Sound Game Plan for Corvallis

With loudspeakers blaring an electronic screech from the sideline, USC paid particular attention to special teams at practice on Thursday.

Two blocked punts in three games have put an emphasis on faster snaps. Zeke Moreno has experience as a long snapper but the coaches worry about him becoming fatigued by covering punts, then staying in the game as the middle linebacker.

They would prefer redshirt freshman Norm Katnik fill the role, but he only began snapping this summer.

“It’s a lot more difficult than it looks,” Katnik said. “There’s a lot of technique. You’ve got to throw a spiral between your legs.”

It is not the sort of job for someone looking to be a star.

“You don’t get praised for doing it well,” Katnik said. ‘You only get yelled at when you do it wrong.”

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The weather forecast for Saturday in Corvallis, Ore., has changed: It now calls for thunderstorms. Coach Paul Hackett said he talked to his team about the possibility of bad weather.

“I just don’t want anything to surprise anybody,” he said.

Each USC player will have several pairs of shoes for the Oregon State game.

“If it rains you wear this, if it’s dry you wear that,” Hackett said. “We’ve got them all.”