Trojans Don’t Fret Over BCS

Quarter-point deductions, quarter-point boosts and quality wins.

USC players were not concerned about that kind of bowl championship series minutiae before they took a three-day break, and the Trojans were just as blase about it after they returned to practice Sunday night.

“I didn’t even watch football games this weekend, I saw more basketball,” said cornerback Will Poole, who traveled home to New York for the Thanksgiving holiday. “There’s nothing we can do about any of that stuff. All we can do is play.”

Though Louisiana State defeated Arkansas while USC took the weekend off, the Trojans are expected to maintain their second-place position behind Oklahoma when the BCS standings are released today.

USC, 10-1 overall and 6-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference, already has clinched a share of its second consecutive conference title and its first Rose Bowl berth since 1995.

But if the Trojans defeat Oregon State on Saturday, and can avoid a computer-driven meltdown by the BCS hardware, they could play for the national title in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4 in New Orleans.

Coach Pete Carroll said his immediate concern was winning the Pac-10 outright, a feat last achieved by the Trojans in 1989.

“I told the guys, ‘I don’t know who can figure [the BCS] out, but I can’t,’ ” Carroll said. “So let’s just ... keep playing and try to win the conference right now and figure out what happens afterward.”

USC is a heavy favorite to defeat Oregon State -- and with good reason.

Oregon State’s last victory over USC in Los Angeles occurred in 1960 when the Beavers won, 14-0. Oregon State is 3-37-3 against USC at the Coliseum, where the Trojans have not lost to any opponent since Sept. 29, 2001.

Oregon State is 7-4 overall and 4-3 in the Pac-10 under Mike Riley, who is in the first year of his second stint as head coach. Riley was wooed by USC before Carroll was hired after the 2000 season.

“We’re fired up because there’s a lot of good things out there for us to grab, but we’ve got to take care of Oregon State first,” defensive tackle Shaun Cody said.

Saturday’s game also could be key for quarterback Matt Leinart and wide receiver Mike Williams as they make a final push toward consideration for the Heisman Trophy.

Oklahoma quarterback Jason White, a senior, is regarded as the favorite to win the award, but Leinart or Williams could garner enough votes to become one of five finalists who will travel to New York for the trophy presentation on Dec. 13.

Leinart, a redshirt sophomore who has passed for 30 touchdowns with only seven interceptions, remembers how Carson Palmer finished the regular season with a flourish last year. Palmer torched Notre Dame in the season finale and became the first Trojan quarterback to win the Heisman.

“It would be fun to be able to go to New York, but it’s out of my hands,” Leinart said last week. “I just have to keep playing well and we have to win.

“It would be fun to be able to go back there and hang out with those kinds of guys. It’s pretty wide open. We’ll see.”

Just as USC did before the UCLA game, the Trojans will prepare for Oregon State as another school pursues one of their assistant coaches.

Arizona interviewed USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow the day after the UCLA game before hiring Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator Mike Stoops on Saturday.

Now, USC linebacker coach Nick Holt is among the finalists for the job at Idaho.

Holt, a former defensive coordinator at Idaho, interviewed with Idaho officials by phone last week and was contacted again Saturday. He is scheduled to interview in person Tuesday, but would still be available for practice, Carroll said.

“We’ve already figured out how to work it out,” Carroll said.

Holt’s linebacker corps included only four healthy players Sunday -- Lofa Tatupu, Dallas Sartz, Collin Ashton and redshirt Thomas Williams.

Matt Grootegoed, who is trying to come back from a high ankle sprain, and Melvin Simmons, who has a bruised leg, are expected to practice Tuesday, but Salo Faraimo and Bobby Otani remain sidelined because of concussions, Carroll said.

Fullback Brandon Hancock, who has a knee injury, did some running drills and will further test his fitness today. The Trojans are off because of a mandatory NCAA compliance meeting, but players probably will work out on their own.