Moody Breaks Out of the Committee

At USC, there aren’t just streaks to continue, there are standards to uphold, traditions to maintain.

So yes, it was important that USC won its 24th consecutive Pacific 10 Conference game, 12th straight conference road game and all that. But to keep some semblance of life as normal, the Trojans needed a running back to have the kind of game Emmanuel Moody produced Saturday night in USC’s 20-3 victory at Arizona.

With Reggie Bush and LenDale White gone to the NFL, USC tried establishing a running back by committee and got something out of Dilbert. No individual broke out of the bureaucracy to record a 100-yard game in USC’s first two outings.

You can’t have that at Tailback U. USC needs great running backs the way Italy needs great food and Las Vegas needs leggy showgirls.

Moody restored the natural order of things by rushing for 130 yards and a touchdown in 21 carries.

His 40-yard run in the second quarter was USC’s longest of the season and set up the Trojans’ first touchdown.

“The fact that Moody got out and started to show some big-play ability was really important for us,” USC Coach Pete Carroll said. “It’s something we’ve been looking for. We’re hoping tonight might have been a bit of a breakout game for him.”

At some point during the game it became more than just a style issue, it became necessity. Star receiver Dwayne Jarrett, who had USC’s only touchdown through three quarters, was in the locker room with a shoulder injury.

Oh, and the Trojans already had plenty of nominees for defense playmaker, led by linebacker Rey Maualuga, who was so dominant he deserved a game ball and an extra box of postgame pizza.

But after Arizona finally put a dent in USC’s defense with a 64-yard drive for a field goal in the fourth quarter, someone on the Trojans offense needed to provide an answer. Now we can say it was Moody Duty.

He bulled his way for four tough yards. On the next play, he showed his speed, taking a handoff and stepping outside for a 30-yard gain to the Arizona 34.

Moody gained 11 more yards in three carries -- including a bull run on third-and-three that pushed the nose of the ball just past the first-down marker -- to set up a Mario Danelo field goal. With USC’s 10-point lead regained, Arizona’s momentum stalled.

“It’s not in my hands; it’s a team game,” Moody said. “I feel like if we execute well, we’re going to win.

“I love games like this. It makes me step up and we got the victory tonight.”

Moody was being modest and talking team, but some individuals need to step to the front in order for the coaching staff to take this offense out of probation.

“I just felt like the offensive coordinator trusted in me this game,” Moody said. “He just gave me a lot of carries, I took it and rolled with it.”

Until the offense proves itself consistently, Carroll will trust his defense to keep order. It held Arizona to minus-16 yards rushing and 170 passing yards and never let the Wildcats inside the 20.

But at some point the offense will need to move the ball and score points. You could see Moody warming to the challenge by the quarter.

He nearly lost the ball by handling it loosely in the first quarter, and on another first-half run Moody broke into the clear, then stumbled and took the wrong path, veering toward a defensive back inside of clear lane down the middle. By the fourth quarter he was making all the right decisions, and heeded Carroll’s advice to protect the ball.

“Even from last week to this week, you could see a big jump,” quarterback John David Booty said. “Just the way he’s running with the football, and how hard he’s running and tough. It seems like he’s having to shed two or three tackles every time he runs the ball. It was really a lot of fun to watch him play tonight.”

Moody put the game out of reach after USC recovered a muffed punt at Arizona’s 9. On the next play, he took a handoff and stepped into the end zone standing up.

It happened to enable the Trojans to keep their streak of consecutive games of scoring at least 20 points alive at 55. And it might have been an indication that a tradition of great USC tailbacks that goes back four decades isn’t about to end.

Extra Points

* The only thing more shameful than the officiating crew’s performance in the Oregon-Oklahoma game was Oklahoma’s whining after the fact -- starting with the school president. USC had three replay calls go against it, but at least the victory enabled Carroll to joke about it afterward.

“I guess that’s for bad-talking on replay,” Carroll said.

* Like USA Basketball, the U.S. Ryder Cup team is loaded with talent but can’t put it together in international competition. And if the U.S. team loses the Ryder Cup (that would be three consecutive times), I’ll be waiting to see whether it faces the same level of criticism as the U.S. basketball team.

*

J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com. To read more by Adande, go to latimes.com/adandeblog.