18,000 fans attended Wednesday’s free 77-play scrimmage at the Coliseum, the final simulated game before the season opener on September 1. Seemingly 10 days ago, the press was clamoring about SC’s logjam at tailback, but after recent departures, lingering eligibility issues (Green), and new injuries (Washington), some are wondering if the Trojans will have enough live bodies in the backfield to face off against Idaho. Read on for details of the day’s events in our latest roundup.

Who looked good

• Pete Carroll was especially pleased with the performance of his running backs in Wednesday scrimmage, especially Stafon Johnson and Allen Bradford. Johnson broke off a 67 yard run in the first half, rushing for 89 yards and two TDs on 4 carries. Bradford, running against the starting defense, started the night with a 30 yard gain, finishing with 10 carries for 56 yards. Before leaving with injury (see below), Chauncey Washington had a 63 yard run against the reserves, gaining a total of 74 yards in 3 carries. Carroll told Rivals, “Unfortunately, we’re pretty thin [at tailback] right now…Fortunately, we have very talented kids, and we’ll find somebody to play, come game time.”
• WR David Ausberry caught 4 passes for 55 yards, racking up yards after the catch, and, according to Carroll, “doing the hardball tough things that we want our “X” receiver to do.” Brandon Carswell, who was cleared by the NCAA on Tuesday, had 3 receptions for 35 yards.

Injuries and problems

• #1 RB Chauncey Washington, who came into camp in great shape after having dropped 24 pounds in the off-season, sprained his shoulder by hitting the ground early in the scrimmage’s third quarter. The senior back will undergo X-rays Thursday, but Washington told reporters, “It’s just a little sprain…it didn’t come out (of the socket)…I was more upset than anything. I fell and someone fell on top of me. I don’t think it’s that big.”
• Freshman RB Broderick Green was held out of the scrimmage because he still has not been certified by the NCAA Clearinghouse. According to Wolf, one reason for the delay is that the NCAA has yet to process online courses Green took through BYU. If he is not cleared today (Thursday), he’ll be forced to drop classes and reapply for them when he is eventually cleared. Carroll assured Rivals that Green has time and “everything will be fine,” adding that it’s been a disruptive process for Green, but that all the materials are in the hands of the NCAA.
• Charles Brown, the #1 reserve at both tackle positions, sat out of the scrimmage with back spasms.  LT All-American Sam Baker, who according to Carroll could have played on Wednesday, was held out but Carroll said ”he’ll be fine for the opener.” Drew Radovich played with the first team offense at right and left tackle after returning from back problems over the weekend.
• Carroll expects Joe McKnight to be back “in another couple of days” from his sprained knee. McKnight echoed the coach’s thoughts, telling reporters he might return this weekend. C.J. Gable, Herschel Dennis, and Mark Tyler (assumed by most to be a probable 2007 redshirt) also remained out with injuries.

Also of note

• John David Booty completed 8 of 11 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown in Wednesday’s scrimmage. Mike McDonald went 8 of 20 for 68 yards and a touchdown. Aaron Corp was 4 of 5 for 42 yards and a touchdown, and former Hog Mitch Mustain was 1 for 3 for 12 yards.
• Josh Pinkard, who spent much of his time at cornerback during the week, played almost exclusively safety during Wednesday’s scrimmage. He told Rivals, “that’s where my natural position is, and we have great corners, so that’s where I’ll be at.” The junior FS doesn’t anticipate any chemistry problems in the secondary. Carroll anticipates rotating “a lot of guys” once the season starts. “We’re good enough, depth-wise, that we can play guys, and the level of play shouldn’t drop off.”
• The team will practice on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before taking Sunday off, it’s first rest day since training camp began.

Tailback depth takes another hit with Washington’s injury (LA Times)
USC RB Washington injures shoulder in scrimmage (LA Daily News)
Bye-bye Tailback U (Rivals, $)
Live Scrimmage No. 3 (Wolf)
Freaks And (Stat) Geeks (Wolf)