Trojans’ Recovery Depends on First Step

Last week’s upset by California put USC in unfamiliar territory.

The triple-overtime defeat ended the Trojans’ 11-game winning streak and was their first setback since an overtime loss to Washington State last Oct. 5.

That loss at Pullman spurred USC to seven consecutive regular-season victories, a rout of Iowa in the Orange Bowl and its best finish -- No. 4 in the Associated Press poll -- since 1979.

USC hopes to rebound in similar fashion, starting today when the 10th-ranked Trojans play Arizona State in a Pacific 10 Conference game at Sun Devil Stadium.

“We have to come back and do something about it like we did last year,” Coach Pete Carroll said.

USC players are eager to begin anew after suffering through a first-half malaise, multiple defensive breakdowns and missed opportunities against Cal.

“Our main thing this game is to go out there and get back to the basics,” defensive end Kenechi Udeze said.

USC, 3-1 overall and 0-1 in the Pac-10, will begin the game without two injured starters -- right tackle Winston Justice and middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu -- and with quarterback Matt Leinart nursing a groin strain.

Leinart said he would be ready to lead the Trojans, who are playing the second of four road games during a five-week span.

“We want to get back on track and get this thing rolling again,” said Leinart, who has passed for 924 yards and eight touchdowns with six interceptions. “Last week, we had a little setback. That’s just part of the journey.”

After watching his team stumble through the first half against Cal, Carroll said the Trojans must play with intensity from the outset against Arizona State (2-2, 0-1), which is coming off consecutive losses to Iowa and Oregon State.

Carroll would like a start similar to the one the Trojans achieved in their 23-0 season-opening victory at Auburn. USC forced a turnover on Auburn’s first possession, took an early lead and prevented the sellout crowd from becoming a factor.

A crowd of about 60,000 is expected today at Sun Devil Stadium.

“At Auburn, we started very quickly and we were looking like we had our act together right from the beginning. That makes a difference with a crowd,” Carroll said. “Last week was the other end of the spectrum. They were aroused right from the beginning and we had a hard time shutting them up.”

USC’s main goal on offense is to establish an effective rushing attack. Trojan tailbacks ran for only 66 yards in 20 carries against Cal, and sophomore Hershel Dennis fumbled inside the five-yard line in overtime.

Freshman LenDale White, who has rushed for 70 yards and three touchdowns in 17 carries, is expected to get an increased workload against a Sun Devil defense that surrenders 106.5 rushing yards a game.

Arizona State plays a 4-2-5 defense, which Carroll said is not as quirky as the 3-3-5 scheme Brigham Young employed to confuse the Trojans in the second week of the season.

Arizona State was picked to finish second to USC in the Pac-10’s preseason media poll, but the Sun Devils have not looked the part.

Arizona State committed six turnovers in its 45-17 defeat at Oregon State last week.

“It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out if you turn the ball over six times in a Pac-10 game, three of them in your own end of the field, and you can’t convert in the red zone to score enough points ... you will not win many games in a conference like this,” Arizona State Coach Dirk Koetter said.

Junior quarterback Andrew Walter, a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate who passed for 3,877 yards last season, has struggled the last two games. The Sun Devil offense did not score against Iowa and Walter threw three interceptions against Oregon State.

Walter, however, will be facing a USC pass defense surrendering a Pac-10-worst 289.8 yards a game.

Sophomore tailback Hakim Hill began the season fifth-string but bolted to the top of the Sun Devils’ depth chart by rushing for 115 yards in 24 carries and catching six passes for 92 yards last week.

USC’s defense, which held individual backs under 100 yards in 16 consecutive games, surrendered 147 yards rushing to Cal tailback Adimchinobe Echemandu.