October 2011 Archives

Here is Lane Kiffin's statement on being fined $10,000 and reprimanded for his critical comments Saturday after the Stanford game.
And also included is T.J. McDonald's comments after being suspended for a half-game by the Pac-12 for his personal foul penalty.

The Pac-12 came down hard tonight on Lane Kiffin's comments regarding the officiating of the USC-Stanford game. He was fined $10,000 and reprimanded.
``The Pac-12 has specific rules that prohibit our coaches from making public comments about officiating, and this prohibition speci!cally includes comments that create doubts about the credibility of the Conference's officiating program," commissioner Larry Scott said.

``It was a fanatical effort by both teams.''

If you have DirecTV, you might not get to watch the USC-Washington game on FX because of Fox and the sateliite provider are having trouble reaching an agreement over their rates. Usually this haggling gets settled without problems but we'll see.
UPDATED: Apparenty the dispute was settled this afternoon.

Radio hosts Marcellus Wiley and Max Kellerman of 710-AM were suspended for one day last week after USC athletic director Pat Haden complained to station management about disparaging remarks made about the university, according to sources.
Sources said the pair made critical comments about USC's academics during their show broadcast from the lobby of Heritage Hall last Tuesday. Mychal Thompson and Mark Willard filled in for the duo on Wednesday. A source said the pair might also be replaced for tomorrow's show from Heritage Hall.

I will be on the Petros and Money Show (570-AM) around 3:30 p.m. to discuss the Stanford game.

I'm creating this post if you still want to mention something from Saturday's game or if you attended and had a lasting memory from the four-hour plus game.

One thing Lane Kiffin will not complain about the refs: The Trojans are least-penalized team in the Pac-12 with 44. USC opponents committed 59 penalties.

Here are the grades from Saturday's triple-overtime thriller.

USC coach Lane Kiffin remained upset with the officiating from the Stanford game and complained to Pac-12 officials.

One question unanswered even tonight was why USC ran a fairly complicated play on the pass to wide receiver Robert Woods at the end of regulation?
A run would be safe and enable the clock to stop. A short sideline route would also be much safer. But the Woods play offered some strange possibilities (he actually caught the ball two yards behind the line of scrimmage) and then was supposed to gain enough yardage to get into field-goal range. And then a timeout would be called.
It just seemed like an unnecessary risk with a chance to win the game.

Lane Kiffin said he disagreed with the taunting penalty against wide receiver Marqise Lee.
``I don't think Marqise was trying to taunt,'' Kiffin said. ``He was excited. I don't think that was a penalty.''

Lane Kiffin clarified something tonight. He decided he wanted a timeout during the replay review of whether Robert Woods was down before the game ended. Kiffin said the replay showed Woods was down was 1 second left and that he wanted the timeout after the review, which would leave an extra second.
``I have talked to a few people (from the Pac-12),'' Kiffin said. ``How I was lied to (by the side judge).''
Kiffin said he told the side judge he wanted a timeout but did not get one. The head official said he was never told USC wanted a timeout.
``It would have been fun to see if we could make a 49-yard field goal,'' Kiffin said.

Lane Kiffin said Sunday night he thought USC would win the game when Nickell Robey intercepted a pass for a touchdown.
``I really felt like that was it,'' Kiffin said. ``Those dark clouds that started to move last Saturday had a chance to go away.''
Kiffin said Nickell Robey and Marqise Lee were in tears in the locker room after the game.
Kiffin said his usual fumble policy is not in effect with Curtis McNeal because it was a fumbled pitch.
``It's not as bad,'' Kiffin said. ``It's not good.'

I will be on ESPN's BCS Countdown around 5:30 p.m. tonight.

Readers have added some more dramatic games to the list I mentioned earlier. The 2003 and 2004 USC-Cal games. I also think the 1996 USC-UCLA overtime game and 1990 USC-UCLA game deserve to be mentioned too.

There have been plenty of dramatic games in the past 20 years or so. Right now I'm tempted to say USC-Stanford ranks as No. 3 behind USC-Notre Dame (2005) and USC-Texas (BCS title game) in terms of drama and tension inside the stadium.

Last night's USC-Stanford game was one of the most dramatic and suspenseful college football games in recent memory. It also provided a wonderful platform for Trojans coach Lane Kiffin, who had the privilege of being a participant and nearly pulled off a big upset.
At the least, Kiffin could enjoy getting the Coliseum atmosphere back to the glory days.
Instead, he could not resist letting his sour side take over by berating the officials in his post-game press conference. It made Kiffin seem small and petty. One could imagine Pete Carroll smiling and using the game as a building block as he discussed it with the media.
Kiffin chose a different role that comes natural: Whiner.
A USC official even gestured to Kiffin to stop talking about the officials during the tirade.
So the referee did not call timeout with 1 second left? Then don't run a play over the middle or instruct your player to hit the ground early to guarantee a field goal.
Not everything is the ref's fault. I didn't hear Stanford coach David Shaw complain that USC did not have a penalty called on it until the fourth quarter. Or that the Cardinal had 11 penalties and the Trojans three.
But the actual circumstances are beside the point. A team assumes its coach's character. Pete Carroll used to tell me how he wanted his teams to feed off his positive energy.
Kiffin only dimished himself after the game last night. And it stole from what could have been one of his prouder moments.

Here is my ballot for this week's Associated Press poll:

It was a game for the ages last night as Stanford and USC dueled for three overtimes at a raucous Coliseum. I'll try to rank the game later today.

``There were a couple seconds there when I wanted to dig a hole and bury myself (after the interception). But the guys believed in me. I was happy there was still some time left on the play clock to go down there again. I was just relieved there was more clock left.''

``I was yelling at Robert (Woods) to get down because I could see the clock. That play never really goes that far across the field. It's designed to turn upfield, it's just unfortunate. I think the issue was his knee was down and the clock started running again. I saw Kiffin call a timeout but they didn't see it. It's just unfortunate it didn't work out for us.''

On the crowd: ``It was the most energetic and electric crowd I've ever seen at the Coliseum.''

Head referee Michael Batlan offered his version of events on the final play of regulation: ``The ruling on the field was that we were going to overtime. Through review, it was seen that the knee was down and time had expired and therefore we were headed to an overtime period.[EP
``Any coach can ask for a timeout but he doesn't get one until an official grants or signifies it. I was not part of any conversation with regards to a requested timeout.''

USC linebacker Chris Galippo on the three-overtime game.
``We gave it everything we could. It's just a bummer to get that far and come up short.''

Stanford coach David Shaw was asked about Lane Kiffin's contention that 1 second should have remained on the clock at the end of regulation.
``I've got a lot of questions for the officials also,'' Shaw said.

Lane Kiffin was upset he did not get a timeout with 1 second left at the end of regulation.
``I'm really disappointed in the officials,'' Kiffin said. ``Extremely disappointed. They said (Robert Woods) was out of bounds which he wasn't. I had asked for a timeout with one second left before the play. We could have kicked a 50-yard field goal to win the game.''

Game for the ages. Wow. What a night.

If you are here, you can tell your family about this one as we go to second OT.

Nickell Robey with the big pick six and then the Cardinal score with 38 seconds left.

And it's a nailbiter at the Coliseum.

Marqise Lee with a TD and taunt to give the Trojans back the lead.

Andrew Luck Show on this drive as he keeps making big plays.

Andrew Luck looked like a Heisman Trophy frontrunner on this scoring drive.

Curtis McNeal is moving like Reggie Bush in the second half and has 100 yards rushing.

Curtis McNeal's surprising season keeps getting more surprising as he breaks the longest run of his career and goes 61 yards for the TD.

Andre Heidari's ankle is no problem, obviously, as he makes 50-yard kick. But USC cannot make mistakes like Matt Barkley's INT or Curtis McNeal's fumble to win this game.

Matt Barkley's INT could have been costlier. These are the plays that sometimes frustrate the fans.

The crowd is angry the officials did not call pass interference in the end zone on a pass for Robert Woods. Andre Heidari shows his ankle is OK on a 22-yard field goal.

I heard Shabazz Muhammad had a good meeting before the game with USC athletic director Pat Haden. He will not select a college until after the basketball season.

Former USC linebacker Jarvis Jones recorded four sacks, forced a fumble and was named player of the game in Georgia's victory over Florida.

Andrew Luck lived up to his billing on the first drive as he calmly led the Cardinal down the field in a 10 play, 83-yard drive.

Here's the video of Lee Corso's tree dance this morning during College GameDay.

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit started off GameDay with this quote on USC: ``This is their bowl game.''

A big crowd, two ranked teams, GameDay. Marquee QB matchup. The stage is set when USC meets Stanford today.

USC coach Kevin O'Neill stressed the importance of point guard Maurice Jones during Pac-12 media day.

Here's a fact from the venerable Gold Sheet: ``Stanford has now won and covered 10 straight games by 26 points or more, with its overall winning streak at 15.''

Here's Kevin O'Neill on USC basketball practices so far: `Sometimes we look good and some days we stink. We're going to have to figure out where to go for points.''

USC coach Kevin O'Neill on why how valuable sophomore point guard Maurice Jones would be this season.
``If Mo gets hurt, we can't even really play the games if you think about it. We'd be starting two freshmen, and one would be a point guard. And that is kind of a recipe for disaster starting a freshman point guard.''

USC coach Kevin O'Neill said today that forward Evan Smith is out 6-8 weeks with a shoulder injury.

We haven't provided this outlet for comments lately. But both local schools host Bay Area schools as underdogs. Who has the better chance for a victory?

Here's the full results of today's Pac-12 media basketball poll.

Time to pick the score for the big game. Who do you like? USC? Stanford?

Are the effects of NCAA sanctions overblown? Here's my story on that subject.

There are less than 1,000 tickets remaining for the USC-Stanford game.

Although most of the attention focused on a stipend increase of $2,000, what is more significant to schools like USC is a measure that allows scholarships to be awarded for multiple years.
For example, USC could offer a recruit a regular scholarship and then Notre Dame offers the same player a multi-year scholarship. It might be harder for USC to offer a scholarship for more than one year with only 15 per season the next three years.

Be aware that the Stanford home game means band director Art Bartner will resurrect his dreaded ``countermarch'' halftime show, which is meant to ridicule the Stanford band. It loses its punch, however, when it's been used at every USC-Stanford home game since at least 1981.
Not a great sight especially after USC alum Ken Dye showed Bartner how to add some energy to a band when he directed the Notre Dame band last Saturday.

Here is my preseason ballot for the Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll.

In this segment, offensive line recruiting is paramount.

Petros Papadakis came up with this one: In games after Oct. 25th in 2009 and 2010, quarterback Matt Barkley has 14 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.

Don't expect Stanford coach David Shaw and USC coach Lane Kiffin to get into it after Saturday's game. Shaw voted Kiffin the Pac-12's best-dressed coach this year.
``The rest of us coaches believe his wife does a nice job picking out the duds for him to wear,'' Shaw told ESPN before the season.

Back to answering reader questions!

Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck remains the favorite for college football's top award going into the USC game. He finished first this week in a poll of 51 actual voters by StiffArmTrophy.com. Here's the full list:

USC linebacker Chris Galippo frequently thinks of the personal-foul penalty he received near the end of last year's loss to Stanford.
``Absolutely, it annoys me," Galippo said.

In this segment, I answer whether Matt Barkley got his first signature last weekend at Notre Dame.

In this segment another question about whether USC will have a ``Super Bowl'' recruiting weekend like Notre Dame did last weekend.

In this segment, a question about why schools like Notre Dame have their big recruiting weekends in October while USC usually waits until December or January.

Time to answer some reader questions.

Answerfest time.

USC coach Lane Kiffin talks quite a bit about redshirting players with the upcoming scholarship reductions. So why didn't he redshirt Amir Carlisle especially with George Farmer no longer sitting out?
Dillon Baxter could not have been a factor since he never played anyways.

Interesting note here. USC's rushed for less touchdowns (5) than all but six other teams nationally.

Lane Kiffin said today fullback Rhett Ellison's played ``great'' despite far fewer opportunities than expected before the season. Ellison's also missed a couple chances, notably in the Cal game.
``He's been playing so many positions, sometimes the timing is off,'' Kiffin said.

USC knows it cannot blitz Andrew Luck the same way it did Tommy Rees last weekend.
``You have to choose your spots,'' defensive line coach Ed Orgeron said.

Tailback Amir Carlisle played special teams against Notre Dame. For those of you who have asked, he cannot redshirt this season.

USC tailback Dillon Baxter's depature Tuesday raise a simple question: Why? Just like another simple question: Why didn't he play more? Here's my column on the subject.

Do you think Nike went to all the trouble of redesigning USC practice pants without wanting the Trojans to wear them in a game?

USC linebacker Chris Galippo, who apologized via twitter for saying Notre Dame quit at the end of Saturday's game, said he did not ignore reader comments toward him on the social network site following the controversy.
``No I didn't (ignore it),'' he said. ``I saw it.''

The second annual Salute to Troy basketball kickoff event will be held on Sunday at 1 p.m. You can buy tickets from the USC ticket office (213) 740-GOSC. Why am I mentioning it? Because one of the nation's top recruits, Shabazz Muhammad, and his father, former USC players Ron Holmes, are expected to attend.

USC's Graduation Success Rate (GSR) announced today by the NCAA was 61 percent.
For Football Bowl Subdivision programs, the average GSR (2001-04) was 67 percent.

Remember that when players get removed from the program like Dillon Baxter, it means one less player (in good standing) that Lane Kiffin would have to pull a scholarship from USC tries to get down to the probation-mandated 75 next season.

Time for more questions as I wrap up last week's forum. One question per person please.

Did Dillon Baxter get less chances than Markeith Ambles?

The NCAA released its graduation rates today, which is not the APR, where scholarships can be reduced as a penalty. USC football's graduation rate is 61 percent, which is 13 percent above the Federal Graduation Rate for student-athletes, according to the NCAA.
Here's the full findings for USC.

Lane Kiffin did not want to discuss tailback Dillon Baxter's situation today and would not say if he was suspended.
``We're focused on the guys that are here,'' Kiffin said.
The big topic today at Stanford, of course. USC blitzed more against Notre Dame but the Trojans made it clear Andrew Luck is a different quarterback than Tommy Rees and blitzes might not work against the nation's top quarterback.
Linebacker Chris Galippo said he was not allowed to discuss his apology to Notre Dame fans for his comment that the Irish quit. Wide receiver Robert Woods did not practice because of minor injuries. Kicker Andre Heidari said he felt fine today. Cornerback Torin Harris (shoulder) did not practice and there are not really signs he will return soon.

Was USC's victory over Notre Dame an upset?
``We dominated," linebacker Dion Bailey said. "I guess you can call it an upset. We knew they couldn't do anything to the defense. We were never nervous. They were supposed to be a physical offense and they only ran 14 times."

Here is Lane Kiffin's statement this morning on Dillon Baxter.
``The decision has been made for Dillon Baxter to focus on his academics. As he does so, he will not be part of our football program. However, we will continue to support him with our academic services department.
``There will be no further comment regarding this from me or any member of our program.''

Stunned Notre Dame fans watch USC safety Jawanza Starling return a fumble 80 yards for a touchdown. Or maybe they were impersonating Lane Kiffin after USC scored a touchdown.

It's LA vs. SF this week in college football as the Bay Area schools invade Southern California. When's the last time both Bay Area schools were favored as road teams? Cal is favored by 6 points over UCLA while Stanford is favored by 7.5 over USC.

Perhaps what Lane Kiffin should have really apologized for today was saying the crowd was louder Saturday than at the 2005 USC-Notre Dame game.
To paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen, ``I attended the 2005 game. I know the 2005 game. The 2005 game is a friend of mine. The 2011 game was not the 2005 game.''

In case you missed it, Chris Galippo and Lane Kiffin apologized to Notre Dame for Galippo's comment that the Irish ``quit'' during the game.
``On behalf of our football program, I apologize for Chris Galippo's statements after the game. I've addressed this with Chris and he is remorseful," Kiffin said. ``I also called Coach [Brian] Kelly to personally apologize. As I said to the media immediately after the game, I thought Notre Dame played extremely hard throughout the game. It was another classic rivalry game and we feel fortunate to have won.''
Galippo's tweeted apology is after the jump.

Here's the full list of 16 quarterbacks named today as semifinalists for the Davey O'Brien quarterback award including USC's Matt Barkley.

A source told me they still believe defensive lineman Arik Armstead will choose USC when he makes his official college decision.

Here's the grades from USC-Notre Dame game.

With a big victory over Notre Dame in hand, USC's reward is it gets to face Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.
``It's such a big game for us," linebacker Chris Galippo said.

Lane Kiffin said he was ``shocked'' Notre Dame did not call timeouts as the Trojans drove toward the Irish goal line.
``I was scared they were going to call timeouts and we didn't know what we were going to do,'' Kiffin said. ``We kick a low one and they block it and score and it's a one-score game. I'm not complaining.''

Lane Kiffin was unhappy with Notre Dame fans that he said verbally abused the Trojans yesterday.
`I'm sure Mass would be full this morning in South Bend after the things that were said to us,'' Kiffin said.

Lane Kiffin said he was proud today of the players' quiet reaction when he told them they were playing No. 5-ranked Stanford and ESPN GameDay would be there.
``Nobody made a noise,'' Kiffin said. ``They finally understand it's not about the hype, it's about the prep.''

Lane Kiffin is only the second USC coach to win his first trip to South Bend. The last coach to win their first trip was Howard Jones in 1931.

Here is a good picture of USC wide receiver Robert Woods going high for a Matt Barkley pass during Saturday night's victory over Notre Dame.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly was asked today about USC linebacker Chris Galippo's remark that the Irish ``quit'' at the end of the game.
``I don't know if that's the case,'' Kelly said. ``To the victors go the spoils. We probably would have said the same thing last year. How we evaluate our players, we didn't play the kind of football we wanted to play.''

One of the best parts after a USC game is when Lane Kiffin sees me: ``Another D+?'' Kiffin asked about my grade for coaching this week.

Here's my ballot for the Associated Press Top 25 poll:

USC regained its swagger during its emotional 31-17 victory over Notre Dame in the biggest win of the Lane Kiffin era.

Nice quote tonight from USC safety Jawanza Starling on his clutch recovery and 80-yard TD run of Notre Dame's fumbled snap at the 1-yard line.
``Oh man, first of all I didn't realize the ball was fumbled at first,'' Starling said. ``It just felt surreal. Everything slowed down. I saw the ball and said, `not this bounce, not this bounce, but this one.' ''

``To be honest, I have no idea (what happened),'' special teams John Baxter said. ``We'll have to watch the film. We missed a fit somewhere.''

``It wasn't a Super Bowl for us. Obviously we respect the rivalry. We just had to be focused.''

Tailback Dillon Baxter did not make the trip because his girlfriend was about to give birth, according to sources.

The Trojans did not respect Notre Dame refusing to call timeout after the game.
``They did not want to play any more,'' USC tailback Marc Tyler said. ``They quit. They didn't want to call timeout.''
From Chris Galillpo: ``They just quit. That's what Notre Dame football is all about. They're not anything like USC.''

Not a lot went as expected but there was plenty of drama. This has to rank as Lane Kiffin's biggest victory at USC. Will the Trojans make the Top 25 now? Stanford looming.

Nickell Robey intercepts a Tommy Rees pass and the Trojans take over with a 14-point lead.

Robert Woods makes a beautiful TD catch and the Trojans are up again. The Irish fumbled a lateral to set up the TD.

And it's not over yet as the Irish score again. USC's defense looked very vulberable on that drive and maybe a little tired. But Notre Dame looks fully capable of more mistakes. Here were go for the final 14 minutes.

This really isn't much a hostile atmosphere despite whatever it was billed as coming into the game. But that's because USC's led the entire game. If Dayne Crist had not fumbled, then it might be a different story.

And just when Notre Dame looks like it will score from the 1-yard line, the Irish botch the snap and Jawanza Starling races 89 yards for a TD.

This game looked over before USC's special teams broke down. Did Lane Kiffin lose faith in the run too soon?

The Trojans looked more physical than the Irish on that drive with Marc Tyler doing most of the work.

As usual game updates will be posted here and on the twitter feed tonight.

Arik Armstead is down on the field right now and looks happy talking to other recruits at the game. Armstead, who decommited from USC this week, is making his official visit to Notre Dame this weekend.

Here's a look at Notre Dame women's basketball practice before the game. The best-known player, Skylar Diggins, is to the right of the basket in the white jersey.

I'm going to have to go with the Irish in a high-scoring affair, 42-31.

Details remain murky but Lane Kiffin informed Dillon Baxter on Thursday he would not allow him to accompany the team to Notre Dame for an off-the-field matter. We will see if Kiffin has anything to say after the game.

Lane Kiffin's biggest concern today is the unknown. The unexpected things that tend to happen out of nowhere in big college football games.
``That's why it's not easy to predict games,'' Kiffin said.

USC did not visit Notre Dame today, something Pete Carroll did for the day before walkthrough. The Trojans had a quiet dinner at the team hotel.

Kirk Herbstreit offered this quote today on USC's defense against Cal.
``That's the first time under Monte Kiffin that I've seen them look athletic and play well in space.''

Did the decision of USC doctors to not clear defensive tackle Armond Armstead free up two scholarships for next season now that his brother decommited?

If you are on the Notre Dame campus today, you might want to visit the Shillelagh, which goes to the winner of the USC-Notre Dame game.
But even if USC wins, it does not bring back the actual Shillelagh (a small wooden stick). Notre Dame keeps that forever. It gets Shillelagh II, a replica of the original.

In case you missed it, here is an encore presentation of this week's episode of USC Report.

OK, it's time to select a winner for college football's greatest intersectional rivalry.

It probably only seems like this game is more important off-the-field to Notre Dame with about 50 recruits expected to be in attendance, including Arik Armstead, the younger brother of USC defensive lineman Armond Armstead.

The season is halfway over and it is time for my midseason report card going into Saturday's big game against Notre Dame.

Forward DeWayne Dedmon, even with his hand injury, and point guard Maurice Jones have been the two best players at USC basketball practices, which started last weekend.

Marc Tyler's got a banged up shoulder. D.J. Morgan fumbled a couple times alread. George Farmer already fumbled last week. Curtis McNeal looks like a safe option. Especially when Dillon Baxter is not being given a chance. USC could also use Amir Carlisle, who said his sprained ankle is 100 percent.

Lane Kiffin always seemed like a pass-first guy even when he was USC's offensive coordinator. Now that the running game is struggling one wonders if Kiffin would prefer to forego the run and just concentrate on what he likes best.

I will be discussing the USC-Notre Dame this afternoon around 3:30 p.m. on NBC Sportstalk on the Versus Network.

Since this might be the last time Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o plays USC, it is worth recalling how close he came to playing for the Trojans. A source in Hawaii wondered if it hurt USC's chances that former recruiting coordinator Brennan Carroll supposedly showed up on a home visit in flip flops? Yes, it was Hawaii. But the casual look apparently did not pay dividends when Te'o made his college decision.

What do the Associated Press and ESPN radio host Collin Cowherd have in common? They both pick Notre Dame to defeat USC on Saturday.

Cal coach Jeff Tedford and Marc Tyler's potential sixth year are topics in this segment.

USC linebacker Dion Bailey understands the Notre Dame rivalry and NBC analyst Mike Mayock weighs in on the Trojans ahead of Saturday's game.

Here's a story on how Notre Dame is preventing a high school in Kansas from selling T-shirts or sweatshirts with ``Fighting Irish'' or the leprechaun on them even though the school is nicknamed the Fighting Irish.

Two interesting questions in this segment including one where a reader makes the case against Pete Carroll returning to USC one day.

Talking to Lane Kiffin today, he thought the last time before 2009 that USC might be this big a road underdog was in 2003 against Auburn. Thoughts?

USC wide receiver Robert Woods is being asked about bouncing back from last week's quiet (by his standards) performance against Cal. But Woods could easily say if the passes were better he would have caught two touchdown passes last week and no one would think anything was different about his game.

With USC playing Notre Dame, it's worth remembering that the Irish's star wide receiver Michael Floyd wanted to play for the Trojans when he was an underclassman at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in Saint Paul, Minn.
So what happened? When Floyd was a senior, USC did not like his film. Remember I've written before how recruiting suffered when Coach Pete Carroll did not have a strong recrutiing coordinator to reign him in on decisions.

In this segment, questions about players who cannot get cleared medically and Mike Garrett.

We hear that defensive tackle Arik Armstead, who decommitted from USC earlier this week, ``loved'' the Trojans but his parents are furious with the way older brother Armond's been treated by the university and that led to his annoucement to open up his recruiting.

The field was a little slick this morning but the more pressing issue for the Trojans might at cornerback. Torin Harris seems like he is still out and if Isiah Wiley or Nickell Robey get hurt, options are limited.
Lane Kiffin mentioned walk-on James Harbin as a possibility. Tony Burnett, who slipped down the depth chart, is also available.
Tailback Marc Tyler will be a game-time decision, Kiffin said. Wide receiver Marqise Lee looks fine though Kiffin said he will need to monitor his sprained shoulder.

And now here is this week's episode of USC Report, where co-host Aja Dang and I discuss the Cal game, the Notre Dame game and make our game predictions.

USC tailback Marc Tyler never played in South Bend before and does not want to miss this week's game despite his shoulder injury.

Time for a sneak preview of today's episode of USC Report with myself and co-host Aja Dang.

Now that he traded for Carson Palmer, who will former USC assistant coach Hue Jackson acquire next? Jason Thomas.

In this segment, a question on Pete Carroll and recruiting pops up.

Since Jim Harbaugh came up in conversation today at practice, it's worth remembering that former athletic director Mike Garrett could easily have hired him away from Stanford after Pete Carroll left.
The San Francisco 49ers were a mess before Harbaugh arrived. Now they are 5-1. No transition period needed. Imagine what Harbaugh might be doing at USC? It's unlikely you would hear much about probation being a hinderance.

Let's see what the venerable Gold Sheet has to say about the game: ``Pete Carroll no longer around at SC to dominate the Irish, as he did most of the past decade. Now, the coaching edge in this old rivalry goes to ND and Brian Kelly, who beat Lane Kiffin last year with then-frosh QB Tommy Rees running a scaled-back version of spread offense.
``Meanwhile, Irish d.c. Bob Diaco has had an extra week to prepare for Kiffin's finesse offense.''

Back to those questions . . . and answers.

Time to answer some more reader questions.

USC coach Lane Kiffin was asked if he was surprised by Jim Harbaugh's handshake incident Sunday.
``No. It was classic Harbaugh,'' Kiffin said.
Asked if he ever had a similar moment, Kiffin said, ``Even Urban (Meyer) I got along with.''

The news today was that tailback Marc Tyler's dislocated shoulder felt much better and the senior said he expects to play against Notre Dame.
``It doesn't really hurt,'' Tyler said. ``It might hurt when I get hit.''
Tyler said he will not get hit before the game and do only non-contact drills.
Wide receiver Marqise Lee is also did non-contact drills and is expected to play.
Lane Kiffin was unhappy that the Notre Dame game got moved to a night game after USC made its travel arrangements.
``I wish they had told us before we wouldn't have gone (on Thursday),'' Kiffin said.

Lane Kiffin says he does not want to put too much pressure on USC going into the Notre Dame game and does a Lou Holtz-impression as he talks up the Irish.

Carson Palmer reunited with former USC assistant Hue Jackson as Raiders trade for the QB.

I haven't been thinking about whether USC coach Lane Kiffin needed a new nickname. We christened him Coach Sunshine last season. But when I was in San Francisco last week, a Raiders source reminded me that late owner Al Davis once referred to him as ``Lance Kiffin'' at a press conference. Hmmm.

USC coach Lane Kiffin said today Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly uses a simple approach: ``They're coached really well. They don't do a lot of stuff. They kind of simple. But they're really really good at it.''

In this segment, a question about the private and public persona of Lane Kiffin.

Time to answer some reader questions.

With Arik Armstead decommitting, isn't it time for someone at USC to figure out why players iwith injuries or medical conditions in recent years could not get cleared unless they transferred to another school?

After opening at nine points, Notre Dame is currently an eight-point favorite over USC.

Arik Armstead is not the only big recruit making an official visit to Notre Dame this weekend that is considering USC and the Irish. Others include offensive lineman Zach Banner and defensive back Shaq Thompson.

Arik Armstead, one of the top recruits in the nation, decommitted from USC according to Scout.com. This is something we alluded to for the past couple months because his older brother, Armond Armstead, could not get cleared by USC doctors.
``I've been disappointed with the way some of the things have been handled with the school and my family over the last six months," Arik Armstead said to recruiting analyst Brandon Huffman.
Armstead will visit Notre Dame this weekend. He is still considering USC but Alabama, LSU, Cal and Michigan and the Irish are now under consideration. This also impacts USC's basketball program because Armstead wants to play both sports.

Notre Dame's pass-efficiency defense improved from 95th to 48th the past four weeks.

Here is the two-deep for the defense against Notre Dame.

Here is the official depth chart for the Notre Dame game for the offense.

Tailback Marc Tyler appears doubtful this week with a dislocated shoulder. Wide receiver Marqise Lee (sprained shoulder) might be available, according to Lane Kiffin.

Lane Kiffin said last year's loss to Notre Dame was his worst as a head coach.
``Obviously it was heartbreaking at the time,'' he said. ``Our worst loss that I've been a part of ever probably because of what was going on with the streak.''

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly does not try to downplay the significance of playing USC: ``We see it as our rival. Obviously, a lot of teams see us as their rival. This for us is our rivalry game.''

The Irish committed 10 turnovers in the first two games of the season. Notre Dame committed no turnovers in its past two games.

Here is my ballot for the Associated Press poll:

USC players thoughts turn to Notre Dame, as the Trojans want to avenge last year's loss to the Irish on Saturday in South Bend.
``It will be the most hostile place all year,'' linebacker Chris Galippo said.

Will Lane Kiffin apply his doghouse policy to George Farmer for fumbling at the end of the Cal game? Doubtful.

A reader with a background in track-and-field weighed in on Lane Kiffin's comment Friday night that he clocked George Farmer running the 40 in 3.96 seconds.
``If that is the case, Farmer should quit football and start training for the London Olympics. He's a threat to Usain Bolt.
``I assume this is with a running start but even so, it's so ludicrous it defies credibility. Bolt, on a track in spikes, without a football uniform, on a starting can't run 3.96.
``Kiffin's perspective on the sideline, trying to calculate the distance (you can't do it from the pressbox, would not allow him to be accurate. Where the 40 begin and where does it end? Who said the field was marked exactly? Ludicrous.''

Here are the grades for the Trojans' victory over California.

Lane Kiffin complained that there was a negative reaction about USC's victory over California. But even quarterback Matt Barkley criticized his own performance and said he would need to do better to beat teams like Notre Dame and Stanford.

USC wide receiver Robert Woods moved up to 17th place in the StiffArmTrophy.com poll of 56 actual voters. USC quarterback Matt Barkley dropped out of the poll.

Lane Kiffin said Friday night he did not have any news regarding injuries to Marqise Lee and Marc Tyler.

Why did Cal double-cover wide receiver Robert Woods last night? Because besides his five catches, there were nine incomplete passes thrown to him. That's 14 of Matt Barkley's 35 passes. In spite of the double coverage, Woods nearly had 2 touchdowns with better passes.

Maybe the best thing gained from last night's game for USC is that Cal threw different coverages at quarterback Matt Barkley that forced him to look for someone besides Robert Woods and also gave him less time than Arizona's defense.
Barkley struggled but he needs to step up against even better defenses that await USC this season and last night was a taste of what might await him.

Remember when Pete Carroll was recommending Cal coach Jeff Tedford for the Chicago Bears and Nebraska jobs in hopes of getting him out of the Pac-10?

Phil Steele has a lot of time because he just compiled a midseason Pac-12 team. Nick Perry, T.J. McDonald, Robert Woods and Matt Kalil are first-team picks. Matt Barkley is a second-team selection, which might be a surprise with Nick Foles, Brock Osweiler, Keith Price and Co. also under consideration.
Full team after the jump:

``It was a must for the defense to play like this. We had to show our fans. We'll
have downs but also have ups.''

Lane Kiffin came up to me after his radio interview on 710-AM and joked, ``I made you famous.''
After being congratulated for the victory, Kiffin said on air, ``Tell Scott Wolf that. He's acting like we lost by 30.''
The truth was Kiffin and I had just talked about how USC won but many questions after the game focused on the offense's struggles. But he showed his sense of humor on the radio. Which is good after a win.

Time for some post-Cal and pre-Notre Dame questions. One per person please.

It was a breeze most of the night for USC in its eighth straight victory over Cal.
``On our worst day they had this season we still put up 30 points,'' linebacker Dion Bailey said.

Here's Lane Kiffin's quote on why he went for the botched snap to Rhett Ellison trick play instead of a field goal on USC's first scoring opportunity tonight.
``That's no fun. We're on ESPN. We've got to do something.''

``It's the first time we've been 5-1 since we've been here.''

Here's a Matt Barkley quote from after the game on how he played tonight: ``Not good enough to win the big games.''

Marqise Lee said he sprained the AC joint in his shoulder but was OK and could play against Notre Dame. Marc Tyler said he dislocated his shoulder but x-rays were negative. He said his shoulder was sore and he did not know his status.

A pretty brutal affair tonight. Matt Barkley was not at his best. Things figure to ramp up next week with Notre Dame.

Apparently Jeff Tedford did not take the second half off too.

Some sarcastic cheers from Cal fans as the Bears finally get on scoreboard with a field goal.

Brandon Carswell will be happy tonight to score a TD in front of his family and friends.

Chris Galippo sets up a TD with an interception. Outside of a couple passes to Marqise Lee, Matt Barkley's not been sharp tonight.

Marqise Lee and Matt Barkley hook up on a TD pass. CB Anthony Brown was taken to the locker room with an air cast on his leg.

The good news is USC forced two turnovers. The bad news is the running game is struggling again.

I thought George Farmer's first touch would be a short pass but it turned out to be a carry.

One tradition that seems to have disappeared from the Pete Carroll era is that when USC concludes its warmups, it does not go to the band to hear Tribute to Troy. The players simply enter the locker room. Carroll used to insist they stop by the band for road games.

Here's a shot of AT&T Park before the USC-Cal game.

This trip is a reminder that the Emerald Bowl was actually a pretty good experience for USC. The Trojans stayed at a nice hotel at Union Square and made the short drive to AT&T Park.
Today, they are staying at a cookie-cutter hotel near the airport and making about a 15-mile drive to the stadium.

Here's three reasons each team feels it might win tonight's game:

It's a different type of atmosphere for a typical USC-Cal game but it remains a critical game for the Trojans.
``We're coming off a great win (over Arizona), which does give us momentum and confidence going into this week,'' USC quarterback Matt Barkley said.

If you watched USC Report, you know I picked USC to win today. But the venerable Gold Sheet was less optimistic: ``Monte Kiffin's "Tampa 2 (minus 2?)" defensive schemes continue to spring leaks, as Troy again ranks low nationally in pass defense (98th).''

USC arrived in San Francisco around 5:30 p.m., where it is a little cooler than in Los Angeles at the moment. The players are free to relax right now at the team hotel especially with an early evening kickoff tomorrow.

I've heard from students today disappointed they could not go to the Cal game because they have class on Thursday. In the future, the Pac-12 should realize if USC plays on a Thursday, it should be against a school not in the Bay Area.

It's time to pick the score for the USC-Cal game. Cal coach Jeff Tedford got a lot of mileage out of his 2003 victory over the Trojans. But he has not won since then.

USC center Dewayne Dedmon broke his hand in practice yesterday and is expected to be out 4-6 weeks.
UPDATED: USC's official statement downgrades the initial diagnosis that trainers gave Dedmon and he might be back in 2-3 weeks.

Is there a greater legal liability for a private school than a public school? That's one theory I've heard why USC doctors will not clear Armond Armstead in spite of the fact he was cleared by outside doctors.
And might also explain Frankie Telfort and Jarvis Jones.

There are still some obstructed view tickets available for the Cal game. Cal says the ``view is blocked from the 15 yard line through the endzone in left field and the video board is also partially obstructed.''

With a 4-1 record, USC is about to hit a key three-game stretch. Last year the Trojans went 1-2 after an identical 4-1 start.

It's time for the latest episode of USC Report where I discuss the Cal game, George Farmer, Marqise Lee and plenty of other topics with my co-host, Aja Dang.

The entire USC band might not be going to the ``Weekender'' game against Cal in San Francisco on Thursday, so here's a picture of the 1951 game in Strawberry Canyon that even featured these guys as part of the spirit squad.

A reader asked about the size of the band going to San Francisco for the Cal game. It will be 60 members and not perform at halftime at AT&T Park.

Interesting comment today from Lane Kiffin regarding Armond Armstead's decision next year ``whether he comes back and helps us win a championship or whether he goes to the NFL.''
What championship? Pac-12 South? Pac-12 overall? BCS?
The possibilities are endless.

If he stays at USC, what are the odds wide receiver Kyle Prater ends up at tight end before his career is over?

When George Farmer plays against Cal on Thursday, would you want his first touch to be on a carry? Seems dangerous with the fact he was not a running back in high school. I'd say a short pass is a better route to take to get him in the game and let him take a hit before letting carry at tailback.

A former USC athletic dept. who worked when Al Davis was a USC assistant sent in a brief note: ``I remember when he came to USC and he brought Angie Coia with him. He was not nearly as volatile at USC as he would soon become.''
Angelo Coia was a defensive end who transferred from The Citadel and enjoyed a seven-year NFL career with the Chicago Bears, Washington Redskins and Atlanta Falcons.

In this segment, who is the better USC football player in his college and NFL career? O.J. Simpson or Ronnie Lott?

It really feels like Thursday with this shorter game week.

Cal is one of only two Pac-10 schools that has not beaten USC since the Bears' last victory in 2003. Who is the other school? Answer after the jump:

"If you're going to keep score, you might as well try to win. That's a factor as a coach."

Wide receiver Marqise Lee's off to a flying start after five games as USC's skill positions are about to have Serra players at nearly every spot.

A big topic today was wide receiver Marqise Lee. Lane Kiffin said Lee wanted to play wide receiver in college and joked, ``He'd be lining up at Oregon probably if we told him he was going to be a DB.''
I asked Kiffin if that was why De'Anthony Thomas changed his mind and went to Oregon. Kiffin declined comment.

Here is the TV schedule for USC basketball games this season.

Time to finish up last week's forum.

Remember during training camp when Lane Kiffin said he might start someone else opposite Robert Woods because Woods and Marqise Lee played the same spot? Guess that problem got solved. It was always a no-brainer anyways because Woods knows more than one of the receiver positions.

Here's video of the post-game speech of Raiders coach Hue Jackson (a former USC assistant) talking about Raiders owner Al Davis (a former USC assistant).

USC is holding at a three-point favorite over Cal.

USC wide receiver Marqise Lee on whether the Trojans or Cal had the best receiving duo in the Pac-12.
``People can say what they want. I'm not going to shoot them down,'' Lee said of Cal receivers Marvin Jones and Keenan Allen.

Today was like a Thursday practice for USC with the short week before the Cal game. The team practiced in shorts and some players, like tailback Marc Tyler, left early for class.
Lane Kiffin lamented the running game, a question that seemed more relevant with George Farmer now playing tailback.
``We're lacking explosiveness in the running game,'' Kiffin said. ``This is not what we wanted.''

Is there any reason for USC tailback Dillon Baxter to stick around now that he's apparently fallen even further down the depth chart with George Farmer about to play against California?

Lane Kiffin enjoyed hearing announcers on the California-Oregon telecast describe Bears wide receivers Marvin Jones and Keenan Allen as the best duo in the Pacific-12 Conference. He sounded like he used the comments to challenge USC's duo of Robert Woods and Marqise Lee to show they were better.
``You've got to prove it,'' Kiffin said. ``If we want to be the best duo on Thursday, we've got to show up and prove it.''

Wide receiver Kyle Prater is back after nursing his foot, which still bothers him after last year's stress fracture. Prater was asked today if he was disappointed in his lack of playing time.
``You always have high expectations,'' he said. ``My whole time I've been here I've been through adversity.''

Lane Kiffin said when he makes a decision on who redshirts, the top priority is ``the best interest of the team.''
That's a hot topic because we reported Friday that freshman tailback/wide receiver George Farmer is expected to play against California on Thursday.
Tailback Amir Carlisle and linebacker Lamar Dawson practiced and look ready for the game. Of course with George Farmer expected to play there could be a logjam at tailback.
One player not in the logjam is sophomore Dillon Baxter, who played sparingly the first five games with little sign of that changing.

Here's Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly on whether the Irish might break out green jerseys for the USC game.
``I didn't know we had green jerseys. If we did, we'd think about it,'' Kelly said.

In this segment, a question about whether sanctions make the USC job less appealing.

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

USC coach Lane Kiffin worked for Cal coach Jeff Tedford and they share one thing in common as Tedford resumed playcalling duties this season.
``If you want to know why their offense is so good it is because Jeff Tedford is calling plays again,'' USC defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said.
Interestingly, Tedford said in the summer he did not want his offensive duties to make the defense feel slighted.
``I don't want to be one-sided where I'm not providing any motivation or anything for the defense,'' Tedford said. ``I want to make sure the defense understands I'm with them as well.''

USC's four victories are over teams with a combined record of 8-15. If you take away Football Championship Subdivision teams, like Arizona's lone victory over Northern Arizona, the record is 5-15.
And one of those five wins was Syracuse's win over Toledo when the replay official disallowed a made field goal to deny Toledo a victory.

In this segment, the defense is a hot topic.

USC has a bye today. I think I'll take bye to cover.

Time for some answers to reader questions.

Here's a couple theories on why George Farmer suddenly might play after earlier being told he would redshirt.
1.) The defense's performance the past two weeks convinced Lane Kiffin he needs even more offensive firepower.
2.) The idea of the nation's top-rated wide receiver redshirting provided rival colleges with negative recruiting material.

USC coach Lane Kiffin issued a statement on the death of Raiders owner Al Davis:
``I was very saddened this morning to learn of the passing of Al Davis. He was an iconic figure in the history of professional football and built a truly legendary franchise with the Raiders. I consider myself fortunate to have known him and to have been a part of that Raiders history.
``Even though our relationship did not end the way I would have liked, I have nothing but the greatest respect for Mr. Davis and I truly appreciate the opportunity he afforded me and so many young coaches, players and staff. My thoughts go out to his family and to the family and fans of the Raiders past and present.''

Here's more on the decision to play George Farmer against Cal and no longer redshirt the wide receiver.

We get emails:

``From what I saw last night, De'Anthony Thomas made the right choice. I saw him many times in high school but I had certain doubts that his size would mitigate against him.
``He's perfect for the Oregon system. Who knows where or how much he'd be playing at USC?
``He could have started at cornerback but he's an offensive player. Offensively, he'd have barely seen the field here. If this sounds like heresy, so be it.''

In this segment, Rick Neuheisel, Lane Kiffin and Reggie Bush make appearances.

How much would a decision to play George Farmer against Cal be the fact that the Trojans (Lane Kiffin) realize the schedule is getting tougher the last seven games and a better won-loss record might be more important than whether Farmer playing only seven games is a waste of a freshman year?

In this segment, Dillon Baxter and player substitutions are highlighted questions.

I heard last night that freshman tailback/wide receiver George Farmer would no longer redshirt and Lane Kiffin intended to play him against Cal.
That became more apparent Friday morning when Farmer changed his number from 88 to 8 and spent extra time working on drills after practice concluded.
Kiffin did not deny Farmer would play.
``We've got to look at it this week and see where we're at,'' Kiffin said. ``We'll spend the week to figure it out.''
Farmer said he spoke to the coaches this week.
``They just kept telling me to play hard and do what the coaches tell me to do,'' Farmer said. ``If they need me (to play), I'll do it.''

USC practiced red-zone defense this week, but the Trojans' red-zone offense also needs work. USC ranks 10th in the Pacific-12 Conference, scoring 75 percent of the time it is inside the 20-yard line. Stanford is ranked first, scoring 100 percent of the time.

USC offensive lineman Kevin Graf (77) said he did not prepare himself in practice the week he struggled against Arizona State but he rebounded with one of his better games against Arizona.

Although the defense was the focus this week, USC's rushing offense needs some work to. The Trojans are ranked eighth in the Pac-12 Conference, averaging 136.6 yards per game.

More questions on the coaching position in this segment.

Questions about the how the rest of season unfolds in this segment.

The way Lane Kiffin is talking up George Farmer as a tailback for next season, it is probably time to start a pool on what school Dillon Baxter will be enrolled at next season. San Diego State? Any ideas?

Let's see what some of the post-Arizona questions are about.

Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck barely edges Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson is this week's Heisman Trophy poll of 46 actual voters by StiffArmTrophy.com. USC quarterback Matt Barkley is back at No. 17 and wide receiver Robert Woods is No. 20.
Full results after the jump:

The Kiffins continue to praise Arizona QB Nick Foles for his performance last weekend in a losing effort against the Trojans. Ironically, Foles was not even nominated for Pac-12 offensive player of the week, which was won by Matt Barkley.

The Pac-12 announced today its team for its title game with one interesting note: The PA announcer is Paul Olden, a former Los Angeles radio reporter best known for asking Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda his opinion of former USC baseball player Dave Kingman hitting three home runs against the Dodgers.
The legendary response is here and should only be listened to if you are not offended by Lasorda's profanity laced tirade. If you care, here's the release from the Pac-12.

It's time for a new episode of USC Report where I discuss the Arizona game and the week ahead with my co-host, Aja Dang.

Lane Kiffin preached patience this week regarding the defense's recent lapse.
``It wasn't too many weeks ago the defense was winning games for us and the offense wasn't doing their things,'' Kiffin said. ``All of a sudden we're a great offense. A week ago the stories were we weren't any good and (Matt) Barkley's not a first-round pick anymore.

Cal plays Oregon tomorrow night in Eugene. So the Bears do not get a bye before facing USC next Thursday in San Francisco. It will be interesting to see if that gives the Trojans an advantage for the game.

USC safety T.J. McDonald was named the Jim Thorpe defensive back of the week after intercepting two passes against Arizona.

Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said USC's faced too many third-and-short situations this season to blitz consistently.
``You have to pick and choose your blitzes,'' Kiffin said. ``I personally love to blitz but you need to get into longer (third down) situations. It's hard to blitz when it's third-and-four all the time and they can just throw quick passes.''

There is a popular theory right now that USC's poor turnover ratio is opposite what Pete Carroll teams accomplished.
The Trojans currently have a turnover ratio of minus-1, with the defense forcing five turnovers but the offense committing six turnovers. USC ranks only 109th nationally. But is that drastically different than recent Carroll teams?
In 2009, USC's turnover margin was zero, which is only one turnover off the current team. In 2006, USC was plus-0.3. In 2007, the Trojans were plus-0.2. That is not significantly different than the 2011 Trojans.

Lane Kiffin talked today about how the advent of the spread offense forces defenses, especially linemen, to rotate more.
``Our numbers have to be different on reps,'' Kiffin said. ``We let those d linemen play the whole time (before). People weren't spread out as much. You have to play more d linemen because the ball gets thrown all over the place and they're turning and running all the time.''

Here's a great photo of this morning's practice with Lane Kiffin coaching the wide receivers. So let's start a caption contest.

Former USC baseball coach Mike Gillespie plays Oakland A's coach Ken Macha in the movie ``Moneyball.''
Equally impressive is this photo that occupies the restroom at the El Cholo near Staples Center. Notice he is wearing his UC Irvine uniform because we hear the restaurant was upset he was fired by USC. A mistake USC still recovering from by the way.

Well, it's a bye week but that does not mean no open forum. Especially when there is so much to discuss after the past two games. One question per person please.

What do former USC coaches ``Gloomy Gus'' Henderson, Ralph Glaze, Clair Tappaan, Don Clark and Jeff Cravath not have in common with Lane Kiffin?
None of them gave up 40 points in back-to-back games.
On the other hand, I kind of like Henderson's nickname. Maybe it should be ``Gloomy Lane'' Kiffin from now on.

In this segment, Matt Barkley and T.J. Bryant are the subjects.

USC worked exclusively on red-zone defense during 7-on-7 and scrimmaging portions of today's practice. George Farmer got some work at tailback before he got hurt. Dillon Baxter also practiced well but Lane Kiffin said ``consistency'' issues have kept him off the field.
Quarterback Max Wittek enjoyed one of his better practices. Assistant coach Ed Orgeron missed practice for a family matter that required him to go back to Louisiana. Wide receivers coach Ted Gilmore was also gone for recruiting duties.
Lane Kiffin said he wanted to make sure not to overreact about the defense because of the past two games.
``All of a sudden we're a great offense,'' he said. ``(A couple of weeks ago Matt) Barkley wasn't a first-round pick anymore.''

More on the defense's record of allowing more than 40 points in back-to-back games while remembering the offense scored 22 points or less in three of USC's five games.

That's where the Trojans are ranked by BCS guru Jerry Palm, who came up with his own computer formula.

Following up on the post below on the lack of a middle linebacker to back up Chris Galippo, how about Devon Kennard? He couldn't handle a couple series a game after playing the spot last season?

``It's all about winning.''

USC linebacker Chris Galippo is being overused right now because freshman Lamar Dawson is out with a sprained ankle. But why wasn't a contingency plan formed? Couldn't Hayes Pullard or Shane Horton fill in for a series or two? Or Tre Madden? Anthony Sarao, a middle linebacker, is redshirting so he is apparently out of the question. But USC nearly went 0-2 because its middle linebacker is exhausted.

We are making good progress answering reader questions today!

In the history of USC football dating back to 1888, no Trojan team surrendered 40-or-more points in back-to-back games until now. That's not likely going to be in this week's press release (hat tip to Petros Papadakis for that).

USC is 4-1, as Lane Kiffin points out, when you consider that even the 2008 team sported a similar record. But here's the rub: Barely winning games that should be walkovers and losing games that should be victories seem to be trademarks of the past 18 games.
So with the teeth of the schedule about to kick in, there is not a lot of confidence right now that the second half of the season will generate a similar success rate.
And here's the warning sign: Everyone thought the defense was better than a year ago two weeks ago. But now . . .

Back to those questions and answers.

Here are the grades for Saturday's performance. Did Lane Kiffin improve on last week's C-?

Lane Kiffin was defensive about hearing USC plays too much of the Tampa 2 defense and said the Trojans rarely used it before the Arizona game. Kiffin said USC played Tampa 2 only four plays out of 72 in a recent game. Kiffin said he does offer input to the defense during the week despite his offensive coordinator duties.
``I kind of come in after I watch (the opponent on film) and what I think they will do from an offensive perspective,'' Kiffin said.

Lane Kiffin said there is a misconception that his defense always plays the Tampa 2 or Cover 2 defense.
``Everyone thinks we play Tampa 2, we rarely do that,'' Kiffin said.

Lane Kiffin referred to the ``late-arriving crowd'' at the USC-Arizona game. Maybe he meant ``non-arriving crowd.''

USC gets a bye, then plays California and then its the annual rivalry game with Notre Dame, which Lane Kiffin addressed Sunday.
``We need to get our streak back,'' Kiffin said. ``We screwed up last year and handed it to them.''

Arizona's rushing defense ranked last in the Pac-12 entering Saturday's contest. Lane Kiffin said he abandoned the run because he expected the Wildcats to work all week in practice on shoring up their run defense. That's why USC threw 39 passes, he said.

Yesterday's attendance of 63,707 was the lowest of the season and lowest since 2002. There should be bigger crowds when Stanford and UCLA come to the Coliseum. But I don't know if the USC-UCLA game is going to be the usual crowd with neither program generating a lot of enthusiasm at the moment.
When I spoke to Lane Kiffin about this, he pointed out the stats I mentioned in my story Friday that attendance is more in line with what USC drew in the 1960's-90's. Or before Pete Carroll.
Do you agree with Kiffin that the Carroll era just might be an anomaly that is never duplicated?

Lane Kiffin was not happy with the officials yesterday when they gave him a sideline interference penalty.

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

The way USC plays in the second half of home games, maybe they should move the Coliseum torch down to the home sideline and light it up at halftime to keep the Trojans alert.

USC's been outscored by its opponents, 86-68, in the second half this season.

What is it about the end of games and Lane Kiffin? He made a foolish pass call on fourth-and-1 with 1:51 left as Matt Barkley threw an incomplete pass.
In the press conference, Kiffin complained that Barkley was supposed to throw to Robert Woods, who would then set the school record for receiving yards in a single game. It sounded like Kiffin was aware of the record and wanted Woods to get it.
Never mind that USC became an on-side kick away from being forced into overtime with that bad call.
Kiffin later denied he was trying to get any records.
``The play wasn't designed to beat the record,'' Kiffin said.

``Obviously we're very pleased to get to 4-1.''

On the sideline interference penalty: ``I guess I came on to the field a couple feet while the ball was on the 10-yard line and I was 35 yards away from the play. It won't happen again.''

``Woods tore our zone up.''

A whole lot of offense but where was that defensive improvement we were promised during the week?

When will this end?

Why do Lane Kiffin teams play poorly in the second half at the Coliseum?

I do not doubt USC will win this game. But some of the same things emerge as problems week after week.

This is why questions remain about USC's defensive schemes against a spread offense.

Matt Barkley's interception helps set up this score but the Wildcats' offense is just playing harder right now than USC's defense.

The Wildcats proved you can successfully go for 2 points. That means opponents have converted two times in two weeks. Memo to Lane Kiffin.

This might be the game where Matt Barkley sets the record for TD passes in a game. And Lane Kiffin won't have to lie about the play called to do it.

USC is up 27-12 and Arizona's defense is bad as advertised. The Trojans' offense is at its most productive but one gets the feeling the defense is not comfortable with the spread offense -- as usual.

USC's offensive outburst is masking the fact Monte Kiffin's having a tough time with the spread offense.

Matt Barkley finds Xavier Grimble in the end zone and linebacker Derek Earls inexplicably did not pick off the pass.

The Wildcats finally get on the board but miss the extra point, which will just made Mike Stoops want to throw his visor across the field.

Robert Woods with a 20-yard reception and then Marqise Lee catches a 38-yard touchdown pass as it looks like a rout early.

Robert Woods has three receptions for 119 yards as Andre Heidari makes a 46-yard FG to give the Trojans an early lead.

Matt Barkley and Robert Woods team up on the longest pass play of their USC careers. Actually, Woods does all the work and he goes most of the 82 yards on his own. No two-point conversion.

I'm going to pick USC to win today's game, 27-20.

USC hopes to erase the memory of last week's loss to Arizona State and go to 4-1 if it can beat Arizona.