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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.

1) Penn State's 81 year old Joe Paterno was signed to a three-year contract extension. So now you don't have to feel bad about destroying his team in the last game of his career. His heart will have a reason to keep ticking away.

2) Rey Maualuga was named the team MVP at the Trojans annual awards banquet.

3) Carson's Morrell Presley, one of the most-recruited tight ends in the country, made the worst mistake of his life - switching his commitment from USC to UCLA.

4) USC alumnus Rick Caruso, owner and designer of The Americana at Brand, will host the USC pep rally on Monday, December 29 at 6 p.m., free to the public, in preparation for the Rose Bowl .The event will feature the USC Marching Band, Song Girls, Yell Leaders, Tommy Trojan and the USC mascot Traveler.

Not to be confused with The Grove at Ole Miss.

The Trojan Marching Band, USC Song Girls, Traveler, Trojan Olympians and former Trojan football greats will convene this Thursday, September 11th at 7:30 PM at the Grove in LA.

And as if you needed another reminder about Onedegree's tailgate Saturday, September 13th in the Fan Fest area from 12:00-5:00 PM. You must have an account and a valid photo ID to enter.

Some of the suggestions that have come up for USC:

• Pete Carroll
• John McKay
• Tommy Trojan
• Traveler
• #55
• Mike Garrett
• 4th and 9

To submit your own suggestion, click here.

A 14-foot-by-14-foot mural is being installed at the edge of the stadium's tunnel and will be visible to most of the crowd during football games. Dubbed "Tradition," the artwork features USC's mascot being ridden back from another championship at the Rose Bowl (symbolized by a bed of roses on the horse's back) and the Roman numerals for 1888 -- the year of USC's first football game.

This is the third large-scale sports mural done by local artist Mike Sullivan. Trojan faithful are sure to remember the Mario Danelo tribute he created last year at San Pedro High School. Posters of that mural can be seen hanging in a number of restaurants and other local venues, and proceeds from their sale have gone to the Mario Danelo Endowed Football Scholarship Fund.

"The greatest thing was talking to a couple of students at San Pedro High School, who said they may feel like things are against them, but they can look up and say, 'Hey, here's a guy who came from this school and these hallways and did something with his life,' " Sullivan said. "Hopefully that can inspire some of them."

Danelo was a USC football player from San Pedro who died shortly after USC's 2007 Rose Bowl victory.

Sullivan also created a Pat Tillman memorial at Arizona State University. He has at least 15 more murals scheduled in the coming year at places such as Alabama, LSU, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska. Most are football related, but UCLA will be getting one honoring its basketball team and Coach John Wooden. Asked if he has a favorite team, Sullivan joked that even though he's a huge sports fan, "We didn't have a really good football program at art college! I'm kinda neutral."

A mural series in Laguna Beach gave Sullivan the inspiration to create sports murals at stadiums. After developing an initial concept for each piece, Sullivan spends two to three weeks painting before having the design transferred onto tile for a two- or three-day installation. The tiles are supposed to be maintenance-free and create a dramatic lighting effect under sun or night lights. "They photograph well," he added.

The official dedication at the Coliseum will be at 10:15 a.m. Saturday, just before kickoff of Trojan Huddle, USC's annual spring football game. USC football alums Paul MacDonald and Anthony Davis will be on hand, along with Traveler.

Poster versions of the mural are available online and should be in retail locations (such as the USC bookstore) soon. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the USC Alumni Assn., which is an important element of Sullivan's art. "When we do these murals with the colleges, we really try to develop a relationship with the alumni association, with the bookstore, and other people at the university to create a fundraising aspect."

Sullivan's own path to college took an interesting twist. "An art teacher submitted my portfolio to an art college without telling me, and I won a scholarship to an art college in Detroit."

You may have seen Sullivan's work before and not realized it. Early on, he did graphics and animation for Sega and Nintendo. Today, he's the official artist for "The Best Damn Sports Show Period" on FSN.

To see photos of the installation, click here.

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.

He hears it coming. Every time. “He knows that when he hears the song “Conquest” it’s time to make an entrance onto the field and run,” said Hector Aguilar, Traveler’s handler and rider. “He’ll get amped up.” Just a day in the life of the world’s most famous horse. The iconic mascot of USC, Traveler gallantly strides the sidelines every Saturday in the fall to electrify the crowd. But it’s his work the other six days of the week that make him such a special part of Trojan football… continue

Allen Bradford continues to show the best combination of size, speed and agility of anyone out there.

I see you Griff...

Get some!


Bitched!

The Inland Empire product should continue to impress coaches today as the Trojans suit up in full pads. More pads = more contact = more punishment.

Fight On!

Practice Update 08/10/07: During a drill where the running backs and fullbacks have to try to block blitzing linebackers Allen Bradford handled Keith Rivers, tossing him to the ground. Keith Rivers who is on the Lott, Nagurski, Bednarik, and Lombardi Award watch list.

He is a true "Monster in this Game," as his tattoo states.

Yesterday, the good people at SI on Campus favored us with tales of mascots gone wild, including the fight (above) between Northwestern State mascot Vic the Demon and Louisiana-Monroe's Chief Brave Spirit, and the incident (earlier this year) when the Stanford tree had a little too much firewater during a Cal-Stanford basketball game. Something about spending 3+ hours inside a foam suit apparently makes people a little crazy. Whoda thunk it?

Not surprisingly, the always well-behaved Traveler is absent from the manifest of mascot shenanigans.

Top Mascot Moments [SI on Campus]

A few interesting factoids from the two articles:

• This is the 14th Bevo that the Longhorns have had. And USC is on its 7th Traveler.
• Bevo XIV's real name is Sunrise Studly.
• Traveler has been ridden by celebrities including Salma Hayek (and Fabio!)

Sure, these might be what you call "Sunday fluff pieces". But quite honestly, I'm just happy to read a piece about the game that doesn't talk about Reggie Bush going pro or how the 2005 Trojans would have done against a team from the 1950's.

The No. 1 Steed [L.A. Times]
Need a Bully? Leave it to Bevo [L.A. Times]