Corp may be back sooner than later

Photo from USC athletic department

Matt Barkley rolling out in practice.

Aaron Corp says he is improving and could be back as soon as next week from a cracked fibula in his left leg. He was expected to miss as much as three weeks.

Corp, who was fitted with a brace, has said he is in the training room as often as possible and told the Orange County Register his leg is "definitely improving." Corp may be trying to push his return as true freshman Matt Barkley continues to work as the No. 1 quarterback in practice.

Barkley was intercepted three times in Thursday's morning practice, but rebounded to have on turnovers in the afternoon.

"He came right back out here and cranked it up," coach Pete Carroll told reporters.

Mays chats and adds watch list

USC safety Taylor Mays had a live chat with ESPN SportsNation on Thursday afternoon and also was named to the watch list for the Bednarik Award. Mays already was named to the Thorpe and Walter Camp award watch lists.

Named after Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik, the award is given to the nation's best defensive player. USC linebacker Rey Maualuga won the award in 2008.

"District 9" for Trojans

Here is a movie poster redone by the USC Video Operations Department:








USC players got a surprise when coach Pete Carroll announced they were going to see the new Peter Jackson movie "District 9" instead of meetings.

Pryor ready for flight

Paul Schofield of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has a look at Terrelle Pryor.

Wide receiver DeVier Posey says of Pryor in the story: "He does do a lot with his feet, and you will see this year he'll make a lot of things happen with his arm.

"He prides himself with his throwing ability. He wants to stay in the pocket. He wants to throw the ball, and he's always keeping his eyes down the field looking for a receiver. It's going to be fun."

Bollman talks to BTN

Buckeyes offensive coordinator Jim Bollman talks to The Big Ten Network

Buckeyes talk on picture day

Here what several Buckeyes, including Dan Herron, Terrelle Pryor, Lawrence Wilson and Brian Rolle have to say on picture day at The Horseshoe.

SI's scouting report on Ohio State

Sports Illustrated has ranked Ohio State No. 10 and has a scouting report on the team that will appear in the Aug. 17 issue.

Losing may not be a bad thing

By Peter Bartell


We all know that USC and Ohio State are two teams that are national powers every year. We also know that both teams tend to fall off the saddle once a year.

The most recent example happened last year for the Trojans when they lost to the Oregon State Beavers in Corvallis in the fifth week of the season. After that, the Trojans were unstoppable for the rest of the season thanks in large part to their defense that shut out three opponents and allowed just 56 points in their final nine regular season games. They finished the regular season ranked fifth in the BCS standings.


The Buckeyes were on the losing end of their match up with the Trojans last year in the second week of the season and had crept back up to third in the BCS standings by the ninth week of the season. This clearly put them in line for a shot at the BCS National Championship had they not dropped a 13-6 decision to the the Penn State Nittany Lions in week 10.

Both teams have shown that they’ve played their best football after a loss. Unfortunately for the Trojans, that loss happened in week five last year. Had it happened earlier we could’ve seen a different national title game. So sure people will write the loser of this game off, but history shows us that when either of these teams lose, they come back even stronger, which could spell trouble for the rest of the nation.

Moeller's mother addresses injury in letter

The family of Tyler Moeller, Ohio State's junior linebacker who suffered a head injury in an attack in July, has posted a letter on the Ohio State football Web site regarding the situation.

Moeller's mom, Amy, writes in part:
"On the first evening of vacation, Tyler was with several family members, including his uncle at a popular restaurant/bar; it was there that Tyler was assaulted. He never saw it coming and did nothing to provoke it, which is substantiated by neutral parties. The subject was immediately arrested and the case is currently in the hands of the State Attorney's Office."

Matchup of No. 1 quarterbacks

With USC's Aaron Corp sidelined with a cracked bone in his leg, true freshman Matt Barkley, the No. 1 quarterback recruit last season, is working with the first team. That means he could possibly face Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor, the class of 2008's top-ranked quarterback recruit. The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Doug Lesmerises takes a look at how the top-ranked quarterbacks have done early in their careers.

Best case-worst case for USC

Here is ESPN's Ted Miller with a take on the best case-worst case scenario for USC as kickoff nears just little more than three weeks away.