As Punter, Harris Quite a Guy

California punter Nick Harris ranks only 43rd in the nation with a 41-yard average, but it is no secret he may be among the best college punters of all time.

The preseason All-American is expected to break the NCAA record for career yardage today. He is only 62 yards shy of the mark set by Texas Christian’s Cameron Young, who punted for 12,947 yards during the late 1970s.

And Harris’ unspectacular average this season is misleading--more than half of his 47 punts have been downed inside the 20-yard line. Nine have been downed inside the five yard-line.

“Last year, he was an All Pac-10 punter, but he went out this summer and was determined to improve certain aspects of his game,” California Coach Tom Holmoe said. “He spent all summer long working on his trajectory, his balance, his distance and it has been amazing to watch him and see how many punts he can drop inside the 10. It has kept us in a lot of games.”

Earlier this season, Harris displayed that talent for a national television audience in California’s loss at Illinois. It was the kind of performance that has prompted former Oakland Raider punter Ray Guy to say, “Someone like Nick comes along maybe once in a century.”

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The USC secondary will be without cornerback Darrell Rideaux, who is still nursing an injured ankle, and safety Ifeanyi Ohalete, who has been ruled out for the remainder of the season because of a stress fracture in his foot.

But the defensive line got some good news when it was determined that Ryan Nielsen and Lonnie Ford can play despite their lingering injuries. The Trojans plan to use both carefully, so Bernard Riley and Sultan Abdul-Malik will start in their places.

On the offensive line, center Eric Denmon also will be available after missing games because of an ankle injury. It remains to be seen whether he will play.

“As soon as I can hobble a little bit,” he said, “I’ll be back on the field.”

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After a last-minute practice session Friday, USC Coach Paul Hackett said backup quarterback Mike Van Raaphorst will replace Ohalete as the holder on field-goal and extra-point attempts.

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* Time: 3:30 p.m.

* Site: Coliseum.

* TV: Channel 9.

* Radio: XTRA (690).

* When USC has the ball: Though the running game continues to be a focus for the Trojans, quarterback Carson Palmer might be looking at California’s shaky pass coverage and dreaming of big numbers. Palmer has been practicing the little things, such as footwork, but it is bigger things, such as interceptions and missing on long passes, that have troubled him at times this season. California, meanwhile, has struggled to replace both starting safeties and All-American cornerback Deltha O’Neal from last season’s conference-leading defense. Said Coach Tom Holmoe: “We have a young secondary that we were a little bit apprehensive about at the beginning of the season, but they seem to be playing better each week.”

* When California has the ball: Sophomore quarterback Kyle Boller recently has shown signs of living up to the reputation he earned a couple of seasons ago at Newhall Hart High. While he currently ranks eighth among Pac-10 quarterbacks with a 100.6 efficiency rating, over the last two games he has thrown four touchdown passes and averaged 232 yards. “Boller is going to be a heck of a player,” USC Coach Paul Hackett said. “I just hope he doesn’t blossom [today].” The Trojan defense needs to put pressure on the quarterback without blitzing too often and leaving the injury-plagued secondary in man-to-man coverage. It would help if injured defensive linemen Ryan Nielsen and Lonnie Ford are healthy enough to play extensively.

* Key to the game: Forget the injuries and inconsistency, this is a game in which the USC defense needs to perform well against a Cal offense that ranks near the bottom of almost every statistical category in the Pac-10. That means containing tailback Joe Igber and forcing Boller into mistakes.

* Fast fact: Both teams hope to rebound from heartbreaking losses last week. While the Trojans lost to Stanford on a touchdown pass with no time left, California let a big lead slip away in the fourth quarter, turning a possible upset into a 36-24 defeat against Washington.

* Line: USC by 8.

HOW THEY COMPARE

USC and California

23.2 Scoring 19.9

23.5 Points allowed 25.7

241.0 Passing 179.6

155.4 Rushing 140.7

396.4 Total offense 320.3

217.3 Passing defense 255.3

129.0 Rushing defense 110.0

346.3 Total defense 365.3