College Football
Pac-10 team glance: Despite losses, USC expects to win again

By Bud Withers
Times college football reporter

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LOS ANGELES — It has come to this.

Now the USC football machine is rolling so inexorably, its freshmen come to school expecting national championships. They figure it's their birthright.

Quarterback Matt Leinart has seen it. So has one of his offensive linemen, Fred Matua.

"It's the ignorance of being a freshman," said Matua, a third-year sophomore. "You think you're just going to show up on Saturdays and, if you've got the athletes, you're going to win. It's not like that."

Once, Matua thought that, too, and the upperclassmen, people like Troy Polamalu, persuaded him otherwise.

Matua said, "It took all those guys to say, 'Hey, you better pick your stuff up. This is SC football. We gotta work.' "

It is the question of that willingness to work that seems to overlay everything about the Trojans this year — that and the lingering question of receiver Mike Williams' eligibility. USC is the consensus preseason No. 1 pick.

Trojans at a glance Playmakers: RB-KR Reggie Bush, QB Matt Leinart, RB LenDale White, DL Shaun Cody, DL Mike Patterson, S Darnell Bing, P Tom Malone. 2003 season: 12-1 (7-1 Pac-10, league title and AP national championship). Key stat: USC's 2003 team scored at least 43 points in its last seven regular-season games. Achilles? Offensive line has some new parts, receiving cast is gifted but young. The schedule With Cal at home and Oregon again missing, Trojans' road ahead is manageable Date Opponent, time Aug. 28 Virginia Tech*, 4:45 p.m. Sept. 11 Colorado State, 5 p.m. Sept. 18 @ BYU, 7 p.m. Sept. 25 @ Stanford, 4 p.m. Oct. 9 California, TBA Oct. 16 Arizona St., TBA Oct. 23 Washington, TBA Oct. 30 @ Washington St., 4 p.m. Nov. 6 @ Oregon State, TBA Nov. 13 Arizona, 7:15 p.m. Nov. 27 Notre Dame, 5 p.m. Dec. 4 @ UCLA, 1:30 p.m. * At Landover, Md. Bud Withers

Combine that with the fact that they're a defending national co-champion, and the operative issue around USC appears to be whether the Trojans have the fine edge of hunger after a thoroughly satisfying 2003 season.

They say they pass that test, although a recent post-curfew party, leading to a suspension of running back Hershel Dennis, might argue otherwise.

"I don't think there's any school in the country that works out the way we do, in terms of intensity," said tight end Alex Holmes. "To basically have our entire team here every day (this summer), that's definitely a sign the hunger is there."

Matua is part of an offensive line that is judged one of the more iffy units among the Trojans in 2004. Of three choices, he says it chose a 7 a.m. time slot to do its workouts since February.

"While people are sleeping," he said, "we want to be the ones working."

As convincing as the Trojans appear to the voting precincts, there are reasons for pause. The left side of the offensive line is rebuilt, and the receiving corps may look nothing like the dynamic Keary Colbert-Williams tandem of '03. Williams is still awaiting word on NCAA reinstatement after declaring himself eligible for the NFL draft upon the first court decision, later stayed, that allowed Maurice Clarett to enter early.

How good is Williams? He has 176 catches in two years, fourth on the USC career list. The top three guys — Colbert, Kareem Kelly and Johnnie Morton — had 19, 15 and 23 touchdown catches. Williams has 30.

A successor to that duo, Whitney Lewis, is academically ineligible, so expect to see a lot of freshman wunderkinds. Dwayne Jarrett and Fred Davis are already getting rave reviews.

"Jarrett is very impressive," Holmes said. "I told Mike (Williams), 'He looks exactly like you on your first day here.' "

As for the line, Leinart said, "I'm not the least bit worried. Everybody will see that they're all big and fast."

With the receiving questions, Leinart, boomed as a Heisman Trophy candidate, may have to be even better than he was last year, when he threw for 38 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. Even coach Pete Carroll admits Leinart surprised him.

The defense could be scary — better than last year, when it forced 42 turnovers and scored eight times. The line — keyed by Shaun Cody, Mike Patterson and Manual Wright — probably will be better than anybody's outside of Paul Tagliabue's league.

Behind them are premier players like linebacker Matt Grootegoed and safety Darnell Bing.

In USC's last five games of 2003, opponents averaged 29 yards rushing. Only once in the past 25 games has USC allowed a back to gain 100 yards.

Everywhere you look, there are riches, and reasons to respect the Trojans. Punter Tom Malone had a huge 49-yard average last year, and USC's 43.7 net punting average is off the charts.

If there's any position shortfall, the Trojans can turn to a top-ranked recruiting class. The receivers and defensive linemen like Jeff Schweiger and Thomas Herring might help early.

"At SC, we're not afraid to play freshmen," Matua said.

The schedule is mostly friendly, with Pac-10 contender California at home, Oregon missing and, among league members, only Stanford on the road until the Trojans visit Washington State on Oct. 30.

Still, the opener Aug. 28 at Landover, Md., against Virginia Tech has a dangerous look to it, especially if the USC offense is still finding itself. Carroll hopes the experience of two straight opening victories against Auburn will provide a template.

As for whether the hunger will be there with the Trojans, give them the benefit of the doubt until they prove otherwise. Carroll, 27-4 in his past 31 games, has had a master's touch, whether it's dealing with the loss of Heisman winner Carson Palmer last year or saying the right thing about BCS injustices last season.

"We don't focus on the past game, or past quarter or past play," Carroll said. "I constantly dwell on the idea that what's ahead is most important. So this is the ultimate challenge."

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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