Special teams get attention

With Oregon coming to the Coliseum on Saturday and California coming next week, USC continued Wednesday to put special emphasis on special teams.

“We have expanded a little bit just to make sure we don’t miss anything,” Coach Pete Carroll said.

Oregon is the only team in the Pacific 10 Conference with two players in the top 10 in kickoff-return average.

Jonathan Stewart averages a conference-best 26.1 yards a return and Jeremiah Johnson is sixth at 20.8 yards a return. Johnson also is fourth in the conference in punt returns, averaging nearly nine yards.

Cal’s DeSean Jackson has returned three punts for touchdowns and averages a conference-best 17.2 yards a return.

Trojans punter Greg Woidneck said his mission this week was to improve the hang time of his kicks so that the ball does not outdistance the coverage team. USC gave up a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown in its loss against Oregon State.

“When you’re a punter, it’s ‘I want the bomb. I want to get 45 yards or more,’ ” Woidneck said. “But we’ll take a shorter punt with a fair catch rather than a longer punt without one every time.”

Said Carroll: “We’re not a team hoping to kick the ball 50 yards. We want to minimize their opportunities.”

Troy Van Blarcom, who put only one of his six kickoffs into the end zone against Stanford, went through drills for the first time this week and appeared to recapture the form that made him so effective in the first half of the season.

Van Blarcom said he was still experiencing hip soreness but not when he kicked.

“Mentally, I was off-track [against Stanford], but not physically. But now I feel like I’m back on,” he said.

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Receiver Travon Patterson orally committed to Oregon but changed his mind when the Trojans offered him a scholarship last November.

“I talked to all the coaches; I had a good connection with them,” Patterson said. “I just thought this was a better fit.

“They told me they still loved me no matter what happened. I hope so.”

Patterson caught two passes for 44 yards against Stanford. Carroll, though, said he would still like Patterson to become more consistent in practice.

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Quarterback John David Booty received a standard letter from the Heisman Trophy Trust, indicating that he was on the organization’s radar for the award.... Linebacker Kaluka Maiava returned to practice after sitting out the day before because of back soreness.

gary.klein@latimes.com

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Tough schedule

Three of USC’s next four opponents are ranked in the Associated Press top 25:

*--* DATE OPPONENT Saturday vs. No. 21 Oregon (7-2) Nov. 18 vs. No. 8 California (8-1) Nov. 25 vs. No. 9 Notre Dame (8-1) Dec. 2 at UCLA (4-5)

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Los Angeles Times