Husker Fans Buy Up USC Season Tickets - KETV-TV
A Big Red invasion is on its way to southern California with as many as 40,000 Husker fans headed to The Coliseum...

...Husker fans hope to...take over their stadium like Nebraska fans did to Notre Dame in 2000.

"They're estimating there should be 35,000 to 40,000 NU fans at that game," said California Husker fan Lowell Pollema.

Pollema said many NU fans found it cheaper to buy USC season tickets than the single game.

"They had to shut down their season-ticket sales because they found out a lot were being sold to people in Nebraska," Pollema said...

[Dienhart] How to prepare for USC - Sporting News
Talked to Arkansas defensive coordinator Reggie Herring...I asked Herring to break down the Trojans...

On how he defended USC: "We were a little bit soft on the run...Somebody who is talented enough...who can be physical up front...would bode better than we did.

On John David Booty: He doesn't lose it for them. He made good decisions. I really like their misdirection and their bootleg. It complements their running game. He has impeccable poise...You can't blitz him. They are very protection conscious...

Student Body Left (Out?) - LA Times
...a new limit on student seats this season might spur change, and possibly some game-day anger, beginning on Saturday when the fourth-ranked Trojans play 19th-ranked Nebraska.

USC, which established attendance records in each of the last three seasons, has reduced student seating from about 12,000 a game to 8,000...

..."We have data to show this should be plenty," said Steve Lopes, a senior associate athletic director.

Some USC students are not so sure...

Nebraska's West Coast offense heading west - Daily Trojan
Nebraska, once known for running the ball down its opponents' throats, has been running an NFL-style offense the last two years...

...USC coach Pete Carroll said the offense is most similar to the West Coast offense that the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers run...

...the Trojans feel like Nebraska's pro-style offense is similar to the one that USC runs every day in practice.

"They throw the ball a lot, but their offense is pretty similar to ours, so I feel pretty comfortable about it," freshman safety Taylor Mays said.

Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor broke school records last season for passing yards (2,653), passing attempts (399) and completions (233)...

Also, Callahan Is Latest Test of NFL-Tinged Streak - LA Times
Williams Is Ready for the Matchup - LA Times
Callahan: Trojan D will be big test - Lincoln Star-Journal

Jackson's goal: To be best DL in country - OC Register
Considering he is on the "watch list" for practically every award a defensive player can gather, maybe it's fitting that Lawrence Jackson is talking big. The USC defensive end has set an ambitious goal for himself.

"I want to be the best defensive lineman in the country," Jackson said. "Obviously, it was my goal every year, even my freshman year, but you kind of have to work yourself up to it."

That's been the theme for the 265-pound redshirt junior. Jackson missed three weeks of training camp recovering from a hip-flexor injury...

Trojans report: Inside slant - CBS Sportsline
The competition at running back is still "wide open," according to coach Pete Carroll, and it might actually be expanding.

There is no shortage of candidates, and all of them have some sort of question mark. C.J. Gable (the starter against Arkansas on Sept. 2), Emmanuel Moody and Allen Bradford are true freshmen. Chauncey Washington is a junior who missed two seasons due to academic ineligibility and has been slowed by a hamstring injury suffered in camp. Junior Desmond Reed is coming back from torn knee ligaments suffered last season.

Another true freshman, Stafon Johnson, closed the gap during off-week practices after not playing against the Razorbacks...

Also, Trojans report: Notes, quotes - CBS Sportsline
Trojans report: Strategy and personnel - CBS Sportsline
Texan Moody Was Hooked on Trojans - LA Times
Tailback Battle Remains Fierce - LA Times

[Whicker] USC's Powdrell pulls his weight, and then some - OC Register
Those tacklers who wear Ryan Powdrell's tire tracks on their backs, helmets and chests this fall will have many people to thank.

They can send their heartfelt gratitude to Saddleback College and the coaching staff therein, which nurtured Powdrell after Fresno State wouldn't admit him.

They can cite the NCAA - "the student-athlete-friendly NCAA," said USC coach Pete Carroll, with a mocking smile - after it restored a year to Powdrell's career that the Trojans staff almost blew.

Mostly, they can shake Powdrell's hand in person, if they dare get close...

Ellis Injures Left Knee - Inland Empire Press-Enterprise
It was just a typical pre-practice walk-through for the USC defensive linemen on Monday. But then, junior nose tackle Sedrick Ellis grabbed his left knee and, after a half-dozen coaches and trainers checked him out, was whisked off the field on a cart.

Ellis, who is 6-foot-1 and 295 pounds, did not return to the field and was scheduled for an MRI exam later Monday.

His availability Saturday for the Trojans' game against 19th-ranked Nebraska (2-0) was unknown Monday evening.

"I think he'll be OK," defensive coordinator and line coach Nick Holt said...

I'm going to San Diego on a secret blog-related mission.

No more posts from me until Monday, at the earliest.

Fight On!

'Sop

Four Downs with Matt Hayes...of The Sporting News - Mobile Register
...A. I'd have Alabama play Southern Cal. They had some great games in years past and it matches two great, traditional programs...

...Q. If you could move a college head coach from one program to another, who would you move and to what school?

A. I'd take Texas' Mack Brown and put him at UCLA so he could recruit head-to-head against Pete Carroll at USC. They're the two best recruiters and it would be interesting to see them work in the same city...

Builder, political activist, humanitarian dies at 90 - Inland Empire Press-Entrerprise
...He earned a journalism degree at USC and later worked at "Western Livestock Journal" magazine.

Mr. Hunter volunteered to join the Marine Corps and served as an artillery officer in the Philippines. Mr. Hunter left the service at the rank of major and returned to Riverside...

...By the early 1950s, he owned a thriving construction business, building extensively in Jurupa...

...Mr. Hunter also worked for such prominent Republications as Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon...

The NFL's Search for El Dorado - Washington Post
...Then there is also Matt Leinart. The former USC star and Heisman Trophy winner grew up in nearby Santa Ana and admitted, after playing his first exhibition game with the Arizona Cardinals, that it was the first NFL game he had ever been to. He was the first of an era of kids since the Rams arrived in 1946 who had grown up in Los Angeles without a local pro football team.

"It's probably why I didn't like football much when I was a kid," he says.

As a child, he'd watch an occasional game, but often with disinterest...

...This is something the league worries about...

"You've lost a generation," said Chadwick, of the coliseum commission...

[Dufresne] THE TIMES' TOP 25 - LA Times
...1. WEST VIRGINIA...2. AUBURN...3. TEXAS...

...4. USC (1-0); Six running backs got the ball against Arkansas but let's not get carried away just yet.

5. OHIO STATE...6. LOUISVILLE...7. NOTRE DAME...8. FLORIDA...9. IOWA...10. LSU...

Also, [Maisel] The Power 16 - ESPN
Athlon 119 - Athlon Sports
[McNulty Ray McNulty deals out his top 25 college football teams - Sebastian Sun
All-Sports Rankings - CNNSI

Trojans report: Strategy and personnel - CBS Sportsline
...PLAYERS TO WATCH
S Taylor Mays -- The true freshman might get a starting role when USC gets back on the field...against Nebraska...he'll have to earn the starting job in practice. "He's a big strong kid who makes plays," said coach Pete Carroll. "He's everything we could have hoped for."

RB Chauncey Washington -- The junior was a bit of an unknown heading into the first game, as he was slowed by a hamstring injury most of camp...Washington ended up rushing for 55 yards on eight carries...

...LB Keith Rivers -- He's an athletic freak who can wreak havoc from his outside linebacker spot. He's in line for major postseason honors this season, and he got off to a great start by earning Pac-10 Player of the Week honors...

Also, Trojans report: Notes, quotes - CBS Sportsline
Trojans report: Inside slant - CBS Sportsline

Sanchez's Debut Also a Success - LA Times
Lost in the hoopla that surrounded John David Booty's impressive performance against Arkansas in his first start was the debut of another USC quarterback.

Redshirt freshman Mark Sanchez took his first snaps midway through the fourth quarter and directed two series. Sanchez's 19-yard pass to freshman receiver Travon Patterson set up USC's last touchdown...

...Though Sanchez played a small role in the opener — he completed one of two passes — he knows he could become prominent in an instant if Booty is injured...

Unity among offense - LA Daily News
The star power might be down, but there's a new feeling of equality among USC's offensive players that has raised morale following the Trojans' first game.

"Eighteen different people touched the ball against Arkansas," wide receiver Chris McFoy said. "This is unheard of at 'SC. It means everyone gets the ball. I'm excited. We're all excited."

McFoy said even though USC is without marquee players Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and LenDale White, there is more unity.

"Oh yes, there is a big difference," McFoy said. "The offense is a unit and works together...

Special teams making great strides from last year - Daily Trojan
Lost amid the glowing reviews for the reloaded offense and reinvigorated defense, USC's special teams reasserted itself against Arkansas after a dreadful 2005 campaign.

In fact, they might have kept the Razorbacks at bay with Mario Danelo's 44-yard field goal to end the first half...

..."What I like most about it is we have a new holder and got through the game just fine. The snapping was great, the holding was great and our line protected good. With all that stuff going good, my job is the easiest part," Danelo said...

[Jahner] No losses is USC's only true option - Daily Trojan
This could get messy. It's just that no one realizes it yet.

It would seem that with Arkansas left battered in the rear-view mirror, USC would find itself in the driver's seat of its BCS title game hopes. And with either Ohio State or Texas destined to hit a pothole in their No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in Austin on Saturday, the No. 3 Trojans should climb a spot during a bye week, putting them in position to finish the season in Glendale, Ariz. for the BCS title game.

Bottom line: USC slips out only if USC slips up.

But in the zodiac of college football, this might be the year of the undefeated. This year could make BCS debacles in 2001, 2003 and 2004 fond memories...Controversy is imminent...

Bradford No Safety - Inland Empire Press-Enterprise
...It's pretty much freshman Taylor Mays' job to lose at this point, but the four others behind him -- Mozique McCurtis, Antwine Perez, Garrett Green and David Buehler -- will get plenty of chances to make a play for it.

Buehler will also remain in the kickoff competition with Troy Van Blarcom and stay as USC's long field goal kicker, if needed.

Just don't pencil in ex-safety Allen Bradford as one of the candidates.

After a bruising day of running the ball at tailback with the first-team offense, the 230-pound freshman from Colton High will not be a candidate...

...Kevin Ellison, the strong safety, knows he'll be partnered with a new teammate when Nebraska comes to town...

Also, Young DBs fight for spot - OC Register

Veteran schools Eagles' rookie - Wilmington News Journal
It happens nearly a dozen times during each Eagles practice.

Defensive end Darren Howard puts a quick move on Winston Justice and closes in on the quarterback in the red jersey.

Thankfully for the quarterback, that jersey absolves him from contact.

But there is nothing to protect Justice from getting served each snap.

Practice after practice. Day after day. Since minicamp began in May.

"It's frustrating," the rookie left tackle admitted. "But I know he's making me a better football player."...