University Southern California Trojans
Trojan Football Getting Physical
August 18, 2001 | Football
Aug. 18, 2001
LOS ANGELES-USC cornerback Darrell Rideaux returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and defensive end Lonnie Ford ran back an interception 65 yards for another score to highlight a 94-play intrasquad scrimmage on Howard Jones Field as the Trojans concluded their first week of pre-season practice.
Troy also got 3 field goals (20, 27 and 23 yards) from David Davis, a junior college transfer (he missed a 25-yarder on his first try), and a 7-yard TD run from tailback Sultan McCullough.
Quarterback Carson Palmer completed 15-of-29 passes for 145 yards with an interception, but 6 of his aerials were dropped. Freshman Matt Leinart was 4-of-11 for 38 yards, hitting 4 of his final 5 throws after missing on his first 6 (one of those was Ford's interception, which was tipped at the line by defensive end Kenechi Udeze). Matt Cassel was 4-of-6 for 23 yards and freshman Billy Hart was 1-of-2 for 10 yards.
Wide receiver Grant Mattos, another J.C. transfer, caught 6 passes for 46 yards, while freshman wide receiver William Buchanon added 3 grabs for 18 yards.
McCullough ran for 42 yards on 8 carries, while fullback Charlie Landrigan rushed for 22 yards on 3 tries and caught 3 passes for 29 yards.
Safety DeShaun Hill had 6 tackles and linebacker John Cousins added 4 stops, while freshman defensive tackle Shaun Cody, safety Jason Leach and linebacker Chris Prosser had 4 tackles each.
The Trojans were penalized only 5 times, but gave away 3 fumbles in addition to the pair of interceptions.
"The defense was more effective than the offense today," said new USC head coach Pete Carroll. "We've got to catch the ball better. Palmer put the ball on the money, but we just need to make our plays. If we do that, we'll be okay.
"McCullough ran hard, Mattos looked very good, Davis did a nice job and Rideaux just exploded on that kickoff. Our cornerbacks continued to play well, our offensive line protected well and the defensive line made some good heads-up plays.
"Today was really about going out there and playing football, just blocking and tackling. I wanted to see us run around, hit each other, be physical and have good intensity."
USC opens its season on Sept. 1 against San Jose State in the Coliseum.
USC FOOTBALL INTERSQUAD SCRIMMAGE 8-18-01RUSHING NO YDS AVG TD LG DEF TAC TFL SAC DFL FC/FR McCullough 8 42 5.3 1 16 Cody 4 1/6 1/6 Howard 5 8 1.6 0 6 Arbet 3 2 Leinart 3 -17 -5.7 0 -5 Cousins 5 Landrigan 3 22 7.3 0 10 Riley 3 1/1 Palmer 3 9 3.0 0 11 Cash 2 1 Huber 1 2 2.0 0 2 Strong 3 1 Cassel 6 19 3.2 0 10 Ford 2 2/7 1/6 1 Colbert 1 6 6.0 0 6 Leach 4 1 M. Fletcher 2 0 0.0 0 1 Grootegoed 1 2 Reese 1 8 8.0 0 8 Polamalu 2 1 Fargas 1 0 0.0 0 0 Otani 3 Hart 2 5 2.5 0 5 Rideaux 2 2 Wessman 1 -2 -2.0 0 -2 Prosser 4 Poston 4 4 1.0 0 2 Graham 1 Hill 6 1/3 RECEIVING NO YDS AVG TD LG Richard 2 Landrigan 3 29 9.7 0 18 Pollard 3 1/1 Mattos 6 46 7.7 0 16 Udeze 1 1 McCullough 2 5 2.5 0 5 Nielsen 1 1/1 1 Pitts 1 10 10.0 0 10 Webb 3 Dickerson 2 25 12.5 0 22 Wooldrigdge 1 Holmes 2 21 10.5 0 12 Daye 2 1/6 1/6 Colbert 1 24 24.0 0 24 Goodson 2 1/6 1/6 Kelly 1 9 9.0 0 9 Ashton 3 0/1 Kirtman 1 -1 -1.0 0 -1 Walker 3 1 Buchanon 3 18 6.0 0 8 Tolliver 3 Carlson 1 20 20.0 0 20 Lemos 2 A. Bottom 1 10 10.0 0 10 Orndorff 1 0/1 Nazel 1 PASSING PA PC PI PCT YDS TD LG Patterson 3 1/4 1/4 Palmer 29 15* 1 .517 145 0 24 Wardlow 1 Leinart 11 4 1 .364 38 0 20 Jackson 2 1 Cassel 6 4 0 .667 23 0 12 Johnson 0 0/1 Allmond 1 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Hart 2 1 0 .500 10 0 10 (*-Had 6 passes dropped) DRIVES PLAYS YDS RESULT 4 25 4th down INTERCEPTS NO YDS AVG TD LG 4 0 4th down Ford 1 65 65.0 1 65 3 0 4th down Nielsen 1 37 37.0 0 37 3 0 4th down 12 58 missed FG KO RETS NO YDS AVG TD LG 3 0 4th down Rideaux 1 100 100.0 1 100 5 45 TD 5 26 interception PUNTS NO YDS AVG LG 3 0 4th down MacGillivray 6 286 47.7 54 5 -1 4th down Huff 2 91 45.5 46 10 50 FG 12 45 FG FIELD GOALS FGA FGM LG SEQ 3 5 interception Davis 4 3 27 (25 WL), 20, 27, 23 7 12 FG 8 14 fumble lost SCORING 7 16 4th down Rideaux 100-yard kickoff return McCullough 7-yard run (Davis kick) PENALTIES Ford 65-yard interception return 5 Davis 20-yard field goal Davis 27-yard field goal TURNOVERS Davis 23-yard field goal 5 (2 interceptions, 3 fumbles)
PLAYS 94
