Daily Cal: Despite Changes, USC Remains on Top

With USC entering its 2006 season without Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and LenDale White, the whole nation was buzzing about the Trojans’ outlook this year. All eyes—admirers and skeptics alike—have been focused on how the Pac-10 powerhouse would regroup, and that includes many Cal football players. “We try to stay focused on every game that we play, but to be honest, I’m sure USC has been in the back of our minds for quite some time now,” Bears quarterback Nate Longshore said. Added safety Brandon Hampton: “When it was on TV, I would watch them. Sometimes I was impressed, sometimes I wasn’t.”
Many times this season, the rest of the nation probably shared that view. With a batch of new starters, the Trojans hardly resembled the supreme power they were in previous years, especially early in the conference schedule. Despite a formidable defense—it leads the Pac-10 in scoring defense and total defense, holding opponents to 290.1 yards a game and 12 touchdowns so far—USC seemed to sputter offensively after its two nonconference wins. Following their blowout of Arkansas to open the season, the Trojans went on a four-game streak of failing to reach the 30-point mark. USC won by one touchdown or fewer against Washington State, Washington and Arizona State, leading up to its 33-31 loss to Oregon State on Oct. 28. As shocking as the loss to the Beavers was, it seemed to be a long time coming. But the Trojans have come into their own ever since the loss, shutting out an albeit-weak Stanford team 42-0, before defeating Oregon 35-10. All-American wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett, who was hampered with injuries early in the season, had 11 receptions for 172 yards and two touchdowns in the two victories. Tailback Chauncey Washington rushed for a career-high 119 yards and three touchdowns against the Ducks.
When all is said and done, USC is still tied for first in the conference and is a contender for a national championship berth. “They have been the elite team over the last few years,” Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. “They’re a great football team. To win this conference, you have to go through them.” The turnaround seems to follow the Trojans’ trend of peaking at this time of year—Carroll is undefeated in November since becoming coach in 2001. But to many on the Bears, USC was never down.
“I don’t think they ever went anywhere,” Longshore said. “I think they’ve been solid all year. One loss and everyone thinks they were taking weeks off, but I don’t see that when I watch film. “When you are one of the better teams, you get everybody’s best shot. I wasn’t surprised so much by how they were playing, more by the teams they were playing against.” Whether the Trojans have been playing well all along or has recently found its way back into its groove, the truth remains that they are a one-loss team that could take Pasadena away from Cal and perhaps grace the national stage for the fourth year in a row. “That winning mentality is still there even though Bush and all of them are gone,” Bears linebacker Desmond Bishop said. “They’ve got players there, and once that mentality is there and they do have talent, they could easily be the best team in the country.”