There’s Room for Spot Cleaning

USC Coach Pete Carroll said Sunday that the top-ranked Trojans, who won’t play again until Sept. 17, would use the next two weeks to develop younger players who are pushing for more playing time.

He refrained from saying that the time before the home opener against Arkansas would serve as a refresher course for a defense that surrendered 437 yards, including 377 passing Saturday in a 63-17 rout of Hawaii.

“I’m not worried about it at all,” Carroll said by telephone from Hawaii, where the team spent the day enjoying activities on Oahu before its scheduled departure for Los Angeles Sunday night.

Against Hawaii, the Trojan offense, led by quarterback Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush, was as good as expected. The defense, however, gave up more than 400 yards for only the eighth time in Carroll’s four-plus seasons.

“There’s a lot of stuff in this game for us to fix and clean up,” he said.

Hawaii’s run-and-shoot offense is unorthodox, and Warrior Coach June Jones made it more so by alternating quarterbacks Tyler Graunke and Colt Brennan on nearly every play.

Graunke rushed for a team-best 43 yards and passed for 127 yards and a touchdown. Brennan passed for 250 yards and a touchdown but had one interception returned for a touchdown. The two quarterbacks helped keep USC’s offense off the field for nearly all of the first quarter.

“We kept it simple and knew our offense would drive down the field,” Graunke said.

In the locker room after the game, most of USC’s players on offense appeared drained but upbeat. Cornerbacks and safeties were subdued.

“It was a decent start,” senior cornerback Justin Wyatt said. “There are a couple of things we need to work on.”

In 2003, USC gave up 462 yards -- including 399 passing yards -- in a 61-32 victory over Hawaii. In their next game two weeks later, the Trojans surrendered 469 yards in a triple-overtime loss to California at Berkeley, USC’s last loss before starting its 23-game winning streak.

USC also gave up 543 yards in a 52-28 victory over Oregon State in 2003.

On Sunday, Carroll said he was not concerned about Hawaii’s yardage total. Trojan starters surrendered only 10 points. Carroll said his defense overran the play at times, but showed good effort throughout.

“They’re such an atypical team,” he said of Hawaii. “It’s hard to gauge what it all means.”

*

Carroll said running back LenDale White’s limited role against Hawaii was “a non-issue.” Reggie Bush got the majority of carries during the first three quarters, including short-yardage goal-line plays that White has usually handled the last two seasons. Carroll said White would get his opportunities. “It was the first game,” Carroll said. “Just look back at the history at how our games have gone. Sometimes it’s one guy. Each game has a life of its own.” ... Senior punter Tom Malone, who rarely kicked during camp because of a hip injury, had said he would be ready for the opener. But redshirt freshman Taylor Odegard made USC’s only punt against Hawaii, a 38-yarder. Carroll said Malone would play against Arkansas.