The game of football is about the football. Great coaches make it all sound so simple.

Force turnovers and avoid them — the concept is a cornerstone of Southern Cal’s program since Pete Carroll took over as head coach in 2001.

Triumphs have transpired at a rate nearly as staggering as the Trojans’ success in the turnover department.

In the Carroll years, USC is plus-99 in that area.

That’s flat ridiculous, borderline obscene. It’s one of the most telling statistics one will find in any sport.

Scan the stat sheet of Southern Cal’s 50-14 season-opening win against Arkansas and note the familiar Trojan advantage:

USC zero turnovers, Arkansas five.

Carroll said Tuesday he liked his team’s overall effectiveness against Arkansas. More than anything, he was thrilled by the turnover ratio.

“We kind of played right within the style we’ve always counted on,” Carroll said. (For more comments from Carroll, click here.)

Buddy Ryan, legendary former Chicago Bears defensive coordinator, always placed forcing turnovers atop his list of keys to winning. Next was stopping teams on third down.

Of course, ball skills isn’t the only area that has propelled Southern Cal’s remarkable resurgence under Carroll. But if you’re making a list of key areas, the Trojans’ emphasis on forcing and avoiding turnovers arguably ranks a close second behind the ability to reel in top-ranked recruiting classes (four and counting).

Carroll recruits speed and athleticism and turns it loose.

Watching the Southern Cal-Arkansas game, it was striking how quickly and ferociously Trojan defenders flew to the football.

Again, basic stuff. An easy-to-understand premise.

Somehow, though, it tends to become lost in the many other facets of a sport that is at once simple and complex.

“They do an outstanding job around the pile,” Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said of Trojan defenders. “They strip, they pull, they rip, and the ball comes out.”

Let’s make one thing clear: Nebraska is a much better team than Arkansas. Come Saturday night at Los Angeles Coliseum, the Trojans will have a more difficult time forcing turnovers than they did Sept. 2 in Fayetteville, Ark.

Make no mistake, though, Nebraska coaches are cognizant of Southern Cal’s ability to jar loose the football and pounce.

The Trojans’ scheme allows defenders to stay in attack mode, Callahan said.

“When you’re primarily a zone-type defense, you have an opportunity to break on the ball and knock the ball out,” Callahan said. “That’s been their history, and that’s how they get the momentum going in that venue.”

Ah, yes, the Coliseum. It’s famous for the Olympics. The Dodgers and Raiders once played there.

The Trojans have forced a few turnovers in the place, igniting a stadium that seats some 92,000.

Turnovers or no turnovers, the stadium has an unmistakable aura, Carroll said.

“That might sound like a bunch of garbage, but you can feel it,” he said. “We play with great respect for those who have played before us. We vow to represent the level of play that’s come to be part of the heritage of the Coliseum. It’s a big deal to us, a really big deal, to live up to it.

“There’s a kind of energy to the place that’s really special, and we love being part of it.”

A historic stadium. Two of college football’s most tradition-rich programs. National television. A competitive matchup.

Yes, a competitive matchup.

Is it Saturday yet?

I also like the chess match: Offensive guru (Callahan) vs. defensive specialist (Carroll).

Southern Cal’s speed on defense catches your eye. The Trojans will close down passing lanes much more quickly than perhaps any other Husker opponent not from Austin.

Nebraska’s offense counters with frequent motion and shifts. Maybe it will slow Trojan defenders, if only a tad.

“We just try to create a lot of different adjustments for (opponents), so they have to stay up a little later at night,” Callahan said. “We’re trying to keep people off-balance and give them some things that maybe they haven’t seen.

“If you haven’t seen it, you can’t prepare for it. We’ll have some new things this week, as we always do. That’s football. That’s what we like to do. That’s what makes it interesting and fun for our kids.”

In football, it’s the battles within the battle that determine the outcome.

Come Saturday, keep a close eye on turnovers, for it might tell the tale.

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