In the meantime, here's a refresher course on the most high profile, longest-running college football scandal of the decade:

• The Charges: Documents and numerous sources have connected Bush to more than $300,000 in improper benefits from competing camps attempting to woo one of the nation's biggest stars as a client during his sophomore and junior seasons in 2004-05. Between marketing pro Mike Ornstein (an ex-con for whom Bush interned in 2005) and fledgling partners Michael Michaels and Lloyd Lake (another ex-con), Bush was reportedly funneled airfare, limo rides, clothes, expensive hotel stays, $13,000 to buy a Chevrolet Impala and weekly payments of at least $1,500. There was also the infamous 3,000-square-foot home in Spring Valley, Calif., purchased by Michaels, where Bush's mother and stepfather allegedly lived for a year, amounting to about $54,000 in free rent they promised to repay when Bush turned pro.

Michaels and Lake raised reporters' eyebrows after Bush chose Ornstein as his agent in 2006, evicting Bush's parents from the home and preparing multimillion-dollar lawsuits against Bush for fraud. Michaels eventually settled out of court for $300,000; Lake's case against Bush is still creeping forward through a thicket of appeals and depositions reportedly halted by gun-wielding goons.

The most stinging charge the NCAA can levy against USC itself is "lack of institutional control," which became a very real possibility when investigators reportedly combined the Bush probe with their investigation into former Trojan hoops star O.J. Mayo, whose already-notorious handler was caught so red-handed in alleged cash exchanges with ex-coach Tim Floyd that the school went ahead and preemptively flogged itself with a self-imposed postseason ban in exchange for (they hope) leniency from Big Brother. Combined with the program's unusual openness to celebrities and outsiders of all stripes under Pete Carroll, the longstanding innuendo about its generally cozy relationship with agent-type life forms, the fishy rent arrangement between Bush teammates Matt Leinart and Dwayne Jarrett and its own investigation into a suspicious SUV driven by outgoing tailback Joe McKnight (who forebodingly arrived at SC labeled as "the next Reggie Bush"), it's not hard to come to the conclusion that the athletic department is (or was) something of an open market.

• The Defense: The hitch in the "prosecution," from the NCAA's perspective, has always been less about proving Bush was on the take -- almost no one at this point would even attempt to make that argument with a straight face -- than making the crucial leap from innuendo to proof against the university itself. Both Carroll, as he was leaving the school to take over the head coaching job at Seattle, and new coach Lane Kiffin (Bush's offensive coordinator in 2005) have recently pleaded ignorance; Kiffin, attempting to quell the doubts of top recruit Seantrel Henderson earlier this month, reportedly told Henderson's family the program should be fine "because there was no knowledge of anything going on by the staff." New Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott, who can presumably cite the results of the conference's internal investigation in his sleep, said earlier this week he doesn't expect serious sanctions.

If the NCAA is able to tie the Bush and McKnight cases to the more brazen Mayo hijinks under a single, "lack of control" umbrella, it may not have to charge USC with anything except negligence -- i.e. not knowing that ex-cons are buttering up star players is as bad as ignoring or facilitating it -- to justify a heavy-handed response. If not, the burden is much tougher; as NCAA Executive Director David Price reminded Don Yeager for Yeager's book on the scandal, Tarnished Heisman, the NCAA wasn't able to go after Michigan when it learned former Heisman winner Charles Woodson had accepted money from an agent while playing for the Wolverines because it couldn't prove anything against the program: "We had no information that there was any institutional knowledge; therefore, we did not take any action against the institution or even bring charges."

On that front, the most damning claim against USC is Lake's allegation in Yeager's book that he was in the room with Bush's stepfather as he discussed the sketchy housing arrangement with Carroll over the phone. Other evidence is similarly vague and circumstantial, such as various rumors that coaches and administrators (including Carroll and athletic director Mike Garrett, another former Heisman winner) were tipped off about Bush's arrangements, were well-acquainted with the sleazier elements on the fringes of the program and were often in position to notice Bush and his family spending well above their means. Running backs coach Todd McNair (twice convicted himself on suspicion of breeding dogs for fighting during his NFL career) has been accused of socializing with sketchy characters who wanted access to players and with Bush during at least one of his high-priced hotel stays.

Even if you could prove that kind of chatter, it doesn't amount to much in the way of a smoking gun. So far, there is no firm evidence in any published reports to date that anyone at USC had direct knowledge of improper benefits to any football player, which probably means the NCAA doesn't have it, either.

• The Fallout: Long-held visions of white-gloved men marching out of Heritage Hall with Bush's 2005 Heisman Trophy and/or the 2004 BCS championship trophy are misplaced, not least because the NCAA has no control over either. BCS power brokers or the Downtown Athletic Club of New York may confer later to dole out their own brand of justice, but the worst the NCAA will do in the way of that kind of symbolism is "vacate" wins from the wildly successful 2004-05 seasons -- a popular punishment lately, employed against Oklahoma, Florida State and Alabama in the last four years, but a relatively empty one when it comes to deterrence. If this case is about anything from the NCAA's point of view, it' has to be preventing a dozen more like from breaking out across the country.

As pointed out earlier this week, and the L.A. Times chronicled on Wednesday, significant sanctions -- postseason bans, television bans, aggressive scholarship reductions -- are almost unheard of against Division I-A football programs, Florida States and Central Floridas alike, over the last decade. After 20 years of consistent, meaningful probation against powerhouse programs (outstanding teams from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Miami, Texas A&M and Washington were all held out of bowl games in the eighties and nineties, to name only a few, and SMU's program was famously disbanded for two years at the height of its success), the heavy hand disappeared almost entirely under late president Myles Brand, who came into office in 2002 with two major teams (Alabama and California) serving bowl bans and oversaw the administration of exactly zero over the next seven years. If the Infractions Committee finds USC guilty of any serious infraction, it could easily look to make an example of the Trojans to rebuff that increasingly soft image. There's no evidence it's prepared to do that.

If they get off scott-free, or with just a token slap on the wrist, well, I'll be getting a lot of infuriated comments about the miscarriage of justice, and the NCAA's credibility as a consistent, potent enforcer of its own regulations -- rightly or wrongly -- will be at an all-time low. That's not a comment on anyone's innocence or guilt; behind closed doors, the actual facts may not warrant a significant punishment. But when a case is allowed to sprawl and flourish for this long as the exemplar of open, arrogant defiance in the eyes of fans and media, anything less than a sledgehammer is inevitably going to be greeted like the O.J. verdict. Even if it wins in front of the NCAA, I don't think there's any way SC can come on top of the PR battle.

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I hope everyone really enjoyed their bye week, but now it's time to focus.  Let's get a few particulars out of the way.

Current Weather Forecast for Saturday in beautiful South Bend, Indiana: 48 degrees and partly cloudy (expect this to change about a dozen times before kickoff)

Line: Southern Cal by somewhere between 8 and 11, depending on where you're looking.  I'm going to guess that ticks its way up to around thirteen or so by the end of the week.

Anticipation Level: 16 out of 10

As I wrote last week, this is the game that frames the last five games and the rest of the season.  Is Notre Dame a great team that was just finding its footing and got screw jobbed at Michigan, or is it an average, mediocre team that can't stand up against the elites of college football?  A close loss to Southern Cal isn't the end of the world, but a blowout loss would leave the taste in most Irish fans' mouth that this season is just like every other one after 2005.  A win?  A win and everything is roses and candy and puppies and sunshine for a week (until the inevitable letdown "HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!" loss to BC the next Saturday).  I want that win and that feeling like everything is right in the world.  I want to see everything about the team humbled - from the sunglasses-wearing band to Traveler to Carroll to Barkley. 

Can the Irish pull it off?  We'll get into this in more detail as the week goes on, but over the bye week I watched some of Southern Cal's games on the incredibly useful ESPN360.  A few quick observations from going through a couple of halves without too meticulous of scrutiny:

* Matt Barkley, as he comes across in interviews, is a cool customer.  He's not asked to do a whole lot in that offense yet, but the arm and confidence are there to be a great quarterback for a long time.  In the Ohio State game he was in an incredibly hostile environment but had the benefit of being in a very low scoring game, meaning the Trojans could always rely on their running game, even late in the fourth quarter.  If the Irish can get a lead and the crowd gets cooking..... maybe.  We'll see.  He looks a little like Dick Casablancas from Veronica Mars, so take from that what you will.

* Damian Williams is a beast, in the Mike Williams/Dwayne Jarrett mode of just eating defensive backs alive.  Packing the box and attempting to cover him on an island could result in a very, very long day.  He also is a huge threat on punt returns.

* Taylor Mays is some sort of human-velociraptor hybrid.  Against Cal he picked off a (horrible) Kevin Riley pass in the endzone on the first possession of the game and cut down Jahvid Best on a third and short pitch late in the second quarter.  He's everywhere you do not want him to be.

* Joe McKnight is very fast.  If the Irish don't improve at tackling very quickly - that's what bye weeks are for! - he's going to have a Reggie-in-2005 type day because he has the breakaway speed and shiftiness to go yard every time.  He's not the best back for a consistent pounding attack at this point in his career, which was where Stafon Johnson came in as a great complement to the rushing attack.  Johnson will miss this game as he continues to recover from that very scary weight lifting accident, so expect to mostly see McKnight and Allen Bradford.

* The Irish are going to have a difficult time just lining up and running at the Trojan front.  Look at this listing of tackles for loss, it is absurd.  I was avoiding watching the Washington game because I wasn't sure how much it was worth taking notes on a game where Barkley and Mays didn't play, but I think I'm going to have to to see how the Trojan defense handled the best quarterback on their schedule up until this point.  Kevin Riley played like he had a serious head injury for four quarters and there were tomes written about the poor offensive gameplan of Ohio State, but Locker put a nice little game together.  The Huskies only scored 16 points, but Locker was solid (21-of-35, 237 yards, no TD's, no picks).

* This is not a particularly disciplined Trojan team on offense.  They average eight penalties for seventy yards a game, they are 113th in the country in third down percentage, minus on turnover margin for the year and only average in the red zone.  If Notre Dame were to go into a sort of shell defense and make Southern Cal dink and dunk their way down the field and not score on big plays, I feel like there will be potential for some drive-halting mistakes by the freshman QB.  Possibly not, but there's potential.

* The Southern Cal offensive line is very good, and was blowing Ohio State off the ball by the fourth quarter.  It'll be imperative for the Irish offense to give their defense some time to rest and for the Irish defense to tackle, because if they don't, Barkley can just hang back and hand the ball off for an easy win.

* Despite the lop-sided nature of the final scores the last couple of seasons, the Irish defense has played pretty well.  In 2008 the Trojans really struggled to score until the Notre Dame defense was just too gassed due to offensive failure after offensive failure.  Even in 2007, the season of infinite sorrow, it was only a 7-0 game partway into the second quarter.  The defense has been fine, it's the offense that needs to avenge itself if Notre Dame wants to pull off the home upset.

TrojanWire has crossed enemy lines and will be publishing a Cal grad's weekly betting analysis for USC football.

Dr. Bob will be helping TrojanWire make weekly picks at the BetUS Sportsbook.

You can get Dr. Bob's Best Bet of the Week by subscribing to his service. Watch the ESPN video after the jump to see how Dr. Bob actually applied the BUAD 310 lessons you slept through.

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USC and Florida were about even in my ratings at the end of last season and it's a shame that the two best teams didn't get to face each other in the National Championship game. The reason for the Trojans' exclusion was a late September loss at Oregon State by a 21-27 count in a game in which USC out-played the Beavers 6.1 yards per play to 5.0 yppl but were -2 in turnover margin. USC may be able to afford one loss this season given the enhanced strength of the Pac-10 this season and the tougher non-conference schedule (at Ohio State and visiting a ranked Notre Dame team). While the Trojans could make it to the National Championship game with one loss, they should be favored to win each and every week, including at Ohio State (although they may not be).

Yes, USC must replace 8 defensive starters that were selected in April's NFL draft, including 4 in the first 2 rounds, but the Trojans' secondary is going to be just as good and most of the replacements along the defensive front 7 are going to be headed to the NFL when they're done kicking ass for the Trojans. FS Taylor Mays returns to lead the unit after earning 1st Team All-American honors last season and replacing departed defensive backs Kevin Ellison and Cary Harris will not be difficult, as new starters Shareece Wright and Kevin Thomas are better NFL prospects than either Ellison or Harris (both 6th round draft picks). In fact, Thomas defended more passes (7 broken up and 3 interceptions) as a back up last season than either Ellison or Harris did as starters. The question on the defense is the front 7, which employs 6 new starters and has to replace 4 players drafted in the first 2 rounds. There is always talent waiting to fill the holes at USC, but the holes are pretty big this year and the lack of experience may be a minor problem early in the season (we'll find out on September 12th). I don't expect the USC defense to be historically good as it was in 2008 (allowed a miniscule 3.7 yards per play to a schedule of teams that would combine to average 5.7 yppl against an average stop unit), but the Trojans should still rank among the best defensive teams in the nation.

While the defense has to replace many stars, the offense only has to replace one. Quarterback Mark Sanchez had an excellent season as the starter and will now be starting for the New York Jets. It's tough to imagine sophomore Aaron Corp or freshman Matt Barkley being as efficient as Sanchez was last season, but the same was said of Matt Leinart when he had to replace Carson Palmer and of John David Booty when he followed Leinart. The only bad year for the USC pass attack was in 2007 when the receiving corps lacked talent and experience after Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett left campus, but the Trojans' pass attack has rated between +1.8 yards per pass play better than average and +2.8 yppp in the other 6 seasons since 2002 and the average new starter during that time had a rating of +2.3 yppp. The receiving corps is loaded with talent and experience heading into this season and WR Damian Williams is poised for an All-American season after nabbing 58 balls at 15.0 ypc and 9 scores as s sophomore last season. I expect the new USC quarterback to be about 2.3 yards per pass play better than average, which is down some from the +2.7 yppp rating of Sanchez last season. The rushing attack, meanwhile, should be even better than last season. The top 4 backs return to run behind the nation's best offensive line, which returns 5 starters (although C O'Dowd is questionable to start the season) and the Trojans could average over 6 yards per running play after averaging a stellar 5.6 yprp last season behind an inexperienced line that returned just 1 starter. Stafon Johnson, Joe McKnight, and company should enjoy running through the holes that this year's Trojans' offensive line should create. USC averaged 6.7 yards per play in 2008 (against teams that would allow 5.1 yppl to an average attack), and I think they could be even better this season.

USC's special teams were a mixed bag last season, as the punting (33.0 net average) and punt returns (opponents averaged 36.7 net) were bad while the kickoff team was the 2nd best in the nation (21.8 yard line average opponent field position after kick-offs) and the kick return unit was good (26.5 average return). The Trojans must replace the punter (no problem there) and kicker David Buehler but the kick and punt return specialists are back. The departure of P Woidneck is likely to be a positive, but Buehler did a great job on kickoffs (although a bit worse than average on field goals) and I doubt the Trojans can repeat their great kick-off coverage stats. However, I expect more out of the punt return team and the kick returns should continue to shine. USC should once again be good overall in special teams.

The Trojans rank as my #2 rated team behind Florida entering the 2009 season, but that rating is contingent on Corp or Barkley continuing the recent tradition of great USC quarterbacks. The first big test is at Ohio State on September 12th, but I think the Trojans will be better than the Buckeyes on both sides of the ball even if the new quarterback isn't quite ready to play at typical USC standards. The Pac-10 schedule presents tough tests at Cal and at Oregon and a non-conference road game against a Notre Dame team that for once may actually be pretty good (although still likely to lose by 10 to 14 points to the Trojans). It will be a tough task for USC to come away from those 4 challenging road games with 4 wins, but I'd favor the Trojans in each of those games. An 11-1 season and another BCS bowl win is the most likely outcome (unless that BCS bowl game is against Florida), as USC tends to slip up in one Pac-10 game every year.

From ESPN.com:

Reggie Bush (RB, New Orleans)

Matt Cassel (QB, New England) may have become the hottest commodity in fantasy football this weekend when Tom Brady went down. But will he actually become the long-range starter? For more on his performance, click here.

Matt Leinart (QB, Arizona) didn't see any action against the 49ers. Crazy thought ... he will probably be a backup in week two, but his former backup (Cassel) could be leading the defending AFC champion.

Carson Palmer (QB, Cincinnati) was also upstaged by his former backup (again, Cassel). Still dealing with a broken nose, he was just 10-of-25 for 99 yards and an interception. He also picked up 15 yards on 3 carries. The Bengals lost to Baltimore, 17-10.

Keith Rivers (LB, Cincinnati) made a big impact in his first game as a pro, recording 10 tackles (9 solo) in the loss to the Ravens.

Frostee Rucker (DT, Cincinnati) had six tackles and forced a fumble.

Troy Polamalu (S, Pittsburgh) had a good game despite being hampered with a hamstring problem. He made three tackles and nabbed an interception in a 38-17 victory over Houston.

LenDale White (RB, Tennessee) ran 15 times for 40 yards and a touchdown, but seems to be losing the starting job to rookie Chris Johnson.

Lofa Tatupu (LB, Seattle) made 8 tackles in a 34-10 loss to Buffalo.

Dwayne Jarrett (WR, Carolina) had catches of 25 and 11 yards in a 26-24 win over San Diego.

Steve Smith (WR, New York Giants) made grabs of 8 and 7 yards in Thursday's 16-7 win over Washington.

Willie McGinest (LB, Cleveland) had three tackles in a 28-10 loss to Dallas.

Sedrick Ellis (DT, New Orleans) made a pair of tackles in the win over Tampa Bay.

Lawrence Jackson (DE, Seattle) made two tackles in the loss to the Bills..

Mike Patterson (DT, Philadelphia) had a pair of tackles in a 38-3 shelling of St. Louis.

Shaun Cody (DT, Detroit) made two tackles in a 34-21 loss to Atlanta.

Monday Night Football: With a pair of games tonight, John David Booty (QB, Minnesota), Keary Colbert (WR, Denver), and Justin Fargas (RB, Oakland) could all see some playing time.

-- Adam Rose
Photo: Crystal LoGiudice-US PRESSWIRE

And so was the Saints offense, which Reggie Bush aided with 163 total yards, including a 42 yard romp for a touchdown. Sedrick Ellis and the Saints D-Line now under Ed Orgeron also looked great.

Other USC notables were Keith Rivers with 9 tackles in his debut with the Cincinnati Bengals.

And coming of an injury, Pro Bowl Safety Troy Polamalu had his first interception in nearly 2 years.

Dwayne Jarrett caught a couple passes (36 yards) for the revived Carolina Panthers who beat San Diego on the road in dramatic fashion.

And in spelling injured Tom Brady, Matt Cassel was 13 of 18 for 152 and a TD -- leading the New England Patriots to a win over the Kansas City Chiefs. (Rumors are rampant that Tom Brady tore an ACL and Cassel will be the Pats QB the rest of the year.) Certainly we wish Tom Brady well, but it would be cool to see a guy that never took a snap as a starting QB at USC be prolific in one of most dominant offenses in the NFL.

When USC and UCLA tipoff today at the Staples Center it will be the first time the two programs have ever faced each other in the Pac-10 Tournament. It may also be the last time you see the school bands at a hoops rivalry game. Earlier this year, UCLA ended a long tradition by refusing to invite the Spirit of Troy to Pauley Pavilion. They also declined to send their own band to the Galen Center.

Whether you're watching in person or on TV, make sure to enjoy the sounds of the Trojan Marching Band. If you've got some time, check out their 2007 Year-In-Review (after the jump), which chronicles an impressive 452 engagements and 47,677 miles traveled. It's amazing how much work goes into their performances around the nation. Maybe they deserve an invite back across town.

Thanks to Assistant Director Brett Padelford for passing this along from the Spirit of Troy:

2007 was another record-breaking year for the Hardest Working Marching Band in the History of the Universe.  This year???s theme was probably ???the road??? as the band traveled 47,677 miles (or the equivalent of nearly two times around the world) on the way to gigs and USC Athletics events.  To understand how the Trojan Marching Band fits all the traveling, performing, and practicing in a single year, here is a road trip through 2007.

ANY USC CONTEST, ANYWHERE

USC Athletics is the TMB???s top priority and band members will travel anywhere to support the Trojan teams.  In 2007, the band attended 92 USC Athletic events supporting 15 sports, including track & field, water polo, and crew.  Band members traveled 25,797 miles in the process while logging 1,035 hours (or more than 43 days) at the games or in transit.   

Of course, football comes first and the TMB???s streak of consecutive games attended ??? home or away ??? passed 250 this year at the Coliseum versus Stanford.  Currently, after the 2008 Rose Bowl, the band???s remarkable run ??? which started in 1987 ??? rests at 259.

During the 2007 season, the band logged 13,083 miles following the football team to Nebraska, Washington, Indiana, Arizona, and up north to Berkeley for the Weekender. Among The Spirit of Troy???s other destinations this year for sports were Spokane, Washington and East Rutherford, New Jersey with the men???s basketball team for the NCAA tournament and College Station, Texas for the women???s soccer team???s national championship victory in the College Cup.  The TMB also traveled to the men???s NCAA Water Polo Championship and women???s Volleyball Championship, both in Northern California.

ALWAYS ANOTHER GIG

When not at a game, the TMB can usually be found on its way to a gig.  ???Gigs??? are any band performance that???s not for a USC athletic event, whether it???s a wedding, a university event, a birthday party, a media appearance, or a corporate meeting.  The band performed 360 gigs in 2007 or nearly one per day while traveling 21,880 miles and spending 1,412 3???4 hours (or nearly 59 days) on the road or at gigs.  Most of the band???s events each year are performed by the small ???10-Piece Band.???  Of the band???s 360 gigs, the 10-Piece performed 280 of them.

Some of the band???s more interesting gigs this year included the opening of Star Wars Celebration IV at the Los Angeles Convention Center, a pre-NFL draft party for USC Wide Receiver Dwayne Jarrett at a Hollywood nightclub, a photo shoot for a portable audio recorder print ad, and a playoffs rally for the Los Angeles Angels at Anaheim Stadium.

In 2007, the band appeared at 48 weddings (plus 1 engagement party, 1 wedding shower, and 2 wedding anniversaries), 34 birthday parties, 12 graduation parties, 8 golf tournaments, 6 retirement parties, and 4 bar mitzvahs.  The TMB also performed at 7 corporate events in 2007 for clients like the Walt Disney Company, Russell Athletic, and Neiman Marcus.  Non-profit organizations were very important too as the band attended 30 charity events for such causes as the Special Olympics, March of Dimes, and the Junior Blind of America, to name a few.

HOLLYWOOD???S BAND

The TMB is not called ???Hollywood???s Band??? just because the big studios are right down the street.  No, the band earns this title every year with all the work it does in front of the camera.  In 2007 alone, the band participated in 13 major media events including Jeopardy!, The 2007 ESPY Awards, ???til Death, Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer, and Last Comic Standing.  In July, the band was flown back to the ESPN Campus in Bristol, Connecticut to perform for the debut of ESPN???s College Football Live.  The band was also asked to appear on 3 local morning news shows in 2007, only 1 of which was in Los Angeles.  The other two were KHQ in Spokane, Washington and CW31 in Sacramento, California.

A TYPICALLY BUSY FALL WEEKEND

Fall weekends are the busiest for The Spirit of Troy because its many different commitments all come together at once.  For example, during the weekend of the USC vs. Oregon game in Eugene, the band performed 16 gigs from Thursday through Sunday with numerous segments of the band out on Saturday (whether back home in Los Angeles or in Eugene). The sophomore class got to the game on the road, leaving after practice on Thursday night and enduring 1,768 miles and 24 hours on a bus.  Earlier that day, a 10-Piece band traveled up north with an alumni group on the train and played at 6 stops on the way to Portland.  Meanwhile, after the game on Saturday, the band back home broke into a 10-Piece band that did two gigs, a 40-Piece band for the KIIS-FM Homecoming Concert in Anaheim, and a 30-Piece for a women???s volleyball game at the Galen Center, making five different segments of the band out at once.  After three more 10-Pieces on Sunday and including the USC Athletics events, the band had tallied 19 engagements over four days along with 7 hours of practice.

2007 BY-THE-NUMBERS

• Total engagements for the band (Gigs & USC Athletic events): 452
• Total distance traveled by the band: 47,677 miles (or about 10 roundtrips between LA & New York)
• Scheduled practices, sectionals and meetings: 210
• Time spent by band members at practices, sectionals, and meetings:  422 1???4 hours
• Total time spent by band members at gigs, practices, & athletic events: 2,870 hours or nearly 120 days
• Length of band camp in August: 10 days
• Practice time during band camp: 67 hours
• Most gigs performed in a week: 23 (the week of USC???s graduation)
• Overnight trips taken: 21
• States visited: 11
• Farthest traveled: Bristol, Connecticut
• Requests for the band to appear at events: 636
• Events in 2008 requested in 2007: 74

Dwayne Jarrett was picked up on a DUI last night at 3am by the Mecklenberg County Sheriff in North Carolina.

Panthers' Dwayne Jarrett Arrested for DWI [Fanhouse via Pyle of List]

A number of USC fan favorites, including Reggie Bush, Justin Fargas, and Keary Colbert, sat out this week with injuries.

LenDale White (RB - Tennessee) became the Trojan's second 1,000-yard rusher this season thanks to a 23 carry, 103 yard performance. He's up to 1063 on the season. The Titans beat the Jets 10-6.

Carson Palmer (QB - Cincinnati) had another rough outing. He was 11-of-21 for 115 yards, 1 touchdown, and two more interceptions (19 on the year). The Bengals squeaked out a 19-14 win over Cleveland.

Troy Polamalu (S - Pittsburgh) forced a fumble and had six tackles as the Steelers beat St. Louis 41-24.

Brian Kelly (CB - Tampa Bay) made an interception and a tackle in a 21-19 loss to San Francisco.

Junior Seau (LB - New England) mad five tackles and was credited with half a sack in the Pat's 28-7 win over Miami.

Sammy Knight (S - Jacksonville) made eight tackles as the Jags downed Oakland 49-11.

Billy Miller (TE - New Orleans) made three catches for 38 yards against Philadelphia. The Saints lost 38-23.

Chris McFoy (WR - Oakland) caught the first pass of his career, a 19 yarder for Lane Kiffin's Raiders.

Keary Colbert (WR - Carolina) may be looking for a real estate agent.

Kenechi Udeze (DT - Minnesota) had 6 tackles in a 32-21 loss to Washington.

Lofa Tatupu (LB - Seattle) had 5 tackles in 27-6 win over Baltimore.

Willie McGinest (LB - Cleveland) made 3 tackles in the loss to Cincinnati.

Mike Patterson (DT - Philadelphia) had 2 tackles in the victory over New Orleans.

Also Played: Dominique Byrd (TE - St. Louis) and Dwayne Jarrett (WR - Carolina).

Justin Fargas (RB - Oakland) ran for 81 yards and had five receptions for 23 more, but the Raiders lost to Chicago 17-6. He also lost a fumble.

Reggie Bush (RB - New Orleans) wasn't a huge factor in the Saint's 37-29 loss to St. Louis. Coming into the game with a knee injury, he had 7 rushes for 17 yards and a touchdown, along with 5 receptions for 27 yards. He left the game for a few plays after a helmet-to-helmet hit ... Bush fired his marketing agent last week. The story appears unrelated to Lloyd Lake.

Dwayne Jarrett (WR - Carolina) saw action for just the second time in his career, making catches of 22 and 6 yards in a 20-13 loss to Atlanta.

Mike Patterson (DT - Philadelphia) made 6 tackles, including a sack, and forced a fumble in the Eagle's 33-25 victory at Washington.

Troy Polamalu (S - Pittsburgh) had 4 tackles, one for a loss, and participated in two interceptions as the Steelers took down Cleveland 31-28.

Frostee Rucker (DE - Cincinnati) had his biggest game of the season with 3 tackles and a forced fumble.

Billy Miller (TE - New Orleans) only had 1 catch for 1 yard -- and 1 touchdown.

LenDale White (RB - Tennessee) ran the rock 8 times for 12 yards and had a 5 yard reception. He hurt his knee in the Titan's 28-13 loss to Jacksonville.

Carson Palmer (QB - Cincinnati) was 23-for-34 and 271 yards. The Bengals won 21-7 in Baltimore.

Sammy Knight (S - Jacksonville) had four tackled and participated in an interception in a 28-13 win over Tennessee.

Shaun Cody (DT - Detroit) picked up two tackles in a 31-21 loss to Arizona.

Willie McGinest (LB - Cleveland) made two tackles as the Browns fell 31-28 to Pittsburgh.

LaJuan Ramsey (DT - Philadelphia) made a tackle for a loss in the win over Washington.

Kenechi Udeze (DE - Minnesota) made one tackle in a 34-0 loss to Green Bay.

Mike Williams (WR - Unemployed) still needs a team. If you own an NFL franchise and are in need of his services, please have your people call his people.

Monday Night Football: Lofa Tatupu's (LB - Seattle) Seahawks welcome San Francisco tonight.