Throughout preseason drills, Nebraska coaches and players buzzed about Zac Taylor’s passing accuracy.

Sure enough, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound senior has completed passes at a 73.2-percent clip through two games. His passer-efficiency rating of 184.24 ranks seventh nationally.

Taylor’s effectiveness has been bolstered by a rushing game that has averaged 256.5 yards to rank eighth in the nation.

However, the level of competition ratchets up a bit this week.

After convincing triumphs over Louisiana Tech and Division I-AA Nicholls State, 19th-ranked Nebraska prepares for what many regard as a measuring stick for the Husker program — a nationally-televised showdown against No. 4 Southern Cal at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

To be sure, Taylor will be hard-pressed to complete 73 percent of his passes against the Trojans (1-0), who return six defensive starters from a team that finished with a 12-1 record last season.

“When I look at them on film, they’re awfully quick and fast,” Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said Monday. “They have tremendous team speed. It really sticks out in my mind. They flash all over the field when you watch them play defense. They get a lot of hats on the ball.

“It’s a zone premise primarily,” he added. “When they play the pass, they play it well. They come up the field and get after the passer, and then do a beautiful job of just breaking on the ball.”

Nevertheless, Southern Cal didn’t exactly dominate on defense last season en route to the Rose Bowl national championship game, in which the Trojans dropped a 41-38 decision to Texas. In fact, USC wound up ranked 48th nationally in total defense, surrendering 360.9 yards per game. It ranked No. 31 in rushing defense (130.5) and No. 73 against the pass (230.4).

Three of Southern Cal’s top five tacklers returned from 2005 — linebackers Oscar Lua and Keith Rivers and safety Josh Pinkard. However, Pinkard, regarded as the best player in a young secondary, suffered a season-ending knee injury Sept. 2 in the Trojans’ 50-14 victory at Arkansas. Pinkard’s replacement likely will be true freshman Taylor Mays, a 6-4, 225-pound Seattle native.

What’s more, Lua (hamstring) and starting cornerback Kevin Thomas (high ankle sprain) were slowed last week in practice.

Although pass defense has been a soft spot for Southern Cal in recent seasons, Callahan said Trojan coaches do a good job of teaching defenders to avoid allowing big plays. In that sense, he said, the Trojans tend to play conservatively.

“You’re not going to get anything big or anything cheap on them,”  Callahan said.

Carroll’s teams at Southern Cal have showed an uncanny knack for collecting and avoiding turnovers. In fact, the Trojans are a staggering plus-99 in the turnover department in the last 65 games. In the win against Arkansas, USC forced five turnovers and committed none.

Last season, Southern Cal ranked second nationally in turnover ratio at plus-1.62.

“It’s preached day in and day out that this program is about the football,” said Trojan offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin. “During the whole practice, the defense gets after the ball like you wouldn’t believe. It’s like every down is fourth down. Our guys know how important it is, and it shows year in and year out.”

Southern Cal turns its attention to a Nebraska team that has commited three turnovers in two games (last season the Huskers ranked 69th nationally in turnover margin at minus-.17).

Taylor, in his second season as starter, has cut down on interceptions as he has grown in the offense. During Nebraska’s five-game winning streak dating to last season, Taylor has thrown 14 touchdown passes compared to three interceptions.

This season he is 41-for-56 passing for 489 yards and seven touchdowns, with one interception.

“He’s making real good decisions and dispersing the ball pretty well,” Callahan said. “He’s getting it to a lot of different guys. In terms of his reads and progressions, I think he’s remained quite disciplined.

“He’s intelligent. He’s not going to hold the ball. He understands he has to manage that aspect as well as anything — not taking sacks, not taking minus-yardage plays, getting the ball out quick. I think he’s done a nice job.”

Callahan made no bones about Nebraska’s desire to return to the level Southern Cal has achieved — that is, elite status in the national picture.

“This program was there under coach (Tom) Osborne, and we’re trying to get back to that level,” Callahan said.

In other news, Callahan said he was unsure how Nebraska starting center Kurt Mann is feeling after missing Saturday’s win against Nicholls State because of a virus. Callahan said he hadn’t received an update from the team’s medical staff as of noon Monday.

Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.