Pete Carroll

USC won its only Bowl Championship Series title four years ago, but Coach Pete Carroll still ranks No. 1 in at least one category. A new report released today says Carroll was the highest-paid private university employee in the United States during the 2006-07 fiscal year. Carroll earned $4.4 million in total compensation, four times as much as USC President Steven B. Sample, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

USC football Coach Pete Carroll employed a former NFL tactician last season to help with the team's punting and kicking game, an arrangement that may have violated NCAA rules that prohibit consultants from coaching, The Times has learned. Carroll's action could widen a continuing investigation by the NCAA, the governing body of major college sports, which has been looking at USC football for more than three years and the school's basketball program for the last year.

USC quarterback Mitch Mustain apparently just needed a few kicks to move up the depth chart. Mustain, now the Trojans' No. 2 quarterback behind Matt Barkley , said Tuesday that his recent stint working as a punter helped him focus and perform better at his primary position. "Actually having something to do that was at least halfway constructive helped a lot," he said. Mustain is clearly buoyed by his elevated status, which was evident last week when he took most of the second-team snaps during the Trojans' off week.

With tears in his eyes, a USC student announced that after attending classes for four years and receiving his bachelor's degree, he was leaving campus to pursue his life's work. At which point, his beloved professor publicly scorned him for it. What's wrong with this picture? Nothing, apparently, if you are Pete Carroll. Everything, perhaps, if you are Mark Sanchez.

Long after practice ended Wednesday, USC safety Taylor Mays continued to work. That's not unusual: The All-American routinely stays late to practice catching balls that are shot toward him from a machine. But Mays on Wednesday changed his routine, retiring to a far corner of the facility where he repeatedly charged into a tackling sled, driving it across the turf with his arms wrapped around the pads. Mays made a team-high 10 tackles in the Trojans' victory at California last Saturday.

As the USC football team opens fall practice today for the ninth season under sprinting and shouting Pete Carroll, somebody needs to ignore him. Somebody needs to slow down, back off, pull his punches, watch his step. Somebody needs to act contrary to every philosophy that has been preached to every corner of the USC program during its every step to greatness. That somebody is Pete Carroll. As the Trojans begin another autumn already steaming under a magnifying glass, I'll just say what even some of the most loyal USC folks are thinking.

USC cornerback Brian Baucham did not practice and will miss Saturday's Pacific 10 Conference opener at Washington after suffering injuries in a motorcycle accident Thursday morning, the school announced. Baucham, a redshirt freshman from Torrance, was traveling north on the Harbor Freeway when the accident occurred. Baucham was taken to the hospital and treated for abrasions and was recovering at home, the school said. Baucham could not be reached for comment. An officer with the California Highway Patrol said an incident occurred on the northbound 110 Freeway at 6:34 a.m. that required transport of a motorcyclist to the hospital, but she could not confirm that Baucham was involved.

After going virtually nonstop since the start of training camp in early August, USC finally gets an open date this week. The Trojans, who remained seventh in the polls after their 30-3 victory over California, will be off today and then over the weekend before beginning preparations for an Oct. 17 matchup at Notre Dame. "I love that we're at the bye," Coach Pete Carroll said Sunday. Carroll expects the return of several players to make the Trojans stronger by the time they meet the 4-1 Fighting Irish.

Matt Barkley enjoyed the relative comfort of home in his debut as USC's starting quarterback, more than 85,000 fans cheering the freshman as he led the Trojans to a season-opening victory over San Jose State. The atmosphere will be about 100,000 times more hostile Saturday when the Trojans play Ohio State at the "Horseshoe" in Columbus. More than 105,000 fans are expected to fill Ohio Stadium to root on the Buckeyes and make things especially tough on a true freshman quarterback playing his first road game.

For a while Wednesday, the trainers-table area at USC's practice facility looked like a convention for injured Trojans starters. Quarterback Matt Barkley sat on a folding chair with an ice pack on his right shoulder. All-American safety Taylor Mays camped on the table, taking weight off his sprained right knee. And tailback Joe McKnight , suffering from migraine headaches, stood with a towel wrapped around his head to shield his eyes from the sun and his ears from music blaring from loudspeakers.