There’s No Red Carpet

USC linebacker Dallas Sartz hasn’t experienced it.

Neither has senior center Ryan Kalil, junior split end Dwayne Jarrett nor sophomore linebacker Rey Maualuga.

No current USC player, in fact, has been on the end of a Trojans loss at the Coliseum.

Fourth-ranked USC enters today’s game against 19th-ranked Nebraska carrying a 27-game home winning streak that spans nearly five years.

“It’s a pretty cool thing to be able to say,” said Sartz, a fifth-year senior who arrived at USC in 2002. “Our goal, obviously, is to dominate at home.”

USC has not lost at the Coliseum since Sept. 29, 2001, when Stanford defeated the Trojans, 21-16, in Pete Carroll’s fourth game as USC’s coach.

“It seems like a long time ago,” Carroll said.

It has been more than three decades since USC last played Nebraska, and much has changed in the college football landscape since their 21-21 tie at the Coliseum in 1970.

Nebraska, under coach Bob Devaney, went on to win the national championship that season and won again in 1971. Tom Osborne led Nebraska to three titles in the 1990s, but the Cornhuskers’ last brush with a championship came in the 2001 season, when Miami routed them in the Bowl Championship Series title game at the Rose Bowl.

USC won three national titles during the 1970s, then went a quarter century before winning consecutive Associated Press national titles in 2003 and 2004. The Trojans have played in the BCS title game two years in a row, winning it in the 2004 season.

“The game against SC will be a measuring stick for our program,” said Nebraska Coach Bill Callahan, who took over in Lincoln in 2004 after two seasons as coach of the Oakland Raiders.

USC (1-0) is playing for the first time since its Sept. 2 opener at Arkansas, where new quarterback John David Booty and a young tailback corps got off to a successful start with the help of a veteran defense that forced five turnovers in a 50-14 victory.

USC used extra practice afforded by last week’s open date to refine its offense and shuffle a defense hit by injuries.

Four players who started against Arkansas are unavailable or will play only in an emergency against Nebraska.

Safety Josh Pinkard suffered a season-ending knee injury, cornerback Kevin Thomas sprained an ankle and middle linebacker Oscar Lua strained a hamstring in the opener.

Nose tackle Sedrick Ellis had arthroscopic knee surgery this week after stepping awkwardly during practice.

Freshman Taylor Mays will start in place of Pinkard, sophomore Fili Moala in place of Ellis. Maualuga will start at middle linebacker and sophomore Cary Harris at cornerback against a Nebraska offense that was efficient and productive in easy wins over Louisiana Tech and Division I-AA Nicholls State.

The Cornhuskers used the routs to evaluate new players, work out the kinks in their West Coast offense and prepare for an opponent that has won 46 of its last 48 games.

Quarterback Zac Taylor has passed for seven touchdowns with only one interception. Marlon Lucky, from North Hollywood High, gained 103 yards against Nicholls State and is one of several talented Cornhuskers I-backs. Receiver Terrence Nunn and tight end Matt Herian have been Taylor’s favorite targets in an offense that ranks third nationally, averaging 541 yards a game.

“We’ve been told Nebraska’s offense is a lot like ours, so just going against our offense since August has been great preparation,” Mays said.

Ends Adam Carriker and Jay Moore are standouts for a Nebraska defense that has made few mistakes in two victories against overmatched opponents.

“If they are able to hold up in their base stuff and keep us at bay, then it’s going to be a very difficult game for us,” Carroll said. “We have to hopefully make them stretch.”

Carroll is concerned that USC’s younger players might try to do too much.

The trip to Arkansas proved they could handle a hostile environment. But living up to expectations in the sold-out Coliseum could present its own set of problems.

“I’m hoping that we can handle it all well and the Trojan Walk and the crowd and all that kind of stuff doesn’t send us in the wrong direction,” Carroll said.

Freshmen running backs Emmanuel Moody and C.J. Gable said they were not worried. So did Booty, who mostly watched from the sidelines the last three seasons.

“Most people have seen me play, whether it’s mop-up time or spring game, they all know what I’m capable of doing,” he said. “Now I just have to go out there and really do it in a real game in the Coliseum.”

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gary.klein@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Championship material

Since their first meeting in 1969, USC and Nebraska have been two of the dominant teams in college football:

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RECORDS

* USC: 309-123-13 (.694).

* Nebraska: 371-79-5 (.815).

NATIONAL TITLES (shared and outright)

* USC: 5.

1972, ‘74, ‘78, 2003, ’04.

* Nebraska: 5.

1970, ‘71, ‘94, ‘95, ’97.

CONFERENCE TITLES (shared and outright)

* USC: 17.

1969, ‘72, ‘74, ‘73, ‘76, ‘78, ‘79, ‘84, ‘87, ‘88, ‘89, ‘93, ‘95, 2002, ‘03, ‘04, ’05.

* Nebraska: 18.

1969, ‘70, ‘71, ‘72, ‘75, ‘78, ‘81, ‘82, ‘83, ‘84, ‘88, ‘91, ‘92, ‘93, ‘94, ‘95, ‘97, ’99.

BOWL GAMES

* USC: 28.

16-12, (.571).

* Nebraska: 36.

20-16, (.556).

HEISMAN TROPHY WINNERS

* USC: 5.

Reggie Bush, 2005; Matt Leinart, ‘04; Carson Palmer, ‘02; Marcus Allen, ‘81; Charles White, ’79.

* Nebraska: 3.

Eric Crouch, 2001; Mike Rozier, 1983; Johnny Rodgers, ’72.

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Sources: www.cfbdatawarehouse.com, www.nationalchamps.net