Bill Callahan evidently had grown tired of answering question after question about Southern Cal's remarkable football talent.

He had pretty much given a position-by-position Trojan rundown Tuesday during his team's weekly media luncheon. Apparently, enough was enough.

"I'm not here to be the recruiting salesman for USC football," said the Nebraska head coach, dropping his usual say-all-the-right-things guard if only for a moment.

Yeah, the Trojans are good, I get it, he seemed to be saying.

Indeed, all hail USC.

Nebraska players and coaches have made clear their respect for top-ranked USC. How on Earth do you not respect USC football? It would be like dissing the 1972 Dolphins or Muhammad Ali or the wonderful Wooden teams at UCLA or any other dynasty.

At the same time, a team can be too respectful of an opponent. Last September, Callahan's play-calling against USC indicated that he was extremely respectful of the mighty Trojans. You might say he was overly respectful.

Let's just say this: It's a safe bet Callahan will use much more of his expansive playbook Saturday night in the intriguing rematch.

"Coach, he's going to bring it all out in this game," Nebraska I-back Marlon Lucky said. "Throw it. Run it. We got to find a weakness."

Callahan absorbed ample criticism for his game plan in last year's 28-10 loss to USC. Nebraska ended up with 36 rushes and 17 passes. Callahan called running plays on all 10 first-down plays in the first half. At last, he called a pass play on the first play of the second half — and quarterback Zac Taylor fumbled away the pigskin.

Callahan crawled quickly back into his play sheet, er, shell, and Big Red fans grumbled. They had a point.

Lucky isn't the only Nebraska player who sounds ready for increased aggressiveness on offense this time around. Maurice Purify said the Huskers need to attack early and grab the lead. That scenario, of course, would incite madness in Memorial Stadium. Reeling Big Red opponents inside the old stadium often feel as if they must turn back a tidal wave of emotion, the Husker crowd's energy is so powerful.

The Big Red tidal wave was doing a number on then-No. 5 Texas last October. After being stymied for virtually the entire first half, Nebraska's offense heated up. Callahan became aggressive. His team executed to a high degree. Sure, it eventually lost in heartbreaking fashion. But Callahan's go-for-broke mentality thrilled Husker backers. Texas' shoddy pass defense notwithstanding, the Longhorns played some pretty salty defense in 2006 (No. 22 nationally overall).

Have we mentioned USC’s defensive firepower? Their 10 returning starters on defense? Their ability to leap tall buildings â€- and all that jazz.

"They're no less than great," Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller said. "They are great. You just have to be mistake-free. You have to take what they give you. You have to be very smart. But you also have to be aggressive. You have to take shots at them."

Perhaps you feel a pattern emerging here. No question, Nebraska respects USC. But the Huskers aren't overdoing it. That's a good sign for Husker Nation.

Said Lucky: "There are some weaknesses in their defense. I mean, we're going to bring it to them like they're going to bring it to us. We're going to try to get the run game going. If it happens, it happens. If it don't, it don't."

Without some semblance of a running game, Nebraska might endure a rather long and distressing night. Especially Keller.

The Arizona State transfer has been mostly underwhelming through two games. Bear in mind, however, Zac Taylor's struggles in 2005 during his first three games as starter: 39-for-89 passing (43.8 percent) for 399 yards, with three interceptions and one touchdown.

Maybe Keller will catch fire in his third game in the manner Taylor got rolling in his fourth (36-for-55 for 431 yards against Iowa State).

Said Callahan: "I told Sam, 'The only person you have to please is me. Don't worry about anybody else. As long as you're doing what we're asking you to do, you really have no problems here.' Really, he hasn't let me down at all."

For what it's worth, USC coach Pete Carroll on Tuesday praised Callahan's offensive game plan in last year's game.

"I think they did a very good job of giving themselves a chance to win," Carroll said. "They stayed right in there until the end of the game. I think that obviously was the approach — to not give the ball up."

The thing is, Nebraska is capable of so much more. Just ask Carroll.

“They have a tremendously varied offensive attack,” he said. “They’ve been as wide open as anybody in the country. â€- We have to be ready for everything. We don’t know what they’re going to do or how they feel like they need to play us.”

Indeed, it's usually hard to read Callahan. It's easy to see why he might confuse a defense — yes, even USC's.

Trouble is, when USC breaks down, its speed allows for nice recovery.

"They can make plays recovering (from assignment busts), make plays stripping the ball or playing the ball in flight," Callahan said.

Bottom line is, USC doesn't allow uncontested layups, Callahan said.

"What you get, you have to earn. We're going to have to be at our best."

He quickly added, "But we have to be at our best every week."

There you go, coach. Show respect, but don't overdo it.

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