Weather Suits the Players

The Trojans got some help from unseasonably cool weather on Sunday.

Instead of a sticky summer day--which might have worked against USC--the temperature at kickoff was a mild 82 degrees and the humidity a comfortable 67%. There even was a cooling shower that blew through in the middle of the second quarter.

“We got a break with that rain,” Coach Paul Hackett said.

*

USC defensive tackle Ennis Davis doesn’t want to hear any talk about the Trojans scoring a point for the reputation of the Pacific 10 Conference.

True, USC defeated a Penn State team that defeated Arizona, 41-7, in the season opener last season. And the Trojans held Penn State, a traditional East Coast running team, to six yards rushing.

But Davis hopes that Sunday’s victory isn’t a signal the Pac-10 is on the upswing.

“It was more important for us as USC’s defense and having our pride,” the fifth-year senior said. “I don’t pretty much care if anyone else in the Pac-10 can stop the run. I don’t want them to stop our run.”

*

Fullback Charlie Landrigan has played at USC for three seasons and started the last nine games of 1999. Not until Sunday, however, did the redshirt junior carry the ball.

Landrigan’s big moment came early in the second quarter when he ran up the middle for three yards. It was his only carry.

*

Former USC receiver and baseball player Rod Perry got a chance to play against his former team. Perry, who transferred to Penn State by way of Fullerton, returned two punts and a kickoff for a total of 33 yards.

*

USC’s David Bell put all of his kickoffs into the end zone, or beyond, keeping the Penn State offense on its heels throughout the game.

“I had a good rhythm into the ball,” Bell said. “All my steps were the same length. I didn’t try jumping into the ball and hitting it. I tried to stay smooth, like a golf swing. . . .

“There were a lot of questions coming into this game on how the special teams, especially the kickers, were going to be, so as a kicking unit we talked about that and let each other know, we’re not going to let people down.”

*

It’s no wonder Penn State keeps getting invited back to the Kickoff Classic. The Nittany Lions have attracted four of the five sellout crowds in the game’s 18-year history. The game’s two largest crowds--78,902 on Sunday and 77,716 in 1996--were for Penn State-USC matchups.

*

Tailback Malaefou MacKenzie suffered what teams officials called a slight hamstring injury.