CHART BREAKERS

The proof is in the pencils.

For 50 years, Ned Miller has worn them to stubs, recording and tabulating football statistics by hand in the press box at USC home games.

Miller and his staff scribbled to keep pace with four Heisman Trophy-winning running backs, two Heisman-winning quarterbacks and the high-powered offenses that helped USC win seven of its 11 national titles.

But for Miller, no team gets the lead out like the 2005 Trojans, who amassed more than 700 yards in each of its first three home games.

“That’s just incredible,” Miller said. “You just don’t get numbers like that.”

That offensive prowess has helped the top-ranked Trojans extend their winning streak to 33 games, and if they defeat 11th-ranked UCLA on Saturday at the Coliseum, they are assured of a shot at an unprecedented third consecutive Associated Press national championship.

Regardless, USC’s offense is already considered among the best in college football history.

Quarterback Matt Leinart, tailbacks Reggie Bush and LenDale White and receivers Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith have provided most of the highlight-reel plays. But a veteran line, tight ends Dominique Byrd and Fred Davis, and fullbacks David Kirtman and Brandon Hancock also have shined.

“They’re the best-balanced offense that I can ever recall,” said Kent Stephens, curator for the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind.

Consider:

* USC leads the nation in total offense, averaging 571.3 yards a game, and is second in scoring at 48.6 points a game.

* The Trojans are the first team in NCAA history with a 3,000-yard passer, two 1,000-yard rushers and a 1,000-yard receiver. Smith is within 100 yards receiving of giving them two.

* USC ranks fifth nationally in passing (322.1 yards per game) and seventh in rushing (249.2 yards). The Trojans could become the first team since Arizona State in 1973 to finish the season in the top 10 in both categories. They also are within reach of becoming the first team since Oklahoma A&M; (now Oklahoma State) in 1945 to finish in the top four in both.

“You don’t want to throw all your eggs in one basket,” USC Coach Pete Carroll said.

However, most of the prolific offenses of the past were largely one-dimensional. Notre Dame in the 1920s, Army in the mid-1940s, Oklahoma and USC in the 1970s and Nebraska in the 1980s and 1990s mostly ran the ball. Brigham Young in the 1980s and Houston in the late 1980s and early 1990s primarily passed it.

Lane Kiffin, USC’s offensive coordinator, says trying to determine which offense was best is pointless because of different eras. The size, speed and strength of players have changed.

“It’s like arguing religion,” he said. “You know, you never get anywhere.”

Few debate that Leinart is the ideal triggerman for a unit that is averaging 100 yards more than the 1979 Trojan team that established a school record at 471 yards a game.

Leinart, who turned down the chance to turn pro and returned for a final season, is enjoying a better statistical season in some areas than last year when he won the Heisman. He has completed 66% of his passes for 3,217 yards and 24 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He also has rushed for six touchdowns.

Bush and White epitomize backfield balance. Alternating at tailback, each has 163 carries. Bush has rushed for 1,398 yards, White 1,024.

Two weeks ago against Fresno State, Bush ran for a career-high 294 yards and accumulated 513 all-purpose yards, second-most in NCAA history. He is averaging 8.6 yards a carry and is regarded by many as the front-runner to win the Heisman, an honor not bestowed upon a Trojan running back since Marcus Allen in 1981.

Barry Switzer, who coached Oklahoma and the Dallas Cowboys, compared Bush to another Heisman winner.

“He’s the best back since Barry Sanders came along,” Switzer said. “Him and Leinart get all the publicity, but White is also a stud.”

Jarrett, a sophomore split end, has caught 75 passes -- 14 for touchdowns -- and averages 14.3 yards a catch. Smith averages 16.7 yards a catch.

“Pick your poison,” said Steve Sarkisian, USC’s assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach. “The thing that stands out about those guys and our other receivers is their unselfishness. They get downfield and block.”

So does an offensive line that is experienced and balanced.

Opposing coaches voted junior center Ryan Kalil, sophomore left tackle Sam Baker and senior left guard Taitusi Lutui onto the All-Pacific 10 Conference team. Junior right guard Fred Matua was second team and junior right tackle Winston Justice, who might be the best NFL prospect, was honorable mention.

Pat Ruel, USC’s offensive line coach, says there is usually a weak link in a line, a player who can pass protect but not run block, or the other way around.

“We’re lucky,” he said. “We have guys that do both.”

USC offenses for the 1972 and 1978 national championship teams, the 1979 team that finished 11-0-1, and the 2002, 2003 and 2004 teams are among the best in school history.

But the Hall of Fame’s Stephens and others said the 2005 Trojans rate among a group of offenses in the last 60 years that were dominating if not quite as versatile:

Army, 1944-45

The Cadets were one-dimensional, but a backfield that featured two Heisman-winning running backs made them formidable and AP national champions two straight years.

Fullback Felix “Doc” Blanchard was “Mr. Inside,” running back Glenn Davis “Mr. Outside.” Operating out of a T-formation, they helped Army average 56 points in 1944, still an NCAA record.

Blanchard won the Heisman in 1945, Davis in 1946.

Blanchard, who lives in Texas, said he had seen parts of USC games on television, but not enough to make a judgment.

He knows times have changed since his playing days.

“Back in those days you only passed on third and eight,” Blanchard said during a telephone interview. “Lots of the time, we lined up and ran the ball up the middle anyway.”

Oklahoma, 1971

Coach Chuck Fairbanks and offensive coordinator Barry Switzer installed the wishbone offense and the Sooners quickly grasped the concept, amassing an NCAA-record 472.4 yards rushing per game.

Running back Greg Pruitt sported a T-shirt emblazoned with “Hello” on the front and “Goodbye” on the back. He averaged more than nine yards a carry. Joe Wylie and Roy Bell alternated at the other running back spot and fullback Leon Crosswhite cleared the way with a smart and tough offensive line.

“We really didn’t care who lined up against us,” said quarterback Jack Mildren, who rushed for 1,289 yards. “We felt we could move the ball against anybody from the Green Bay Packers on down.”

Oklahoma defeated USC, 33-20, at Norman, Okla.

“We threw one pass,” Mildren recalled. “And, no, we didn’t complete it.”

Mildren was in Miami last January for USC’s demolition of Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. He said this season’s Trojan offense is even better.

“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see how good these guys are,” he said.

Nebraska, 1983

With an offense known as the “Scoring Explosion,” the Cornhuskers averaged 52 points a game. Quarterback Turner Gill was at the controls of a unit that featured Heisman Trophy-winning running back Mike Rozier, receiver Irving Fryar and tackle Dean Steinkuhler, the Outland Trophy winner.

Nebraska eclipsed 80 points once, 70 points twice and 60 points five times and tallied an NCAA-record 84 touchdowns.

“We had a power running game, but Turner also ran the option and he could pass,” said Rozier, who averaged nearly eight yards a carry.

Unfortunately for Nebraska, Gill’s final pass that season, on a two-point conversion try in the Orange Bowl, was tipped away, giving Miami a 31-30 victory and its first national title.

“USC is very potent,” Rozier said of the 2005 Trojans. “They are very similar to us.”

Houston, 1989-90

Seven teams in NCAA history featured a 4,000-yard passer and a 1,000-yard rusher in the same season. Houston did it twice.

With Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware at quarterback in the Cougars’ run-and-shoot attack, Houston averaged 53.5 points and an NCAA-record 624.9 yards a game in 1989. Against Southern Methodist, the Cougars scored 59 points in the first half and won, 95-21, amassing 1,021 total yards.

Ware, who averaged 427 yards passing and threw for 46 touchdowns, declared for the NFL draft after his junior year. But David Klingler took over at quarterback in 1990 and passed for 54 touchdowns and 5,140 yards.

Running back Chuck Weatherspoon rushed for more than 1,000 yards in both seasons. In 1989 he averaged 9.6 yards a carry, an NCAA record for rushers with more than 100 carries.

Nebraska, 1995

With quarterback Tommie Frazier leading the way, the Cornhuskers won their second consecutive national title and were first in rushing (399.8 yards a game) and scoring (52.4 points).

“That team had the same explosiveness [as the 1983 Cornhuskers] and a lot more depth,” said Gill, who was Nebraska’s quarterbacks coach.

Nowhere was that more evident than in the backfield. With tailback Lawrence Phillips embroiled in off-the-field problems, freshman Ahman Green rushed for 1,086 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Frazier, who finished second to Eddie George in Heisman balloting, ran for 14 touchdowns and passed for 17. He rushed for 199 yards and scored on a 75-yard run in the Cornhuskers’ 62-24 rout of No. 2 Florida in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl.

Asked if he would rate the 2005 Trojan offense over the 1995 Cornhuskers, Gill said, “I may say USC because they throw the ball so well, but the ’95 team was great. I don’t know if I could pick one.”

As Leinart prepared for the final two games of his college career, he also reserved judgment.

The Trojans must defeat UCLA and win the Rose Bowl, this season’s bowl championship series title game, before Leinart will consider whether USC has the best offense in college football history.

“If we finish the season undefeated,” he said, “then we can say, ‘Well, OK, maybe we do have a valid point of making that argument.’ ”

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Unstoppable

A thumbnail look at some of the most potent offenses in college football history:

1944-45 ARMY

* Record: 9-0 in 1944, 9-0 in 1945, national champions each year.

* Led nation: in rushing offense (298.6) and scoring (56.0) in 1944; in rushing offense (359.8), total offense (462.7) and scoring (45.8) in 1945.

* Outsized scores: 83-0 over Villanova, 76-0 over the Coast Guard Academy, 69-7 over Pittsburgh, 62-7 over Pennsylvania in 1944; 61-0 over Pennsylvania, 54-0 over Wake Forest, 54-0 over Villanova in 1945.

* Facts and figures: Glenn Davis, Army’s “Mr. Outside,” averaged fewer than eight carries per game but gained 11.5 yards per carry in each season, scoring 20 touchdowns in 1944. Doc Blanchard, “Mr. Inside,” scored 19 touchdowns in 1945 and won the Heisman Trophy. Davis would win it the next year.

1971 OKLAHOMA

* Record: 11-1, including a 35-31 loss to Nebraska.

* Led nation: in rushing offense (472.4), total offense (566.5) and scoring (44.9).

* Outsized scores: 75-28 over Kansas State, 58-14 over Oklahoma State, 56-10 over Kansas, 55-29 over Pittsburgh.

* Facts and figures: Greg Pruitt, with 1,760 yards rushing and 108 points, and quarterback Jack Mildren (1,289 and 124) are each ranked in the school’s top 10 single-season performers in both categories. Mildren rushed for 400 yards more than his passing total.

1983 NEBRASKA

* Record: 12-1, including a 31-30 loss to Miami in the Orange Bowl.

* Led nation: in rushing offense (401.7) and scoring (52.0).

* Outsized scores: 84-13 over Minnesota, 72-29 over Iowa State, 69-19 over Colorado, 67-13 over Kansas, 63-7 over Syracuse.

* Facts and figures: Mike Rozier had four games of more than 200 yards rushing, with a high of 285 against Kansas, on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy. His 174 points and 29 touchdowns are school records.

1989-90 HOUSTON

* Record: 9-2 in 1989; 10-1 in 1990, including a 45-24 loss to Texas

* Led nation: in passing offense (511.3), total offense (624.9) and scoring (53.5) in 1989; in passing offense (473.9), total offense (586.8) and scoring (46.5) in 1990.

* Outsized scores: 95-21 over Southern Methodist, 69-0 over UNLV, 66-10 over Baylor, 65-7 over Temple, 64-0 over Rice in 1989; 84-21 over Eastern Washington, 62-28 over Arkansas, 62-45 over Arizona State in 1990.

* Facts and figures: Was it the player or the system? Andre Ware won the Heisman Trophy in 1989, passing for 4,699 yards and 46 touchdowns for the Cougars. The following year, David Klingler stepped in to pass for 5,140 yards and 51 touchdowns.

1995 NEBRASKA

* Record: 12-0, won national championship.

* Led nation: in rushing offense (399.8) and scoring (52.4)

* Outsized scores: 77-28 over Arizona State, 73-14 over Iowa State, 64-21 over Oklahoma State, 62-24 over Florida in the Fiesta Bowl.

* Facts and figures: Lawrence Phillips rushed for 359 yards and seven touchdowns in the first two games, then was suspended after being charged with assault. No matter, the Cornhuskers turned to Ahman Green, who set a school record for freshmen with 1,086 yards and 13 touchdowns. Quarterback Tommie Frazier ran for 14 touchdowns and passed for 17.

2005 USC

* Record: 11-0, with two games remaining.

* Leads nation: in total offense (571.3).

* Outsized scores: 70-17 over Arkansas, 63-17 over Hawaii, 55-13 over Washington State, 51-24 over Washington, 51-21 over Stanford, 50-42 over Fresno State.

* Facts and figures: If Steve Smith can average 50 yards receiving over the Trojans’ last two games, he’ll join Dwayne Jarrett (1,070) as only the 20th pair of teammates in Division I-A history to post a 1,000-yard season in receiving. But add them to a 3,000-yard passer (Matt Leinart, 3,217) and a pair of 1,000-yard rushers (Reggie Bush, 1,398, and LenDale White, 1,024) and you have an unparalleled quintet.