By JOE CURLEY
The Southern California's vaunted depth will be stretched this week. Not necessarily by No. 19 Nebraska, but by a series of injuries, especially on the fourth-ranked Trojans' defense.
Josh Pinkard, the starting free safety, was lost for the season when he tore knee ligaments in the 50-14 season opening win at Arkansas. Senior middle linebacker Oscar Lua pulled a hamstring in the first series of the game in Fayetteville.
With the defensive backfield and linebacking corps already affected, the defensive line took a hit in Monday's practice when starting nose tackle Sedrick Ellis was carted off the field with a knee injury.
"One minute, he's in a stance," said defensive end Lawrence Jackson. "The next minute, his knee's locked up. The next minute, he's getting hauled off in a cart."
Ellis underwent arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday.
"It's tough, but that's football," said Jackson. "You hate it when a guy gets injured. But that's why they recruit ... The next guy needs to fill the void."
Coach Pete Carroll said he hoped Ellis would only miss "a few weeks."
Nevertheless, sophomore Fili Moala, who shares defensive tackle duties with junior Chris Barrett, is expected to start at nose tackle Saturday night when USC faces the Cornhuskers in its home opener. A sellout crowd of more than 90,000 is expected at the Los Angeles Coliseum, where USC has won a Pac-10 record 27 straight games, the longest current streak in the nation.
Sophomore Rey Maualuga, who made six tackles at Arkansas, is Lua's replacement. In place of Pinkard, true freshman Taylor Mays is listed as the starter in what will be his second collegiate game.
"He's ready to do it," Carroll said regarding the 6-4, 225-pounder from Seattle.
Injuries have already forced the Trojans to feed their offensive unit from their defensive depth. Fullback Ryan Powdrell moved from linebacker to fullback after senior Brandon Hancock was lost for the season with knee ligament damage on Aug. 14.
Powdrell was a revelation in the opener, catching four passes for 72 yards and a touchdown.
No wonder Carroll has a positive outlook.
"I always look at these challenges as opportunities," Carroll said. "We know that there's going to be issues that come up during the season. We've had these situations for years. We've dealt with it before."
The USC depth chart lists six possible starters at tailback _ juniors Chauncey Washington and Desmond Reed, and freshmen C.J. Gable, Emmanuel Moody, Allen Bradford and Stafon Johnson. All but Johnson played in the opener, and Carroll indicated all would play against Nebraska.
"Something's going to make some sense to adjust it," Carroll replied when asked if the time will come when a smaller number of players will get the bulk of the carries. "It doesn't matter to me, I just hope we do well."
Gable had 12 carries, Washington eight, Moody seven, Bradford five and Reed four against Arkansas. Washington, who gained 55 yards, has missed some practice time with an injured hamstring.
"We're going to try to nurse him through the week here," Carroll said.
Nebraska has rolled up some impressive numbers in its two victories, but the Cornhuskers haven't exactly played powerhouses, having beaten Louisiana Tech 49-10 and Nicholls State 56-7.
"They are on a big roll right now. They've come out of the chute flying," Carroll said.
While USC has played such non-conference opponents as Notre Dame, Auburn, Virginia Tech and Fresno State in recent years, Nebraska has played the likes of its first two opponents this season along with Maine, Western Illinois and Troy.
"The schools have their opportunity to orchestrate their season as they want to," Carroll said. "There's different philosophies. It really depends on how you look at it. Their confidence is peaked and they're ready to go. I can see why they do it.
