COLLEGE FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : USC : Two New Trojan Starters on Defense

USC’s starting lineup will include two new faces when the Trojans play 13th-ranked Oklahoma on Saturday at Norman, Okla.

Sophomore John Herpin, held out of the opener against San Diego State two weeks ago because of a shoulder injury, will replace Jerald Henry at cornerback, and sophomore Jeff Kopp will replace Gidion Murrell at inside linebacker.

Murrell, a junior from Palm Springs High, was expected to be one of the Trojans’ defensive leaders this season, but he is overweight, Coach Larry Smith said.

“We found in that (San Diego State) game that he just wasn’t getting off blocks quickly,” Smith said. “He’s at 240-something (pounds), and he plays his best football (at) about 225-230, so he’s got to get down.

“He’s going to play; it’s not a matter of him sitting on the bench. But what’s happened is that Kopp has risen to the level we thought he could (reach) a year ago. Jeff is playing extremely well. Gidion didn’t play poorly, but Jeff played better.”

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Tailback Dwight McFadden, a second-year freshman from Lawton, Okla., on why he chose USC over Oklahoma: “I figured I’d have a better chance to get to the NFL from here, so I decided to come out to Tailback U.” . . . Oklahoma was the most successful team in college football during 16 seasons under former coach Barry Switzer, winning 83.7% of its games between 1973 and 1988. But the Sooners were 0-3-1 against USC during that time, losing at the Coliseum in ’81 and ’88 and at Norman, 12-0, in ’82. In ‘73, when Oklahoma won a national championship in Switzer’s first season, USC and Oklahoma played to a 7-7 tie at the Coliseum.