Trojans Will Get a Progress Report

Ted Tollner returns to the Coliseum tonight.

So does R. Jay Soward--between the yard lines instead of on the sidelines.

USC’s pair of quarterbacks, Mike Van Raaphorst and Carson Palmer, will write the next chapter in what might become a twisting tale.

And all those San Diego State players who grew up in the long shadow cast by USC get a chance to say, ‘Look at me now.’ ”

For all the story lines that will be played out between USC and San Diego State tonight, the bottom line for No. 22 USC is that the Trojans need to not only win, but make real progress.

After the first three games--against Purdue, San Diego State and Oregon State--USC runs into Florida State and Arizona State and had better be ready.

“You always worry about these kind of games. I don’t think the point spread matters,” USC Coach Paul Hackett said. “We’ve got to go out and play the best football we can. The same for San Diego State. This isn’t the ninth or 10th game of the season. Right now, we’ve got to worry about us.”

Tollner, USC’s coach from 1983 through ‘86, is saying the same sorts of things, even though he’ll face the Trojans for the first time since he was fired after a 7-4 regular season.

“I don’t know how I’ll feel,” said Tollner, who was 26-20-1 at USC and brings an 0-1 team to the Coliseum. “I’ve been there since to play the Raiders, but not for a college game. I’ll remember the good and the bad. There was a big win over Washington, and a frustrating loss to Notre Dame in my final game there. But it’s more important for our guys to play well now, than whatever happened to me in the past.”

San Diego State will have to contend with USC’s speed on both sides of the ball--and the extra injection of it Soward adds as he returns from the one-game suspension he served for academic shortcomings. (He responded with a 3.0 grade-point average.)

He’s so eager to catch his first pass of the season that waiting in the team hotel all day for the game will be agony.

“If it was up to me, we’d have team breakfast at 5:30 in the morning, start warming up about 6:15 and kick off by 7,” Soward said. “I’m real excited.”

With two young offenses, defense may well be a theme--especially with such standouts as linebacker Chris Claiborne and cornerback Daylon McCutcheon playing for USC and defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila leading a strong front seven for the Aztecs.

San Diego State scored only two touchdowns in a 26-14 loss to Wisconsin last week, and one was by the defense, a fumble recovery by defensive lineman Jerome Haywood.

Sophomore Spencer Brinton is the Aztecs’ quarterback, and he threw two interceptions while passing for 147 yards in the opener. Backup Brian Russell, another sophomore, might also play. He scored the other touchdown against Wisconsin on a two-yard plunge.

“[Brinton] played like a young quarterback, but he’s only played in six games for us,” Tollner said. “He has talent, good size and is smart. He just needs more game experience. He made a couple of critical decision-making errors and wasn’t accurate at times. Growth is always painful. There’s only one way to learn, and that’s to play and make mistakes.”

Brinton is unproven, but tailback Jonas Lewis is not. He ran for 1,021 yards even though he started only seven games last season.

“I made it clear that this is a team that can come up and bite you because they have weapons,” Hackett said. “They throw the ball, and they have a 1,000-yard rusher and a veteran linebacking corps.”

USC will go at San Diego State with its own young quarterbacks. Van Raaphorst, the starter, is a sophomore, and Palmer, a freshman, made a splash in his debut by directing USC to two touchdowns and a field goal in a 27-17 comeback victory over Purdue. He’ll definitely play tonight, maybe even in the first half, and he clearly caught Tollner’s eye.

“Watching the game, I think they both have talent,” Tollner said. “The thing that surprised me a little bit was the composure of Carson Palmer. For a true freshman, his pocket awareness and awareness of pressure is what really caught my attention. It’s hard, when you’re going into something new, to stay composed and not get rattled.”

After the Trojans’ performance in the second half against Purdue two weeks ago, it’s easy to forget how shaky the Trojans looked in the first half, especially offensively.

“We went three-and-out the first two times we had the ball,” said Hackett, who would like to see USC play a game with a more “normal” flow. “We only had 12 drives and about 60 plays. They had about 90 plays. The offensive team is so young, and we need them to play as much as possible.

“I feel like we’ve got a long ways to go. I want to see us with more consistency. I guess that’s what it boils down to.”

It also boils down to trying to start 2-0. USC’s players said they’re keeping in mind their last game against a Western Athletic Conference team, when they had to come from behind in the fourth quarter last season to beat Nevada Las Vegas, 35-21, with the help of 44-yard and 78-yard touchdown catches by Soward.

“Last year we did look past UNLV and forward to our next game, whoever it was,” Soward said. “You can’t take a team for granted. They’re a football team like any other team in the country and they’ll come in playing to win.”

That apparently isn’t mere talk. Soward quickly recited his impressions of Aztec cornerbacks Tairou Smith and Eric Lewis and safety Rico Curtis, calling them all by name.

“I know probably a lot of guys wanted to come here or had a dream of playing for USC,” Soward said. “Now they get to play in the Coliseum. They’ll come ready to play.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

No. 22 USC vs. San Diego St.

* Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.

* Where: Coliseum.

* Television: Fox Sports West 2.

* Radio: XTRA 690.

* Records: USC 1-0; San Diego St. 0-1.