Booty better than Leinart? FSN wants you to think so

A routine news release sent by FSN publicist Emily Corliss included this eye-catching sentence: “On our pregame show, ‘College Football Saturday Kickoff,’ we will be discussing why John David Booty is BETTER than Matt Leinart was at USC.”

The word better was capitalized for emphasis.

And that raises this question: Is FSN serious?

A phone call was placed to Billy Ray Smith Jr. The former Arkansas and San Diego Chargers linebacker works with fellow analyst D’Marco Farr and host Mike Goldberg on the half-hour show that will precede FSN’s high-definition coverage of USC’s 12:30 game against Oregon State at Corvallis.

The point Smith made was Booty is quarterbacking an undefeated team without the supporting cast Leinart had.

“USC has had to piece together the offense around Booty,” Smith said. “USC is, what, down to its sixth fullback? There is no Reggie Bush, there is no LenDale White behind Booty. Matt was smart enough to take advantage of having those players in the backfield.”

And, Smith pointed out, Booty was smart enough to study his predecessor.

“Booty was able to watch a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, and that counts almost as much as field experience,” he said, adding that USC has had some close games of late but so did Leinart’s teams. “And,” Smith said, “the Pacific 10 has become a much better conference.”

Still, saying Booty is better than Leinart at USC is a stretch. However, an argument could be made that they’re close to even at the same juncture.

In 2003, after six starts, Leinart had completed 103 of 174 passes for 1,473 yards and 13 touchdowns with seven interceptions. Booty, after six starts, has completed 131 of 207 passes for 1,357 yards and 13 touchdowns with four interceptions.

One difference was Leinart averaged 245.5 yards a game in that six-game span, and Booty is averaging 226.2.

Also, Leinart led USC to one shared national championship, one outright championship and missed another outright championship by a failed first-down attempt.

Booty better than Leinart? Well, if the plan was to draw attention to the pregame show, it worked.

Other weekend events

It works out nicely Saturday that UCLA’s game against Washington State at the Rose Bowl, to be regionally televised by ABC, begins at 4 p.m. It makes for a good college football doubleheader.

The USC game on FSN Prime Ticket will be announced by Barry Tompkins and Petros Papadakis, with Jim Watson reporting from the sideline. The UCLA game will have Dan Fouts and Tim Brant, with Jack Arute on the sideline.

For USC, it’s the beginning of a tough second-half stretch. For UCLA, it’s a chance bounce back from last weekend’s loss to Notre Dame.

“Obviously, a letdown has to be a concern,” UCLA radio commentator Matt Stevens said. “Thank goodness UCLA faces Washington State at the Rose Bowl. Could you imagine the Bruins’ psyche after a tough loss at South Bend, and then the following week cruising through the desolate potato fields on their way to Pullman? The players would have been so depressed that Karl Dorrell would have needed a Taser gun to get them fired up before kickoff. “

High school football is in the spotlight tonight. FSN Prime Ticket offers Peninsula at Mira Costa at 7, preceded by the “High School Spotlight Show” at 6:30. Then, beginning at 9, Channel 56 offers two delayed telecasts -- Pacifica at Valencia followed by Mater Dei and Orange Lutheran.

Lakers owner Jerry Buss will be in the spotlight Sunday and Monday. He is interviewed by Bill Macdonald on “In My Own Words” on FSN West on Sunday night at 10, and the unveiling of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame will be televised live on FSN West on Monday at noon.

The Clippers’ recent trip to Moscow is the subject of a special on FSN Prime Ticket tonight at 10. The special will be rerun throughout next week.

The Lakers’ regular season begins Tuesday against Phoenix at Staples Center, and will be televised by TNT. The Clippers open the next night at Phoenix on FSN Prime Ticket and ESPN.

Sunday should be a good day for NFL viewing. Channel 2 offers an attractive doubleheader.

For one thing, the Oakland Raiders aren’t part of it, even though the Raiders have now won a game. The first game is Baltimore at New Orleans and it’s Indianapolis at Denver in the second. Raiders fans interested in their team’s game against Pittsburgh will have to rely on radio coverage on 570. Channel 11 has St. Louis at San Diego, and the NBC Sunday night game is Dallas at Carolina.

larry.stewart@latimes.com