UCS Team Report

All that worry about quarterback Mark Sanchez might have been for nothing.

USC figures to start another run for the national championship with Sanchez under center, even though he missed the bulk of camp because of a fractured kneecap.

Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain and redshirt freshman Aaron Corp battled at quarterback while Sanchez was out, with no clear winner in that duel. Sanchez returned to practice the Monday and should be able to start the opener at Virginia on Aug. 30.

“I’m expecting him to play,” coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday. “Mark looks good, and it looks like he’s going to make it.”

Sanchez won the job in spring and earned pre-camp raves from Carroll about the way he handled himself in the offseason. The only question now is Sanchez’s conditioning, which might not be up to par for a few weeks, which keeps Mustain and Corp in play for the opening week, although Carroll wasn’t ready early in the week to say which player is No. 2.

“Mitch has made a tremendous amount of progress, as Aaron Corp has,” Carroll said. “They were really battling and going for it. I think it has really accelerated the process in terms of getting up to speed. …

“Both guys are ready to go. We’re just going to leave that competition open and watch it develop and see how they’re doing.”

Sanchez should be much better conditioning-wise for the big second game—vs. Ohio State on Sept. 13.

Notes, Quotes

Scouting The Offense: USC is going with a mix at running back, with coach Pete Carroll expected to rotate Stafon Johnson, Joe McKnight (who has been banged up in fall camp) and C.J. Gable, along with Allen Bradford, a more powerful option. The line has four new starters, but the new guys do have some experience, so USC isn’t totally starting from scratch. They’ll be going against a talented group of Virginia linebackers, led by Clint Sintim.

SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: It’s this defense that really separates USC from everyone else in the Pac-10 and makes the Trojans a national championship contender, even with some of the questions at quarterback, offensive line and receiver. USC has seven starters back—and several All-America candidates—from a unit that ranked second nationally in scoring defense last season (16.0 points per game). What coach Pete Carroll wants to see is a better ball-hawking, turnover-creating unit, which could be possible this week against a new Virginia quarterback.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “We think it’s a really good spot for us. As we’ve done in the past, we’re going to go with the guy who best fits the situation and who is hot at the time.”—Coach Pete Carroll, on his running back situation.

Strategy And Personnel

THIS WEEK’S GAME: USC at Virginia, Aug. 30—Playing a big-time opener is nothing new for USC, which has beaten Auburn (twice), Virginia Tech and Arkansas to start seasons under Pete Carroll. This would have been a better matchup last season, when Virginia went 9-4 and featured defensive end Chris Long, but even so the Cavs figure to be no pushovers and should provide a solid test for USC quarterback Mark Sanchez.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: LB Rey Maualuga—This will be the beginning of what very well could be an All-American season, if Maualuga is able to stay healthy. The middle linebacker will try to navigate a largely unproven untested Virginia offensive line in the opener.

DE Everson Griffen—In a bit of a surprise, the sophomore was only listed as a co-starter at defensive end with Clay Matthews. Griffen, perhaps the top defensive recruit in the nation in the class of 2007, needs to show he’s the pass-rushing terror he was advertised to be. A big opener would set him on that path.

RB Joe McKnight—The sophomore hasn’t been a full-go this fall because of various injuries, but he’s the closest thing USC has to a open-field playmaker. For the Trojans to be dynamic, McKnight needs to get the ball in multiple ways and start doing weekly Reggie Bush impersonations.

ROSTER REPORT:

—LB Luthur Brown (back) missed most of fall camp and is not on the opening-week depth chart.

—CB Shareece Wright, suffering from abdominal pain, might not be ready to start or play in the opener against Virginia. USC has Josh Pinkard, who has missed almost all of the past two seasons due to injury, waiting in the wings, if necessary.

—WR Patrick Turner, a senior expected to be the leader of the receiving corps, is listed as a co-starter with Arkansas transfer Damian Williams.

—Touted true freshman Blake Ayles is listed as a third-stringer at tight end behind junior Anthony McCoy and redshirt freshman Rhett Ellison.