USC Hopes Stirring as Offense Gels

Carson Palmer was smiling in the huddle.

His USC team was on a five-game losing streak and had just blown a 29-point lead to Arizona State, turning an easy victory into a nail biter. The Trojans had no earthly reason to believe they would win.

Yet, heading into overtime, their quarterback was smiling.

“I don’t know what it was,” Palmer said. “Everyone on our team had this feeling.”

The Trojans won and, in the process, offered the slightest glimmer of hope. Hope that this team can finish an otherwise dismal season with a few victories. Maybe even hope for a bowl game.

All because Palmer and the offense are showing signs of life.

Over the last three weeks, the redshirt sophomore has risen to the top of the Pacific 10 Conference in passing yardage. His tailback, Sultan McCullough, now ranks second in rushing after four consecutive 100-yard games.

That kind of production might be the only way the Trojans can win, because they have not been able to curtail their costly habit of turning the ball over, surrendering big plays on defense and stumbling on special teams.

“We know we can’t hold teams to 14 points every game,” receiver Steve Stevenson said. “Now there is more pressure on the offense to put up some points.”

And although it may be a stretch to imagine this team on a winning streak, it doesn’t hurt that the next two games will be against Washington State and UCLA, teams whose defenses rank among the worst in the conference.

“The confidence the offense gets from an Arizona State game, you hope it carries you,” Coach Paul Hackett said.

At the start of the season, the Trojans fancied themselves as throwbacks, figuring they could succeed with a dominating defense and a young, gradually maturing offense.

Even as they won their first three games, however, that expectation fell by the wayside.

Not only has USC surrendered nearly 26 points a game, it belongs to a conference that does not know the meaning of a defensive struggle. Last Saturday, for example, four of the five winning Pac-10 teams needed 35 points or more to eke out victories.

“It’s the way you have to gravitate in our conference,” Hackett said. “The best teams are the teams that are lighting it up.”

USC’s offense has moved the ball well almost from the start, gaining 433 yards against Colorado in the second game and 572 against San Jose State after that. But, too often, such yardage resulted in miscues near the goal line and missed field goals.

Against Oregon, 423 yards translated into an inefficient 17 points.

“Honestly, we weren’t getting it done,” offensive coordinator Hue Jackson said. “The offense was not maturing as fast as I would have liked.”

A turnaround began at Stanford, where USC scored 30 points, only to lose in the final seconds. The next week, against California, the offense had 265 yards and 16 points in the first half before falling flat.

“The feeling was, hey, we’re close,” Hackett said.

At Arizona State last Saturday, the Trojans committed all the errors that usually cost them games, but the offense kicked in with 44 points--enough to stop the bleeding.

“It would have been nice for us to do this five games ago,” receiver Kareem Kelly said afterward. “But it was good we came out with this kind of explosion.”

In an unexpected way, the losing might have helped.

“Now everybody has written us off,” Stevenson said. “So we just go out there and have a good time and play some football. It seems like we’re beginning to click.”

For McCullough, that means reading his blocks better and running with more confidence. For Palmer, it means getting more practice time with Kelly--who has struggled with injuries--and, most important, keeping a positive attitude.

While passing for 2,168 yards, Palmer has thrown 15 interceptions and for only 10 touchdowns. Yet his coaches and teammates say he has remained upbeat.

“Carson has taken a lot of pressure,” offensive lineman Brent McCaffrey said, adding, “There’s ice water in that guy’s veins.”

McCaffrey hopes that Palmer’s overtime demeanor at Arizona State--where he calmly guided USC to a field goal and a touchdown in two possessions--is a preview of things to come.

“He was smiling in the huddle like, ‘Isn’t this fun?’ ”

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Driving With Foot on the Brake

The Trojans were supposed to be throwbacks, a strong defense and a maturing offense. The offense has moved the ball effectively only to be thwarted by turnovers, sacks and miscues on field-goal attempts. The defense has struggled, giving up nearly 26 points a game. A look at the offense:

Category: Stat/Pac-10 rank

Rushing: 163.0/3rd

Passing: 249.9/6th

Tot. Offense: 403.9/4th

Scoring: 24.8/8th

3rd-down eff.: 42%/1st

Field goals: 9-15/7th

PATs: 18-27/10th

The Trojans also have given up 29 sacks, second most in the conference, and are last in turnover margin at minus-13.

Giving Ground

How USC’s defense ranks in Pacific 10:

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Category Stat Pac-10 Opponent rushing 118.0 3rd Opponent passing 218.4 3rd Total defense 336.4 4th Opponent scoring 25.7 5th Opponent 3rd-down eff. 32.7 5th Sacks 26 5th

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