USA Today: Trojans' horses riding a defensive wave

By David Leon Moore, USA TODAY

LOS ANGELES — What would finally bring Southern California down this year, or so the theory went, was not that Matt Leinart would start throwing wounded ducks. Or that Reggie Bush would start tripping over his feet. No, it was argued, USC would eventually get outscored, unable to stop a hot quarterback, unable to make a crucial goal-line stand, unable to uphold the standards of a defense that last year was led by four first-team All-Americans. That was even before a barrage of injuries had Trojans head coach and defensive coordinator Pete Carroll reaching deep into the depth chart for unspectacular upperclassmen and untested underclassmen. Yet the theory has not panned out. The Trojans are 9-0, still No. 1, the winning streak at 31 games, the historic achievement of three consecutive national championships still in their sights. As Carroll is fond of saying lately, "It's time to finish this thing." USC has three tough regular-season games against potentially explosive offenses: at Cal on Saturday — the last team to beat the Trojans, in September of 2003 — then home against Fresno State and UCLA. Then, quite possibly, a Rose Bowl national championship game against, perhaps, Texas and quarterback Vince Young. Is USC's defense up to it? The last two victories, and the playmaking abilities of some of the athletes from Carroll's latest recruiting haul, suggest the window of opportunity for taking advantage of the Trojans' defense is closing. "They're playing exceptionally well," Leinart says of the defense. "There were question marks at the beginning of the season. And there were some ups and downs early in the year. But the last few weeks, they've been nails."

The last two victories, in particular, saw dramatic improvement in two areas that Carroll and his defensive staff were worried about: third-down conversion percentage and creating turnovers. Two Saturdays ago, in a 55-13 demolition of Washington State, the Trojans held the Cougars, the third-ranked Pacific-10 offense at the time, to two of 13 on third-down conversions. "We'd been having a hard time getting other offenses off the field," Carroll says. "We need to get the ball back to our offense. You can see what happens when we do that." The Trojans led the nation in turnover margin last year but weren't having much success in that regard this season. Then Saturday night, in a 51-21 domination of Stanford, USC got five turnovers. Stanford hadn't turned the ball over in its previous four games, three victories. "That was very gratifying," Carroll says. "I mean, taking the ball away is what we're all about."

Substitution upon substitution

The steady defensive improvement has occurred even as the injuries have mounted and fresh faces have entered the lineup. The Trojans are down to their fourth player at one cornerback spot: Josh Pinkard, a converted safety. He followed in the footsteps of Eric Wright, who left the program in the summer while under disciplinary review. Terrell Thomas went out with a season-ending knee injury in the second game. And John Walker sprained an ankle three games ago. For much of the Stanford game, USC played without all three of the linebackers who started the season.  Dallas Sartz, their only returning starter at linebacker and a potential Butkus Award candidate, dislocated his shoulder in the second game and is taking a medical redshirt. Oscar Lua, who has done a terrific job at middle linebacker, and Keith Rivers, a potential star linebacker, are both questionable for the Cal game, Lua with a knee sprain and Rivers with a hamstring strain. This doesn't even take into account that USC began the season without the heart and soul of the defense that shut down Oklahoma in last season's Orange Bowl — defensive tackles Shaun Cody and Mike Patterson and linebackers Matt Grootegoed and Lofa Tatupu. But, as they keep taking hits, the Trojans defensive players just keep on hitting.  "We are what we are," Carroll says. "We do the best we can. We knew it would be a work in progress. But we're holding our own. "We play the line of scrimmage real well. We're running to the ball well, and we're hitting the heck out of people. We're bustin.' "

Freshmen expected to contribute

As expected, returning starters Frostee Rucker and Lawrence Jackson have done a nice job at defensive end. In the secondary, strong safety Darnell Bing has again been a standout. What wasn't expected was the way Lua, a junior who has been plagued with knee problems, has become such a fiery leader and playmaker at middle linebacker. "Oscar has been a relief and a surprise," linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. says. "He's a great leader, and such a warrior. He loves contact, no question." Also unexpected is the way true freshman linebackers Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing have come on so strongly recently. Both played extensively against Stanford and, with Lua and Rivers ailing, figure to get a lot of playing time again this week. Maualuga's participation was somewhat of a surprise. He was arrested earlier last week and booked on suspicion of battery for allegedly punching a man at a party. He has a Nov. 22 court date. The emergence of Maualuga and Cushing is the latest example of Carroll's willingness to throw freshmen into the fray. "We let them know when they come here that they're going to get a chance to play right away," Norton says. "It's important to give the young guys a chance. I think our coaches do a good job of teaching competition. If you earn it, you'll play." Statistically, the Trojans are not close to last year's results, when they led the nation in turnover margin and rushing defense, were sixth in total defense and third in scoring defense. They're sixth in turnover margin, 19th in rushing defense, 41st in total defense and 31st in scoring defense. They're also 80th in pass defense and 85th in third-down conversion defense, suggesting still that a talented quarterback who can make clutch throws on third down can give the Trojans trouble. Well, it's a theory. One the Trojans are buying less and less. "We're getting better and better each week. The young guys, they're finding their niche," says Rucker, a senior.  "We've been known this year for offense, not defense. But I think when we get to a bowl game, we should be able to even that out."