IS THIS A LOST CAUSE?

Used to be, the most famous pose at USC belonged to the Heisman Trophy.

There he is, standing strong in Heritage Hall trophy cases, clutching a football in one hand, fighting off imaginary tacklers with the other.

Today, the most famous pose belongs to J.R.

There he is, standing alone and uncertainly on the sideline, arms crossed, chin down, fighting off . . . boredom?

It is an uneven trade, this image of greatness for one of confusion.

But it is one the Trojans must live with, at least until football Coach John Robinson gets it figured out or gets fired.

It seems certain which will happen first. His history is that he will hang on until the bitter end--he hung on for 10 consecutive losses with the Rams--before resigning just as Mike Garrett is knocking on his door in December.

Less certain is how.

How did it come to this?

How does a coach who returned amid such fanfare find himself on the precipice of such embarrassment?

How does a coach with 100 collegiate victories suddenly act as if he can’t even lead his own team?

We wanted to ask him these questions, but he politely declined an interview request Monday. It was the third consecutive day he has not answered questions about Saturday’s debacle at Arizona State.

Yes, he ripped himself and his team after the 35-7 loss in an interesting monologue that cited plenty of symptoms. But nobody had a chance to ask him about the diagnosis.

So he blames himself? Great, but why?

In discussions Monday, several people close to the football program explained Robinson’s problem in many ways that could be summed up in two words.

Bill Walsh.

When Walsh returned to Stanford from the NFL in 1992, the college world considered him a football deity. So he acted like one.

Instead of surrounding himself with top assistant coaches, he brought in several inexperienced hands and yes-men. When you’re all-powerful, who needs help?

Walsh did not realize that because of scholarship-induced parity, today’s college football requires more instruction, not less.

Walsh failed to understand that even though today’s best college players are ready for the NFL sooner, the college game is as far from the NFL as State College is from Pittsburgh.

Unlike their NFL counterparts, the best college football coaches are not CEOs.

The best college football coaches are still teachers.

Walsh made a big splash with 10 wins in his first season. But he did not have the patience to turn the field into a working classroom, and his staff was not capable enough to pick up the slack.

He won only four games in his second season, three games in his third, and was gone.

Observers say that with a few more pounds and a bigger smile, this is John Robinson.

The path since returning from the Rams in 1993 are unwittingly explained in the words of offensive lineman Chris Brymer.

When Brymer was prepping at Apple Valley, he planned on attending Washington until Robinson showed up, changing his mind.

“He’s a legend,” Brymer said at the time.

Fast-forward four years, to Saturday night in Phoenix, shortly after the Trojans’ 28-point loss.

“We’re in hell,” Brymer said.

Like Walsh, Robinson made a big splash, winning Freedom, Cotton and Rose Bowls in his first three seasons.

But beginning last year, observers said an average coaching staff, combined with Robinson’s insistence on acting like a CEO, began to take its toll.

NFL scouts were no longer wowed by practices.

Opponents were no longer intimidated by game plans.

Robinson no longer had the energy to return to basics.

In Robinson’s first stint there, the Trojans had top players at nearly every position. Today, some of those players would not have had the grades to qualify for admission.

The Trojans still have great athletes, but even in Robinson’s bowl years, statistics say they have sorely underachieved.

On opening day this season, the Trojans had put 31 players on NFL rosters, ranking ninth among colleges.

Yet going back four years--based on the average NFL career span of four years--the Trojans did not finish any of those seasons ranked in the top 10.

It’s no great leap to say current Trojans are among the few players who achieve more success in the NFL than in college.

The NFL is also loaded with former USC assistants, three of them head coaches Steve Mariucci, Dave Wannstedt and Norv Turner. Yet all three have been off campus for 10 years.

Arguably the best coach in NFL history, Joe Gibbs, was a USC assistant. Heck, even Al Davis was a USC assistant.

So it is not difficult for USC to hire the best young talent in the land. But under Robinson, that is no longer happening.

It must have been difficult for Trojan fans to watch Robinson watch his team get whipped Saturday . . . and then watch LSU’s Gerry DiNardo seemingly will his team to victory over top-ranked Florida.

Every Saturday used to feel like that at USC. But next year will be the 20th anniversary of its last national title.

Critics say that to John Robinson, that feels like yesterday.