USC Does the Grunt Work With Ease

USC’s home opener Saturday night featured all the accouterments befitting a team on a quest for an unprecedented third straight national title.

A near-sellout crowd of 90,411 filled the Coliseum. The 2004 national championship banner was unveiled. And Arkansas, the nation’s top rushing team, was in town.

When the game finally began, the top-ranked Trojans put on a show that might require a new definition for quick-strike offense.

Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart passed for four touchdowns and ran for another and running back Reggie Bush scored the first two times he touched the ball as the Trojans routed Arkansas, 70-17.

USC improved to 2-0 and extended its winning streak to 24 games. The Trojans also extended their home winning streak to 22, a stretch of nearly four years, and scored their most points since a 70-33 victory over Washington State on Nov. 7, 1970.

“I definitely think we’re starting to send a message about this offense -- that we’ve got a lot of weapons,” Bush said. “For the teams that are going to be playing us, you just better be ready.”

USC, which plays four of its next five games on the road, eclipsed the 60-point mark for the second game in row, showing no letdown after its season-opening 63-17 rout at Hawaii on Sept. 3.

In that game, USC’s offensive players were frustrated because they did not get onto the field until only 1 minute 24 seconds remained in the first quarter.

Against Arkansas (1-2), the Trojans needed possession for only 1 minute 32 seconds to score four first-quarter touchdowns.

“USC scores so fast, it just messes you up,” Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt said.

The Trojans led, 28-7, at the end of the first quarter and 42-10 at halftime. By the end of the third quarter, when Coach Pete Carroll emptied his bench, the Trojans had amassed 645 yards. They finished with 736.

“I can’t ask them to score slower,” Carroll said.

Leinart, who had picked apart Jerry Glanville’s blitzing defense two weeks ago at Hawaii and emerged as the nation’s leader in passing efficiency, did the same to Arkansas defensive coordinator Reggie Herring’s scheme, passing for 264 yards and three touchdowns in the first half as the Trojans rolled up 429 yards in 32 plays. He finished 18 for 24 -- for the second game in a row -- for 381 yards. He also scored on a 17-yard scramble up the middle late in the first quarter.

“We know what we’re capable of doing,” Leinart said. “We have a lot of potential. We have so much experience, it’s my job to get the ball to the open receiver or hand the ball off and let our guys do their thing.”

It was the irrepressible Bush who stunned Arkansas first.

The first two times he touched the ball, he ran 76 yards for a touchdown on USC’s third play and then put the Trojans ahead, 14-7, with a 29-yard touchdown reception.

Bush finished with 125 yards rushing in eight carries and three receptions for 70 yards.

With Arkansas averaging 338.5 yards rushing, the game was supposed to be a test for USC’s defensive line.

But the Trojan offense never really gave the defense a chance to prove its mettle, scoring so quickly that the Razorbacks turned to the pass. Arkansas ballcarriers gained 96 yards in 28 carries in the first half, but no gain was longer than 17 yards. The Razorbacks finished with 244 yards, 197 rushing.

Carroll, also the defensive coordinator, said the defense needs to improve.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” he said. “Hopefully if you’re growing with your defense, you need your offense to be really productive, and we’re fortunate to have that.”

USC scored on all six of its first-half possessions en route to a 42-10 lead, then scored the first two times it had the ball in the third quarter to go ahead, 56-10.

“We are very confident in what we can do and we expect to go out there every time and score,” Leinart said.

Arkansas’s first possession produced only 16 yards before the Razorbacks punted.

Bush was forced to let the kick roll past him to the USC six, but he made the most of his first touch three plays later.

After an 18-yard reception by fullback David Kirtman and an incomplete pass, Bush took a handoff from Leinart and ran toward the right side of the line. He quickly cut back toward the middle, moved upfield and faked to his right, then sprinted to his left and outran the Razorbacks to the end zone.

“The offense kind of washed everybody down, a big gaping hole opened up in the middle and our fullback led me right through there,” said Bush, who acknowledged that he was looking at the video board to see if any Razorbacks were catching up to him.

Felix Jones of Arkansas returned the ensuing kickoff to the Trojan 29 and the Razorbacks tied the score three plays later on a 12-yard pass from Robert Johnson to Marcus Monk.

But that just opened the door for a USC onslaught.

Desmond Reed returned the kickoff 51 yards to the Arkansas 29. On the first play, Bush swung out of the backfield to his left and caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Leinart for a 14-7 lead.

USC again needed only two plays for its next score -- Leinart’s 44-yard pass to Steve Smith and a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jarrett for a 21-7 lead with 9:06 left in the quarter.

Sophomore safety Josh Pinkard, starting in place of the injured Darnell Bing, set up USC’s next touchdown when he intercepted a pass by Johnson.

Once again, it took USC only two plays to score. Leinart passed 38 yards to Jarrett and the Trojans picked up additional yardage on a roughing-the-passer penalty. Leinart handled the rest, scrambling 17 yards into the end zone for a 28-7 lead.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Never at a loss

USC’s last loss was at California, 34-31, on Sept. 27, 2003. The winning streak stands at 24 games:

*--* 2003 No. Date Opponent Score 1. Oct. 4 at Arizona St. 37-17 2. Oct. 11 Stanford 44-21 3. Oct. 18 at Notre Dame 45-14 4. Oct. 25 at Washington 43-23 5. Nov. 1 Washington St. 43-16 6. Nov. 15 at Arizona 45-0 7. Nov. 22 UCLA 47-22 8. Dec. 6 Oregon St. 52-28 9. Jan. 1 vs. Michigan 28-14 2004 10. Aug. 28 at Virginia Tech 24-13 11. Sept. 11 Colorado St. 49-0 12. Sept. 18 at Brigham Young 42-10 13. Sept. 25 at Stanford 31-28 14. Oct. 9 California 23-17 15. Oct. 16 Arizona St. 45-7 16. Oct. 23 Washington 38-0 17. Oct. 30 At Washington St. 42-12 18. Nov. 6 at Oregon St. 28-20 19. Nov. 13 Arizona 49-9 20. Nov. 27 Notre Dame 41-10 21. Dec. 4 at UCLA 29-24 22. Jan. 4 vs. Oklahoma 55-19 2005 23. Sept. 3 at Hawaii 63-17 24. Sept. 17 Arkansas 70-17

*--*

Los Angeles Times

*

KEYS TO THE GAME

Gary Klein’s keys to the game, and how the Trojans measured up:

1. Protect Leinart: The Heisman Trophy winner was sacked only once.

2. Stop the run: Arkansas came into the game averaging 338.5 rushing yards. USC held the Razorbacks to 197.

3. Control emotions: The Trojans avoided the outbursts that resulted in personal-foul penalties against Hawaii. They were penalized only four times for 23 yards.