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Winning With Class Still No. 1 for Carroll

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For three giddy hours on a clear desert night, they sprinted, they leaped, they practically flew.

But nothing was more compelling than when they knelt.

The USC Trojans were preparing to finish off Arizona on Saturday night, leading 45-0, one last play from the Wildcat seven-yard line, one more chance to add one more exclamation point to an argument for a national championship.

But quarterback Brandon Hance took a knee.

He took a knee even though another score could have eventually given the Trojans stronger footing in the polls.

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He took a knee even though shoulders would have shrugged because the subs were playing and only a handful were watching.

He took a knee even though that knee, combined with USC’s general refusal to push college football’s new 77-point speed limit, might eventually cost the Trojans an arm and a leg.

“If it does, I don’t care,” Coach Pete Carroll said. “That’s the way we’re going to play.”

Take that, BCS.

Not everybody is willing to sacrifice dignity for the digits.

As Saturday once again proved, not everybody is Pete Carroll.

“This is what he teaches us,” running back LenDale White said. “Be graceful to your opponents. Do not embarrass anyone. This is still a game.’”

Although the computer portion of the BCS no longer rewards blowouts, the human voting portion is still vulnerable to big scores. Considering USC doesn’t have the strong schedule of Ohio State, the Trojans’ admission into the national championship game ahead of the Buckeyes might be as much about style as substance.

In pulling his quarterback and star receiver midway through the third quarter and playing all bench-warmers in the fourth quarter, Carroll didn’t show much style.

But Trojan fans should revel in his substance.

Forget, for a minute, those 45 points and 587 total yards and three interceptions against what may be the worst team from a major conference.

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Consider, instead, these equally important numbers:

All 60 Trojans who traveled here, played here.

Three threw passes, eight caught passes, six ran the ball and 18 made tackles.

The theme of Carroll’s postgame speech was not about the BCS, but about all those players.

“He said it was all about giving a chance to everybody who practiced so hard for him,” said Gregg Guenther Jr., whose one catch was a spectacular one-handed touchdown grab. “He said we played like the No. 1 team in the country tonight because the whole team was involved.”

Carroll is known for working his bit players hard during the week. He and offensive coordinator Norm Chow cannot teach their intricate schemes without them. They cannot build the sense of team without them.

Heck, on Saturday, Carroll even started one of them, a walk-on linebacker named Collin Ashton.

“The whole thing about Coach is, you come here, you play hard, you will get a chance,” record-setting receiver Mike Williams said.

So after Williams had caught three touchdown passes and quarterback Matt Leinart had thrown four touchdown passes, even though it was still the middle of the third quarter and the score was 35-0, they were gone.

Then, after the defense had throttled the Arizona offense for three quarters, even though a shutout was still at stake, they were gone.

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Indeed, the subs kept pushing, even trying to score on fourth down from the goal line midway through the third quarter, an attempt that was botched when John David Booty fumbled.

“If you are going to play those kids, you have to give them a chance to see what they can do,” Carroll said.

But finally, one point from equaling BCS rival Louisiana State’s earlier beating of the Wildcats, and many points from the huge Oklahoma victories, Carroll shut everyone down.

Forty-five points in three quarters, and none in the fourth.

“It was the graceful thing, it was the right thing,” Carroll said.

Even though, sadly, when voters check their schedule cards next month in search of deciding statistics, it could be a questionable thing.

“Hey, we beat these guys by 45 points, isn’t that enough?” Guenther said. “If somebody doesn’t agree with that, then it’s on them.”

Already, apparently somebody doesn’t agree with it.

Remember that LSU statistic? Well, maybe, so does Arizona safety Clay Hardt.

“I think LSU was the best team I have seen since I’ve been a Wildcat,” he said. “USC is solid, but not the best I have seen.”

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It’s silly, really, spending this much time on a discussion that could take three paragraphs.

The second spot in the national title game is between USC and Ohio State, right?

USC would beat Ohio State by two touchdowns.

Not just this season, but at the end of last season.

The possibility that Ohio State could beat Michigan and slip past the Trojans is astounding.

The Buckeyes would not score an offensive touchdown on a Trojan defense that handed Arizona its first shutout in 12 years.

“So big, so fast, they are amazing,” Arizona Coach Mike Hankwitz said.

The Buckeyes would have trouble slowing an offense that has two players who will contend for next year’s Heisman Trophy, not to mention about a dozen running backs.

“They have so many weapons, they just keep coming at you,” Hankwitz said.

But the coach admitted he was also impressed by what he didn’t see.

“What happened at the end of the game, that is typical of Pete Carroll and their program,” he said. “They showed a lot of class. They shouldn’t have had to score anyway. I think they already made enough of a statement.”

Even from their knee. Especially from their knee.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com.

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