Trojans Need a Quality Start

Top-ranked USC has made a habit this season of starting slow and finishing fast.

It worked well enough against unranked opponents, but USC players acknowledged this week that a complete game probably would be necessary to hold off No. 7 California today at the sold-out Coliseum.

“That’s the type of game you live for,” USC offensive lineman John Drake said. “Who’s going to press their will? Who’s going to establish themselves?”

Defending national champion USC already has established itself as a contender for a berth in the Orange Bowl -- this season’s bowl championship series title game -- and Cal is eager to do the same.

Rose Bowl scenarios also will be in play when USC puts its 13-game winning streak and 16-game home winning streak on the line against a Golden Bear team that ranks first nationally in scoring and leads the Pacific 10 Conference in scoring defense and total defense.

“There is a really fun build-up to this game,” USC Coach Pete Carroll said. “With what happened last year, it adds to it all.”

Last season, Cal ended USC’s 11-game winning streak by defeating the third-ranked Trojans, 34-31, in triple-overtime at Berkeley. The loss ultimately doomed USC’s bid for a berth in the BCS championship game and denied the Trojans a chance to win the national title outright.

“Any time you go three overtimes and lose, it’s going to be pretty tough on you,” said Trojan linebacker Matt Grootegoed, who will start today despite an ankle sprain. “For that aspect, this game does mean a lot.”

This will be the third time that Carroll, also the Trojans’ defensive coordinator, will match wits against Cal Coach Jeff Tedford, who is regarded as one of the top offensive minds in college football.

Two years ago, in Tedford’s first season, Cal was ahead, 21-3, in the second quarter at the Coliseum, but USC came back to win, 30-28.

Last season, Cal led, 21-7, at halftime, but USC tied the score, 24-24, with 16 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime.

“I guess you could say that this is becoming quite a rivalry,” USC defensive lineman Shaun Cody said.

USC was off last weekend after defeating Stanford, 31-28, in its Pac-10 opener Sept. 25 at Palo Alto.

The Trojans spotted the Cardinal an 11-point halftime lead, and then posted a second-half shutout.

USC enters today’s game with fewer injuries on offense than it has had all season.

Quarterback Matt Leinart’s left elbow is rested, tailback LenDale White’s ankle sprain is apparently healed, tailback Reggie Bush’s shoulders are sound and tight end Dominique Byrd is expected to make his season debut.

The Trojans, however, could be short on defense. Grootegoed will play, but his snaps will probably be limited because of the ankle sprain. Safety Darnell Bing is out because of a sore shoulder and end Jeff Schweiger is not expected to play because of a bruised knee.

Cal started the season with victories over Air Force and New Mexico State, but its game against Southern Mississippi was postponed until Dec. 4 because of Hurricane Ivan.

The postponement gave Cal a three-week break before its Pac-10 opener against Oregon State last week. The Golden Bears showed no signs of rust in their 49-7 victory at Corvallis, Ore. Senior wide receiver Chase Lyman caught three touchdown passes from quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the first quarter.

“We come out with a sense of urgency right away,” said Rodgers, who has completed 43 of 58 passes for 614 yards and six touchdowns with two interceptions. “Some teams take one or two drives to get ready and then they start feeling the other team out.

“We come right out and we’re aggressive and we want to set the tone early.”

Cal also features a potent running attack led by J.J. Arrington, a 5-foot-11, 210-pound senior who has rushed for more than 100 yards in each game and is averaging 8.6 a carry.

“He’s not a real big guy, but his running style is tough,” USC defensive lineman Mike Patterson said. “He’ll try to run through you if he needs to but he can also shake.”

Cal’s defense features nine returning starters from last season and is surrendering a conference-low 11.7 points and 261.7 yards a game.

“They run and have tackled well so far,” Tedford said. “I’m not sure that we’ve been tested yet.”