Graf Lives a Longtime Dream

Derek Graf said a dream came true Monday night when he started at right guard for USC against Auburn.

Graf, a fifth-year senior who persevered through four injury-plagued seasons, drew the starting assignment in place of freshman Fred Matua. The son of former Trojan lineman Allan Graf, who played on USC’s 1972 national championship team, said he thought about the moment for years.

“I can’t even describe what I’m feeling right now,” Derek Graf said after the Trojans defeated Auburn, 24-17, at the Coliseum.

Matua, who suffered a bruised knee Thursday, entered the game in the first quarter and then began rotating series with Graf, but fell short in his bid to become the first freshman to start an opener for the Trojans on the offensive line since Travis Claridge in 1996.

“That’s OK,” Matua said. “I was just happy to contribute to such a great win. This is a great way to start a career.”

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USC is 14-10-1 against Southeastern Conference schools. Monday’s victory was the Trojans’ first over an SEC school since Sept. 12, 1981, when they defeated Tennessee, 43-7, at the Coliseum in USC’s season opener.

Auburn is 4-2 against Pacific 10 Conference teams.

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While USC gets a bye next week, Monday night’s game was the first of four Auburn will play in 18 days.

The Tigers took a red-eye flight home after the game and will start preparations for Saturday’s home opener against Western Carolina. Auburn plays Vanderbilt on Sept. 14 and plays Mississippi State five days later.

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The crowd took part in a moment of silence before the game to honor the memory of legendary Trojan assistant Marv Goux, who died at age 69 in July, and John Argue, who was chairman of USC’s Board of Trustees and helped bring the Olympics to Los Angeles in 1984.

Argue died last month at age 70.

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Monday’s victory gave the Trojans a 79-23-8 record in openers.

USC is 57-16-7 in season openers at home.

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Carson Palmer scored the winning touchdown and passed for 302 yards, but USC’s quarterback wasn’t impressed with a performance that included two interceptions and other mistakes.

The fifth-year senior said he needs to work on “a ton of stuff.”

“I didn’t play very well at all,” he said. “In the first half I was all over the place. At least I’ve got two weeks to work on it.”

The Trojans have 11 days before playing at Colorado on Sept. 14.

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With an assist from UCLA, Auburn quarterback Daniel Cobb was able to continue playing football after a rare medical condition allowed him to earn a sixth year of NCAA eligibility.

After Cobb signed with Georgia in 1997, doctors discovered a blood clot five inches from his heart that limited the flow of blood to his right arm. He underwent surgery to remove his first rib to correct the condition, known as Paget-von Schrotter Syndrome.

He developed complications, but after seeing a vascular surgeon at UCLA, Cobb played in his first football game in two years at Butler County (Kan.) Community College in 1999--leading the team to the national title--before transferring to Auburn.

Cobb got off to a rough start in his return to Southern California on Monday. His turnovers, a fumble and an interception, led to USC’s two first-half touchdowns. He also fumbled at the Trojan goal line in the waning seconds of the second quarter, but the ball was caught by tailback Ronnie Brown for an Auburn touchdown.

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In heat that hovered around 90 degrees, everyone seemed to agree that the Trojans seemed to have an endurance advantage during their dominating second half.

“We were in better shape than them,” said defensive lineman Shaun Cody. “It was that simple.”

Those sentiments were echoed in actions by Tiger running back Carnell Williams, who suffered cramps late in the second quarter.

“I can’t say what happened in the second half, it just seemed like we fell apart,” Williams said. “I didn’t do a good job finding holes

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Kareem Kelly has caught a pass in each of his 36 USC games, one game short of John Jackson’s school record....The crowd of 62,269 was the largest Coliseum crowd for a home opener since 1997 against Florida State....The Trojans are unbeaten in their last five regular-season games. ... Palmer now has more total yards than Rob Johnson with 8,099, ranking second behind Rodney Peete, who amassed 8,640 yards....Palmer also passed Peete with 641 career completions, and ranks second in that category behind Johnson, who has 676.