University Of Southern California

Pete Carroll 's announcement Tuesday that tailback Joe McKnight would start Saturday's opener against San Jose State did not come as a shock. But the timing spoke volumes. In three previous seasons with the current stable of running backs, Carroll never made a declaration so early in the week before the opener. It is a clear sign that Carroll and new play-caller Jeremy Bates plan to give McKnight an opportunity to earn a larger share of the carries and touches this season.

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.

UCLA and USC bashed each other's banners out Wednesday, in the two major revenue sports, from sunrise to well past Rick Neuheisel screaming to a pumped up halftime crowd at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA basketball was embarrassing USC basketball, 44-21. "We're going to the top!" said the man in the beige jacket who last year coached UCLA football to 4-8. Neuheisel didn't say exactly when his program was going to get there. With the Lakers literally out of the country, February in L.A.

The Rose Bowl introduced the Big Ten to the Pacific 10 at a cocktail party in 1947 and it was love at first sight. It has been a wonderful relationship, except now, after all these years, the marriage is strained. The shared experience is usually terrific right up until opening kickoff. The battle of the bands, for instance, has always been competitive. There's no way you can claim USC's tuba player is better than Penn State's.

With a showdown against third-ranked USC growing close, Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor has found himself in a tight spot from which he cannot seem to scramble free. The sophomore wrote a tribute to Michael Vick across one of his eye black patches in the season opener against Navy. When asked about honoring the convicted felon, he offered an interesting reply. "Not everybody's the perfect person in this world," he said. "Everyone kills people, everyone murders people, steals from you, steals from me, whatever . . . . " This week, as the controversy gained momentum, Coach Jim Tressel offered his support of Pryor by saying: "Whether it was a coverage read or a defensive guy not playing a gap or whatever, these are all moments that we can learn from."

There was a distinctly medical tone to the USC football practice on Thursday, and the prognosis was encouraging. The good news started with a visit from a doctor who is treating Stafon Johnson for the severe throat injury the tailback suffered in a weightlifting accident last week. Johnson had undergone a series of tests earlier in the day. "They were beside themselves with the wonderful results they got, to see how everything they worked on is looking great at this point," Coach Pete Carroll said.

Finally, USC speaks! Actually, no, the university on Wednesday again refused to discuss the public disintegration of one of its marquee assets -- the blowing up of the men's basketball program -- but I dug up a quote anyway. The following is an excerpt from President Steven B. Sample's annual address to the faculty, delivered Feb. 10, 2009: "I have learned that difficult times often bring out the best in us. Complex challenges have a way of focusing our attention on what is essential.

USC basketball Coach Tim Floyd delivered cash to the man who steered O.J. Mayo to the university, according to a former associate of the player and the middleman. That associate, Louis Johnson, says Floyd met Rodney Guillory outside a stretch of Beverly Hills cafes on Valentine's Day in 2007, giving him at least $1,000 cash in an envelope -- which Johnson has since reported to investigators from the U.S. Attorney's Office, FBI, IRS and the NCAA.

USC said goodbye to one assistant coach and welcomed back another Tuesday. A few hours after Nick Holt was introduced as Washington's new defensive coordinator, USC Coach Pete Carroll announced that Carl Smith would return as quarterbacks coach and that he would also call plays. "His background and his work with quarterbacks over the years gives us a tremendous asset," Carroll said of Smith, a member of USC's staff in 2004 and a former NFL offensive coordinator.

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.