came out and played a better first half.''
-- Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh

``I don't think it was a change of effort or tempo. At halftime, we figured what we needed to utilize. We knew the running game worked and Sark went with it.''
-- USC center Kris O'Dowd

``Once Sark went after it, he figured it out.''
-- USC coach Pete Carrol on offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian calling more running plays in the second half.

The game is not over but it might as well be. This game makes one wonder what USC would really do against a good team? Today's game plan was perplexing. I'll be interested to hear if they thought Stanford's defense was so good, they needed to be conservative. Or will they say since Mark Sanchez missed a couple early passes, he needed to throw short stuff?

Looks like it's over as C.J. Gable scores another TD. USC was an atrocious 1 for 6 on third downs after three quarters. That follows a 2 for 9 start last week on third downs before finishing 4-11.

Stafon Johnson scores and the Trojans take their first lead of the game with 2:36 left in the third quarter.

This is Mark Sanchez's 13th college start but the playcalling looks like he is making his first start. Why is USC so afraid to throw downfield? If it does not have confidence in Sanchez, then replace him. Otherwise, open up the offense.

USC's returned four kickoffs for 230 yards tonight.

To no one's surprise, the Stanford band formed the letters ``OJ'' for its opening number, ``Crazy Little Thing Called Love.'' The band concluded by forming the number 24, in reference to last year's point total against USC.

Chris Galippo is playing middle linebacker for the Trojans. Rey Maualuga is on the sideline and does not appear hurt. Could it be he was pulled for a series because of Gerhart's 40-yard run?

And C.J. Gable goes 93 yards for a TD on the kick return! USC's special teams are doing the job today. Maybe Stanford should kick it out of bounds the rest of the game. The crowd is so split it's hard to tell who has more people in the stands.

Toby Gerhart goes 40 yards right through the defense to set up a 1-yard TD run by Anthony Kimble with 4:29 left. At least we won't hear after the game that Gerhart was too small to see (like Jacquizz Rodgers).

Mark Sanchez finds Damian Williams over the middle for a 5-yard TD pass. USC's cut the total yards gap to 146-86.

Butch Lewis is already playing at right tackle, which is earlier than he entered last week's game.

Aaron Zagory kicks a 38-yard FG with 1:20 left in the first quarter. Stanford leads USC in total yards, 149-3.

Ronald Johnson returns the kickoff 75 yards and David Buehler kicks a 37-yard FG with 9:50 left. USC burned a timeout right before the kick because it had 10 men on the field and couldn't get another player out before the play clock expired.

Tavita Pritchard picked up where he left off last year with his legs and the Cardinal march through the defense on an 80-yard drive with Toby Gerhart going the last 4.

Blake Ayles participated in warm-ups and appeared OK to play today.

Someone who attended today's basketball game said about 2,500 were in attendance though the official count was 4,089. Among those watching was recruit Mike Moser of Portland, who originally committed to Arizona.
USC tried to get Moser to visit last weekend during the Cal football game but he went to UCLA instead, so this weekend's visit probably did not have the same impact. Moser is considering UCLA, Oregon and USC.

Former USC offensive lineman Chilo Rachal, who now plays for the 49ers, visited the team hotel this morning.

USC freshman forward Nikola Vucevic has not been cleared by the NCAA to play because he played two games for a pro team in his native Montenegro.
Vucevic, who attended Stoneridge Prep in Simi Valley, played two games when he was 15 years old for the club team, KK Mornar Bar, which featured former Stanford guard Julius Barnes and former Washington forward Doug Wrenn. NCAA rules prohibit student-athletes from playing with professional athletes.
Vucevic played a total of three minutes and scored five points. In 2001, former USC center Kostas Charissis was suspended three games for playing with two Greek club teams before he enrolled at USC.

Tom Hoffarth is back with basketball radio drama.

Here's this week's reader question for USC coach Pete Carroll.

One question per person please.

It's time to pick the score for the rematch. Who likes 24-23? Anyone? Anyone?

We hear USC is no longer recruiting Demetrius Walker, who verbally committed over the summer and was scheduled to sign a letter-of-intent this week. But Walker, who transferred from JSerra in San Juan Capistrano to St. Mary's in Phoenix, is now considering Arizona State.
Things can always change in recruiting but it now appears USC will not sign Walker.

It's that time again.

A decision on USC basketball player Alex Stepheson's eligibility was expected today but the NCAA has forwarded paperwork to his former school, North Carolina, that must be filled out before it makes a decision. This could take 7-10 days, according to USC and means Stepheson will miss Saturday's opener against UC Irvine at the very least.

Pete Carroll does not want the Trojans dwelling on last year's Stanford game but it's clear in this story they cannot forget last year's stunning upset.

The NCAA did not notify USC today regarding the status of forward Alex Stepheson. USC hopes to hear by tomorrow, so Stepheson could play if he is granted immediate eligibility.

Pete Carroll said D.J. Shoemate's shoulder injury will prevent him from being available to play against Stanford.

Tight end Blake Ayles did some running during practice and might be available for the Stanford game. His availability will be determined Saturday.

But not because of last year's loss. Wide receiver Ronald Johnson can't wait for Saturday's game because he wants to see man-to-man coverage.
``The last time I saw man-coverage was Oregon State,'' Johnson said. ``I can't wait. I haven't seen teams face me up one-on-one.''

``This is the fourth quarter of the season. We want to step up to the next level. And we want to pay attention to details.''
-- USC coach Pete Carroll

The National Football Foundation Charity is auctioning a USC helmet signed by three-time All-American Richard Wood.

USC sprinter Bryshon Nellum, who was shot three times in the legs at a Halloween party, is using a crutch and has his foot in a boot but is able to walk. It is expected to take at least three months before he attempts to run.

Before the season defensive end Clay Matthews asked if he could wear No. 11 this season but Matt Leinart refused to allow him to bring the number out of retirement. Remember, Darnell Bing wore No. 20 for three years, which is Mike Garrett's retired number.

USC freshman DeMar DeRozan is a 12/1 pick to win the Naismith Award, according to BetUS.com.

Former USC assistant coach Lane Kiffin interviewed at Clemson.

USC's uneven receiving corps and add more schools vying for Broderick Green.

Here's an interview I did with Ryan Abraham on the USCFootball.com podcast this week.

USC basketball did not receive any letters of intent today. The Trojans will sign at least three players: Derrick Williams, a 6-foot-7 forward from La Mirada High School, who was a second-team member of the Long Beach Press-Telegram's Best in the West team; Noel Johnson, a 6-6 small forward from Fayettevile, Ga. Johnson is ranked the 38th-best player in the nation by Rivals.com and 6-3 guard Demetrius Walker, another second-team selection of the Best in the West team. Walker attends St. Mary's High School in Phoenix, Ariz.

USC expects to hear Thursday from the NCAA regarding the eligibility of forward Alex Stepheson.

USC wanted to play D.J. Shoemate at tailback to get him battle-tested and used to playing. So after one day at tailback, he missed today's practice with a sore shoulder.

In the past two games Ronald Johnson's five passes for 31 yards with a long of nine yards.

This Sunday marks the 79th anniversary of USC and Notre Dame playing before 112,912 at Soldier Field in Chicago, with the Fighting Irish prevailing 13-12. It was the third time in the 1920's the schools attracted more than 112,000 fans.

Remember back when I mentioned how odd it seemed to have Joe McKnight on the Washington State trip when he was clearly unable to play? The fact he was not allowed to suit up for the Washington game two weeks later because of negative points (missing class, tutoring sessions) sheds some light on the incident.
Bringing McKnight along to Washington State meant they could keep an eye on him instead of leaving him in Los Angeles unsupervised. Of course, it was another player, say a fourth-stringer, he would have been left home anyways.

La Mirada forward Derrick Williams, who finished 22nd in the recent Best In the West voting, will officially sign his letter-of-intent with USC on Friday morning. Today is the first day recruits can sign letters of intent.

USC's defense own three shutouts this season. I've been reminded by ESPN analyst Beano Cook, Army had five shutouts in 1943 and 1947. That's something to shoot for in the final four games.

If USC goes to the Rose Bowl, here's what you don't want to happen.
If Michigan State defeats Penn State and Ohio State can win its two remaining games, the Buckeyes and Spartans would be tied for the championship, but Ohio State would go to the Rose Bowl based on a head-to-head win.

An Oregon administrator and former football assistant coach ripped the Pacific-10 Conference last week.

The invitation to the USC-Notre Dame luncheon notes that Irish coach Charlie ``Weiss'' will be a featured speaker.

Here's the last of the football forum questions. No one asked if the soft-serve machine would be working at Saturday's basketball game?

Some news regarding Broderick Green.

Oops. Forgot to post this earlier.

Tight end Blake Ayles said he does not know if he will play this week because his bruised knee still bothers him.
``I have to be able to run before I can play,'' he said. ``I'm going to have to wake up one day and just feel better. I can't say for sure when it will happen.''

How important is team chemistry?

Back to answer mode.

Rory Markas is back home in Lancaster and as we mentioned yesterday, USC announced Steve Physioc will fill in for Rory along with Pete Arbogast.

Linebacker Rey Maualuga is one of four finalists for the Lombardi Award.
Here are the four finalists:
James Laurinaitis, Linebacker, Ohio State
Rey Maualuga, Linebacker, USC
Brian Orakpo, Defensive End, Texas
Andre Smith, Offensive Lineman, Alabama

USC is listed at 30-1 to win the NCAA basketball title this season according to BetOnline.com. Here's a list of the AP Top 25 teams and their chances.

Here's Pete Carroll's press conference quotes. No presidential endorsements today.

Here's Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh's press conference quotes.

There were a lot of questions about the conservative game plan last week and it made me wonder why it was such a big deal to make Mark Sanchez play more under control when Matt Leinart made a career off throwing passes to tight ends and running backs?
So here's a good way to explain it: Mark Sanchez tends to be too aggressive and has to be told to reign it in against a defense like Cal's. If Leinart faced Cal, he was good enough and patient enough to read defenses that the coaches could make aggressive calls and know if the receiver was not open, he would quickly find a running back to dump the ball off to.
On the other hand, John David Booty sometimes played too conservative and needed to be forced to throw the deep ball.
Hopefully, this explains the difference between the last three quarterbacks. And please note I was actually positive abou Leinart!

Who should USC play in a bowl game? And in what bowl game?

Time to ask a question for Pete Carroll. Deadline is 3 p.m. Thursday.

What is the criteria of the BCS?

And this concludes the Song Girl portion of our forums. Whew!

Defensive end Kyle Moore, who is one of the underrated members of the team, made the 33-man watch list for the Hendricks Award.

With Broderick Green gone, what does the future hold at tailback?

Did anyone else speak to former song girls on Homecoming?

Uh, looks like there was another reason Joe McKnight missed that Washington game.

Here's the current Football Futures figures.
Team to win the 2009 BCS National Champioship
Penn State +5000
Florida +190
Alabama +350
Texas +550
Texas Tech +500
Oklahoma +500
USC +950

Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian was asked whether Patrick Turner actually caught the touchdown pass against Cal? Replays indicated he did not have control.
``Kareem Kelly's was a catch a few years ago too,'' an evasive Sarksian said, referring to another controversial catch.
``I don't think you can tell,'' Pete Carroll said. ``Patrick Turner thinks he caught it.''

Kevin Ellison said he will try to return this week but does not know when he will actually start running or doing other activity.

DaJohn Harris is back at defensive tackle, which leaves Anthony McCoy and Rhett Ellison as the only healthy tight ends today. Charles Brown, Butch Lewis and Jordan Cameron are all emergency backups at the spot. Blake Ayles (bruised knee) hopes to return this week but did not practice Monday.

A reader wants to know which pressing issue will happen first at USC in the last question of this segment.

I have not weighed in with my own opinion on Broderick Green's transfer other to say it's good for him and not-so-good for USC. I was always a proponent of using him in a specific role (like short yardage) because it would keep him engaged and prevent him from being frustrated.
In two years, Green would be an extremely valuable member of the offense. But with so little playing time, he did not want to wait any longer. This could be a haunting decision for the Trojans.

And now back to SG-gate.

Some questions here regarding the Oregon State game.

Florida coach Urban Meyer discussed former USC tailback Emmanuel Moody today.
``I'm expecting him to get more carries, but if it doesn't happen, then it doesn't happen. Emmanuel Moody is really terrific at some things, he really is. I can see him getting more carries as he continues to develop. He's still not 100 percent, but he's as close as he has been in awhile. He got run down fairly quickly, and he still has a bit of a gimp in that leg."

There are 52 bowl-eligible schools after last week's addition of nine six-win teams in NCAA FBS. There are 12 squads in need of one victory to qualify. There are 68 bowl bids.
Most recent qualifiers from last week's results are Boston College, Bowling Green, East Carolina, Iowa, Nebraska, Oregon State, Troy, and Wake Forest. That's only one Versus Conference team in that list as it scrambles to fill its bowl bids.

A question here about why certain players never seem to play.

I'm including a comment from a reader here on homecoming because it seemed relevant for everyone to check out.

We hear Steve Physioc and Pete Arbogast will fill in for Rory Markas on basketball play-by-play until Rory Markas recovers from brain surgery.

Something's amiss. Football questions outnumber song girl questions.

Safety Taylor Mays was named Pac-10 defensive player of the week. Please alert Lauren Conrad.

All hail the Cal cheerleaders, who were gracious enough to take a picture for this blog on Saturday.

Time for the football questions, but unlike the Coliseum, this is a penalty-free zone.

And we're off on the forums, which are separate but equal. But will today's Song Girl Forum have the football office buzzing like last Monday?

He might not care, Pete Carroll said USC still has a chance for the BCS title game.

USC is a 22.5-point favorite over Stanford. Meanwhile, Florida is a 23-point favorite over the other USC (South Carolina).

Another film revelation occurred Sunday when Pete Carroll said he learned the offense played better and the defense worse than he thought during the actual game.
``We really gave (Cal) some chances and somebody would bail us out on defense,'' Carroll said. ``We could play a lot cleaner and a lot better.''

If anyone complained about the officiating last night, take note that your fearless leader said he reviewed the game films and the officials called a near-perfect game.
``I thought the guys called a really good game and I went through and checked it both ways,'' Pete Carroll said. ``They hit it and they were on it.''

Pete Carroll just discussed Broderick Green's transfer and an official statement from Green is available here that focuses on family reasons.
What's interesting is Green had many conversations this week with teammates that focused on his unhappiness over a lack of playing time, which is not mentioned in the statement. Carroll even conceded it was an issue tonight.
``I think the number of guys he's battling against was a concern in there,'' Carroll said. ``This is his choice.''

This is for anyone who did not ask a football question in the Open Forum. One question per person please.

Taylor Mays broke up four passes against Cal because this was a rare game when a team attempted to challenge him. Usually, teams choose against throwing deep on the Trojans' zone defense. He also intercepted a pass that was called back on a penalty.

Here's a comparison of the last two USC home games against California.

Mark Sanchez 11- 8-2008 California Home 18-29 238 2 TDs
John David Booty 11-18-2006 California Home 18-31 238 2 TDs

USC ranks 114th out of 119 Bowl Subdivision teams with 8.56 penalties per game. The Trojans' penalty yards per game (78.67) ranks 118th, the second-worst mark in the nation.

USC moved up a spot to sixth while Penn State dropped to eighth.

Here's this week's Top 25 poll for the Associated Press.

USC's scored 30-or-more points in just eight of its past 25 Pac-10 games between 2006-2008. The Trojans scored 30-or-more points in 27 of 32 Pac-10 games between 2002-2005.

Here's the recap of the game,with this telling quote from Pete Carroll.
"I don't care about style points. I don't care about impressing anybody. I don't want to win a popularity contest. That's what it feels like at times."

Earlier this week, we wrote about rumors Broderick Green was transferring. Green denied it, of course, but after the game the locker room was buzzing that he is gone. No one from USC officially confirmed it but it's been coming for weeks.

This was one of my curious playcalling moments of the game. With USC ahead 10-3, the Trojans called a timeout with 59 seconds left in the half to prevent Cal from running out the clock. This was after the Trojans wasted a timeout on a challenge to an officials' decision with 1:43 left.
But after getting the ball in the final minute, USC had Joe McKnight run on two straight plays before Mark Sanchez attempted a pass.

Tailback Broderick Green did not suit up tonight because he said he suffered from bronchitis.

Pete Carroll said people misunderstood who were concerned about the offense, including the 4 for 11 third-down conversion stat.
``You don't realize we were very concerned about their defense taking ball away,'' Carroll said. ``We didn't want Mark throwing the ball down field. This was a very big challenge for Mark.''

USC's allowed 60 points in nine games. The last time the Trojans allowed fewer points through nine games was 55 points in 1962.

Either this was another defensive masterpiece in a year of great performances or yet another penalty filled and offensively challenged effort. Thoughts?

A spectacular run by Joe McKnight is wiped out with a fumble. A burning question this week was who would fumble first, McKnight or Jahvid Best? The answer: Mark Sanchez.

USC's up to nine penalties but Cal's now got six to offset Pete Carroll's argument that the refs only call penalties on one team.

This is Exhibit A why the Pac-10 is not the SEC. Or Big 12. Sloppy play. Penalties. USC is in control but to lead 10-3 over Cal is not impressive.

Cal ties the game on a 35-yard field goal thanks to those two penalties that negated interceptions. Taylor Mays will not be happy he lost an interception, especially if Lauren Conrad is watching.

Kaluka Maiava just got called for pass interference to negate Taylor Mays' interception to make Carroll even more upset.

USC coach Pete Carroll just called a timeout and walked on to the field to chew out the head official for the entire timeout over a roughing the passer penalty that negated an interception.

And we're off as David Buelhler kicked a 27-yard field goal. USC already has three penalties in the first quarter.

USC is an 18.5-point favorite over Cal today.

Nate Longshore starts at quarterback for Cal tomorrow, his third straight start against USC. Kevin Riley will be available.

Here's Cal's injury report on the eve of the USC game.

As expected, Inglewood wide receiver Shaquelle Evans committed to Notre Dame today. It's a smart decision for him. It seems like the Irish could use more skill-position players and he's someone who could easily get lost in the shuffle at USC, even if the wide-receiver corps remains enigmatic.
What's far more important to USC is whether it keeps Cathedral wide receiver Randall Carroll from changing his mind (on a weekly basis).

Here's our latest edition of Pete Carroll answering a fan's question.

Who knew USC coach Pete Carroll was a Chivas USA soccer fan? He's helped tape a good-luck video for the ``Goats'' before tomorrow's playoff game at Home Depot Center.

A shuttle system will be back in effect for tomorrow's game.

In case you get tired of trying to figure out when the BCS standings actually get released, here's the upcoming schedule. All announcements are on Fox.
Sunday -- 1:00-1:30 p.m. PT
November 16, 2008 -- 1:00-1:30 p.m. PT
November 23, 2008 -- 4:00-4:30 p.m. PT
November 30, 2008 -- 1:00-1:30 p.m. PT
December 7, 2008* -- 5:00 p.m. PT

USC went down to the wire a few years ago recruiting offensive tackle Andre Smith of Birmingham, Ala. He ended up signing with Alabama and is a semifinalist for the Lombardi Award. He's allowed one sack this season after allowing three his freshman and sophomore seasons.

It's that time of the week again. We'll start things off. USC 31, Cal 14.

Who does Pete Carroll hope starts for Cal?

Defensive end Clay Matthews is making the most of his senior season.

We heard there could be 800 tickets available for Saturday's game. Check with the ticket office for more information.

Here's today's appearance with Petros and Money.

Kevin Ellison spent part of Thursday watching film of Stanford as he tries to make it back for next week's game.

Nick Howell starts at right tackle against Cal. Joe McKnight made it through practice and will be available.

Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian said he is willing to risk interceptions at times this season.
``We're an aggressive team,'' he said.

It's already been five years since Cal coach Jeff Tedford's only victory over USC, which is almost ancient history in college athlete terms.
``I know it happened, but most of us don't know much about it,'' safety Taylor Mays said.

Inglewood wide receiver Shaquelle Evans is expected to announce his college choice tomorrow. Current indications are he will commit to Notre Dame. He was originally a soft commit to USC although there is some dispute over whether he ever did make any commitment to USC. Either way, he won't make-or-break any recrutiing class.

Linebacker Brian Cushing, who battled ankle, shoulder and hand injuries, said he feels healthy this week. It might be the first time he is not overcoming some type of injury this season.

Jeff Tedford will be at Cal as long as he wants the job but the Bears never seem to be able to get over the hump and win the vital games to reach the next level. Maybe he just doesn't have the talent. Or maybe he's a little too conservative at times to take the chances you need to when you're just below the elite level.
This weekend is a perfect opportunity. He's a clear underdog, but will have he any tricks up his sleeve against a more-talented opponent? Why not? He has nothing to lose.

I'll be on the Petros-Money show today around 4:30 p.m.

One question per person please.

Tight end Blake Ayles will miss the Cal game.

Despite the fact Pete Carroll's lost only once to Cal, the rivalry's still one of USC's most-heated in recent years.

Safety Kevin Ellison, still recovering from knee surgery, said he will not play against Cal this week but hopes to return either next week against Stanford or for the Notre Dame game.

USC quarterback Mark Sanchez said this is an important game for him this week.
``This is a big-time test for me,'' he said. ``I want to string a couple good games in a row like at the beginning of the season.''

.

Tailback Joe McKnight survived another practice without aggravating his toe and is being to be brought through Thursday's practice with care to guarantee his availability for the Cal game.

Quarterback Mark Sanchez defended offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian from fan criticism.
``The defense is playing so well and if one thing goes wrong on offense, people say, `Oh, it's probably the guy who called the play. It's his fault.' But it's not him. It's the people running the plays. People expect quite a bit.''

USC basketball play-by-play man Rory Markas is recovering from surgery to remove a blood clot from the right side of his head. Here's wishing a speedy recovery to Rory, one of the good guys in the radio business.

With Mark Sanchez the highest-profile USC player this season and being in Southern California, how is it that USC does not have a Spanish-language broadcast of its football games? Can't TrojanTV provide this service?

We mentioned that defensive tackle Fili Moala did not record a tackle against Washington. But Moala and several other defensive players said they feel they have been cheated out of tackles this season by the USC stat crew.
One player said they made six tackles against an opponent but received credit for four. If you saw Moala or Christian Tupou make a tackle against Washington, you can mention it here.

The 39-33 Texas Tech victory over then-No. 1-ranked Texas averaged 8,590,000 households based on a 7.5 rating, making it ABC's fifth-most viewed regular-season college football game (and the seventh-highest rated) ever. t was the most-viewed and highest-rated game this year.
The game is also the most-viewed and highest-rated Saturday Night Football telecast since November 25, 2006 - a 10,048,000 households and a 9.0 rating for a 44-24 USC victory over Notre Dame.

We're breaking up the forum again this week.

Should Broderick Green or Marc Tyler move into the running back rotation against Cal?

Who would believe as USC and Cal play each other this week that the Bears are the team that controls its own destiny for the Rose Bowl race?
Then again, Oregon State coach Mike Riley is 0-9 against UCLA as an assistant at USC and head coach at OSU, so maybe the Trojans control their destiny too.

Tailback Broderick Green responded to rumors he considered transferring.

Sophomore Marshall Jones is playing cornerback along with his natural position of safety.
``We moved him and he looked very comfortable,'' Pete Carroll said. ``That just makes him that more valuable. He's a good-sized, solid cornerback.''

Daily News media columnist Tom Hoffarth is back again with a USC-related post.

And we've just wrapped up the Football Forum section of this exercise.

Finally killed off the Song Girl Forum. Whew!

Safety Taylor Mays was named a semifinalist for the Thorpe Award today.

USC has been in the national Top 25 rankings a school-record 86 consecutive weeks.

Here's Cal coach Jeff Tedford's comments today.

Q. Who did you vote for today?

COACH CARROLL: I did vote, as a matter of fact. I voted early. I was a little bit behind on some of the issues. I haven't been keeping up on it. I had to go like you do in the SAT test, you don't guess at the ones you don't know the answers to. I skipped some of the stuff.
I voted for Obama today, was excited about it. Fired up for it.

Here's Pete Carroll's press conference today.

Time to submit a question for Pete Carroll. Deadline is 3 p.m. Thursday.

Here we go with even more football questions.

We apologize for the delay in posting this week's answer from Pete Carroll to a reader question. However, I think the answer will be quite provocative and worth the wait.

We're back to song girls mode in this section.

Someone snuck a basketball question in here.

A homecoming story at the end of this segment.

A question regarding the elusive Shaquelle Evans, as opposed to the elusive Randall Carroll.

You people had the football office abuzz yesterday with your relentless barrage of questions on the song girls.

Here's an upate on sprinter Bryshon Nellum.

Freshman offensive tackle Tyron Smith participated in 24 plays against Washington, which was about a third of the game.
``He's making great strides,'' offensive line coach Pat Ruel said.

Joe McKnight (turf toe) ran today and said he felt, ``pretty good.'' He said he expects to play but will wait and see.

Kevin Ellison is walking around impressively after undergoing knee surgery this morning. Pete Carroll said Ellison would be out three weeks but Ellison said he would be back sooner.
``I might be back for Cal,'' Ellison said.
Ellison said he was serious but that is not expected to happen.
Blake Ayles (bruised knee) missed practice and will probably be out tomorrow too. Stanley Havili was sick.

And even more football questions.

So many song girl questions!

I detect a pattern in the football questions and they have nothing to do with the Washington State or Washington games.

Who thought the two forums would generate almost the same number of questions?

Back to the song girls here, with a question on the increased student enrollment.

It's back to football questions. By the way, Arsenal has lost to Stoke City and Hull City in the English Premier League. Is Arsene Wegner becoming the Pete Carroll of the EPL?

It's now back to the song girls forum.

Some good football questions in here.

And now we hop back to the Song Girls Forum.

And now, the Open Forum answers begin.

Here's the first segment from the Song Girl Forum.

Three cheers for the Washington cheerleaders who were gracious enough to spend some time with us on Saturday.

Here are this week's grades.

Would a 12-1 record this season equal 11-2 (or worse) considering this year's schedule?

USC QB Mark Sanchez is 30-39 for 420 yards and 7 TDs with no interceptions against the Washington schools.

Coming tomorrow, a much-awaited Tricia Pillsbury update.

Pete Carroll joked about today's BCS rankings.
``The more we win, the worse we get. Amazing,'' Carroll said.
He also repeated his usual approach to the BCS.
``I don't think I'm going to start caring now,'' he said.

USC dropped to No. 7 in the BCS rankings today with Alabama No. 1 and Texas Tech now No. 2. The weakness of the Pac-10 definitely appears to be hurting the Trojans right now.

Here's the penalties from Saturday's game.

1. Holding (Patrick Turner)
2. Illegal procedure (Anthony McCoy)
3. Illegal procedure (Anthony McCoy)
4. Illegal formation (Patrick Turner)
5. Unsportsmanlike conduct (C.J. Gable)
6. Pass interference (Kevin Thomas)
7. Offsides (Rey Maualuga)
8. Offsides (Everson Griffen)
9. Pass interference (Josh Pinkard)
10. Holding (Everson Griffen)

Florida coach Urban Meyer seemed to be rubbing it in against Georgia with two timeouts in the final 44 seconds, but he said he did it for Emmanuel Moody.

There were a lot of people who ran into us on Saturday that read the blog. And they all had different topics to discuss. Everything from the Fat Booster to the Song Girls to why I don't wear a USC jersey at football games was discussed. And one person even noticed Anthony Davis' suit.

The BCS computers do not consider margin of victory, a fact that is hurting USC in the BCS race. This handicap can be seen in Jeff Sagarin's ratings. Sagarin's BCS-compliant, no-margin-of-victory ranking has the Trojans eleventh. But when the Sagarin computer factors in actual scores, USC shoots up to No. 1.

Here is this week's ballot for the Top 25 poll.

Even after defeating Washington, USC coach Pete Carroll took a glance back toward Oregon State.

Safety Kevin Ellison is scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery on Monday for torn cartilage in his right knee. Ellison will be sidelined two-to-four weeks.

In the past four games, USC opponents have 52 drives and scored one touchdown. That scoring drive was 15 yards by Arizona following a fumble recovery. In 102 drives this season, USC opponents have nine drives of 50 yards or more.

The last time USC shut out three opponents in a single season was 1982.
``This is the best run we've had,'' Pete Carroll said as USC recorded its third shutout in four games. ``We've played some teams that are hurt. But I always wondered what it would be like to coach a team week in-and-week out that didn't give up anything.''

Blake Ayles left the game with a bruised knee. He said he did not think he would miss next week's game. Joe McKnight sat out because his turf toe became aggravated during Thursday's practice.

``I really want to focus my emotions to what the team needs. Last week there were a few opportunities that I missed on just trying to make too much happen. This week I wanted to stay within the game plan and today I felt in control like I was even-keeled out there without trying too hard.''
-- USC quarterback Mark Sanchez

Anything strike you as siginificant from this rout?

Through three quarters:
Mark Sanchez 15-19 167 yards 2 TDs
C.J. Gable 10-108 2 TDs
Stafon Johnson 8-40 1 TD
Patrick Turner 6-100 2 TDs

In an effort to preserve the shutout, Pete Carroll inserted Brian Cushing into the game on a fourth-and-1 play with the Trojans leading 49-0. Considering the injuries Cushing's carried recently (hand, ankle, shoulder) and that he needed help getting his pads off last week, it seemed a superfluous action in a meaningless part of the game.

We're through three quarters and much of the crowd just about gave up at halftime, not to mention the segment that never showed up at all, perhaps in part because of the rain before the game.
Now the question is how much time Aaron Corp will get tonight. Of course, Mark Sanchez took the opening series and the Trojans punted, so it amounted to nothing.

Not even an atrocious opponent cured USC's penalty problems. The Trojans have 10 for 90 yards with 3:20 left in the third quarter.

Well, we predicted the correct halftime score in our original post but will Pete Carroll follow our suggestion now by letting Mitch Mustain and Aaron Corp play the entire second half?

Anthony Davis charged for autographs (as usual) on campus before the game, but does anyone know why he wore a giant Nike swoosh on the front and back of his sports coat?

During ESPN's GameDay this morning, Texas Tech fans started chanting the phrase ``over-rated'' during a segment on USC.

USC has a question or two to answer today against Washington.