Updates from August 18th, 2007

The Associated Press published its preseason Top 25 within the hour, and for the third time in the last four years, USC is its #1 team, garnering all but 3 of the poll’s 65 first place votes.  LSU (2 first place votes), West Virginia (1 first place vote), Texas, and Michigan round out the top 5.  2007 […]

He had a break from this question last year, but the press seems to want to know the same thing from USC Coach Pete Carroll just about every fall:  How difficult is it to go wire-to-wire as the number 1 team in the polls?  Ben Malcolmson quotes the coach:
If you’re good enough, you do it. […]

Scott Wolf has submitted his first Associated Press ballot of the season, ranking USC # 1, LSU #2, and West Virginia #3.  He puts 2007 Trojan opponents Cal at #11, Nebraska at #22, and UCLA at #24.
The Top 25 (Scott Wolf)

Chris Carlisle, who is beginning his seventh season as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at USC, discusses the evolution of his philosophy behind training young athletes in Training & Conditioning Magazine. Carlisle joined Pete Carroll’s staff in 2001, and he gives Carroll credit for inspiring changes in the traditional football conditioning program: “One of Coach […]

Several sources are reporting that Pete Carroll is leaning toward  5-foot-10, 180-pound sophomore cornerback Vincent Joseph as his starting kick returner. While the fact that he doesn’t have much experience handling the football counts against him, the coaching staff has been impressed by his performance in camp, including a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against […]