A Non-Stop Fight for Trojans

The opposing quarterback is an experienced senior who has proven he can shred a secondary. The running back is on the smallish side but fast, powerful and capable of scoring quickly for an offense that averages 40 points a game.

Fresno State’s Paul Pinegar and Wendell Mathis?

Try UCLA’s Drew Olson and Maurice Drew.

With its nail-biting, 50-42 victory over 16th-ranked Fresno State behind, top-ranked USC has two weeks to mull the prospect of slowing down another potent attack when it plays No. 11 UCLA on Dec. 3 at the Coliseum.

On Sunday, Coach Pete Carroll said there was work to be done if USC hopes to extend its 33-game winning streak and guarantee itself a shot at a third consecutive national title.

“There’s always stuff to do,” he said. “This is no finished product.”

USC needed timely turnovers and Reggie Bush’s record-setting performance to survive against a Fresno State team that was more Pit Bull than Bulldog.

USC, which leads the nation in turnover margin at plus-1.91, intercepted four passes for the second week in a row.

But a week after holding California to its lowest point total under Coach Jeff Tedford in a 35-10 victory, the Trojans gave up 42, the most they have given up under Carroll. The previous high was 34, in a 41-34 victory at Arizona in 2001 and a 34-31 triple-overtime loss at Cal in 2003. The previous high at the Coliseum was 32 points scored by Hawaii in its 61-32 loss in 2003.

Even Fresno State Coach Pat Hill, who had lobbied for years to play the Trojans, did not expect a combined score approaching triple figures.

“I didn’t see this game being offensive,” he said. “I thought it would be lower-scoring.”

So did Carroll.

“I didn’t do a very good job tonight, and I’m disappointed,” he said after the game.

Pinegar’s accuracy in the first half helped Fresno State build a 21-13 lead. “The first half, their quarterback let us have it. He picked us apart,” middle linebacker Oscar Lua said.

Mathis, a transfer from UCLA, gained 86 of his 109 yards after halftime, including an 18-yard touchdown run that gave Fresno State a 42-41 lead after Bush fumbled a kickoff.

Fresno State finished with 110 yards rushing, but Carroll said that the Bulldogs “ran the ball way better than that.”

He also said, “We did really terribly up front to give them the easy runs.”

Mario Danelo made all three of his field-goal attempts, but USC’s special teams otherwise continued to struggle. Fresno State’s Adam Jennings amassed 148 yards in kick and punt returns and consistently shortened the field for the Bulldogs.

Now, with the dynamic Drew on the horizon, Carroll said special teams are “an issue for us.”

Injuries also remain a concern. Linebacker Keith Rivers re-injured a hamstring that forced him to sit out all or most of three games, and receiver Patrick Turner also suffered a hamstring injury. Both are expected to rest this week.

Of course, if Bush continues to perform the way he did against Fresno State, nothing else might matter.

After four relatively quiet performances, Bush rushed for a career-high 294 yards and finished with a Pacific 10 Conference-record 513 all-purpose yards to vault back to the forefront of Heisman Trophy discussion.

Asked if he thought his performance put him in the lead, Bush said, “If it does, then I’m grateful and I’m thankful. But if not, I’m not worried about it.”

Bush’s most spectacular play was a 50-yard touchdown run. He came to a stop along the left sideline before cutting back across the width of the field to the right pylon.

“Most of the game, when I kept getting big runs, they kept taking good angles and trying to cut me off down the field,” he said. “I remembered that.”

Bush’s fumble on the kickoff after Pinegar’s fourth touchdown pass of the game led directly to Mathis’ touchdown and a 42-41 Fresno State lead. But Bush’s 43-yard pass reception helped set up LenDale White’s short touchdown run that put USC ahead to stay, 47-42.

Hill, who’d lobbied for years to play USC, claimed no moral victories. “I want to see the Trojans win another championship and be in position to play them again,” he said.

After the scare his team put into USC on Saturday night, Hill probably should not count on it.

“There might not be very many openings in the schedule,” Carroll said.

Times staff writer David Wharton contributed to this report.