USC will be too much for Huskers

The Nebraska Cornhuskers have their biggest road test of the season Saturday night against the USC Trojans.

The game is set for a 7:13 p.m. kickoff at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in a game nationally telecast by ABC (Columbus Cable Channels 7 & 8).

The Trojans have arguably been the best team in all of college football since the start of the 21st century. USC lost the last two Heisman Trophy winners off last year's squad in running back Reggie Bush and quarterback Matt Leinart. Led by coach Pete Carroll, USC has been the recent glamour program in college football.

USC is 1-0, coming off a bye week after a season-opening 50-14 rout of Arkansas. The Trojans simply do not believe that there is any team on their schedule that is capable of defeating them.

The Trojans run a pro-style offense led by quarterback John David Booty (6-foot-3, 210 pounds, junior). Booty has not been tested a great deal early in his career at USC. In the win over Arkansas, Booty was 24-of-35 (68.6 percent) for 261 yards and three touchdowns. Simply put, if Booty is good enough to play quarterback at Southern Cal, he is a talented player no matter how little he has played in the past.

The strength of the team on offense is at the wide receiver spots. Dwayne Jarrett (6-5, 215, Jr.) and Steve Smith (6-0, 200, Sr.) both have the talent to be stars someday in the National Football League. These two targets will put a tremendous amount of pressure on the Blackshirt secondary.

Tight end Fred Davis (6-4, 260, Jr.) is a favorite weapon along with fullback Ryan Powdrell (6-0, 255, Sr.) as they each had five catches in the opener. There appears to be very little weakness in the Trojan passing game.

The running game has a lot in common with Nebraska. USC likes to use a running- back-by-committee approach. Emmanuel Moody (6-1, 195, Fr.) led the way with 58 yards in game one. Chauncey Washington (6-1, 220, Jr.) followed with 55 yards, and C.J. Gable (6-1, 190, Fr.) added 51 yards in the win. These young horses will only get better as they gain experience.

The offensive line is stellar. From tackle to tackle, the Trojans average 6-5 and 301 pounds per man. They did give up a pair of sacks in the win over the Razorbacks. That may give some hope to the strength of the Nebraska defense, in the line and at linebacker. Right tackle Kevin Williams (6-6, 300, Sr.) is the leader in the trenches.

The USC defense employs a 4-3 look. Coach Carroll is known as a fine defensive strategist, even though the SC offense gets most of the publicity. The defense forced five turnovers by Arkansas, including three interceptions, in the big victory.

The strength of the defense is the linebacking corps. Weakside linebacker Keith Rivers (6-3, 230, Jr.) led the way with eight tackles at Arkansas. Middle linebacker Oscar Lua (6-1, 245, Sr.) is a leader that gets his team in good position to make plays.

The secondary did have three interceptions their last time out, but the group is inexperienced and could be hurt by the Husker passing game.

Nebraska will need to play ball possession with the short passing game to keep the powerful Trojan offense. Freshman free safety Taylor Mays (6-4, 225) has the physical tools to be a future star.

The special teams for USC lost an All-American punter last season, but has a very solid placekicker in Mario Danelo (5-10, 200, Jr.). He is the son of former New York Giant kicker Joe Danelo. Mario was perfect on three field goal attempts in the win over Arkansas.

The skill position talent will also make the Trojans a threat on both the punt and kick return teams.

Nebraska is playing against a great opponent with few, if any, weaknesses. The Huskers have a more experienced team overall than does USC. There is still a talent edge for the Trojans.

Playing away from home against a squad that has been in big games the last few seasons makes USC a solid favorite. I look for Nebraska to play well but to fall to USC 27-17.

Jim Dolezal is a local Husker football fanatic as well as a part-time sports writer for the Telegram. He will analyze the Huskers' opposition from a “hometown” perspective every Thursday throughout the season.