Curt McKeever: It's all good for Booty, USC
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LOS ANGELES — There’s always room for one more star in the City of Light. Isn’t that what Jim Morrison sang?
“Are you a lucky little lady in the City of Light? Or just another lost angel?”
If Morrison had seen John David Booty play here Saturday night, he wouldn’t have questioned whether Southern California’s football team had found its next “L.A. Woman.” Booty, who has waited four years for his chance to run the Trojans’ star-powered offense, isn’t some lost kid from Louisiana about to be slung back to the sticks.
Not that he was a solo act against Nebraska here Saturday night. The Trojans are loaded with leading-men types who are just as likely to wind up in the Hollywood gossip section as they are sports pages. Wide receivers Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith certainly carried themselves with that kind of grace and charm while prancing through Nebraska’s secondary.
Others — like middle linebacker Rey Maualuga, who made you wonder why the Huskers would even think about testing his turf — look bound for the same kind of red-carpet treatment.
But it was Booty who the paparazzi and autograph hounds should have targeted after his near-flawless performance delivered fourth-ranked USC its 28-10 conquest of the No. 19 Huskers in the historic Coliseum.
In just his second game as the Trojans starter — which came on the heels of a 24-for-35, 261-yard, three-touchdown, no-interception debut in a rout at Arkansas — the 6-foot-3, 210-pounder had his way with a defense that’s among the best the Big 12 Conference has to offer.
First, Booty used the swing pass to loosen the reins the Huskers tried to tame him with, going 5-for-5 on those first-half plays that looked unstoppable. And that bought him the kind of time to completely shake free via some precision downfield strikes to his fleet receivers.
By halftime, Booty was 14-for-18 for 149 yards with scoring strikes to both Jarrett and Smith, and the Trojans were galloping with a 14-3 lead.
One would be correct to think the game swung in their favor on two second-quarter series.
The first, by Nebraska, ended after a holding penalty against Josh Mueller negated a 15-yard run by Marlon Lucky that would have given the Huskers a first down at the USC 21-yard line. They wound up having to punt and 10 plays later, on third-and-20, Booty made a brilliant play that you’d think he made all his life.
After avoiding a strong rush, he stepped up in the pocket and hit the soon-to-be first-round NFL Draft pick Jarrett on a flag route for a 21-yard gain to the Nebraska 3. Booty then finished the deal on the next play by finding Smith, also NFL-bound, crossing the Huskers’ end zone from left to right to leave the Men of Troy in command with 2:52 left in the half.
The reality is, even before those two events, coach Pete Carroll’s squad already had established it wasn’t going to be denied a 28th straight win on its hallowed ground.
The Huskers were a game bunch, but it’s no accident that Bill Callahan’s offensive play calling included no first-down passes until NU’s final two plays of the third quarter. That, I tend to believe, is merely respect for the explosiveness of the opponent.
Run the ball, work the clock, hope for a couple of miscues and then a chance to be within striking distance at the end.
It’s hard, though, to overcome a critical mistake with that kind of game plan — like the bad exchange between quarterback Zac Taylor and Lucky on the Huskers’ first play of the second half that the Trojans recovered. Four plays later, Booty and Jarrett hooked up again to make the junior USC’s career touchdown leader.
You also have to tighten the clamps after your offense comes back with its most impressive drive of the game — a 74-yarder that pulled Nebraska to 21-10 early in the fourth quarter.
But that’s when Booty — who nearly gave cornerback Cortney Grixby a touchdown gift on his first attempt of the third quarter — showed off his southern cookin’. On a 14-play, 81-yard, game-clinching march, Booty completed all five of his passes for 53 yards. And just to show he’s not one-dimensional, he scrambled for a 5-yard gain.
“We were just able to wear them down over the course of the game,” said Booty, who despite his big night had plenty of kind words for the Huskers. “A lot of teams will give up the second half. It seemed like they kept fighting and weren’t going to call it quits, and made it tough on us, sometimes.”
Indeed, Nebraska can return home knowing it’s making strides toward the top. But there’s still a long climb left before the Huskers can stand with the likes of the Trojans.
Meanwhile, USC should feel like it’s headed to the national championship game for a fourth straight year. The Trojans have a new star in the City of Light.
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