College football roundup: Penn State has not lost any players yet

Penn State coach Bill O'Brien said no current players have informed him of their intention to leave the program.

In a Tuesday conference call the first-year head coach returned to work for the first time since the NCAA leveled the program with restrictive, potentially debilitating measures including reduction in scholarships and a bowl ban that will serve as a deterrent to incoming recruits.

With the odds stacked against them, O'Brien said he didn't ask for much when he met with president Rodney Erickson and athletic director Dave Joyner to discuss the NCAA sanctions.

"I basically said, 'Let us play football and let us be on TV,' " O'Brien said. "And at the end of the day, that's all you want to do. You want to be able to play football, in a fantastic, beautiful stadium in front of passionate fans, and you want your fans that can't get to the game to be able to see you on TV.

"And we've got that, we're able to play football and I understand that we won't be able to go to a bowl game, I understand that, I really do, believe me. ... I'm not sure there's many bowl games that are played in front of 108,000 fans. So I feel good about where we are right now because we do have the ability to play football on TV."

O'Brien said he had no question the current coaching staff would remain intact. The NCAA cleared players to transfer without sitting out this season or any other penalties, which O'Brien continues to view as his greatest challenge.

"I can tell you that right now, my main goal is to keep this 2012 football team together and that's what I'm working very hard to do every single day," O'Brien told the Dan Patrick Show in an interview with Bonnie Bernstein.

Junior running back Silas Redd is considering Southern Cal, according to his father, and other players have been contacted by coaches inquiring about their status. In an interview at Big 12 media day Tuesday, Kansas coach Charlie Weis said his staff has closely looked at the Penn State roster.

--The theme of Pac-12 media days: celebrating the new kids on the block.

That includes Southern Cal, who is eligible to not only win the Pac-12 championship for the first time but advance to a BCS bowl game as the league's representative.

"The preseason rankings have nothing to do with how well we will play this year," said USC coach Lane Kiffin. "I do think it's exciting for our fans."

The Trojans were picked to win the conference championship game by league media, ahead of Oregon, by a margin of 102-21. It's the 31st time USC was picked to win its conference. USC was tabbed the favorite in the South with 117 votes; Utah and UCLA were distant runners up.

Oregon, the league's three-time defending champion, received 117 votes to Stanford's five in the North Division projections. Washington and Cal ranked third and fourth, respectively.

Southern Cal is widely expected to be ranked in the top three in preseason polls. Senior quarterback Matt Barkley rates as the preseason frontrunner in many Heisman Trophy projections.

--Northern Illinois linebacker Devon Butler was stabbed in the chest Sunday, 15 months after being shot at an off-campus party near the DeKalb, Ill., university.

Butler was allegedly stabbed by 25-year-old Freddy E. Sparks-Ward, who was charged with armed violence, aggravated battery, battery and criminal trespass with a maximum sentence of 30 years possible. He suffered minor injuries and was treated and released from Kishwaukee Community Hospital.

The incident took place around 3 a.m. Sunday after Sparks-Ward was thrown out of a party and returned 20 minutes later. He admitted to stabbing Butler with a blade of at least four inches, and the weapon was recovered by police.

--Penn State running back Silas Redd could land at Southern Cal, but the junior has not decided to transfer just one day after the NCAA gave all eligible players clearance to leave Happy Valley with immediate eligibility at a new school.

Redd's father told The Patriot-News (Harrisburg, Pa.) that his son was "still sifting through it all" in a text message to the paper.

Redd was Penn State's leading rusher last season as a sophomore with 1,241 yards and seven touchdowns. USC doesn't have the depth coach Lane Kiffin wants at the position behind senior starter Curtis McNeal. McNeal, 5-7, 190 pounds, had 1,005 yards rushing (6.9 yards per carry) in 2011.