Lincoln – The Nebraska football team held a final two-hour practice in half-pads in Memorial Stadium Thursday as it continues to prepare for the third game of the season at USC.

After practice, Head Coach Bill Callahan began his media briefing by discussing the team’s eagerness for Saturday’s evening contest.

“We’re excited and anxious to get going,” Callahan said. “This is an important game, and every game we play is important. Our guys are excited and anxious to play against a great football team. I look at USC as a team with no weaknesses, so this is going to be a great challenge for our football team.”

The team’s travel to Los Angeles presents an additional recruiting opportunity, as six members of the football coaching staff will head out to California Thursday night to gather information on potential recruits in the state.

“We have six guys going, and I think we’ll see about 45 players in California,” Callahan said. “Those (six guys) head out tonight so that they’ll be there tomorrow morning to see the schools, gathering information, film, transcripts, watching practice and watching games as well. We have a good number of guys that we’ll be evaluating in California and we’re hoping for the best and to get a couple in here. “

Callahan also expressed a gratitude towards the large number of fans that will make the trip to California for the game.

“I think it’s great, but the main thing is that we still have to go out and play and perform, and execute our game plan and our techniques. But I think it’s great to have the fan support in Los Angeles. It’s a great venue and we’re going to do the best we can.”

The football team will hold a final walk through Friday morning before departing Lincoln for Los Angeles. The Saturday match-up at USC will be televised nationally on ABC at 7 p.m. CST.