COLLEGE FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : USC : Perry Shows He Is Double Threat

After two games, quarterback Reggie Perry leads USC in passing and rushing. The sophomore from Denison, Tex., has rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns in 29 carries, and completed 23 of 43 passes for 278 yards and a touchdown, with three interceptions.

No Trojan has led the team in both categories since 1953, when halfback Aramis Dandoy ran for 578 yards and passed for 242 in nine games.

Why was Perry replaced by Curtis Conway for one series in Saturday night’s 21-10 victory over Penn State?

One reason was, Perry wore himself out.

“(It’s) excitement, nervous energy,” Coach Larry Smith said. “He’s an emotional guy. He really uses up the nervous and physical energy.

“It’s not that he’s coming out of there and everything is in total chaos, or anything like that. It’s just that he’s a competitor and emotionally, he was pumped. The last game, he was a lot looser on the sideline (than he had been in the opener against Memphis State).”

Conway will be used again at quarterback, Smith said.

“If not just to rest Reggie a little bit,” Smith said. “It gives him a chance to make a big play, and it’s a good change of pace.”