USC-Notre Dame game-day musings: first half

There was a time, not so long ago, when USC fans celebrated UCLA's Karl Dorrell getting a contract extension. Charlie Weis got his not long after, but nobody in the land of Troy realized they should be celebrating until this year. That jingling sound you hear? It's not the USC student section shaking their keys to say "game over," it's Notre Dame alumni pooling their loose change to buy out Charlie's contract.

With a giant chunk of the student section empty (many were home for Thanksgiving), Notre Dame fans were allowed to migrate over from their nose-bleed seats in what looked like some sort of mass exodus. Funny visual effect -- thousands of Notre Dame fans running laterally through the aisles of the Coliseum.
USC fans seemed to be ecstatic about announcements that Oregon was thumping Oregon State. Really? I'm surprised it wasn't a muted reaction. Shouldn't USC want to play a stronger opponent in another BCS bowl? Bill Plaschke reasoned that fans have travel budgets too.
A pregame "fracas" between the teams was the first event like that we've seen all year. Former USC receiver John Jackson recalled something similar happening at Notre Dame in 1989.
Style points. Will they come? Maybe. Maybe.
Playing Joe McKnight is playing with fire. He lost seven yards and eight yards on consecutive plays to start the second quarter. Shortly thereafter, he ripped off a 55-yard touchdown run, the Trojans' longest of the season.
Stanley Havili's had an electrifying 39-yard reception out of the backfield. It's not often you get to use the word "electrifying" about a fullback. Crossing the entire field, using his blockers intelligently, he eventually ran out of steam. With the lateral movement, he put in more than 60 yards of sprinting.
It may be senior day, but younger guys are stealing the show: McKnight's 55-yarder, Havili's 39-yarder, and Damian Williams' all-around performance (as originally predicted by John Jackson, though he later said Mark Sanchez would spread it around).
With Notre Dame punting out of the end zone, Stafon Johnson returned the kick back where it came from, but was aided by a block in the back. More flags were thrown when he tossed the ball and danced around. Yes, USC was called for excessive celebration on a play that was called back. Those penalty yards piled up pretty quickly.
At halftime the Floundering Irish have a whopping nine yards of total offense. This could be one for the history books.
Halftime score: 24-0
We may not update much in the second half, but make sure to check in tonight for all sorts of stories, stats and assorted info.

-- Adam Rose
Fracas photo Matt Cashore/US Presswire
Mauling photo (more bars in more places?) by Harry How/Getty Images