Saturday could be flag day for Trojans
USC FOOTBALL
USC and Stanford are among the most penalized teams in the nation. Trojans Coach Pete Carroll says of the Cardinal, 'They bring it.'
After winning a game that featured 18 penalties -- 10 against USC and eight against California -- USC could be in for another flag festival when it plays at Stanford on Saturday.
USC ranks 114th out of 119 major-college teams, averaging 8.6 penalties and 78.7 penalty yards a game.
Stanford is not a whole lot better, ranking 97th and averaging 7.3 penalties and 66.4 penalty yards a game.
USC Coach Pete Carroll, whose team is No. 6 in the Bowl Championship Series standings, has said that Trojans players on the nation's top-ranked defense are playing at a "frenzied pace," at times "going beyond what we need to do."
Stanford, which upset the Trojans last season at the Coliseum, is 5-5 overall and 4-3 in Pacific 10 Conference play. Stanford is coming off a 35-26 loss to Oregon.
"This is the most physical Stanford team we've seen in years," Carroll said. "They're a tough football team. They bring it."
Klein is a Times staff writer.
gary.klein@latimes.com
