USC Bowls Over UCLA

USC-UCLA Game in Photos

The Trojans, looking for an unprecedented third straight championship, will meet the Texas Longhorns on Jan. 4 in a Pasadena showdown.

By David Wharton, Times Staff Writer

Forget all the hyperbole that swirled around the USC-UCLA football game last week, all the talk of a fierce battle between highly ranked rivals.

On a picture-perfect Saturday afternoon, with the college football world watching, the Trojans showed why they have been ranked No. 1 all season and will now play in the Rose Bowl with a chance at an unprecedented third straight national championship.

They showed it with a dominant offensive line and tailback Reggie Bush twisting, turning and hurdling over tacklers, all of it adding up to a 66-19 victory over No. 11 UCLA before a sellout crowd of 92,000 at the Coliseum.

"We could tell from the get-go," said Bush, who cemented his standing as the Heisman Trophy favorite by rushing for 260 yards and two touchdowns. "If we executed, nobody could stop us."

The victory capped a 12-0 regular season and stretched USC's winning streak to 34 games. Combined with Texas' crushing 70-3 victory over Colorado in the Big 12 championship game, it also clarified the national picture.

No controversy will mar the bowl championship series this year, not with Pasadena playing host to the only undefeated teams in the nation.

The No. 1 Trojans and No. 2 Longhorns will bring high-powered offenses — Texas has its own Heisman candidate in quarterback Vince Young — to a game on Jan. 4 that many fans have anticipated since September.

"This is what we hoped for," USC Coach Pete Carroll said. "Our whole program is about the Rose Bowl."

The loss will probably send UCLA, at 9-2, to the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 30, or possibly the Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Dec. 29.

"I'm disappointed and embarrassed," UCLA quarterback Drew Olson said. "We came in to put up a good fight and the opposite happened."

Not since 1988 had the rivals met with such high rankings and only one loss between them.

It did not take long for USC to set the tone for the afternoon. On the second play from scrimmage, Bush ran right, jittering his way past one tackler and breaking free of another for a 28-yard gain.

That quickly, the crowd was chanting "Reggie, Reggie" and the junior was making another persuasive argument for the Heisman, which will be awarded to college football's best player next weekend.

His team needed a strong running effort because quarterback Matt Leinart — last year's Heisman winner — got off to a rocky start.

Leinart, who eschewed professional football to return for his senior season, was making his final appearance at the Coliseum, and the weight of the day overtook him.

"He was a mess, crying before the game," Carroll said.

The tears continued into his first few plays on the field, and Leinart struggled in the first half before settling down to pass for 233 yards and three touchdowns.

"It was very emotional," Leinart said.

It was that kind of day, fans of both teams arriving hours early, filling the grounds around the stadium with tailgate parties. Excitement over this game had tickets selling for hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars above face value.

By kickoff, the stands were awash in Trojan cardinal, with sections of Bruin blue behind each end zone.

For USC, the victory completed a regular season marked by lopsided victories and heart-stopping comebacks.

The Trojans trailed at Oregon and Arizona State before charging back to win.

"These are games you like being in because it defines character and defines a champion," tailback LenDale White said at the time.

There was more character-building along the way.

At Notre Dame, Leinart capped a last-minute drive by twisting across the goal line on a quarterback sneak in the final seconds, giving his team a 34-31 victory in what is considered the best game of the season.

And two weeks ago, USC barely pulled out a 50-42 victory over Fresno State.

If nothing else, UCLA matched the Trojans for pure drama this fall. The Bruins started the season unranked but scored a string of early wins, including an impressive performance against traditional powerhouse Oklahoma.

Comeback victories over Washington, California and Washington State extended their run, leading to an improbable night at Stanford. The Bruins trailed by three touchdowns with barely seven minutes remaining but scored four rapid-fire touchdowns and won, 30-27, in overtime.

Even after they lost to Arizona, 52-14, the Bruins rebounded to defeat Arizona State and set up this cross-town game.

But there would be no room for theater Saturday, not with USC racing to the early lead, then piling it on.

The defense, which struggled at times this fall, was stifling.

The Trojans held UCLA running back Maurice Drew to 84 yards, sacked Olson five times and forced three fumbles. They stymied a Bruin offense that was scoring 40 points a game this season.

"They just brought it to us," UCLA tight end Marcedes Lewis said.

The offense finished things off. Midway through the third quarter, Leinart passed 15 yards to tight end Fred Davis for a touchdown. Moments later, Drew fumbled and USC cornerback Justin Wyatt grabbed the ball in midair, returning it 38 yards to give his team a 45-6 lead.

The game was all but over as UCLA fans began making their way to the parking lot.

Now USC moves on to a big payday. Like other bowl championship series games, the Rose Bowl offers $14 million to $17 million per team.

The Trojans will receive $1.25 million of that money for expenses and must share the rest with the nine other teams in their conference — including the Bruins. But a trip to the Rose Bowl could pay off in other ways.

"Getting into that game helps them in all kinds of ways," said Jim Muldoon, a conference assistant commissioner. "There's fundraising and lots of other opportunities."

UCLA took a financial hit by losing the game. A victory might have put the team in a bowl championship series game; instead, the Bruins are now looking at sharing a $2-million payout from the Holiday Bowl or $1.5 million from the Sun Bowl.

But no one was talking money after the game, the Bruins trudging off to the locker room as USC players lingered on the field.

Leinart was surrounded by a mob of reporters as Bush played conductor to the marching band. Teammates posed for pictures with fans and waved roses at the crowd.

"We've done it with a little flair, a little bit of drama," Carroll said of this season. "This game was an exclamation point."Gina Ferazzi Los Angeles Times

Bush powers top-ranked USC toward Rose Bowl

ESPN.com

By Ivan Maisel
ESPN.com

LOS ANGELES -- On an afternoon of USC performances stunning in their virtuosity, the Trojans stood out as much for what they lacked as for what they achieved.

The achievements are many: a humiliation of their crosstown rival, No. 11 UCLA, 66-19; a clinching of a place in the Rose Bowl to play No. 2 Texas for the national championship; a stemwinder of a final campaign speech by Heisman Trophy candidate Reggie Bush, who rushed for 260 yards and two touchdowns.

The college football bandwidth will strain to accommodate the words spilled forth describing how the Trojans performed in raising their record to 12-0. But only when you step back and look for what wasn't in the picture at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday can you appreciate how well USC performed.

The Trojans won without quarterback Matt Leinart. Oh, No. 11 was there, all right, but not the quarterback who came into the Coliseum with a starting record of 36-1. Leinart, eyes and brain clouded by the emotions of his final college game, spent the first half doing his best imitation of Rick Ankiel.

"I was a little tighter out there," said Leinart, who rallied in the second half to at least make his numbers respectable (21-40, 233 yards, three touchdowns). "I'm not afraid to let my emotions out. I was off, obviously."

Leinart's guilty plea to showing too much of his inner self underscored the other thing the Trojans lacked Saturday, the one emotion anyone would expect them to experience: a sense of relief.

It would stand to reason that a team that had just won its 34th consecutive game and done nothing more than match expectations would seem world-weary. The weight of winning a third consecutive national championship would sit heavy on the collective shoulders of most college teams.

USC, as it proved again Saturday, is not most college teams.

After the game, Bush stood in front of the USC Band, conducting "Conquest" with a long-stemmed red rose in his teeth, proving once and for all that there is nothing the Trojan tailback cannot do on a football field.

His teammates wore Christmas-morning smiles as if they had been issued along with shoulder pads and mouthpieces.

"It's like an ice-cream sundae," said senior Deuce Lutui, a Tongan lei adorned with rose stickers around his neck. "It tastes good."

On the field, walking aimlessly, waving two fingers above his head in time with the march, coach Pete Carroll walked over to an acquaintance and said, "Why would you want to leave the field right now? Where would you go?"

If you were UCLA, of course, you couldn't leave fast enough. The Bruins were held to 275 total yards and avoided a season-low in points only by scoring two touchdowns against the Trojan backups in the final four minutes of the game.

"I'm disappointed and embarrassed," senior quarterback Drew Olson said. "We came in to put up a good fight, and the opposite happened."

But back to Carroll. It is Carroll who is the source of this inner peace. It is the coach who manages to mix enthusiasm, perspective and a competitive spirit that hones the Trojans in on their objective with a laser-like focus.

"We proudly accept the invitation to the Rose Bowl," Carroll said in the press conference after the game. "It's everything we hope for in our program, to own the Rose Bowl. To have earned [the invitation] today, that's where we want to go. There ain't nothing better. I'm really proud of that."

The Trojans won with stunning ease. Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin began assembling his gameplan with the Pacific-10 Conference statistics in hand. The Bruins came into the Coliseum last in the league in rushing defense, allowing 219.5 yards per game.

"To come out and run the first seven plays, we really felt good about our matchups in the run game," Kiffin said.

The Trojans finished with 430 rushing yards. Junior LenDale White, sore shoulder and all, rushed for 154 yards and two touchdowns. The Trojans' offensive performance in general, and Bush's in particular, again proved their unparalleled versatility. Keep in mind this is the same team that threw on the first eight plays in its previous game, the 50-42 victory over Fresno State.

USC's offensive line, with three all-conference starters, swallowed the Bruins' defensive front whole. Sometimes, holes are the width of doorways. Sometimes, they are the width of garage doorways.

"We liked our center (All-Pac-10 junior Ryan Kalil) on their true freshman nose tackle (Chase Moline)," Kiffin said. "We ran the inside zone play at him. We kept running the tackle trap. The back side guard knocks him down and creates a big hole. That's the play Reggie ran for 65 yards on third-and-12."

Kiffin referred to the first play of the second quarter. The Trojans, leading 10-0, were backed up on their own 3. The UCLA defenders, like the preceding 11 teams to play USC, failed to discern from video study how fast Bush is.

Attention, Texas: whatever angle you think is appropriate to cut Bush off at the sideline, drop it five yards deeper.

UCLA free safety Dennis Keyes found that out the hard way on the play Kiffin brought up. Bush broke outside to his left, taking the play outside. Keyes took his angle and never laid a finger on Bush, who took off down the sideline to the UCLA 32. Six plays later, the Trojans led, 17-0.

With 3:24 left in the first quarter, Bush had his eighth 100-yard game of the season.

With 3:00 left in the second quarter, Bush had his second 100-yard quarter of the afternoon.

So, Reggie, how easy was it?

"On a scale of 1 to 10? Ten," he said, grinning. "It was. The O-line did a great job today. It's really about what they were able to do up front. They were able to run over them and the wide receivers were able to keep the defensive backs and the safeties out of our faces."

In the middle of Bush's press conference, Leinart walked in the door to join him. Someone asked Bush, "What did this do for the Heisman?" Leinart, without pausing as he climbed into his chair said, "It won it for him."

The junior finished the regular season with 1,658 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. Though his stepfather, LaMar Griffin, told ABC that it was time for Bush to take his game to the next level, Bush made no such pronouncements. He is aware of the joy Leinart experienced by returning for his senior season.

"First and foremost, it's what he feels," Leinart said. "It's what he wants to do. Try not to let everyone persuade your decision. You get a lot of advice from both sides."

Later, in the locker room, Bush said watching Leinart this season made him understand the benefits of returning.

"College football is so fun right now," Bush said. "Everybody is enjoying it. You only get to go to college once. I think about that. We'll see."

Now comes 10 days of award shows and banquets. Then the practices will begin. From the day the first preseason rankings came out last summer, USC and Texas have been an arranged marriage, scheduled for Jan. 4 in the western cathedral of college football. After two seasons of BCS upheaval, all is right. The two best teams in the country will play for the national championship in the Rose Bowl.

"It took a long time to get this right," USC guard Fred Matua said. "There's not another team who can think that it should be playing. Everyone is happy now. The South is happy. The West is happy. Let's get it on."

Ivan Maisel is a senior writer at ESPN.com. He can be reached at ivan.maisel@espn3.com.

USC's Leinart a quarterback to 'die' for

MSNBC.com

QB didn't have best game vs. UCLA, but that doesn't blemish his 37-1 record

COMMENTARY
By Michael Ventre
NBCSports.com contributor
Updated: 12:52 a.m. ET Dec. 4, 2005

He overthrew receivers. He stumbled and fell twice, once losing the football. He didn’t look like a Heisman Trophy winner, or a finalist, or even a “others receiving votes.”

His final numbers were solid, but hardly breathtaking – 21 of 40 for 233 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions, but thanks to a sharper second half, they look a lot more attractive than they could have.

But with Matt Leinart, the only number you really have to focus on is this one: 37-1.

That’s 37 victories and one loss as a starting quarterback at USC. That stat was polished Saturday when USC pulverized cross-town rival UCLA, 66-19, to earn a Rose Bowl berth and a confrontation with Texas for an unprecedented third straight national title in the modern era.

“Matt had a hard time today,” USC head coach Pete Carroll said after the senior quarterback, who shocked the sports world by passing up the last NFL draft, played his final game at the L.A. Coliseum. “He was so emotional. Teary and crying. He was a mess early in the game.

“He didn’t get a chance to warm up because of the way the introductions went. He came out … tight the first quarter. He was trying to maximize the moment.”

This particular game belonged to Reggie Bush. The human sports car ran in, around and through UCLA’s silky thin defense for 262 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns. He had 107 of those yards in the first quarter, 228 at halftime, when the Trojans enjoyed a 31-6 lead and Bruin blue became a mood as well as a color.

If Bush didn’t abscond with the Heisman after amassing 513 clutch all-purpose yards in a spine-tingler against Fresno State, surely he was awarded custody after Saturday’s performance. USC fans certainly say a prayer that they have Bush — even the non-religious ones. After the game, it was Bush, not Leinart, who stood on a platform and conducted the marching band in the fight song.

But there was Leinart in the middle of the torn-up Coliseum turf during the post-game scrum, well-wishers slapping his back, getting a kiss and a hug from his girlfriend, and soaking up the farewell love. Bush is spectacular, and he may be the best ever before he’s through. But in the big picture, it’s foolish to short-change Leinart’s contribution to this mind-blowing run, no matter what the Heisman voters decide this year.

“He may not be the fastest, or throw the farthest ball,” guard Fred Matua explained. “But the guy is a winner. He will do anything it takes to win. I’d rather play for a guy like that, I’d rather block for a quarterback like that, than somebody who throws 80 yards and runs a 4.3 40.

“Mentally it’s a lot better to go into the offensive huddle and know you have a confident player in there.”

Before this season, Leinart’s legacy was secure. Back-to-back titles and a Heisman tend to put a college football player in unassailable territory. But his accomplishments this season, under extreme duress, with every team on the slate taking its best shot, Leinart may have pushed himself among the elite of the elite, despite a relatively pedestrian stat line Saturday.

Afterward, Carroll described him as “a quarterback that everybody would die for.”

At intermission Saturday, Leinart had completed only eight of 20 passes for 68 yards and one touchdown. It didn’t matter, of course, because the USC tandem of Bush and LenDale White (14 carries, 154 yards, two TDs) were like battering rams going through cheesecloth.

But the second half was more like the real Leinart. He completed 13 of 20, including a couple of touchdowns.

Yet the emotions didn’t subside. With less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter, he got into some difficulty and couldn’t find an open receiver. Finally, in desperation, he shoveled the football forward to LenDale White for an 11-yard gain on fourth and eight to keep a drive alive.

After that play, Leinart did something uncharacteristic. He waved his arms, imploring the fans to cheer. Usually Leinart is about as peppy and ebullient as a surfboard, so this was a rare indication that he knew his college career was coming to a close and he was going to savor it.

“I’m not the kind to hold back,” said Leinart, a claim that runs contrary to his public image. “I let the emotions flow.

“Reggie kept saying to me in the huddle, ‘You’re the best quarterback in America.’ I didn’t want to disappoint the fans.”[E/P]

The quarterback is a position of leadership on the field. But not all quarterbacks are leaders. There are intangibles involved, personality traits, the ability to connect with teammates and inspire them to follow.

After Saturday’s rout of the Bruins, there were more than a few wistful comments in the crowded locker room about the Trojans’ leader.

“That’s my guy,” said White, who is a junior but will probably join Leinart and Bush in the next NFL draft. “Me and Matt, we’re friends. Everybody here is like a real family. We do everything together. I hang out at Matt’s house. We go out to eat. We hang out at school, before practice.[E/P]

“I’m gonna miss him a lot. He’s meant a lot to this program. What he’s done for this program means the world.”

Certain people and groups won’t miss him, however. Notre Dame won’t miss him. Oklahoma won’t miss him. At this rate, Texas might not miss him, either. Even UCLA will probably send a town car so he can get to the airport.

But around USC? Fans and teammates are often at a loss for words to describe how much he’ll be missed. It’s probably best to use numbers: 37-1

USC's Bush wins a vote for Heisman

STLtoday - Sports - Columnists

By Bryan Burwell
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
12/03/2005

Some guys win the Heisman Trophy.

Reggie Bush seems to be demanding it.

Every time you see Bush play, you realize that his gaudy numbers matter a lot less than his uncanny athletic genius. Football is a game of contact and hostile collisions, yet Bush is that rare football soloist who turns the violent train wreck into a jazzy artistic improvisation. Everything the dazzling Southern California tailback does is full of pure physical excitement and jaw-dropping freedom of expression. He pirouettes like some lithe dancer, leaps like a world-class hurdler, and takes the stylish space-seeking avoidance skills of Allen Iverson and Earl Monroe from the hardwood to the football turf.

So even as the college football season evolved to reveal a cluster of worthy Heisman candidates like incumbent Matt Leinart, early favorite Vince Young and the surprising Brady Quinn, ultimately they had no chance once the USC junior unleashed his improvisational act on us.

I didn't think it was possible for Bush to follow up his 513-yard explosion of total offense in his last outing with something even more compelling for us to digest. Yet that's exactly what Bush did with a 24-carry, 260-yard masterpiece in a 66-19 victory by two-time defending national champion USC over crosstown rival UCLA on Saturday afternoon in the Los Angeles Coliseum.

He is the ultimate home run hitter who makes you feel that he can - and will - break off a breathless run regardless of down and distance. On six of his rushing attempts against the Bruins, Bush proved down and distance didn't matter, giving us one of the most spectacular season-ending flourishes I can remember.

On second and 7 early in the first quarter, he broke off a 29-yarder. On three first-and-10s, he ripped off gains of more than 10 yards. On a second-and-10, he produced a 23-yard dash. Then on the most memorable play of his dazzling afternoon, at the start of the second quarter when it was only a 10-0 Trojans lead with USC deep in its own territory at its own 3-yard line, Bush took a third-and-10 handoff from his own end zone, veered to the left, hit the corner and burst up the sideline like an Olympic sprinter for 65 yards.

By halftime, he already had 18 carries for 228 yards, two touchdowns and a 12.7-yard average per attempt.

I've been a Heisman voter off and on since 1981. I've voted for the NFL MVP, the Super Bowl MVP, the Final Four's most outstanding player and many more major and minor awards in my 32 years in the business, and no matter how often I am urged to vote early, I stubbornly refuse. There simply is no good reason to do it, because the object is to make sure you are honoring the most deserving candidate.

Yet that doesn't stop some folks from pulling the trigger early. Twelve days before all ballots were due, 11 of the 923 Heisman voters had already cast their ballots, which I just don't understand. The Heisman Trophy Trust, which runs college football's most prestigious award, makes it incredibly convenient for us to wait until the last minute. They send you your ballot with a prepaid, overnight UPS air pouch if you want to submit your ballot in hard copy. In a concession to the Internet age, you can now vote online, which means you can literally delay your vote until the last possible moment (deadline for voting is Wednesday at 5 p.m.).

Yet Reggie Bush gave me a nervous trigger finger. This is the first time I was genuinely tempted to turn in my ballot ahead of time. I actually filled out my ballot (in pencil) last week. I slipped the ballot into the overnight pouch last Monday night, but left it unsealed and sitting on my desk, determined to wait until after the final regular season game of the final college football Saturday was finished.

Saturday, I changed my rules. Sort of.

Midway through the halftime show I cast my ballot online, so technically I did wait until the end of the season, because quite frankly, this game was over before halftime.


bburwell@post-dispatch.com
314-340-8185

Rose Bowl bids for USC, Texas to become official today

Winston-Salem Journal

Southern California and Texas gave the Bowl Championship Series a Rose Bowl nobody can complain about.

After Vince Young and the Longhorns handed Coach Mack Brown his first conference championship yesterday with a 70-3 victory over Colorado in the Big 12 title game, Reggie Bush and Southern Cal made their own emphatic statement, beating UCLA 66-19.

The final BCS standings will be released today and the top two teams play in the Rose Bowl for the national title. The Longhorns and Trojans can rest easy knowing they'll receive bids to BCS title game on Jan. 4 in Pasadena, Calif.

"It's nice to see 1 vs. 2 all year long playing for the national championship," USC quarterback Matt Leinart said. "Two undefeated teams. No controversy this year."

Southern Cal's first two titles have come with some headaches for the BCS. Two years ago the Trojans shared the national title with LSU after being left out of the BCS title game. Last season, the Trojans played Oklahoma in the BCS championship and won the title outright, but unbeaten Auburn said it should have been Southern Cal's opponent in the Orange Bowl.

This year, Southern Cal and Texas have been first and second in the BCS standings all season and headed into the final day of the regular season as the only unbeaten teams left in major-college football.

Young threw three touchdown passes and ran for another for the second-ranked Longhorns, making his case for the Heisman Trophy.

Bush's rebuttal was 260 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 24 carries, helping put the Trojans in position to win a third straight national title.

Penn State was third in the latest BCS standings. The Nittany Lions ended their regular season two weeks ago by clinching the Big Ten's BCS bid and had hoped a slipup by Southern Cal or Texas could send them to the Rose Bowl.

If they were watching yesterday, Coach Joe Paterno's crew didn't get much chance to dream. Both the Trojans and Longhorns were in cruise control by halftime.

By the time the Trojans had polished off the Bruins, only two more automatic bids to the BCS remained to be doled out.

LSU, which was fourth in the BCS standings and also had had hopes of sneaking into the title game, played Georgia in the Southeastern Conference championship game last night. The winner is assured of a spot in the Sugar Bowl.

Virginia Tech, another 10-1 team that had a long-shot chance at reaching the Rose Bowl, played Florida State in the ACC championship game. The winner of the first ACC championship game was guaranteed a spot in the Orange Bowl.

West Virginia will represent the Big East in the BCS no matter what the Mountaineers did against South Florida last night.

The Fiesta, Orange and Sugar bowl pairings will be announced today, along with the two teams to receive at-large bids.

Notre Dame is expected to get one of those at-large bids with Ohio State the front-runner for the other, and Oregon a possibility.

Southern Cal trounces UCLA 66-19

Winston-Salem Journal

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Reggie Bush and No. 1 Southern California, a step away from playing for an unprecedented third-straight BCSnational title, stomped into the championship game by overpowering their crosstown rivals yesterday.

Bush ran for 260 yards and two touchdowns in a 66-19 victory over No. 12 UCLA, the 34th consecutive win for the top-ranked Trojans and 16th straight against ranked opponents.

Now only Texas stands between Southern Cal (12-0, 8-0 Pac-10) and a perfect season.

"This is the type of season we wanted from Day One," Bush said. "This is the type of season we envisioned. We were able to make it come true, it's great feeling."

Just about the time that the unbeaten and second-ranked Longhorns were wrapping up a 70-3 victory over Colorado in the Big 12 title game that will send them to the Rose Bowl, Southern Cal was starting its own victory march to Pasadena.

The festivities at the Coliseum started with a warm farewell to a senior class that's been part of one of the greatest dynasties in college-football history. Matt Leinart, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, was last to be honored with a long standing ovation before Southern Cal and UCLA played for the 75th time.

From there it was Bush's day.

Southern Cal, playing against the 115th-ranked run defense in the country, made its intentions clear for the start. Keep it simple and let Bush put a punctuation mark on his Heisman campaign. No doubt both Bush and Leinart will be in New York next Saturday when the bronze trophy is handed out. And after the way that Bush finished the regular season, it certainly seems as if it's his turn hold the hardware.

"Reggie's got my vote," Leinart said.

On the second play from scrimmage, Bush raced off tackle for 28 yards. Southern Cal drove 70 yards on 16 plays without completing a pass. UCLA (9-2, 6-2) held the Trojans to a 35-yard field goal by Mario Danelo. It was a small victory and one of the few UCLA would be able to chalk up in its seventh straight loss to Southern Cal.

Leinart finished it 21 for 40 for 233 yards with three touchdown passes. But he ran his record as a starter to 37-1 thanks to a running game that piled up 431 yards and a defense that stymied one of the best offenses in the country.

"We were just on fire," Bush said. "We knew we can do whatever we wanted against these guys as long as we execute. Hopefully that confidence will be able to carry over to the Rose Bowl."

Southern Cal was backed up with a third-and-10 at its own 3 at the start of the second quarter, when Bush found a lane off the left end and streaked down the sideline for 65 yards.

That led to a 19-yard touchdown run by Bush's running mate, LenDale White, which made the score 17-0. White finished with 154 yards rushing on 14 carries as Southern Cal went over 300 yards rushing for the fifth time this season. White scored three touchdowns to break Charles White's school record with 54 for his career.

UCLA fumbled the ensuing kickoff away to Southern Cal and Bush, who carried 24 times, went back to work.

He hurdled over a tackler for a 13-yard touchdown to make the score 24-0, and later slipped a UCLA defender in the backfield and scored from 10 yards out to put Southern Cal up 31-6 at the half.

Bush's latest jaw-dropping performance came two weeks after he set a school-record with 513 all-purpose yards, a career-high 295 rushing, in a thrilling 50-42 victory over Fresno State.

In an up-and-down season for the Southern Cal defense, the Fresno State game was a low point. Yesterday, defensive end Lawrence Jackson and his crew responded with their best performance of the season.

Seahawks Huddle :College bowl games: Who you got?

Seahawks Huddle

USC (BCS No. 1) vs. Texas (BCS No. 2)

This game will not match the hype. USC will blow out Texas. Mack Brown will be outcoached, the Trojans will 3-peat.

I like a lot of Texas' players. Rodrique Wright IMO is better than Marcus Tubbs, Michael Huff is a solid DB, Limas Sweed is a future star WR, but it will not be enough to stop SC.

USC wins, but the dynasty ends this year with Leinart, Bush, White, and Darnell Bing moving on to the NFL. I expect California to take the Pac-10 title next year. As for Texas, they should be in for the title hunt next year with Vince Young returning to college.

Florida State (BCS) vs. Penn State (BCS)

The ole' ball coach Bobby Bowden vs JoePa!! JoePa can climb back in the race for most wins for a college head coach and catch up with Bowden who has 2 more wins?

Anyway, BORING matchup, I would have much rather see Va Tech. FSU is not very good. I expect them to be VERY good next year, but this year they are overmatched against Penn State, who will win a close game.

Georgia (BCS) vs. West Virginia (BCS)

YAWN! The Big East does not deserve a BCS bid. Georgia should win because the game is in Atlanta, but I don't really care who wins this boring matchup. Only reason I might watch is because of D.J. Shockley, which makes me wonder how David Greene started over him. zzz

Notre Dame (BCS) vs. Ohio State (BCS)

Sweet matchup. Notre Dame is loaded on offense with future NFL stars in Brady Quinn, Darius Walker, Jeff Samardzija, and Maurice Stovall, but Ohio State is a better team with just as much talent, and more leadership.

Ohio State wins

Bush's campaign ends in a landslide

Bush's campaign ends in a landslide

The Heisman Trophy candidate leads USC past UCLA and into the national title game

Sunday, December 04, 2005
KEN GOE

LOS ANGELES -- When it was over, with UCLA in ruins, Reggie Bush mounted the stepladder in front of the packed USC student section to conduct the band.

The students roared and the night lit up with hundreds of camera flashes. On the ladder, in the moment, Bush's smile was electric.

"I was really soaking it in," he said. "People would kill to be in my shoes right now. I'm just enjoying this whole experience of being a Trojan, here, in this program. It's everything anybody could dream of."

Bush made his case to Heisman Trophy voters while rushing for 260 yards to lead No. 1 USC to a 66-19 victory over No. 11 UCLA on Saturday in the Pacific-10 Conference regular season finale before 92,000 at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

He had 185 yards less than two minutes into the second quarter as the Trojans (12-0, 8-0) cleared the decks for a highly anticipated Rose Bowl matchup Jan. 4 with No. 2 Texas for college football's national championship.

Any lingering doubts about whether those are the country's top two teams evaporated Saturday, with USC's 47-point victory over UCLA (9-2, 6-2) and the Longhorns' 70-3 victory over Colorado in the Big 12 Conference title game.

The Heisman will be awarded next Saturday, and what more could Bush do?

"Reggie's got my vote," said USC quarterback Matt Leinart, who has a ballot because he won the award last year. "That's in all honesty. He's a great player, and he deserves it."

The Trojans featured Bush early, in part because the UCLA run defense entered the game as the worst in the conference, and in part because Leinart was an emotional mess.

Leinart turned down the chance to earn big money in the NFL to return to USC for his senior season. He was the last player introduced as part of the Trojans' pregame senior day festivities, and the tears started before he emerged from the coliseum tunnel into the sunshine to a thunderous ovation.

His eyes still were welling when he went out for the coin toss, and he couldn't stop it.

"He was crying through the first two series of the game," USC offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin said. "It's not easy to try to throw with tears in your eyes. So he was off. We tried to get him calmed down, but we couldn't get him calmed down until halftime."

That was a problem. So was the length of the senior introductions, which didn't give Leinart a chance to adequately warm up. He missed with his first four passes and was four for his first 13.

The normally potent USC passing game stalled while Leinart was high and wild -- not that it mattered, since Bush and fellow tailback LenDale White ran at will.

The Trojans' most impressive drive came on their third possession, after UCLA punter Aaron Perez pinned them at their 3. They were facing third and 10 from there when Bush took a handoff, started left, veered wide, turned the end and raced for 65 yards.

Moments later, White got the touchdown by bolting 19 yards through a huge hole in the middle of the line. USC had gone 97 yards in eight plays without completing a pass.

UCLA's Kahlil Bell fumbled trying to return USC's squib kickoff, Josh Pinkard recovered for the Trojans at the UCLA 41, and USC was back in business.

This time Bush scored, going 13 yards and hurdling Marcus Cassel to get to the end zone. Now it was 24-0, and the game had gotten away from the Bruins.

"We played catch-up with the offense, and that's a difficult task," UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said.

When Leinart got a grip on his emotions and began throwing accurately, it became impossible. The only suspense involved whether this was going to be more one-sided than USC's 76-0 victory in 1929, the largest margin of victory in the series.

But USC coach Pete Carroll pulled Bush early and dramatically called time to take out Leinart with 12:21 left. The crowd gave Leinart a standing ovation as he left the field.

"It worked out beautifully," Carroll said. "You could see the surprise on his face."

The Bruins' two touchdowns came late, which actually makes the final score look closer than the game was. The statistics tell the story. White rushed for 154 yards, and the Trojans ran for 430 as a team. They had 679 yards total offense; UCLA had 275.

"We proudly accept the invitation to the Rose Bowl," Carroll said. "We're excited for that because it's everything we've lived for. That's our goal. There ain't nothing better."

Trojans just too much for Bruins to bear

AMERICAN-STATESMAN

By John Maher
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, December 04, 2005

LOS ANGELES — This was not the official Pac-10 championship game. It just looked like it.

The much-awaited crosstown showdown between Southern California and UCLA quickly turned into a rout, a 66-19 drubbing that resembled the mismatched Big 12 title game in Houston.

The outcome, and probably the Heisman Trophy winner, were decided by halftime, at which point USC's Reggie Bush had already run for more than 200 yards. The lopsided result just gave most of the 92,000 fans more time to savor an upcoming Rose Bowl that will pit No. 1-ranked USC and its 34-game winning streak against an unbeaten Texas team.

"It's so awesome to be going to the Rose Bowl," said USC Coach Pete Carroll. "This game was an exclamation point to our 12-game run."

Bush, who ended his game conducting the Trojan band with a rose, said that on a scale of 1 to 10 the USC offense was a perfect 10.

"We were on fire," said Bush, who finished with 260 yards rushing and two scores. Of the Texas-Colorado game he added, "I heard that they were winning 70 to whatever, but that had no effect on what we were trying to do."

It certainly looked like USC was trying to send a message to Texas as well as let UCLA know who owns L.A. That streak is now seven and counting for the Trojans, and this was one of the most emphatic wins in the series.

Behind Bush and 1,000-yard backup LenDale White, USC outrushed UCLA 430 yards to 129. In spite of a slow start in the air, USC won that battle, too, 249-146.

As for the Heisman Trophy, Trojans quarterback Matt Leinart, last year's recipient, said of Bush: "He's the winner . . . He's got my vote."

Many thought it was already Bush's Heisman to lose, but that was before Fresno State, the team Bush previously staggered for 513 all-purpose yards, was upset for the second straight game, this time by Louisiana Tech on Friday night. That also was before Texas' demolition of Colorado in Houston and another great game by Longhorn quarterback Vince Young. So Bush probably needed to do more than coast to remain the front-runner.

He started his highlight reel on the very first drive at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, drawing ooohs when he avoided a charging Marcus Cassel like the UCLA cornerback was some hedge to be hurdled. Bush had a 100-yard rushing game, his eighth of the season, before the first quarter was over.

As the second quarter opened with the Trojans pinned near their own end zone and Leinart still overthrowing everyone in sight, Bush broke a third-and-long play for 65 yards. That set up a touchdown run by the bigger, but deceptively fast White.

After UCLA fumbled the ensuing, ugly pooch kickoff that USC tried for the third straight time, Bush scored on a 13-yard touchdown run, once again soaring over Cassel, who managed to knick him just enough to draw more gasps from the USC crowd and create yet another highlight.

Leinart, meanwhile, all but withdrew from the Heisman race. For an entire half he was uncharacteristically wild, sailing balls high to even the tallest, most wide-open receivers. The only plus for USC was that the passes were typically way over the head of the UCLA defenders as well.

"He was a mess," Carroll said with a laugh.

Carroll said that for his last home game, an emotional Leinart was tearing up and that he came out tight. Leinart agreed but said, "I settled down in the second half."

He finished with 233 yards passing and three touchdowns, although it took him 40 passes to get 21 completions. The only other weakness for the Trojans appeared to be the kicking game.

While the Trojans avoided punting problems by scoring at will, they pretty much conceded that they wanted no part of the Bruins' elusive Maurice Drew on kickoff returns. Even when they had the wind the Trojans still stubbed, popped up, grounded or shanked kickoffs on purpose.

The much-maligned USC defense, however, completely shut down UCLA's offense, which had been ranked fifth in scoring in the NCAA. UCLA quarterback Drew Olson had thrown 30 touchdown passes before this game, but on Saturday he rarely got a shot at the red zone.

The game was a huge event. Traffic was snarled more than four hours before the game as tailgaters headed for their preferred spots. Most USC fans were relaxed, having seen their team win 33 games in a row. A few tailgate televisions, turned to the earlier Texas-Colorado game, blared.

Saturday's game didn't match the setting or the hype, but a Rose Bowl matching two unbeaten, scorching-hot teams just might.

It may have looked easy, but USC's run is remarkable

SI.com - Stewart Mandel

LOS ANGELES -- Four months ago, the USC Trojans opened camp for the 2005 season facing some of the loftiest expectations ever to be placed on a college football team. They were to not only win all their games, but win them decisively. They were to field not just any offense, but the greatest the sport had ever seen. They were to do what no other team had done before them and capture a third straight Associated Press national title.

Take away a 21-3 halftime deficit here, a last-second quarterback sneak there, and everything's gone pretty much as planned.

The scene at the L.A. Coliseum just after dusk Saturday was exactly the way so many envisioned it back in August. As the clock wound down on a 66-19 whitewashing of another helpless opponent, Reggie Bush accepted congratulatory hugs from his parents, brother and random well-wishers on the USC sideline. Matt Leinart ascended a ladder to conduct the Trojans' band in a rousing rendition of Fight On. Rose stems were passed around the field like candy, a symbol of USC's long-anticipated return to the national title game in Pasadena.

This particular helpless opponent, however, happened to be the No. 11 team in the country, arch-rival UCLA (9-1). And the bludgeoning took place on the same field where, just two weeks earlier, USC found itself in a fight to the finish with WAC opponent Fresno State.

Which is why you'll have a hard time convincing anyone in the Trojans' locker room that Saturday's win -- or any of the others in this near-historic run -- was easy.

"Every year it gets harder," said Leinart, an admitted emotional wreck in the early portion of Senior Day, overthrowing one open receiver after another before settling down to throw for his customary 214 yards and three touchdowns. "We take everyone's best shot week-in and week-out, but we proved again what kind of team we are."

As it was preordained, season-long No. 1 USC will once again meet the season-long No. 2 team, Texas, for all the marbles, just as it did Oklahoma in last year's Orange Bowl. Surprisingly, Trojans coaches and players weren't talking much after Saturday's game about the Longhorns -- who conducted their own impressive butt-kicking against Colorado in the Big 12 title game.

"We've got a month before our next game; we're not worrying about that right now," said USC guard Fred Matua. "This is history we're part of. We worked hard all year and it's nice to be able to sit back and put things in perspective."

Say what you want about the level of competition or USC's seemingly endless stockpile of talent. The reality is, in an era when it's harder than ever before for powerhouse programs to remain consistently dominant (see Nebraska, Florida State, et al.), the Trojans are a win away from attaining an achievement of epic proportions. USC only makes it look easy; in reality, a third-straight national title, in this day and age, would be as hard a feat as they come.

You wouldn't have guessed it Saturday, however, when USC asserted its superiority from nearly the opening kickoff in what was unquestionably their most complete performance of the season. Making no secret of their intention to run right at the nation's 115th-ranked rushing defense, the Trojans handed off to Bush or LenDale White on each of their first seven plays. On his second carry, Bush broke outside for a 28-yard gain. On USC's second series, he went for 23. On the third, he raced 65 yards down the left sideline, and you knew it was going to be another huge day for the Trojans' offense.

In his Heisman crescendo, Bush had 228 yards and two touchdowns by halftime -- including two separate plays where he hurdled diving defender Marcus Cassell -- en route to 260 on the day. White added 154 yards and two scores of his own, and USC finished with 679 total yards -- its fifth 600-plus-yard game of the season.

Asked how easy it was running behind the Trojans' overpowering offensive line Saturday, Bush replied, "On a scale of 1 to 10? Ten."

USC's offense had been cruising at 10 nearly the entire season, averaging a staggering 580 yards per game, and is on pace to become the first team since 1945 to finish in the top four nationally in both rushing and passing. Saturday, the Trojans eclipsed a Pac-10 record that had stood since 1929 by scoring their 76th touchdown of the season (and eventually upping their total to 82). A 35-point outburst in the middle of the game marked the 13th time this season USC has scored at least 20 unanswered points.

What made this game different from so many others in '05, however, was that the offense didn't have to carry the Trojans. Two weeks removed from allowing 42 points to Fresno State, the Trojans' defense manhandled the nation's most efficient passer, Drew Olson, sacking him five times and limiting him to 146 passing yards. Even USC's oft-criticized special teams rose to the occasion, intentionally using short kickoffs to limit Bruins star Maurice Drew to two returns for 13 yards, while also forcing a fumble on one UCLA kick return and returning a late onside kick almost all the way to the end zone.

"All I heard about all week was how our defense was going to get whipped," said USC coach Pete Carroll. "We did all right."

Carroll was beaming with pride afterward -- even more so than usual for him -- because he, more than anyone, knows what it took for the Trojans to return to this position. He heard the critics last offseason who questioned the potential impact of losing four assistant coaches, including renowned offensive coordinator Norm Chow and defensive line coach Ed Orgeron. Or those who wondered how the Trojans' front seven would stack up without four departed All-Americas. Carroll watched as six different defensive starters missed games with injuries, a couple for most of the season.

But most of all, he was on the sideline when his team trailed Arizona State by 18, faced a do-or-die fourth-and-9 at Notre Dame and found itself in a shootout with a pesky Fresno State team.

"We've done everything we could do to this point," said Carroll. "We've done it with a little bit of flair, a little bit of drama. Today was just an exclamation point to the whole 12-game run."

The ultimate exclamation point will require one more win.

Recruits spotted at USC vs UCLA game

www.scout.com

Allen Bradford
Shareece Wright
Travon Patterson
Terrence Austin
Kenny Rowe (LB Poly junior DE)
Donovan Warren (LB Poly junior CB)
Ryan McFoy
Joshua Tatum
Andre Smith
Garrett Green
Rodney Glass
Sione Fua
Konrad Rueland
Ricky Thenarse
Marshall Jones (Oaks Christian junior DB)
Jimmy Clausen (Oaks Christian junior QB)
Marc Tyler (Oaks Christian junior RB/LB)
Tim Tebow
Michael Goodson
DeMarco Murray
Marcus Sims

Joshua Tatum "They have such great fans at USC. I love it here, everything is just picture perfect and you can't ask for anything more. The defense was definitely impressive. My host on the trip is Ryan Powdrell, I asked for him as my host because he's a guy who hasn't been a star or anything like that on the team and I wanted to get his perspective on things. It has just been a beautiful time."

Andre Smith "It was exciting, I thought the game would be closer but with SC being a powerhouse they pulled it off. It was so loud and intense at the game, that was my first look at West Coast football and it was a really great game. The thing I've been impressed with the most is the camaraderie on the SC team, it seems like all the guys are really together. I came out here with my mom for the visit and my hosts are Rashaad Goodrum and Kyle Moore."

Shareece Wright "They stopped them. USC kept the ball away from Maurice Drew and that was real smart. In the end, USC was just too fast for them."

Allen Bradford "I thought it would be a good game, I didn't think it would be a blowout. Of all the schools I've seen I haven't seen a coaching staff that prepares like USC does. My host yesterday was Michael Coleman when I arrived for my visit but I'm supposed to get another one tonight. I got to meet all the guys like Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart so that was cool."

Michael Goodson "They are something else, putting up 66 points is amazing. The coaches are for real and with the way they have things going it definitely gives you something to think about. The team just really gels together and they are a family."

* Derrick Hill missed his plane flight so he was not on the visit. Aleric Mullins was a late cancellation and he is scheduled to visit in early January.

They made their point

Instant Analysis - UCLA vs. USC

Matthew Zemek

Amidst the sexiness of the Song Girls and the flash-and-dash of L.A., the two-time defending national champions reminded UCLA and the rest of the college football world of one very simple reality on a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon: they can and will punch you in the mouth. Hard. Until you give up. Until you submit to the force of a gridiron colossus that finds itself in a second-straight BCS title game.

Yes, Reggie Bush ran wild against the Bruins--the Heisman contender did nothing to detract from his status as the frontrunner according to the fickle winds of conventional wisdom. But with that having been said, viewing Bush as the difference-maker on this USC team is a classic case of valuing style over substance. If you want to look to the soul of this USC team, go in the trenches where the big uglies reside.

Matua. Lutui. Kalil. Baker. Justice. These five men didn't need a passing game; didn't need an effective Matt Leinart; didn't need creative play-calling; and didn't need any outside luck to bash UCLA's defense into submission, play after punishing play. It was a bloodbath in the old Coliseum, as the nation of Troy recalled the days when the Roman Empire devoured physically inferior opposition with legendary ruthlessness and power. And the principal agents of this Trojan conquest were those five gladiators up front, who came, saw and conquered in a game so markedly different from USC's narrow houdini in Pasadena last December.

Matt Leinart played poorly in the first half, a result of a huge Senior Day adrenaline rush the college football legend wasn't able to contain. USC's receivers--who will be the biggest key for the Trojans when they play Texas on January 4--still couldn't impose their will on the Bruins' corners. Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian were insistent on using the ground game... even in long-yardage situations, and even with a nonexistent passing attack.

And it didn't matter. Not one bit.

Regardless of the down and distance, and removed from the struggles of USC's passing game, one thing about this lopsided game remained constant from its first moment to the bitter end: when USC decided to run, UCLA couldn't do thing one to stop a dominant offensive line from bludgeoning a soft and rusty defense to death. Bush amazed with his leaps and juke moves, but the stud running back--one of the most electrifying in the long and storied history of college football--wouldn't have been able to initially get into the clear (as has been the case all season long) if his hosses up front hadn't been able to obliterate their opposite numbers.

Aside of the overwhelming display from USC's offensive front, the Trojans showed something else in this game that impressed a lot of observers: their defense punched UCLA in the mouth as well.

Pete Carroll was disappointed in his own defensive coaching and play calling after the Fresno State game, and in the subsequent two weeks, he obviously fixed a lot of problems. The Trojans' defense flew to the ball in a smothering, suffocating performance. Maurice Jones-Drew, who had a seemingly free run through other Pac-10 defenses this year, met a stiff wall of resistance on Saturday. Vaunted UCLA tight end Mercedes Lewis got summarily shut down. And Drew Olson got pounded while failing to make big plays with his vertical passing game. USC was able to physically dominate UCLA without giving up home-run plays on any occasion. The dominance in the trenches in this game didn't just belong to USC's offense; Pete Carroll's defense was just as authoritative. While the Bruins wouldn't have been able to beat Troy with the way USC blocked for Reggie Bush, the boys from Westwood still figured to remain competitive based on the strength of their offense. But with USC dominating up front on defense, this game ceased being interesting well before halftime.

In the last home game for Matt Leinart and, in all probability, Reggie Bush, USC's full collection of seniors and last-year players couldn't have written a better Hollywood script. A team that wanted to finish off a second straight unbeaten regular season and advance to the Rose Bowl also wanted to do something else: to make the Bruins look bad. A year after overlooking the Bruins in a shaky five-point win, Troy wanted to make a statement against its in-city rival across the freeway. USC fullback Brandon Hancock called the Bruins "pansies" in the week before kickoff, an indication that the Trojans view UCLA in much lower esteem than Notre Dame, the team that nearly ruined this dream season for college football's preeminent program. After making UCLA's exceptional 9-2 season seem as hollow as a 9-2 season can be, the Trojans--before they play in UCLA's home stadium in a month--will savor the personally satisfying nature of this particular triumph.

Texas can wait a little while. For this afternoon, USC settled some old scores, won another on-campus home game, dusted off the powder-blue enemy, won an outright Pac-10 title, sustained all its streaks, and sent Matt Leinart out a winner.

Not bad for a day's work in the life of college football's Roman Empire. This latest conquest of UCLA was a ruthless display Julius Caesar would surely have approved of.

Leinart shaky on Senior Day, but wins anyway

MSNBC.com

LOS ANGELES - Matt Leinart tripped over his own feet for a 9-yard loss.

He fumbled the ball away after getting tangled with one of his lineman’s legs.

And he threw high and wide, over and over, in a shaky first half during his final home game at Southern California.

As usual, though, the 6-foot-5 senior wound up on the winning side as the top-ranked Trojans trounced UCLA 66-19 Saturday.

Leinart, the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner, is 37-1 in three years as USC’s starting quarterback with one game remaining — against No. 2 Texas in the Rose Bowl game Jan. 4. A victory over the Longhorns would mean an unprecedented third straight national championship for the Trojans.

Leinart was the last player introduced on Senior Day at the Los Angeles Coliseum beforehand, and trotted onto the field to a standing ovation. Four days earlier, he spoke of the emotions he would probably be feeling at that point.

No telling whether that had anything to do with what followed, but he began the day with five incompletions.

Not that the sluggish start mattered.

The Trojans’ game plan was obvious from the outset — run the ball against one of the most porous defenses in the country, which entered allowing an average of 219.5 rushing yards per game.

And run the ball the USC did, on its first seven plays. With explosive Reggie Bush and hard-driving LenDale White leading the way, the Trojans had 307 rushing yards by halftime and led 31-6.

Leinart was just 8-of-20 for 68 yards at that stage. He lost his footing at the UCLA 4-yard line early in the second quarter, stumbling and falling at the 13. But Bush ran for the first of his two touchdowns on the next play.

On USC’s next possession, with the Trojans leading 24-3, Leinart fumbled the snap and Justin London recovered, setting up a second UCLA field goal. But that was basically it for the 11th-ranked Bruins.

Leinart performed much better in the second half, and by the time he left the game with 12:21 remaining and the Trojans leading 52-6, he had completed 21-of-40 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns without being intercepted. He also caught the second pass of his career, making an 11-yard reception from roommate Dwayne Jarrett.

USC was in possession at the UCLA 13 when the Trojans called time just to give Leinart an opportunity to leave the game and be acknowledged by the partisan crowd of 92,000. He hugged his teammates on his last trip to the Coliseum sideline.

Leinart is virtually assured of being in New York next weekend as a Heisman finalist again, although Bush is acknowledged to be the favorite. If Bush wins, it’ll give USC three different Heisman trophy winners in four years — Carson Palmer won in 2002.

USC M.Lienart/R.Bush = OU J.White/A.Peterson - www.scout.com

www.scout.com

I got this interesting read from an Ohio State Buckeye fan over on the WeAreSC.com forums. Read on, even Sooner fans should get a laugh out of this one!

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Reggie Bush would be just another average RB if it wasn't for SR,QB Lienart and the USC Passing Attack to open up those WIDE OPEN running lanes.

Just like when Adrian Peterson arrived at OU as a true freshman and went off for over 1,900+ yards. AP benefited greatly from 6th year veteran QB,J.White and the OU Passing Attack to open up huge running lanes.

Look at AP's performance this season without a senior QB in J.White and a potent Passing Attack to spread the field and open up all those running lanes.

Reggie Bush is nothing special without M.Lienart and a potent passing game to open up those running lanes.

Say what you want about Mo Clarett, but during tosu's 14-0 2002 NC season, Clarett didn't have a great o-line and a great passing QB capable of a potent passing attack to count on to help open up those running lanes. Clarett at 6,230lb had go against defenses loading the box 80% of the time that were always playing the run because of tosu's impotent passing attack and running QB in Craig Krenzel.
Clarett had to create his own running lanes unlike Bush and Peterson.

NoWay R.Bush deserves the Heisman

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Trojans are Smelling Roses!

Southern California's Dwayne Jarrett (8) and Steve Smith celebrate Jarrett's first-quarter touchdown on a Matt Leinart pass against UCLA at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Southern California's Reggie Bush, right, holds off UCLA defender Jarrad Page in the first quarter of their game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. (AP Photo/Kim D. Johnson)

Southern California's Matt Leinart looks for a target against UCLA at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. (AP Photo/Kim D. Johnson)

Southern California's Reggie Bush, right, holds off UCLA defender Jarrad Page in the first quarter of their game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. (AP Photo/Kim D. Johnson)

Southern California's head coach Pete Carroll, center, greets his quarterback Matt Leinart as he leaves the game against UCLA in the fourth quarter at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Southern California's quarterback Matt Leinart, left, and Kyle Williams, center, congratulate LenDale White on his third-quarter touchdown on a Leinart pass against UCLA at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Southern California's LenDale White, right, carries in for a touchdown as UCLA defender Jarrad Page (4) looks on in the third quarter of their game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Southern California fans spell anticipate the Rose Bowl as their Trojans take a commanding lead over UCLA in the third quarter at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. A win would assure the Trojans a trip to the Rose Bowl. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

UCLA quarterback Drew Olson is hauled down by Southern California's Sedrick Ellis as he fails to scramble for a first down in the third quarter at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Southern California's Reggie Bush, left, rushes past UCLA defender Rodney Van for a 13-yard touchdown during the first half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. (AP Photo/Kim D. Johnson)

Southern California's LenDale White (21) rushes for 19 yards and a touchdown against UCLA defenders Marcus Cassel (15) and Jarrad Page in the second quarter of their game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. (AP Photo/Kim D. Johnson)

Southern California's head coach Pete Carroll, right, congratulates players Reggie Bush, center, and quarterback Matt Leinart after Bush rushed for a Trojan touchdown in the second quarter against UCLA at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Southern California's head coach Pete Carroll cheers on his team as they play UCLA at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Southern California's Reggie Bush leaps over UCLA defender Marcus Cassel as he rushes 13 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter of their game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Southern California's Reggie Bush (5) is hauled down by UCLA defenders Michael Norris (22) and Jarrad Page (4) after rushing for 65 yards in the second quarter of their game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Southern California's Dwayne Jarrett, left, carries in an 8-yard Matt Leinart pass as UCLA's Trey Brown defends for a touchdown against UCLA at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Southern California's Reggie Bush (5) rushes against the UCLA Bruins in the first quarter of their game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Southern California's Reggie Bush (5) leaps over UCLA defender Marcus Cassel as he runs for a 9-yard gain in the first quarter of their game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Southern California fans Manuel Hernandez, Sr., left, son Manuel Hernandez, Jr., center, and friend Nick Ponomaroff cheer for their Trojans before the start of their game against the UCLA Bruins at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005. A win for Southern Cal would guarantee a berth in the Rose Bowl. (AP Photo/Kim D. Johnson)

Trojans blast Bruins, punch ticket for Rose Bowl

ESPN.com

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Run, Reggie, run -- all the way to the Rose Bowl.

A step away from playing for a third straight national title, Reggie Bush and No. 1 Southern California stomped into the championship game by overpowering their crosstown rivals Saturday.

Bush ran for 260 yards and two touchdowns in a 66-19 victory over No. 11 UCLA, the 34th consecutive win for the top-ranked Trojans and 16th straight against a ranked opponent.

Now only Texas stands between USC (12-0, 8-0 Pac-10) and a perfectly historic season.

Just about the time the unbeaten and second-ranked Longhorns were wrapping up a 70-3 victory over Colorado in the Big 12 title game that will send them to the Rose Bowl, USC was starting its own victory march to Pasadena.

The Bowl Championship Series will make it official on Sunday: Trojans vs. Longhorns on Jan. 4 in the national title game.

The festivities at the Coliseum started with a warm farewell to a senior class that's been part of one of the greatest dynasties in college football history. Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart was last to be honored with a long standing ovation before USC and UCLA played for the 75th time.

From there, it was Bush's day.

Against the 115th-ranked run defense in the country, USC made its intentions clear for the start. Keep it simple and let Bush put a punctuation mark on his Heisman campaign. No doubt both Bush and Leinart will be in New York next Saturday when the big bronze trophy is handed out. And after the way Bush finished off the regular season, it certainly seems like it's his turn hold the hardware.

On the second play from scrimmage, Bush zipped off tackle for 28 yards. USC ended up driving 70 yards on 16 plays without completing a pass. UCLA (9-2, 6-2) held the Trojans to a 35-yard field goal by Mario Danelo. It was a small victory and one of the few UCLA would be able to chalk up in its seventh straight loss to USC.

Leinart started the game 0-for-5, looking overanxious in his final home game. He finished it 21-for-40 for 233 yards with three touchdown passes. More importantly, though, he ran his record as a starter to 37-1 thanks to a running game that piled up 431 yards and a defense that stymied one of the best offenses in the country.

USC was backed up with a third-and-10 at its own 3 at the start of the second quarter, when Bush found a huge lane off the left end and streaked down the sideline for 65 yards.

That led to a 19-yard touchdown run by Bush's running mate, LenDale White, which made it 17-0. White finished with 154 yards rushing on 14 carries as USC went over 300 yards rushing for the fifth time this season. White, the burly thunder to Bush's lightning, scored three touchdowns to break Charles White's school record with 54 for his career.

UCLA fumbled the ensuing kickoff away to USC and Bush, who carried 24 times, went back to work.

He hurdled over a tackler for a 13-yard score to make it 24-0, and later slipped a UCLA defender in the backfield and scored from 10 yards out to put USC up 31-6 at the half.

Bush's latest jaw-dropping performance came two weeks after he set a school-record with 513 all-purpose yards, a career-high 295 rushing, in a thrilling 50-42 victory over Fresno State.

In an up-and-down season for the USC defense, the Fresno State game was a low point. On Saturday, defensive end Lawrence Jackson and his crew responded with their best performance of the season.

They had five sacks, three by Jackson, held an offense averaging 40 points a game out of the end zone for the first 56 minutes and even scored a TD when Justin Wyatt returned a fumble 38 yards to make it 45-6 in the third quarter.

Drew Olson, the nation's leader in pass efficiency coming in, finished 14-for-32 for 146 yards and a touchdown, and the Bruins entered the fourth quarter with 166 total yards.

Meanwhile, what very well might be the best offense college football has ever seen racked up 679 yards -- with its All-American quarterback having an off day.

USC called a timeout with its offense on the field early in the fourth quarter to give Leinart a chance to receive one more ovation and hugs all around from his teammates, knowing that he's got one more chance to shine.

Texas Comes Up Roses; USC Leads in 4th

ABC News

Texas Is Rose Bowl Bound After 70-3 Romp Over Colorado; USC Leads UCLA 52-6 in Fourth Quarter

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP Sports Writer

Dec 3, 2005 — Texas took care of its BCS business. Now the Longhorns can sit back and wait to see who'll they'll play in the Rose Bowl. Vince Young and No. 2 Texas gave coach Mack Brown his first conference championship Saturday, beating Colorado 70-3 in the Big 12 title game.

The Longhorns can rest easy knowing they'll receive a bid Sunday to the Bowl Championship Series title game at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 4. No. 1 Southern California will be Texas' opponent if the Trojans beat UCLA. USC led the Bruins 52-6 in the fourth quarter.

In Houston, Young threw three touchdown passes as the Longhorns had the game won by halftime. Texas' 42 first-half points set a record for most points in a half of the Big 12 title game.

The final BCS standings are released on Sunday and the top two teams play in the Rose Bowl for the national title.

USC and Texas have been first and second in the BCS standings all season and headed into the final day of the regular season as the only unbeaten teams left in major college football.

Penn State is third in the BCS standings. The Nittany Lions ended their regular season two weeks ago by clinching the Big Ten's BCS bid and could be in line to grab a Rose Bowl bid if USC slips up.

LSU, fourth in the BCS standings, also had hopes of sneaking into the title game. The Tigers played Georgia in the Southeastern Conference championship game Saturday night. The winner is assured of at least a spot in the Sugar Bowl.

Virginia Tech, another 10-1 team with a long-shot chance at reaching the Rose Bowl, played Florida State in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. The winner of the first ACC title game was guaranteed a spot in the Orange Bowl.

USC had already locked up a spot in the BCS before Saturday. Even if the Trojans lost to UCLA, they'd be assured of a spot in the Fiesta Bowl.

West Virginia will represent the Big East in the BCS not matter what the Mountaineers do against South Florida on Saturday night.

The Fiesta, Orange and Sugar bowl pairings will be announced Sunday along with the two team to receive at-large bids.

Notre Dame is expected to get one of those at-large bids with Ohio State the front-runner for the other, and Oregon a possibility.

Title game is USC's to lose if UCLA wins

SignOnSanDiego.com

December 3, 2005

It won't be a crime against Mother Nature; it will be no Exxon Valdez, Chernobyl or Three Mile Island. It won't be an elected public official taking $2.4 million in bribes, no Duke Cunningham. It won't be that serious, because it's sports and would involve something that makes little sense and would make less sense if it were to occur on the campus police blotter.

But, if top-ranked USC loses its football game today to UCLA and drops out of BCS championship contention, then it should be some kind of white-collar, computer-nerd offense. Licenses to Web surf should be taken away. The original Trojans fought a war over less. What was Helen next to college football?

At this point, you might ask, why not Texas? That Texas is No. 2 and also unbeaten, and if the Longhorns lose today to Colorado, they shouldn't slip out of the championship game, either.

Well, I don't think they should, but a case could be made. Texas is playing a 7-4 Colorado team in the Big 12 title game. UCLA is 9-1 and ranked 12th in the country. The Longhorns can't match USC's strength of schedule down the stretch.

But the Trojans will drop like George Bush's confidence ratings if they get themselves beat by their cross-L.A. rivals. The process, because it involves so many people who wouldn't know a football from an eggplant, is about as clear as the Hollywood sky, which makes the whole thing enigmatic. To a point.

So, for the Trojans to fall out of the title picture, what has to happen?

"Lose," says Jerry Palm (CollegeBCS.com), the ranking BCS system guru and maybe the only person alive who can blow some fog from the system. "They'll be at the mercy of the voters. What happens in the polls, when you lose, you drop down below the teams with similar records – the Penn States, Virginia Techs, LSUs and possibly even UCLA.

"If UCLA jumps them, they'll be a goner. Unless Texas gets beat. That game's played first and things could change, depending on what happens to the other schools. But Penn State (already finished) would be ahead of them both."

That's just the thing. The BCS and the polls are about what have you done for me lately. What Palm says probably will happen, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

USC has won 33 consecutive games, so it only would seem fair to the nerds and the voters that, if the Trojans were to lose now, they should sink like a bag of rocks. If the Trojans fail, will this automatically mean Texas and Penn State are the better teams?

"If USC and Texas lose, they're not likely to catch Penn State," Palm says. "But I don't think it's going to happen. I give UCLA a puncher's chance, but UCLA is a team the voters don't respect."

OK, UCLA plays defense like Grenada. But Colorado? The Buffs already have lost to Texas by 25 points, not to mention Nebraska (30-3 a week ago). Colorado also fell to Iowa State the week before, and then the Cyclones – who were beaten by Baylor and Missouri this season – turned around and lost to Kansas.

Sorry. The Big 12 stinks and the SEC doesn't show me much, either. USC beat Arkansas 70-17 earlier this season. LSU, ranked fourth in the BCS – with the SEC title game still to play vs. ranked Georgia – trounced Arkansas 19-17 last Saturday.

So, you're telling me – well, Palm is, and he knows his stuff – that, if USC loses and LSU wins, the Trojans drop below the Tigers in the final BCS poll. It's silly, but it's the BCS, so what can you do? It's all we have. We're stuck with it. They can't help it if they keep screwing it up, using numbers, decimal points and slide rules to figure out which school is playing the best football.

This has nothing to do with the "dream matchup" malarkey, that USC-Texas is the game everyone wants to see. I'm sure that's true, for the most part, unless you're a Penn State, LSU or Virginia Tech fan. It has to do with the best teams playing in the championship game.

From what I've seen, and I've watched too much college football this year, USC and Texas are the best teams, and I don't know if today's outcomes will change my mind.

You can say if USC loses it doesn't deserve to play for the national title. And why is that? Why would Penn State deserve it – because the Nittanies lost earlier in the year and USC didn't? Since when isn't it more impressive to win your first 11 games than your last four, as Penn State has done?

Last time I checked, it was harder to go 11-0 than 4-0.

Trojans coach Pete Carroll is smart. He always pleads ignorance when the BCS is brought up. He doesn't understand it, doesn't seem as though he wants to understand it, so he probably never will understand it.

"I don't have an answer for that; I don't know how it works," he says. "If we win, we take care of business. If we lose, it falls into the system. If you're asking me to politic for it, I won't do that, either."

It worked for Texas coach Mack Brown last year. Politicians can be bribed and voters can be swayed, making the BCS American, at the very least.

Nick Canepa: (619) 293-1397; nick.canepa@uniontrib.com

Marquee Matchup

SI.com - B.J. Schecter

Breakdown

USC has an offense for the ages and that's the main reason the Trojans have won 33 consecutive games, including 26 straight at home. With 513 all-purpose yards in a 50-42 win over Fresno State two weeks ago, Reggie Bush established himself as the Heisman front-runner and he should put up similarly spectacular numbers against UCLA. In last year's 29-24 victory over the Bruins, Bush compiled 335 all-purpose yards, and this year's Bruins D is ranked 115th against the run. Current Heisman Trophy holder Matt Leinart should have no trouble shredding a thin Bruins secondary, and wideout Dwayne Jarrett is no match for UCLA's corners. Back LenDale White (shoulder) has been banged up and his availability will be a game-time decision. If he's unable to go, it probably won't play a major role in the outcome.

If the Trojans have a weakness, it's their defense, especially the secondary. But coming off a bye week, USC is well-rested and several players such as linebackers Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing and cornerback Josh Pinkard have gotten better as the season has progressed. Look for ends Frostee Rucker (11 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks) and Lawrence Jackson (10, 7), and safety Darnell Bing (four interceptions) to have big games.

As good as Leinart has been this season, UCLA QB Drew Olson has been ever better. Olson leads the nation in passing efficiency, having completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 2,909 yards, 30 touchdowns and just three interceptions. The Bruins have their own version of Reggie Bush in RB Maurice Drew, who has 12 rushing touchdowns, four receiving and three on punt returns. Plus, UCLA has the best tight end the nation in Marcedes Lewis, who has 55 receptions for 711 yards and 10 TDs. The Bruins can move the ball up and down the field and score; they'll push the Trojans' D to its limit.

To put it nicely, UCLA's defense has been pitiful, allowing 435.4 yards and 30.6 points per game. The Bruins' one bright spot on that side of the ball has been linebacker Spencer Havner, a Butkus finalist who leads the team with 84 tackles, including 15 tackles for loss. UCLA will have to be aggressive against USC and try to force turnovers. The Bruins are second in the Pac-10 in turnover margin and need to win this battle in order to have any chance against USC.

Final Analysis

Conventional wisdom suggests that if Fresno State can come into the Coliseum and nearly knock off the two-time defending champions, UCLA is certainly capable of pulling off the upset. There's some logic to that, and while I'm sure the Bruins will play the Trojans tough, I just can't see UCLA coming away with the victory. This is, after all, the same team that got blown out at Arizona. The Bruins will put up a good fight, but Trojans have been in too many big games and have too much at stake to lose this one.

Rivalries a broken record for Trojans

San Bernardino County Sun

Scott Wolf, Staff Writer

LOS ANGELES - Every time No. 1 USC takes the field lately, a record gets broken.

Today, four Trojans could claim something that no player in 115 years of football has accomplished.

If USC defeats No. 11 UCLA at the Coliseum, punter Tom Malone, defensive tackle LaJuan Ramsey, tight end Dominique Byrd and cornerback Justin Wyatt will be the first players to finish their careers with an undefeated 8-0 record against their archrivals, Notre Dame and the Bruins.

"Nobody can break that record," Ramsey said. "I didn't even know that statistic, but I knew we never lost to those teams. Hopefully, it will continue.

"All those national championships and Pac-10 championships are good, but not losing to your rivals is really good."

The foursome are all fourth-year seniors, so they were not around when USC lost to the Irish in 2001. It separates them from the fifth-year seniors who experienced that lone setback and can leave with a 9-1 record with a victory today.

"That would be a nice feeling to not know losing," Malone said. "I can think back to certain plays from every game I've played, but you have a lot more memories from those rivalry games."

For example, USC defeated UCLA 29-24 last year, but Malone is unhappy with that the Bruins blocked a punt.

"They got us last year," he said. "Even though we won, I remember that."

Malone said a perfect mark against the archrivals is something he will relish more when he leaves USC.

"It's something you don't think about until later on," he said.

Fourteen freshman entered USC in 2002, but some redshirted, like offensive linemen Fred Matua and Kyle Williams and receiver Chris McFoy. Others were forced to sit out a year because of injuries, like tailback Hershel Dennis or linebackers Oscar Lua and Dallas Sartz.

Safety Mike Ross and tight end Kurt Katnik saw their careers ended by concussions, and wide receiver Mike Williams turned pro after his sophomore season.

"It's crazy to see who made it out in four years," Ramsey said.

Though not undefeated against Notre Dame, USC coach Pete Carroll also is looking to extend his own perfect record (4-0) against the Bruins. Carroll blew UCLA out his first three years by an average of 28 points before last year's closer-than-expected contest.

"I like (being undefeated)," Carroll said. "How does it make me feel? It doesn't make me feel very good that it happened in the past right now. I don't care about what happened in the past. It is about getting ready this week, and it is nice when the game is over and you get a win and you have been able to maintain it over your crosstown team.

"I can't tell you I don't like it, I like it a lot. We are working real hard to hold on to that."

As late as Thursday, however, Carroll worried his seniors would try to do too much in their final home game, which goes against his No. 1 rule of never trying to make any game bigger than the rest.

"If you put too much on one game or not enough on one game, you are going to fail," Carroll said. "Everyone thinks we should try harder in this game. But we've been doing this every game."

Carroll appreciates that USC (11-0) and UCLA (9-1) enter the game with a near-perfect combined record and the atmosphere it creates.

"When we have our campers in the summer, we take them to the Coliseum, and on the scoreboard we say USC is 11-0 and UCLA is 11-0," he said. "This is as close as you can get to that. This is what we're living for, to get in these situations."

Meanwhile, sources said an agreement was expected this morning regarding the tunnel policy for today's game. USC wants to enter the tunnel first even though Pacific-10 Conference rules require the visiting team leave the field first, unless it agrees to wait.

Fresno State and Stanford previously agreed to let the Trojans go first.

USC hopes to get permission from UCLA in a pregame meeting so the Trojans can enter the tunnel first. Carroll likes the Trojans to sprint to the tunnel, and it caused Washington State coach Bill Doba to get bumped by some players last month when the teams played at the Coliseum.

Rah, Rah -- Boo, Hiss

Los Angeles Times

# In the run-up to today's USC-UCLA game, split loyalties among spouses, colleagues, even business partners lead to high jinks. All's in fun, right?

By Bob Pool, Times Staff Writer

The pint-size marching band stopped outside the USC teacher's classroom Friday and boldly belted out the UCLA fight song.

On that note, today's big-time, crosstown football rivalry that has divided homes and businesses got even more personal at Palms Middle School on the Westside.

Band teacher Julie West, a UCLA alumna, was tweaking colleague Patti Mullen, an English and history teacher and a USC grad, as West led 50 musicians in a rousing rendition of "Sons of Westwood" outside Mullen's door.

"You guys sound great, despite the song you were playing," Mullen said with a laugh after the youngsters finished with the traditional "U-C-L-A !" shout.

Mullen was wearing a cardinal-and-gold USC sweatshirt. Similarly attired was physical education teacher Janiece Phillipp when the band stopped by the gym to serenade her.

"That song brings back a lot of memories," said Phillipp, who graduated from USC in 1972 but has regularly attended Trojan-Bruin football games since 1968.

West played in the UCLA marching band before graduating in 1978. She brought in 30 vintage Bruin T-shirts and band jackets Friday for her music class students to wear.

Only one pupil declined the invitation: Clarinet player Adriana Bautista, an eighth-grader, stubbornly wore her own USC shirt. "I like USC better," she said.

There was no chance, however, that Adriana would be able to perform the Trojan song "Fight On."

"We've never played it," West said. "I don't allow it."

Old-school loyalists across Los Angeles said that testing allegiances is an autumn tradition each time the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles, face off on the football field.

At the USC campus, teaching assistant Marat Ahmetzanov pinned a UCLA pennant to his office wall. Next to it he displayed ticket stubs from Bruin football games he has attended this season.

A UCLA alumnus who is now a graduate student in clinical psychology at USC, he said he isn't conflicted about who he's rooting for.

UCLA has won every game this year that he's attended, he said. "And I'll be at the Coliseum on Saturday, sitting on the UCLA side."

USC sophomore and psychology major Trevor Cushman shook his head disapprovingly at the pennant.

"It's a crying shame, a disgrace. It sullies up the whole building," said Cushman, who works in Ahmetzanov's clinical labs.

In Beverly Hills, the co-owners of the Color Me Mine ceramics studio had all but painted a double-sided cardinal-and-gold and blue-and-gold line down the middle of their South Beverly Drive shop.

Fred Anderson graduated from USC in 1995. Bobby Zolekhian got his degree from UCLA in 1996. Both were predicting victory for their schools today.

"Unfortunately, Bob went to UCLA. It was the best he could do," said Anderson, a Mid-Wilshire resident who has a ticket to today's game. "If SC loses, I'm sure he'll show up with every Bruin sweatshirt and hat and pair of boxer shorts that he owns, and I'll have to wear them all next week. That will be ugly."

Zolekhian, who lives in Beverly Hills, said he frequently brings his paid-off college loan papers to wave in Anderson's face — "to rub it in," as he put it. He said he will be manning the store at game time but plans to monitor the Coliseum matchup.

"I'll keep text-messaging Fred to try to distract him from the game," he said with a laugh.

The game's outcome will determine which of the partners wins a water bottle that holds loose change that has accumulated in the cash register over the last several years. The winner will get to pick the charity that will get the estimated $250, Zolekhian said.

There was a split down the middle of the Donatucci household in Manhattan Beach too. Colleen Donatucci graduated from USC in 1985. Mark Donatucci graduated from UCLA in 1988. She'll be sitting at the 48-yard line on the Trojan side of the Coliseum this afternoon. He'll be on the Bruin side — in the peristyle area of the stadium.

"When SC is playing in the Coliseum, they stick us in the end zone," said Mark, a food-processing company operations manager.

Colleen said her husband "has indoctrinated" the couple's two boys — Michael, 9, and Matthew, 7 — to be UCLA fans.

She struck back at Halloween, dressing up the pair's twin 5-year-old girls, Kelly and Caitlin, in matching USC cheerleader outfits. "He went wild when he saw them," she said of Mark.

Such garments, along with souvenir Trojan sweatshirts and hats, were flying off the shelves at the USC student store. The shop's second-floor area was decorated with small stuffed bears wearing tiny UCLA shirts. Each was hanging by one leg from strings suspended from the ceiling.

Amy Grat, a Glendale resident married to a USC alumnus, was purchasing a bear outfitted with the USC logo to send to a friend in Japan.

Asked why — whatever the logo might be — she was nonetheless buying a stuffed version of the UCLA symbol, she explained: "This is not a Bruin bear, it's a teddy bear. I'm not buying a UCLA bear. I want to stay civil."

Across town, the biggest seller in the UCLA student store was a $17 T-shirt bearing the phrase, "My 2 favorite teams are the UCLA Bruins and whoever is playing USC."

"We're almost sold out," apologized store clerk and junior history major Vanessa Diaz as she surveyed the nearly empty display case. "These are all we have left."

Acknowledging that "emotions do run high at this time on our campuses," USC President Steven B. Sample and UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale jointly issued a Rodney King-like "can't we all just get along?" plea for peace during and after today's game.

"Let's make this year's UCLA-USC football game a safe, respectful and fun experience for everyone," the pair wrote in a signed "open letter to the USC and UCLA communities" published in the Daily Bruin and Daily Trojan student newspapers.

Not that there was any danger of unrest at the Altadena home of Ned Martorana — a composer and restaurant owner who studied music for five years at USC and three years at UCLA. He's quietly decided to root for UCLA today.

"I felt more at home at UCLA, even though USC had a better music department. I liked the all-around atmosphere at UCLA. I feel more kinship with it," said Martorana, who didn't graduate from either place.

Back at Palms Middle School, meantime, math teacher Nadine Shulman, a 1972 UCLA graduate, was wearing the Trojan cardinal and gold instead of Bruin blue and gold.

"I've converted to the dark side," she joked, explaining that her husband, Dr. Ira Shulman, is a professor of medicine at USC.

Despite her current leanings, Shulman applauded heartily as the band finished its last rendition of "Sons of Westwood."

Alto sax player Jacob Gray, a sixth-grader, smiled broadly, displaying a temporary tattoo on his cheek that read, "Beat SC." He said he had it applied to his face at Thursday night's UCLA bonfire.

Eighth-grade trumpet player Zach Reisler proudly adjusted the official UCLA marching band tunic that West loaned him.

"This is so awesome," Zach said. "This is an honor."

Flying forecasters favor Trojans today

SGVTribune.com

HACIENDA HEIGHTS - If you think football predictions are for the birds, then go with USC.

USC has the edge over UCLA in today's grudge match, according to predictions made by two local pigeons.

In a flight Friday from a radio tower in Burbank to their home in Hacienda Heights, a homing pigeon representing the Trojans beat out the Bruin bird by just a few seconds, said Luthor Nelson, owner of the birds and of White Dove Release.

"Each time, we've been accurate," Nelson said, adding his pigeons predicted George W. Bush would win more votes than John Kerry, and correctly predicted the results of the last Super Bowl and "American Idol" contest.

Nelson and his wife, Susie, had their first date at a UCLA-USC game, he said.

Susie Nelson, who attended UCLA, was not thrilled with the results of Friday's race, Luthor Nelson said.

Shirley Hsu

Congress calls hearing on Bowl Championship Series

SI.com

HOUSTON (AP) -- Calling the Bowl Championship Series "deeply flawed," the chairman of a congressional committee has called a hearing on the controversial system used to determine college football's national champion.

A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, charged with regulating America's sports industry, announced Friday it will conduct a hearing on the BCS next week, after this season's bowl matchups are determined.

"College football is not just an exhilarating sport, but a billion-dollar business that Congress cannot ignore," said committee Chairman Joe Barton, a Texas Republican. Barton's panel is separate from the House Government Reform panel that tackled steroids in baseball.

The committee announcement called the hearing, scheduled for next Wednesday, a "comprehensive review" of the BCS and postseason college football.

"Too often college football ends in sniping and controversy, rather than winners and losers," Barton said. "The current system of determining who's No. 1 appears deeply flawed."

Barton said he does not have legislation in mind to force a change, but said he hopes congressional hearings will spur discussion and improvements. It won't be the first time Congress has looked at the BCS. In 2003, the Senate probed whether the system was unfairly tilted against smaller schools.

NCAA Division I-A football does not have a playoff. The Bowl Championship Series was established in 1998 to determine a national champion using the traditional bowl system and a mix of computer and human polls to set up a championship game.

Because of the controversy surrounding the bowl selection process last season, The Associated Press told BCS officials to stop using its writers polls in its formula.

The committee invited testimony from Big 12 Commissioner Kevin Weiberg, the current chairman of the BCS.

"If members of the subcommittee have ideas on how the college football postseason can be improved, we welcome that input," Weiberg said.

"The current structure is designed to match the No. 1 and 2 ranked teams, identified through a ranking system, in a bowl game. It is an extension of the bowl system and a method to determine a national champion through the bowls," Weiberg said. "It has paired teams in bowl games that would not have been possible under the bowl arrangements existing before its creation."

Along with the acclaim of a national champion, the BCS also created a financial windfall with tens of millions of dollars at stake for teams and conferences who participate.

But it has seldom been without controversy.

For example, undefeated Southeastern Conference champion Auburn was undefeated in 2004 but was shut out of the BCS title game, which matched USC against Oklahoma. Utah also finished the season undefeated but could not play for the title.

The Jan. 4 Rose Bowl is the site of this year's BCS championship game. Other games with BCS ties are the Orange, Sugar and Fiesta bowls, with a rotating schedule for hosting the championship matchup.

Pinkard settles in at corner for Trojans

Scripps Howard News Service

By JOE CURLEY
Scripps-McClatchy Western Service
02-DEC-05

LOS ANGELES -- Josh Pinkard's surname easily lends to the nickname by which his USC coaches and teammates know him, Pinky.

But he has been a far more useful digit as the injury-ravaged USC secondary has attempted to form a fist this season.

Pinkard has been the Swiss Army knife in Pete Carroll's back pocket, playing no fewer than five positions for the USC defense as a sophomore.

"Technically, he knows every single position as a defensive back and as a linebacker, except for (middle linebacker)," said defensive backs coach Greg Burns. "That's a tribute to his athletic ability and his ability to learn."

Pinkard started at his natural strong safety position in place of injured Darnell Bing in the home opener against Arkansas. He's shined in place of free safety incumbent Scott Ware at several points this season. In an effort to see more of the field, he took on linebacker and nickel-back roles during passing situations.

"He has been moved around a lot," said Carroll. "His aptitude for picking stuff up is really high. He has been able to assimilate easily and picked up on how to play a position in two or three days' time that he has never played before."

But it has been his recent shift to starting cornerback, a weakness because of injuries to starters Terrell Thomas and John Walker, that has put Pinkard in a position to significantly impact the Trojans' run for a third straight national championship.

"When we were looking a little thin at the corner spot," Carroll said last month, "(we thought) that Josh might be able to do that for us since he is so fast, and he is a real natural athlete, he plays the ball well, all the things you would like to see in a corner."

Two weeks later, before Fresno State would attempt to put Pinkard through the wringer, Carroll proclaimed the experience a success.

"I am glad the Josh Pinkard thing has held up for us," said Carroll. "We are in pretty good shape."

That was before Fresno State quarterback Paul Pinegar attempted to pick on the true sophomore for much of what would become a memorable night.

"I think that was the first game I've ever been tested, as far as seeing a lot of different routes and seeing them throw the ball at me a bunch of times," said Pinkard. "You have to have a totally different mindset (at cornerback)... You have to be mentally tough. If you make a mistake, it's magnified."

Pinkard allowed one of Pinegar's three touchdown passes in the 50-42 victory, but he also had a team-high four pass deflections and a touchdown saving hit in the end zone.

"They scored a touchdown on me on a post," said Pinkard. "It happened. I got beat. But I had to come back and refocus myself. I can't get down on myself, I have to come back and get ready for the next big play."

At 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, Pinkard is very big for a cornerback. He has used that size to his advantage by breaking up potential pass plays with big hits.

"I have to do that once I catch up to them," said Pinkard. "I have to punish them once I get there."

His 45 tackles place him fifth on the team. He's also provided almost a big play a game for a defense desperate for them.

He forced a fumble at Hawaii. Picked off his first two collegiate interceptions against Arkansas and Oregon. Shared a sack at Arizona State. Forced a fumble at Notre Dame. Set up a touchdown against Stanford by scooping up a fumble and returning it 21 yards.

"And he's done all the little things I've stressed," said Burns.

Moving from safety to cornerback is no easy task. The thought process at the snap is completely different. Depending on down-and-distance situations, safeties, in the USC defense, have gap responsibilities in the running game. Cornerbacks must read pass first.

"He is a very quick thinker and reaction player," said Carroll of Pinkard. "Josh just flipped right into the mentality that you have to take care of the deep ball, and do things on the back end first. It made sense to him. He carried his practice preparation directly to the game; he looked exactly how he did in practice. It was really positive, highly unusual.

"He has done nothing but good things, he has done nothing but succeeded at the stuff we have done."

Pinkard doesn't need the praise to know he has been successful. Simply being asked to play such a large role, with so many different responsibilities, is praise enough.

"It feels like they have confidence in me by putting me in the game," said Pinkard. "There's a lot of guys on this team counting on me. And it seems like they can trust in me."

Makings of a classic / UCLA-USC game has all the ingredients

SFGate.com

Jake Curtis
Friday, December 2, 2005

Games often are better in our imagination than on the field. That might be the case with Saturday's UCLA-USC game, but the ingredients are all there for the ultimate coach-potato experience.

Ingredient I: Great Scoring Potential -- It's not only that USC and UCLA are two of the five Division I-A teams that average 40 points or more, it's that both have suspect defenses that should accommodate those offenses. Despite a shoulder injury, tailback LenDale White is expected to play for USC, which leads the nation in yards per rushing attempt (6.3). The Bruins rank 115th of 117 Division I-A teams in rushing defense. However, UCLA limited Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson to 58 yards on 23 carries when Peterson was still healthy.

Ingredient II: High Comeback Potential -- Unbeaten USC had trailed in the fourth quarter of three games this season, and its games against Notre Dame and Fresno State might have been the most riveting of the 2005 season. UCLA has won four games after trailing by double-digit margins in the fourth quarter, including the remarkable comeback at Stanford when the Bruins overcame a 24-3 deficit with eight minutes left.

Ingredient III: Big-Play Possibilities -- USC's Reggie Bush and UCLA's Maurice Drew might be the most dynamic big-play performers in the country. Drew averages 29.1 yards per punt return, although he has not had the opportunity to return any punts the past two games because teams fear him so much. Bush is averaging 8.6 yards per carry, far better than the Division I record of 7.8 set by Nebraska's Mike Rozier in 1983, although Bush might not get enough carries to qualify for the record even though he has 1,398 rushing yards.

Ingredient IV: Quarterback Excellence -- Although USC quarterback Matt Leinart won the Heisman Trophy last season and probably will finish among the top three this year, his UCLA counterpart, Drew Olson, has better statistics. Olson leads the nation in passing efficiency, his 30 touchdown passes are second best in the nation and his three interceptions are the fewest in the country among starting quarterbacks.

Ingredient V: Turnover Challenge -- UCLA has the fewest turnovers in the country, nine, and USC has forced 34 turnovers, third most in the country.

Ingredient VI: Rivalry -- This is the first time since 1988 that both Los Angeles schools will be ranked in the top 15 when they meet.

Ingredient VII: Stakes -- A USC win puts the Trojans into the Rose Bowl game for a shot at a third straight national championship. A UCLA win gives the Bruins an outside shot at a berth in a BCS game.

Explanation necessary: Many people wonder why USC already has clinched the Pac-10's BCS berth, even though it could finish tied with UCLA and Oregon. Here's why, given the assumption that UCLA beats USC to create a three-way tie: The first tiebreaker is head-to-head results. UCLA will have beaten USC, USC beat Oregon and Oregon and UCLA did not play, so that tiebreaker method yields nothing. The next tie-breaker involves losses to the lowest-finishing conference teams. Because UCLA's loss to eighth-place Arizona is the worst loss among the tied teams, the Bruins are eliminated from contention, leaving a two-team tie between Oregon and USC. Because USC won the head-to-head matchup with the Ducks, USC would get the BCS berth.

Viva Las Vegas: It is looking more and more as though Cal will be playing in the Las Vegas Bowl against BYU. That's the Bears' destination if Oregon is left out of the four BCS games, and the conventional wisdom is that the Fiesta Bowl will pair Notre Dame with Ohio State, leaving Oregon out of the BCS picture. It has been assumed the Fiesta Bowl would take the Irish instead of Penn State with its first selection because of Notre Dame's national appeal. However, the Arizona Republic reported that Penn State has had an average TV rating of 15.3 in its six Fiesta Bowl appearances and Notre Dame has had an 11.2 rating in its three Fiesta Bowl games.

Big 12 surprises: In the Big 12 title game, No. 2 Texas is nearly a four-touchdown favorite over unranked Colorado, a team the Longhorns beat 42-17 earlier this season. But that conference's championship games have yielded some unexpected results.

The Longhorns were ranked No. 3 and in position for a national-championship-game berth in 2001 when their Big 12 title game foe was No. 9 Colorado, a team the Longhorns had beaten 41-7 earlier in the year. Colorado won the title game 39-37. In 1996, an unranked Texas team stunned No. 3 Nebraska 37-27 in the conference title game. No. 2 Kansas State lost its chance for a national title when it lost to No. 10 Texas A&M in the 1998 Big 12 title game. And, in perhaps the biggest upset, No. 13 Kansas State claimed a 35-7 win over No. 1 Oklahoma in 2003.

Controversy lurks: If either USC or Texas loses Saturday, it appears Penn State will land a spot in the national championship game, even though LSU is ranked ahead of the Nittany Lions in both the Associated Press and USA Today polls. The computers and the Harris poll favor Penn State, and that could end up dooming the Southeastern Conference champ for the second year in a row.
What to watch

10 a.m.

Big 12 championship game in Houston: No. 2 Texas (11-0) vs. Colorado (7-4)

Channel: 7, Channel: 10

-- Vince Young had a great game in the Oct. 15, 42-17 win over Colorado, which lugs a two-game losing streak into Saturday's game.

11:30 a.m

Army (4-6) vs. Navy (6-4) in Philadelphia Channel: 5 Channel: 13 Channel: 46

-- Army has won four in a row, its longest winning streak heading into the Navy game since 1967.

1:30 p.m.

No. 11 UCLA (9-1) at No. 1 USC (11-0) Channel: 7, Channel: 10

-- This is West Coast football: a lot of points and a lot of standout skill-position players.

3 p.m.

SEC championship game at Atlanta: No. 3 LSU (10-1) vs. No. 13 Georgia (9-2) Channel: 5 Channel: 13 Channel: 46

-- LSU still has national title hopes, but the Bulldogs are strong with quarterback D.J. Shockley healthy again.

5 p.m.

ACC championship game at Jacksonville, Fla.: No. 5 Virginia Tech (10-1) vs. Florida State (7-4) Channel: 7, Channel: 10

-- The Seminoles stumble into the game having lost three in a row, and the Hokies lead the nation in defense.

L.A. city championship means a lot more this year

USATODAY.com

LOS ANGELES — Welcome to a tour of the USC-UCLA rivalry. We will not be going by such popular southern California landmarks as Disneyland, Beverly Hills or the spot where Jessica Simpson asked Nick Lachey for a divorce.

This is about college football, even if it's too warm to be Ohio State-Michigan, or too civil to be Alabama-Auburn.

But Saturday will be as big as this game gets. USC is No. 1. Twenty-five minutes away — unless it's rush hour, and then it'll take two days — UCLA is 9-1.

"It is California," USC coach Pete Carroll mentioned about the freeway squabble. "We would get 200,000 people to come to his game."

The Los Angeles Times, by the way, reports of a dentist offering free laser bleaching for four tickets. L.A. for you.

So climb aboard, as we start from the USC campus, with its fenced-in serenity. Outside the gates is a teeming megalopolis. Turn north, and downtown stares at you. Turn south, and you'll soon run into a lot more Crips and Bloods than Trojans and Bruins.

Note the bronze statue on the left. Tommy Trojan. Or at least he is beneath the gray wrapping, which went on this week to discourage any crafty graffiti experts from UCLA ...

No sign of the Victory Bell, though. The 295-pounder goes to the UCLA-USC winner. It's kept safe in a warehouse for all but one weekend of the year. They're big on anti-crime measures in Los Angeles ...

That's the Los Angeles Coliseum off to the right. USC calls it home, but then, who hasn't? The Rams, the Raiders, the Dodgers, hammer throwers at the Olympics ...

(Pause for trivia. USC is the only university in the world to have a gold medalist in every summer Olympics since 1912).

Never mind the ramps to the Pasadena Freeway or the San Bernardino Freeway. It's the Santa Monica Freeway we want ...

(Pause for more trivia as we barely spot the Hollywood sign off in the haze. A USC alumnus has been nominated for an Oscar every year since they started handing out the things in 1929. That would include a Trojan tackle from 1925-26 named Marion Morrison. You might know him better as John Wayne) ...

If you miss the Wilshire exit for UCLA, you run into Sunset Boulevard. So we're close to the beautiful people. A sign points right. "Electric vehicle charging station."

That's Westwood Boulevard running into the UCLA campus. You can always tell a school's athletic pedigree by whom it names its buildings after.

UCLA is obviously upper crust. That's Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center on the right. John Wooden Center next door.

(In the interest of equal time, pause for UCLA trivia. It is the only school to have five quarterbacks play in the Super Bowl).

We're here. Thirty-two minutes, from Tommy Trojan to the Bruin Bear, which is covered in a blue canvas, to prevent any USC mischief. It's Friday and this rivalry is in lockdown.

The Pacific Ocean is five miles away. The site of O.J. Simpson's old house where the white Bronco pulled in the driveway is just up the road.

UCLA claims 118 national championships from water polo to badminton, but the only one in football came 51 years ago. The Bruins will try to ruin one Saturday in the Coliseum. USC will pull out all its weaponry. Matt Leinart. Reggie Bush. Traveler, the only horse in college football that has its own endowment. The only college band ever to have a recording go platinum.

Never mind the gray skies or sprinkles. Weather is seldom an issue. USC has not played in the snow since 1957.

Like Pete Carroll said, it's California.

---

Mike Lopresti writes for Gannett News Service

USC O-line matures into elite group

ESPN.com

By Ivan Maisel
ESPN.com

USC already has set a Pacific-10 conference record for total offense with 6,284 yards, and the No. 1 Trojans (11-0) have yet to take the field Saturday against their crosstown rival, No. 11 UCLA (9-1), not to mention play in a bowl game.

There are two theories for this production. One, an extremely talented group of players has been together for two seasons; or two, the Trojans try to gain one yard for every word Fred Matua speaks per practice.

"Our vocal leader," quarterback Matt Leinart said, perhaps straining to be polite.

"Just a loudmouth, the guy who talks," another Trojan said. Yep, that's Matua who said that.

Leinart, who, like any smart quarterback, hangs with his offensive line, marvels at Matua's vocal endurance.

"I respect Fred for that," Leinart said. "He works every single day. He doesn't take a day off. Every day, there's nonstop talking in warm-ups, on the field. He's always talking. He's just firing you up. He keeps you going. He talks a lot, and we enjoy it. He carries the team with the way he does that."

Asking Matua why the Trojans are so prolific isn't merely a case of going to the guy who will fill the notebook. He's one of the reasons, as he was about to say.

"They are the best at what they do," Matua said. "We know we've done a good job. The guys behind us are great players. We're very lucky to have a Reggie Bush. There's no [team] in the country that has a player like him. We're blessed to have a leader like Matt Leinart. … I don't want to brag, but if we execute plays, I don't think we can be stopped. If we do things right, we can't be stopped."

Take a quick look at the numbers. If USC's offensive production were a stock, the feds would have begun an investigation already.

The Trojans, with largely the same players as a year ago, have increased their rushing yards per game by nearly 40 percent, their passing yards by nearly 20 percent, and their scoring by nearly 30 percent. Wall Street watchdog Eliot Spitzer should be handing out the indictments any day.

Offensive coordinator Norm Chow and offensive line coach Tim Davis left for the NFL, yet the offense improved. USC's average of 571.3 yards per game leads the nation and is the second-highest total in Division I-A in the last 15 seasons. The Trojans average 48.6 points per game, and they have scored more than 50 in four of their last five games.

As USC prepares to face a UCLA defense that has given up at least 35 points in four of the last six games, the offense appears capable of anything. How can that be? The quarterback is the same. The running backs and the receivers are the same.

"We broke in a new offense and a new offensive line [last year]," Leinart said. "We played pretty well and dominated a national championship game against a more experienced defense. This year has been a little different. I think we've done an excellent job."

That's how it should be with any team. The line gives credit to the backs, and the backs return the favor. In this case, though, Leinart might have a point. The biggest change has been right there in front of Leinart all season long. The stars are the same -- right this way, Mr. Bush -- but they have beefed up their security. An offensive line that learned on the job a year ago has matured and flourished in 2005.

"The O-line is awesome," Leinart gushed. "I think they are the best offensive line in the country. We've proven that with numbers, our running stats and passing stats. I have been so blessed."

You would say that, too, if you had time to check your e-mail before throwing. USC quarterbacks have been sacked 14 times in 11 games. A year ago, USC quarterbacks went down 25 times in 13 games.

Three of the starting five -- senior guard Taitusi (Deuce) Lutui, sophomore tackle Sam Baker and junior center Ryan Kalil -- made first-team All-Pacific-10 conference, as voted by the league coaches. Matua, another junior, made the coaches' second team. The other starter, junior tackle Winston Justice, is considered the best physical specimen the Trojans have.

But let Matua tell you. He's going to, anyway.

"I'm the leader of the O-line," Matua said. "Winston is an athletic guy. He can jump and run faster than any defensive end in the country. Ryan is one of the quickest centers in the country. Deuce is big, 360 pounds. Sam is the most technically sound. Put all that together. We feed off of each other. We take a little bit from everybody.

"Deuce will battle you. There's the way that Ryan dominates. I'm trying to be fast and play fast like Winston and be technically sound like Sam."

The most impressive line on the O-line's résumé is this: Baker, Lutui, Matua and Kalil have not missed a start since the beginning of the 2004 season. In a violent sport in which rosters turn over 25 percent a year, to have four guys start 24 consecutive games borders on the supernatural.

"You could see the progress. They've been healthy as a unit," coach Pete Carroll said. Justice, the fifth starter, served a season-long, university-mandated suspension a year ago for flashing a pellet gun at a fellow student.

"Winston came back after spending a year working out and getting stronger than ever," Carroll said. "He is playing a better level. He gave us the chance to move Deuce Lutui back to guard. He has given us great athleticism."

As Carroll faces life without Leinart, and perhaps without his junior 1,000-yard tailbacks, Bush and LenDale White, he might take comfort knowing that Lutui is the only senior on the offensive line. The Trojans have the foundation to build another prolific offense. With Matua talking, there are a lot of yards to be gained.

Undefeated Trojans try to clinch Rose Bowl berth while No. 11 Bruins hope for upset

AP News

JOHN NADEL
AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES — The UCLA-Southern California game used to be a big deal, and not just because of their intense rivalry. That hasn't been the case in recent years. But it's a big deal now — a huge deal.

No. 1 USC (11-0, 7-0 Pac-10) needs a victory Saturday in the 75th game of the series to assure itself a trip to the Rose Bowl, where the Trojans would have a shot at winning an unprecedented third straight national championship.

No. 11 UCLA (9-1, 6-1) can claim a share of the conference title and perhaps a Bowl Championship Series bid of its own with an upset.

The teams are meeting for the 35th time with a berth in the Rose Bowl on the line for at least one of them — but it's the first time since 1993 that the game has had that significance.

As USC coach Pete Carroll said, the game at the Los Angeles Coliseum could fill both that stadium and the Rose Bowl at the same time.

"All the hype is going to be there, everything from outside is going to be there for a great game," USC star Reggie Bush said.

"To beat USC is the ultimate goal," UCLA's Drew Olson said. "More than anything else, beating SC would take this program to another level."

That will take some doing.

The Trojans bring several significant streaks into the game, to be played before a sellout crowd of more than 90,000. They've won 33 consecutive games overall, 26 in a row at the Coliseum, 22 straight against Pac-10 opponents, and six in a row over UCLA.

USC's explosive offense is the main reason the Trojans are listed as 21-point favorites.

"They know how to win, that's why they're winning — 33 times," UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said. "They've been put up against the wall for 11 shots this season, and they've taken everyone's best shot and they have one more to take with us.

"You take your hat off to what USC has been able to accomplish. It's amazing."

The Bruins were pretty amazing themselves until an unexpected 52-14 drubbing at the hands of unheralded Arizona on Nov. 5. With Olson and Maurice Drew leading the way, they rallied from late double-digit deficits to beat Washington, Washington State, California and Stanford.

The Trojans needed second-half comebacks to win four games themselves, but only their victories over Notre Dame and Fresno State matched the drama of the Bruins' string of late rallies.

"They have been in difficult situations a number of times where they have been well behind and come roaring back and finished games with big finishes, big plays," Carroll said. "This is a really good group. We will have our hands full with this one."

Both teams have struggled at times on defense this season — especially UCLA. But the Bruins have performed much better on special teams, an area of weakness for the Trojans.

The respective offenses are two of the country's best — especially USC, which averages an unthinkable 571.3 yards in total offense. The Trojans' scoring average of 48.6 points could have been higher had they not played reserves in the second half several times because of insurmountable leads.

Bush and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart lead the way, although USC has several other weapons.

Bush tops the country in all-purpose yardage (212.6 yards per game) and is fourth in rushing (127.1). His average of 8.6 yards per carry is also No. 1.

LenDale White averages 93.1 yards per game and 6.3 yards per carry to give the Trojans the country's finest 1-2 rushing punch. White will play despite bruising his left shoulder in practice last Sunday.

UCLA has been vulnerable against the run, allowing 219.5 yards per game to rank 115th in the country. The Bruins hope the return of linebacker Justin London, who had been out with an ankle injury, will help.

"He's a run-stopper," fellow UCLA linebacker Spencer Havner said. "That should give us all a lift."

Leinart has completed 66.4 percent of his passes for 3,217 yards and 24 touchdowns with seven interceptions.

"Their offense compares to who? Ours. They're very similar, really," Havner said. "We need to take away their big plays."

The Trojans could say the same thing.

Olson, superb as a senior after three mediocre seasons, has completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 2,909 yards and a school-record 30 touchdowns with only three interceptions.

"The touchdowns to the number of picks is just a remarkable number for anybody at any time," Carroll said.

Drew, slowed the past few weeks by a sore right knee, averages 81.6 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry. He has also returned three punts for touchdowns.

"He is awesome. He is an awesome returner — the best in the country," Carroll said, quite a compliment since Bush has the same job for USC.

Havner expressed the opinion that Drew is an overall better running back than Bush or White.

"I'm serious about that," Havner said. "He has the speed of Reggie and runs inside and has power like LenDale. Maurice is a better back."

If that's the case in this game, perhaps the Bruins have a realistic chance at a major upset.

"In respect to the game, the game can get you sometimes," Carroll said. "I hope that day when somebody gets us, I hope we played really well on that day and we made them play great."

College football fever brings Los Angeles to a grinding halt

Independent Online Edition > Americas

By Andrew Gumbel in Los Angeles
Published: 03 December 2005

The rest of the US may have its thoughts focused on Christmas shopping this weekend, but Los Angeles will be gripped by an entirely different seasonal fever. Today sees the annual showdown between the City of Angels' two leading college-level American football teams, USC and UCLA, and it is turning into the most intensely anticipated local sporting event in years.

One might think this a relatively parochial matter, especially to those who do not happen to have an affiliation with either the University of Southern California (the city's premier private university) or UCLA, the biggest campus in the state-run University of California.

But that would be to misunderstand the extraordinary pull of college-level sports in the US. Los Angeles might get more excited by a Beatles reunion concert, or a confirmed UFO landing in the Hollywood Hills, but not a whole lot else.

The 92,000 seats at the Coliseum, USC's home stadium, have been sold out for weeks. (That's more seats than at Old Trafford, more even than at the new Wembley.) An orgy of selling and reselling of tickets on the internet pushed prices from the $65 (£37) face value to as high as $4,600 by last night.

Desperate fans have offered all sorts of inducements to would-be online sellers - a dentist offering free teeth-whitening, a musician offering free piano lessons - and made last-ditch emotional pleas on behalf of elderly parents, soldiers on leave from Iraq, the sick, the disabled and the bereaved.

Traffic ground to a halt for hours on end across west Los Angeles for the pre-game parade thrown for the UCLA team, the Bruins, on Thursday afternoon and ground to a halt all over again at a giant bonfire and pep rally laid on that night for the USC Trojans, 16 miles to the south. Clusters of face-painted fans - blue and gold for UCLA, red and yellow for USC - have packed the malls and shopping streets. Some people have repainted their cars. Yesterday, even elementary school students in parts of the city were encouraged to show up wearing the colours of their preferred teams.

The excitement has something to do with the fact that both teams have unusually strong line-ups. The Trojans are undefeated in 33 games and enter the near-gladiatorial contest as the hot favourites. But the Bruins are also having a banner year, with just one loss so far. Smashing their crosstown gridiron rivals would not only be a sweet symbolic victory. It would also propel UCLA into the top tier of college teams for the first time in years.

It seems extraordinary that a non-professional game could attract this kind of excitement. But college sports - especially football and basketball - are the bedrock of American sporting culture, with a far greater degree of fan identification with the local team than in the professional leagues.

When Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, visited the Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, in her home state of Alabama recently, she had no hesitation in taking him to the Alabama-Tennessee college football game - played to a sell-out 80,000 crowd.

The rest of the US may have its thoughts focused on Christmas shopping this weekend, but Los Angeles will be gripped by an entirely different seasonal fever. Today sees the annual showdown between the City of Angels' two leading college-level American football teams, USC and UCLA, and it is turning into the most intensely anticipated local sporting event in years.

One might think this a relatively parochial matter, especially to those who do not happen to have an affiliation with either the University of Southern California (the city's premier private university) or UCLA, the biggest campus in the state-run University of California.

But that would be to misunderstand the extraordinary pull of college-level sports in the US. Los Angeles might get more excited by a Beatles reunion concert, or a confirmed UFO landing in the Hollywood Hills, but not a whole lot else.

The 92,000 seats at the Coliseum, USC's home stadium, have been sold out for weeks. (That's more seats than at Old Trafford, more even than at the new Wembley.) An orgy of selling and reselling of tickets on the internet pushed prices from the $65 (£37) face value to as high as $4,600 by last night.

Desperate fans have offered all sorts of inducements to would-be online sellers - a dentist offering free teeth-whitening, a musician offering free piano lessons - and made last-ditch emotional pleas on behalf of elderly parents, soldiers on leave from Iraq, the sick, the disabled and the bereaved.

Traffic ground to a halt for hours on end across west Los Angeles for the pre-game parade thrown for the UCLA team, the Bruins, on Thursday afternoon and ground to a halt all over again at a giant bonfire and pep rally laid on that night for the USC Trojans, 16 miles to the south. Clusters of face-painted fans - blue and gold for UCLA, red and yellow for USC - have packed the malls and shopping streets. Some people have repainted their cars. Yesterday, even elementary school students in parts of the city were encouraged to show up wearing the colours of their preferred teams.

The excitement has something to do with the fact that both teams have unusually strong line-ups. The Trojans are undefeated in 33 games and enter the near-gladiatorial contest as the hot favourites. But the Bruins are also having a banner year, with just one loss so far. Smashing their crosstown gridiron rivals would not only be a sweet symbolic victory. It would also propel UCLA into the top tier of college teams for the first time in years.

It seems extraordinary that a non-professional game could attract this kind of excitement. But college sports - especially football and basketball - are the bedrock of American sporting culture, with a far greater degree of fan identification with the local team than in the professional leagues.

When Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, visited the Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, in her home state of Alabama recently, she had no hesitation in taking him to the Alabama-Tennessee college football game - played to a sell-out 80,000 crowd.

Twin APA Football Players Seek Success on the Field and in the Classroom

AsianWeek.com

By Sam Chu Lin, Dec 02, 2005

As the USC Trojans get one step closer each week to winning another national college football championship, defensive backs Brandon and Ryan Ting quietly echo their head football coach Pete Carroll and say, “We’re just taking one game at a time.”

The identical twins are juniors at USC and are from Woodside, Calif. Brandon wears a 38 jersey and his twin brother Ryan, number 39. Their football philosophy has paid off for the both of them, like in last month’s 50-42 win over the Fresno State Bulldogs.

USC was behind at halftime 21-13, safety Ryan Ting remembers, and cites a critical play in the third quarter.

“The [opposing] quarterback threw the ball,” he recounted. “I knew I had to knock it down or intercept it. I did the sure thing” batting the ball away and stopping a Fresno State drive.

Brandon had a pivotal moment of his own when he made his first collegiate interception and moments later, USC tailback Reggie Bush ran for a 45-yard touchdown.

“At first I tried to break up the pass and hit the receiver,” Brandon stated. “The ball was overthrown, and I dove for it. Fortunately I was able to come up with the play and make the interception. One of the equipment managers put it away for me. I’m sure somewhere down the line, it’ll be a good memory.”

“It was a close game, kind of scary at times,” Brandon shared his feelings. “It was emotionally draining.”

As the season has moved along, the Ting twins have received more national publicity.

During the recent Cal/USC game at Berkeley, Ryan intercepted a pass and prevented Cal from making a touchdown. His brother Brandon made two critical tackles that helped USC to beat the Cal Bears 35-10, and helped to wipe away the sting of the Trojan’s last defeat in September 23, 2003.

The twins brush aside questions about another possible national championship saying they simply want to remain focused on what they’re doing.

“We’re trying to maximize every opportunity that we have, and that’s at practice where we get better and improve on whatever it takes,” Ryan commented.

At 5:00 in the evening at one of USC’s practice fields, that discipline is very visible. Brandon and Ryan are running through hoops, back peddling, and challenging one another.

“We’ve got to keep our minds in the right place,” Brandon added. “Keep working hard, studying whether it’s on the field or off the field, and everything will come into place.”

The two credit their dad and their older brother for inspiring them. Their father is well-known Bay Area orthopedic sports surgeon Dr. Arthur Ting, whose patients have included Barry Bonds, Joe Montana and Yao Ming. Their older brother Richard is a former Yale quarterback, now in law school.

Marilyn Koyama Ting, their mother, is probably their biggest cheerleader. She was the official videographer at many of their childhood sports events. The former child psychology major met her husband at USC, and a trend was set in motion on their first date when they went to the Rose Bowl.

The Tings drive or fly to every USC football game to see their twins play. Following the USC/Fresno State game, the couple stayed overnight at a Marriott hotel. The next day they brought lunch to their sons’ apartment, and because the game had been so exciting, they watched a videotape of it again.

The boys started playing Pop Warner football when they were eight years old. Both Ryan and Brandon have earned black belts in karate. They traveled across the Dumbarton Bridge and San Francisco Bay daily to attend James Logan High School in Union City to be in a more competitive atmosphere. They were permitted to do this because their father was the school district’s physician. Both Brandon and Ryan also excelled in baseball, basketball, and track and field.

They left their high school early to go to USC.

“We wanted to enhance our athletic ability by coming in early, learning the system early,” Brandon stated. By coming to USC early, the twins were able to participate in spring practice.

“Coach Carroll let us go back to Logan to participate in our graduation ceremony and all of the festivities,” Ryan added. “That was really nice of him to do that.”

Brandon and Ryan Ting are not only good athletes; they are maintaining 3.9 and 3.8 grade point averages, respectively. They were recruited by many Ivy League schools, Cal and Stanford, but they chose SoCal. They liked Carroll’s promise: “If you’re good enough, you can start playing immediately.”

“They are very smart,” Todd McNair, special teams coach, commented, “They can play a multitude of positions. I don’t think we would hesitate at all to put them in different spots. They pick it up, and know what to do.”

“They’ve got Great Spirit,” line coach Pat Ruel commented as he wrapped his arms around the two young men in a father-like hug. “They have great talent, and they’ll hit you!”

Ryan made his first college interception in a USC game against Arizona. That accomplishment was headlined with a picture in one of the school’s newspapers. One of Ryan’s colleagues tipped the ball up in the air, and Ting made the grab.

“I was just excited to be a part of that,” Ryan modestly noted. With a smile, he added, “I stopped the play –– which led to the victory.”

“We have different personalities,” Brandon added, “but we’re very supportive of each other. We encourage each other to do better.”

Asked why they enjoy sports, the two smiled, “It helps to relieve the tensions after we’ve been studying.”

The two American studies majors are already discussing graduate school, perhaps following their older brother and studying law, or becoming orthopedic surgeons like their father.

“We’re thinking about that, but we haven’t made any decisions yet,” they said.

With the UCLA game on tap December 3, wrapping up the regular season for both universities, the Ting twins say before and after the Thanksgiving holiday, they will be focused on practice.

“UCLA has had several weeks off to prepare,” they noted. “We’ve got to be ready. We’re just taking one game at a time.”

Ryan Ting

Birthdate: 03/26/1984

Honors: He won USC’s 2004 Howard Jones/Football Alumni Club Academic Award. In high school, he made the 2002 Prep Star All-American, Super Prep All-Farwest, Prep Star All-West, Tom Lemming All-West, Tacoma News Tribune Western 100, Cal-Hi Sports All-State honorable mention and San Francisco Chronicle All-Metro honorable mention squads as a senior wide receiver and defensive back at James Logan High in Union City, Calif.

Personal: He’s an American studies and ethnicity major at USC with an A- average (team-best 3.90 GPA). He made the 2004 Pac-10 All-Academic second team. He earned a black belt in karate.

On being confused with his twin brother, Brandon: “I’ve been called Brandon as many times in my life as I’ve been called my real name. If we’re walking through campus and someone yells out, ‘Brandon,’ we’ll both turn our heads. It’s weird.”

Brandon Ting

Birthdate: 03/26/1984

Honors: He made the 2002 Prep Star All-American, Super Prep All-Farwest, Prep Star All-West, Tom Lemming All-West, Tacoma News Tribune Western 100, Cal-Hi Sports All-State honorable mention and San Francisco Chronicle All-Metro honorable mention squads as a senior quarterback and defensive back at James Logan High in Union City, Calif.

Personal: He’s an American studies and ethnicity major at USC with an A- average (3.76 GPA). He made the 2004 Pac-10 All-Academic second team. He earned a black belt in karate.

On his and his brother’s strong work ethic: “Our work ethic came from watching those athletes who our dad operated on work hard every day to get healthy.”

On the difference between the twins: “Once you get to know us, our personalities are different. I’m more organized and he’s a little more scatterbrained.”

“I’m not only proud of [my sons] not only as athletes and students, I’m proud of them as individuals. The part of them being athletes and students is also part of them too. It’s not just them being athletes. I’m proud of them for the kind of people that they are and that they represent the Asian culture perhaps in a good positive way.”

– Marilyn Koyama Ting on being proud of her son

“We all are a mixed pot of all of these cultures and racial backgrounds and different philosophies. … I think it’s constructive to understand the negative sides and constructive again to move on and look beyond that. It’s hard to buy sometimes, but I think it’s not productive if you bite on something and then you turn it into a negative thing because it only hurts you.”

– Marilyn Koyama Ting on advice on racial prejudic

“Athletes come from different walks of life and ethnic groups, like the world that we live in. Our sons have learned to communicate with them. They feel comfortable in talking with those who are from the inner city to those from Bel-Air. That kind of experience should help them later on in their future careers.”

– Dr. Arthur Ting on athletics countering stereotypeses

Offense should rule L.A. rivalry

Daily Trojan

The top two scoring offenses in the Pacific-10 collide Saturday when No. 1 USC meets No. 11 UCLA.

By: Greg Wagner

A bad trip to the desert might have prevented the greatest game "the rivalry" has ever known, but the résumés USC and UCLA bring to the Coliseum Saturday are nothing to scoff at.

As it stands, with four potential Heisman Trophy finalists, a 33-game winning streak, two top-15 rankings and the top two scoring offenses in the Pacific-10 Conference, the 1:30 p.m. game between the No. 1 Trojans (11-0, 7-0 Pac-10) and the No. 11 Bruins (9-1, 6-1) could still make the team's 75th meeting among the best ever.

With a victory, USC is all but assured of a berth in the Rose Bowl where it would play for an unprecedented third-straight national championship. What stands in the Trojans' way is a UCLA team that feels it has its best shot in recent memory for the upset.

"This year we can do it better than any other year, because we play for each other," Bruin tight end Marcedes Lewis said.

Lewis just might be right, because this year UCLA has the weapons on offense to possibly take back the Victory Bell. Quarterback Drew Olson and running back Maurice Drew are nearly as formidable as the Trojan duo of Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush. Olson leads the nation in pass efficiency with 30 touchdowns and only three interceptions and Drew, a junior, already tops UCLA's all-time all-purpose yards list.

"We will have our hands full," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "This is a really good group."

It's a group almost on par with the Trojans' offense that is the most prolific in school history. Led by Bush, Leinart and receiver Dwayne Jarrett, USC has already set a Pac-10 record for total yards and is on pace to set an NCAA record for points scored.

Carroll said he can't take much from UCLA's confounding 38-point loss to Arizona and knows that the performance was an aberration from an otherwise perfect season.

"It was such an outlier from the rest of their games, it never kicked it for them in that game with their offensive output," he said. "It was just a game where they couldn't find the comeback."

Both defenses will be hard-pressed to stop either high-powered offense Saturday, yet the Bruins, last in the Pac-10 in rushing defense at more than 200 yards per game, face the most daunting challenge in trying to stop Bush and LenDale White.

"(UCLA) did a good job at playing the pass and at the same time it allowed us to run the ball," Bush said of last year's 29-24 victory in which he rushed for 204 yards. "It really gives us an opportunity to run the ball (Saturday)."

The Trojans' task of shutting down the resilient Bruins could prove to be even more difficult. UCLA has come from behind in the fourth quarter in four of its victories, most notably erasing a 21-point deficit at Stanford and a 17-point margin at Washington State.

"They have been in difficult situations a number of times where they have been well behind and come roaring back and finished games with big finishes, big plays," Carroll said. "(Those are) the kind of games that give you tremendous confidence and play and performance that gives you confidence."

Confidence is something many would think USC's defense would be lacking after its worst effort of the year, allowing 42 points and 427 yards in the narrow victory over Fresno State two weeks ago, but players said that's not the case since they have been called the question mark on the team all year.

"When we do our job, they'll still say we're the weak link," linebacker Oscar Lua said.

Lua and his teammates can be encouraged that USC has forced 16 turnovers in the past three games and leads the country with a +1.9 turnover margin.

That disparity has helped USC deal with a makeshift defense that has lost multiple starters to injuries. There has been no solution, however, for its special teams, which rank last in the nation in punt return defense.

Those problems won't get any easier with Drew, who is averaging a nation-best 29.1 yards per punt return - a mark currently above the single-season NCAA record. Making matters worse for Carroll is that UCLA coach Karl Dorrell hinted this week that Drew might also return kickoffs.

"He is an awesome returner, the best punt returner in the country," Carroll said. "Nobody slows him down."

One thing that may slow Drew down is a sore knee, which forced him to miss some practice time this week.

USC has won an all-time high six straight games over UCLA and Leinart, along with 17 other seniors, will play their final game in the Coliseum trying to extend the streak. Despite the recent success, the quarterback knows the past doesn't mean anything.

"It's different," he said. "When we play UCLA, you can throw everything aside; it's just pure adrenaline, you just want to beat them."

Winning more than the games

Daily Breeze

Running back-turned broadcast personality Papadakis has found there is life, and success, can continued after your playing days are over.

By Mike Waldner
Daily Breeze

This is a success story.

It's the Petros Papadakis success story.

You can call it a surprise success story, an unlikely success story, a you-could-knock-me-over-with-a-feather success story. You can call it just about whatever you wish without fear of contradiction.

It's as much a part of USC-UCLA week as Matt Leinart-Drew Olson, Maurice Drew-Reggie Bush or Karl Dorrell-Pete Carroll.

Ask Papadakis if, as a student at Peninsula High, he could have projected himself in the good place he is today professionally.

"Absolutely not," he said. "There was doubt whether I could be academically eligible to go to college."

He paused for a moment, which is rare when he's talking, to reflect.

"I would not give myself the benefit of the doubt and say I was confused," he said. "I was screwed up.

"If you had told me then that today I'd have a daily radio talk show, be doing commentary on Pac-10 games, be doing shows such as the "Best Damn Sports Show" and be host of a cable network show, I'd have been shocked."

The real shock is ending your college football career and finding out there is life, and success, beyond the game.

Papadakis had an athletic history of valleys and peaks.

"As a junior at Peninsula, I probably was headed to junior college football," he said.

He had an outstanding senior year, was Daily Breeze co-Player of the Year, and received a scholarship to play at Cal.

That lasted a week of preseason camp before he returned home.

In the spring, he enrolled at USC. His father, John, played there. His brother, Taso, was playing there. Now he was a walk-on.

His almost daily disclaimer on the radio to the contrary ("I was captain of the worst team in USC history"), he has good memories of being a Trojan.

He earned a scholarship, became a special teams maniac, a pump-everyone-up-teammate, scored eight touchdowns in 1998 and eight more in 2000 as the valuable short-yardage tailback who also broke runs of 65 and 53 yards when healthy and given the opportunity.

What he was going to do next was a major mystery. He likes to talk. He's articulate. He's well-read. He's bright. He's fun. He's funny.

Did I mention he likes to talk?

He's the self-proclaimed "king of hyperbole."

His delivery is full-steam ahead. His show is a no-huddle offense. He talks as fast as a Paul Westhead basketball team gets up and down the court.

He's loud. (You can turn the sound down or switch to PBS for a break.) He's smart. He's off the wall, even on another planet at times.

One minute he's on the sports subject of the day, be it the Trojans, the Bruins, the Clippers, the Dodgers or whatever. The next minute, he's doing movie reviews and pop culture reports.

He's from another era, a combination Walter Winchell and Louella Parsons cranking out gossip. He's also as contemporary as can be.

He constantly flips switches. He'll do a solid interview with an old coach or athlete about the NBA or MLB playoffs. He really tones himself down when doing his football commentary because he understands the game is the show.

He does light interviews with the Trojans. He had LenDale White on a couple of days after White scored and flipped the ball to Snoop Dogg, who was standing just beyond the end zone. Snoop Dogg proceeded to do the Heisman pose for the cameras.

After some gentle needling from Papadakis, White responded, "I hang out with rappers, not with teen heartthrobs."

This was White's own gentle needle at Leinart, who knows Nick Lachey, who Papadakis has rambled on about to a point where Leinart now declines to go on the air with him.

"You have to be able to take a joke," he said. "Our theme is 'Everyone is welcome and no one is safe.' "

Papadakis has a busy schedule, working 12 hours, 15 hours and, amazingly, even 20 hours a day with all his projects.

"I'm pushing a little hard," he admitted. "But how long will people be entertained with me?"

This is both an honest appraisal of his industry and an indication of his insecure side.

"You know the circuitous route I took to get to USC," he said. "I've taken a strange route all my life."

Behind all the noise lurks a humble young man who has not forgotten those who have helped him get where he is in a short time.

"I've gotten here with the help of a lot of people," he said.

This is a tough week for the Trojan in him.

"As a player, I had a real vitriolic hatred (of UCLA)," he said. "Now I wince a little. Now I want to enjoy the game. I try hard to be a Pac-10 guy."

That's his job.

"If anything, I just like talking to people," he said. "I don't know if it's because I like the attention or because I like having the ability to get out ideas."

Whatever the reason, it works for Petros Papadakis.

A workplace divided

OC Register

USC-UCLA football rivalry endures after graduation

By MICHELE HIMMELBERG | The Orange County Register

The rivalry between athletic powers USC and UCLA doesn't stop at the edge of the football turf.

It spills over into office towers, dentist chairs and workplaces across Southern California. The Trojans and Bruins face off Saturday, but allegiances to the two camps split the region all year long.

As the game approaches, barbs fly like Trojan spears. Brothers mock one another, and friends fire verbal bullets. It's all about bragging rights.

Bruce Furniss, a USC grad who claimed fame by winning two Olympic gold medals in 1976, recalls the ultimate insult. He walked into an Orange County high-rise one day to discuss real estate with a new client. Furniss says he immediately got the feeling he was wasting his time, and then the Bruin across the table asked the Trojan to take his business elsewhere.

Henry Samueli, among the most prominent local UCLA alumni, has made a concerted effort to counter USC's perceived strength in the Orange County business community. The co-founder of chipmaker Broadcom and owner of the Mighty Ducks said he employs more graduates from his alma mater than any other school.

"Even though USC alums are outnumbered at Broadcom, they still get their day in the sun," Samueli said. "When they won the national championship last year, we did hoist a USC flag on our flagpole for one hour that day. Maybe one day USC alums will be able to walk the halls of Broadcom with their heads up high for more than one hour per year, but in the meantime, I will be rooting for my Bruins!"

Whether or not USC grads dominate local business, Orange County actually has 3,000 more UCLA graduates living here. Trojans do gravitate to Orange County, with 12 percent of all living alums claiming an O.C. address; only 7 percent of living UCLA alums take up residence in O.C.

USC graduate Steve Saleen, whose Irvine company makes the world's fastest production car, eagerly points out that the twin-turbo, 750-horsepower S7 comes in a shade that's very close to the cardinal in the Trojans' jersey. (Technically, it's "Lipstick Red.")

At Saleen Inc., he says they've interviewed many qualified applicants from UCLA – "but we won't hire any of them."

Just kidding.

On a serious note, Saleen said his USC network has helped him in many business deals, including the attorneys who are helping him open dealerships worldwide.

Throughout Southern California, hundreds of bets are being made during raucous business lunches and parties held this week to celebrate the rivalry. Each side harasses the other - in between laughter - about each other's fight songs, location, academic standards and degree of snobbery. The stereotype is rich, spoiled kids at USC, and kids scraping by on welfare at UCLA - despite the Bruins' location in posh Westwood.

Although the No. 1 ranked Trojans are 21-point favorites at Sportsbook.com, fans know anything can happen in this game. Peter Childs, oddsmaker at Sportsbook.com, said nearly 75 percent of the bets on the game have been placed on the Bruins to cover the spread.

Brea dentist William B.W. Lou (USC '76) has five rolled $20 bills and an IOU taped to a paper football hanging over his desk. It's his way of flaunting his winnings from a standing $20 bet on the game with his hygienist, Paula Heilman (UCLA '96). She has lost six years in a row.

The office is divided down the middle. Treatment rooms Trojan I and Trojan II are decorated in cardinal and gold memorabilia, with Bruin I and Bruin II getting the blue and gold treatment. Banners, rugs, mini-helmets and trash cans with logos leave no doubt about their war.

The "loser" on Saturday has to wear a shirt from the other person's school for a week.

Lou still hasn't forgiven Heilman for placing a "UCLA Bruins" license frame on his car. He drove around for three weeks before he saw it.

"This is what makes the game so exciting and fun," said Lou, a regular at football games. "We say a lot of mean things to each other, but we know it's in fun. We respect each other."

Five hundred dollars worth of prime meats are on the line for Ed and Mel Babtkis, who throw a game-day barbecue with the loser picking up the tab. The brothers grew up near Westwood, and Mel graduated from UCLA. Ed accepted a gymnastics scholarship to USC and won league championships on the rings. Today they're partners at Ross Diversified, an insurance company in Orange.

The loser on Saturday gets assigned driving duty as they make one of their many trips to visit clients.

"From L.A. to Orange County in 5:30 p.m. traffic on a Friday," Mel said, detailing the bet. "Even the car-pool lane won't help you there."

"But with your lousy team, you'll be driving," Ed shot back. "I'll be taking a nap."

The harassment and baiting between them gets nastier leading up to game day.

The brothers estimate that 35 percent of their client base is affiliated with either USC or UCLA and they use that to get an edge.

"Politically, we play the right card at the right time," Ed said.

Loyalty to the schools sparks more than debate. Trash-talking at an after-work party in 1988, during Big Game week, led to the romance between Nader Abyad (USC) and his wife, Susan (UCLA). The wedding followed exactly two years later, on the Friday before the USC-UCLA contest.

Now they share a home office in Yorba Linda, with diplomas proudly displayed for each school. The teasing continues, and they often introduce themselves as a "mixed marriage" couple, apologizing for their spouse's lack of judgment during the college years.

USC won the year they were married, but Susan owned the bragging rights from 1991-1998 as UCLA won eight straight games. The tide shifted and USC has won six in a row. If the Trojans win, the teams will be even through their 16-year marriage.

"Other than my wife, I am not reluctant to work with Bruins," quipped Nader, an information technology consultant. "I do like to play the stereotype of a USC fan sometimes with clients." Loud, arrogant, flaunting wealth. It gets their attention.

But they've learned whom they can joke with about the rivalry and who takes it way more seriously. They don't go near the topic with their neighbors, the UCLA fans.

Full disclosure: The author is a USC grad, but some of her best friends are Bruins.

UCLA by the numbers

* 350,000 living alumni
* 24,413 Graduates in OC
* 130,692 Graduates in LA

Academics

Public, founded in 1919, near Beverly Hills. Largest university in California; one in 28 degree holders in the state is from UCLA. More students apply here each year than any university in the nation. Enrollment: 26,000 undergrads, 12,000 graduate students.

Alumni with ties to O.C.

*
* Henry Samueli, co-founder of Broadcom; owner of Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Karch Kiraly, of San Clemente, only person to win Olympic gold in both indoor and beach volleyball
* Ann Meyers, Hall of Fame basketball player; broadcaster from Huntington Beach
* Mike Davis, urban theorist and history professor at UCI
* Terry Donahue, school's most successful football coach; home on Balboa Island
* Tom Anderson, founder of MySpace (a Web "must" for O.C. teenagers)

USC by the numbers

* 180,000 living alumni
* 21,000 Graduates in OC
* 78,000 Graduates in LA

Academics

Private, founded in 1880 near downtown Los Angeles. Attracted more international students over the years than any U.S. university. Has a center in Irvine for business, pharmacy, social work and education. Enrollment: 16,500 undergrads, 15,500 graduate students.

Alumni with ties to O.C.

*
* Jim Jannard, founder of Oakley sunglass manufacturer Gen. William Lyon, chairman and CEO of William Lyon Homes
* Steve Saleen, founder of Saleen Inc., Irvine maker of exotic cars
* Matt Leinart (Mater Dei High) and Carson Palmer (Santa Margarita High), Heisman Trophy winners
* Janet Evans, Olympic swimming gold medalist and motivational speaker from Placentia
* Christopher Cox, new chief of the Securities & Exchange Commission

Chart Breakers

Los Angeles Times

By almost any measure, USC's statistically stunning offense ranks among the best in NCAA history.

By Gary Klein, Times Staff Writer

The proof is in the pencils.

For 50 years, Ned Miller has worn them to stubs, recording and tabulating football statistics by hand in the press box at USC home games.

Miller and his staff scribbled to keep pace with four Heisman Trophy-winning running backs, two Heisman-winning quarterbacks and the high-powered offenses that helped USC win seven of its 11 national titles.

But for Miller, no team gets the lead out like the 2005 Trojans, who amassed more than 700 yards in each of its first three home games.

"That's just incredible," Miller said. "You just don't get numbers like that."

That offensive prowess has helped the top-ranked Trojans extend their winning streak to 33 games, and if they defeat 11th-ranked UCLA on Saturday at the Coliseum, they are assured of a shot at an unprecedented third consecutive Associated Press national championship.

Regardless, USC's offense is already considered among the best in college football history.

Quarterback Matt Leinart, tailbacks Reggie Bush and LenDale White and receivers Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith have provided most of the highlight-reel plays. But a veteran line, tight ends Dominique Byrd and Fred Davis, and fullbacks David Kirtman and Brandon Hancock also have shined.

"They're the best-balanced offense that I can ever recall," said Kent Stephens, curator for the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind.

Consider:

• USC leads the nation in total offense, averaging 571.3 yards a game, and is second in scoring at 48.6 points a game.

• The Trojans are the first team in NCAA history with a 3,000-yard passer, two 1,000-yard rushers and a 1,000-yard receiver. Smith is within 100 yards receiving of giving them two.

• USC ranks fifth nationally in passing (322.1 yards per game) and seventh in rushing (249.2 yards). The Trojans could become the first team since Arizona State in 1973 to finish the season in the top 10 in both categories. They also are within reach of becoming the first team since Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) in 1945 to finish in the top four in both.

"You don't want to throw all your eggs in one basket," USC Coach Pete Carroll said.

However, most of the prolific offenses of the past were largely one-dimensional. Notre Dame in the 1920s, Army in the mid-1940s, Oklahoma and USC in the 1970s and Nebraska in the 1980s and 1990s mostly ran the ball. Brigham Young in the 1980s and Houston in the late 1980s and early 1990s primarily passed it.

Lane Kiffin, USC's offensive coordinator, says trying to determine which offense was best is pointless because of different eras. The size, speed and strength of players have changed.

"It's like arguing religion," he said. "You know, you never get anywhere."

Few debate that Leinart is the ideal triggerman for a unit that is averaging 100 yards more than the 1979 Trojan team that established a school record at 471 yards a game.

Leinart, who turned down the chance to turn pro and returned for a final season, is enjoying a better statistical season in some areas than last year when he won the Heisman. He has completed 66% of his passes for 3,217 yards and 24 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He also has rushed for six touchdowns.

Bush and White epitomize backfield balance. Alternating at tailback, each has 163 carries. Bush has rushed for 1,398 yards, White 1,024.

Two weeks ago against Fresno State, Bush ran for a career-high 294 yards and accumulated 513 all-purpose yards, second-most in NCAA history. He is averaging 8.6 yards a carry and is regarded by many as the front-runner to win the Heisman, an honor not bestowed upon a Trojan running back since Marcus Allen in 1981.

Barry Switzer, who coached Oklahoma and the Dallas Cowboys, compared Bush to another Heisman winner.

"He's the best back since Barry Sanders came along," Switzer said. "Him and Leinart get all the publicity, but White is also a stud."

Jarrett, a sophomore split end, has caught 75 passes — 14 for touchdowns — and averages 14.3 yards a catch. Smith averages 16.7 yards a catch.

"Pick your poison," said Steve Sarkisian, USC's assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach. "The thing that stands out about those guys and our other receivers is their unselfishness. They get downfield and block."

So does an offensive line that is experienced and balanced.

Opposing coaches voted junior center Ryan Kalil, sophomore left tackle Sam Baker and senior left guard Taitusi Lutui onto the All-Pacific 10 Conference team. Junior right guard Fred Matua was second team and junior right tackle Winston Justice, who might be the best NFL prospect, was honorable mention.

Pat Ruel, USC's offensive line coach, says there is usually a weak link in a line, a player who can pass protect but not run block, or the other way around.

"We're lucky," he said. "We have guys that do both."

USC offenses for the 1972 and 1978 national championship teams, the 1979 team that finished 11-0-1, and the 2002, 2003 and 2004 teams are among the best in school history.

But the Hall of Fame's Stephens and others said the 2005 Trojans rate among a group of offenses in the last 60 years that were dominating if not quite as versatile:

Army, 1944-45

The Cadets were one-dimensional, but a backfield that featured two Heisman-winning running backs made them formidable and AP national champions two straight years.

Fullback Felix "Doc" Blanchard was "Mr. Inside," running back Glenn Davis "Mr. Outside." Operating out of a T-formation, they helped Army average 56 points in 1944, still an NCAA record.

Blanchard won the Heisman in 1945, Davis in 1946.

Blanchard, who lives in Texas, said he had seen parts of USC games on television, but not enough to make a judgment.

He knows times have changed since his playing days.

"Back in those days you only passed on third and eight," Blanchard said during a telephone interview. "Lots of the time, we lined up and ran the ball up the middle anyway."

Oklahoma, 1971

Coach Chuck Fairbanks and offensive coordinator Barry Switzer installed the wishbone offense and the Sooners quickly grasped the concept, amassing an NCAA-record 472.4 yards rushing per game.

Running back Greg Pruitt sported a T-shirt emblazoned with "Hello" on the front and "Goodbye" on the back. He averaged more than nine yards a carry. Joe Wylie and Roy Bell alternated at the other running back spot and fullback Leon Crosswhite cleared the way with a smart and tough offensive line.

"We really didn't care who lined up against us," said quarterback Jack Mildren, who rushed for 1,289 yards. "We felt we could move the ball against anybody from the Green Bay Packers on down."

Oklahoma defeated USC, 33-20, at Norman, Okla.

"We threw one pass," Mildren recalled. "And, no, we didn't complete it."

Mildren was in Miami last January for USC's demolition of Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. He said this season's Trojan offense is even better.

"You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see how good these guys are," he said.

Nebraska, 1983

With an offense known as the "Scoring Explosion," the Cornhuskers averaged 52 points a game. Quarterback Turner Gill was at the controls of a unit that featured Heisman Trophy-winning running back Mike Rozier, receiver Irving Fryar and tackle Dean Steinkuhler, the Outland Trophy winner.

Nebraska eclipsed 80 points once, 70 points twice and 60 points five times and tallied an NCAA-record 84 touchdowns.

"We had a power running game, but Turner also ran the option and he could pass," said Rozier, who averaged nearly eight yards a carry.

Unfortunately for Nebraska, Gill's final pass that season, on a two-point conversion try in the Orange Bowl, was tipped away, giving Miami a 31-30 victory and its first national title.

"USC is very potent," Rozier said of the 2005 Trojans. "They are very similar to us."

Houston, 1989-90

Seven teams in NCAA history featured a 4,000-yard passer and a 1,000-yard rusher in the same season. Houston did it twice.

With Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware at quarterback in the Cougars' run-and-shoot attack, Houston averaged 53.5 points and an NCAA-record 624.9 yards a game in 1989. Against Southern Methodist, the Cougars scored 59 points in the first half and won, 95-21, amassing 1,021 total yards.

Ware, who averaged 427 yards passing and threw for 46 touchdowns, declared for the NFL draft after his junior year. But David Klingler took over at quarterback in 1990 and passed for 54 touchdowns and 5,140 yards.

Running back Chuck Weatherspoon rushed for more than 1,000 yards in both seasons. In 1989 he averaged 9.6 yards a carry, an NCAA record for rushers with more than 100 carries.

Nebraska, 1995

With quarterback Tommie Frazier leading the way, the Cornhuskers won their second consecutive national title and were first in rushing (399.8 yards a game) and scoring (52.4 points).

"That team had the same explosiveness [as the 1983 Cornhuskers] and a lot more depth," said Gill, who was Nebraska's quarterbacks coach.

Nowhere was that more evident than in the backfield. With tailback Lawrence Phillips embroiled in off-the-field problems, freshman Ahman Green rushed for 1,086 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Frazier, who finished second to Eddie George in Heisman balloting, ran for 14 touchdowns and passed for 17. He rushed for 199 yards and scored on a 75-yard run in the Cornhuskers' 62-24 rout of No. 2 Florida in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl.

Asked if he would rate the 2005 Trojan offense over the 1995 Cornhuskers, Gill said, "I may say USC because they throw the ball so well, but the '95 team was great. I don't know if I could pick one."

As Leinart prepared for the final two games of his college career, he also reserved judgment.

The Trojans must defeat UCLA and win the Rose Bowl, this season's bowl championship series title game, before Leinart will consider whether USC has the best offense in college football history.

"If we finish the season undefeated," he said, "then we can say, 'Well, OK, maybe we do have a valid point of making that argument.' "

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Unstoppable

A thumbnail look at some of the most potent offenses in college football history:

1944-45 ARMY

• Record: 9-0 in 1944, 9-0 in 1945, national champions each year.

• Led nation: in rushing offense (298.6) and scoring (56.0) in 1944; in rushing offense (359.8), total offense (462.7) and scoring (45.8) in 1945.

• Outsized scores: 83-0 over Villanova, 76-0 over the Coast Guard Academy, 69-7 over Pittsburgh, 62-7 over Pennsylvania in 1944; 61-0 over Pennsylvania, 54-0 over Wake Forest, 54-0 over Villanova in 1945.

• Facts and figures: Glenn Davis, Army's "Mr. Outside," averaged fewer than eight carries per game but gained 11.5 yards per carry in each season, scoring 20 touchdowns in 1944. Doc Blanchard, "Mr. Inside," scored 19 touchdowns in 1945 and won the Heisman Trophy. Davis would win it the next year.

1971 OKLAHOMA

• Record: 11-1, including a 35-31 loss to Nebraska.

• Led nation: in rushing offense (472.4), total offense (566.5) and scoring (44.9).

• Outsized scores: 75-28 over Kansas State, 58-14 over Oklahoma State, 56-10 over Kansas, 55-29 over Pittsburgh.

• Facts and figures: Greg Pruitt, with 1,760 yards rushing and 108 points, and quarterback Jack Mildren (1,289 and 124) are each ranked in the school's top 10 single-season performers in both categories. Mildren rushed for 400 yards more than his passing total.

1983 NEBRASKA

• Record: 12-1, including a 31-30 loss to Miami in the Orange Bowl.

• Led nation: in rushing offense (401.7) and scoring (52.0).

• Outsized scores: 84-13 over Minnesota, 72-29 over Iowa State, 69-19 over Colorado, 67-13 over Kansas, 63-7 over Syracuse.

• Facts and figures: Mike Rozier had four games of more than 200 yards rushing, with a high of 285 against Kansas, on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy. His 174 points and 29 touchdowns are school records.

1989-90 HOUSTON

• Record: 9-2 in 1989; 10-1 in 1990, including a 45-24 loss to Texas

• Led nation: in passing offense (511.3), total offense (624.9) and scoring (53.5) in 1989; in passing offense (473.9), total offense (586.8) and scoring (46.5) in 1990.

• Outsized scores: 95-21 over Southern Methodist, 69-0 over UNLV, 66-10 over Baylor, 65-7 over Temple, 64-0 over Rice in 1989; 84-21 over Eastern Washington, 62-28 over Arkansas, 62-45 over Arizona State in 1990.

• Facts and figures: Was it the player or the system? Andre Ware won the Heisman Trophy in 1989, passing for 4,699 yards and 46 touchdowns for the Cougars. The following year, David Klingler stepped in to pass for 5,140 yards and 51 touchdowns.

1995 NEBRASKA

• Record: 12-0, won national championship.

• Led nation: in rushing offense (399.8) and scoring (52.4)

• Outsized scores: 77-28 over Arizona State, 73-14 over Iowa State, 64-21 over Oklahoma State, 62-24 over Florida in the Fiesta Bowl.

• Facts and figures: Lawrence Phillips rushed for 359 yards and seven touchdowns in the first two games, then was suspended after being charged with assault. No matter, the Cornhuskers turned to Ahman Green, who set a school record for freshmen with 1,086 yards and 13 touchdowns. Quarterback Tommie Frazier ran for 14 touchdowns and passed for 17.

2005 USC

• Record: 11-0, with two games remaining.

• Leads nation: in total offense (571.3).

• Outsized scores: 70-17 over Arkansas, 63-17 over Hawaii, 55-13 over Washington State, 51-24 over Washington, 51-21 over Stanford, 50-42 over Fresno State.

• Facts and figures: If Steve Smith can average 50 yards receiving over the Trojans' last two games, he'll join Dwayne Jarrett (1,070) as only the 20th pair of teammates in Division I-A history to post a 1,000-yard season in receiving. But add them to a 3,000-yard passer (Matt Leinart, 3,217) and a pair of 1,000-yard rushers (Reggie Bush, 1,398, and LenDale White, 1,024) and you have an unparalleled quintet.

USC football notes: Guard Matua will weigh his options

LA Daily News - USC

Scott Wolf, Staff Writer

As if USC didn't have enough underclassmen pondering turning pro early, offensive guard Fred Matua said he might consider his possibilities after the season.

"It was something (NFL scouts) brought up," Matua said. "If it comes, it comes. I really don't know. This thing is all new to me. Right now, I'm just worrying about playing football."

Matua said he will graduate in May but wouldn't mind obtaining a master's degree if he returns next season.

"An educated man is very powerful," Matua said.

Busy weekend: USC brings in 11 recruits this weekend for one of its biggest of the season. Among the players scheduled to visit are quarterback Tim Tebow of St. Augustine, Fla.; wide receiver David Ausberry of Lemoore; linebacker Allen Bradford of Colton; running back Demarco Murray of Las Vegas; and offensive lineman Andre Smith of Birmingham, Ala.

Smith is ranked the No. 1 guard in the nation by Rivals.com. Among the group, Tebow is considered a longshot, and Ausberry is expected to commit to USC.

"It sure makes it a lot more fun to win on recruiting weekends," Carroll said. "That's one of the reasons we like to win."

White OK: Tailback LenDale White (bruised shoulder) participated in some of Thursday's practice and Carroll proclaimed him OK for the game.

"He's fine, he's ready to go, he did all the work we needed him to," Carroll said.

Tunnel update: As of Thursday night, there still was no formal agreement between USC and UCLA regarding the halftime tunnel protocol. USC wants to enter the tunnel first, but Pacific-10 Conference rules require the visiting team to give its approval.

In USC's past two games (Stanford, Fresno State), the visiting team consented to let the Trojans sprint through the tunnel first. The policy was adopted because Washington State coach Bill Doba got bumped by some USC players in the tunnel going through the tunnel last month.

Last practice: The seniors went ran through a human tunnel formed by their teammates for the last regular-season practice of the season.

"I hated leaving the practice field today, this thing went way too fast," Carroll said.

All-Americans: As previously reported, quarterback Matt Leinart, tailback Reggie Bush, offensive guard Taitusi Lutui and wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett were named to the American Football Coaches Association All-American team.

"He'll be a highly regarded draft pick," Carroll said of Lutui. "He lost 40-something pounds since he's been here and he's shown that he is a marvelous guard."

The Deuce is loose

PE.com

The 6-foot-6, 345-pound Lutui has completed USC's offensive line

By DAN WEBER / The Press-Enterprise

LOS ANGELES - Pat Ruel was new to his job as USC's offensive line coach last spring. But the former NFL coach knew how this was probably going to go.

Winston Justice was back at right tackle with his All-American physique and talents after a disciplinary suspension the previous season, meaning that junior college transfer Taitusi "Deuce" Lutui would have to move.

Lutui had done a nice job as a starter. But despite his distinction as the largest player to suit up for USC, at 6-foot-6 and a high of 396 pounds, Lutui wasn't a big part of the Trojans' plans and was expected to battle for playing time.

"He was going to have to show us some things -- and lose some weight," Ruel said.

That assessment changed quickly this fall when Lutui switched to left guard.

"I thought, 'He's really going to help us out now," Ruel said. "Then I found myself saying this guy is a going to be an All-American and a high draft pick in the NFL.

"I've coached a lot of big guys in the NFL, but none who come anywhere near his endurance. For a big man, it's like nothing I've ever seen. We were into play No. 80-something in 95-degree heat at Arizona State, and I asked him if he needed a break, and he said he didn't. He went every single play in that game."

As the fifth and final piece in USC's offensive line, the new-look, 345-pound Lutui has amazed his coaches and teammates this season, earning All-American and All-Pac-10 honors. He'll be the only senior starting on the line that opposing coaches have called the best in the nation when the top-ranked Trojans (11-0, 7-0) play host to UCLA (9-1, 6-1) Saturday with the best record in the Pac-10 and much more on the line.

Growing up Quickly

It's been a long and often tough road for Lutui, 22. His family emigrated from Tonga when he was just months old. When he was 7, his family was involved in a car crash near their home in Mesa, Ariz., which killed an older sister, put his dad and brother in a coma and seriously injured his mother.

Someone had to help out at home, do the translating, help make sure the bills got paid when the mail came in, go to the store for groceries. With his older siblings away at school every day, Deuce was the one.

"I was the youngest so I did what I could do to help my mom and dad," he said.

After a couple of months the family was back on its feet, and now his family members are Lutui's biggest boosters, going to every game.

Then there's his wife, Pua, whom he met at Snow College in Utah, and a 10-month-old son, Inoke Liuaki Moeltau, which means "Return a champion." He was born the day after USC won the national championship against Oklahoma in January.

His family fan club has helped make Lutui something of a genial gridiron warrior.

"I've seen a lot of great players who liked to knock people down because they were mean," Ruel said. "But Deuce does it because it's fun."

For those who expect Lutui to have fun going against undersized UCLA defensive tackle Chase Moline, a 6-1, 274-pound freshman, Lutui says not so fast -- because the Bruin might be.

"Smaller means quicker," Lutui said. "He looks good on film."

Lutui's tireless efforts and preparation have made him more beloved by his teammates than most junior college transfers who play for two seasons.

"We needed Deuce," said Fred Matua, a three-year starter at right guard. "He's put in the work, he's sweated and bled for us. He did the do. He's as much one of us as anybody."

Lutui agreed.

"I think I've earned the right to be a true USC senior with this team. I love it here. I'm a Trojan all the way."

Circus week

PE.com

GREGG PATTON

LOS ANGELES - It is the week that USC will put its historic 33-game winning streak on the line against fierce crosstown rival UCLA.

At stake for the Trojans is, well, everything.

A win propels them to their second straight Bowl Championship Series title game at the Rose Bowl. They have a chance to win their third consecutive Associated Press national championship, an unprecedented feat.

Not that the three little kids on the sidelines at Tuesday's afternoon practice understood the magnitude of all this.

As quarterback Matt Leinart whipped passes to running back Reggie Bush, and nose tackle Sedrick Ellis fought off blockers, the boys -- the biggest no older than 6 -- played with an undersized football, tumbling in the grass.

They were largely oblivious to the titans nearby, cracking shoulder pads on Howard Jones Field on the USC campus, although most of the crowd of about 300 seemed to be enjoying the Trojans' aura.

It may be one of the most unusual sights in big-time college football. USC fans and family members mingling around the two practice fields, chatting with assembled media members. National Football League scouts peered into drills, while someone's sister or girlfriend chatted with someone's father, who tried to keep track of his kids. A high school coach watched to pick up pointers, teenagers waited for practice to end to get a jersey or a football signed. All the while you could hear the USC marching band practicing its riffs at the track and field stadium across the street.

The energy was palpable -- residue, perhaps, of being in such close proximity to the hottest college football program in the country.

"Coach (Pete Carroll) has done a great job making this kind of a family atmosphere," said senior punter Tom Malone, who's from Lake Elsinore. "With the success we've had, people want to be part of it. I think it's awesome to have all these people out here supporting us. But this is what we know. I don't know what it's like other places."

That would be a few miles away on the UCLA campus, where the approach is more typical. The sidelines on the practice fields early this week were largely empty. The handful of scattered onlookers consisted of people connected to the program, invited friends or approved media members.

There was serious action on the field, where Bruins ran pass patterns, smacked pads and reacted to whistles and shouting coaches. But there were no discernible distractions. A patrolling security guard who paced the parking structure that overlooked the practice field symbolized the closed nature of the session.

If he can help it, as is the norm in big-time football, UCLA coach Karl Dorrell will keep spying eyes and clinging fans away from his team, though he welcomed a large group of former players Thursday.

This week, for a sense of atmosphere, the Bruins imported it. While USC heard the real thing, UCLA's team was being serenaded by taped band music. While the Bruins warmed up, USC's fight song blared over the field.

The UCLA scout team, players who will pretend to be the Trojans' offense and defense, marched onto the field a few minutes after practice started, in unison, wearing cardinal and gold jerseys and Trojans helmets. They yelled at the regulars in a vague rehearsal of USC's entrance into the Coliseum while "Fight On" filled the public address system.

The attempt to inject a unique buzz into the usually cloistered practice scene got mixed reviews.

"It's a visual -- and an audio," Bruins senior linebacker Justin London said of the USC look-alikes and sound-alikes.

"It definitely boosts your senses," he added. "It makes you go a step harder. I think it's a great thing."

Running back Maurice Drew, not one for theatrics, shrugged it off.

"I just want to get out here and practice," he said. "I understand it's USC, two-time defending national champs and all that. They (the coaches) are trying to do some different stuff. But everything is about football. It's going to be who's best on the field -- man to man. That's all I care about."

If the Bruins feel the need to bring a little bit of the circus to their Westwood practice field, it isn't necessary at USC, where the circus comes to them every day. There is no need to dress benchwarmers in Bruins uniforms or simulate the UCLA band to get the Trojans' attention. Who would notice with the hubbub around them anyway?

"It's fun," Ellis, a Chino High graduate, said after practice. "You've got the noise, the people talking and yelling, the moms and dads out here, kids waiting for autographs ... it's all part of the uniqueness that Coach brings."

Stealthy eyes and information theft aren't a concern.

"The game is won on the field," said junior guard Fred Matua. "The truth comes out on Saturdays."

Said Ellis: "People watch you on Saturday. Why not now? We're not trying to hide anything."

Some think that USC's openness is part of the program's magical formula. That if the players practice under the daily scrutiny of fans, media, scouts and mom, then game days aren't so daunting.

Of course, when you've won 33 in a row, everything you do is magnified and re-cast as magic. Until the Trojans lose a few games one of these years, all of Carroll's methods will be regarded as the stuff of genius, including the daily festivities at Howard Jones Field.

Genius or mere quirkiness, the scene is alluring and the generosity of spirit undeniable.

"We have something special here and we want to share it," Matua said. "It's a great way to give back."

Clearly at USC, where football is so mesmerizing, one day a week isn't enough.

Got a ticket? If cost is no object, you still can

PE.com

By DIAMOND LEUNG / The Press-Enterprise

You don't have to be the UCLA sports-marketing director to realize tickets for Saturday's UCLA-USC football game are in demand.

But even Scott Mitchell was floored when he fielded a call last week requesting admission to the big game on behalf of actress Pamela Anderson.

"It seems like everybody who thinks they're somebody wants to go," said Mitchell, who recalled the representative wondering aloud if it would matter if Anderson wore blue to the USC home game.

The request came much too late. With the game at the 92,000-seat Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum sold out for months, the ticket to see the showdown between the undefeated, top-ranked Trojans and one-loss Bruins at the Coliseum is smoking hot.

Almost as hot as USC, which is hoping to extend the nation's longest current winning streak, gain a berth to the Rose Bowl and keep alive the school's quest for an unprecedented third consecutive Associated Press national championship. But resurgent UCLA could significantly damage those chances by pulling the upset after losing the past six matchups.

When an already storied cross-town rivalry game of this magnitude descends on a city that hasn't hosted National Football League games in a decade, there is bound to be Hollywood-type hype.

" 'SC-UCLA is always a big ticket, but it obviously helps when you have USC winning 33 straight games and UCLA wanting to knock them off," said Ron Holt, owner of Top of the Line Tickets in Corona.

Entrepreneurs have flocked to the so-called secondary-ticket market on the Internet to scalp, er, resell extra tickets. And fans are paying top dollar to watch USC Heisman Trophy candidates Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush take on counterparts Drew Olson and Maurice Drew.

A single ticket with a $65 face value can command more than $1,000 on StubHub.com and TicketsNow.com, which allow users to deal extra passes to one another.

According to StubHub, the game set an all-time high for gross sales of a college football game since the Web site, an official partner with USC, launched in 2000.

"The prices I've seen are pretty crazy," said Jose Eskenazi, USC's associate athletic director of marketing. "It doesn't surprise me that there are a great number of tickets out there. What surprises me is the asking price."

Sellers are also auctioning off seats on eBay and posting classified ads on craigslist.org.

Users on craigslist offered to trade computing services, luggage and Swiss Army watches in exchange for tickets. In desperation, one potential buyer told a story about a friend who had promised him a ticket and gave it instead to his girlfriend, who didn't attend either school.

Palm Desert native Casey Cosgrove, chief operating officer at ClassifiedBuyers.com, said tickets on his site have been advertised for as much as $500.

"It's the American way," said Cosgrove, a USC graduate and season-ticket holder. "But I wouldn't sell mine for the world."

Neither would Marc Sawyer, president of UCLA's student-fan group the Den, who witnessed students camping out last month for the right to purchase tickets for the game. He also knows some who missed out on getting their share of 7,000 UCLA student tickets.

"They didn't really understand the implications this game has," said Sawyer, a junior from San Diego.

The battle for the Victory Bell hasn't been this big since 1967, when tailback O.J. Simpson led No. 2 USC to a 21-20 win over top-ranked UCLA in the year Bruin quarterback Gary Beban won the Heisman.

Another reason the Coliseum game quickly sold out this year: For the first time, both schools sold the vast majority of their tickets for the game through season packages because of the Trojans' on-field success.

USC sold a record number of about 50,000 season tickets this year, up from about 38,000 a year ago. The remainder of seats available to USC fans went to the students, who are receiving e-mailed tickets with specific seat assignments.

Even former Trojan players have been turned away, according to Steve Lopes, a USC senior associate athletic director.

UCLA received an allotment of about 20,000 tickets, down from an estimated 25,000-30,000 when USC last hosted the game two years ago. But Bruin officials understand how supply and demand works.

"I can't help them," said David Lowenstein, director of UCLA's Central Ticket Office, which has been inundated with desperate callers. "When you're out, you're out."

So Mitchell couldn't offer much to Anderson.

"I told her just like any other red-blooded American male to have her call me," said Mitchell, who conveniently didn't mention that he wasn't giving up his ticket for anything.

"This is going to be a great game."

Editorial: USC isn’t that bad, if you think about it ...

Obviously, this is from the Daily Bruin

What with the media blitz, national hype and inflated point spread surrounding Saturday's game against USC, this editorial board has done some serious thinking. And we've come to the realization that maybe a certain scarlet and gold institution across town isn't such a bad thing.

In fact, we're just going to jump on the bandwagon now and admit that perhaps we made a bad choice years ago when we tore up that USC admissions letter and moved to Westwood. We've come up with 10 good reasons why we wish we had gone to "that other school" instead:

1. Given that UCLA is one of the most recognized and marketable universities in the world, it would be much easier to travel without getting stopped by people who look at our Bruin sweatshirts in awe.

2. USC students apparently have a much lighter reading load, because if they had bothered to read Homer's "The Illiad" (or even seen the movie "Troy") they would notice that the Trojans actually lost the Trojan War, were largely exterminated, and had their city razed to the ground. Still, there are a lot worse mascots than Trojans – we have to admit, we do like their original pre-1912 mascot: the Fighting Methodists (we're not making that up).

3. It would be nice to have a quarterback who doesn't have the burden UCLA's Drew Olson carries to maintain nation-leading numbers in passing efficiency (172.47), passing touchdowns (30) and interception percentage (0.93). Whew, having 24 touchdowns and 7 interceptions must be even more of a load off than taking ballroom dancing as your only class.

4. UCLA's NCAA-leading 97 national titles have created an overly crowded trophy room and a home basketball court with far too many championship banners hanging from the rafters. But if we were at USC, we'd have more room to breathe easy. We also wouldn't have to hold onto the Lexus Gauntlet, which is taking up space in the J.D. Morgan Center right now.

5. Having a wall around campus creates a much more friendly and inclusive atmosphere. And we'd be better acquainted with the LAPD SWAT team.

6. Instead of having the best hospital on the West Coast, we'd go to a school that helps manage a county hospital that has recently been accused of routinely "dumping" its patients on skid row to fend for themselves. Who needs morals?

7. Any film school that rejected Steven Spielberg and still had the nerve to ask him for donations years later has some serious class.

8. We would be more familiar with the freeway system after so many car trips to Westwood to hang out and grab a bag of Diddy Riese cookies. The 45-minute car trip through traffic would give us time to bond with our fellow Trojans, because, let's face it, that five-minute walk from our Westwood apartments is way too easy.

9. We'd have the distinction of paying over four times as much for an education at a school that is consistently ranked behind UCLA every year.

10. As USC students, we would get to experience one the biggest upsets in college football history at our home stadium when the Bruins beat the Trojans on Saturday.

Happy rivalry.

So close to dream game, BCS 1 slip from chaos

MSNBC.com

COMMENTARY
By Ralph Russo
Updated: 4:05 a.m. ET Dec. 2, 2005

It’s so simple. Southern California and Texas stay undefeated Saturday, receive their Rose Bowl invitations the next day and the Bowl Championship Series falls into place with little consternation.

How cool would that be, BCS coordinator Kevin Weiberg?

“I think I’m pretty much a realist about the BCS arrangement,” the Big 12 commissioner said this week. “It would be great if we finish the season without a lot of questions about whether we have the right two teams in the championship game.

“But we’ve seen every year produce some surprises, so I’m not banking on that we won’t see some surprises this year.”

While one upset would create chaos, No. 1 USC and No. 2 Texas could have the most important BCS matter settled by early Saturday night.

The Longhorns (11-0) play the first of Championship Saturday’s big games against Colorado (7-4) in the Big 12 title game at 1 p.m. EST. Vince Young and Texas are about a four-touchdown favorite against a bunch of Buffaloes they beat by about four touchdowns in the regular season.

The Trojans (11-0) should be taking the Los Angeles Coliseum field as the Big 12 game in Houston is winding down, bringing with them a 33-game winning streak. No. 11 UCLA (9-1) awaits.

Pete Carroll’s two-time defending champion Trojans are favored by three touchdowns against Karl Dorrell’s resurgent, though defensively challenged, Bruins.

With Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush on the USC side and Drew Olson and Maurice Drew on the other, points should be plentiful.

The Southeastern Conference title and a BCS bid will be on the line in the Georgia Dome about an hour and a half after the Battle of L.A. kicks off. No. 3 LSU and No. 13 Georgia meet in Atlanta for the second time in three years.

Either would be a fine BCS representative for the SEC.

The Atlantic Coast Conference championship has another heavy favorite, with No. 5 Virginia Tech (10-1) facing Florida State (7-4), losers of three straight.

Barring one of those surprises Weiberg referred to — such as UCLA and Kansas State each kicking away a spot in the BCS title game on the last day of the 1998 regular season — college football’s Selection Sunday should shake out this way:

Rose Bowl — USC vs. Texas.

Fiesta Bowl — Notre Dame vs. Ohio State.

Orange Bowl — Penn State vs. Virginia Tech.

Sugar Bowl — SEC winner (too close to call) vs. West Virginia.

The Notre Dame haters will complain, the Pac-10 people will scream East Coast bias — though Midwest bias might be more appropriate — and the Oregon Ducks will take their 10-1 record to the Holiday Bowl, just as California did last season.

But what happens if USC or Texas loses? Or, and wouldn’t this be wild, what if both the Trojans and Longhorns go down and there are no unbeaten teams left in major college football, just a group of one-loss teams saying they should play for the national championship?

Let’s explore the possibilities:

What if USC loses?
The question has to be answered with another question: Can the Trojans lose to UCLA and still play for the national championship?

“I don’t even know how that works,” Carroll said. “I’m not even considering that possibility.”

So we will.

USC is atop the AP, Harris and coaches’ polls. The coaches’ and Harris polls drive the BCS standings formula. The final standings come out Sunday, and the top two teams play in the championship game.

For either USC or Texas to remain in one of those top two spots with a loss, they’ll need help from the poll voters. USC, which hasn’t lost in more than two years, is more likely than Texas to get the benefit of the doubt after a loss and remain ranked ahead of Penn State (10-1), LSU (10-1) and Virginia Tech (10-1).

Despite its 52-14 loss at Arizona, UCLA is a formidable opponent, which helps USC’s case. But a loss to the Bruins combined with that closer-than-expected 50-42 victory over Fresno State two weeks ago might make voters perceive USC as a team on the back side of its peak.

And it’s rare for a No. 1 team to lose before the bowls and only drop one spot in the polls. The last time it happened in the AP poll was when top-ranked Florida State lost at Notre Dame in 1993.

But most of these Trojans remember what happened two years ago when USC was No. 1 in the polls heading into the bowls, while Oklahoma and LSU were picked to play in the national title game.

“I’d definitely say that if we were to lose this weekend we should still be able to play for a national championship,” Bush said. “If you look at two years ago when Oklahoma lost to Kansas State, actually got killed by Kansas State, they still played in the national championship. So I definitely feel like we should still be able to play.”

If USC doesn’t get the Rose Bowl invite, the Trojans will still be in the BCS as the Pac-10 rep with a spot in the Fiesta Bowl guaranteed and a rematch with Notre Dame a distinct possibility.

What if Texas loses?
This is a simpler question to answer, because if the Longhorns lose to a Colorado team that was most recently seen on national television getting trashed at home by Nebraska 30-3, it’s safe to say the poll voters will not be kind to Mack Brown’s squad.

“It’s probably not fair because if you lose early, you’re in better shape than if you lose late. What does it matter? A loss is a loss,” Brown said.

Fair point, but back to reality.

A Texas loss immediately opens the door for Joe Paterno to take the Nittany Lions, third in the last BCS standings, to the Rose Bowl.

It also gives life to LSU, fourth in the BCS standings. If the Tigers could put a hurting on Georgia in the Bulldogs’ backyard, LSU might be able to jump over Penn State and on to Pasadena, Calif.

This much is certain, if either USC or Texas loses, there will be more teams with a case to play for the national title than Rose Bowl bids.

A Texas loss also puts Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl, and could send Notre Dame to the Orange or Sugar, depending on which team plays for a national title.

Could Texas find itself out of the BCS altogether if it loses? Probably not. More likely the Ohio State or Oregon argument becomes moot and the Longhorns become the other at-large team with the Fighting Irish.

What if USC and Texas lose
Let’s just say the BCS will have a really bad day.

Faster than speeding bullet, Bush will save day

Trojans need Heisman favorite to be superhuman against dangerous Bruins

COMMENTARY
By John Tamanaha
NBCSports.com contributor

Reggie Bush is the superhero of college football, swooping in when his team needs him the most, taking care of business, if not saving the day entirely. Like his comic book counterparts, he also is well known to his foes. But despite even their most detailed preparations to foil him, they eventually find themselves powerless to stop him.

Yes, there is no Kryptonite involved here, yet the only differences are in his outfit and availability. Instead of being dressed in primary-color spandex or a black rubber getup, Bush is clad in USC's ever popular No. 5 jersey, sold in a mall near you. And rather than getting the call via a symbolic light in the sky, Pete Carroll never goes anywhere without Bush, having him at the ready at all times.

Whether he's breaking off long runs, bringing back a punt or going out into the pattern to catch a pass downfield, Bush is always doing what is required to put his team in position to win. It never involves leaping over a tall building in a single bound, but it always deals with getting over the goal line, which is sometimes just as tough when the defense and everybody in a stadium filled with 90,000 people know that you are the one who is going to be getting the football.

He did it four times last year, even though he was just a sophomore and not even a "starter," saving the day for the Trojans in games against Virginia Tech, Stanford, Oregon State and UCLA. That kept USC undefeated and propelled the Trojans toward the Orange Bowl and BCS title.

Quarterback Matt Leinart took most of the credit and the Heisman Trophy a year ago. But if not for the heroics of Bush, an un-undefeated Leinart probably would not have won USC's sixth Heisman Trophy.

This year, it's Bush's turn and he's kept the superhero act going, making the difference in the victory at Oregon, shifting the momentum dramatically at Notre Dame and finishing with 513 all-purpose yards in USC's recent shootout with Fresno State.

Even when he's not running, receiving or returning the football, Bush can't avoid making the difference in a huge way. In South Bend, having already rushed for touchdowns runs of 45 and 36 yards against the Fighting Irish and amassing 160 rushing yards, Bush found himself without the football and powerless as the game hung in the balance in the final seconds ... or so he thought.

Then, as Leinart went through with his decision to try a daring quarterback sneak to snatch the victory, he initially got stopped cold.

Coming to the rescue once again, Bush pushed Leinart to the left and into the end zone for the win.

Technically, the "Bush Push" was illegal. But so is swinging from building top to building top or standing a trolley up on its end to catch a crook, while snarling all the traffic in half of Metropolis. A hero's work is never done and they always get lots of leeway.

On Saturday, Bush will go against yet another familiar foe ... and, of course, one that he's already mastered. Last year, Bush exploded versus UCLA for a 65-yard touchdown run on the game's second play and then followed that up with a 81-yarder in the second quarter, leading the Trojans to a 29-24 victory at the Rose Bowl.

They won't admit it, but the Bruins are shaking in their cleats.

UCLA has one of the nation's most maligned run defenses. The Bruins, who are nearly off the national charts at No. 115 against the run, allowing 219.5 yards per game, are practically a sure thing to end up providing Bush with at least a couple Heisman moments.

Unlike this season's other Heisman contenders — three of which also will be on the field with him at the Coliseum on Saturday, Leinart, UCLA quarterback Drew Olson and Bruin tailback Maurice Drew — Bush will have the biggest opportunity to shine.

Knowing that it will be in their best interest to control the clock and keep Olson's ultra-efficient offense on the Bruin sidelines, Carroll and offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin are likely to keep the ball on the ground a lot. And with backfield mate LenDale White nursing a bruised left shoulder, Bush should carry the load for the Trojans.

The Bruin offense is more than capable of putting up a lot of points on USC's deceptively vulnerable defense, which most recently forced Fresno State into five turnovers, but still surrendered 42 points. Clearly, the more time Olson spends off the field, the more time USC can start making plans for Pasadena on Jan 4.

If things go according to schedule for the Trojans, the postgame celebration might not just feature a lot of footballers with roses in clenched in their teeth. There may also be a passing of the torch.

Leinart referred to Bush as the best player in college football at this time last year, as they were both headed for New York City, and also was saying the same thing as this current season got underway. It's a pretty good bet that he'll get around to doing that again after Los Angeles' crosstown showdown, endorsing the Heisman candidacy of his worthy teammate ... and part-time superhero.

Nobody's going to catch Bush

FOXSports.com

Michael Rosenberg / Special to FOXSports.com

It's time for the Big 12 "championship game" (their words, not mine), which means Vince Young is about to throw for 900 yards and six touchdowns, and run for another three, in Texas' 99-3 shellacking of Colorado.

That's the same Colorado that got crushed by Nebraska last week, and if you want to know how pathetic that is, ask anybody in Nebraska.

Meanwhile, over on the West Coast, USC and Reggie Bush face a better team: UCLA.

Maybe Bush will fumble four times and the Trojans will lose. But otherwise, the Heisman Trophy should go to Bush, no matter what Young does Saturday in an overcooked Big 12 finale.

I love the Heisman, which seems to exist solely to start fights in bars, but inevitably, you find yourself ripping the second-best player in the country to bolster your argument.

It's ridiculous. With the Heisman, we should love all the candidates; it's the exact opposite of a presidential election.

So let's get this straight: Even if I racked up four million frequent-flier miles in my quest, I could not find anything bad to say about Vince Young's ability. He is a mesmerizing talent, and is far more deserving of the Heisman than quite a few men who won the award in the past.

So this is nothing against Young, a freakish talent in his own right.

It has everything to do with Reggie Bush.

There are many reasons why people get Heisman votes. This might be because one-third of all Americans vote for the damn thing, and there are a few wise old chaps who keep writing in Jay Berwanger.

But if you list the prominent reasons for choosing a winner, every one of them points to Bush.

Jaw-dropping stats? Bush.

Eye-popping highlights? Bush.

Best performances in big games? Bush.

Biggest overall effect on the game? Bush.

Best player on the best team? Bush. (OK, so you could argue for Young, too. And I'm sort of/semi-/possibly/considering picking Texas in the Rose Bowl. But at the very least, this is a wash.)

First, the numbers: Bush is averaging 8.6 yards per carry. That is beyond great. That's supernatural. His backfield mate, LenDale White, averages 6.3 behind the same offensive line — also excellent, but still not near Bush's output. And White is a first-round pick in waiting.

What do 8.6 yards per carry mean? It means when Bush gets the ball on 1st-and-10, and he turns it into 2nd-and-2, and then goes back to the huddle, his teammates ask what went wrong.

It's true that Bush "only" has 1,398 yards, and rarely carries the ball 20 times. But that's only because White is so good and because the Trojans win most games by four touchdowns. If USC coach Pete Carroll simply wanted another Heisman winner, Bush would have 2,000 yards. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that when Bush only got eight carries in a 70-17 polishing off Arkansas, it wasn't because he was tired.

You would think that Bush's numbers would become human when he faced tougher competition. In fact, he actually raised his game when USC needed him most.

In USC's 38-28 struggle with Arizona State, Bush ran 17 times for 158 yards and two touchdowns. In the Game of the Year in South Bend, Bush ran 15 times for 160 yards and three scores.

And of course, in USC's 50-42 nail-biter against Fresno State, Bush put on a performance for the ages: 294 yards rushing on 23 carries; 68 yards on three receptions, and 161 yards on returns. For the math-challenged, that is 513 all-purpose yards — PlayStation numbers.

So yeah, you could say Bush's numbers are all right, and he ain't bad when it really counts. And yet ... when you watch Bush play, he is even better than you imagined. He goes from 0 to 60 and back to 0 in an instant. He changes direction quicker than any politician. And he is the best return man in college football — the only reason his numbers don't show it is because teams are desperate to kick away from him.

If Bush doesn't win, it will be because a) Young has had an exceptional year; and b) his team is so loaded that other Trojans siphon off votes. To me, this is a rare case where Bush's teammates enhance his candidacy. On almost any other team, Leinart would be the undisputed top dog, and White would be a cinch All-American candidate. On the Trojans, everybody takes a back seat to Reggie Bush.

Don't feel bad, fellas. The rest of the country feels the same way.

Bush turns running back into glamour position

FOXSports.com

Ian O'Connor / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: 27 minutes ago

Reggie Bush can pull three Jim Marshalls on Saturday, giving the UCLA Bruins a good half dozen points' worth of safeties, and he should still win the Heisman Trophy by Secretariat lengths.

Bush can zig and zag toward the wrong end zone for four quarters if he so desires, and he should still take 923 out of a possible 923 first-place Heisman votes.

Let the quarterbacks hand off and clear a path to the podium. Matt Leinart won the trophy last year, Brady Quinn is going to win the trophy next year, and — for the purposes of the Dec. 10 announcement of college sports' most revered honor — Vince Young is going to consider himself born at the worst possible time.

Young will make for a great NFL player. He just won't do it with the H-word printed in bold on his Division I resume.

Young represents a one-man band of Cavaliers and Knicks in Michael Jordan's prime. The Texas quarterback would've and should've won the Heisman in a different day — the likes of Jason White, Chris Weinke, Danny Wuerffel and Gino Torretta surely couldn't have beaten him out.

But Bush is what grizzled baseball scouts would call the ultimate five-tool player: he can run, he can catch, he can pass, he can return kickoffs, and he can return punts. Bush is a pedal-to-the-metal, video-game blur all dressed up in Trojan mythology. He is a comic-book superhero locked inside something of an Everyman's six-foot, 200-pound body.

"If you've got a linebacker covering him," Washington State coach Bill Doba once memorably said of Bush, "you might as well start singing their fight song."

Even if Leinart hadn't won the Heisman last year, and even if there wasn't this irresistible force of human nature pulling voters away from the prospect of another Archie Griffin double, Bush should trounce his teammate in the balloting. Southern California's classic 50-42 victory over Fresno State forever settled the debate over which Trojans star is more valuable to the cause of what is now a DiMaggio-like 33-game winning streak.

With his 513 now-you-see-him, now-you-don't yards, Bush was as great in the Fresno game as any college football player's been in any game. Nobody ever ran the ball harder. Nobody ever hit the hole faster. Nobody ever cut on the dead run quicker and sharper than Bush did that night, when he made like the Road Runner and the Bulldogs made like a hopeless procession of Wile E. Coyotes tackling nothing but dust clouds.

"An awesome weapon," Leinart called him.

A tailback who should easily break the streak of five straight Heisman winners who happen to play quarterback.

Quarterback — that's the glamour position, of course. Many consider it the most vital position in team sports. If Bush were as good a quarterback as he is a tailback, he'd be the most coveted draft prize in NFL history. NFL scouts and general managers are on a never-ending hunt for the next special quarterback, because history tells them the man behind center is the surest ticket to a ticker-tape parade.

"He determines the personality of the whole team," said Giants GM Ernie Accorsi. "I remember sitting in an airport with Mike Sherman after one of Eli Manning's (pre-draft) workouts, and Mike was looking for Brett Favre's successor. We were both on this safari because if you have a chance to draft a franchise quarterback, you have to do it.

"The great quarterbacks are the guys who win Super Bowls, but a lot of the great running backs haven't managed to do that. There's no defense for a great quarterback, but you can shut down a great running back."

Reggie Bush arrives as the antidote to that argument. By the singular power of his athletic grace, Bush could make running back the glamour position. Bush, not Leinart, is the Trojan no head coach or defensive coordinator can adequately game-plan for, the Trojan who has never met a trap he couldn't dodge.

Bush has all the Heisman-hopeful quarterbacks surrounded now. Even Leinart is poised to vote for his friend. It doesn't matter if USC loses its intramural game with UCLA Saturday, or if the Bruins' defense somehow hits the brakes on the Trojans' tailback express.

If Bush doesn't win the Heisman, the voting process would have reduced itself to a simple equation:

Subtract the "C" from BCS.

Bruins' defense has its hands full with USC

ESPN.com


By Ted Miller
Special to ESPN.com

You know that old line about the irresistible force meeting the immovable object and what great fun that would be to watch because, you know, something cool and, like, subatomic would happen?

Well, get over it. That isn't the story when UCLA visits USC on Saturday.

The Trojans are bringing their irresistible force of an offense -- and the Bruins' force ain't too shabby, either -- but, apparently, immovable objects are about as scarce in L.A. as Paris Hilton's dignity.

And, oh, that UCLA defense. Immovable object? The Bruins' defense is a feather pillow.

The safety of a telephone line makes it easy to mention this to Bruins LB Spencer Havner, who surely sometimes feels as if he's a talented actor trapped in a Max Bialystock production of "Springtime for Hitler."

UCLA's four-year starter and two-time All-Pac-10 linebacker has accumulated 387 tackles and 42 tackles for loss in his career -- both totals ranking third on the school's all-time list -- often while dodging staggering bodies of defensive linemen flying around him like shrapnel.

So, what's it like being the star of a defense that surrenders more yards (435.4 per game) than any other ranked team? Has Havner, perhaps, heard the pundits poking fun at the Bruins' run defense, which ranks 115th in the country (219.5 yards per game)?

How's it feel to turn on "College GameDay" and hear the boys crack on you? "Yea, those guys are funny," Havner said through teeth that may have been grinding. "I think [Lee] Corso hates us. Those guys take their shots. It's tough to hear sometimes."

Havner knows there isn't much defense for his defense, though tailback Maurice Drew offers one: The Bruins are 9-1, so pfftt.

"They haven't been doing that good of a job stopping [teams], but they've been doing well enough for us to win games," Drew explained.

The conventional wisdom is that No. 11 UCLA's only hope against top-ranked and undefeated USC, owner of a 33-game winning streak, is for something strange to happen, such as a gaggle of miscues induced by rivalry-game mystique.

UCLA's offense is very good; it ranks fifth in the nation (40 points per game). But the Trojans are wicked-good. They lead the nation in total offense (571.3 yards per game) and are second in scoring (48.5 points per game). They've scored in 40 of 44 quarters this season. They've punted just 31 times, fewest in the nation.

Perhaps Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush will be distracted by their plans for an evening surrounded by velvet ropes at Marquee in Manhattan after one or the other wins the Heisman Trophy, but that seems unlikely with a Rose Bowl invitation and a chance for an unprecedented third consecutive national title hanging in the balance.

So how do you stop them?

"You're not going to stop them," UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said.

Of course, the Bruins were supposed to be patsies last year. They entered that rivalry contest having lost three of five in large part because -- surprise -- their defense was terrible.

USC, winner of six straight in the series, prevailed 29-24 when a desperation UCLA drive in the waning moments ended with a Drew Olson interception.

While Bush supplied dramatics with scoring prances of 81 and 65 yards, the Trojans' hero was since-departed kicker Ryan Killeen, who booted a school-record five field goals.

That means five times the Trojans, with essentially the same cast of future NFL All-Pros, couldn't bully over the goal line against the boys in pastel powder-blue.

The Bruins, in fact, sacked Leinart three times, forced an interception and held the budding Heisman Trophy winner without a touchdown pass for the first time in 25 starts.

"We gained from that experience," Dorrell said. "It gave us a feeling that we're not far off."

That said, two of those sacks came from defensive tackle Kevin Brown, who has missed the entire season with an ankle injury.

The Bruins' defense might be small -- average weight of the front four: 266 pounds -- but it's also young, starting six freshmen or sophomores with seven others on the two-deep depth chart.

Despite youth and injuries, they've had their moments.

Unlike Texas, UCLA whipped Oklahoma when tailback Adrian Peterson was healthy, holding the sophomore to 58 yards rushing on 23 carries in a 41-24 victory.

The D also tends to cowboy-up in the fourth quarter. Opponents average 6.7 yards per play in the first half but just 4.1 in the fourth. UCLA has outscored opponents 129-41 in the fourth quarter, while engineering four comebacks from double-digit deficits in the final frame.

USC coach Pete Carroll, while noting the Bruins have altered their scheme to account for personnel deficiencies, insisted that a significant element of their struggles is playing in the Pac-10, where seven offenses average over 418 yards per game.

"No question that's a factor," Carroll said. "They've won nine games. [The defensive statistics are] a statement about who they have to play each week."

UCLA's general plan will be fairly simple: Make the Trojans work for their points; don't give up big plays; try to create turnovers.

With three weeks to prepare, however, the Bruins figure to have a whole bunch of special schemes intended to thwart Bush, Leinart and Co. The question is whether the irresistible force will even notice.

"You can't really game plan for [Bush]," Leinart said. "You can't really game plan us."

Dennis waiting for his turn

Press-Telegram - Sports

Doug Krikorian
Staff columnist

He is seated at a table outside Heritage Hall, and inside the USC athletic facility Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush are addressing the media in a conference room.

He knows if the script of his football career had unfolded the way he envisioned that it would have been him inside there answering questions about the UCLA match and about his Heisman Trophy hopes and about his future plans for the NFL.

But it hasn't, and he has found out, as every human being inevitably does, that there are dramatic curves in life that test one's strength and resilience and toughness.

Students walk unknowingly past him in their shuffle of blithe self-absorbed innocence, and he sits there quietly discussing his thoughts about being in the shadows during a Big Game week in which he once thought it was his preordained destiny to be in the glare of the spotlight.

"Things don't always turn out the way you plan them," he says wistfully.

They certainly haven't for 21-year-old Hershel Dennis, who arrived at USC with a glittering resume of extraordinary achievements at Poly High and who at one time was ahead of Reggie Bush and LenDale White on the Trojans' depth chart as he started all the team's 13 games during its national championship season of 2003.

"Had a lot of fun," he says.

But the fun disappeared quickly and harrowingly for Hershel Dennis in 2004 when two incidents conspired to unravel his station with the Trojans.

During the summer training camp, he was the central figure in a widely documented sexual assault investigation that led to his being kept out of early season games against Virginia Tech and Colorado State.

No charges ever were filed against Dennis, but his name being linked to such a police matter left a negative public perception.

"People were saying things about me that simply were untrue," he says. "The impression that was given in the media was that I was some sort of rapist. The woman involved, who was a friend of mine but not a girlfriend, never said I did such a thing. And I didn't. But people choose to believe what they want. Sure, the whole thing bothered me, and was very unsettling. But what counts most with me is that I know what my friends believe."

After returning to the Trojans, Hershel Dennis found himself playing behind Bush and White and playing on the special teams and spending a lot of time on the bench for the first time in his football career.

"I did what I could to help the team," says Dennis, who would carry the ball only 28 times for 109 yards after rolling up 661 yards on 137 tries the previous season. "I didn't brood about the lack of playing time. That's not my nature. I just kept working hard, and rooting for my teammates to do well."

But it would get worse for Hershel Dennis later in the season in mid December when he would tear the ligaments in his left knee during practice for the Trojans' BCS Orange Bowl showdown with Oklahoma.

"It happened during a scrimmage when I was running around the end, and our cornerback, Eric Wright, came up to hit me," relates Dennis. "My leg got planted, and there went my ACL and MCL in the knee. You just never think something like that can happen to you. It happens to other people, but not to you. I thought I had a lucky shield around me. And when it does happen, you're momentarily shattered.

"I remember lying in the hospital after the operation, and feeling a little down. And then I started thinking to myself, 'I'm going turn this into a positive." And I think I have. Staying out this year has been a good thing for me. It's made me grow up and become a more mature person. I'm now concentrating more on my studies and also in getting myself in the best shape of my life.

"I've been working out two hours every day, lifting weights and doing rehab on the knee. I honestly think the year off will improve me as a player. The knee feels great, and I'm doing a lot of running on it. I believe the knee injury was a blessing for me."

Pete Carroll thinks Hershel Dennis still will make an impact with the Trojans.

"We're expecting Hershel to be a big factor for us next season," says Carroll. "I know he's coming along well in his conditioning, and we expect him to be a big part of our offense."

If Hershel Dennis is healthy and he insists he is he could regain his starting running back job next fall if Reggie Bush and LenDale White depart for the NFL, which they're expected to do.

"The final chapter of my USC story hasn't been written yet," says Dennis.

Still, as he sits there calmly answering a reporter's questions, there is a distinct sadness that pervades Hershel Dennis' persona.

"How does it feel to see two men you started ahead of like Bush and White only two years ago now receiving all the acclaim?" he is asked.

"I'm happy for them," he says. "I've always been a team player. They're both great running backs who deserve all the publicity they're getting."

"How tough is this for you not being able to play?"

"Not tough at all. I'll be there Saturday afternoon on the Trojans' sidelines rooting for my team. Sure, I'd prefer to be playing. But that's just not the way it is for me at the moment. My day still will come. I hope. . ."

Reggie Bush's Bootleg Series

Reggie Bush walked off the field after the Trojans defeated Fresno State, 50-42.

New York Times

By LEE JENKINS
Published: November 30, 2005

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 27 - Helix High School conveniently stores its old highlight tape of Reggie Bush in the sports medicine center.

"You'll see some stuff on here," the Helix athletic director, Damon Chase, cautioned, "that is really pretty sickening."

Despite the lack of a warning label, the footage of Bush, Helix's most aerodynamic alumnus, can induce dizzy spells, even for a jaded viewer numbed by hours of cable highlight shows.

The tape includes eight minutes of cut backs, jump stops, spin moves and slipped tackles that have not yet been broadcast on national television.

With limited sound and only one slow-motion replay, the tape acts as an underground treasure in Southern California. Watching it feels sort of like listening to a bootlegged copy of a Bob Dylan basement concert. "I don't know who exactly has the tape right now," Chase said. "But I know it's been copied a lot."

At Helix, nostalgic faculty members play it for laughs. At U.S.C., coaches have used it to regale guests. Check out the clip where he runs across the field and back again; the one where he breaks two tackles at the same time; the one where he spins away from a defender, fakes another and hurdles a third; the one where he ...

Bush's college highlights have made him a national phenomenon, but his pre-college highlights are the grainy stuff of prep legend. Before every game, Bush reminds himself where his long broken-field run began. He has instructed the Trojans' equipment coordinator to scrawl San Diego's primary area code, 619, in silver ink on his eye-black patches. Bush's personal fashion statement has already become the latest trend in gridiron style.

"I asked him why he wanted to do it," said Tino Dominguez, U.S.C.'s equipment coordinator. "And he told me he wanted to keep the San Diego tradition alive."

Bush is not the only ball carrier from his hometown with highlight tapes still in circulation. If he can spring another move or two in the regular-season finale Saturday against U.C.L.A., Bush could become the fourth running back from San Diego to win the Heisman Trophy in the past 25 years. Considering that U.S.C. is known as Tailback U, San Diego may soon be regarded as Tailback Town.

"It means a lot to be from the same place as all those Heisman winners," Bush said. "That is something that really drives me. But I'm still curious to see if I can uphold the tradition."

Marcus Allen (Heisman Trophy winner, 1981) was bigger, Ricky Williams (1998) was stronger and Rashaan Salaam (1994) ran more upright. But for balance and agility, for turning inside handoffs into outside runs and short passes into mammoth gains, Bush has long been in his own area code.

"I remember that those other backs got hit occasionally in high school," said John Shacklett, a former high school coach in San Diego now on the board of the Hall of Champions, a museum dedicated to local athletics. "But nobody ever touched Reggie."

When Bush was 9 years old, his stepfather put him in a Pop Warner league because the boy was too hyper to keep around the house all the time. In the first game, Bush reportedly finished with 7 touchdowns and 287 yards. In the second game, he had 8 touchdowns and 544 yards. "I couldn't believe what I saw," said his stepfather, Lamar Griffin.

Bush was practically born into the backfield. He grew up in Southeast San Diego, the same part of the city as Terrell Davis, the former Denver Broncos tailback. As a kid, he watched Marshall Faulk run at San Diego State. Then he started training with LaDainian Tomlinson, the San Diego Chargers' tailback.

"I noticed some of myself in him as far as creativity," Tomlinson said. "He likes to express himself and do different things with the football."

At Helix, coaches used Bush as their punter, trusting him to take off whenever he saw an opening. Recruiters seem to remember Helix faking about as many punts as it attempted. "Reggie would line up back there and make 22 people miss," said Kennedy Pola, the former U.S.C. running backs coach. "That's 11 twice."

Still, according to Pola, his colleagues at U.S.C. were not sold on Bush until they saw The Tape. It was hard not to feel sorry for the opposing players on the field. "That's the film that convinced the rest of the staff," said Pola, now an assistant with the Jacksonville Jaguars. "They popped it in and went, 'Wow, we've got to get this guy.' "

Bush fit right into U.S.C.'s tailback tradition, but he has never totally fit in with the Trojans. Although U.S.C. fashions itself a laid-back champion, staging pranks and playing practical jokes, Bush generally acts as intense as a 10-year pro. When teammates form makeshift mosh pits in the locker room after victories, Bush is more likely to tiptoe on the benches around the perimeter, usually above the fray.

He seems to understand what he has gained and all he has to lose. Bush's mother, Denise, is a deputy sheriff who works at a San Diego jail. His stepfather is a minister and a security guard at a local high school. For cautionary tales, Bush must only listen to his parents, or look at a couple of the Heisman-winning tailbacks from his hometown.

Williams failed multiple drug tests for marijuana and was suspended for part of this season by the National Football League. Salaam admitted to reporters that he took marijuana for depression and said the drug contributed to the disintegration of his N.F.L. career. Another running back from San Diego, Tampa Bay's Michael Pittman, spent two weeks in jail last year after pleading guilty to one count of endangerment after he was charged with driving his Hummer into a Mercedes carrying his wife and his son.

Bush has another year of college eligibility remaining, but few expect him back at U.S.C. He could easily win the Heisman Trophy and become a top pick in the draft, perhaps going to San Francisco and joining his old high school quarterback, Alex Smith.

The 49ers can assume that Smith wouldn't mind getting another glimpse of the rolling highlight reel with 619 different moves.

Chat with Reggie Bush

ESPN.com: SPORTSNATION - Chat-10028

Welcome to The Show! On Thursday, USC junior tailback Reggie Bush -- leading contender for the 2005 Heisman Trophy and a finalist for the Doak Walker and Maxwell Awards -- logged on to take your questions and comments right here in chat.

Bush, the 2005 Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year, and his Trojans are gearing up for Saturday's game against crosstown rival UCLA. Top-ranked, two-time defending national champs USC host the No. 11 Bruins in the Coliseum. A USC win would give the Trojans the conference title outright and propel Troy -- already a lock for the Fiesta Bowl -- into the Rose Bowl for its second consecutive BCS Championship game.

Check out the full transcript below!

SportsNation The ShowGirl: Hey football fans, welcome to The Show! Defensive backs can't catch Reggie Bush, but we can! We caught up with El Presidente and he's making a special appearance today to answer your questions!

SportsNation The ShowGirl: Hey folks, we're starting a little early ... let's roll!

SportsNation Reggie Bush: Hi everybody. Thanks for joining me in this chat room. The support is greatly appreciated.

Alex Jackson (Richmond, VA): If you guys are up by enough points on Saturday and you get into the endzone will you strike the Heisman pose?

SportsNation Reggie Bush: (Laughs) Nahh, I don't think I'll do that, I've never been that type of player ... but I don't know. You never know -- you just never know. We'll see.

Dave, Omaha: Who is the toughest team you've played all year? Who is the best player (offense or defense) you've played against?

SportsNation Reggie Bush: Toughest team this year was probably Notre Dame -- although I hate to admit it. (laughs) They took us all the way down to the wire and gave us a run for our money. We made a lot of mistakes too, to give them the chance to remain in it. As for the toughest player, I don't know. The guy that sticks out is #42, the safety for Hawaii, he was just everywhere, involved in everything. I don't know his name but he was fast and he was a great player and everytime I got tackled, he was there.

Chris, Boise ID: You played them both, so which would be the better team fit for the Fiesta Bowl, Notre Dame or Oregon?

SportsNation Reggie Bush: I don't know. It's a toss up, but I guess I would say Notre Dame.

Max (Newark, NJ): Do you think you should have been flagged for aiding Leinart into the endzone against Notre Dame?

SportsNation Reggie Bush: No I don't. Just because, I mean, obviously I'm not going to say I'd flag myself. Maybe if it was somebody else. But, it helped us win the game, of course I'm going to say no.

Charles McClurg (Lynchburg, VA): What do you think your biggest challenge will be in your up coming game against UCLA?

SportsNation Reggie Bush: I'd say just the game itself. It's a bigtime rivalry for us and a big one in college football. In these types of games, you can never really just look at stats or records because anything is possible!

Matt (Eugene, OR): Reggie: Has Matt Leinart's ballroom dancing class improved his footwork on the field?

SportsNation Reggie Bush: (Laughs) Yeah, he has rushed for some more touchdowns than he has in the past. He is looking a little more mobile lately!

Karen, Hollywood CA: What are you thinking about when you dance around the defense?

SportsNation Reggie Bush: Score. Score and don't get hit. It's as simple as that.

Alex Jackson (Richmond, VA): If you guys get past UCLA and Texas stumbles in the Big 12 Championship who would you want to play in the National Championship?

SportsNation Reggie Bush: I'd rather play Texas because I feel like they are the next best team, or the best team, or whatever. I want a chance to play them and I think that's what the people want and of course we want to play the team we think is the best out there.

BDG (Los Angeles, CA): How is your back? Are you a 100% for this Saturday? Will White be ready to go for Thunder and Lighting? Fight On!

SportsNation Reggie Bush: I don't think I've been 100% for a game since Hawaii, so, no, but that's just something you have to deal with. You just keep playing football, being a gladiator out there. As far as LenDale is concerned, he will be ready for Saturday.

Seth, Friendswood, Texas: Hey Reggie if you decide to come out you're not gonna pull an Eli/Elway and refuse to play for my Texans are you?

SportsNation Reggie Bush: (Laughs) No, I just want the opportunity to have the chance and make my mark. Wherever I go, I'll go. As far as Eli, he felt like he didn't want to play for a team for whatever reason and I don't think he should be held for that. Maybe the way he went about it wasn't a popular choice, but if he didn't feel right about something, then he has the right to make that decsion.

Davis, (Cd'A, Idaho): Hey Pres, you obviously bulked up since coming to SC, but do you think you've mantained your speed? You think if you got a rematch in the state 100M you would take the gold now? I think so, FIGHT ON!

SportsNation Reggie Bush: I don't know, I haven't ran track since high school. I was supposed to run track here but I held back after surgery and my focus is now on football. I don't know if I could do it again, I'm definitely not in track shape, though!

Brad (Tampa, FL): Reggie, Even with all of your amazing displays of freakish athleticism, don't you feel that Vince Young (equally freakish in ability) has been equal or more important to his team?

SportsNation Reggie Bush: Vince Young is a great player and I have the utmost respect for him and what he has been able to do for his team. He is a competitor and a playmaker. He too is exceptionally talented and gifted, he has so much God-given ability and has led that program to a possible national championship. You have to respect a guy like that. Of course.

Cheddar (Switzerland): Reggie...when was the last time your team LOST a game while your were starting...even in High School?

SportsNation Reggie Bush: Uhhhh. Man. It was the championship game of my senior year, we lost to Oceanside High School.

SportsNation Reggie Bush: That was a big loss for us. Not the ideal way to end your senior year but nevertheless that was a great year and career there.

Matt L. (Heritage Hall): You've made us proud, Mr. President, but nothing would make us happier than a press conference to announce you will be back next year. You're pretty good, so SC would welcome you back. As you know, I don't think the NFL is much fun so I think you should stay here. Whadya say?

SportsNation Reggie Bush: Ahha. Well, Matt, I would definitely love to come back and play for USC another year. SC has given me nothing but great memories and support. I haven't made my decision yet and I am not going to do that until we have accomplished our goals and that is, beating UCLA this Saturday and winning another national championship. Right now, I am focussed on that and then I will make my decision.

Michael (Los Angeles, CA): Hi Reggie, how do you feel about your high school football videotapes making the New York Times??

SportsNation Reggie Bush: I just heard about that today, I haven't seen it yet!

cliffton (stephney): thank you. the way you play gave me inspiration in playing and more confidence

Christian (Woodland Hills): Reggie, just wanted to thank you for coming to SC and representing yourself as an incredible student and athlete.

SportsNation Reggie Bush: Thanks so much for logging on and joining me today everybody. I have to get going, but I really appreciate all of your questions and comments and all of the fans' support.

SportsNation Reggie Bush: Take care, fight on.

Doug (SD): Reggie - I still remember the day you said you were coming to USC (Army All-American game). It's an honor to have you in the Trojan family. I'm not sure USC football players really--TRULY--understand just how much we support you guys and how much enjoyment we get from knowing you represent USC.

Al Davis (Oakland): Reggie, wait, we need you.RAIDER NATION

jesse (rhode island): reggie you are awsome, i hope i can see you in a 49ers jersey, u would look good dominating the nfl in red and gold

Joe (Houston Texas): Reggie, I wouldn't have a problem with you coming out early. You have a chance to be the first pick in the draft and the Texans can definitely use a guy like you to take the pressure of David Carr. Whadya say?

SportsNation The ShowGirl: Alright everybody, hold all those NFL requests, The President has left the building. Thanks for joining Reggie today. Sorry it was a short one, but he's a busy man! Take care.

"Cancer"

Scout.com: WeAreSC dinner

Speech written by Ryan Davidson

Cancer. It's one of the scariest words you can ever hear. "You have cancer," is the one sentence no one wants to hear. But for some people, they hear it twice. I am one of those people.

There are a lot of hard things about having cancer, but it's not all bad. I was only six years old when I was first diagnosed. It was June, and I was having a lot of headaches. Soon my left hand got noticeably weaker and I could barely do anything with it. This continued into July so my mom took me to the doctor. He checked me over, then sent me to have an MRI. They found that I had a brain tumor.

Later that day I went to the hospital and the very next morning I had surgery. I was nervous because I didn't know what would happen. My surgery went well. I then had radiation treatment for six weeks. After my surgery and treatment I was cancer free for almost five years.

About five years later I went to the hospital for a routine MRI. That night my family was supposed to have a celebration dinner for my five year cancer free anniversary, but it turned differently. We again heard the words "You have cancer." Since the tumor was a lot smaller I didn't have to have surgery for almost a month. What a way to end fifth grade!

Now I'm in 7th grade and soon to be 13. I'm on preventive chemotherapy and take 15 pills every day. I take them every day and night. Cancer has been very hard for me. Every morning I wake up wondering, "Will I make it to school?" Some days I wake up and feel like I could sleep until tomorrow. I only made it to school about one-third of the time. Missing school makes me miss my friends, orchestra, and playing sports. I can barely run and going up stairs feels like somebody's pushing me down.

Although there are a lot of difficult things with cancer, it's not all rough. About a year ago, someone heard my story. Connections were made and I met the entire USC football team before the Cal game. They knew and understood my story and were so nice to me. There I was with my role models who I've looked up to for so long, and they're looking up to me. Now, I've taken the school's motto "Fight On!" with me for everything I do. I've taken this motto with me and I'd like you to do the same. We all have our struggles. Some life threatening, some you face every day. No matter what, we all need to "Fight On!"

How one person defines 'fight on'

Daily Trojan

By: Adam Maya

Ryan Davidson was prepared to tell them everything.

He was going to tell them about how he flew out from Wisconsin to Los Angeles for USC's game against California last fall. Let's see, there was the encounter at Heritage Hall, when coach Pete Carroll took him into his office so the two could watch game film. Then there was practice, when the players circled around him while chanting his name. And then the game - Ryan sat at the 45-yard line before heading into the locker room to spend some time with his idols.

But mostly - before passing the speech over to his father - he was going to tell them about the cancer.

"Cancer. It's one of the scariest words you can ever hear," Kirby Davidson read from a speech Ryan wrote for a crowd of USC alumni and fans over dinner Wednesday evening at Papadakis Taverna. "'You have cancer,' is the one sentence no one wants to hear. But for some people, they hear it twice. I am one of those people."

Ryan's heard a lot of things in his 12 years. Diagnosed with a brain tumor at six years old, the skinny, brown-haired, blue-eyed miracle heard the cancer was gone after six months of radiation. Then, in May of 2004, on the day he was supposed to celebrate five years of being cancer free, he heard it had returned.

He was going to have steak that day, his favorite meal. Instead, he began an experimental form of chemotherapy that his father, Kirby, said has only been used on about six to 10 kids in the United States. Thankfully, Ryan was diagnosed this time before a tumor had developed.

"He hears the news of people dying with cancer," Kirby said. "We always remind him no two people are alike."

Which is why Ryan is talking about it. Sure, some days are hard on him. He experiences fatigue. On occasion his left side is weak. He takes 15 pills a day and, of course, his hair is gone. But the real reason he's telling this band of Trojan supporters about the cancer is because they are his family.

Despite growing up in Sun Prarie, Wis., Ryan has been a Trojan since Carson Palmer returned USC to glory. Last year, his dream, as part of the Make a Wish Foundation, was to see the USC-Cal game. A year and several Trojan shepherds later, Ryan has attended last year's Cal game, the Orange Bowl, this year's Notre Dame game and, come Saturday, the UCLA game.

"It's such an uplifting experience," Kirby said. "The one thing we've definitely learned, when they say it's a Trojan family, it's a family."

Kirby finished Ryan's speech with a motto his son recently adopted and wants his family to follow as well: "Fight on!".

We've all heard it before. But Ryan isn't talking about simply giving the victory sign.

"When you get down, you can get back up," Ryan said. "You're down but not out."

Some days he feels as though he could sleep until the next day. Every morning he wonders if he'll make it to school. The seventh-grader managed a 3.4 GPA despite attending just 16 of 45 school days in the first quarter this year. But the hardest part was missing out on sports, playing in the orchestra and just being around his friends.

Yet, he's telling us to "Fight on!"

Maybe because that outlook is what brought him to us in the first place. Well that, and the intervention of a few people who give credence to this "Trojan family."

First, there is Ray Martinez. The president of the North Texas USC Alumni Chapter, Martinez read about Ryan in a Daily Trojan article last fall and immediately got involved. He started a fundraiser through his chapter and then went to the USC bookstore, sending Ryan a backpack loaded with hats, sweatshirts and buttons from every game.

"We felt that as a member of the Trojan family, we wanted to help him smile," said Martinez, whose father, also an alumnus, passed away after a bout with brain cancer. "That kid fights on every minute of every day."

Then there's fellow alumnus Jim Phillips. A Davidson family friend who serves on the football program's board of directors, Phillips let Ryan and his father stay at his La Cañada home and took them to last year's Cal game. This weekend Phillips has arranged for the entire Davidson family - including Ryan's mother, Amy, and sister, Mallory - to see Saturday's game.

"My wife went through this," Phillips said of his first wife, who passed away after fighting breast cancer for seven years. "You never know how long you're going to live. It's just nice to help people."

It was Phillips, along with Mark Jackson, USC's former director of football operations, who made it possible for Ryan to meet the coaches and players and venture inside the locker room after the Cal game. Jackson then made sure that Ryan and his father had tickets to the Orange Bowl after Ryan's school raised money for the two to travel to Miami.

And the goodwill didn't stop there. Two days before this year's Notre Dame game, a doctor in Madison, Wis., called Kirby and offered him two tickets, so he and Ryan made the trip to South Bend, Ind.

And then there's the football team. Throughout the past year Ryan has received greeting cards from the offensive line. Last spring, quarterback Matt Leinart sent Ryan an autographed picture and an autographed football with the inscription: "I miss you buddy. Hope to see you soon - Matt." Ryan Killeen, USC's former kicker, was Ryan's guest at Wednesday's dinner - the two have kept in touch via e-mail and over the phone since meeting last season.

"He touched a lot of guys on the team," Killeen said of Ryan's visit to USC last fall. "I didn't want to just leave it at that. I wanted him to know I'm always thinking about him."

"Ryan went from looking up to those players to looking at them as brothers, as friends, as family," Kirby said.

It sounds simple enough, keeping in touch. But apparently it's made a world of difference. Kirby said sometimes when Ryan isn't feeling too well, he'll pull out pictures from his trips, he'll go through the cards and the e-mails, and he radiates. This summer Kirby set up an e-mail address for Ryan (ryanuscfan@charter.net) for anyone who wanted to contact him or send words of encouragement. And Kirby believes it has helped his son feel better.

Monday, Ryan went in for his three-month MRI and oncology appointment and learned that his cancer is still in remission, and that he can stop taking the pills.

Do you want to think about it for a minute? Ryan's doctor asked him.

Yeah, I'm OK with that, Ryan joked.

Let's not forget, the kid is 12. In describing his first meeting with the USC coaches and players last fall, he said he was in such awe that he couldn't speak for three weeks. More recently, Kirby said Ryan has been throwing around the idea of going to the Rose Bowl.

"Ryan's definitely talked about it," Kirby said, before breaking into laughter. "He's definitely hinted around about it."

For now he'll settle with attending practice, maybe another hit on the USC bookstore, Friday's pep rally, a tailgate party outside the Coliseum on Saturday and, of course, the game. All the while, he'll be with his family - both of them.

"They're so close to me," Ryan said.

That's why he tells them everything.

-

To comment on this article, e-mail dtsports@usc.edu or call (213) 740-5670.

A Rare Byrd

Daily Trojan

USC tight end Dominique Byrd has not acted out in dealing with his limited role.

By: Mike Corsini

In an offense with seemingly unlimited options, not all the weapons can be wielded.

USC tight end Dominique Byrd has toiled in the shadows of his record-shattering teammates this season and has been almost an afterthought - an inconsequential gear in an offensive juggernaut fueled chiefly by Heisman Trophy candidates.

Less than a year ago, Byrd capped the 2004 season with observers touting him as one of the top tight ends in the collegiate game.

A sprawling one-handed touchdown grab in the Trojans' Orange Bowl romp, a play nearly identical to a spearing in the fog of Corvallis, Ore., months earlier, had NFL scouts drooling at a unique mesh of girth, quickness and Krazy Glue hands.

Byrd was one of the primary instruments in former USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow's offensive orchestra. In nine games last season, Byrd caught 37 balls for 384 yards and three touchdowns.

Then Chow left for the NFL.

Then the 260-pounder from Minneapolis, Minn., took a punch from wide receiver Steve Smith while arguing about a wager on a Madden NFL Football video game and - BOOM - Byrd was sidelined for spring practice to mend academic issues and a broken jaw.

Then teammates Fred Davis, Chris McFoy and Patrick Turner emerged as viable options for a balanced Trojan attack.

USC's offensive production has been up this season, under the reins of first-year offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, but Byrd has caught just 19 passes for 218 yards and has yet to find the end zone.

The Byrd sightings have been rare, but it's the 6-foot-6 senior's team-first approach that has been truly out of the ordinary.

After his rhubarb with Smith raised doubts about his character, Byrd has focused on the task of winning a third consecutive national title, forsaking concerns about statistics and dwelling instead on his day-to-day output.

"I think I've handled it the best way possible, going in every week, working hard, making sure that I work hard and execute the plays that they made for me in order for them to get called in the game," Byrd said.

"And after that, on game day, you can't really worry about when you get the ball. You just have to go out there, give your all on every snap, and the stats will kinda take care of themselves."

Byrd said he and Kiffin have not discussed his reduced role.

"All I know is that, when camp came, I was ready to go, and the role that the coaches have for me is the one that they choose," he said.

More important than statistics, Byrd said, is maintaining the competitive drive valued by both USC coach Pete Carroll and the NFL scouts who will play a large role in determining his future salary.

"If I thought I needed to impress someone, if I took that mind-set going into a game, I think I'd be worrying too much," Byrd said.

"If I impress people with how hard I play and how physical I am, how excited I am to play the game, that's how I'd rather have it," he said.

After battling injuries the last two years, the senior started the 2005 season healthy but was sidelined Oct. 29 after a Washington State defender's knee collided with his hip, causing swelling, which led to minor pinching of a nerve, he said.

Byrd sat out of the following week's game against Stanford, but extensive treatment from head trainer Russ Romano and an optimistic attitude had him back on the field Nov. 12 against California, although he caught just one pass for five yards.

"That's one of the biggest parts of our program: To fight your way back on and don't believe in your mind that you're hurt," Byrd said. "So I never believed I was hurt and I took one game off and the next week I was good."

It's unclear whether Byrd's diminished playing time for one of the greatest collegiate offenses of all time has depreciated his draft stock.

An anonymous NFL scout was quoted last week by the Los Angeles Times as saying, "With Byrd, something's missing. � He's a solid middle-round guy."

Byrd said his draft position would likely depend heavily on his performance at the NFL scouting combine. He said he hasn't been timed in the 40-yard dash since he was a sophomore but estimates he runs it in 4.5 or 4.6 seconds.

"Sometimes we look at draft boards, but there's a lot of moving around that goes on along the year and some people have a kind of skewed view," he said.

Most 2006 NFL Draft prognosticators scattered in cyberspace still peg Byrd as between the third to sixth best tight end prospect and Byrd is working to develop the blocking skills that he's improved after taking most of his high school snaps as a wide receiver.

"I think I have more room for improvement with my blocking just because it was something I hadn't done," Byrd said.

Whether blocking or running more precise routes, Byrd has focused on the details at practice to grab the attention of coaches on a Howard Jones Field littered with offensive standouts.

"At the end of the day, when the game time comes, if I don't get as many rocks as I wanted to, then I'm gonna push myself even harder so that I can make it seen on tape that I deserve to get it," he said.

For now, Byrd is facing the waning days of workouts the way he approaches opposing defenders - head on.

"As a blocker, your stepping leads you everywhere," he said. "You can't go wrong if you have the right steps."

He hasn't taken many wrong ones this year, even though he hasn't gotten his "rocks."

Wisconsin Cancer Survivor Returns to La Cañada

La Canada Valley Sun

The 12-year-old Wisconsin cancer-patient who stole the USC Trojans heart last year is coming back to La Cañada Flintridge to root for his team in the USC-UCLA game on Saturday.

Hosted by La Cañada businessman Jim Phillips and Pacific Investment Advisory, Ryan Davidson and his family were scheduled to arrive yesterday before the game. Wednesday night they were scheduled to be feted at a dinner put on by WeAreSC in Orange County, and tomorrow, Friday, Jim Phillips will take them to the Trojan football practice and pep rally. Saturday, they will be guests at the Trojan Board of Directors' tailgate party and then Pacific Investment Advisory's guests at the game.

Ryan's first brain tumor was discovered when he was only 6-years-old. After surgery, the boy had nearly five cancer-free years. To celebrate that, Jim Phillips -- who lost his first wife, Maria to breast cancer in 1990 -- began working with Ryan's father, Kirby, to plan a surprise trip to a USC game for Ryan. Although cancer struck again and Ryan had to undergo a second brain surgery in the summer of 2004, the men went ahead with their plans.

"It was important for him to have something to look forward to," Kirby said. Ryan was able to come out in October of last year for the USC-CAL game.

Jim Phillips arranged a meeting with Pete Carroll before the game, but even Phillips was surprised by how warmly the Trojan's Head Coach welcomed the boy.

"It was the day before their toughest game, yet there was Pete Carroll, making time to talk with Ryan in his office and introducing him to all the other coaches and players. Ryan went out on the field with the Trojans for their final practice and even tossed the ball around with some of the players. At the end of practice, the team threw the boy up on their shoulders, chanting "Ryan, Ryan, Ryan!" The Davidsons later learned that Ryan became a living spirit of the team's slogan "Fight On." At a team meeting that night, Lendale White said Ryan was an inspiration for him, and in the locker-room after the Trojans defense made its dramatic final stand to hold off the Cal Bears. Pete Carroll told television reporters that Ryan had been their good luck charm.

The story was picked up on the Internet and carried across the country. A Trojan club in Texas made Ryan an honorary member and sent him gifts and Trojan gear.

The Trojans did not forget their good luck charm, either. When the team went to the National Championship at the Orange Bowl, Pete Carroll sent Ryan and his family tickets to the game. In Wisconsin, Ryan's school had a "hat day," selling permits to wear a cap to school, to help send the family to Miami. When he got there, Ryan rode to and from practice on the team bus.

Last spring, when the excitement of the football season wore off, Ryan was back in Wisconsin facing his continuing battle and daily doses of chemotherapy.

"He got a little down when he lost all his hair," Kirby said, "And then one day there was a phone call from Matt Leinart, who just called to see how he was doing." Kirby said it meant the world to the young boy.

But, there was still one more surprise in store for Ryan -- when the Trojans sent him a replica of their National Championship trophy.

"Ryan has been to one other USC game this year," Phillips said. "At the last minute, a Notre Dame fan in Madison learned he could not attend that game this year, and he gave Ryan his tickets. Kirby and Ryan drove from Madison to South Bend and watched the Trojans squeak through another one."

Getting to the Point

Los Angeles Times

If things go as expected Saturday, USC and Texas will advance to Pasadena without the usual BCS controversy. If either loses, however ...

Chris Dufresne

Well, isn't this shaping up nicely?

It's Dec. 1 and USC is ranked first.

And on Dec. 2 Texas will still be second.

And these two 11-0 squads are the only major college schools without a loss.

And the top 10 schools in this week's bowl championship series standings are in the exact order they were the week before.

And this is enough to make some people ill.

Welcome to, gulp, Tranquillity Base?

If heavily favored USC beats UCLA on Saturday and heavily favored Texas beats Colorado, college football will be absent its most reliable dance partner in recent years — raging controversy.

USC will play Texas on Jan. 4 in the Rose Bowl and the winner will emerge as this season's undisputed champion.

This is not a good time to be a playoff advocate.

"Understand that we have a playoff," Notre Dame Athletic Director Kevin White was saying just the other day. "It just starts in September. Every game matters."

What proponents of change feared most was this kind of "Kumbaya" sing-along.

Their best shot to overthrow the BCS government was another double dose of 2003, or a repeat of last year's California-Texas debacle that had the Associated Press issuing cease-and-desist orders to BCS lawyers.

There was a sense that one more controversy might lead the BCS to consider at least a modified playoff or, more drastic, a return to the old bowl system when the new four-year television deal with Fox expires in 2010.

USC-Texas sets back the cause.

Is it too late for anarchy?

Never say never.

In 1998, the first year of the BCS, No. 1 Tennessee and No. 2 UCLA whistled into the final weekend. Then UCLA lost to Miami, No. 3 Kansas State lost to Texas A&M and No. 4 Florida State, from its couch, jumped all the way to the championship-game Fiesta Bowl.

In 2001, No. 1 Miami and No. 2 Florida appeared headed for a Rose Bowl showdown before Florida lost to Tennessee.

Texas was next in line at No. 3 but lost the Big 12 title game to Colorado, which had just creamed Nebraska, 62-36.

Tennessee then needed a win over Louisiana State in the Southeastern Conference title game to get to the national-title game but lost, which put Nebraska in the game by .05 over Colorado and No. 4 Oregon, which finished No. 2 in both human polls.

In 2003, the mother of all BCS twisters, USC finished No. 1 in both polls but No. 3 in the BCS standings behind Oklahoma and LSU — you might remember that raising some dust.

What could happen this year?

1. USC wins but Texas loses. A loss to 7-4 Colorado almost assuredly would knock Texas out of the Rose Bowl, which would leave USC-Penn State for the national title.

2. Texas wins but USC loses a close game to UCLA. Could the Trojans still finish No. 2 in the BCS?

It's possible, but not likely.

In 2003, No. 1 Oklahoma was crushed, 35-7, by Kansas State in the Big 12 title game but still finished No. 1 in the BCS.

That was a "Perfect Storm" scenario, though, because the Sooners had a commanding lead in the computers and could drop only to No. 3 in the polls because everyone else in contention had two losses.

The potential problem for one-loss USC this year is No. 3 Penn State, which has completed its season and has nowhere to go but up.

Jerry Palm, an independent BCS analyst, says, flat out, that a USC loss would vault Penn State, currently No. 3 in the BCS computer component, to No. 2 behind Texas.

That means USC would need to stay ahead of Penn State in the human polls to have a chance to win a BCS points war.

3. USC and Texas lose.

OK, now we're talking. In this scenario, Penn State is in the Rose Bowl and USC, so long as it doesn't get routed, probably edges out Texas, one-loss LSU, one-loss Virginia Tech and one-loss UCLA.

The thinking here is:

USC's only loss would be to 10-1 UCLA.

Texas' loss would be to four-loss Colorado.

"Texas would be done completely," Palm said.

LSU is lagging at No. 7 in the BCS computers, and its defeat came against a Tennessee team that finished 5-6. LSU beat Arkansas by two; USC beat Arkansas by 53.

Virginia Tech's defeat was a bad one, 27-7 at home to Miami.

UCLA would have just defeated USC, but it's hard to imagine the Bruins could climb from No. 12 to No. 2 in the BCS — the punishment for that razing at Arizona.

Pac-10 Bias?

If 10-1 Oregon does not earn an at-large BCS bid this year, it will mark the fourth time since 2001 the Pacific 10 Conference has gotten short-changed in the million-dollar bowl department.

Yet, the evidence suggests that if there is any bias, it is with the computers that help determine these outcomes, not with voters.

In 2001, Oregon finished No. 2 in both human polls but fourth in the BCS standings because of its computer component.

In 2003, USC finished No. 1 in both human polls but No. 3 in the BCS — because of computers.

Last year, Cal was denied a trip to the Rose Bowl because it finished fifth in the BCS standings behind No. 4 Texas, but Cal finished fourth in both human polls, ahead of Texas.

Maybe the Pac-10's problem is that only two of the six BCS computer operators — Anderson & Hester and Peter Wolfe — are west of the Mississippi.

The Pac-10 also has a geographic problem in that the Tempe, Ariz., Fiesta Bowl is the only real option for its at-large candidates.

Before USC's at-large invite to the Orange Bowl in 2002, only one Pac-10 team had ever played in the game — Washington in 1985.

No Pac-10 school has ever played in the Sugar Bowl.

It's basically the Fiesta Bowl or bust for the Left Coast league, and this year's decision is complicated by the Fiesta wanting to match Notre Dame and Ohio State rather than making it Notre Dame-Oregon or Penn State-Oregon.

Fiesta Bowl President/Chief Executive John Junker prefers making friends to enemies but this year will anger either Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen (if the Fiesta takes Ohio State) or Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany (if it takes Oregon).

"You're splitting hairs trying to make these determinations," Junker said of choosing among the at-large schools.

One reason there is no playoff in college football is that major bowls want to maintain flexibility in team selection so as to maximize television ratings and economic benefits.

"You make the best choices you can; you can't make everybody happy," Junker said. "But that's all part of the game."

Hurry-Up Offense

• The BCS controversy this year could come on the second tier, with bogus contestants Colorado (7-4) and Florida State (7-4) advancing to conference title games and possibly earning a BCS bid at the expense of 10-1 Oregon or 9-2 Auburn.

Texas Coach Mack Brown said all that needed to be said about why conference title games are played: money. Brown recounted that Big 12 coaches voted 12-0 against playing conference title games and athletic directors voted 12-0 in favor.

• There is an eerie backdrop to Texas-Colorado in the Big 12 title game. In 2001, Texas needed to defeat Colorado, a team it routed in the regular season, in the Big 12 title game to earn Brown his first conference championship and a chance to play for the national title in the Rose Bowl.

Colorado won, 39-37.

Saturday, in Houston, Texas needs to defeat Colorado, a team it routed in the regular season, to earn Brown his first conference championship and a chance to play for the national title in the Rose Bowl.

"It's a coincidence," Texas cornerback Aaron Ross said this week. "No one on this team played in that game. It's a new year, a new team, and a new game."

• More on Notre Dame and the bowls. It is assumed that the Fiesta Bowl will take Notre Dame instead of Penn State in part because the Irish draw dynamite television ratings. Yet, the Arizona Republic reported this week that Penn State has averaged a 15.3 rating in six Fiesta Bowl appearances and Notre Dame has averaged 11.2 in three appearances.

• If USC wins Saturday and the Fiesta Bowl passes on Oregon, the Pac-10 bowl lineup will be: Rose, USC; Holiday, Oregon; Sun, UCLA; Las Vegas, California; and Insight, Arizona State. If UCLA wins and knocks USC out of the Rose Bowl, the Trojans land in the Fiesta Bowl, and the Holiday must decide between UCLA or Oregon with the Sun taking the discard.

If UCLA beats USC, the Bruins could get an automatic BCS berth if they rise to No. 4 in the final standings, but that would be quite a leap.

Change of mind wasn't easy for USC's Maiava

LA Daily News - USC

Jill Painter, Staff Writer

Kaluka Maiava gave his word to UCLA he'd play football there - and in Hawaiian culture, that means everything.

Maiava made a verbal commitment in July 2004 when UCLA was the only school on his A-list to offer a scholarship. But soon after, the lure of playing for the national champion USC Trojans was too much for Maiava to ignore.

A verbal commitment is non-binding, so a little more than a year ago, Maiava committed to USC. He was so bothered by the prospect of telling UCLA assistant coach Dino Babers, who recruited him, that he didn't do it.

"When I had to de-commit, I didn't want to talk to (Babers)," Maiava said. "I couldn't tell him I changed my mind. That was hard for me. I couldn't tell that to someone when I told him to his face that I would come there. It was tough. It felt weird.

"I'm thankful my dad did that. Where I'm from you don't lie, you don't tell someone you're not going to do something (you said you would)."

Instead, Maiava's dad, Scott Mahoney, called Babers. Maiava has talked to Babers once since then. Babers declined to comment.

"He was real understanding," Maiava said. "He knows this is my life and I have to handle it, whatever is best for me and my family. It was a hard decision. Me and my family felt it would be best for me to come here. I fit in. This was best for my future."

The Trojans saw Maiava, a 6-foot, 220-pound linebacker, in summer camp and liked his speed but didn't offer a scholarship. Maybe it's coincidence, but the Trojans became more interested following UCLA's offer. Oregon joined the Maiava sweepstakes, too.

Maiava played at Baldwin High in Wailuku, Hawaii, where he had a combined 304 tackles during his junior and senior years. He said he wouldn't change anything about how he handled the recruiting dilemma, with one exception.

"I wish I waited (to make a decision)," Maiava said. "(UCLA) was the first school I wanted, one of my top schools. I thought about it before I verbally committed. I thought, 'I should do this because I don't want to get left behind.' If they take my scholarship (for another player), then I'm left with nothing.' That was one of the factors that made me commit early. They're still a top school."

"That happens in the recruiting process," UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said. "It's never a done deal until it's a done deal. There are situations like that where you have a commitment to one place and then go to another. It's part of the recruiting process."

Maiava doesn't really know many Bruins, except for Babers and linebackers Kyle and Korey Bosworth. He once worked out with the twins and their uncle, Brian Bosworth. But Maiava obviously hasn't kept in touch and didn't know they'd changed their last name to Bosworth before the season.

The Bruins certainly could have used Maiava in their linebacking corps, which was plagued by injuries. At USC, Maiava backs up Keith Rivers and Collin Ashton at weakside linebacker. He has played in 11 games as a true freshman and registered eight tackles and an interception against Arkansas.

USC plays UCLA on Saturday and Maiava couldn't imagine being on the visiting sideline at the Coliseum.

"Not what I've gone through; I'm in love with this place," Maiava said of USC. "It's been a blast here. I don't think I could be in another uniform. Not this week."

Punter looks forward to facing Bruins' Drew

LA Daily News - USC

Scott Wolf, Staff Writer

If one subject keeps USC coaches alert this week, it might be UCLA punt returner Maurice Drew, who averages a national-best 29.1 yards per return. To make matters worse, USC's punt return team allows a Pac-10 worst 10.1 yards per return.

But that matchup is a dream for Trojans punter Tom Malone, who relishes the encounter even though he remains bothered by hip and groin injuries.

"This is what you want if you're a punter," Malone said. "I love to have a lot of responsibility. It's a big game and a big challenge. Plus last year, they blocked a punt so we don't want that to happen again."

Malone said he feels better because he took last week off and his punts this week were among his best of the season.

"It's still an ongoing thing," he said. "I've had to push it the whole season. It's been a very frustrating season. From a personal standpoint, it didn't pan out."

Malone, who averages 42.3 yards per punt, said the Trojans won't change their tactics against the explosive Drew.

"We'll just do what we do and rely on players to make plays," he said.

White practices: Tailback LenDale White (bruised shoulder) practiced but did not participate in contact drills.

"I was just giving my teammates a lift," White said. "I feel better running around so they can see me running around and not on the sideline.

"I'm not 100 percent. I feel healthy. It hurts but not that bad."

Carroll said he expected White to play against UCLA.

"I don't know how effective he'll be but he'll give it a go," Carroll said. "He's going to be all right. He'll play."

The news wasn't as good for receiver Patrick Turner and linebacker Keith Rivers, who will miss the game with hamstring injuries. Collin Ashton replaces Rivers at weakside linebacker with freshman Kaluka Maiava the backup.

Maiava also nursed a sore hamstring but made it through Wednesday's practice.

Leinart honored: Quarterback Matt Leinart won the Unitas Award, which goes to the nation's top senior quarterback. Carson Palmer won the award in 2002.

"I'm looking forward to my trip to Louisville," Leinart said in a statement. "I remember hearing Carson talk about it and the good time he had."

Leinart and tailback Reggie Bush are among five finalists for the Walter Camp Award, which goes to the top player in the nation.

USC's future is even brighter

LA Daily News - USC

Trojans, Coliseum would benefit from NFL's return to town

Kevin Modesti, Columnist

The Trojans haven't lost a game since Gray was governor and Arnold was popular. The Trojans have not one but two contenders for their third Heisman Trophy in four years. The top-ranked Trojans are looking so strong that the 9-1 Bruins are listed as 21-point underdogs, which is Las Vegasese for chopped liver, in this week's meeting of L.A. archrivals.

Fans at Saturday's game might wonder how life could get any better for the USC football team.

The answer will be all around them.

If an NFL team comes to the Coliseum in the next few years, the stadium will undergo a massive renovation, and the Trojans will end up with a state-of-the-art new home. At no cost to them. At minor inconvenience.

The very thought!

It's enough to fill those perpetually puffed cardinal-and-gold chests with confidence that the good times will never end.

It's enough to put one big painful kink in the frequently twisted blue-and-gold knickers on the other side of town.

Not many major college football programs have snazzy new stadiums to help them lure the most talented players.

And now the most major college football program in the country today is going to get the snazziest new stadium of all?

That's how it sounds after NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue came to Southern California last month and called the Coliseum "the focus" of the league's effort to put a team in the region for the first time since the Rams and Raiders left following the 1994 season.

When USC coach Pete Carroll commented on this recently, he was careful to note that a Coliseum makeover is "a long way down the road" and contingent on things beyond his control.

But the possibility is real enough to tantalize the Trojans and torment their enemies.

"Anytime somebody wants to build you a stadium, you've got to listen to it," Carroll said. "I'm sure, if they were ever to do that, they'd do it with dignity and class and maintain the history of the Coliseum."

That's the idea.

In October, L.A.'s Cultural Heritage Commission voted unanimously to approve a plan by architects Ron Turner and Bruce Judd to preserve the 82-year-old Coliseum's exterior walls and landmark peristyle end and completely redo the inside.

The current, 92,000-plus-seat semi-bowl would be turned into a 68,000-seat triple-decker.

Whatever revenue USC might lose through the elimination of about one-quarter of its seating capacity, the school presumably would get back in luxury-suite sales. The prestige of an NFL-quality stadium might be priceless to college recruits.

As the stadium's existing tenant, USC would have veto power over the blueprints.

Meanwhile, USC wouldn't be responsible for the project's estimated cost of $500 million.

Five hundred million!

That would dwarf any recent college-football stadium project - such as the $93 million for improvements at Penn State, the $90 million for Oregon's renovation, the $85 million for a just-commenced rebuilding at Stanford, the $63 million for additions at Georgia Tech and the $63 million spent to put up the entire stadium at Louisville.

That would make $10-15 million in Rose Bowl improvements promised by Pasadena officials in UCLA's latest lease look like they're giving the Bruins, what, a new shower curtain?

The hardest part of all this for the Trojans could be the two seasons they'd have to play somewhere else during the Coliseum's rebuilding. The leading assumption is that they'd play temporarily at the Rose Bowl, though there's talk of Dodger Stadium.

Here's something to think about: If the NFL wanted to put a team in a renovated Coliseum for the 2009 season, construction would have to begin before the 2007 season. Thus Saturday's game could be the last between USC and UCLA at the Coliseum as we know it.

The Coliseum has hosted the rivalry 62 times - including every game from 1929 to 1981, when it was UCLA's home field too - and is a lead character in this annual drama.

"It's a hard place to play (as the visitor)," said Marcedes Lewis, the Bruins' senior tight end. "The fans, they're all in your grille. I look forward to making them unhappy."

"It's the last time I get to go out of that tunnel and play for those fans at home," said Matt Leinart, the Trojans' senior quarterback. "It's going to be emotional."

The Coliseum as we know it, with its rusty seats and Roman-ruin concrete steps, reminds fans and participants of the rich history in this old football stadium, baseball park, soccer field, running track, concert hall and political rally venue.

The Coliseum as it's being envisioned by the NFL and its suitors, shiny and modern and at once colossal and cozy, would be a monument to an even richer future.

When you're hot, you're hot.

Winning 33 games in a row is nice. Lining up Leinart and Reggie Bush in the same backfield is great. Rating a 21-point spread against a good Bruins team is sensational.

Having a half-billion-dollar stadium to look forward to is unbelievable when it's not your half-billion dollars.

L.A. in a football frenzy

Press-Telegram - News

Bob Keisser, Staff writer

To all of their accomplishments in a sensational 2005 season, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, Drew Olson and Maurice Drew can add this gem: They have created the hottest, most expensive ticket in the history of the USC-UCLA rivalry.

The face value for Saturday's match at the Coliseum between the unbeaten, two-time defending national champion Trojans and one-loss Bruins is $65, but tickets are being sold on the secondary market from $300, for an end zone or high angle view, to $1,500 for a good seat around the 50-yard line.

Ticket brokers in Southern California all agree that they've never seen prices like this for the annual war, or as much demand. Interest began to rise after UCLA beat Oklahoma on Sept. 17 to improve to 3-0, raising the possibility of both teams coming into the game unbeaten, and it has kept rising, even after UCLA lost its only game to Arizona Nov. 5.

"The buzz for this game is greater than any other college game we've ever seen before," said Scott Goldberg of Good Time Tickets, which opened its doors in 1975. "This is so unique for a regular season game, even one as big as USC-UCLA. The last time there was this much activity was the 1994 Rose Bowl between Wisconsin and UCLA."

In that game, Wisconsin was making its first trip to the Rose Bowl since 1963 and 70 percent of the crowd was made up of Badger fans.

"Five weeks ago, there were only about 28 tickets left in town and the lowest price was $525," said Curtis Autenrieth of Southern California Tickets in Pasadena. "Now there's more tickets available because people realized the demand was so great and figured it was worth selling their tickets.

"But it hasn't impacted the prices. This is the biggest USC-UCLA game I can remember in 20 years."

Autenrieth said a USC-UCLA ticket in a typical year goes for $100 to $500 on the secondary market. If one of the teams is having an off year, the high end might top out at $200.

An official speaking on background for RazorGator, one of the largest national brokers, said sales have been active at all levels, and that USC sellers outnumber UCLA sellers by a 4-to-1 margin, "but then USC fans have all the good seats," he said.

The broker numbers are backed up by the prices being found on eBay, the popular Internet auction site.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the largest completed sale was $4,150 for four seats around the 50-yard line, or $1,037.50 each, with sales tapering off from there to $2,225 ($556.25 per) for four tickets spreading toward the end zones.

Tickets in the end zone were selling in the $250-to-$300 range. Even single ticket prices are high, ranging from $103 to $290. There was even a purchase of a good parking pass at $157.

One auction seeking $6,000 for four tickets didn't draw a bid. Active auctions as of Wednesday afternoon were wide-ranging: two tickets in the UCLA end zone were sitting at $370; four seats at the goal line were at $1,010; pairs of good seats ranged from $395 to $800; and one group of four good tickets sat at $2,400.

"The eBay prices are a fair representation of where the market is," said Goldberg. "The only problem is that you're always open to a scam dealing with Internet sellers."

Ticket prices on middleman Internet site StubHub.com featured some outlandish selling prices of up to $5,000 each. The few auctions on the site had prices between $290 and $515 each for tickets outside the 20-yard lines.

"This is kind of the Super Bowl of college football games," Autenrieth said, "or at least it will be until the Rose Bowl."

If USC and Texas both win Saturday, the top two teams in the BCS rankings all season will advance to the Jan. 4 BCS title game. They will be the only two unbeaten teams in the nation, and on paper it looks like the biggest college bowl game to come along in decades.

The face value of a Rose Bowl ticket is $175. Autenrieth said secondary-market prices will range from $500 to $1,500, while the RazorGator spokesman thinks low-end prices will be $750 and the best seats could fetch $2,000.

"We started to see interest in the Rose Bowl early, and now everything is priced for USC-Texas, with USC a 21-point favorite and Texas about a 700-point pick over Colorado," said Goldberg of Good Time Tickets. "There's been steady interest from fans of both schools."

Autenrieth thinks prices will level off at $1,500 because demand from Texas fans wasn't particularly intense when they played in the Rose Bowl last year. "A $2,000 ticket?" he asked rhetorically. "I'm not sure any college fan would go that high."

But the RazorGator official says a Trojans-Longhorns showdown would make it the biggest college game ever, and possibly worth that price point.

"The two biggest games we've had in the past that had brisk sales were the Ohio State-Miami 2003 Fiesta Bowl and the 1994 Wisconsin-UCLA Rose Bowl," he said. "But this game will dwarf those.

"It's almost a Super Bowl, and that's what the BCS guys have been looking for ever since it was created. This will be the first time there will be a national championship game where everyone agrees it's the two best teams, and the two teams everyone wants to see."

"The NFL should read this story," said Autenrieth. "Maybe then they'd realize how many football fans we have (in Southern California)."

Injury USC's Achilles' heel

PE.com

USC-UCLA: Nineteen Trojans are questionable for Saturday or ruled out.

By DAN WEBER / The Press-Enterprise

LOS ANGELES - It hit USC fullback Brandon Hancock as he looked around at his position meeting before practice Tuesday.

Something's not right.

"There were five guys there," he said. "We'd normally have 12 of us when the running backs meet."

But these aren't normal times for a top-ranked USC football program out for its 34th straight win in Saturday's rivalry game against UCLA at the Coliseum.

USC's injured list extended to 19 this week, with maybe three, including tailback LenDale White, making it back by Saturday. Sixteen are almost certain not to play. Another nine who will suit up and probably see action have missed significant time with injuries.

Across town, Bruins coach Karl Dorrell had a different view of things.

"We're fairly healthy," said an upbeat Dorrell. "There are only four who won't play." And just two starters.

All those bumps and bruises have put the Trojans in places they never expected to be.

Imagine a USC team, built on Coach Pete Carroll's philosophy of a sound, mistake-free defense that makes teams work hard for everything they get, coming in 117th -- dead last in Division I -- in punt coverage, allowing an average of 17.7 yards.

It's true. The Trojans also are 115th in net punting yardage (28.9), and 86th in kickoff coverage, allowing 22.14 yards a return.

And that's just on special teams, where many of the injured Trojans were expected to make those units special.

USC strength and conditioning coach Chris Carlisle takes the injuries personally.

"When you have this many injuries, more than we've ever had, we look at every one of them," said Carlisle, an acknowledged pioneer for the innovations he's developed for USC's training.

"Was there something we could have done? Was there something I could have done?"

Thanks to the way USC videotapes every practice drill along with all game and scrimmage action, Carlisle said, every play can be analyzed to pinpoint exactly when an injury occurred.

Carlisle can show you how Michael Coleman, the freshman running back from San Bernardino, was pulled down awkwardly in the spring game at the Coliseum and suffered a rare hip cartilage injury requiring surgery. He still hasn't fully recovered.

Last year the same thing happened to Jeff Byers, Carlisle said.

But not in the same way. Which leads to the conclusion that it's not a result of the way USC practices.

"We haven't changed a thing the way we practice," Carlisle said.

Several positions, mostly on defense, have been hit hard.

Look at the linebackers. Of the eight expected to play this year, seven were banged up significantly while another, freshman Luthur Brown, was so slowed by a lingering back problem that he was redshirted. Captain Dallas Sartz, at strong side, is out for the season with shoulder surgery. His replacement, freshman Brian Cushing, will have the same ligament surgery after the season but has rehabbed enough to finish it.

On the other side, starter Keith Rivers won't make it back this week, the fifth game in the past six in which he's been unable to contribute.

Defensive backs lost include starting cornerback Terrell Thomas and nickel back Kevin Ellison, both to knee surgery, and junior college transfer Mozique McCurtis, whose slow recovery from a sports hernia will take the rest of the year.

The backfield has lost not only Coleman, who would play a key role this week with White's bruised shoulder, but also Desmond Reed, out for the year with knee surgery. So is two-year starter Hershel Dennis, whose major knee reconstruction in January caused USC to redshirt him until his fifth year, when Reggie Bush and White might be off to the NFL.

"I know it's caught up to me," defensive end Frostee Rucker said Tuesday, the first day he was allowed to practice in two weeks. "For me it's just the general wear and tear when you have injuries at your position and you don't have the normal rotation."

With Jeff Schweiger breaking his foot and freshman Kyle Moore limited several weeks with an ankle injury, defensive end has often been a two-man proposition with Rucker and Lawrence Jackson. Both made the All-Pac-10 team, so they've managed, Rucker said.

Carroll indicated that injuries had caught up with USC when the Trojans plateaued for four games in the middle of the season, at Oregon, Arizona State and Notre Dame and at home against Arizona. Not only weren't the Trojans having as much fun, Carroll concluded, but they also weren't practicing as hard.

"They're pushing us hard now," Rucker said. "That's why guys go out there and break things. But I can't wait to see when all these young guys get healthy and get back next year."

For linebacker Thomas Williams, who's stepped in at two starting spots for injured teammates, these days are spent mostly rehabbing his knee that was surgically repaired after the Nov. 12 Cal game.

"When will you be back?" he asked receiver Patrick Turner on Tuesday as the freshman emerged from the locker room.

"Two weeks," said Turner, who has a slow-healing hamstring pull and is not expected to play Saturday.

"Back for the bowl game," Williams said with a hand slap. "It's like a fraternity."

-----------------------------

SC INJURY LIST

May not play Saturday:

TB LenDale White, shoulder

DE Rashaad Goodrum, rib

CB Alex Gomez, thumb

Will not play Saturday:

LB Keith Rivers, hamstring

WR Patrick Turner, hamstring

LB Thomas Williams, knee

DB Will Harris, knee

TB Michael Coleman, hip

WR Greig Carlson, groin

LB Dallas Sartz, shoulder

TB Desmond Reed, knee

S Kevin Ellison, knee

CB Mozique McCurtis, abdomen

OG Drew Radovich, hip

CB Terrell Thomas, knee

FB Sean Kelly, shoulder

OG Jeff Byers, hip

TB Hershel Dennis, knee

OT Thomas Herring, knee

O'Dea's Mays wins Gatorade award

The Seattle Times

By Matt Massey
Special to The Seattle Times

Taylor Mays can affect a football game in so many different ways.

And because of the 6-foot-4, 230-pounder's dominance on both sides of the ball for the O'Dea football team, Mays was named Gatorade State Player of the Year on Tuesday.

Winning the state award makes Mays one of 51 finalists for the Gatorade National Football Player of the Year award, to be announced in mid-December.

"Taylor is one of the finest football players I have ever seen at the high-school level," O'Dea coach Monte Kohler said of the USC-bound senior who played wide receiver and free safety. "Obviously, it's a big honor. They don't give those away, those kinds of honors are earned.

"He's right up there as one of the best players we've ever had [at O'Dea]."

With his combination of size, strength, speed and natural feel for the game, Mays figures to have a very productive college career.

Mays played seven different positions for the Irish, who finished 10-2 after reaching the Class 3A state quarterfinals. He mainly played wide receiver on offense and free safety on defense, adding significant time on kickoff and punt returns.

The son of former Husky and NFL defensive lineman Stafford Mays put up gaudy numbers when teams didn't shy away from him.

Mays finished the 2005 season with team bests of 15 touchdowns, 765 yards on 36 catches and 1,204 all-purpose yards. He led the defense with five interceptions and a team-high 166 tackles.

"He just has that desire," Kohler said of Mays, who was avoided almost altogether on kickoffs and punt returns because of his big-play potential. "He's a football player, to start with. Then, you add 6-4, 230 and 10.5 (seconds) speed in the 100 (yards) to go with it and that makes him pretty special."

Mays is the second O'Dea player to win State Player of the Year. Running back Ty Eriks won it in 2000.

Mays is also one of 16 finalists, along with Bellevue lineman Stephen Schilling, for the Parade Magazine High School Player of the Year Award. The winner will be announced in a magazine cover story on Jan. 1.

USC's good luck charm

Ryan Davidson (photo: USC Alumni Club of Texas)

OC Register

Top motivator of USC football

Ryan Davidson, USC's good luck charm, arrives today.

STEVE BISHEFF
Register columnist

LOS ANGELES – A lot of the pressure and anxiety of Big Game Week will dissipate at USC today.

The team's official "Good Luck Charm" is due to arrive on campus from Wisconsin.

His name is Ryan Davidson, and he is a skinny, brown-haired, blue-eyed, 12-year-old boy with a heart as big as the Coliseum.

Davidson, who has been battling cancer since being diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 6, has become a passionate fan of the No.1 Trojans, who have taken him in as one of their own and happily welcomed him to three previous games in the past two seasons.

"He's 3-0 and expects to be 4-0 after Saturday," said Kirby Davidson, Ryan's dad. "He definitely considers himself the team's good luck charm now."

The coaches and players heartily agree.

"It's awesome Ryan is coming in for this game," Coach Pete Carroll said. "I'm really excited about it. The kids will love the fact he's here."

Ryan's favorite player said he can hardly wait.

"I'm excited to see him," said Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Matt Leinart. "Ryan is such a strong, brave kid - he really touches me. I want to help him in whatever way I can."

Ask Ryan, and he'd probably say the best way Leinart could help is to beat UCLA and advance to the Rose Bowl.

But, really, this story is about much more than just a young fan who is enamored with a college football team.

It is about courage and compassion, and how a group of young, strong athletes can be humbled by the presence of a frail, little boy who is not afraid to fight a terrible disease.

Back home in Sun Prairie, Wis., a suburb of Madison, Davidson was treated for his cancer shortly after being diagnosed six years ago. He spent the next five years cancer free.

But in April 2004, the cancer returned, and it has been a daily battle for him ever since.

"He's doing pretty good," said his dad. "He has his good days and bad days. The doctors are optimistic and have been treating him with some new medicine.

"There are no signs of any tumors right now, but it probably won't be until sometime this summer that they'll be able to make a determination on his condition."

In the meantime, Ryan has been undergoing chemotherapy treatments for the past 17 months and taking 15 pills a day - five in the morning and 10 every night - trying to keep his strength up.

"He is tired a lot more often these days," said his father. "He's become noticeably weaker compared to a year ago.

"But he's a determined young man. He missed 45 days of school this past quarter and is still managing a 3.6 grade-point average. And his mood has been great."

The biggest reason for that upbeat mood has been the interaction with his favorite team.

Carroll e-mailed him before the season, giving him an update on the Trojans' prospects. Earlier in the spring, Ryan received a UPS package he quickly opened to find a miniature Heisman Trophy football and an autographed picture that read:

"To the bravest boy I know. Your friend, Matt Leinart. Fight On!"

On the picture, Leinart wrote: "I miss you, buddy. Hope to see you soon - Matt."

For his part, Ryan sent Leinart a picture of the two of them that was taken when the Davidson family attended the Orange Bowl game in January.

And, of course, Ryan walks around every day proudly wearing his No.11 Trojans jersey.

"We look forward to football season all year," said Kirby Davidson. "It's a great diversion for Ryan."

The Davidsons attended the Cal game in Los Angeles a year ago then made the trip to Miami for the Orange Bowl. This season, they were in South Bend to see that 34-31 comeback victory by the Trojans.

"Ryan told me it was the best game he's ever seen in person," said his dad.

A year ago, before the Cal game, Carroll and the USC players treated Ryan like a member of cardinal and gold royalty.

They allowed him to sit in on team meetings, watch film and observe practice.

After he spent time high-fiving many players and playing catch with others, the Trojans gathered in a group after practice and called him into their raucous circle. Then they raised him on their shoulders and chanted "Ryan! Ryan! Ryan!"

Since much of that activity was detailed in this newspaper a year ago, the Davidsons have been deluged with phone calls, e-mails and letters addressed to Ryan.

"The e-mails have come from all over the world," said his dad.

This week's schedule for the Davidson family will be just as busy. There is a dinner at Papadakis Taverna in San Pedro tonight, where Ryan is scheduled as one of the speakers. Thanks to people who know about him and his love for video games, there is a tour of EA Sports scheduled for Thursday.

On Friday, he will make a return appearance at USC's walk-through then go to a Heritage Hall pep rally that night.

Ryan was kind enough to offer a preview of the talk he'll give at the dinner packed with USC friends and family tonight.

"Cancer. It's one of the scariest words you can ever hear," he wrote. "'You have cancer,' is the one sentence no one wants to hear. But for some people, they hear it twice. I am one of those people."

Ryan goes on to explain how kind the Trojans' coaches and players have been to him and how they've inspired him.

"We all have our struggles, some life-threatening, some you face every day," he wrote. "No matter what, we all need to 'Fight On!'"

Is it any wonder that the sight of Ryan brings tears to the eyes and lumps to the throats of so many large, muscular athletes on USC's practice field?

There is a special bond that has developed between these strapping players and this remarkable boy, one that is best explained by a line that flashes on the screen during "A Healing Touch," a brief music video made about Ryan and his association with this team.

It reads:

"Small boys become big men through the influence of big men who care about small boys."

Rarely have those words rung more true than they will be at USC this week.

Leinart, Bush, Young head Camp finalists

MSNBC.com

Quinn, Ohio State's Hawk, round out 5 nominated for top player award

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Southern California quarterback Matt Leinart and teammate Reggie Bush were among the five finalists for the Walter Camp Football Foundation player of the year award announced Wednesday.

Leinart, who won the award and the Heisman Trophy last season, and Bush are joined by Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk, Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn and Texas quarterback Vince Young.

Division I-A head coaches and sports information directors will vote and the winner will be announced Dec. 8.

Also announced Wednesday, Leinart won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award given to the top senior quarterback in college football.

Leinart has completed 233 of 351 passes this season for 3,217 yards and 24 touchdowns for the top-ranked Trojans. He is fifth nationally in passing efficiency and 36-1 as a starter in his career.

The other finalists were Brett Basanez of Northwestern, Kellen Clemens of Oregon, Brodie Croyle of Alabama, Jay Cutler of Vanderbilt, Drew Olson of UCLA and D.J. Shockley of Georgia.

The winner was announced Wednesday and the award will be presented Dec. 9 in Louisville.

Brilliant Bush Has NFL Swooning

Website

By RALPH D. RUSSO

AP Sports Writer

Reggie Bush as been compared to Gale Sayers and Marshall Faulk. He's the front-runner to win the Heisman Trophy and already holds the unofficial title of ``Most Exciting Player in College Football.''

All those accolades are great, but what's counts most for the USC tailback - or at least for his bank account - is that he's developed into the best NFL prospect in the country.

A junior who has not said if this season will be his last at Southern California, Bush already has some fans NFL fans rooting for their downtrodden teams to lose and improve their draft position.

``I think he's the No. 1 pick in the entire draft,'' said Mike Mayock, a former NFL defensive back and college coach, who is now the NFL Network's draft guru. ``You beg, borrow and steal to get guys with that kind of ability, so you can have a one-play, 80-yard drive instead of a 16-play, 80-yard drive.''

As expected, Bush is playing it cool on the NFL, keeping the focus on USC's run for a possible third straight national championship and leaving his options open.

His college career has been a steady ascension to superstar status.

As a freshman, he carried the ball 90 times for 521 yards, caught 15 passes for 314 yards, returned kickoffs at a 27-yard average and scored eight touchdowns.

Last season, he finished fifth in the Heisman voting with 908 yards rushing, 509 receiving and 15 touchdowns. He averaged 179 all-purpose yards per game, fifth best in the nation and even threw a touchdown pass.

This season his numbers have jumped to 1,398 yards rushing, an astounding 8.6 yards per carry, and 212 all-purpose yards per game, tops in the nation.

``In my position he's been the best college football player in the country for three years,'' Mayock said.

The one question about Bush as far as his NFL future is concerned is his size. He is listed at 6 feet and 200 pounds. He said he added about 5 pounds of muscle before this season to get up over 200 and become a more effective runner between the tackles.

``When you see him (before this season), he doesn't look like an every-down back,'' said Gil Brandt, the former Dallas Cowboys personnel director under Tom Landry. ``He was as slimmer-type of a back.''

Brandt said Bush reminds him of Tony Dorsett, whom Brandt drafted second overall out of Pittsburgh in 1977.

``There was a lot of question whether Dorsett had the ability to play all the time. He was never hurt. Those backs are so good at avoiding tackles that they don't get hurt.''

Bush has blazing speed, soft hands and is comfortable splitting out like a wide receiver. In fact, when the Trojans were breaking in a new receiving crops at the beginning of the 2004 season, Bush was their most reliable wideout for a while.

But it's those video-gamelike moves that make him special.

``His ability to get to full speed so quickly and change directions at full speed, that's what separates him from anybody I've seen,'' Mayock said.

Bush's seminal performance came two weeks ago when he piled up 513 all-purpose yards in a 50-42 win over Fresno State. Slashing and darting and stopping and starting, Bush made a year's worth of highlight-reel plays in that one game.

``He has the smoothness of Gale Sayers and the vision and cutting ability of Barry Sanders,'' Emmitt Smith, the NFL's career rushing, said on the NFL Network after Bush blew through Fresno State.

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis made the Faulk comparison with Bush after Bush ran for 160 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries in USC's 34-31 victory in October.

Bush grew up outside San Diego, watching Faulk play at San Diego State.

Faulk was drafted second overall by the Colts in 1994 and became an NFL MVP with the St. Louis Rams. Faulk's versatility made him almost unstoppable in the Rams' high-powered offense.

``I see (Bush) as a cross between Brian Westbrook of the Eagles ... and Marshall Faulk in his heyday with the Rams,'' Mayock said, acknowledging a team might have to get creative to get the most out of Bush.

``If you want to put him behind the fullback in the I and run him 20-25 times, I don't think he's that guy,'' he said. ``The whole key is matchups and you want to get this kid the ball in space with his ability to make people miss.

``I think he'll have the highest draft rating in recent history.''

Pac 10 Fearless Predictions: UCLA (9-1) at USC (11-0)

CFN

Why to watch: On a day full of championships and the Army-Navy rivalry, UCLA-USC stands out. This is a chance for USC to show that the Fresno State game was a bit of an aberration, while a Bruin win would send the college football world into utter chaos. Should Penn State play for the national championship? Should UCLA deserve the honor to play, most likely, Texas? Or would we have a scenario like 2001 when Nebraska lost to Colorado on the final day of the Big 12 regular season, but still played Miami in the Rose Bowl for the national title? On the other side, this is USC's opportunity to establish once again that this is a team for the ages able to take its game to another level when needed. UCLA battled hard in last year's 29-24 loss and is even better this year. But so is USC.

Why UCLA might win: UCLA has had three weeks to rest, relax, and prepare. If Fresno State could roll up 42 points and 427 yards of total offense on USC's D, then UCLA, who's fifth in the nation in scoring and 18th in total offense, should be able to rumble at will. Can USC's pass defense handle a good passing game? It got ripped apart by quarterbacks like Arizona State's Sam Keller, Notre Dame's Brady Quinn, and Fresno State's Paul Pinegar; UCLA's Drew Olson is better, at least statistically. He's number one in the nation in passing efficiency with 30 touchdown passes and three interceptions on the year. The veteran isn't going to be fazed by playing against USC, and with three weeks to prepare, should make all the right reads and decisions against the suspect, and very beatable, Trojan secondary.

Why USC might win: UCLA might have had time to prepare, but nothing will save the run defense. Spencer Havner and Justin London form one of the nation's best linebacking pairs, but the defensive line is having major problems for the second straight year, and Havner and London haven't been able to pick up the slack (especially with London out the last two games with an ankle problem). The Bruins got roasted for 315 rushing yards and three touchdowns against Arizona, 330 yards against both Cal and Washington State, and is 117th in the nation in run defense; only North Texas and Illinois are worse. LenDale White's banged up shoulder appears to be fine enough to keep the music rolling for the nation's seventh best running game. And then there's that other guy.

Who to watch: In a game loaded with college football superstars, this is the last chance for Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush to make Heisman statements. In case you've been out of the country for the last few weeks, you know about Bush's epic performance against Fresno State rushing for 294 yards on his way to 513 yards of total offense. After Vince Young's mediocre performance against Texas A&M, the Heisman is Bush's with a big game this week. Leinart deserves to be more in the race. His stats are a near match to last year's, and his leadership and clutch play have been unparalleled. Olson might have something to say about that. The UCLA star has been miraculous in the fourth quarter all season long, and is out to show the nation that he's the Pac 10's best quarterback. If he pulls out this win, you could make an argument that he deserves the Heisman. And then there's Maurice Drew. He hasn't been the runner Bush has been, but he has been a better kick returner and a better scorer with 17 touchdowns on the year. All the attention will be on Bush, but Drew might end up being the star.

What will happen: UCLA is tired of feeling like a second-class citizen and will hang punch for punch, shot for shot with the mighty Trojans. If the Bruin run defense was even remotely competent, the Westwood crew would pull off the upset. Bush will win the Heisman with a 175-yard day.

CFN Prediction: USC 48 ... UCLA 41 ... Line: USC -21 | Make your pick and compete against others

Must See Rating: (5 lock yourself in a room to watch - 1 Oprah on Dave) ... 5

Trojans, Bruins clash in Hollywood

FOXSports.com

Matthew Zemek / CollegeFootballNews.com


Now this is truly a football game the city of Los Angeles could love.

The battle between the Bruins and Trojans is in many ways a bizarre, weird, excessive testosterone festival with big stakes and over-the-top emotions. It's everything the City of Angels is. In a place obsessed with image, trendiness, physical beauty, and maximum entertainment value, this year's battle for the Victory Bell will certainly capture the imagination of Angelino culture.

This game is the sort of larger-than-large uber-spectacle that Hollywood thrives on. It's so big a game that it doesn't really feel like a regular-season finale. It's as though the clash between Westwood and Troy exists on an island in a one-of-a-kind world inaccessible to anyone outside L.A.

After all, UCLA will have had three weeks to prepare for this game, USC two. The only other time two football teams have a combined 4-5 weeks to prepare for a game — other than a college bowl battle, of course — is the Super Bowl. And in a non-NFL city whose college teams have entertained immensely over the past few years, thank you very much. Why would L.A. want a pro team? This game looks, cooks and feels like one with Super Bowl-level significance, hype and pressure. Moreover, it will be played in the L.A. Coliseum, which hosted the first Super Bowl back in 1967. Yeah, that's right, 1967 — the same year Orenthal James Simpson made the single greatest play in the Bruins-Trojans rivalry, right on that very same Coliseum field.

See how the stars have aligned to create such a wildly true-life Hollywood script? It's amazing.

But then there's more. You have USC, for the second straight year, trying to hold off the Bruins in the final step on the road to the BCS title game. Last year's 29-24 grinder was much closer than anyone expected. This season, the Bruins are substantially better than last year's squad. If USC's banged-up defense can't bounce back after an off week and the much-needed healing that came with it, UCLA could keep up with the Trojans in a track meet of awesome proportions.

So USC isn't just staring down a rival in an attempt to win yet another title. This time, the hated enemy from Westwood has more weapons in the arsenal and a better ability to use them.

That last point about potency leads to a specific key in Saturday's game that makes this contest — as huge as it is — full of even more intensity and urgency: the first quarter will go a long, long way toward deciding the outcome.

Yes, Karl Dorrell's resurgent Bruins have fashioned an exceptional breakthrough season this year because of an uncanny ability to rally round the flag in the fourth quarter of ballgames. Without a late-game finishing kick, UCLA would be just above .500 entering this contest. But it's safe to say that the Bruins, up against USC, will finally meet an opponent where another poor start will mean certain death.

The Trojans are great second-half door-slammers, given a proven season-long ability to make halftime adjustments in a trend that has been consistent throughout the Pete Carroll era. Whether the offensive play-caller is named Chow or Kiffin or Sarkisian, the same ability to roll it up after halftime has endured in Troy. With this in mind, UCLA can't expect to fall behind by 17 points and come back against a team looking to win a third straight national title, and reach its second consecutive BCS title game.

It's a sensory overload, this feast of a football game that perfectly matches the pulse of an over-sexed, over-stimulated city. It is two offenses waiting to bust out all over in a rivalry game with overwhelming championship pressure attached. It's the ultimate case of beautiful people expecting to watch a beautiful football game blessed with mesmerizing central characters, blindingly fast talents, and gridiron greatness abundantly spilling out in full flower over a sprawling canvas in a massive stadium that holds history close.

And while Trojans-Bruins could be a draining four-hour affair that goes down to the wire, the tone will be set in the first 10-15 minutes. All these juices, all these passions, all these hopes, all these pressures, and neither team — especially the Bruins — will be able to afford a stumble out of the gate — just ponder that for a bit.

For the defensive-challenged Bruins, but also for a USC team that has shown its share of weaknesses at points along the way, a good start will be a recommended career move in a game where a quick, early burst could transform the emotional landscape and make the Trojans' 33-game win streak quite irrelevant in a short period of time. Pressure won't just exceed the boiling point in this game; it just might reach its zenith at the beginning, not the end. Just one more over-the-top element of a football game that matches a city's soul.

It's always been L.A.'s football game in a geographical sense, but this year, Bruins-Trojans captures the spirit and culture of the City of Angels. Get ready for the stimulation, the very beautiful people, and a game where everything is on the line ... and then some.

UCLA going for respect against USC

PoughkeepsieJournal.com

By MIKE LOPRESTI

You are the UCLA football team, and your feats are extraordinary. But all everybody wants to chatter about is your famous neighbors. The pop idols down the road at USC.

You are 9-1, to national shrugs. East of the Rockies, you might as well be BYU. They are 11-0, and a renowned dynasty.

Your quarterback staged a remarkable comeback in eight months from a wrecked ACL to pass for 30 touchdowns with only three interceptions, and none after halftime. A ratio that would make Joe Montana slobber.

Their quarterback has the Heisman, and is on the A list of nearly every party in town.

Your tailback is an incendiary device, averaging 24.11 yards for his 19 touchdowns.

Their tailback has become a folk hero.

You have shown astonishing resilience, coming from 10, 12, 17 and 21 points down in the fourth quarter in four of your victories.

But they're the ones with the flashy reputation for finding ways to win.

Your program is good.

Theirs is legendary.

They are one win from the Rose Bowl, where they can rewrite a few pages of college football history with a third straight national championship.

You can stop them Saturday.

They have beaten you six straight times. They know it. You know it.

"It's something that we are not proud of," your quarterback, Drew Olson, said during a conference call Tuesday. "It's time for a change. And that's what we're looking to do."

Your coach knows the import of his moment. What it would mean to beat USC, whose shadow over the LA basin falls from the Pacific to the high desert.

"This week," Karl Dorrell said Tuesday, "will say a lot of different things about us."

You vow you won't be in awe of the Trojans.

"What's there to be in awe of?" tailback Maurice Drew said. "They're men, just like we are. They put their pants on the same way we do.

"You can't be timid, going into the Coliseum."

Neither were the Christians, heading in to see the lions. But never mind that.

You know what it is like to share the same city with headline hogs. You say you don't mind.

Comparing quarterbacks

It's fine to your quarterback, for example, that he can walk down any street without interference. "No problems there," Olson said. While Matt Leinart at USC draws autograph hounds and adulation as if his Heisman were an Oscar.

It's OK with your tailback that the Trojans get so much buzz. He even sat in the Fresno State stands for the USC game last week, and applauded after Reggie Bush's electrifying touchdown run, while the Fresno folks glowered. He is comfortable enough not to try to measure himself against Bush.

"You have to give credit where it's due," Drew said. "Me comparing myself to him is not going to help UCLA. So I don't do it."

Still, you'd like more respect. Your coach relished hearing a question Tuesday about who is the hotter passer, Olson or Leinart.

"What's fun," Dorrell said, "is that Drew (Olson) came from nowhere. He came from really no expectations. Now we're asking who is the best quarterback in LA. That tells you he's gained a lot of recognition."

USC aims for Rose Bowl berth vs. UCLA

ESPN.com

No. 11 Ucla (9-1) at No. 1 USC (11-0), 4:30 pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Top-ranked Southern California is one win away from a chance at an unprecedented third straight national title. But first the Trojans must get past their biggest rival.

With a Rose Bowl berth in their sights, the Trojans on Saturday take their 33-game winning streak into their 75th meeting with No. 11 UCLA, which has had three weeks to prepare for its crosstown Pac-10 Conference rivals.

USC (11-0, 7-0 Pac-10) already has secured the conference's BCS bowl berth but needs to win this one to win the league outright and, more importantly, book a spot in the national championship game at the Rose Bowl on January 4, likely against second-ranked Texas.

The Trojans have not played since surviving then-No. 16 Fresno State on November 19, 50-42. Leading Heisman Trophy candidate Reggie Bush shattered the Pac-10 record with 513 all-purpose yards in the triumph and set up LenDale White's go-ahead one-yard TD run midway through the fourth quarter with a 43-yard reception.

The victory was USC's school-record 26th in a row at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The Trojans also have won 22 straight Pac-10 games and 18 consecutive league triumphs at home.

The thunder to Bush's lightning, White reportedly had to be carted off the field after suffering a left shoulder injury in practice on Sunday, but he is expected to play.

UCLA (9-1, 6-1), which could force a three-way tie atop the conference with USC and Oregon with a win, has not played since a 45-35 home triumph over Arizona State on November 12.

Drew Olson, who leads the nation in passing efficiency (172.5), completed 22-of-27 passes for 510 yards and five touchdowns for the Bruins, who were coming off a stunning 52-14 loss at Arizona the previous week. Olson has 22 touchdown passes and just one interception in the last six games.

USC has won the last six meetings - its longest streak in the series - after losing the previous eight. Last year, Bush had 335 yards and two touchdowns and Ryan Killeen kicked a school-record five field goals in a 29-24 Trojan victory.

USC's golden arm: Leinart wins Unitas Award

ESPN.com

SportsTicker

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- USC quarterback Matt Leinart, who has led his team to the brink of a third straight national title, won the 2005 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award on Wednesday.

Leinart is the second USC signal-caller in four years to win the award, which is presented annually to the nation's top senior quarterback by the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation. In 2002, Carson Palmer won the award, as well as the Heisman Trophy, which Leinart received as a junior last year.

Leinart, who has thrown for 3,217 yards and 24 touchdowns, beat out Northwestern's Brett Basanez, Oregon's Kellen Clemens, Alabama's Brodie Croyle, Vanderbilt's Jay Cutler, UCLA's Drew Olson and Georgia's D.J. Shockley.

A whopping 36-1 as a starter at USC, Leinart has thrown for 10,095 yards and 95 TDs in his career. With a win over UCLA on Saturday, USC would earn a spot in the Rose Bowl, likely against Texas, to play for the national championship on Jan. 4.

Hancock belittles the Bruins

Press-Telegram - Sports

Apparently, there is a difference between USC's archrivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, at least in the view of the Trojans.

USC fullback Brandon Hancock explained it to a group of students Tuesday night while discussing this week's crosstown rivalry with the Bruins.

"We respect Notre Dame and at the end of the day it's a pretty healthy rivalry. But all bets are off with these pansies," Hancock said. "We don't want to just beat them. We want to hurt them. We're not going to call the dogs off in the third or fourth quarter. We want to send a message."

Matt Leinart said Tuesday that USC's closer-than-expected 29-24 victory over the Bruins was because the Trojans looked past the big game.

"Last year, we were getting ahead of ourselves and thinking bigger picture," Leinart said. "We were flat on both sides of the ball."

White improves

Tailback LenDale White did light running before practice and continues to be on pace to practice Thursday.

"He's feeling better every day," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "He should be able to get a lot of reps Thursday."

Defensive end Frostee Rucker, who also bruised his shoulder, said he will play.

Rucker was stunned Monday when he learned he made the Pacific-10 Conference first-team defense.

"I was shocked," Rucker said. "If anyone, I knew Lawrence (Jackson) would be, but not me. It's not just about sacks, it's about putting teammates in the position to make plays."

Police update

Defensive end Kyle Moore said police contacted him Tuesday about coming in and identifying some thieves he thwarted during an attempted robbery at a Laundromat last week. Moore and Candice Davis, a hurdler on USC's track team, prevented a robbery last week as thieves attempted to steal a laptop computer and other items.

Another denial

Tailback Reggie Bush dismissed continued speculation he will turn pro after the season.

"People saying I'm already leaving (are wrong)," he said.

Bush arrived to practice late because of medical reasons that were non-football related. He's been bothered by a sore back, but said that wasn't the reason he went to the doctor.

Bush also had to do up-and-downs after practice because he didn't inform the coaches he would be late to practice.

: Scott Wolf and Jill Painter

Horton might start

After missing much of the season with a broken wrist, sophomore free safety Chris Horton could make his first career start for No. 11 UCLA at No. 1 USC on Saturday.

UCLA wants to play a physical game against the Trojans, and Horton is one of the hardest hitters on UCLA's defense.

"There's a good chance he will (start)," Bruins defensive coordinator Larry Kerr said Tuesday. "He brings some physical-ness and some freshness to the secondary. It's good to have Chris back in the fold. It's been a long time coming for him. He's a tough kid. I'll tell you one thing, he'll hit you, and we need guys like that on the field."

Kerr added another reason Horton will start is the health of Dennis Keyes, who is third on the Bruins with 56 tackles.

"Dennis has played well all year, but he's beat up a little," Kerr said. "Dennis is just worn down, I think. They're both going to help us win the game, but it's nice to have that option there."

Injury update

Starting strong tackle Brian Abraham left Spaulding Field on a cart after re-injuring his ankle, and his status for the Trojans is in question. Abraham was slowed by an ankle injury earlier this season. If he cannot play, Noah Sutherland will start.

Also, tailbacks Chris Markey (knee) and Maurice Drew (hip, knee) and linebacker John Hale (neck) were limited in practice, but each is expected to play.

Odds and ends

Long Beach Poly receiver Terrante Austin, who is being recruited heavily by UCLA, attended practice Tuesday.

Scout.com: UCLA Bruins preview

Scout.com

By Erik McKinney

Date: Nov 30, 2005

On conference championship Saturday, how fitting is it that the best game of the day will decide the conference champion of a conference that doesn’t even have a championship game? While the Bruins can’t truly win the conference flat-out, they can stake a claim to a share of it and ruin one of the best seasons in Trojan history with a win. For the Trojans, a win means a spot in another national championship game, back at their vacation home in Pasadena.

Bruins on offense:

Quarterback – #14 Drew Olson

It’s true that Drew Olson has improved in each of his three seasons as the starting quarterback, but I don’t think that even the most devoted Bruin fan could have predicted the kind of season that he has had so far in 2005. Even with an unheralded and depleted receiving corps, Olson has put together an absolutely unbelievable season. Olson leads the nation with a quarterback rating of 172, his 30 touchdown passes tie him for second in the nation and his three interceptions barely register as a blip on the screen. Olson has picked apart every defense he’s come up against this season, even performing well in his team’s only loss at Arizona. In fact, the only game that might not make it on the 2005 Drew Olson highlight reel in its entirety is his struggle against Washington, in which his team escaped with a four-point win and Olson threw two interceptions to go along with a season-worst quarterback rating of 80.

A large part of Olson’s success is due to the offensive play calling, which has allowed him to pile up completions and touchdowns with the help of screens and quick passes that his running backs and wide receivers take for long gains. Olson will hit the deep ball occasionally, but it’s tough to do when you’re best deep threat lines up behind you at running back.

Olson is at his best when he’s able to find his tight end, Marcedes Lewis, over the middle of the field, either on a quick hitch or a long seam route. The Trojans have been victimized by scrambling quarterbacks in the past, but Olson isn’t mobile by any means and has been sacked 19 times this season, including four times each against Washington State and Arizona.

Even though Olson is coming off a game that most quarterbacks can only dream about, completing 22 of 27 passes for 510 yards and five touchdowns, the speed and sophistication of USC’s defense should slow him down and force him into making mental or physical mistakes. But even if the Trojans can force Olson into a few early mistakes, he’s shown the mental toughness this season, and in last year’s game against USC, to lead his team back in the fourth quarter. On Saturday, Drew Olson will need to stay interception free yet again, because turnovers mean extra opportunities for the Trojan offense, and that means bad news for Olson’s Bruins.

Running Backs – #21 Maurice Drew, #28 Chris Markey, #32 Michael Pitre

Maurice Drew is a tough little runner who has taken on the role of the number one tailback for the Bruins this season. Drew is lightning quick and combines that with enough strength to break a tackle or two. Even though he hasn’t had a truly outstanding game this season that compares with his 322-yard, five touchdown performance against Washington last season, Drew has been more than capable when handed the ball and is a big time threat out of the backfield.

Drew has received a majority of the rushing attempts this season, picking up 816 yards and 12 touchdowns on 169 attempts. He has three 100-yard rushing games this season, coming against San Diego State, Washington State and Oregon State, and has been held under five yards per carry for the year, largely because opposing defenses are able to prepare for him rather than let him surprise them as he did for so much of the 2004 season.

Chris Markey has gotten a few carries this season, running the ball 80 times for 378 yards and three touchdowns, but he has been largely overlooked this season. He’s logged more than ten carries in just three games and has yet to go over 100 yards in any game. He’s coming off a huge receiving day against Arizona State however, catching three passes for 120 yards and a touchdown. Markey will need to make an impact either rushing or receiving against the Trojans in order to prevent USC from constantly keying on Maurice Drew.

Markey and Drew aren’t exactly thunder and lightning as Drew is both shorter and heavier, but the combination of the two can be extremely potent and as well as Drew Olson is playing this year, stopping the run should always be the priority of a defense.

Michael Pitre is used almost exclusively as a true blocking fullback, receiving a handful of carries and receptions this season as thanks for his hard-nosed blocking. Almost half of his 15 carries this season came against Arizona as the Bruins rested their starting tailbacks during the route. With the Bruins looking for the upset, it will be guys like Pitre that need to play flawlessly in order to allow for the UCLA skill players to have big games.

Wide Receivers – #26 Joe Cowan, #1 Brandon Breazell, #9 Marcus Everett, #10 Gavin Ketchum

Heading into the season, the Bruin wide receivers were already one of the weakest units on the team and losing Junior Taylor to an injury against Oklahoma didn’t exactly help matters. Junior wideout Joe Cowan, mustache and all, leads the group with 32 receptions for 443 yards. He’s also added three touchdown catches. He is a taller receiver, but he shouldn’t provide too much of a threat for the Trojan secondary in terms of jump balls. He is very quick, however, and if he’s given space after a catch he can turn upfield and go the distance. This was evidenced against Arizona State, when Cowan took a pass and raced 91 yards for a touchdown. Cowan’s 109 receiving yards against the Sun Devils stands as the only 100-yard receiving day for a Bruin wide receiver this season.

Marcus Everett is the team’s second-leading wide receiver, hauling in 27 passes for 348 yards and a touchdown while Brandon Breazell has 22 grabs for 280 yards and four touchdowns. Both are your average secondary receiver types who will make catches in open space but don’t exactly strike fear in opposing defensive coordinators.

Gavin Ketchum has just 11 catches and 153 yards this season, but with the way the Trojan secondary has played at times this season, any wide receiver standing 6’4” makes you worry a bit. Luckily, Ketchum is just a true freshman and isn’t likely to see much time on Saturday.

Tight End – #19 Marcedes Lewis

Without Marcedes Lewis there is no way the Bruins are coming into the game against the Trojans with just one loss on the season. Over the past several years, Lewis has been the recipient of a lot of hype about his abilities but not a lot of statistics to back it up. This season, Lewis has been the entire Bruin receiving corps and the steady presence that has allowed Drew Olson to have the season he’s having.

Lewis leads the team by a large margin with 55 catches for 711 yards and ten touchdowns. He is coming off back-to-back 100-yard, two touchdown performances against both Arizona schools and will be Olson’s main target in the passing game. He has shown a knack this season for finding the seam between the safeties 15 or 20 yards downfield and has the hands to corral anything thrown his way. The match up between he and Darnell Bing should be one of the best during the game, and one that could continue into the professional ranks.

Offensive Line – LT #68 Brian Abraham, LG #71 Shannon Tevaga, C #54 Robert Chai, RG #75 Robert Cleary, RT #73 Ed Blanton

The Bruin offensive line has paved the way for a pretty potent attack this season. UCLA runners are averaging 4.2 yards per carry and have scored 18 rushing touchdowns. The strong side of the line is absolutely massive, with Robert Cleary coming in at 6’7” and 320 pounds and still dwarfed by Ed Blanton at 6’9” and 350 pounds. While this size helps in the running game, the Bruins have been victimized by quicker defensive lines, giving up multiple sacks to SDSU, Oklahoma, Washington State, Stanford and Arizona. This Trojan defensive line has a great first step and could be in the backfield before some of the offensive linemen get set to block. The Trojan pass rush was somewhat lacking against a smaller, more athletic Fresno State line. It will be important for the line to have a better day against the Bruins.

Bruins on defense:

Defensive Line – #48 William Snead, #50 Chase Moline, #93 Brigham Harwell, #17 Justin Hickman

If the Bruin defensive line was bad last season, it is absolutely abysmal this year. UCLA ranks 115th out of 117 teams in rushing defense, giving up 219.5 yards per game on the ground. The Bruins are one of just 14 teams allowing over 200 yards per game and one of just five that allow over five yards per carry. On the flip side, the Trojans boast the only rushing offense in the country averaging over six yards per carry. This Saturday we might see the answer to the slightly easier physics question: “What happens when an unstoppable force meets an easily movable object.”

The main reason for the lack of success against the run is that the Bruin line has no anchor. There is no solid presence that demands multiple blockers and can beat double teams and the line is so collectively small they get flung around like socks in a dryer. But, because of their size, the front is quite athletic and can get after the quarterback in the passing game.

Justin Hickman leads the line with 29 tackles and 5.5 sacks from his defensive end position. He also ranks third on the team with eight tackles for loss. He lines up next to Brigham Harwell who has chipped in with 28 tackles, nine tackles for loss and three sacks. That duo forms by far the stronger side of the defensive line and the Bruins may shift them along the line to prevent the Trojans from running again and again at William Snead, a former linebacker, and Chase Moline, a true freshman.

Snead has just 18 tackles on the season with 1.5 sacks and two recovered fumbles, and the Trojan guards should have a field day welcoming Moline to the rivalry. But even though the statistics say that the Bruins shouldn’t have a chance in stopping the Trojans’ running game, funny things have a way of happening in games like this and the USC front will need to play as well as they’ve been playing all season in order to shut down the ultra-motivated Bruin line.

Linebackers – #41 Spencer Havner #40 Wesley Walker, #12 John Hale, #9 Justin London

Spencer Havner is, without a doubt, the best player for the Bruins defensively and a brilliant performance from him is absolutely necessary to give his team a shot at the upset. He leads the team with 84 tackles, including 15 behind the line of scrimmage, and has chipped in with two sacks and two recovered fumbles. Havner played well against the Trojans last season, but on both of Reggie Bush’s long touchdown runs, he had a shot to bring Bush down and came up with nothing but air. He can do everything expected of a linebacker, but he’s not going to win the game by himself. If the Trojans can force him to run sideline to sideline for the entire first half, chances are he’s not going to be filling the same holes or making the same solid tackles as the game progresses. Havner has also been one of the team’s best defenders against the pass this season, leading the team with two interceptions and tied for second with seven pass deflections.

Justin London has missed the past two games, but could be back for his last shot against the Trojans. When healthy, London teams with Havner to form one of the best linebacking duos in the conference, so it will be interesting to see if he is fully healthy heading into the game. On the season, London has 38 tackles, including five behind the line of scrimmage.

Wesley Walker is another linebacker who has missed a couple of games this season due to injury but has held down the starting outside linebacker spot for the past few games. Walker has just 17 tackles in seven games and isn’t the kind of player who is going to make many game-changing plays on Saturday.

John Hale is a true freshman who has found playing time as a result of the injuries to the linebackers and hasn’t exactly been overly impressive. He has started seven of the last eight games and has 20 tackles in nine total games. If Hale plays extensively against the Trojans, look for Matt Leinart to do everything he can to get him matched up against the Trojan tight ends and running backs out of the backfield.

Cornerbacks – #23 Trey Brown, #15 Marcus Cassell

With UCLA’s porous run defense, putting up good numbers against the pass wouldn’t seem like two much to ask for, but the Bruins have been far from good in that regard as well. At first glance it appears the Bruins have a better pass defense than the much maligned Trojan secondary, allowing fewer completions, yards and touchdown passes, but when it comes to pass efficiency defense, the Trojans rank 46th in the nation, far ahead of the Bruins at 90, thanks to just five interceptions and allowing over seven yards per attempt.

Trey Brown is probably the best cover corner on the team, but neither he nor Marcus Cassell should provide as stiff a test as the Fresno State corners two weeks ago. The Bulldog corners were able to help themselves by making every solo tackle in open space against the Trojan wide receivers. Against the Bruins, if Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith can catch those quick passes, throw a stiff arm and get up the field, the Trojan offense should roll even without the benefit of another superhuman performance.

Brown and Cassell have 15 pass defenses between them, but Brown’s interception to ice the game against Cal is the only pick that either corner has all season. Brown was part of the Bruin secondary that kept Matt Leinart out of the endzone last season, but with the way Leinart is playing this season, that is unlikely to happen again.

Safeties – #4 Jarrad Page, #11 Dennis Keyes

Jarrad Page and Dennis Keyes have been mainstays this season in the Bruin secondary. Page ranks second on the team with 57 tackles and has added a sack, forced fumble and five pass deflections. He is a very solid safety and has taken over the leadership role vacated by Ben Emanuel II. He’s also the best hitter in the secondary.

Dennis Keyes stepped in for the departed Emanuel and has played admirably this season. He has 56 tackles on the season along with two sacks and five pass deflections. He’s played well, but I wouldn’t mind watching Matt Leinart throw his way more than a few times on Saturday.

It will be interesting to note how close to the line of scrimmage the safeties are playing in order to help with the run. So much has been made of Peyton Manning’s ability with the Colts to audible in and out of running plays based on how many defenders are in the box. I don’t expect Matt Leinart to try and take that much control of the Trojan offense, but he is definitely smart enough to take advantage of match ups that favor his playmakers.

Bruins on special teams:

Kicker – #7 Justin Medlock

Justin Medlock is one of the better kickers in the conference, converting 11 of 14 attempts this season with a long of 51. He obviously has a strong leg and is above average when it comes to accuracy, especially when you consider the ability of most kickers around the nation. But when it comes to kickoffs, just 32 of his 71 attempts have gone for touchbacks.

Punter – #17 Aaron Perez

Aaron Perez is averaging just under 40 yards per kick on his 43 attempts with a long of 52. Only three of his kicks have gone for touchbacks, with 11 fair catches and 13 downed inside the 20. 16 of his punts have been returned for 143 yards.

Kick Returner – #28 Chris Markey

Chris Markey is a valuable asset in the kick return game, returning 15 kicks for 352 yards, averaging 23.5 per kick. He has a long of 71 yards for the year and will test the kick coverage unit of the Trojans.

Punt Returner – #21 Maurice Drew

Maurice Drew has been absolutely unbelievable when it comes to punt returns hit season. He’s racked up a ridiculous 29.1 yard average on 14 returns including three touchdowns. He has become so good that it’s almost strange to not see him break a return for a long gain. The Trojans have the skill on special teams to contain Drew, but it might be best to not play with the proverbial fire and punt everything sky-high, out of bounds or into the end zone.

Carroll discusses UCLA game

USCTrojans.com

Pete Carroll

Opening Statement

"We feel very fortunate to be in this situation at this time of the year. To go into the last game with a tremendous opportunity that we face, with cross-town rival UCLA. It is a beautiful time to be coaching, and playing football. We couldn't be more exciting to be in the position we are in. Coming off of last week and the work we accomplished last week, and just feeling the guys yesterday, we had a great start on Monday. The energy was perfect, we flew around the field and got the things done we wanted to get done. Made the coaches feel that the guys are ready to put together a great week. The situation that we all hope for, in our program we always want to give ourselves to get in that Rose Bowl. This year it takes on a little bit different significance, but yet the line has always been the same. The goal in this program has always been to own the Rose Bowl and to do that you have to win your conference. It just happens that every few years it changes what that game is about. It is really exciting and we are pumped up about it and we can't wait to get going. There is another issue here, over our shoulder here is the gauntlet, at one point I thought it looked like Darth Vader's glove. It is a great symbol for the competition that goes on all year long, and a rivalry situation that everyone participates in. It has been fun for us, and there is a lot of points riding on this game, so we are excited about representing our sport and doing a good job for the effort to get the thing back."

On the BCS

"I haven't been that moved from the whole situation in the past going into it. I feel about the same. I was asked on a conference call here, what do you think about this scenario and that scenario. I can't even comment, I don't know how it works it yet. I don't know how it would respond to what happens this weekend. So I do know this, if we win this weekend we would probably play them in the Rose Bowl. That is all we know right now and whatever else happens, happens. The BCS people are probably a little happier with this right now with the scrutiny. I don't have much to add about this whole situation with the BCS."





On Drew Olson

"This is a high powered offense. They rolled all year long. They have been in difficult situations a number of times where they have been well behind and come roaring back and finished games with big finishes, big plays. The kinds of games that give you tremendous confidence and play and performance that gives you confidence. The QB has been awesome. He has had a great season. The touchdowns to the number of picks is just a remarkable number for anybody at anytime. He has a had a lot of guys coming at him trying to get that ball away from him, trying to knock him down and force bad plays and he won't let it happen. He is very poised, very much in command of what they are doing. There are guys making plays around him, with a really good running game. They have a really big time offense with great confidence coming in I am sure. We will have our hands full with this one. This is a really good group."

On Maurice Drew

"I think he is a fantastic player. I have loved the way he plays since he was in high school. I saw him as a junior and thought he was extremely unique. His stature, his speed, his instincts, his toughness make him a very, very special football player. They have used him well on returns, and catching the football as well. He is a tremendous football player that really stands alone right now I think because he is such a unique body type. We really think that he is one of the guys that can make a difference in this game and has done it all year long for them. "

Can see development in Drew Olson from this year to last year

"I mean just compare the numbers. The guy is maturing and getting to the time of his career where he is most affective. He has got the system inside continuity and the players around him that can make the plays. It is just like any quarterback; they can only do so much. They have to have guys around him. They have to have protection and guys that can catch the ball and it is great to have a running game. He has benefited from all of those things and complemented every aspect of that as well. He moves well, he makes good decisions, he runs well when he has to, deep ball, quick game, off play pass stuff, everything that they do he does well. He is playing as good as anybody in the country."

How it could be a close game like Fresno State

"I never ever think of games that way, I don't approach them in that matter , and don't think of it happening in that way. You deal with it when you have to. It takes awhile for that to happen, so all the time it hasn't happened in a game I am thinking that way. I don't go in thinking that way. We are going to try to move the ball as well as we can on offense, score as much as we can and hold them down and see what happens. As always will be the case it will always be about the football and which creates the big plays and gets the field positions and we will do a better job then they do taking care of the ball. They have been very stingy about giving the ball up so that is a big chore. That is how we will go into this game and that is the way we go into every game."

What makes the USC-UCLA week different

"The energy is different, you can feel it. It is part of the reason, it is so obvious you don't need to make a big deal about it, you can just sense it. You can feel it in this room you can feel it around the media conversations and on the practice field and people trying to get to our practice and people trying to get tickets for this game, and on and on and on. It is an ongoing kind of energy that flows during this week and it makes it kind of fun."

How Pete has never lost to UCLA

"I like that. How does it make me feel, it doesn't make me feel very good that it happened in the past right now. I don't care about what happened in the past, it is about getting ready this week and it is nice when the game is over and you get a win and you have been able to maintain over your cross town team. I can't tell you I don't like it I like it a lot. We are working real hard to hold on to that. What happened in the past doesn't have anything to do with what is going on right now. That is real obvious to me and it always has been. So we have a chance to go do something good again and lets see if we can do that and lets look back on it after it is over."

How this is the last home game for the seniors

"I think this is the one factor in the game that is unique. Other than the fact that it is a big match up and all, I think it is unique that the seniors are playing their last game in particular the last game at home. I have already approached our guys and I don't want that to factor into the way they play. I like the way they played last week and the week before that and the last couple of years. So the fact that it is their last game there will be a moment in there when they realize it. I don't want that to affect the way they perform. They won't be happy about that either. I am not asking them to play better than they have ever played before, I want them to play like they are capable of playing. When it is over we will sit down and feel what it feels like to be walking out of the Coliseum as a player for the last time. It is a big deal. It is a real big deal and we have to deal with it well and not let it factor into the performance of the game. We like the way our guys play. I don't want that to change. I don't know, a couple of years ago I was walking down the tunnel with Ronnie Lott, prior to a game. I asked him if this was still a big deal to him. He said, still a big deal, this is the biggest deal of my life in football is walking down this tunnel here and playing at the Coliseum. This is a guy who has won world championships and played all over the world and football and it is just a statement about what this opportunity to be at USC means. To have endured it and been here as a player and to make it a part of your personal history, it is a very, very special time. It is unfortunate that it ever has to come to an end. We have to deal with that and not let it factor into our performance right now."

How this rivalry is different

"Growing up in California it was always a great rivalry. Watching the game for years when you are a little kid. As a matter of fact the first time I ever had a chance to go out of my area when I grew up to see a big game with my team down here, I saw the game when UCLA plays at the Coliseum, the one when Sam Dickson makes the catch in the end zone. I was sitting seven rows from the top on the opposite end, I had no idea what was going on, you couldn't even see it across the field. That was because growing up it was that enormous of a spectacle and I just wanted to be apart of it. Right after my senior year and high school we came down and watched this game, and it was a big deal. It was awesome. It has always been that way. It is California. To be this big of a deal as a native Californian and to see everyone get so pumped up about college football I love this time of year. I think if we could fill up both stadiums we would. We would get 200 thousand people to come to these games. It is just that big of a deal. I think for Californians to rally for college football with all the other things that everybody does it is a great statement of their loyalty and love for this match up. I am so proud do be apart of it and thrilled to have a chance to coach in this game."

On preventing the team from feeling let down after a big game

"Well, I think our chance to hold onto this level of play over a long period of time goes to our ability to hold onto our principals that we talk about day in and day out in the program. Some people would look at our philosophy and say that we would down play a game like this and we wouldn't make it a special opportunity. We only get to play 12 games a year. 12 times out of all of the time out of the millions of hours we spend focusing on this we get 12 times to go do this. I think we can make every single game world class, championship, super bowl, national championship type atmosphere. In the approach and the intensity and the focus we bring to it. This is the biggest game we could possibly play in this week and we are thrilled about it. This is the way we try to focus every single day we go to practice. Whether it is spring or fall practice or a bye week or whatever. We hopefully we have trained our guys to generate the maximum focus you can turn towards an event by doing it on a regular basis. We don't try to just do this on Friday night. We hope to hold this level of intensity of focus and commitment every single time we try to do anything. Most people say you cant do that. That you can only get up a couple of times a year. I think that is the biggest pile of crap I have ever heard. You can get jacked up every single day if you want to. You just have to set your mind to it and go about organizing yourself to get that done. We have been trying to do that since the first day we stepped foot on this campus. Whether that is what is going on or not, I don't know, but that is how we go about it. This opportunity is an enormous opportunity for us, but we are going to deal with it the way we always deal with it. We are not going to do anything different, we are not going to change the way we do stuff because we are already trying to max out on everything we do, so if there was another way I could max something out I would figure that out and try to do that. I would do it today if I could think of it. I try to explain that. You ask that question a lot. I think it is the discipline of the appreciation of the opportunity that is sitting right in front of you, and being focused to see that this day is all we can deal with and this is all we can make use of and squeeze every drop out of every opportunity. That is what we are going to try to do with this game."

On dealing with egos of players

"Well, all of those normal human attributes are there, they are in our locker room just like they are in anyone else's, but what governce the way you act is the conscience that you have. If you have a conscience about your team, that your team is number one and you understand intellectually that doesn't serve your team really well to act like that, it draws against what you are trying to do. Then you will have a discipline about the way that you speak and the talk that you use around the locker room and what you say to your friends. Then you are not able to go there because it doesn't fit. Guys think the thoughts, gosh I wish I could get the ball more. I have tried to talk talk to them, I want to hear when they are feeling like that, I don't want to try to sense it. When they have that feeling and they are able to let it out in a closed session when it is ok, I try to direct them to do something about it. If you want it more do something to get it more. Compete your butt of to show that is what we should do. Just make sense of that, try to make it into a proactive deal instead of something that you sit on and you cant act on. To say that it doesn't exist here that is wrong. Reggie wants the ball every single snap, Matt would like to throw bombs every chance he gets, LenDale wants the ball, everybody wants it. That is awesome. That is what you want. You don't want them not to want it. You want them to give it to them and more. So when you do give it to them they will do something with it. It is really clear to me. That is the culture we are living in. One of the things that is really important is for other guys to respect the other guys they are playing with so they aren't out there to try to knock them down."

On LenDale

"We are going to try to see if we can get him back into practice format here. Today we will be real careful with him and hopefully tomorrow we can get some work out of him. We think he is going to be alright."

What would it take for someone to beat USC

"They have to play better then we do. They have to find ways to do things right longer then we do. That is how we do it on the other end. We try to do things longer then the other team can. In respect to the game: the game can get you sometimes. The ball can bounce screwy, the call can be made, the wind blows, things can happen. We have to extend beyond the fact that sometimes the game can get you. There have also been games where you have 500 yards on offense and the other team has 250 but because of the way the ball bounced or a missed snap on a punt, the game took a different turn. We have to play over and above those factors always. I hope that day when somebody gets us, I hope we played really well on that day and we made them play great."

On UCLA's special teams with Maurice Drew

"He is awesome, he is an awesome returner. The best punt returner in the country. They scheme real well to go along with that. We just have to kick the ball in positions where he can't get his opportunities. To kick the ball 60 yards is not a good idea. What happened to us last year, we kicked the ball so far that the whole coverage thing got spread out, and they did a great job covering us and blocking. We have to control the flight of the ball and put it where we want to put it and not give them a chance to get going. Nobody slows him down.

On David Kirtman

"David has done a really nice job. We have worked ever since Desmond Reed was injured. Desmond was the guy that finished games for us, David and Brandon Hancock have been the guys who have been getting the ball in practice. Those guys are ready to go. Both of those guys run fast and hard and big, I don't have any hesitation playing those guys. If LenDale couldn't play, those guys are playing."

An 'SC shoo-in?

SI.com - Austin Murphy

Here's hoping LenDale White's injury wasn't as bad as it looked when he was carted off the field during USC's practice on Sunday. While there is no good time for White to be out -- and coach Pete Carroll does expect White to play against the Bruins -- this would be one of the least bad times for Reggie Bush to carry the Trojans' rushing load. In the wake of Vince Young's so-so performance in Texas's tight win over Texas A&M last Friday, plenty of Heisman voters have Bush penciled in at the top of their ballots (due next Wednesday). As I wrote in this week's magazine, Bush rushed for 204 yards on 15 carries in the L.A. City championship last year. What might he do with 30 carries this Saturday against a unit ranked 115th -- that would be second from the bottom -- in rushing defense? He could siphon all the remaining suspense from the Heisman race, is what he could do.

Can USC handle the Bruins?

UCLA knows how to play the Trojans, whose 29-24 victory in this game last year was sealed by safety Jason Leach's last-minute interception. On offense, Drew Olson did some damage, throwing for 274 yards and engineering a couple of second-half touchdown drives that kept the game close. This year, he'll have star tailback Maurice Drew to hand off to -- Drew missed most of last year's game with a bum ankle. And 'SC's defense was better last year than it is today. Injuries have forced Carroll to go to his bench, especially at linebacker, where true freshmen Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga have been taking plenty of snaps. As my USC mole tells me, that's not necessarily a bad thing:

"I actually think the key for USC is to get Maualuga playing a lot now and getting him ready for the Rose Bowl. He is hands-down the most talented linebacker to be at USC [physically] since Junior Seau. He is one of the few guys who will be able to chase down Vince Young."
Big 12 blowout is no guarantee

Vincent will obviously be highly motivated to play lights out against Colorado in the Big 12 title game. The question is, can he play any better than he did against the Buffs on Oct. 15, when he completed 25-of-29 passes and scored five TDs? This game could be closer than people expect. Considering everything that is at stake for the Longhorns -- coach Mack Brown's first conference championship, a Rose Bowl berth -- they may come out tight in Houston's Reliant Stadium on Saturday. The Buffs, meanwhile, will be coming into the game (backing into it, I should say) with nothing to lose, and nowhere to go but up.

Ugliness in Boulder

Last Friday was not a proud day in Boulder, with Colorado players taunting the visiting Nebraska Cornhuskers during pregame warm-ups, woofing, pointing fingers and otherwise baiting the football gods, inviting Colorado's most disastrous performance of the season, a stunning 30-3 loss. A game with many low moments reached its nadir in the fourth quarter, when play was halted for five minutes because of refuse being thrown from the student sections. Officials demanded those sections be cleared before play could resume. Hey kids, I know it's a great party school and everything, but maybe cut down on the Jagermeister at the tailgate.

It's always something at Colorado. I recall my first assignment there, way back in the Bill McCartney days. The resurgent Buffs were a year away from winning a national title. Darian Hagan was quarterback; the locker of recently deceased quarterback Sal Aunese had been transformed into a shrine. One of the reasons given for the team's success was the Buffs had vowed to abstain from alcohol. I looked forward to discussing this and other subjects with a defensive linemen I took to dinner. When our waitress asked if we wanted anything to drink, the player said, "Yeah, give me an iced tea."

She asked if he wanted a lemon in it.

"No," the player replied, "I mean one of them Long Island iced teas -- that drink with about nine different shots in it."

When he finished that one, he had another. It was a wide-ranging, productive interview.

Rescuing D.J.

The question on my mind during the final moments of Notre Dame's squeaker over Stanford last Saturday night: Is it tougher to get dates when you're the guy who cost your school a $14 million payday? Notre Dame kicker D.J. Fitzgerald damn near found out. His three missed kicks against the Cardinal included a 29-yard field goal he pulled with just over 2:15 to play. A quick Cardinal touchdown gave the home team a 31-30 lead, and Fitzgerald a sinking feeling.

On Notre Dame's next possession, it took quarterback Brady Quinn just five plays to get the Irish into the end zone -- and his kicker off the hook. I loved Charlie Weis' call for the two-point conversion: a direct snap to Darius Walker, who'd scored the go ahead TD. (Another cool Weis call earlier in the game: the seldom seen quick kick, executed to near-perfection by Quinn, whose punt bounced inside the five, but trickled into the end zone.)

For Irish, BCS data is irrelevant

Some Domers -- the shut-ins who actually pore over the BCS results each week like monks in a scriptorium -- are salty about having dropped a couple of notches in the human polls. How dare you punish us, they say, just because we had to come from behind late to win? They point out that they went on the road and beat a fair Pac-10 team that was desperate to become bowl eligible -- and was further enflamed by the presence of many former Cardinal greats, including John Elway and Bill Walsh, who showed up for the final game at Stanford Stadium.

My answer to their pique: get over it. It has zero bearing on what bowl you'll attend. You're a lock to be invited to the Fiesta; the $14 mil check is as good as deposited in the University's general fund. You got no complaints.

Smith safe in East Lansing ... for now

News item: Detroit Lions fire Steve Mariucci. There's been talk that Mooch might join his close friend Tom Izzo at Michigan State -- that John L. Smith, the Spartans coach whose team just failed to become bowl eligible for the second straight year, should be looking over his shoulder. Smith is safe for now. He just finished the third year of a six-year, $9.75 million deal. His buyout would be exorbitant, some $5 million. And this program, which is on its third coach since '02, desperately needs stability. But athletic director Ron Mason will be looking for marked improvement next season. As it is, Smith's three-year record is 18-17 -- not much different from the 16-17 that got his predecessor, Bobby Williams, fired.

I sat with Smith in his office in October, when the Spartans were undefeated and Drew Stanton was on everyone's Heisman list and there was talk of a Big Ten title (hell -- I threw some of it out there myself). Smith was a little late for our interview: he'd been comforting his daughter, whose dog had been hit by a car. While I waited, I looked at the titles on his bookcase -- the benign equivalent of eyeballing the contents of someone's medicine cabinet. There was the Spartan Sports Encyclopedia, next to Investment Biker and God's Game Plan. I gave him bonus points for having Don Quixote: most coaches I meet wouldn't know Cervantes from Sir Mix-A-Lot.

It made some sense: Smith's quirks -- he's jumped out of an airplane, climbed Kilimanjaro, experienced a brief meltdown during a sideline interview this season -- could be described as, well, Quixotic. The book Smith really needs is The Art of Closing Any Deal. This year's Spartans started 4-0 and finished 5-6. I said goodbye to them at Illinois; they dropped all but one of their next seven games. Seldom has the SI jinx been so potent.

Who's winning race for Reggie?

FOXSports.com

Peter Schrager / Special to FOXSports.com

While most NFL fans were concentrating on the playoff picture or their fantasy football squads this weekend, a handful were preoccupied with the all-encompassing thought of a guy named Bush. No, not our nation's president. Nope, not the squirmy host of Access Hollywood. And certainly not Randy, the backup outfielder on the 1987 and 1991 Minnesota Twins.

Obviously, I'm talking about USC's all-world tailback/kick returner/punt returner/BMOC, Reggie Bush. Sure, the junior hasn't declared for the pros yet. And yes, he still has UCLA and in all likelihood No. 2 Texas ahead of him. Somewhere in between will be a trip to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony as well.

Despite all that, fans of several NFL teams are quietly mumbling "Reg-gie ... Reg-gie" to themselves. They're flooding the draft guru websites, scouting the Trojan's highlight tapes, and hitting up the NFL.com team shops to order their customized #5 Bush jerseys.

But which team will Mr. Bush be galloping for this time next year? Here's a wrap-up of the candidates, their performances from Week 12, and what lies ahead:

Houston Texans

Odds on getting Bush: 2-1
Week 12 result: 33-27 loss at home vs. St. Louis
Record: 1-10

Wrapup: Devastating (or amazing) result depending on whom you ask. If you're a Texans fan looking for a win, then this contest has to be up there as the worst of the franchise's four-year history. Kevin Curtis's mad scramble to the end zone likely tore you to bits.

On the other hand, if you're a Texans fan yearning for Reggie Bush, the game was downright miraculous. (If you bet on the Rams and the four-point spread, then again —glorious.)

Anytime a third-string quarterback who was once a backup at Harvard rallies a team back from a second-half, 21-point deficit against you, things can't be going well.

Upcoming possible wins: Week 14 at Tennessee, Week 15 vs. Arizona, Week 17 at San Francisco

Projected record: 2-14

The Texans shouldn't be this upset about the loss to the Rams. They're one step closer to getting Reggie Bush. (David J. Phillip / Associated Press)

Green Bay Packers

Odds on getting Bush: 5-1
Week 12 result: 19-14 loss at Philadelphia
Record: 2-9

Wrapup: Despite out-scoring their opponents 232-223 on the year, the Packers ensured their first losing season of the Brett Favre era (1992-2005) with a heartbreaking defeat in Philly. Samkon Gado's first-half TD scamper was nullified by his fourth fumble of the young season in the third quarter.

Upcoming possible wins: Week 14 vs. Detroit, Week 15 at Baltimore

Projected record: 4-12

New York Jets

Odds on getting Bush: 5-1
Week 12 result: 21-19 loss at home vs. New Orleans
Record: 2-9

Wrapup: In what was being called the "Bush Bowl" in Jets fan circles this week, Gang Green lost the Sunday Nighter on Mike Nugent's failed 52-yard field goal attempt. Awful game to watch (though the ESPN Sunday Night crew would have had you thinking it was '72 Dolphins-'99 Rams). Any Jets fan that trekked to East Rutherford in the cold for this one is a true-die hard.

Upcoming possible wins: Week 15 at Miami, Week 17 vs. Buffalo

Projected record: 3-13

San Francisco 49ers

Odds on getting Bush: 5-1
Week 12 result: 33-22 loss at Tennessee
Record: 2-9

Wrapup: The Niners had a brief 14-9 lead, but ended up losing by 11 in Nashville. Steve McNair looked like the Steve Mcnair of 2003, and lit up the San Fran defense for 300-plus yards and three touchdowns. Once Tennessee grabbed a 30-14 lead in the third quarter, the game was over.

Upcoming possible wins: Week 13 vs. Arizona, Week 17 vs. Houston

Projected record: 3-13

Baltimore Ravens

Odds on getting Bush: 12-1
Week 12 result: 42-29 loss at Cincinnati
Record: 3-8

Wrapup: Kyle Boller played like Kyle Boller plays: a crucial fumble in the first half, a few interceptions, and tons of garbage/junk throws to no one in particular. The Ravens sunk to 0-6 on the road in '05, and got teed up by Chad Johnson and co. To Baltimore's credit, they did outscore Cincy 29-8 once a Bengals win was absolutely, 100 percent in the books.

Upcoming possible wins: Week 13 vs. Houston, Week 15 vs. Green Bay, Week 17 at Cleveland

Projected record: 4-12

New Orleans Saints

Odds on getting Bush: 12-1
Week 12 result: 21-19 win at New York Jets
Record: 3-8

Wrapup: Gutsy road win in which the defense finally stepped up. A big meeting on Monday is scheduled between the Saints ownership, NFLPA player reps, and the NFL. The future of the franchise will undoubtedly be the topic of discussion.

Upcoming possible wins: Week 13 vs. Tampa Bay, Week 16 vs. Detroit

Projected record: 5-11

Tennessee Titans

Odds on getting Bush: 20-1
Week 12 result: 33-22 win at home vs. San Francisco
Record: 3-8

Wrapup: The Titans came alive on Sunday. The offense, defense, and special teams gelled en route to a nice come-from-behind victory. Steve Mcnair threw for 343 yards and three touchdowns, and Norm Chow looked like the offensive genius he was hyped up to be at USC.

Upcoming possible wins: Week 14 vs. Houston, Week 16 at Miami

Projected record: 5-11

Arizona Cardinals

Odds on getting Bush: 25-1
Week 12 result: 24-17 loss at home vs. Jacksonville
Record: 3-8

Wrapup: Neil Rackers' streak of 31 consecutive made field goal attempts came to an end in the Arizona wind on Sunday. Rackers missed a 43-yarder wide left on Arizona's first offensive series. On the bright side, Kurt Warner looked good, connecting with Anquan Boldin ten times for 115 yards.

Upcoming possible wins: Week 13 at San Francisco, Week 15 at Houston, Week 16 vs. Philadelphia

Projected record: 6-10

We might as well start the countdown to Week 17 today. Sure, Cincy at K.C. and Chicago at Minnesota may matter as far as playoff pictures go, but that's not the only game worth watching on New Year's Eve. Keep an eye out for the REAL "Bush Bowl": Houston at San Francisco. The game's at 4:05 ET, and can be seen on your DirectTV Sunday Ticket Package on Channel 716. Get the Tivo ready now--the loser may get the ultimate reward.