With its No. 1 ranking being questioned last week, USC set out to prove itself on Saturday night.
But entering the matchup in Lincoln against Nebraska, USC Coach Pete Carroll said he wasn't worried about the polls. Instead, he said he was hoping to prove the Trojans had a running game.
And within the first two plays of their 49-31 victory, the Trojans did.
USC freshman fullback Stanley Havili rushed up the middle for a 50-yard gain and sophomore running back C.J. Gable rushed over the right end for 40 yards. USC would soon score to cap a drive of 96 yards that took four plays and spanned 1 minute, 38 seconds.
"Once we got going, geez, we just took control," Carroll said. "I thought we took control up front. I don't think there was any question we could run the football at any time. All the stuff that we hoped to do on the line of scrimmage we got done."
While Carroll had entered the contest hoping to break down Nebraska's front four and open up the running game, he didn't realize how well the Trojans would execute his plan until after kickoff.
When USC cornerback Vincent Joseph went down at the end of the first quarter, Carroll took the time to tell his players his plan: run the ball.
"We had some time to talk to those guys, and we said we would run every play until something changes," Carroll said. "We ripped off a 20-yarder, and bang, bang we were in the end zone four or five plays later, which was a tremendous response by them, for them. We had a chance to do whatever we wanted from that point on."
The Trojans' running game was so stout there was little need for quarterback John David Booty to toss. The Heisman Trophy candidate recorded only 144 yards in the air on 19-for-30 passing, while USC tallied 313 yards on the ground.
To build USC's 21-10 halftime lead, Booty threw only 43 yards in the first two quarters, while Trojan running backs completed 30 minutes of action with 205 yards on the ground.
Freshman tailback Stafon Johnson led USC's charge. Sick of "standing on the sideline being cold," Johnson took the field and tacked on 144 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries for the Trojans.
Johnson's efforts stirred up questions about USC's go-to running back for the season, but neither Johnson nor Carroll would name a specific player. Instead they emphasized the contributions by all the backs.
"I'm a role player," Johnson said. "I mean, whenever they call my number I better be ready at all times. I'm not worried about who's the man at that time, I'm really not sure, but I don't care. As long as we get our victory and everybody plays their role and takes care of the ball, it will all work out."
Johnson's longest run of 32 yards came in the second quarter, when he rushed up the middle to take USC to Nebraska's 25-yard line. The drive ended with a seven-yard touchdown from Johnson to give the Trojan's a 21-10 lead with less than two minutes left in the half.
Both Carroll and Johnson gave much of the credit to USC's offensive line. Huge holes opened up in the middle several times for Johnson, who said he got wide-eyed every time he saw the large gaps.
"We just wanted to come in and play our ball - play Trojan ball - in a great atmosphere," Johnson said. "The crowd was bananas, but we had to come out and play our Trojan way. And we came out with a victory, and we're proud of that."
katelynkerkhove@dailynebraskan.com
