After taking several hundred photos at the Rose Bowl, I've only used a few in this blog. To do the Granddaddy of Them All some justice, here's a photo essay showing what it was like to be there on game day.

Crews put the finishing touches on the stadium in the early morning on January 1.

The Illini fanatic on the left painted his van orange and drove cross-country with a handful of friends. The car is plastered in signatures, notes, and sketches from fellow fans and rivals around the country.

It's one thing when coeds wear these shirts, but it's another when the lady in the picture was my mom's age.

Photogs line up to capture the glory that is, um, USC stretching.

The Color Guard prepares to take the field.

A traditional pregame fly-over.

The Illinois band member on the left literally was marching on the field before she hung up. She'd clearly adjusted to LA lifestyle faster than the football team.

Coach Pat Ruel leads the first Trojans out of the tunnel.

What followed was a frenzied sea of cardinal and gold.

Towards the back of the pack, guys like Sedrick Ellis seemed to savor the moment.

Traveler wasn't allowed to go more than a few feet from the tunnel, but did make an appearance.

Chauncey Washington takes off in his last game at USC.

Washington gets another handoff.

The offensive line snaps into action.

The Illini offense sputtered throughout the game.

Juice Williams' pitch to Rashard Mendenhall (5) just led to more lost yardage.

In the press box, LA Times writers pour over notes and statistics.

In another part of the press box, reporters frantically write copy to make their deadlines.

Hershel Dennis (34) moments after scoring the final USC points of the game. It was a touching moment for the 6th year senior who had overcome a series of serious injuries and only scored once before, against Notre Dame in 2003.

Pete Carroll cracks a smile while trying to answer questions for a mob of reporters.

Lawrence Jackson admires the Rose Bowl trophy.

Rey Maualuga, John David Booty, and Pete Carroll address the press after the game.

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!

USC 47, WSU 14

Last year a similar Washington State team nearly pulled a fourth quarter upset of topped ranked USC. After the opening series of this 2007 game, with a tied score of 7, it looked like it could be another contentious battle.

Instead the WSU offense folded, the defense crumbled, and USC's prized cougar hunt became something more of a methodical kitten slaughter...

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?

But it makes sense. USC does have too many tailbacks. And Moody last week was the one who seemed most acutely aware of that fact, agreeing that he would do his best, make his case on the field and then see what happened. But he acknowledged that a number of others were doing the same thing and only one, at the end, could be on the field at a time. For the outstanding players watching on the sideline, Moody predicted "chaos.''

But if you look at USC's 10-deep tailback spot, sixth-year post-grad Hershel Dennis, coming back from two years of injuries, wasn't going anywhere. Nor were fifth-year finishers Chauncey Washington and Desmond Reed, in the best health of their injury-hampered careers.

Nor were local guys Allen Bradford, C.J. Gable and Stafon Johnson, all of whom were getting plenty of work.

Nor was freshman Joe McKnight, with the lone clearly delineated role as the home run hitter ala Reggie Bush.

Nor was 245-pound freshman Broderick Green, getting all the work he could handle as the coaches decided what the big Arkansas brings to the table.

Nor would all-world recruit Marc Tyler, yet to be cleared by the docs with his broken leg surgery still healing.

That left the talented Moody, the Texan who'd missed the end of last year with a hamstring injury and now was missing out the last week with a bruised calf. He's explosive, maybe not as good with the ball as say a McKnight, but a talent nonetheless.

Whether it's Oklahoma State or wherever he lands, he should have a fine college career. And leaving now means he'll miss just this season and be ready to go next year. Had he stayed into the fall to see how this all might play out, he'd miss next season as well.

The time was right.

• I spent most of the day watching the defensive line during the positional drills, and later the unit drills, when they combine with (and go up against) the offensive line. The focus of today's d-line drills was on defeating cut blocks (where offensive blockers dive at a defender's legs in order to get them to the ground). The younger players seemed to struggle early on, but got better as the drill progressed. The next drills emphasized hand use techniques such as swim moves and slapping a blocker's hand away. I must say, I'm very impressed with the hand speed and power of the Trojan d-linemen. The 1-on-1 battles between the offensive and defensive linemen featured some great match-ups. Starting left guard Jeff Byers in going to be nasty this season. He displayed incredible technique and physically dominated starting DT Fili Moala twice. Averell Spicer showed that he is ready to contribute at NT this season as he beat starting C Matt Spanos on the same pass rushing drill. The best battle of the drill however, was DE Kyle Moore going against All-World OT Sam Baker. Moore has a very quick first step and gave Baker all he could handle. There is no doubt in my mind that Moore will be the starter on the right side this season, as highly touted freshman DE Everson Griffen continues to learn what big time college football is all about. The o-line looks very solid and has not skipped a beat with Charles Brown filling in at RT for projected starter Drew Radovich.
  

• During the 11-on-11 team scrimmage segment, there wasn't really much separation at RB. Marc Tyler and Hershel Dennis didn't practice, and Broderick Green (along with WR Brandon Carswell) wasn't in full pads, which meant more carries for the 7 other backs. Redshirt freshman WR David Ausberry was the star of the day for the offense, showing off his big-play capability with an impressive touchdown grab in the back of the end zone. Ausberry's size is a definite mismatch for any opponent, and is making a strong case for extensive playing time this season. CB Jim Abbot had the hit of the day when he leveled sophomore RB Stafon Johnson, who had broken off a nice run on the play, with a crushing tackle that got Johnson off his feat and put him on his back.
  

• Joe McKnight had a sub-par workout today and, like Everson Griffen, is still getting introduced to the rigors of big time college football.

• Safety Will Harris did not participate in today's practice. Apparently he suffered a stinger in his neck after yesterday's vicious hit on Jamere Holland. The coaches held him out as precaution and he should be back for tomorrow's practices.

• Today Josh Pinkard took the majority of the first team reps at free safety alongside Kevin Ellison during the 11-on-11. When he wasn't with the first team at safety he was in at corner. Pinkard is playing very well and if he continues to play at such a high level there is no way the coaching staff will be able to keep him off the field.

• Linebacker of the day... Clay Matthews. Matthews had a great day in practice today. He was blowing by offensive linemen in the 11-on-11 team scrimmage, batting down passes, and chasing down ball carriers.

• Fielding punts today were the freshmen Joe McKnight, Brandon Carswell, and Ronald Johnson and senior Desmond Reed. The freshmen had difficulties holding on to the ball as Reed looked the most comfortable and consistent.
  

USC tailback Hershel Dennis was officially granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA, reports WeAreSC.com. A knee injury kept Dennis from participating in the 2005 season, allowing running backs Reggie Bush and Lendale White to emerge as the foremost one-two punch in college football. The same reoccurring injury ended hope for his comeback in 2006, when the Trojans were in desperate need of establishing a ground offense. This typically would have ended his time at USC, but Dennis and the Trojans petitioned the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility.

After graduating from USC last month with a degree in sociology Dennis filled out his application for the additional year and the ruling came down today in his favor.

Dennis, with a career 6 touchdowns and 968 yards, was again impressive during the annual Spring Huddle, scoring two touchdowns. Even with the crowded backfield, expect Dennis to get a fair number of carries. With good breakaway speed and lateral mobility, he will be another weapon on the Trojans formidable offense.

"Being a Trojan is being a Trojan for life and I want to come back and get my degree here and just have a degree under my belt because a degree from USC will be a great thing for me..."'

Also nice to hear him give shout-outs to his teammates and finish with "I love this program". 

• Nice Q&A from the WeAreSC staff on Spring Ball.  Here's an abridged version:

Q:  Which player helped himself the most this Spring?
A:  Hershel Dennis (unanimous answer). 

Q:  What was your favorite position battle to watch?
A:  Running back and Center position. 

Q:  Name a young underclassman or two who jumped out to you as someone to watch next fall?
A:  David Ausberry (most common answer), Stanley Havili (2nd), and Travon Patterson (3rd). 

Q:  Most impressive position unit?
A:  Linebacker (unanimous). 

Q:  What thoughts will you take from this Spring Ball session?
A:  (GP) - Optimism for the offense. 
(GK) - Optimism for the offense/team. 
(GY) - How polished this team looks. 

Answering the questions myself, I would say (1) Hershel Dennis and Travon Patterson helped themselves the most, (2) the RB battle had the makings of being the best battle but due to injuries I will have to pick the Center position, (3) Havili really impressed me, (4) Linebackers easily, and (5) this team is VERY balanced and I'm loving Sark as OC so far. 

• The Fox Sports USC page has a nice Ryan Kalil draft video.  I hardly ever watched Ryan after the snap because I've always been a skilled player growing up so my eyes naturally gravitate towards the receivers and running backs, but it's nice to see now why Ryan was an All-American at SC ;-).  The big uglies don't need any attention...

11. QB John David Booty, USC - If Ashton Youboty was the Trojan quarterback, he might warrant an honorable mention somewhere on the list. Such is life these days at USC, where the supporting cast, media crush and league titles are practically built in to a quarterback's candidacy. Booty's a former prep All-American with four springs under his belt and a bulging disc that required surgery at the end of March.

21. WR Dwayne Jarrett, USC - Voters looking to champion a receiver or a Trojan should pay closer attention to Jarrett, USC's biggest star now that Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and LenDale White have departed. He's coming off a 91-catch, 16-touchdown sophomore year, and has quickly made Trojan fans forget Mike Williams.

31. RB Chauncey Washington, USC - He got his grades up and now finally, finally, he can get his career going. The star tailback of USC should be in the top ten, but there's a whole slew of next-level caliber freshmen coming in to take away time.

37. RB Stafon Johnson, Emmanuel Moody, Kenny Ashley or Stanley Havili, USC - The early departures of Reggie Bush and LenDale White and season-ending knee injury of Hershel Dennis mean one of the Trojans' talented quartet of incoming freshmen could immediately be a new star if something happens to Chauncey Washington.

2006 preview: Top 100 Heisman candidates [Fox Sports]