After week off, USC is back ... and back ... and another back ...
Shoulder surgery before spring practice further sidelined him. The light went on in August drills. The same spotlight that drove Moody from the program drew in Johnson.
"This is a very exciting emergence for this kid," coach Pete Carroll said. "He was in the tank a year ago. You could see the sparks, but in this program you have to produce every single day you're out there."
After Havili ripped off that 50-yarder, Gable ran 40 yards to help set up USC's first touchdown. Johnson touched the ball once until the fourth possession, which says more than anything about USC's depth. Almost all his work (13.1 yards per carry on only 11 carries) came between midway through the second quarter and midway through the fourth when the starters were removed.
The kid is not quite Reggie Bush, but it's worth mentioning because the last time USC pounded a team on the ground like this was the regular-season finale in 2005. Bush (260 yards) and LenDale White (154) contributed to a 430-yard rushing day for the Trojans against UCLA.
Those were the old Thunder and Lightning days. With six mouths to feed, Carroll is now rationing carries like they were food stamps. Five tailbacks were listed as possible starters on the lineup card given the media before the game.
Gable -- remember he's the starter -- rushed only four times for 69 yards (17.2 yards per carry). Chauncey Washington led all rushers in carries, 12 (for 43 yards). True freshman Joe McKnight rushed the ball once but Carroll went out of his way to compare him to a young Bush.
Johnson himself admitted, "I'm just a role player."
Who is going to be next week, next month? It really doesn't matter. USC is just getting revved up. It blew out Nebraska in the biggest game played here since 2001.
Don't let the score fool you. Until a couple of garbage scores by Nebraska, the Huskers' only touchdown came via a little known penalty. In the first quarter, USC was flagged for "disconcerting".
Rule 7, Article 3 from the NCAA rulebook reads: No player shall use words or signals that disconcert opponents when they are preparing to put the ball in play.
It seems that USC linebacker Rey Maualuga was yelling "hut" or otherwise yapping as Nebraska lined up for a field goal. The penalty gave the Huskers a first down at the USC 2, and eventually a touchdown.
Now it's the rest of the college football world that should be disconcerted. USC won with a true freshman, Kristofer O'Dowd, at center. It won with quarterback John David Booty being something less than stellar (19 of 30, 144 yards).
Mostly, it got sick of sitting on the couch for two weeks.
"It kind of sucks," linebacker Keith Rivers said of the bye week. "It always sucks when you think, 'Man, we could be out there making plays.'"
Out the frontal lobe of the public consciousness, USC lost poll votes last week. That suddenly became a big deal in Week 2 of the season. It's not anymore.
"If that (polls) was a big deal," Carroll said ominously, "we would have played this game a little differently."
Can't imagine a bigger blowout, or a more balanced backfield.
