Southern California’s once-vaunted football program has come upon hard times the past two seasons, and it’s all thanks to Oregon.
Last year, the Trojans came into Autzen Stadium with an All-American candidate as quarterback, a 2-0 record and aspirations for a trip to the Rose Bowl.
But the quarterback, Carson Palmer, went down with a shoulder injury in the second quarter. Then the Trojans lost the game in triple overtime, won only four more games the rest of the season and finished 6-6 in a three-way tie for sixth in the Pacific-10 Conference. Then the Rose Bowl hopes, or any bowl hopes at all, went by the wayside.
In fact, USC has won only three Pac-10 games in nine attempts since that fateful September night last year. The Trojans opened up the 2000 season strong with wins against Penn State, Colorado and San Jose State, but then lost Pac-10 matchups to Oregon State, 31-21 in Corvallis, and Arizona, 31-15 in Los Angeles.
The two losses hurt USC in the national polls. Ranked sixth in the Associated Press poll just three weeks ago, the Trojans plummeted out of polls after last weekend’s loss to the Wildcats and are unranked going into this Saturday’s game against No. 9 Oregon.
Part of USC’s Pac-10 problem has been a lack of offense. Palmer has played the whole season at quarterback, but has thrown six interceptions in the two Pac-10 matchups, and is “trying to make plays where there aren’t plays,” according to USC head coach Paul Hackett. It could have something to do with Palmer’s best wide receivers, Kareem Kelly and Marcell Almond, missing the Arizona game with injuries.
But Hackett thinks Palmer’s just trying too hard.
“He’s pressed a little bit,” Hackett said, “But we need to help him get on track by running the ball better.”
USC’s rushers have gained only 73 yards in the past two games, and had only 10 yards last week in their 31-15 loss to Arizona. This week, they will face an Oregon defense that is ranked first in the Pac-10 in total defense and third in rushing defense.
Tailback Sultan McCullough — whose brother, Saladin, was the Ducks’ tailback the last time the teams met in Los Angeles in 1997 — leads the Trojans with 84 yards per game. Back-up Petros Papadakis averages just more than 20 yards a game.

“We cannot run the ball right now,” Hackett said, “Abandoning our running game has put more pressure on [Palmer].”
If the Trojans have a strong point this year, it comes from the linebacker position. Zeke Moreno and Markus Steele are both candidates for the Butkus Award, which is given to the nation’s best linebacker, and have combined for 21 tackles for a loss, totaling negative 63 yards.
“Zeke is the leader of this defense,” Hackett said. “But his best football, and our best football, are yet to come.”
That’s what worries Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti, who thinks the Trojans are more dangerous because of their losses.
“They are very scary because obviously their backs are to the wall, and I have to have my kids play with the same kind of intensity,” Bellotti said.
“I just hope they don’t get it all figured out against us.”
USC didn’t get it all figured out against Arizona last weekend. The Wildcats ran off 21 points in the first quarter as the Trojans’ defense crumbled. South California gave up its biggest pass play since 1992, a 75-yard bomb from Ortege Jenkins to Bobby Wade to open the game, and an 80-yard run by tailback Clarence Farmer to end the quarter. When the dust settled, Arizona had 188 yards of total offense to the Trojans’ 93.
“Our defense has been bitten by the big play bug,” Hackett said.
Besides Arizona’s big plays, USC gave up a 36-yard touchdown pass against Colorado and a 36-yard touchdown run to Oregon State’s Ken Simonton.
The bottom line, according to Hackett, is that the Trojans just aren’t clicking.
“We have stumbled, we are out of sorts. There’s no question about it,” Hackett said. “There are a lot of reasons for it, not one particular reason.”
Now USC will try to “figure it all out” against the ninth-ranked team in the country.