Mann will not play - Nebraska's starting center is in the hospital and will not play against. Brett Byford would start in his place.
Given that USC's nose guard Sedrick Ellis is out with a knee injury, this may be a wash. I'd still feel better with Mann around. His experience can't be replaced so easily.
Big Red Network and myself provide answers to Conquest Chronicles questions about the game.
If you want to read a LA Times columnist complaining about bugs, trees, and calling us hicks (in other words the same old stuff that southern Californian urbanites might think is funny), go here.
Funny how stuff like the column above doesn't register with many people, but when Andre Jones says Nebraska will win it's all over about being bulletin board material.
Press conference quotes from Callahan, Taylor, McKeon, Grixby, Swift, Moore, Todd, Norvell, Cosgrove and even Pete Carroll joins in the fun. Well... except for the fact that Pete Carroll's link goes to Kevin Cosgrove's quotes.
Of all these, mind Kevin Cosgrove's words:
"They are a complicated offense. They are similar to what we do--a lot of movement and a lot of shifts. You have to be solid in what you are doing, otherwise they're going to get some big plays. We have to do things that are sound and give us a chance to play well."
In other words, we know a lot about what they're going to do - relatively the same stuff we're going to do. It's a matter of whether we play well enough to stop USC's offense. No magic, just the basics - beat the guy in front of you, make tackles, make blocks.
If you want quotes from Pete Carroll, here they are.
Carroll isn't quite as nasty about Nebraska:
"Just passed through a couple of times while I was at Iowa State. Drove through a couple of times, coming and going, very enjoyable. I have a couple of in-laws there and had a chance to visit with them awhile back, I mean a longtime back and was kind of introduced to the energy of the Nebraska following. They have an extraordinary love for their team, their university."
Tom Dienhart of the Sporting News has a bit on how to prepare for USC from Arkansas Defensive Coordinator Reggie Herring.
Booty has more pressure on him than any player in college football history. Perhaps it comes true Saturday night!