September 2010 Archives

USC coach Lane Kiffin said practices on Tuesday and Wednesday were not physical enough. So how was Thursday's practice?
``It was OK. It wasn't great,'' Kiffin said.

Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin spoke about Jake Locker tonight.
``He's a better passer than Tim Tebow was at this stage of his career,'' Kiffin said.

An alert reader sent this USC website link that shows not all references to Reggie Bush were deleted by the university.

More, more questions. And answers. Remember post-practice updates are first filed on twitter.com/InsideUSC.

Questions in this segment about how many games USC wins, who wins the Pac-10 and Stanford's ranking.

A question in this segment about the NCAA sanctions.

According to Accuscore, USC has a 74 percent probability rate to defeat Washington. It also predicts USC will win 34-22.

Freshman quarterback Jesse Scroggins' improved since his first scrimmage when he threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown.

As promised, we asked Lane Kiffin tonight if he considered using Dillon Baxter as the holder on extra points considering USC's penchant for two-point plays.
``We're just trying to get Dillon to go to class, line up right and not fumble. The last thing we're going to do is let him do all our field goal plays,'' Kiffin said.
``There's a lot of audibles. That's why Mitch (Mustain) is there.

USC is now a 10-point favorite over Washington this Saturday down from 11.5 earlier in the week.

Lane Kiffin said tonight he has not picked a starting tailback and is still splitting carries between Marc Tyler and Allen Bradford.

QB Jesse Scroggins talked tonight about being recruited by Washington coach Steve Sarkisian.
``I love the guy actualy. He was a real down to earth guy. That's why everyone has Washington in their top five (choices).''

And now a humorous question in this segment.
Post-practice updates will be on twitter.com/InsideUSC.

The Pac-10 gets some respect this Saturday when a huge chunk of the country gets the Stanford-Oregon game instead of Notre Dame-Boston College.

Questions here about recruiting and the shotgun.

Am I missing something here?
The WAC suspended Boise State player Winston Venable for half a game today as a result of a flagrant foul he committed against Oregon State's James Rodgers last weekend.
``After reviewing this play, it was determined that a flagrant personal foul should have been called by the game officials which would have resulted in the player being ejected,'' said WAC commissioner Karl Benson.
The penalty was appealed by Boise State and reduced to a half-game by something called the WAC Sportsmanship Committee.
Something tells me if Venable played for New Mexico State and not Boise State, his penalty would be for a full game. And how does someone commit a penalty worthy of ejection and then get his penalty reduced to half a game?
No wonder this conference is sinking.

Back to the questions!

If you crave Washington news this week, here's the place to go.

Lane Kiffin believed it's such an advantage for Steve Sarkisian to coach against USC (even two recruiting classes removed from his day as offensive coordinator) that I'm going to have to ask him if he thinks Sarkisian would have been the best choice to replace Pete Carroll because of his familiarity with the talent.

Time to tackle this week's questions.

Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh is 5-0 as a double-digit favorite since being hired. USC coach Lane Kiffin is 1-3.

Cornerback Nickell Robey received honorable mention selection for the Jim Thorpe Award this week.
``Robey had 3 tackles and 2 interceptions including a 25-yard touchdown return in USC's 50-16 win at Washington State. Robey become the first Trojan freshman to get two picks in a game since Mike Salmon did so in 1990 against Arizona State.''

Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian go back and forth on text messages and Matt Barkley says he is thinking less these days.

Lane Kiffin on Steve Sarkisian's comment that USC is deeper than most Pac-10 teams.
``He wasn't here when the sanctions hit.''

I'm reposting the answers to the last forum questions from last week because it was orginally posted very early this morning.

Lane Kiffin was asked if he could use any of Nebraska's game plan to shut down Washington quarterback Jake Locker.
``If you can put six DB's on the field that run 4.4,'' Kiffin said. ``That's something with our personnel we don't have the ability to do.''

Lane Kiffin said this morning that he sent text messages to Washington coach Steve Sarkisian, who did not respond. Kiffin said tonight Sarkisian responded:
``He told me (Jake) Locker got hurt and is out for the game,'' Kiffin said.

Cal announced today that it dropped baseball. Maybe they called USC for advice since it dropped baseball four years ago.

Four of the top 10 coaches on the hot seat (coacheshot.com) play USC this year. Minnesota, Washington State, Hawaii and Arizona State are the targets. No wonder Lane Kiffin said he doubted his predecessors at USC played as easy a schedule the first four games.

Lane Kiffin said this morning he sent text messages to Steve Sarkisian but Sarkisian is not responding.
``He's not responding. I'm not sure what trick he is up to,'' Kiffin said. ``Maybe he is trying to show how busy he is.''

Former USC quarterback Matt Cassell was asked by Kansas City radio station WHB the last time he spoke to Pete Carroll.
``I think it was the week I took over for Tom Brady, when I was going to make the start at the Jets stadium, he gave me a call and told me he believed in me.''
I wonder if Carroll ever told Cassell he believed in him when he was at USC? I'm sure Cassell thought the same thing.

Remember last year's Achilles' heel for USC's offense was third-down conversions? USC is currently converting 53.1 percent of its third-down conversions, which is the second-best in the Pac-10. That stat is definitely un-Bates-like.
Last year USC converted 36 percent of its third downs.

USC athletic director Pat Haden and president Max Nikias went to Indianapolis to introduce themselves to the NCAA.

Wrapping up last week's Open Forum.

Now that Steve Sarkisian said USC is the best team in the Pac-10 and praised its ``depth,'' the only thing left is to see how Monte Kiffin turns Jake Locker into Peyton Manning this week. Then again, Kiffin will be hard-pressed to outdo the breathless coverage Locker received as the Heisman Trophy frontrunner all summer.

``In my opinion the most talented football team in our conference from top to bottom.''
-- Washington coach Steve Sarkisian on USC. What will he say when he faces Oregon or Stanford?

``He's done a nice job, I think we've done a nice job. These are both jobs we thought we special ones, especially in the Pac-10. It's a unique experience, this early in our careers, to be facing each other in such a pivotal ball game in the Pac-10 race.''
-- Washington coach Steve Sarkisian on facing Lane Kiffin

Time for post-Washington State questions. One per person please. I still have a few more questions to answer from the previous forum so if your question did not get answered yet, you do not need to repost it.

Here are the grades for the Washington State game.

It's a much tougher Pac-10 than the first time Lane Kiffin coached at USC.

There were some jokes on the sideline yesterday about how far USC might drop in the AP rankings after routing Washington State. But the Trojans actually moved up two spots to 18th. Beating the worst team on the schedule created a two-spot boost.

USC is an 11.5-point favorite over Washington. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

Lane Kiffin praised the offensive line tonight and said even though USC ran the ball well against Minnesota, the line did not play fast enough.
Minnesota seems to make everyone look good. Northern Illinois tailback Chad Spann rushed for a career-high 223 yards (on just 15 carries) and two touchdowns as the Huskies
defeated Minnesota, 34-23.

Lane Kiffin on Washington QB Jake Locker.
``He's the best player we've faced this year. We're going to have our hands full.''

Lane Kiffin is right. USC did just complete its preseason. USC's four opponents have combined for just two victories against FBS teams.

Here's USC safety Jawanza Starling being interviewed after the Washington State game.

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

USC's victory over Washington State was all part of Lane Kiffin's preseason plan that ignored the scores of the first four games, Kiffin said.

``Our goal this season was to be 4-0 after this game. To go back home healthy and know who we are as a team. After today, we do.''
-- USC coach Lane Kiffin

I asked Lane Kiffin about his comment that he pulls tailbacks from the game after turning the ball over and whether quarterbacks are also accountable?
``No, I don't believe you can pull the quarterback for it,'' Kiffin said. ``The quarterback is the rhythm of the offense. Interceptions happen. Fumbles shouldn't happen. There's no excuse for that. We have a problem with that.''

USC tailback Dillon Baxter was not prepared for the small crowd that showed up at Martin Stadium.
``It was weird coming in,'' Baxter said. ``It felt like a high school or a (junior college) game.''
The official attendance was 24,000 but the stadium looked like it had around 10,000 right before kickoff.

Although there was a lot of discussion who would start at tailback, Lane Kiffin knew all week he would start fullback Stanley Havili at the tailback spot this week. The Trojans' practiced their no-huddle package and Havili starts at tailback because he knows all the blocking formations.

``Those picks definitely tarnished what happened throughout the game. We could have had 70 points I think if those turnovers would have gone the other way.''
-- USC quarterback Matt Barkley

``It feels really good to touch the ball . . . The Pac-10 is tough no matter who you play but we are excited.''
-- USC fullback Stanley Havili

``This is the closest we have played to a complete game, which has been our theme for two weeks in a row. I think if you take out the three first-half turnovers you would feel like it was a complete game. Unfortunately, we can't take those out and that was our big negative in that game.. Offensively we were productive outside of that.
``We did play a complete half, the second half and we can walk away with that.''
-- USC coach Lane Kiffin

Time to discuss the blowuout. And the cover! And the successful two-point conversion!

The Trojans look crisper in the second half. Or are the Cougars just wilting? Another week passes without USC being tested.

USC coach Lane Kiffin said on the halftime interview he pulls players after turnovers. Except at quarterback, apparently.

The Trojans went 62 yards in 13 plays. A couple interesting calls were Lane Kiffin calling passes on fourth-and-1 and on first-and-goal from the 2 despite being able to run pretty much at will against Washington State.

Matt Barkley's thrown 2 interceptions and should have 3. He's killed a couple drives and the Cougars finally took advantage with a TD drive of their own. The extra point was blocked.

Defensive end Armond Armstead (sprained shoulder) did not start and has not played yet today.

Robert Woods with the 11-yard TD pass from Matt Barkley. The Cougars defense looks ready to pack it in after eight minutes.

Stanley Havili starts at tailback to settle the question of whether Allen Bradford or Marc Tyler would start and goes 59 yards on first carry for a TD. Nickell Robey intercepted a pass and went 25 yards for a TD to make up for getting burned on a 29-yard TD pass.

As usual, we will post game updates between here and the twitter box on the right side of the blog's home page. If you have questions during the game, I will answer some via twitter during the game.

According to Accuscore, USC will defeat Washington State 39-14.

Still time to answer a few more questions.

Ever wondered what the Palouse is? Here's a breaktaking view right outside USC's team hotel in Moscow, Idaho.

Here is the exciting view of the shopping center across from USC's hotel in Moscow, Idaho.

And we're back answering questions.

Here's a story by the Wall Street Journal about how Alabama coach Nick Saban forces some players to take medical redshirts even if they want to continue playing. A few years ago, Pete Carroll was determined to do something similar with some fullbacks but then he changed his mind when he realized he needed them because of depth problems at fullback.

Back to the Open Forum. And lots of questions about the past couple games and just how good the Trojans really are.

Time to pick the score of the USC-Washington State game. Is this the week Lane Kiffin finally covers?

Here is this week's version of USC Report with myself and correspondent Whitney Blaine. Click here to watch the episode.

Things are a little crowded in the USC backfield at the moment despite Lane Kiffin's preference to avoid a tailback by committee.

Marc Tyler said he was bothered by a sore hip flexor Wednesday but felt fine during Thursday's practice. It would still probably be surprising if Tyler started over Allen Bradford because his practice week was limited.

Tailback Marc Tyler on his fumble against Minnesota.
``I know I'm not terrible like my dad was,'' Tyler said.
Tyler's father was former Rams tailback Wendell Tyler. Lane Kiffin said replays showed Tyler was down before he fumbled.
But that did not entirely get Tyler off the hook.
``We still tell them there shouldn't be a doubt,'' Kiffin said.

Matt Barkley dropped out of this week's Heisman Trophy poll of 68 actual voters by StiffArmTrophy.com. Arizona QB Nick Foles makes the list. Washington QB Jake Locker dropped out.
Here's the complete list:

I mentioned earlier this week that if Pete Carroll stayed at USC, he could have won his 100th game last weekend. It would have taken him 119 games to do it. Florida coach Urban Meyer will try to win his 100th game this weekend, his 118th college game.
Here's the list of the top 10 coaches quickest reach 100 victories:

In this segment, a question about Matt Barkley.

Remember to follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC.

As usual, it comes courtesy of the Gold Sheet: ``Now Lane Kiffin is even giving supposedly-friendly SC boosters a reason to dislike him (they can stand in line, by the way) after making hard work of lightweight early opposition and failing to cover first three numbers of new regime.''

This segment highlighted by some redshirt questions.

Back to the answers.

In the sequel to the post-Minnesota press conference where Lane Kiffin and I discussed two-point conversions, Kiffin is questioned about two-point conversions after Wednesday's practice and says, ``Like Scott says, we're positive here . . .''
Go to the 5:30 mark of the video to here the full answer.

USC safety T.J. McDonald's off to a quick start thanks to the defense's formation against pro-style offenses. Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images North America

USC defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin was asked what he does to make sure the Trojans are not overconfident against Washington State.
``You just remind everyone of the Virginia Tech-James Madison game,'' Kiffin said.

Lane Kiffin was asked again about USC dropping two spots each of the past three weeks in the Associated Press top 25 poll despite three straight victories.
``Maybe we'll go 5-0 and fall out of the top 25,'' he joked.

Safety Drew McAllister said he will undergo surgery next week on his injured hip. McAllister will be able to redshirt and have two years of eligbility remaining.

USC quarterback Matt Barkley on his second interception against Minnesota.
``I got hit when I threw it. I couldn't follow through.''

Three more questions in this segment because we do not go for two.

The USC baseball fall banquet will take place Oct. 29th at the Galen Center. What better way to forget the past four seasons than to hear new coach Frank Cruz. Basketball coach Kevin O'Neill will also speak. Information: (310)-210-0722 or e-mail centerfield16@aol.com.

Back to those answers!

A recent athletic dept. memo on what restaurants are permissable by price to take recruits listed ``Papadakis'' as one of those that was too expensive for a recruit to visit.
I guess no one told them Papadakis Taverna closed in January.

Time to answer some questions. We will never go for answering 2 questions in any segment which is probably what Lane Kiffin would do.

Special teams coach John Baxter solves the mystery regarding the kickers wearing No. 10 against Minnesota. And he makes an interesting comment about the amount of time spent practicing special teams and Pete Carroll.
``We're not spending too much time. We're spending what you're supposed to spend on it. They didn't spend enough time on it last year.''

Special teams coach John Baxter said Joe Houston would kick field goals and Jake Harfman will punt this season. That is a slight change in the roles as Harfman was considered the long-range field goal kicker in the past.
But Houston attempted a 48-yard field goal against Minnesota, which he missed.[EP
``The ball was one foot to the left of the left upright,'' Baxter said. ``There's going to be a game where it will come down to the kicker and he'll do it.''

On HBO's Real Sports, host Bryant Gumbel critcized the NCAA for punishing USC over the Reggie Bush affair but not punishing Florida for having 27 players arrested in Urban Meyer's tenure. Here's the transcript:

Lane Kiffin said tonight wide receiver Markeith Ambles will not be able to redshirt. Ambles participated in three plays, which meant he could not redshirt but Kiffin tried to see if there was a way to claim the redshirt anyways.
Remember in 2004, USC put Ryan Powdrell into the Virginia Tech game on a kickoff and did not play him the rest of the year. USC applied for a redshirt but the NCAA forced Powdrell to sit out a couple games before giving him the extra year eligibility.

Here's are the terms for Colorado to withdraw from the Big 12, which the conference just announced.

With Colorado joining the Pac-10 next season the big development will be the staging of a conference title game, which means a major cash infusion. The conference will now need to decide the alignment of divisions, likely to be next month. By the way, USC athletic director Pat Haden will be unable to attend next month's meetings, so he will send another representative from the athletic dept.

OK, it's time for the readers to submit a question for USC coach Lane Kiffin. One question per person please. Deadline is Wednesday at noon.

In case you missed it, here is the scintillating discussion among myself, Petros Papadakis and Matt ``Money'' Smith yesterday.

Colorado is going to join the Pac-10 in 2011, according to a report. The question now is how this will affect USC's schedule next season? Another home game? Another road game?

USC will honor former running back Sam ``Bam'' Cunningham for making the College Football Hall of Fame during the Oregon game on Oct. 30 at the Coliseum.

Minnesota provided a lot of atmosphere with lively student section and spirit squad. Photo after the jump by Mark Vancleave.

USC, which opened a 24-point favorite over Washingtonn State, is now favored by 21.5 points. The gamblers must be figuring on a failed two-point conversion or Cougars touchdown with less than a minute left.b

More on Lane Kiffin and two-point conversions during Washington State week.

USC is ranked 117th out 120 teams in penalties with 31 in three games. Troy leads the nation with 37. Quarterback Matt Barkley is ranked 16th in passing efficiency (161.17). The rushing defense is ranked 42nd, allowing 120.67 yards per game.

The exterior of Minnesota's football stadium contained the names of every county in the state engraved in huge letters on the concrete. At USC, only the names of donors would be engraved on the walls.

Time to ask questions about after the Minnesota game. One question per person please.

I will be on the Petros and Money show (570-AM) around 3:30 p.m. today.

Time to finish up last week's open forum.

I have not found a good nickname for USC coach Lane Kiffin. But that might have changed.
During the post-game press conference Saturday, I asked Kiffin if he would be hesitant in the future to go for two points because of the Trojans' lack of success.
He rubs his face and says, ``No, because I think positive Scott, unlike you never do.''
Right after that (but hard to hear on the video), I said, ``You're a ray of sunshine.''
Kiffin responds, ``Yeah, I know.''
Go to around 8:33 mark for the exchange.
After the press conference, Kiffin made another joke to me about the exchange and then we joked about a couple other things about 30 minutes later when he was headed toward the team bus. I only mention this because there will invariably be some readers who will interpet the exchange as some sort of bad blood between Kiffin and I, which is not true. This was just great banter.
Anyways, that's a long way of getting to the nickname. How about ``ray of sunshine.''

Here is the report card from the Minnesota game.

USC freshman tailback Dillon Baxter was disappointed in his role and his own play against Minnesota on Saturday.

Lane Kiffin, who has been stingy with compliments regarding the team, said this tonight.
``We're definitely better than we were three weeks ago.''

Lane Kiffin on the starting tailback situation: ``We haven't made any decisions yet. Allen (Bradford) played well but there's plenty of room for improvement which he sees and knows.''

USC is a 24-point favorite over Washington State. Can Lane Kiffin finally cover the spread for the first this season?

More street art in Minneapolis. These catcher statues were all over the downtown area.

A couple buildings down from USC's team hotel was a statue of perhaps the most famous resident of Minneapolis, ``Mary Richards'' from the Mary Tyler Moore show.

Here's a spur-of-the-moment sideline view of linebacker Chris Galippo's interception near the end of Minnesota game.

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

Lane Kiffin bites his tongue regarding former Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer's criticisms on Saturday.

USC coach Lane Kiffin decided to let the Trojans celebrate the victory over Minnesota even if he still found plenty of things to improve.

Here's USC defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin discussing the defense's performance against Minnesota.

Asked why he made USC kickers Joe Houston and Jake Harfman wear No. 10 against Minnesota, Lane Kiffin said, ``That's part of our game plan. We can't give away our future game plan.''

USC tailback Allen Bradford, who gained 131 yards, said he did not feel vindicated by his performance after barely playing in the first two games.
``I didn't wake up thinking I would get the ball at all,'' he said. ``There were a lot of people saying I should move to linebacker or safety. I'm a running back.''

Lane Kiffin was asked if Allen Bradford would start at tailback next week.
``I don't know yet,'' Kiffin said. ``We'll look at the film and figure it out.''

USC freshman Robert Woods on his 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
``I knew I had it when I first hit the hole, from the first block you could tell it was right away. It was just me and the kicker one-on-one.''

USC wide receiver Markeith Ambles did not make the trip. Lane Kiffin said he is exploring the rules to see if Ambles can redshirt despite the fact he participated in three plays this season. Under normal rules, he would need to get hurt to redshirt at this point.

Happy? Unhappy? Allen Bradford emerged. But why the 2-point plays?

Allen Bradford's 56-yard run sends some fans for the exit. Another failed 2-point play might send some USC fans to the exit.
The big question: Will Lane Kiffin feel like this is a win or a loss afterward?

Robert Woods returns the kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to give Lane Kiffin some breathing room. Matt Barkley's pass to David Ausberry is incomplete on the two-point play.

Adam Weber throws a 31-yard TD pass to Da'Jon McKnight over CB Nickell Robey. And the Gophers kick the extra point. Unlike USC.

The Minnesota public-address announcer has botched USC players' names three times, including calling Dillon Baxter, ``Scroggins.''

It's halftime. USC's fumbled twice (but recovered both) and thrown an interception. USC is 1-5 on third downs. And has committed five penalties. Fortunately for the Trojans, Minnesota is worse.

The Trojans tied the game on Marc Tyler's 1-yard run. It's 7-7 after one quarter. Closer than some expected.

The Gophers score on a 1-yard run but the Trojans are driving inside the Minnesota 15.

Most quick game comments will appear in the twitter box on the right side of the home page.

A USC spokesperson did not know why Joe Houston and Jake Harfman are wearing No. 10 today. I'm sure Lane Kiffin will have a genius-like explanation after the game.

Wide receiver De'von Flournoy did not make the trip. Apparently he is redshirting, which we had not been told before now.

Is this the week USC puts together a complete game? And will it matter if it does not against Minnesota?

In case you missed it, here's this week's episode of USC Report with myself and correspondent Whitney Blaine.

Minnesota's defense ranks 82nd nationally. USC ranks 107th in total defense.

Earlier in the week, USC defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin tried to pump up Minnesota's offense by reciting statistics.
``They are 35th in offense,'' he said. ``Their quarterback has an efficiency of 145.''
But Kiffin was wrong. The Gophers are actually better than he credited them. They rank 29th offensively and quarterback Adam Weber's efficiency rating is 156.61.

USC quarterback Matt Barkley's got 7 touchdowns and 0 interceptions this season. Minnesota quarterback Adam Weber has 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

If you are in Minneapolis tonight and pass by Smalley's restaurant, it's named after former Twins shortstop Roy Smalley. He also played baseball at USC.

Although freshman wide receiver Kyle Prater is supposed to redshirt, he made the trip to Minnesota.

Daily News staff writer Jill Painter shot this video of USC Coach Lane Kiffen answering reporters' questions at Thursday's practice.

Daily News staff writer Jill Painter shot this video of USC quarterback Matt Barkley answering reporters' questions at Thursday's practice.

Some more answers live from Minneapolis.

Just ran into USC offensive linemen Kris O'Dowd and Butch Lewis in downtown. The weather is too mild to not be outside. Former USC football player Travis Hall bumped into me on the street. His wife went to Minnesota so they have divided loyalties for the game.

Back to the forum on a Friday.

It's time to pick the score for the USC-Minnesota game. I will get things started: USC 28, Minnesota 20.

Once again, it's from The Gold Sheet: ``No word about who might be favored in a pre-game personality contest between SC's Lane Kiffin and Minnesota's Tim Brewster (by us, that's a pick 'em).''

USC lacks an identity after two games. Even Coach Lane Kiffin can't say what it is heading into tomorrow's game with Minnesota.

OK, it's time to talk USC football with correspondent Whitney Blaine.

Here are the injury updates: Defensive ends Nick Perry and Armond Armstead were both limited in practice on Thursday. Tight end Jordan Cameron was limited. Linebacker Marquis Simmons is out for Saturday.
Matt Barkley and his receivers had an off day. Lots of tipped passes, some interceptions, etc. Barkley cited the team installing new parts of the gameplan as reason for the miscues, but he figured they got the mistakes out of the way on Thursday.

Liberty Mutual Insurance announced today that if a regular season game is completed in which neither team commits an on-field penalty, it will donate a total of $1 million (up to $500,000 per team) to a charity selected by each school.
No word if they will donate to a school that commits the most penalties in a game this season.

USC's hotel in downtown Minneapolis is only 2-3 blocks from Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins. The Target Center, where the Timberwolves is next door while the Metrodome is only about 10 blocks away.
The University of Minnesota is 10-15 minutes across the Mississippi River. In other words, it's a pretty convenient city. Current temperature: 56 degrees.

Matt Barkley dropped from 12th place to 24th in this week's Heisman Trophy poll of 70 actual voters by StiffArmTrophy.com, the most comprehensive poll on the award.
Here's the full poll:

We'll have a new episode of the USC Report show tonight after 9 p.m.

Minnesota coach Tim Brewster and next week's opponent, Washington State coach Paul Wulff, are Nos. 2 and 3 on the Coaches' Hot Seat top 10. At least Lane Kiffin is no longer in the top 10.

The defensive coaches told USC linebacker Chris Galippo after the Virginia game they messed up by not playing him.

USC defensive end Armond Armstead tweaked his shoulder against Virginia. He is expected to be fine for the game.

Lane Kiffin was asked about returning to Minnesota this weekend, where he attended high school for three years.
``I've got a lot of homes,'' Kiffin said.
Tennessee would probably not be included among them. Although he might still own a house there.

Lane Kiffin was asked tonight about USC dropping in the AP poll despite winning.
``I'd vote us a lot lower after last week,'' he said.

Sixty three percent of 4,295 people polled on the ESPN show SportsNation disagreed with Reggie Bush's decision to return the Heisman Trophy.

Wow, lots of Kiffin questions in the Open Forum. Lots of unrest out there following the Virginia game.

Back to the questions!

The Heisman Trust decided there will be no winner in 2005. Here's their full statement.

In this segment, a question about Allen Bradford.

Some pretty good questions here scrutinizing Lane Kiffin in this segment.

Time to answer some questions!

Florida coach Urban Meyer's had 59 victories and 30 arrests in his tenure with the Gators.

USC defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin talks about the defense and talks up Minnesota.
``This team's better (than Virginia),'' Kiffin said. ``I don't care who they played.''

Middle linebacker Chris Galippo started every game last season but did not play a single defensive play against Virginia. Neither did any other backup linebacker.
``We're trying to get Devon Kennard to where he feels comfortable playing the position,'' Monte Kiffin said. ``He needs as many snaps as he can get. But Chris needs to play a little bit more.''

I might be the one person at USC who cared less about Reggie Bush returning his Heisman Trophy than Lane Kiffin. It's hard to generate any sympathy for Bush. Ever since the allegations broke, he's stonewalled and offered little relief to USC or the NCAA regarding his situation.
His refusal to settle lawsuits quickly led to NCAA sanctions that are currently punishing this year's USC football team. And he did not seem too concerned while dating Kim Kardashian, etc.
Only when the NCAA sanctions were announced and it became obvious that Bush would lose his Heisman did he show any remorse or contrition. So today's decision rings hollow for me. He gave back his Heisman before it got taken away.

Defensive linemen Armond Armstead and Nick Perry were limited in practice today with injuries. Perry is bothered by a sprained ankle. Lane Kiffin did not specify's Armsead's injury.
Defensive tackle Derek Simmons was switched to defensive end to add depth at the spot and freshman Christian Thomas assumed a bigger role.

Here is USC athletic director Pat Haden on Reggie Bush giving back his Heisman Trophy.

"It was a very noble thing for Reggie to do. In my opinion, he made the right decision. It was a thoughtful decision by Reggie.

"It's never a good thing to give a Heisman back. But at the end of the day, USC did the right thing when we gave our Heisman back and now Reggie did, too.

"Reggie was a fantastic football player, one of the most exciting players ever. But by his own admission today, he made some mistakes."

Reggie Bush said he will forfeit his Heisman Trophy.

This goes against one of Pete Carroll's favorite stats. USC leads the Pac-10 in penalty yardage (250) and is tied for first in penalties (24). But USC's opponents have been penalized more yardage (71.5) than any other Pac-10 teams' opponents.
Carroll used to point to stats that showed USC opponents were among the fewest penalized.

Minnesota president Bob Bruininks was not in a great mood after the Golden Gophers were upset by South Dakota.
``I don't feel very good; I feel pretty low about this game, and I think everybody else does," Bruininks said. ``I would regard this as a setback, but I don't think it's a long-term setback. We need to make it a temporary one. We've got to put this behind us and get ready for next week.''
But he quickly turned his attention to USC.
``If we upset Southern California, people will quickly forget this game,'' Bruininks said. ``That's a tall order, but I think we can do it.''

Unlike some Pac-10 teams, Virginia did not only bring its football team to the Coliseum. It brought its mascot. And cheerleaders.

USC defensive tackle DaJohn Harris rebounded against Virginia after being pulled from the starting lineup following two offsides penalties in the Hawaii game.

USC famously gave the Mark Sanchez press conference without a podium. Now it gives Lane Kiffin press conferences without the press, where only a university employee asks questions.
And already we have a gaffe.
There is a great moment when Kiffin discusses the Virginia fake penalty and gives his third version of the play.
``It is a penalty . . . the refs made a great call,'' he said.

At almost the precise moment this video was posted, the Pac-10 reprimanded the ``refs'' because they in fact incorrectly called a penalty. Maybe USC's compliance office can correct Kiffin's error.

The Pac-10 reprimanded the officials involved in the botched penalty call during Virginia's fake punt on Saturday night. They will be removed froma future assignment.
Here's the Pac-10's statement:

Or even USC, if you look at Minnesota's press release: ``The University of USCifornia . . .''

That's a new one even for me.

Lane Kiffin is 0-2 against the point spread this season. I mention it not for any gambling purposes but because it is a reflection of a team's strength. USC is 1-8 against the spread in its past nine road games and 5-12 in the past 17 road games.

Offensive tackle Matt Kalil on the sloppy victory over Virginia.
``It's a good thing we're not excited. We didn't own the Coli.''

Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium, which opened last season, is the first new stadium in the Big Ten Conference in 50 years.

Freshman tailback Dillon Baxter on his debut: ``There were some butterflies in the beginning. But everything was fine once the ball was snapped.''
Photo by Hans Gutknecht

Time to ask those post Virginia questions. One per person please.

USC is favored by 13.5 points over Minnesota. Then again, 13.5 might be the over/under for penalties in the game (accepted/refused).

Here's the grades on the USC-Virginia game.

Ed Orgeron breaks his foot while Lane Kiffin remains disappointed over the Virginia game.

USC is tied with Arizona State for the most penalties in the nation with 24. Only Florida International, which committed 14 in its only game, averages more per contest.

Looks like Oregon fans bonded withTennessee fans yesterday judging by this picture from the Wiz of Odds.

Lane Kiffin said someone in a staff meeting today made a comment about the Trojans getting 13 penalties last night because they are USC. That was a theory advanced by Pete Carroll for the past couple years, that USC received more penalties because of who they were.
But Kiffin rejected the theory.
``I made sure that won't be said again (in a meeting),'' he said.

Big day for Pete Carroll as the Seattle Caesarhawks crushed the San Francisco 49ers 31-6. Meanwhile, former USC player Clay Matthews had seven tackles, 2 sacks and forced a fumble to help the Green Bay Packers defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-20.

USC experienced its only real success offensively at the end of first half. The Trojans closed out the half passing on 12 of their final 13 plays.
Lane Kiffin admitted he thought of going to his 2007 Rose Bowl game plan against Michigan, when John David Booty threw passes on 27 of 29 plays.
``Yeah, I did,'' Kiffin said. ``But it's too early in the year to do that. That's the Rose Bowl. It's not a good world to get into.''

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

The Trojans dropped two places to 18th in the AP Top 25 poll. It still seems ridiculous to me that the coaches' poll will not include USC. Why should violations from the Bush era matter for this year's team's ranking?

Lane Kiffin said last night that USC played well defensively and on special teams but he was disappointed in the offense. Really? The defense gave up 150 yards rushing and if Virginia were a little more skilled passing the ball, it would have really been a panicky situation.
This was not the Hawaii performance but I didn't see a whole lot different with missed tackles along with missed plays in the secondary. With the next two weeks essentially a vacation (Minnesota, Washington State), things could be dicey when the real Pac-10 teams show up on the schedule.

When Lane Kiffin says USC got outcoached by Virginia, that is a scary thought. Let's take a minute to see what that actually means. It means Monte Kiffin, probably the highest-paid assistant coach in the country, is getting outcoached and despite allowing only 14 points, it did not feel like a bravo defensive performance.
When you are supposed to be practicing special teams more than ever and get caught extremely flat-footed on a fake punt means you are getting outcoached. Getting penalties along the offensive line means you are getting outcoached.
So, in a nutshell, it's hard to argue with Kiffin.

USC was 5 for 15 on third downs tonight. Around here that is known as a ``Bates-like'' conversion rate.

Defensive end Nick Perry's sprained ankle bothered him and that is why he did not play in the second half tonight.

Here is one of Lane Kiffin's better quotes:
``They outcoached us today. I would say we were outcoached.''

Virginia coach Mike London said the game officials told him they incorrectly called a penalty on the Cavaliers' successful fake punt. That was a potential turning point.
``I was told they blew the call (after halftime) by the guy who made the call and the referee. It's a shame, a crying shame. It happens sometimes in games.''

``I'm extremely disappointed with our performance. It's the most miserable 2-0 locker room I've been in, which is good. We need to get better . . . The disappointment is for the Trojan family and fans. We disappointed them.''
-- USC coach Lane Kiffin

Lots of penalties, missed tackles and dropped passes. But USC won. This is not the sharp effort I expect from Lane Kiffin, who got a lot of mileage in the media for his discipline that supposedly was lacking under Pete Carroll.

USC's now outgained Virginia 253-206. Matt Barkley threw passes on 12 of the final 13 plays in the first half.

We'll post most game updates in the twitter box on the right side of the blog tonight.

Virginia's outgained USC, 32 to minus-10 after one series, but the Cavaliers missed a 45-yard FG so it's still 0-0 with 10:41 left.

It's 13 minutes to kickoff and there is nothing near a full house at the Coliseum. Maybe it's a late arriving crowd.

Hawaii defeated Army 31-28 today and had only 353 yards in total offense, 235 less than the week before against USC.

Here's my story on the importance of the Trojans' home opener.

Safety T.J. McDonald talks about the defense as the Trojans prepare to play Virginia.

Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin makes more adjustments during the game than he did last week. Coach Lane Kiffin remembers he was hired to blow out nonconference opponents at home, a trademark of his predecessor. Freshman tailback Dillon Baxter is allowed to get at least 10 carries. The defense misses less tackles than it did in Hawaii. The secondary intercepts one pass.

The Cavaliers installed a spread offense this week after watching the Hawaii game films. A balanced offense throws off a USC defense that only faced a pass-happy offense so far. Cornerback Ras-I Dowling plays and intercepts two passes. The sight of a 255-pound tailback (Keith Payne) sends USC into Toby Gerhart mode.

Unlike Chad Kreuter, I'm hearing only good things about new baseball coach Frank Cruz from those within the program. Actually, I never heard any good things about Kreuter.

I mentioned this on twitter but want to clarify it here. USC says it has a 31-game night game winning streak at the Coliseum. A night game is a game that begins at 5 p.m. or later. The Stanford game in 2007 started at 4 p.m. The Oregon game last year was on the road. Readers mentioned both of those contests as streak enders.
Hopefully that clears up the confusion.

It's always entertaining to see what The Gold Sheet thinks about the game. This week's entry includes the line, ``Do you think SC's Lane Kiffin might have given the blow-dryer treatment to dad Monte after papa's "D" seemed to be playing with only 9 men when allowing almost 600 yards in Hawaii opener?''

Here's my story on USC wide receiver Robert Woods and the smooth transition from high school to starting wide receiver.

OK, time to pick the score of the USC-Virginia game. I will get things started: USC 35, Virginia 13.

Matt Barkley is 12th in this week's Heisman Trophy poll of 62 actual voters by StiffArmTrophy.com. Full results after the jump.
The poll also asked voters if Reggie Bush should be stripped of the trophy and 61 percent said no.

Athletic director Pat Haden talks about his preferred realignment for the new Pac-12 and his hopes for the NCAA's timetable on USC's appeal.

OK, time to discuss the pressing issues involving USC football with myself and correspondent Whitney Blaine.

Lane Kiffin said tonight defensive end Nick Perry was ``limited'' in practice but we hear he will start against Virginia.

A member of the USC football program recently drove to Seattle to see if the Seahawks had any openings. Unfortunately, they did not. Other than Alex Gibbs' opening, of course. But that went to Pat Ruel.

And here's what former Ohio State tailback Archie Griffin, a two-time Heisman winner, thinks of the Reggie Bush affair.

Former Texas quarterback Colt McCoy told radio station KILT in Houston that Vince Young should get Reggie Bush's Heisman Trophy if Bush loses the award.
``I mean obviously if they're going to strip it from Reggie, it should go to the second place guy, and that's Vince. You know, Vince is obviously a close friend of mine and he taught me a lot while I was at Texas, and I really look up to him. So it's just a matter of...I don't know how that all works, but I think it would be really neat.''

Here's an interesting breakdown of first-time starters and freshmen who played for SEC teams last weekend. I would provide these numbers for the Versus Conference but the Versus Conference does not provide them.

FIRST-TIME STARTERS / FRESHMEN PLAYING

Alabama: 12 / 3 (2 true / 1 redshirt)

Arkansas: 2 / 17 (10 true / 7 redshirt)

Auburn: 2 / 14 (12 true / 2 redshirt)

Florida: 7 / 22 (15 true / 7 redshirt)

Georgia: 8 / 13 (4 true / 9 redshirt)

Kentucky: 7 / 9 (6 true / 3 redshirt)

LSU: 8 / 17 (9 true / 8 redshirt)

Ole Miss: 6 / 9 (5 true / 4 redshirt)

Mississippi State: 7 / 12 (2 true / 10 redshirt)

South Carolina: 4 / 15 (7 true / 8 redshirt)

Tennessee: 10 / 19 (12 true / 7 redshirt)

Vanderbilt: 9 / 17 (10 true / 7 redshirt)

We hear that when linebacker Josh Shirley was dismissed from UCLA in June, he contacted USC about playing for the Trojans this season. According to sources, USC was not interested. Shirley eventually went to Washington.

ESPN's Labor Day telecast of Boise State defeating Virginia Tech 33-30 was watched by 9,888,000 viewers (people 2+). The telecast ranks as the second most-viewed college football game on ESPN behind last year's USC-Ohio State game that averaged 10,586,000 viewers.

USC's starting lineup for the Virginia game will look different than the season-opener against Hawaii.

USC has won 31 straight night games according to Lane Kiffin. I checked and he's actually right. He might not acknowledge player birthdays (like Pete Carroll) but he gets his stats right (so far).

Lane Kiffin said tonight the defense would rebound against Virginia. Part of that seems to be based on the fact Virginia does not run a spread offense.
``I would be shocked if we don't play extremely well on defense,'' Kiffin said.

Safety Patrick Hall remains suspended indefinitely from the football team.
``He's still going to class,'' Lane Kiffin said. ``I've had conversations with him and I feel he understands the severity of this.''

Highly regarded football and basketball player Marqise Lee of Serra High School in Gardena is on campus tonight.

Former USC basketball player Harold Miner, who rarely gives interviews and refused to attend USC basketball games, finally grants an interview here. And he says he might even attend USC basketball game.

USC started out an 18.5-point favorite over Virginia but is now favored by 20 points.

I'm starting to wonder based on some of these weekly national awards. Matt Barkley threw five incomplete passes but did not receive any votes for the Davey O'Brien quarterback of the week award. And wide receiver Ronald Johnson caught three TD passes and returned a punt 89 yards for a touchdown but was not one of nine players mentioned for the Paul Hornung award's most versatile performances of the week.

Yet even more defensive questions.

In this segment, questions about the defense (again) and Joe McKnight.

Freshman tailback Dillon Baxter talks about being unable to play against Hawaii and how he will feel making his debut against Virginia.

Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin finally talks about that defensive performance bagainst Hawaii and what USC needs to work on this week.

USC defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin talked about the secondary's inexperience tonight.
``I don't think if you total up the career starts of the secondary, a lot of them haven't played a lot,'' Kiffin said. ``Our secondary was young.''
Kiffin was frustrated the way the Trojans executed the ``Tampa 2'' defense that made him famous with the NFL's Buccaneers.[EP
``In the Tampa 2, you can't get beat down the middle,'' Kiffin said. ``We got beat three plays.''[EP

Lane Kiffin on USC's defense.
``One game will not define us as a team. I know they will play better.''

Quarterback Matt Barkley on the return of Dillon Baxter.
``It's going to be huge. Just another tool in my toolbox. Whether we use him as a quarterback, running back or receiver he can do all three.''

Lane Kiffin on his top concern for tailback Dillon Baxter.
``Take care of the ball,'' Kiffin said. ``That's the first concern always for a freshman. It's the most important thing.''

Cornerback T.J. Bryant returned to full contact today and is available for the game. Cornerback Brian Baucham did not practice. The big emphasis for the defense was tackling.
``We need to wrap up and make plays and get turnovers,'' safety T.J. McDonald said.

In this segment, I criticize USC's flawed logic in constantly scheduling games in Hawaii.

More defensive questions dominate this segment.

The Heisman Trust released a statement on today's report regarding Reggie Bush's Heisman Trophy.

``The status of the USC/Bush matter remains unchanged. Any reports to the contrary are inaccurate. Please refer to July 2010 statement below.''

William J. Dockery
President
Heisman Trophy Trust

Re: Heisman Trophy - USC/Reggie Bush

"The Heisman Trophy Trust, is a 501(c)(3) charitable trust, which each year contributes significant monies to the underserved of our country.

The Trust will be considering the issues raised in the USC/Reggie Bush matter, and after reaching a decision will publish it, but due to the complex issues involved and the Trust's desire to reach an appropriate decision, no definitive timetable has been established. Until the matter has been fully considered and a decision is reached, the Trust has no further comment.''

Here is this week's AP poll ballot.

Here is the transcript from today's press conference for Virginia coach Mike London.

Remember to follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC

Time to tackle those post-game questions.

There was a report that the Heisman Trust would strip Reggie Bush of the award by the end of the month. And now it is being denied.

Lane Kiffin says adversity in the Hawaii game helps USC this week against Virginia more than Tennessee's opener last season against Western Kentucky.

Question: What do Pete Carroll, Lane Kiffin and Ed Orgeron have in common?
Answer: They all produced zero tweets on the result of their last games. Actually, Kiffin and Orgeron haven't tweeted anything in more than a week. At this rate, they might challenge Kevin O'Neill.
We will see how Caesar tweets (or ignores results) once the losses roll in.

Boise State's victory over Virginia Tech tonight reminded me of something I always heard from USC players and Coach Pete Carroll.
For several years after the Trojans beat Virginia Tech at FedEx Field in 2004, that was always the game referred to as the loudest anyone experienced.
If fact, Carroll considered it the loudest game of his USC career.

Matt Leinart signed a one-year contract with the Houston Texans today. He will be their No.. 3 QB behind Matt Schaub and Dan Orlovsky. Ironically, the Texans needed a No. 3 QB after cutting John David Booty.

Virginia wide receivers Kris Burd and Dontrelle Inman each had 80-plus receiving yards last week against Richmond. At least Monte Kiffin will only need to focus on two receivers instead of three like against Hawaii.

USC is a 19-point favorite over Virginia.

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer was voted the best active coach to never win a national championship in a poll of Associated Press Top 25 voters conducted by the Virginian-Pilot newspaper.
Full results after the jump:

A former Pac-10 coach analyzes USC's opening game.
Key quote: ``I didn't think schematically they had a good plan. You just can't play man-to-man defense the whole game against Hawaii.''

USC coach Lane Kiffin said Sunday night he was disappointed the Trojans did not force any turnovers against Hawaii.
``They had turned the ball over in 34 or 37 straight games and I thought we'd get more pressure on them,'' Kiffin said. ``Every time we came close to making a significant play we didn't.''

Here's what Richmond coach Latrell Scott told the Times-Dispatch:
``He's savvy. He's a leader. I think he made plays with his feet. He made good decisions

Lane Kiffin said Nickell Robey participated in 95 plays between defense and special teams against Hawaii.
``We played Nickell too much,'' Kiffin said. ``As warm as it was at the start of the game . . . we wore him down. We need to monitor his reps better.''

Lane Kiffin said he would increase the amount of tackling in practice this week following last week's performance against Hawaii. He said the main reason was the reserves gave up two long touchdowns against Hawaii and he would not want to risk injuries to the starting defense.

Four of USC's opponents (Arizona State, Hawaii, Minnesota, Washington State) are listed among the top 10 coaches on the coaches' hot seat website Then again, Lane Kiffin is No. 5 on the list.

Pete Carroll hired former USC assistant Golden ``Pat'' Ruel as his offensive line coach in Seattle today.
This is an interesting move because Carroll ignored Ruel when he was first hired and went for Alex Gibbs instead, who resigned yesterday. Ruel and offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates clashed at USC last season, so we will naturally follow how they get along in Seattle.
Also, the Caesarhawks signed quarterback Zac Robinson. Not Matt Leinart.

Former USC quarterback Aaron Corp completed 18 of 32 passes for 183 yards with an interception in Richmond's 34-13 loss to Virginia.

Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott was shown on the sideline of the Oregon State-TCU game with an iPad. Maybe he learned on it that TCU coach Gary Patterson is 4-0 against Pac-10 teams.

Here's the grades for the USC-Hawaii game.

Tough start at UConn for tailback D.J. Shoemate, who gained three yards on fourth-and-1 at the Michigan 7-yard line but fumbled and the Wolverines recovered. He finished with nine yards in three carries.

Seattle Seahawks offenhesive line coach Alex Gibbs resigned Saturday apparently because he was worn out. Worn out from working with Jeremy Bates?
Let's see if Pete Carroll finally hires Pat Ruel as his assistant.

The Arizona Cardinals released Matt Leinart today.
``To be honest, for both parties, I think this was the best direction to go,'' Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said.
Rookie Max Hall will be the Cardinals' backup this season.

Here's more post-Hawaii game reaction from the players and coaches.

Lane Kiffin on Ronald Johnson's 89-yard punt return.
``That was great coaching,'' he said. ``We didn't block four guys.''

Some decent Pac-10 games tomorrow.

Oregon State v. TCU?
Washington v. BYU?
UCLA v. Kansas State?

Who do you like in those games? I think Oregon State could pull off an upset, so I'll be rooting for Mike Riley.

From Caesar, of course, via twitter: ``Congrats to the trojans in hawaii, its huge to get that first win!''

Freshman wide receiver Robert Woods caught four passes for 46 yards in his first career start. ``As a freshman, he did a lot better than I did,'' senior wide receiver Ronald Johnson said. (Photo courtesy of Getty Images).

The viewers of the ESPN show SportsNation were polled today on these questions:

Who will have a better season?
27 percent Matt Barkley
73 percent Terrelle Pryor

And 83 percent of 3,300 polled said USC's defense giving up 36 points to Hawaii was a ``big deal.''

Hawaii's 36 points were the most the Warriors ever scored in a meeting with USC.
``I'm very disappointed,'' Hawaii coach Greg MacMackin said. `It's a game we could have easily won.''

You could argue it was a first game. In Hawaii. And the Warriors ran a spread-out offense.
A less charitable view would be that USC's defense showed some disturbing tendencies that were peculiar to last season, especially in the Stanford and Oregon games.
The secondary is inexperienced, which is one excuse. The defensive line is experienced, however, and there were some near-invisible performances there. That was an unexpected aspect to be sure.
The defense was supposed to be USC's strength. But the Virginia game just got a lot more interesting to see if it actually will be this season.

Wide receiver Ronald Johnson said on his 89-yard punt return for a TD.
``For a moment, I was like, maybe I should fair-catch it. I made a full-speed decision.''

Ask you questions on the USC-Hawaii game here. One per person please.

USC coach Lane Kiffin surrendered more points in a season opener than any coach except John Robinson, who gave up 46 against Missouri in 1976. Robinson lost that game but won every game afterward that season.

Matt Barkley talks about the season-opening victory and answers a couple questions about all those two-point plays.

Matt Barkley's five touchdowns tied a school record. So who else did it? Rodney Peete (once), Carson Palmer (once), Matt Leinart (three times) and Mark Sanchez (once).

Hawaii coach Greg McMackin noted USC's lack of depth was part of his game plan.
``We planned on playing a lot of guys because as you 'SC was gassed. When we started running those running backs at them, we were running them because we knew they couldn't tackle them because they were gassed.''

Lane Kiffin said USC's defense did not match up well with Hawaii's offense.
``We're a big defense and they're spread out all over the field in the shot gun,'' he said.

I asked Lane Kiffin about going for two points on USC's first three touchdowns.
``The special teams didn't work (on the first play) the way we thought it would. Then we thought we had some good plays lined up for it (on the second and third ones).''

Defense end Nick Perry did not play tonight despite being available in the hopes another week off would help him. The problem was the defensive line tired even in the first half.
``Guys got tired more than usual,'' defensive line coach Ed Orgeron said. ``We were thin without Nick Perry. It changed our rotation. Maybe we should have substituted earlier.''

As expected, not a lot of good stuff to say about the defense.
``We've got a lot of work to do, which is obvious. We didn't tackle well. There's no way to tell (why) that is. Their offense matched up well with us. They played much more disciplined than us. They had never run the pistol (offense) before. We didn't do things in the style we wanted. We wanted to be tough and disciplined. We were tough but we were not disciplined.''

This game will never end. Marc Tyler shows his pop with a 44-yard run where he goes right and reverses course and goes through the Hawaii defense. Tackling 101 this is not.

Thankfully only one more quarter to go of missed tackles for both teams.

Not quite the easy blowout like in 1999 or 2005. The post-game should be interesting to hear the coaches discuss the poor tackling.

Tough break for Seattle, which is 1-3.

For the Kiffin era, will the stat, ``kicked extra point,'' become a new stat category?

Areas for USC to work on:

1. Tackling
2. Conditioning
3. Coaching (extra points).

The Trojans definitely are showing to be a little sloppier on defense than expected but the offense is crisp and Matt Barkley's completed 15 of 19 passes for 190 yards and four TDs.

It's obvious defense is not going to be Hawaii's forte tonight as the Trojans go downfield with Marc Tyler (8-58) doing a lot of the work. Matt Barkley throws 1-yard TD pass to Ronald Johnson and then finds Johnson again on a conventional 2-point play.

David Ausberry caught a short pass and shook off a horrible tackle and then raced down the sideline for a 46-yard touchdown play. USC tried to go for 2 off an unorthodox formation but Mitch Mustain's pass sailed over Ausberry.

Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin will work the game from the pressbox. He was expected to be on the field up until a few days ago when Lane Kiffin suggested he go upstairs because college football does not allow photos to be sent to the sideline like in the NFL.

Here's the first preseason Heisman Trophy poll courtesy of StiffArmTrophy.com, which asked 88 Heisman voters who their 15 players would be on a Heisman Watch List.
Results after the jump:

It's about two hours to kickoff and USC just arrived at Aloha Stadium in black/grey warmup suits. That's a big improvement over those notorious black and yellow warmups from a couple years ago. Lane Kiffin is in a dress shirt and slacks.

Here's a view of Pearl Harbor from Aloha Stadium. The small ship in the middle of the picture is actually the battleship USS Missouri, where the Japanese surrendered at the end of World War II. The white blip to the right is the USS Arizona memorial.

USC can win tonight if:
The Trojans do not want their season to end on the same night it begins.
Coach Lane Kiffin does not want to be booed next week at the Coliseum.
Quarterback Matt Barkley actually improved from a year ago. Actually, they would win with last year's Barkley too.
Tailbacks Marc Tyler and Allen Bradford fumble less than Joe McKnight.
Defensive line coach Ed Orgeron does not lose his voice in the first quarter.

Hawaii can win tonight if:
The NCAA announces before the game that it changed its mind about allowing USC to play in Hawaii and declares a forfeit.
Former quarterback Colt Brennan flies in and is granted an extra game of eligibility.
USC's buses get stuck in the notorious traffic outside Aloha Stadium and head for Pete Carroll's vacation house on the North Shore.

USC is ranked 13th in the FWAA preseason poll. Remember, the FWAA said USC would be eligible for its preseason poll but not for its final poll at the end of the season.

OK, time to pick the score of the first Kiffin era game. I'll start things off: USC 45, Hawaii 17.

New USC coach Lane Kiffin makes his debut tonight against Hawaii and things are a lot different than when he accepted the job.
``If you told me there would be a new president and athletic director (before I took the job), I'd probably tell you, no, I wouldn't take it," Kiffin said. ``But if you told me the president would be Max Nikias and athletic director Pat Haden, I'd say yes in a second.''

Demetri Papadakis, the younger brother of Petros Papadakis, will no longer play football at UCLA after being sidelined with a torn labrum in his shoulder.

Stephen Tsai of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser said tonight that he could not pick a winner between USC and Hawaii but the game will be close.

Hawaill safety Mana Silva intercepted six passes and broke up four more last season. He intercepted as many passes as the rest of the Hawaii team combined.

Tailback Marc Tyler on his only other visit to Hawaii.
``I only went there once when I was 7. I just remember I went snorkeling.''

USC is on probation and it's providing motivation on the eve of tomorrow's opener with Hawaii.
``People think we're down with the sanctions but we're ready to play. We need to show 'SC is still 'SC,'' tailback Marc Tyler said.

A typical day at Waikiki about 24 hours before the USC-Hawaii game.

If you are in Hawaii, there is a rally tonight at 6 at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Then again, if you are in Hawaii, is attending a rally what you want to do tonight?

The WAC announced its criteria today for adding new members with the imminent departure of Fresno State and Nevada.
Here it is:

Academics
Attendance
Budgets
Location/transportation
Market size
Recent program success
Sports sponsorship

Is this what Larry Scott used when he added Utah?

``I just say he hasn't performed. He hasn't taken advantage of his opportunities. He's clearly been average. He hasn't been a guy who's really taken control and choked the opportunity that's been given to him, and obviously there's something missing there.''
-- Jon Gruden on Matt Leinart

With Lane Kiffin canceling today's walkthrough at Aloha Stadium, USC will hold a light practice at a local high school instead. The Trojans' resort is where NFL players would stay when the Pro Bowl was held in Hawaii.

Former Arizona Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin was asked by Baltimore radio station The Fan if he was surprised Matt Leinart has not won the starting job in Arizona.
``Honestly no. That's just because I've been there and witnessed the relationship between both Matt and Coach (Ken) Whisenhunt. So I'm actually not surprised.''

Instead of being in Hawaii, Lane Kiffin could be getting ready for that big opener vs. Tennessee-Martin. Tickets are available.

USC arrived in Hawaii late Tuesday night and Coach Lane Kiffin said the trip will be all business.