Trojans Not Thinkingon Such a Grand Scale

The chatter around the USC football team has changed.

Not that the Trojans have given up. They know four consecutive victories, including a season-ending upset of UCLA, could still give them a winning record and perhaps a bowl invitation.

But the mounting defeats, including last weekend’s difficult loss to rival Notre Dame, had them sounding a more realistic note Tuesday. Coaches and players talked about hunkering down for the long haul, girding themselves for the process of rebuilding.

Coach Pete Carroll spoke of continuing to work diligently even though preseason hopes for a conference championship or a major bowl game are dashed.

“You might think this is going to drive me into the dirt and I’m not going to be able to bounce back,” he said. “But being the optimist, the eternal optimist, I keep looking for the things that can help us down the road.”

His players also talked about being patient.

“USC loves to win but USC has to understand there are steps to take,” safety Troy Polamalu said. “There are building blocks to winning.”

The Trojans approached this fall hoping for a turnaround after struggling the past two seasons. Now, with a record of 2-5, once again mired near the bottom of the Pacific 10 Conference standings, they have reached a point where some teams might look ahead and consider giving younger players experience.

But because of injuries, freshman such as defensive linemen Shaun Cody and Mike Patterson are already in the lineup. Linebacker Bobby Otani has played some but is injured. Receiver William Buchanon would be a candidate if he hadn’t suffered a fractured vertebra. So far, none of the reserves along the offensive line have shown they can compete for a starting job.

That still leaves a million-dollar question: Might the Trojans bench quarterback Carson Palmer to take a look at heralded freshman Matt Leinart?

If Leinart were to play even a few downs, he would not be able to redshirt and save a season of eligibility. Besides, the coaches insist a switch is not warranted, at least not yet. Palmer’s receivers, foremost among them Kareem Kelly, have been inconsistent. “Carson can’t throw the ball and catch it,” Carroll said.

More important, Palmer has received little support from a running game that ranks last in the conference at 92.1 yards a game. When Carroll was coach of the New England Patriots, he watched Drew Bledsoe’s performance suffer after running back Curtis Martin left through free agency.

So, with no radical changes or quick fixes in sight, at least not this week, the Trojans must pin their hopes on a slower process.

Several players said they are encouraged in that no one is pointing fingers or lazing through practice, even a day or two after a disheartening loss. This attitude marks a significant change from last season when morale disintegrated during a five-game losing streak.

Senior defensive end Lonnie Ford, who sees his final season slipping away, said he has taken it on himself to set an example for underclassmen such as Cody and Patterson.

“It’s kind of hard for me, but I can’t worry about that,” he said. “If I go in the tank, it’ll be a chain reaction.”

Another senior, fullback Charlie Landrigan, believes a strong effort in these final weeks could be beneficial, even if it doesn’t result in victories.

“You see another guy busting his butt, you can’t help but work hard,” he said. “The young guys see that and learn from it. That’s going to carry this team so far in the future.”

Losing to Notre Dame surely contributed to the somber mood at Tuesday’s weekly news conference. As Polamalu said: “We’re not only beat up physically but also emotionally.” And Carroll reiterated that no one on his team has ruled out the possibility of a turnaround beginning Saturday at Arizona, which he called “a must game.”

But the coach also made it clear that, in his opinion, the team needs to set goals that don’t necessarily correlate to immediate wins.

“What I would like is just to see us playing good football and whenever it happens, it happens,” he said. “It is difficult because all of the goals we should be shooting for are not there for us right now.”