This is the best Notre Dame team USC has played since the Trojans barely escaped South Bend in 2005 with a win. Quite a few experts are picking a Notre Dame victory due to the Irish being led by Heisman Trophy candidate Jimmy Clausen, the Trojans playing back-to-back road games (please note the bye in between) and this being a landmark game for the Irish program.

The experts who are predicting a Notre Dame upset must also think the Trojans are going to revert back to penalty and turnover laden football. If the Trojans keep penalties down and win the turnover battle, they will win the game. Unless the Trojans get up big early, I expect it to be a tight battle that will come down to some classic 4th quarter drives.

1-- Play Disciplined Football: #1 priority every week! Limit turnovers and penalties.

2-- Contain ND's running game: Though Jimmy Clausen has thrown 12 TD's only 2 Int's and leads the nation in passing efficiency, he will only have success against the best secondary in the country if the Trojans give up over 120 yards on the ground. If the Trojans put Clausen in obvious pass situations, he will make mistakes. The throws he has gotten away with against much lesser defenses will not happen against the Trojans.

3-- Don't Let the Golden One get loose in the Red Zone: Wide Receiver Golden Tate is having a phenomenal year. He is a big and athletic and Clausen loves to throw him fade routes and he is great at catching high passes. The Trojans need to make sure he is well covered in the red zone and force other ND players to make plays when it counts.

4-- Stay aggressive and balanced offensively: QB Matt Barkley is playing with a swagger after the Cal game and the Trojans need to take advantage of that. Barkley seems to have his hands around most of the playbook and with Ronald Johnson back, the Trojans need to stretch the field early. Even if some of the deeper throws are incomplete, it will soften the ND defense up and the Trojan running game should be able to have a great day. The Trojans should be able to run for over 200 yards.

5-- Avoid the 2nd and 3rd quarter lull: The Trojans cannot suffer some of the 2nd and 3rd quarter lulls they have had this season. The best case scenario for the Trojans is to get up early on the Irish and not let them back in the game for a 4th quarter run. The Trojans are best to avoid the 4th quarter magic that Clausen has been mastering this season.

More notes after the jump...

Former Trojans participating in today’s Pro Day at USC:

QB Mark Sanchez
WR Patrick Turner
LB Brian Cushing
LB Clay Matthews Jr.
LB Rey Maualuga
LB Kaluka Maiava
S Kevin Ellison
CB Cary Harris
DL Fili Moala
DL Kyle Moore
DL Gerald Washington
P Greg Woidneck
K David Buehler
TB Hershel Dennis
TB Desmond Reed
WR Jason Mitchell
TE Dominique Byrd

There will be around 100 representatives from the NFL. Players will be evaluated in the weight room and then on the field for running agility drills and individual workouts. All activities are closed to the public.

Football

• Dennis Dodd wrapped up his series of position coach evaluations by naming Pete Carroll top head coach in the land. [CBS Sports]
• The Matt Barkley hype is up to another unprecedented level. USC's future quarterback is the first junior ever to be named high school athlete of the year -- out of all male sports. No pressure, kid! [LA Times]
• Thomas Williams inked his first NFL contract. [AP]
• Chilo Rachal signed as well. [RF365]
• Hey ladies! Taylor Mays is a football star, funny, and apparently single. Check out this interview. [Video on USCFootball.com]
• USC is an early 18 point favorite over Virginia. [Vegas Insider]

Hoops

• DeMar DeRozan is good to go. [LA Times]
• O.J. Mayo made the US Select team to prep for international competition. [AP]
• SI dubbed O.J. Mayo the #8 breakout freshman of 2007-08. [Sports Illustrated]
• Davon Jefferson says he has no regrets. [Riverside Press-Enterprise]

Elsewhere

• Another publication tried to re-rank the top school in all sports from last year. USC was seventh. [Sports Illustrated]
• A trio of Trojans made Sports Illustrated's gallery of best college photos from 2007-08: Desmond Reed, Vidal Hazelton, and Janessa Currier.

In what's become a great Rose Bowl tradition, a group of seniors led the Trojan Marching Band in several rounds of "Conquest" before walking off the field for the final time.

Desmond Reed (22) went first and was literally dancing on top of a ladder while holding the drum major's sword. It was the perfect follow-up to his spectacular end zone flip, but hopefully he didn't kick it up a notch by running with scissors in the locker room.

More shots of the Trojans' Conquest poses are after the jump.

We'll have a larger photo gallery with more sights from the Rose Bowl later tonight.

Probably the best moment of the game came when RB Hershel Dennis scored his last touchdown for the Trojans. Dennis, a 6th year senior who battled knee problems and an ever-growing line of 5 star running backs never gave up and ended his Trojan career on a good note. I know I wasn't the only USC Sports Talk contributor who had a tear in the eye when Hersh scored. If he had scored on the last play of the game, I might have erupted in tears in joy.

Fight On!

While the Washington Huskies will lie in bed thinking about the #1 that got away, the USC Trojans will spend the night thanking their lucky stars they escaped on top. Trojan fans everywhere woke up Sunday morning breathing a sigh of relief, after a penalty plagued USC team barely edged the Washington Huskies, 27-24.

A lot of people thought USC answered all the big questions after going to the air last week to take down the Cougars. There may not be many questions for this Trojan squad to answer at this early stage of the season, but there are some. These are nit-picky considering how embarrassingly good the team is, but still need to be asked ...

• Can anybody make the BIG play? Some people have started grumbling that Booty hasn't hit any deep bombs this year. Truth be told, nobody has busted out with any mind-numbing long play in the first three games. While there have been a few big, exciting gains, nobody has gone more than half the field in one down. The longest run of the year was a 50 yard rumble by Stanley Havili -- a fullback. The longest reception of the year was a 35 yard pickup by Fred Davis -- a tight end. The longest interception return was 24 yards by Kyle Moore -- a defensive end. Those are three positions you wouldn't expect to making the team's longest plays, especially considering the speed and talent USC has at their other positions. On special teams, Desmond Reed has a 44 yard punt return and a 14 yard punt return, both team highs. There haven't been any fumble recoveries run back to date. Will anybody make a Reggie Bush style highlight?
• Can USC turn around turnovers? About a month ago, Art from Trojan Football Analysis taught us about the significance of turnovers. So far, USC hasn't given him many more data points -- and the ones he has aren't pretty. With just four takeaways (3 interceptions, 1 fumble) to six giveaways (4 interceptions, 2 fumbles), the team is on pace for its first negative turnover margin in the Pete Carroll era. His teams have been legendary thanks to a +1.5 per game margin in his first five years. Last season, his sixth, it was a mere +0.3. This year, it's an ugly -0.7.
• Will the Trojans survive a game? Without injury, that is. It's a good thing this team is so deep, because their training room is stocked with more talent than many other teams have in their entire locker rooms. Football is a grinding, physical sport. But how many teams could lose 4 starters in their first three games and barely blink?
  
• Can Greg Woidneck punt? Does it matter? Nobody can fault this guy for wasting opportunities -- he's barely had any. He didn't get to take the field against Washington State and is averaging just two kicks per game. With a respectable 41.7 yard average, long of 51, and 33% inside the 20, he may be on pace for a decent season. A few years ago, lack of opportunity made Tom Malone ineligible for NCAA record books -- and derailed his faux Heisman Campaign.
• Is USC's schedule the toughest? People are starting to rethink the SEC hype. Here's another fact for your next debate with a Southerner:  Only five NCAA Division 1-A schools have never scheduled a lower-tier patsy since the divisions were established. Those schools are USC, Washington, UCLA, Notre Dame, and Michigan State.
• Will it rain? OK, maybe there aren't many questions! The answer to this one is yes. And USC is 20-21-2 all-time on rainy days. Things should even up this weekend.

The final score: USC 38, Idaho 10.

The USC Trojans were dominant throughout Saturday's season opener, beating a better than expected Idaho Vandals.

It wasn't the trouncing everyone had expected from a number one team. Still USC dominated both sides of the line throughout Saturday's opener at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, hoisting the Trojans' home-game win streak to 34.

And Desmond Reed, as expected, will get the call on punt returns with Ronald Johnson also getting his shot there, Carroll announced at the end of practice.

Frequently touted as "Tailback-U" for the blue-chip crowded backfield, USC has taken yet another hit at the position with leading rusher Chauncey Washington side-lined with a sprained shoulder. A fifth-year senior, Washington lead the Trojans with 744 yards rushing last season. The injury occurred during the Trojans' final summer scrimmage, in which Washington rushed for 74 yards and 1 TD on only three carries.

Top of the depth chart, this injury puts him in question for the season opener against Idaho. Multiple sources are already reporting that Washington will have to sit out the first game. Chauncey Washington, however, is more optimistic. As reported by the Los Angeles Times:

...after watching the Trojans' one-hour workout with his right arm in a sling, Washington said, "I'm thinking a week. I'm day to day."

Of missing the opener, he said, "I won't believe it till it happens."

Washington's injury puts another kink in what the media has championed as an everlasting pipeline of blue-chip recruits. Couple the Washington sprain with the transfer of USC's second leading rusher Emanuel Moody, and the (temporary?) injury related side-linings of CJ Gable, Hershel Dennis and Allen Bradford, and it's starting to look like USC's depth at tailback isn't as infallible as everyone had predicted.

But what does this mean for the season opener?