The Team to Beat

From the moment Pete Carroll became the coach at USC, he was made fully aware of the importance of the Notre Dame rivalry.

The subject was broached in discussions with Athletic Director Mike Garrett. Carroll says alumni and fans communicated variations on a similar theme: “We don’t care what you do with the rest of the schedule as long as you beat Notre Dame and UCLA.”

This year’s version of the big game doesn’t carry the luster of previous episodes. No national rankings are at stake and the major bowl games cannot be watching with much interest, not with both schools carrying sub-.500 records. But there is a great deal at stake for two teams hoping to salvage their seasons.

The Trojans and Irish have recently shown glimpses of a turnaround after struggling through the early going. Today’s winner climbs a little closer to a winning record while the loser takes a giant step backward, slipping that much nearer to desperation.

Notre Dame Coach Bob Davie talked about the game’s relative significance this week.

“You can look at the records and say, ‘Boy, these are two teams playing that maybe aren’t that good or two teams that maybe don’t have much riding on this game,”’ he said. “[But] I think these are two talented teams that have a chance coming out of this game to be pretty good down the stretch.”

The stakes are even higher for Davie, who has been on the hot seat since his team started 0-3. Consecutive victories over Pittsburgh and West Virginia have eased the pressure only a little.

Anyone wondering how today’s outcome might figure into his future need only look back 11 months to when former USC Coach Paul Hackett was hoping for a victory over the Irish to save his job. The Trojans lost and Hackett was fired two days later.

So even when Davie says he isn’t thinking about job security, he quickly adds: “Yeah, we all realize there’s a lot riding on this football game.”

Notre Dame’s chances are not helped by the uncertain status of running backs Julius Jones and Tony Fisher, who took turns bowling over Trojan defenders at the Coliseum last season. They have been hampered by injury, but that still leaves a third running back, Terrance Howard, and a talented young option quarterback, Carlyle Holiday, to run behind a veteran offensive line.

The USC defense expects to counter the ground game by stunting, blitzing and bringing its safeties close to the line of scrimmage.

“This is one of those games that are tough for the secondary because we need them to help with the run,” associate coach DeWayne Walker said. “But we don’t want to get caught out of position and give up any silly passes.”

Though the Irish have thrown sparingly this season, senior receiver Javin Hunter is a concern, averaging nearly five receptions a game.

On offense, the Trojans insist they can run against the Irish. The line has grown confident after playing well against Washington and, last week, leading the way as converted fullback Sunny Byrd hammered out the final minutes of a victory over Arizona State.

“It’s something we hadn’t been able to do earlier this season,” tackle Jacob Rogers said. “We were finally able to put somebody away.”

With tailback Sultan McCullough at home nursing an abdominal strain, the onus again falls on Byrd. He’ll get help from another big back, 245-pound Chad Pierson, who returns to the lineup for the first time since injuring his back in the off-season. For a change of pace, USC can call on the slight and swift Darryl Poston.

“If the run game is working, we’ll keep going at it,” quarterback Carson Palmer said. “If we play smash-mouth, it opens up lanes for the receivers.”

And the thinking is, the Irish have yet to face anything approaching a Pacific 10 Conference passing attack.

“It’s our toughest test without a doubt,” Davie said. “I think we’re seeing two receivers and a quarterback who will be playing in the NFL down the road.”

Davie’s best hope is probably a repeat of last season--his team controlling the clock, keeping Palmer and Co. off the field. USC, meanwhile, wouldn’t mind a repeat of 1971.

Thirty years ago, the Trojans started 2-4 and arrived in South Bend for what seemed like a lackluster matchup. But they upset the sixth-ranked Irish, 28-14, and went undefeated the rest of the season to finish 6-4-1. Maybe that’s what Carroll means when he says his team is eager to play this game and “see how it all comes together.”

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USC at NOTRE DAME Today at South Bend, Ind. 11:30 a.m., Channel 4

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

USC CHAMPIONSHIPS

1962--11-0-0 (John McKay)

1967--10-1-0 (John McKay)

1972--12-0-0 (John McKay)

1974--10-1-1 (John McKay)*

1978--12-1-0 (John Robinson)**

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NOTRE DAME CHAMPIONSHIPS

1943--9-1-0 (Frank Leahy)

1946--8-0-1 (Frank Leahy)

1947--9-0-0 (Frank Leahy)

1949--10-0-0 (Frank Leahy)

1966--9-0-1 (Ara Parseghian)

1973--11-0-0 (Ara Parseghian)***

1977--11-1-0 (Dan Devine)

1988--12-0-0 (Lou Holtz)

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NOTE--National titles since 1936; *--Shared title with Oklahoma; **--Shared title with Alabama; ***--Shared title with Alabama

USC HEISMAN

TROPHY WINNERS

1965--Mike Garrett, tailback

1968--O.J. Simpson, tailback

1979--Charles White, tailback

1981--Marcus Allen, tailback

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NOTRE DAME HEISMAN

TROPHY WINNERS

1943--Angelo Bertelli, quarterback

1947--John Lujack, quarterback

1949--Leon Hart, end

1953--John Lattner, halfback

1956--Paul Hornung, quarterback

1964--John Huarte, quarterback

1987--Tim Brown, wide receiver

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SERIES RECORD

Notre Dame leads, 41-26-5