After Break, There Will Be No Room for Quiet Time

After spending Friday in the weight room and taking a break today, the USC football team begins preparations for Oregon with a late practice Sunday.

Coach Pete Carroll wants his players to log time under the lights because next Saturday’s game at Eugene begins at 7:15 p.m. Though class schedules prevent following this routine the rest of the week, the team will continue to experience another type of atmospheric training.

Loudspeakers will be a fixture on the sidelines in an attempt to re-create the boisterous atmosphere at Autzen Stadium. “We’ll do a little bit every day, make it part of the practice routine so it’s not a big deal,” Carroll said.

While the Trojans acquaint themselves with screeching noise, not to mention their game plan for the Ducks, receiver Keary Colbert will have something else on his mind: precision.

Colbert was among several USC receivers who were frustrated by Kansas State’s man-to-man coverage on Sept. 8. He says the Wildcats were able to throw him and his teammates out of their rhythm.

“When you see man coverage it makes you a little anxious,” he said. “Maybe you run a little faster.”

But it wasn’t only timing.

“Say you have a 15-yard route and you run it only 14 yards,” he said. “That’s not precision.”

After scoring six points last week, the Trojans figure to need more offensive output against Oregon, a preseason favorite to win the Pacific 10 Conference.