Trojans Refortify Rushin’ Front

No snappy nickname.

No magazine photo spreads.

No comparisons to Heritage Hall statues cast in bronze.

USC’s defensive line began this season absent the hype bestowed upon last year’s front four, dubbed “Wild Bunch II” by the school’s sports information office, a salute comparing it to the Trojans’ fabled 1969 unit.

Without the pass-rush mayhem All-American Kenechi Udeze generated from one end spot, and the emotional play and fiery leadership Omar Nazel supplied from the other, many suspected the Trojans had lost their edge.

Seven games into the season, however, USC’s defensive line has proved it is no mild bunch.

Senior tackles Shaun Cody and Mike Patterson -- both All-America candidates -- are the leaders of a group that once again ranks among the nation’s most productive units and has helped the top-ranked Trojans post two shutouts.

Last week, USC improved to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the Pacific 10 Conference with a 38-0 victory over Washington at the Coliseum. On Saturday, the Trojans will try to extend their 16-game winning streak when they play Washington State at Pullman, Wash.

Ed Orgeron, USC’s gravel-voiced defensive line coach, says the Trojans are controlling games in a new way.

“We’re more physical than last year ... we have a different style,” Orgeron said.

The Trojans, who rank third nationally in scoring defense and sixth against the run, also dominate with impressive depth.

“A lot of guys have found a way to help us -- to bring what they have that’s unique and add to it,” Coach Pete Carroll said.

The number of interchangeable parts makes this defense, in some situations, even more formidable than last season’s, Orgeron said.

Cody, Patterson, redshirt freshman end Lawrence Jackson and junior end Frostee Rucker start for the Trojans, but 6-foot-6 sophomore tackle Manuel Wright usually rotates in by the second series, allowing Cody to also play end.

Speedy freshman end Jeff Schweiger and stout redshirt freshman tackle Sedrick Ellis also play, and freshman linebacker Keith Rivers is utilized as a rush end in passing situations.

“I look up in the huddle and it’s new faces in on every other down,” middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu said.

USC has found strength in numbers.

Consider:

* Eight defensive linemen have accounted for 24 of the Trojans’ conference-best 30 sacks.

* The starting front four has 82 tackles, 27 1/2 tackles for losses and 17 sacks, and USC is giving up 82 yards rushing a game. At the same point last season, the starting front four had combined for 94 tackles, 31 1/2 tackles for losses and 19 1/2 sacks, and the Trojans were giving up 79 yards rushing a game.

* The starters’ tackles for losses and sacks are best among teams ranked in the top six of the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls.

After last week’s victory, Carroll said the Trojans were playing better defensively than at any time in his three-plus seasons as coach.

Washington State Coach Bill Doba identified Cody and Patterson as main reasons for the Trojans’ success.

“Those two guys are the best in the country,” Doba said. “With a defense built around two tackles like that, you can’t stand in the pocket as a quarterback because they can pressure you with a four-man rush.”

Cody, 6 feet 4 and 295 pounds, has a team-best six sacks among his 7 1/2 tackles for losses. The Hacienda Heights Los Altos High alumnus is regarded by Carroll and Orgeron as the cornerstone of the program’s turnaround on the field and the recruiting front.

Cody, a four-year starter, hopes to conclude his college career in a fashion similar to Udeze, who finished last season with 16 1/2 sacks.

“You have to have a great last six games for people to remember you by,” Cody said.

Patterson, 6 feet, 290, is regarded as perhaps the nation’s quickest tackle. He has 4 1/2 sacks among his team-best nine tackles for losses and was chosen national defensive player of the week after making 10 tackles with one sack and two fumble recoveries in a 23-17 victory over California on Oct. 9.

Before the season, Orgeron demanded that Cody and the quiet Patterson raise not only the level of their play, but their voices as well.

“Coach O made it a big factor. ... He put it on our shoulders to talk it up and let people know to keep the tempo up,” Patterson said.

Rucker, 6-4, 255, started the final four games last season after Nazel suffered a thumb injury. He has fought through toe and ankle injuries and has 4 1/2 tackles for losses and 1 1/2 sacks.

Jackson faced the greatest challenge this season as the successor to Udeze, who bypassed his final year of eligibility and was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the NFL draft.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” Jackson said of his frame of mind before USC’s opener against Virginia Tech. “I was a nervous wreck.”

Jackson, 6-5, 265, has five sacks.

“He’s really coming along,” Orgeron said. “He’s smart and he knows his technique and I think he’s going to be very, very good.”

Wright, who had a breakout performance in last season’s Rose Bowl victory over Michigan, provided perhaps the biggest defensive play of the season against Cal.

The Golden Bears had second and goal at USC’s nine-yard line with less than two minutes left when Wright burst through and sacked quarterback Aaron Rodgers for a five-yard loss.

Rodgers’ final two passes fell incomplete and the Trojans hung on for a crucial victory in their drive toward a possible berth in the Orange Bowl and second consecutive national title.

Rucker says the defensive line -- and the Trojans -- are capable of finishing with a flourish.

“The sky’s the limit,” he said.