The best way to do research in the world of college football is to talk to the people that know the teams best, even if they're soulless, hateful Trojans fans who eat babies.  I covered my e-mail questionnaire in holy water and sent it off to the folks at TrojanWire and ConquestChronicles, who replied with some absolutely great information.  If you're looking to get your "Behind Enemy Lines" fix for this weekend's game, I'd recommend those two sites as your go-to places.

All snide remarks aside, a big thanks to the USC guys for giving some really informative answers.  The more and more you read about this game, the more you see the psyche of the Trojans as having something to prove, which seems both odd and accurate.

Three more days until the fall of Troy...

The most important cog of the Trojan teams during the recent run of success has been the dreamboat, now-a-NFL-starter quarterback at the helm.  John David Booty's numbers are USC-like this year, but be specific with us, as he's got some sweet wide receivers.  Are there certain areas he excels at - deep throws, checking down, stuff across the middle - and areas that he's still struggling in?

Trojan Wire:

People (mainly USC fans) don't give Booty enough credit.  His arm is better than Leinart's. He can throw that deep out that Leinart never could. He has the confidence, the quiet calm in the huddle, everything to lead the team; but with only 10 starts he may lack certain intangibles that people remember of the veteran Leinart.

Displaced Trojan:

"Dreamboat"?  For the record, that's your word, not ours.  Apparently, Booty is a good-looking guy.  But as you pointed out in your quick takes earlier in the week, perhaps we should let Boi From Troy be the judge.

Anyway, you are right to point out Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett, because Booty himself has said that he feels more comfortable and confident with both of them healthy and running routes for him, which has been the case only over the last few games.

Lane Kiffin was quoted after our 50-14 opener at Arkansas saying that he can call more plays now because Booty has a better, more versatile arm than Leinart, but we haven't seen significant evidence to back that up.  In fact, many of us in the Trojan blogosphere have lamented and examined what seemed to be an inordinate number of tipped passes at the line of scrimmage earlier in the year.  We collected all sorts of reasons for the tipped balls: O-line spacing, timing of Booty's three-step drop, his height and throwing motion, etc. But, since the failed two-point conversion at Oregon State, most of us would be hard-pressed to remember another one since.

The longer throws were an issue early in the year, as well, partly because of route running, but mostly because Booty over threw Smith and Jarrett.  Versus Cal there were a few balls that were just out of the reach of receivers, but we'd rather have incompletions thrown too long than interceptions thrown too short.

But, like any former top-flight recruit, given time in the pocket, Booty is as accurate as anyone throwing medium range outs, crosses, and skinny posts.  His thread-the-needle TD to Jarrett against Cal showed as much.

As for his decision-making, Booty is getting close to Leinart's standard, in terms of managing a game.  True, we aren't as explosive offensively as we were over the last few years, but Booty is handling our offense accordingly (especially since the second half of the Oregon State game) by taking what the defense gives him.  An example of this is last week's fourth-and-long TD pass to Smith, who was supposedly his third option.

Earlier in the season when the Trojans were struggling against the likes of Washington and Washington State, I was impressed with the way Chauncey Washington and the offensive line, no matter how ineffective earlier in the game, were able to grind out yards.  He's obviously no LenDale White, but was serving the clock-killing style well.  Now you have CJ Gable looking like Bush Light, so the question becomes: How do you think Carroll will plan on attacking the Irish on the ground?  Working the edges with Gable, pounding with Washington or somewhere in between?

Trojan Wire:

If Washington is healthy, he will carry the load. Although with a trim field, look for USC to expose its speed advantage over Notre Dame.  And of course, C.J. Gable looked good against Cal, and is certain to be somewhere in the mix.

Displaced Trojan:

Both, obviously.  We have a lot of confidence in our offensive line, and rumor has it that as a unit they are chomping at the bit to redeem themselves after what was considered a sub-par performance in South Bend last year.  Part of our offensive personality is to pound the ball, which will help to keep Brady Quinn off the field.  But, conventional wisdom says that the ND defense is still lacking speed, so you can anticipate USC attempting to exploit that.  We won't waste many plays sweeping Gable, but we will run him off tackle like we did against Cal.

Since the second half of the Oregon State game, the Trojans figured out that we can throw to set up the run.  We ran a lot of play action on first down against Cal, and we may look to do the same against ND. Yes, play action usually requires a team to establish a running game first, but Booty does a good job with the fake, and our backs and receivers never take a play off, which helps keep the defensive backfield guessing regardless of down and distance.

Your defense is playing at an extremely high level, yet it seems like when teams make a point of airing it out - Washington State, Oregon State - they have a lot more success than those that play right into the middle of the field, like geniuses Bill Callahan and Jeff Tedford did.  How's your secondary playing this season, on a scale of Texas to 10?

Trojan Wire:

The secondary became an immediate question when safety Josh Pinkard, Pete Carroll's favorite player, went down with a season-ending injury. But his linebacker-sized replacement, freshman Taylor Mays has really come along.
A word or two from the Weis on Mays, "He played in all 10 games this season, he's made nine starts. He's fifth on the team in tackles with 48, leads the team in picks, he had three interceptions, had a big one early in the game last night, three pass breakups."

Paragon SC:

I think that the Oregon St. loss opened up the secondary's eyes, but because of the turnovers in that game OSU had a lot of short fields to start with. I think the secondary has stepped up their game in recent weeks and they will be able to hang with the ND receivers. I would give them a 7 overall as they have given up some moderately big plays but they have also shut down some pretty good receivers like Marcus Monk and DeSean Jackson.

Time to make things painfully awkward: Who's better, Steve Smith or Dwayne Jarrett?  Also, how far is Patrick Turner behind either of them?

Trojan Wire:

That's like picking between superheroes. Steve Smith is Mr. Dependable. When USC passes on 4th down, it's going to him. Dwayne Jarrett is a freak all his own. The guy owns the pass-happy-Pac-10 record for career receiving touchdowns. As a junior.  

Patrick Turner might be more physically gifted than either of them, but we haven't seen a whole lot of that yet in games.  There's also Vidal Hazelton and Travon Patterson -- the next generation.  They can always sneak into the mix, and if Turner doesn't watch out, either of them could leapfrog him on the depth chart by '07.

DC Trojan:

That is painful. On balance, I would be inclined to pick Steve Smith, only because he is so completely consistent on running routes. Recency effect also comes into play here; essentially sneaking by the Cal defense - all of them - whistling with his hands in his pockets for the touchdown that iced the game... words fail me. As you intended though, it's a hard choice: Jarrett is beyond clutch and tough as old boots; he makes catches knowing that the coming tackle(s) would put other, less iron-clad WRs in the hospital. If you asked me again tomorrow, I'd probably pick Jarrett just for his ability to break a game open.

As for Turner, my sense is that he's more like Jarrett inasmuch as he's not a strict technician, but when he's in position he can make crazy catches and pick up yards. He's not there yet on running routes, and I suspect he's not as willing to take a beating as Jarrett -- perhaps that's why they have started putting him on punt return duty, but if so it's not working because he's surprisingly good at deciding which ones to ignore. Anyway, Turner will be good after a few games next year, but SC will definitely miss both Jarrett and Smith.

Notre Dame's spread offense is generally it's most effective, yet the team speed of your defense makes me think a lot of screens and quick throws will get snuffed out quickly.  How have spread offenses done against your defense this year?  Would the Irish have any success running the ball right at you, or would that be big mistake number one?

Trojan Wire:

Notre Dame's offensive success will hinge upon balance. Study the Washington State game. USC's defense had no idea what was coming, or if it did, it guessed wrong.

Paragon SC:

I think most teams have underestimated the youth on the SC defense and that has come back to bite them. At times the front 7 have not put the pressure needed on the QB so the opposing offense has had time to put the ball in the air but their results have been inconsistent. When Brink (WSU) and Stanback (UW) went into a 3-step drop they were able to make plays underneath but once SC installed a blitz package you saw those underneath plays diminish. The trick for ND will be to pick up the blitz and throw the ball underneath for those 8-12 yard gains and eat the clock up doing it. Trying to establish the run by spreading the field with a screen play will only put you in long yardage situations as the SC LB's will quick to shut those plays down. I also wouldn't rely on the long ball for the big play the corners and DB's have shown that they are up to the task and they will be able to hang with McKnight and Samardzija.

What the hell happened against Oregon State?  Was it just the turnovers, or a problem that Notre Dame could possibly exploit?  (We won't tell, Charlie.  Honest.)

Trojan Wire:

It was USC digging itself a hole it couldn't make it out of. Turnovers on your own 20. Giving up special teams touchdowns. Not a recipe for success.  

Actually, it was a lot like UCLA-Notre Dame, with two differences: (1) we were on the road, and (2) we made one more mistake.  The extra fumble, the punt return for TD, take your pick, but remove one of those, and we end up winning an ugly one late, just like Notre Dame did against the baby bears.

And even with all the mistakes -- if Booty rolls out on the 2-point conversion, instead of standing flat-footed at the line and throwing to his wideout without even looking another way....well you get our point.  For a quarter and a half, we played as bad as any team in the country, against a decent team who was keyed up at home.  And we paid the price.

DC Trojan:

Turnovers were a significant part of the problem, as was special teams play, not least of which was blown coverage in the punt returned for a touchdown. Additionally, I suspect that the team was starting to believe that they couldn't lose, and they got their bell rung for that level of arrogance. The defense was not getting enough penetration or flushing the QB from the pocket. Penalties were not helping. Finally, the play calling was far too predictable. Not to take anything away from Oregon State's execution, but when even I can guess what's coming, the opposition isn't having to work as hard to stop the offense.

The upside is that a number of these problems have plainly been worked on if not completely eradicated. Special teams play has definitely improved, I think that coaches for both offense and defense have stepped up the play calling, and SC remembered that they could actually take a shot at the deep play. Booty may not be a Leinart in terms of speed of decision-making but he's more than capable of making insanely accurate throws. Now that the play calling reflects that a bit more, it is helping to open things up for the run. At this point, the main areas for Notre Dame to exploit would be stuffing the run and hurrying Booty's progression. If ND's defensive live can't do enough to stop SC's run and pass blocking, and / or the ND secondary loses Smith or Jarrett, things could get ugly fast.

I think we know who you've got, but what's your "How it's going to play out?" and score prediction?

Trojan Wire:

Not much for predictions, but we'll say this -- if Notre Dame doesn't come out and play their best game of the season, it will be at least a 10-point victory for the Trojans at home.

Conquest Chronicles:

This game will be decided by the line play. Whoever gets the best penetration wins. Penetration will shut plays down or force turnovers, to me it really as simple as that. I think both secondary's will be busy for most of the day, as the front 7 on both teams will be trying to stop the run forcing a lot of passing situations. I'm still not sold on the ND defense as they have had some ugly games this year but this is the greatest rivalry in college football and anything can happen.

And just for kicks, tell your favorite Song Girl story, either a personal one or the friend-of-a-friend-of-a-roommate's.  As much as we loathe everything USC represents, there's no denying the Song Girls as the epitome of "Classy Hot".

Trojan Wire:

The Song Girls are just too classy for us to even say anything about.  Yes, we have our fair share of stories, but the University will have us snubbed out if we share any of them.  Let's just say those white sweaters haven't stayed so white without some serious P.R. work.
But really, you can't say anything bad about the Song Girls.  Sure, they might do something like this and everybody makes a big deal out of it, but they'd never do anything like this (we never ask them to read).

DC Trojan:

If I reveal that I lived in honors dorms or "nerd enclosures" three out of four years, you'll understand that direct contact was non-existent. However, to your point about "classy hot:" We were just mentioning on Conquest Chronicles that one plus of basketball season in the early part of the year, if you are not otherwise interested in that game, is that they increase the size of the Song Girl squad to figure out who's in for football season in the following fall. Some friends of mine were sitting once in front of the Song Girl coach, I suppose you would call her, while she was reviewing the noobs with a couple of other women. My friends nearly cracked when the reviewers got to one young lady and the coach said, "I like her attitude, she's a good dancer, but her tits are just too big." Nooooooooooooo! Anyway the young lady in question didn't make the cut, presumably to keep the look of the squad just so.