Two games into the 2001 season, the jury is still out on the USC Trojans. Will this year’s version revert to 1995, when the team went 9-2-1 and defeated Northwestern in the Rose Bowl, or will it be an extension of last season’s squad that finished 5-7?
After a convincing 21-10 win over San Jose State in week one, it looked as though the Trojans might be a lock to return to the top of the Pacific-10 Conference standings and national prominence. But after a 10-6 loss to Kansas State two weeks ago, this year’s squad doesn’t even look to be a lock to stay out of the cellar.
Despite the team’s inconsistent play so far, the Trojans have had some bright spots.
“We’re playing with a lot of intensity,” head coach Pete Carroll said. “We’re playing real hard so we’re getting a lot of good effort. If we make it hard on people to score then we’ll be in these tough ball games and have a chance to win like we did last week.”
The key to the Trojan offense comes mainly from their backfield. Junior quarterback Carson Palmer must have a strong game to balance USC’s offensive attack, which also includes junior running back Sultan McCullough.
Palmer, who led the Pac-10 last season in completions (228) and was second in total passing yards (2,914), completed 16 passes in 36 attempts against Kansas State, but threw for only 197 yards. However, he also ran for a team leading 71 yards on 12 carries.
If Palmer continues to lead the team on the ground, it could spell doom for the Trojan offense. McCullough, who ran for 152 yards against the Ducks last season, including a 59-yard touchdown run, is an important part of the Trojans’ new spread offense. If he can establish a running game against the Ducks, Palmer will have the ability to get the ball to junior wide receiver Kareem Kelly, further spreading the Oregon defense.
“[Palmer] is really a fine player, and [McCullough] is too,” Carroll said. “Both of these guys are front-line players and can make plays for us. Sultan is an inside-outside runner and can catch the football. Palmer can do a lot of stuff. He can throw on the move, throw out of the pocket and he can also run. We need these guys right now.”
While the USC offense is like a sleeping giant — it has potential, but has yet to wake — the defense seems to be at the top of its game. Carroll singled out junior safety Troy Polamalu as being key to the team’s defense, but overall, it is a solid group.
“On defense, we have a bunch of guys who play hard. Our secondary is pretty solid — the corners play good coverage and our safeties are aggressive,” Carroll said.
For Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti, the Trojans are not just a blip on the radar — they are a full-fledged opponent capable of coming into Autzen Stadium and putting the Ducks on their heels.
Two years ago, the Ducks narrowly defeated the Trojans 33-30 in three overtimes, and last season’s game, a 28-17 Oregon win, was much closer than the score indicates.
“To me, the scary thing about playing SC, they’re a team with a two-week bye, like we had,” Bellotti said. “With a new coaching staff, it takes a while to get everybody on the same page and if and when they do, watch out.”

Trojans deal with the

national tragedy
Although the Trojans were not slated to play last week, the team has still dealt with the attacks that struck New York, Washington, D.C., and the rest of America.
“This is challenging times for everyone,” Carroll said. “It’s dividing your focus for other reasons. It seems like it’s been forever since we’ve played. If you can remember how long last Tuesday and Wednesday seemed, those days felt like weeks.”
Although the men of Troy were fortunate not to have any players directly touched by the tragedy, USC players took the news hard.
“We took the day off and didn’t work,” Carroll said. “We put [the players] on their own to kind of digest what happened. I think everyone wanted to know what was going on and we had to respect the situation and then treat it where we don’t forget about it.”
While Carroll was not directly affected in the events that unfolded on Sept. 11, it hit home a little closer for him. He often took the same flight that crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers — American Airlines Flight 11, Boston to Los Angeles. He also spent three seasons with the New England Patriots, who are a hop, skip and a jump away from Boston, and five seasons with the New York Jets.