LOS ANGELES -Something didn't feel right to Pete Carroll on Saturday night.
While the Southern California coach was pleased with the Trojans' 28-10 win over Nebraska, he was peeved by a few details of the victory.
The rhythm and execution of various plays had the sixth-year USC coach concerned, as did the Trojans' low offensive numbers.
But no matter the "issue," Carroll didn't pin USC's problems directly on the Cornhuskers' play, but rather on the Trojans' youth and second-game jitters.
"It was a good, solid win, but there are a lot of things we could do better," Carroll said. "We had a lot of issues with the tempo. We couldn't get our tempo going because of a couple penalties and issues that turned up."
Overall, USC had seven penalties to the Huskers' five. This cut into the Trojans' possession time on many occasions, stalling the game and never letting them get into a running flow, Carroll said.
While Southern California ran for 192 yards against Arkansas in its season opener Sept. 2, the Huskers held the Trojans to 142 yards.
USC quarterback John David Booty completed 25-of-36 passes for 257 passing yards, 11 of which went to junior wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett, who picked up 136 yards and two touchdowns.
"I'm pleased with our offense," Booty said. "We're not as quick as we were last year yet, but it's a scrappy bunch. The main thing is that we are winning - regardless if it is by one or by 40. It's just a work in progress and will definitely get better as the season goes on."
Besides offense, Carroll was concerned with a few "funky plays" on special teams.
Most specifically was the fake punt the Huskers ran on their second drive of the first quarter.
NU sophomore punter Dan Titchener pulled up and completed a 28-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Todd Peterson to give the Huskers a first down on the USC 36-yard line. While the drive didn't lead to any points for NU, Carroll said the play shifted the Trojans' focus and stalled their game plan again.
For the remainder of the game, Carroll said it was about clock management. Because Nebraska was running the ball, time was important. Overall, USC ran only 68 offensive plays, compared to the 80 they ran against Arkansas.
"Their style of the night was to sit on the football as much as they could and try to burn as much clock," Carroll said. "They were just trying to keep it close and wait for us to make some mistakes."
While the Huskers' apparent game plan didn't turn into a victory, Carroll said it taught USC a few lessons that it can take into the rest of the season, which starts with Pac-10 Conference play against Arizona on Saturday.
For his second game as a starter, Booty said Nebraska's defense gave him a much better look at what he may be up against the rest of the season.
"A lot of teams sometimes will give up in the second half," Booty said, "but they kept fighting the whole game. They weren't going to call it quits and were tough on us at times."
