Leinart Gets to No-Pressure Point

Matt Leinart threw touchdown passes Saturday and enjoyed doing it, which used to be as newsworthy as the moon orbiting the Earth or Paris Hilton showing up at a party.

After all, this was the man who averaged one touchdown pass for every 12 attempts, the guy who led the life everyone this side of Hugh Hefner dreamed about: going to college without the heavy classes, playing big-time sports without the possibility of being traded or cut.

Except it was all about the downside lately. Leinart had a ratio of three interceptions to two touchdowns the previous three games, with no touchdowns to show for his trips to Arizona State and Notre Dame. The level of expectations, the scrutiny of where he went and whom he hung out with, it all got to him.

Even pushing the ball across the goal line for one of the most dramatic touchdowns in the history of the USC-Notre Dame rivalry left him more dazed and drained than deliriously happy.

For those keeping track of the quarterback’s emotions, the Leinart-o-meter moved to “relieved” Saturday after an efficient afternoon in which he completed 20 of 26 passes for 201 yards and threw for four touchdowns -- setting a Pacific 10 Conference career record in the process -- in USC’s 51-24 victory over Washington.

“He kind of took a deep breath and said, ‘Hey, I need to enjoy this experience that I’m having,’ ” USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian said.

And so Leinart seemed eminently satisfied Saturday, even if it was a game that couldn’t add to the Trojans’ stature, even if the only tangible thing he took from the stadium was a box of pepperoni pizza tucked under his left arm.

“It was me just having fun again,” Leinart said. “That’s kind of what I was lacking. I was having fun, but I was thinking too much. I’ve been around so long, I know everything [about the offense], I just feel so comfortable I was just kind of just thinking too much and trying to be perfect every play, where sometimes you just have to

He didn’t face much pressure, thanks to Washington’s weak pass rush. He had plenty of time and wide-open receivers -- all he needed for a good Saturday afternoon, the quarterbacking equivalent of pizza and a TV remote control.

But remember what’s at stake for Leinart. People forget that senior year isn’t just one last chance to live the college life; it’s also the first time to worry about a career. And for top athletes, there’s always the chance that another year in school can hurt their pro prospects by exposing their weaknesses. He needed a game like this to reestablish his draft value, a concern that does creep into his mind.

“I think about it, what I’m going to do next year, where I’m going to be,” Leinart said. “But I came back to school committed to do this and play at SC and be here for one more year and not worry about what’s going to happen. I don’t even talk to agents; I don’t talk to anybody.”

He lets his father handle the phone calls from people who want to represent him. As Leinart showed again Saturday, he can handle the rest.

He had the decision-making skills of a seasoned chief executive, patiently staying behind the line of scrimmage to wait for an open receiver, throwing the ball away the few times he didn’t have an open man, going through the progressions and hitting the closer receivers when necessary.

“He was on it today,” Coach Pete Carroll said.

His passes had less flutter, more zip. His most impressive pass was incomplete: a rollout to the left, followed by a throw diagonally across the field to the right. It sailed over Dwayne Jarrett’s hands but showed he can get enough on the ball to go sideline-to-sideline.

The rest of the afternoon, Leinart and Jarrett were locked in. They connected for a 24-yard touchdown right after a long kickoff return by Darnell Bing for USC’s second touchdown. That tied the Pac-10 record of 85 touchdown passes set by Arizona State’s Andrew Walter. They hooked up two more times to move the record to 87.

“I didn’t even think about it,” Leinart said. “But it’s cool.”

Last game it was Bush who racked up the big numbers while Leinart had the memorable moments: the 61-yard pass play to Jarrett on fourth and nine and the winning touchdown run.

This time it was Leinart who had the better statistics, but Bush made the play of the game: an 84-yard punt return for a touchdown.

Leinart’s the guy who stays up all night and downs four cups of coffee studying. Bush wakes up 10 minutes before class and aces the test. It’s one of the qualities of Bush’s greatness that the big moments seem to find their way to him, the same way the hockey puck always ends up on Mario Lemieux’s stick when he’s in position to score, or the basketball gets to Robert Horry’s hands with the game on the line.

Saturday it was a missed tackle and an opening that led to the big return, Bush’s second touchdown of the game.

On a day when Bush produced only 69 yards from scrimmage, the highlight play ought to be enough to keep his Heisman candidacy alive.

The 2005 trophy belongs to Bush. Leinart has already had that experience. For the sake of him and the team, he needed to rediscover just how good it can feel to be Matt Leinart.

J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Adande, go to latimes.com/adande.