Trojans Show Plenty of Pop

How very sporting of Penn State to agree to this little tuneup for USC.

That’s what Sunday’s Kickoff Classic, a 29-5 Trojan victory, turned out to be.

Penn State has far too many issues to view this game as a measure of USC’s place among the nation’s elite teams, or to turn this into a referendum on the Pacific 10 Conference versus the Big Ten.

Take it for what it was: a sign that USC could be onto something.

The Trojans demonstrated an ability to do the grunt work--controlling the line of scrimmage, making field goals, putting the ball deep into the end zone on kickoffs--that paves the way to winning seasons.

The offensive line did a great job of creating lanes for running back Sultan McCullough to dash through and gain 128 yards.

The defense stopped Penn State up the middle and from sideline to sideline, holding the Nittany Lions to six rushing yards.

David Newbury--who didn’t secure the placekicking job until midway through training camp--made all three of his field goal attempts.

The special teams produced a touchdown off a blocked punt.

The defense scored off an interception return.

Five of David Bell’s six kickoffs resulted in touchbacks.

With the lead in hand, USC controlled the ball for the final 9:10 of the game, running over and over again until the clock expired.

Coaches love that kind of stuff.

“I’ve said all along we have a chance to be a good team,” USC Coach Paul Hackett said. “I didn’t know when we would be a good team. Maybe this will accelerate it. Maybe we’ll be a good team earlier than I thought.”

The Trojans aren’t a good team yet. Hackett knows it and the players know it. They haven’t arrived.

“This is a starting point,” linebacker Zeke Moreno said. “We’re on the right track, the train’s moving.”

Now all they need is for Carson Palmer to get on board. The young quarterback had not seen real action since the third game of last season, and it’s obvious right now he still is rolling around on training wheels.

The coaches kept his tasks simple, calling mostly for underneath passes. Palmer’s timing was off, his decision-making was questionable. He had one pass picked off and was lucky a Penn State defender dropped another sure interception.

If the Trojans can win a game without a passing attack, what happens when Palmer lives up to the talent he has showcased in the past?

(The running game appears to be in solid hands. It was supposed to be a tailback by committee, spread among three players. Sunday this “committee” was about as one-sided as a golf tournament with Tiger Woods. It featured a heavy dosage of McCullough, with just a sprinkling of Petros Papadakis.)

As for the flaws the Trojans showed on Sunday, they can be corrected before the Colorado game on Sept. 9.

The line did have what Hackett referred to as “protection issues.” Palmer was sacked three times, and had to rush a couple of passes. It wasn’t the Nittany Lions overpowering USC’s offensive line as much as they capitalized on missed assignments and faulty blocking schemes.

The Trojans showed poor game management at the end of the first half. They had to use a timeout because they had gathered along the sideline after a change of possession. Although the game clock was stopped, the play clock was ticking down and the Trojans weren’t aware until it almost had expired.

USC also needs to figure out a way to get the ball to Kareem Kelly, who caught only two passes for 15 yards Sunday.

He was desperate to make something happen, and that led to his misadventure when he lost 11 yards trying to elude tacklers on a punt return and forced the Trojans to start a drive on their two-yard line.

The most concerning element was that aside from the game-ending clock-killer, the Trojans had only one nice drive: a 73-yard march that resulted in a two-yard Papadakis touchdown run. McCullough carried five times for 41 yards and Palmer found Marcell Allmond for a 21-yard pass during the drive.

The Trojans started three drives inside the Penn State 35 and had a total of six points to show for them.

The good news for USC was that those points came on field goals from 47 and 44 yards by Newbury.

If his teammates and coaches are confident he can make those long field goals, it can change their strategical approach.

In the meantime, it might be time to change some common perceptions. Like the ones that say Pac-10 teams are soft, and that L.A. fans are the only ones who leave early.

The Trojans took it right at Penn State on offense, and they delivered some hard hits on defense--such as the time Moreno pile-drived running back Larry Johnson.

Penn State’s only chance was if quarterback Rashard Casey made something special happen, and he didn’t.

So by the fourth quarter, most of the Penn State fans who composed the bulk of the crowd of 78,902 had vacated Giants Stadium.

“Toward the end of the game you could hear the popcorn guys yelling,” Moreno said.

For USC it was the sound of success--and perhaps the first indication that the Trojans could be ready to make some real noise.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at his e-mail address: j.a.adande@latimes.com.

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Answering the Opening Bell

A look at how USC has fared against ranked teams in its season openers since 1980 (victories in bold-faced type), and how the Trojans finished the season:

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1982--at No. 11 Florida 17, No. 10 Season: 8-3-0. Rank: No. 15 USC 9. 1983--at No. 9 USC 19, No. 18 Season: 4-6-1. Unranked Florida 19. 1985--No. 6 USC 20, at No. 11 Season: 6-6-0. Unranked Illinois 10. 1987--at No. 17 Michigan St. 27, Season: 8-4-0. Rank: No. 18 No. 19 USC 13. 1989--No. 22 Illinois 14, at No. 5 Season: 9-2-1. Rank: No. 8 USC 13. 1993--No. 20 North Carolina 31, No. Season: 8-5-0. Unranked 19 USC 9*. 1994--at No. 13 USC 24, No. 23 Season: 8-3-1. Rank: No. 13 Washington 17. 1996--No. 11 Penn State 24, No. 7 Season: 6-6. Unranked USC 7**. 1997--No. 5 Florida State 14, at Season: 6-5. Unranked No. 23 USC 7. 2000--No. 15 USC 29, No. 22 Penn State 5**.

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*-at Anaheim; **-at East Rutherford, N.J.