USC to Play in Hollywood Bowl

The Spirit of Troy (a/k/a the Trojan Marching Band, a/k/a the Greatest Marching Band In The History Of The Universe) got some ink in today's LA Times.

The band will perform in the Tchaikovsky Spectacular at the Hollywood Bowl on Friday and Saturday at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are still available for a tradition USC has been a part of for at least 20 years.

Later this fall, the Spirit of Troy will perform with the USC Song Girls and Twirlers at the Peninsula Music Fair (Palos Verdes High School) on Oct. 7 and at the Battle of the High School Marching Bands (Home Depot Center) on Nov. 17.

Photo by Luis Sinco / LAT

USC Thin In The Backfield?

With all the depth at some positions (TB, LB, CB, S), the FB position seems very thin with the starter a kid that missed most of last season injured.  Do you think Broderick Green would be able and willing to fill in at that spot if necessary?  Or how about Bradford?  I still remember Marcus Allen playing FB when Charles White was at TB.  He didn't have a problem with it -- didn't hurt his career either!

--Ron from Texas

Stanley Havili has been getting a lot of buzz lately (or at least as much as is possible for a fullback -- see #2 in this ESPN article or click here for an ESPN video). It seems like everybody is high on him. I watched a few practices and didn't notice him much. Since FB isn't exactly a glamor position, that's probably a good thing. He didn't seem to be missing any assignments. He looked good in scrimmages, with a 27-yard run in the second quarter and 19-yard catch in the third.

After Havili, you're right. USC is thin at fullback -- especially when it comes to senior leadership. Havili is a redshirt freshman. On the depth chart, he's backed up by walk-on Adam Goodman (a redshirt sophomore who played in JC). The only guy who has been around the program for awhile is Joey Adewale, listed at third. The redshirt senior actually started three games last year. On the other hand, he quit the team for awhile to focus on school, and returned after missing spring practice. Adewale is followed by true freshman Jordan Campbell and redshirt freshman Alfred Rowe.

Considering the transfer and injuries at tailback (Green and Johnson are the only two without any question marks), I wouldn't look for Bradford or Green to switch over unless fullback becomes a problem. Keep in mind that Havili, Goodman and Co. should get a gentle start to the season with the first game against Idaho and the following weekend off.

Salute To Troy: Them's Fight On Words

"There are a lot of UCLA people out there. And there are a lot of Notre Dame people out there. And we kick their ass." -- Ricky Ellison (one-time NCAA champ, two-time Rose Bowl champ, three-time Super Bowl champ)

USC got fired up on Friday in a preseason pep rally known as Salute to Troy. The annual event, held at Cromwell Field for a record 3,500 boosters, introduced this year's football squad to the fans and provided several memorable quotes (none of which were as pointed as the ones Les Miles made a few months ago).

There were plenty of fireworks at the end of the night, but coaches had some verbal ones as well. Discussing his nationally acclaimed group of linebackers and their performance in practice, coach Ken Norton didn't hold back. "There were 10 running backs that started camp. At practice today, seven didn't dress.... Some of them transferred. We ran them off!"

RB coach Todd McNair responded by pointing out how his own unit performed at the last scrimmage. "That's true, seven of my guys didn't practice today. That's because they had sore hamstrings from running up the Coliseum."

When head coach Pete Carroll was introduced, the Trojan Marching Band teased him with a chant of "Big Balls Pete! Big Balls Pete!" Eventually, Johnny Morton stood in front of the band and remarked, "These guys are crazy."

Carroll had a few good one-liners, but was understated when he admitted, "I'm a little bit excited about this season." He would later exclaim, "Wow! Are we excited about this defense!" and declare DL coach Nick Holt "the meanest man you ever met." Carroll also announced the 2007 captains, who had been elected by the team earlier that day. Representing the Trojans will be John David Booty, Sam Baker, Keith Rivers and Lawrence Jackson.

Sound Bytes from Camp

There's a lot of talk about the upcoming season, but what's being said about training camp?

• "For me, right now, it's been Ronald Johnson. Joe McKnight also showed great athletic ability early on in camp but sat out a little bit due to injury. But Ronald Johnson has come right in and I think is going to be a big-time player for us this year on offense." -- Quarterback John David Booty, on which freshmen have impressed him the most
• "The hardest part is going against the No. 1 defense in the country play after play, down after down. The most fun is playing against the No. 1 defense play after play, down after down." -- Tailback Stafon Johnson, on the highs and lows of camp
• "Mitch Mustain has had a great run here with us. He just looks like a different guy from who he was the first couple days he was here, and that's with a limited amount of work." -- Coach Pete Carroll, on who's shown the most growth
• "I'm not gonna call it a transfer. I'm gonna call it a quit." -- Anonymous Fan, on Emmanuel Moody's decision to leave

And for good measure, one looking ahead:

• "I think to be opening up at home ... we haven't done that since I've been here. It's been about five years since we've opened up at the Coliseum, and it's going to be great to get our season started at home in front of our fans." -- John David Booty, on what he's looking forward to in the first game

Some good quotes from Salute to Troy are coming soon ...

Women's Volleyball Starts Tonight

The Women of Troy will face their first action tonight as they host the Trojan Invitational at the Galen Center. They take on Michigan State at 7 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday, with St. John's at noon and Loyola Marymount at 7 p.m.

USC's volleyball team enters the tournament ranked #6 in the nation and returns seven starters. In the spring, they placed second at the Savaria Cup by beating national teams from Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland. They tied the tournament record for highest finish by a non-national team, narrowly losing to Hungary.

The bar is set pretty high this season. Coach Mick Haley felt comfortable saying, “I think we should be in the hunt for the national championship."

This weekend's games will be broadcast online via TrojanTV All-Access (a paid subscription is required).

Backhanded Compliment

Jay Mohr (currently writing for Fox Sports) used his latest column to riff on USC's neighborhood.

You have to wonder if he's actually set foot on campus. Sure, crime happens, but you don't really need "mace and track shoes" to go to the 9-0. OK, maybe the shoes are a good idea.

Final Scrimmage Recap

It's possible that the only team that can beat USC this year is USC. While Trojan faithful hope not to see that happen in October against, say, Oregon, there was nothing wrong with it on Wednesday night.

USC split up into Cardinal (essentially first string) and White (essentially second string) squads to simulate a real game in the Coliseum. It was a dress rehearsal appropriate for Hollywood's team.

A "studio audience" of 18,000 showed up, including some freshmen who had just moved into the dorms that afternoon. Donning their crisp new USC sweatshirts, they only needed an oversized nametag to morph into "Price Is Right" contestants. A close cousin of the laugh track, artificial stadium noise was pumped in through the PA. The band, song girls and cheerleaders also did their part to enforce Los Angeles cliches by hitting the road at halftime (the game itself finished before the clock wound down). To meet this town's minimum congestion requirement, the crowd was restricted to the south end of the Coliseum.

Such is life in Los Angeles, a place where the traditional crisp air that usually signals the start of football was replaced by just another perfect balmy evening.

Beyond the velvet ropes (or at least CSC bouncers), several players put on glitzy performances. Chauncey Washington reeled off a 63-yard run and scored a TD before leaving the scrimmage with a shoulder injury. He could be out for a couple weeks, but understudy Stafon Johnson left little reason to worry. He had the longest play of the evening with a 67-yard dash to go along with a couple of scores. Freshman Ronald Johnson also caused some cameras to flash with a 42-yard kickoff return. Though they have had limited exposure to Trojan fans, Johnson & Johnson eventually figure to be key players in any Trojan championship sequels.

Unsurprisingly, "Big Brother" won the contest as Cardinal beat White, 42-10. There are a few ways to interpret that, but at the end of the day this was just a scrimmage with a stacked deck. One stat that gives pause is turnovers. It's great that the QBs didn't toss any picks (Booty has had 400 attempts in camp without throwing a single one), and Stafon Johnson somehow managed to hold onto a ball that was almost stripped at the end of his long run. On the other hand, the defense is hoping to improve on last year's turnover ratio. The fact that one of the nation's best defenses had no takeaways against a second-string offense isn't a great omen.

Another two troublesome stats came on special teams. The first stringers had two penalties on kicks, while the backups had one. There was also a bobbled ball prior to RoJo's big run. Return defense has been a concern in years past, and with kickoffs being moved five yards back it could expose the Trojans to some big plays unless kicker David Buehler can put the ball in the back of the end zone with his strong leg. If he can't, USC may see some big return performances from opponents on par with that of the White team's Vincent Joseph, who had had 111 yards on 5 returns (22.2 yard average).

Like much of the Hollywood press, this is probably just hype over insignificant details. These concerns are minor when you consider USC has good athletes all around the ball who simply put on an exhibition against the best team they may face all year (themselves).

It looks like a blockbuster season is coming to a stadium near you.

Ever Feel Like Somebody Is Watching You?

QB John David Booty and DE Lawrence Jackson have been named to the watch list for the 2007 Walter Camp Award, which honors the player of the year. They are among 35 candidates to be recognized.

Yesterday, Booty was also announced as a candidate for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award. He would be the first Trojan to win the trophy (not even Carson Palmer or Matt Leinart took home the hardware). Earlier this month he made the watch list for the Manning Award.

Booty joins familiar names on the O'Brien list including Colt McCoy (Texas), Colt Brennan (Hawaii), Brian Brohm (Louisville), and Nate Longshore (Cal). He also joins some unfamiliar unpronounceable ones, such as Omar Haugabook (Troy), Dan LeFevour (Central Michigan), Kinsmon Lancaster (UL-Monroe) and Julian Edelman (Kent State). Like the Manning and the Camp, the O'Brien watch list includes 35 college players. Keep in mind that many teams lost starting QBs to graduation since last year. You do the math. With 119 teams in Division 1A, subtract graduated signal callers, divide 35 by that number, carry the one, and you get ... a low threshold. We'll make a rough guess of 50%.

This raises the question -- why have watch lists in the first place?

Are We Running Out of Things to Rank?

The Princeton Review released their 2008 edition of the nation's Best 366 Colleges today. Among the 62 categorical rankings, USC landed at #8 on their "Packs the Stadium" list and #19 on their "Jock Schools" list. The former is based on the popularity of intercollegiate sports, and the latter is a combination of intercollegiate sports, intramural sports and popularity of the Greek system. However, USC did not make the top 20 in either intramural sports or Greek system.

The rankings, now in their 16th edition, were created for high school students looking at colleges and are based on an 80-question survey taken by 120,000 college students. Princeton Review emphasizes that it's about the "best college for you" and not the "best academics." The company behind these rankings is widely known for their SAT prep books and other college-related guides.

USC has yo-yo'd when it comes to packing the stadium, landing at #2 last year but #16 in the 2006 edition. Of course, it's just a popularity poll. Top-ranked University of Maryland can only seat 51,500 in Byrd Stadium, while the Coliseum regularly packs in a capacity crowd of 92,000.

The Trojans were #15 in "diverse student population" two years ago and #14 in "major frat and sorority scene" in 2004.

In the past, these rankings have generated controversy (and publicity) because of their party-school category. They also rank schools for the most (and least) widespread use of weed, beer and liquor. USC did not make any of those lists. For our commenter on this blog who said the Trojans have a "spoiled brat party/football school" reputation ... looks like you were right about the football part.

Cover courtesy of The Princeton Review.

Will I See You In September?

While most people are planning to watch USC football, Pete Carroll's boys aren't the only Trojans competing next month.

• Women's Soccer kicks off Aug. 31 before playing nine games in September. They host a tournament mid-month that will include Georgia, Nebraska and Tennessee.
• Women's Volleyball gets underway on Aug. 24 and will face 10 opponents before league action starts on Sept. 20.
• Men's water polo gets in the pool with Long Beach State on Sept. 1. They play LMU on the 8th, head to NorCal for a tournament mid-month and start league action against Pepperdine on Sept. 22.
• Women's Cross Country has its first invitational on Sept. 1 at Cal State Fullerton. The team travels to San Diego on the 15th and Pepperdine on the 22nd.
• Men's and Women's swimming and diving hosts an intrasquad meet on Sept. 22.