What do 500 alumni band members, George Lucas, and Snoop Dogg have in common?

They all love USC football, and were present this weekend to watch the mighty Trojans topple a Washington State team who took UCLA to overtime.

Five hundred alumni band members? The halftime show performed by The Spirit of Troy, USC's marching band, included 500 alumni band members as part of homecoming festivities.

George Lucas? He sat at the 50-yard-line. During the game, he walked up and down the edge of the student section shaking hands with fellow Trojan faithful.

Lucas came to the game to cheer on his Trojans to victory, unless he was there to talk to Reggie Bush about replacing Luke Skywalker as the star of Star Wars.

Snoop Dogg? Yes, that's right, the Doggfather himself made an appearance wearing a USC track suit and a LenDale White #21 jersey. During the second quarter, Snoop went to the top of a platform to lead the student section in cheers. After his brief stint in the student section, he went behind the endzone only to end up with a LenDale White touchdown ball in his hands. Snoop flashed the Heisman pose and then took off running down the tunnel.

What a day it was, and did I mention that USC had a football game? They played host to the Cougars of Washington State, a team who took undefeated UCLA to overtime only two weeks before.

The Trojans dominated the game in all aspects. They dominated both sides of the ball leading to a score of 38-6 going into the half. After putting in the second and third string guys in the second half, the Trojans still put up two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter making the final score, 55-13.

Matt Leinart lit up the Washington State secondary, passing for 232 yards and three touchdowns … in the first quarter. As the first quarter came to a close, the Trojans were already up 28-6, and the game was well in hand.

With the game in complete control, the Trojans worked on the running game. LenDale White returned to form as he ran the ball for 155 yards and two scores, one of which he tossed to "Coach Snoop."

Dwayne Jarrett continued to improve to elite status as he snagged eleven passes for 200 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown brings his total to thirteen on the season, which ties his total from his freshman season; he currently leads the country in receiving touchdowns. The touchdown also brings his career total to twenty-six touchdowns in twenty-one games.

Reggie Bush was held out of the endzone due to an unfortunate fumble near the goal line. Offensive tackle, Winston Justice, pounced on the fumble in the endzone, however, giving the big guy a well-deserved touchdown and resulting in a "big man" touchdown dance.

The easily beaten Trojan secondary returned to form this weekend as well, holding Cougar receiver, Jason Hill, to only forty-nine yards receiving, almost 120 yards fewer than his second-best in the nation average entering the game.

The flawed Trojan special teams also did their job this weekend holding the Cougars to minimal returns compared to returns in the previous few games. New kick-offs were tried including "pooch" kicks which worked out fairly well for USC.

As Monday arrived, the Trojans were rightfully back on top of the BCS standings and preparing for this weekend's game against Stanford. The last team to beat USC at home was Stanford during the 2001 season, but don't expect to see any upsets being pulled this weekend as the Trojans should pull off another fairly convincing win.

And that other team from across town, UCLA, just barely snuck out another last-second victory this weekend against Stanford. For the Bruins, the dream is alive and growing. Too bad USC is just waiting to show them how to really win a game.

-SFM-

Shane Carney is a writer for SportsFan Magazine and a student at USC.