First Payment Will Be on the Lei-Away Plan

For nearly eight months, ever since their Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback announced he would return for a shot at another national title, USC players and coaches have listened to the hype:

Three-peat. One of the best offenses in college football history. A potential dynasty.

Today, when the top-ranked Trojans step onto the field at Aloha Stadium here to play Hawaii, they are looking forward to finally demonstrating that they are worthy of the preseason fanfare.

“It’s about time,” running back LenDale White said.

For the third consecutive season, Coach Pete Carroll has taken his team far from home for its opener.

In 2003, the Trojans headed south to play Southeastern Conference power Auburn at sweltering Jordan-Hare Stadium. Last season, USC traveled east to take on Virginia Tech in the Black Coaches Assn. Football Classic at FedEx Field in Landover, Md. -- it amounted to a Hokie home game.

USC emerged from both sold-out venues with victories that sent them on their way to national titles.

The heavily favored Trojans, riding a 22-game win streak and 36-3 in the last three seasons under Carroll, are expected to handle Hawaii easily on the field today, if they manage the distractions off it.

As Carroll, who owns a house on Oahu, said earlier this week, “We are going to paradise to go play football.”

Quarterback Matt Leinart, however, expects that the challenge of playing at Aloha Stadium will be similar to what the Trojans encountered at Auburn and against Virginia Tech.

“It’s going to be hot, it’s going to be a hostile environment, it’s a going to be a tough crowd,” he said.

In other words, the perfect setting for a team beginning its quest for an unprecedented third consecutive Associated Press national championship.

“It’s always good to start away on the road to see what we’ve got,” said Leinart, who passed for 3,322 yards and 33 touchdowns with only six interceptions last season.

USC’s talent and depth on offense are no mystery. With Leinart, White, Heisman finalist Reggie Bush and an experienced receiving corps and offensive line, the Trojans seem capable of eclipsing last season’s average output of 38 points a game.

But this will be the first time during the Carroll era that Norm Chow will not be calling plays.

Assistant head coach Steve Sarkisian and offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin spent the spring and summer working to fill the void left by offensive coordinator Chow, now plying his trade for the NFL’s Tennessee Titans. Kiffin will call plays from the press box. Sarkisian will filter them, then deliver them to Leinart.

In addition, new offensive line coach Pat Ruel and defensive line coach Jethro Franklin will oversee their charges in a game for the first time.

“It’s going to be clear that our guys are ready to go and ready to take over the responsibilities everybody is so concerned about,” Carroll said of his staff. “I’m anxious to get that behind them as well. There’s obviously some heat on them and pressure about that.

“They want to do really well. They’re ready for it. I’m not concerned about it, but they still have to do it.”

USC is not sure what to expect from Hawaii defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville, who was hired by Coach June Jones to improve a unit that ranked 116th out of 117 Division I-A teams last season. Glanville coached several aggressive defenses with the NFL’s Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons, but this is his first job on the field since 1993, and his first college assignment since he was a Georgia Tech assistant the 1970s.

USC’s defense faces its own challenge. The lineup features five new starters, four of whom are replacing All-Americans who helped the Trojans rank among the nation’s best in every major category last season.

Sophomore nose tackle Sedrick Ellis says he’ll have butterflies in his stomach as he moves into the slot formerly manned by Mike Patterson. But he expects them to dissipate after his first hit.

“You want to go out there and just be mindful of your assignments and what the coaches told you to do,” Ellis said. USC faces a rebuilding Hawaii offense. Record-setting quarterback Timmy Chang is gone, replaced by redshirt freshman Tyler Graunke and JC transfer Colt Brennan. The Warriors also feature new starters at receiver and running back.