Bill Callahan was widely criticized for his conservative play-calling against USC, but other Pac-10 teams have taken Nebraksa’s cue — short QB drops and high percentage passes.

Nobody has managed to turn it into a victory but – short of having Vince Young on your roster – it might be the most effective strategy out there.

But credit these other Pac-10 teams and their success runnning the ball, something Nebraksa couldn’t do, to give their offensive attack some balance.

To the credit of the Trojans D, their defensive play inside the red zone has stepped up — taking advantage of the shorter field. The big thing missing the past couple weeks has been the complete lack of turnovers that Pete Carroll football relies on.

But with a forecast for Saturday that says possible thunder showers, do we dare say, when it rains, it pours.

USC foes use possession game [OCRegister]