USC Is Beyond Air Essentials

The play is called “Zombie,” an appropriate moniker for the pass-run hybrid that drained the will of hapless Oregon defensive backs when USC unveiled it against the Ducks on Oct. 26.

Trojan quarterback Carson Palmer threw repeatedly along and behind the line of scrimmage to freshman wide receiver Mike Williams, who caught passes in full stride before blocks from offensive linemen and other receivers sprang him for big gains.

“This was a breakout game,” Williams said after catching 13 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns in the Trojans’ 44-33 victory.

Williams was not talking about his performance. He was describing an offense that produced 608 yards, the most under second-year Coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Norm Chow.

It took 12 games last year and eight this season, but USC finally appears balanced, multidimensional and positively unpredictable on offense.

Against Oregon, Palmer mixed standard drops, play-action fakes and his improving freelance skills to pass for a school-record 448 yards and five touchdowns. Senior tailback Justin Fargas, starting for the first time, gained 139 yards and scored on what once was classified at USC as a standard-issue 15-yard sweep.

Chow, the architect of high-powered offenses at Brigham Young and North Carolina State before Carroll hired him, said major adjustments were not required. Only time.

“The players are a year older and a year wiser,” Chow said. “They just understand better.”

USC averaged 314 yards and 24.8 points a game last season with a porous offensive line and a depleted backfield. Palmer was sacked 36 times. Tailback Sultan McCullough suffered an abdominal strain, sat out six games and still finished with a team-high 410 yards as the Trojans averaged only 87.7 yards a game.

“It’s far more difficult when you come in and the kids have to change over to a new system,” Chow said. “You’d like to do more, but we did what we could with the people we had.”

Carroll said he’d spent the off-season, “restructuring the things that we were doing on offense.”

Translation: Carroll restructured the coaching staff.

Fiery Kennedy Pola, who seems to get the most out of McCullough, was moved from special teams to running backs, the unit he’d coached under Paul Hackett in 2000. Steve Sarkisian, an offensive assistant last season, was put in charge of quarterbacks. Carroll also hired offensive line coach Tim Davis from Wisconsin, allowing Keith Uperesa to concentrate on tackles and tight ends.

Rotated coaches, new players such as Fargas, Williams and freshman tackle Winston Justice, and an injury-free Palmer have helped the Trojans flourish.

Tenth-ranked USC is 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference. The Trojans are averaging 420.5 yards and 31 points a game. Palmer has been sacked only 16 times. Fargas, a transfer from Michigan, and McCullough have produced big games for a team averaging 116.9 yards rushing, and injury-free Malaefou MacKenzie is a multiple threat at fullback.

Chow, who calls the plays, said the Trojans’ prowess on offense is the result of a collective brain trust.

“This is USC’s offense, not mine,” Chow said. “One guy has to make the calls -- you can’t have a panel discussion before every play. But Pete and I talk all the time.”

Palmer’s execution of the offensive scheme has produced a three-game winning streak and propelled the fifth-year senior into the Heisman Trophy race. Against Cal, he passed for 289 yards and two touchdowns. He passed for 348 yards and four touchdowns against Washington before torching Oregon and conquering his personal demons at Autzen Stadium.

“Everyone is so comfortable with the base stuff we do, Coach Chow can add in kinks and a couple of tricks here and there every week,” said Palmer, who needs one touchdown pass against Stanford on Saturday to tie the school record of 58 set by Rob Johnson in 1991-94.

Williams, who averages 16.4 yards a catch, flanker Keary Colbert (14.2) and wide receiver Kareem Kelly (10.8) provide Palmer with one of the most productive pass-catching trios in the nation. The three have combined for 126 receptions or nearly 16 a game.

Williams’ contribution against Oregon was obvious on the statistics sheet. Colbert and Kelly’s outstanding blocking was not.

“I was hearing whispers that blocking was a question-mark part of my game, so I try and work on that every day,” Kelly said. “It’s great to catch a touchdown pass, but it’s also great to know that you helped with a long run or touchdown because of a great block.”

Offensive linemen and tight end Alex Holmes also are getting used to the feeling.

A line that began the season with a perceived lack of depth is proving capable and versatile. From the opener against Auburn, when senior Derek Graf stepped in at guard for injured Zach Wilson and Fred Matua, the line has provided Palmer with protection and running backs with room to run.

The current configuration features junior Norm Katnik at center, senior Wilson and junior Lenny Vandermade at guard and Justice and junior Jacob Rogers at tackle.

Junior Eric Torres has started at both tackle spots and right guard when needed.

“We went through a lot of growing pains last season, learning a new system,” Rogers said. “This year, we knew what we were getting into.

“We run a lot of the same stuff, but just put a little window dressing on it here and there and make it look different. The core plays stay the same.”

McCullough, who leads the team in rushing with 582 yards, and Fargas, who has gained 264, give USC a presence that is helping erase memories of last season’s debacle when the Trojans had to use fullback Sunny Byrd at tailback.

McCullough carried a career-high 39 times for 176 yards against California on Oct. 12. Fargas had a career day against Oregon and is likely to start against Stanford.

“He’s popping for six and seven yards and getting us into situations where it’s second and three and we can take shots,” Palmer said of Fargas. “If we don’t get a first down, we still have the opportunity to be in a third-and-three situation with a pretty good chance of getting the first down.”

USC hopes to continue its momentum on offense as it finishes the regular season against Stanford, No. 25 Arizona State, UCLA and No. 9 Notre Dame.

Palmer said the players on offense are looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s definitely going to be fun,” Palmer said. “We just want to see what Coach Chow comes up with next.”