This Trip Needed to Be Made

Yes, it was worth it.

Traveling all the way across the country for a game that was at the mercy of the fickle flight of a hurricane. Packing a 30-10 loss with them for the return trip home. All of it was worthwhile for USC.

The road to greatness usually requires a few humbling stops, and that’s what the Trojans experienced at the hands of No. 10 Florida State on Saturday.

They ran into a better offense, a better defense. A better team.

If they’re smart, they left with a better idea of what it takes to play with the big boys.

“To understand where your team is, you need to play high-caliber teams,” linebacker Chris Claiborne said.

When it was time to do the scheduling, USC wasn’t afraid to play Florida State, one of the nation’s premier football programs. And when it was time to make this trip, USC wasn’t afraid to travel into the projected path of a hurricane.

Early forecasts called for Hurricane Georges to hug the Gulf coastline and head up toward the middle of the Florida panhandle. As it turned out the hurricane went farther west, toward Mississippi and Louisiana, and the only weather problem here was a short, heavy downpour during halftime.

Well, that and the humidity. You know what they say about Florida: It’s not the threat of hurricanes that’s so bad, it’s the humidity.

The muggy weather is one reason out-of-state teams don’t fare well in Florida. But the main reason is because Florida schools are stocked with Florida players.

The last time the Seminoles lost at home was to Miami in the “Wide Right” game of 1991. They’re 35-0-1 at home since then (the tie came against Florida). The last time they lost to an out-of-state team at home was to Clemson in 1989. Talent and pride are a potent mixture.

“‘They just go hard every play,” USC wide receiver R. Jay Soward said. “They come out and they’re going to fight you.”

USC might have the grand tradition, but recent history belongs to Florida State. Since USC beat Ohio State in the 1980 Rose Bowl, the Trojans have a 5-7 record in bowl games and finished in the top 10 of the final Associated Press rankings three times.

In that span, Florida State posted a 14-3-1 bowl record, 12 top-10 finishes and a national championship.

The only way USC has matched Florida State in recent years is by getting in trouble with agents. But if you’re going to experience some of the shady side of college football you might as well duplicate everything Florida State has done right.

The Seminoles stockpile talent and tailor their coaching strategy to get the most of it. Their schedule never requires an apology. And Renegade is a better mascot than Traveler because his rider sticks a burning spear into midfield, one of the coolest rituals in college football.

How does USC compare at the moment?

We’ll start with what went right: the defense. And the defense starts with Claiborne.

Although the USC defensive line doesn’t match up with Florida State’s fearsome pass rush, Claiborne doesn’t have to stand behind any college linebacker. That includes Ohio State’s heavily hyped Andy Katzenmoyer.

Katzenmoyer faced the Seminoles in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 and had no impact. Claiborne made 14 tackles Saturday, including an NFL-worthy one-on-one stop of Florida State running back Travis Minor on fourth down.

It’s not a poor reflection on the defense that the Seminoles scored 30 points. It’s a testament to the defense that they didn’t score closer to 45.

The Seminoles’ three touchdown drives were 54, 58 and 35 yards. Defense doesn’t control starting field position.

The Trojans did force Florida State to punt after the Seminoles recovered a fumble on the USC 42. They held them to a field goal after the Seminoles recovered another fumble at the USC 11.

And they did this despite spending two-thirds of the game on the field.

Which brings us to what went wrong: the offense.

The Trojans had one of their worst passing performances since World War II. For most of the game, a five-yard reception by Soward stood as the team’s only passing yardage. They finished with 23 passing yards.

That shows that the Trojans still haven’t developed any kind of short passing game. And if their offensive line doesn’t improve, their quarterbacks won’t develop at all. Mike Van Raaphorst and Carson Palmer were running for their lives or throwing with men in their face all day. The line hit its lowest point when left tackle Brent McCaffrey got turned around and stumbled into Palmer as if he were about to tackle him. Palmer quickly released the ball. It might be the first time an offensive lineman ever deserved to be credited with a “hurry.”

The Trojans continue to nullify their big-play potential with basic mistakes. Freshman running back Frank Strong broke off a 73-yard run, then fumbled the next time he touched the ball. It was one of five Trojan turnovers to go with 11 penalties.

Surely the coaches have tried to tell the players that the mistakes they made while winning their first three games wouldn’t be acceptable against better opponents.

Now they know firsthand. That’s a long way to travel for a basic lesson.

“I’m still glad I came,” Soward said. “If I could, I’d come back and do it next weekend. And do it the weekend after that and the weekend after that.”

Weather permitting, of course.