Danny Moloshok, Associated Press John David Booty: Tricks of his trade given away on TV? Click photo for larger image.

LOS ANGELES -- Southern California, outraged over play-by-play veteran Brent Musburger's revealing during ABC's telecast of the Nebraska game what the Trojans contend was privileged information, fired off a complaint Monday to ESPN, which oversees all sports programming on ABC.

With just more than 9 1/2 minutes to play in the fourth quarter of Saturday's game and USC leading, 21-10, Musburger began describing on the air how USC quarterback John David Booty lets his receivers know he has spotted a certain kind of coverage.

"John David told us that his signal when he finds one-on-one and they're coming, it's that 'hang loose,' that familiar sign you've seen surfers use," said Musburger, referring to the sign where the thumb and little finger are raised.

That information had been gleaned from Booty Friday in a standard production meeting. Announcers and producers meet with coaches and star players as part of their game preparation. However, much of what is said in those meetings is considered private, as background only, to help the announcers spot trends and potential plays.

Southern California sports information director Tim Tessalone, on behalf of the university, sent a formal complaint to ESPN/ABC game producer Bill Bonnell and a copy to the Pacific 10 Conference office in Walnut Creek, Calif.

"We're supposed to be partners in this," Tessalone said, "but this is certainly going to make us think twice about trying to help them have as good a broadcast as possible.

Craig Sjodin, ABC Brent Musburger: "We asked if USC has a similar way of communicating, and the specific signal was offered." Click photo for larger image.

"What he did was unconscionable. In my 28 years, I've never seen such an egregious breach of trust. Brent is not a rookie at this, and he should know better."

Musburger late Monday, through an ESPN spokesman, issued this statement: "We've explained to USC that during our pregame meeting we discussed how we used replays to illustrate a specific signal the week before in the Ohio State-Texas telecast. In that context, we asked if USC has a similar way of communicating, and the specific signal was offered.

"Clearly, there is a misunderstanding, and we regret the confusion. We look forward to working with USC on future telecasts as we continue to cover [its] great program."

The ESPN spokesman, Josh Krulewitz, also offered this company statement: "We are very mindful of what we learn in pregame meetings in terms in what is appropriate for broadcast and what is for our background. We're sorry this led to an unfortunate misunderstanding, which was never our intention."

Coach Pete Carroll, asked what his reaction was when he heard about Musburger's on-air revelation, said with a laugh, "Just wondering what they're going to tell us next. I'm not worried about it. There's a million signals, a million ways to do it."