Fairfield Daily Republic: Enjoy the Trojans' road show

Watch today. Pay attention as the USC Trojans rip through Memorial Stadium like a tornado, strewing touchdown passes and long runs all over the ancient ball field.
Check it out closely, because, 35 miles away in Berkeley, the best college football team in the nation will continue the traveling road show it likes to call the 2005 football season. It's not a prediction, just a hunch. This isn't some fawning tribute to the Trojans, or a screed declaring quarterback Matt Leinart to be “the truth” - nobody, including Mel Kiper Jr. and the college football know-it-alls, knows if Leinart will succeed in the pros. The Trojans are just a great football team. Possibly the best of all time. Look at the numbers: USC is first in the Pac-10 in rushing, averaging almost 250 yards per game and nearly 6.4 per play. It has two players, Reggie Bush and LenDale White, averaging more than 100 yards per game and has three guys, Bush, White and wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett, that have scored 14 or more touchdowns. The Trojans are almost as good through the air. Leinart has thrown for 2771 yards, 308 per game - sixth best in the nation. And that's even after sitting a quarter or so during USC's last three games. He has a touchdown-to-interception ratio of better than 4-to-1.
Defensively . . . who cares?
The knock on USC all year has been that the Trojans don't have the defensive squad to win a championship. Wrong. With an offense that's putting up 50 points per game, the Trojans don't need defense. They've proven they can go toe-to-toe in a shootout with the best by beating Notre Dame, 34-31, and the 50-point thrashings of Hawaii and Arkansas are what a good team does - beat up on the little guys.
Besides, USC's defense isn't that bad. The Trojans have allowed 185 points this season, 20.5 per game. Take away five garbage-time touchdowns and that number goes down to 150, or 16.7 per game. That puts the Trojans in the top third in the nation.
For all the hype that surrounds Leinart, Bush and USC, one fact often gets lost - they're plain fun to watch. Sit back, crack a beer - or a soda (it is a 12:30 p.m. start after all) - and enjoy watching history.