Some Trojans fans expect too much

BERKELEY -- The Golden Bears looked like grizzlies, tearing off gains in big chunks. A 10-yard run, an 11-yard run, a 23-yard pass. The score: 7-7.

But with the Bears a single yard from putting a big, fat paw print on this game, the Trojans began to strut.

They held the Bears to a field goal. Soon, there was Chauncey Washington, galloping into the end zone to put USC up.

Back and forth the battle went, into the rain-swept night.

This was a rock-hard fight between two desperate teams. In the end, USC’s finest trumped the boys from Berkeley for the fourth straight year.

But for some, it won’t be enough.

Yes, USC won this game, 24-17. The Trojans showed they could stride into a stadium packed shoulder-to-shoulder with Bears fans and walk away with their thumbs up and grins wide.

Still, it won’t calm some of the frayed, angry nerves of Troy. USC fans had dreamed of an undefeated season, 12 games of glory topped off with a bowl game victory, a national title. Instead: eight victories and two losses so far, including an unimaginable upset by Stanford.

Now there’s Bear blood, but Tommy Trojans who live astride white horses still aren’t likely to be satisfied.

Come on. Get real. Gin up courage. Gain some perspective. Sure, USC is not what anyone thought it would be. The greatest college football team ever? A whisper from another lifetime. But this is still a good team. It is still a team that has a chance at the Rose Bowl.

John David Booty’s fault? Patrick Turner’s fault?

These are college kids who give heart and soul, and they don’t deserve the backbiting.

This season has been so unpredictable that it’s impossible to guess what’s going to happen from here. Even if they lose, as they well might on Thanksgiving against Arizona State, and even if they fall to another upset at the hands of UCLA, the Trojans will end the regular season no worse than 8-4. They will be in a bowl game. It might be the Weedeater Bowl, but a bowl it will be.

Think about it. There are 119 teams in the top tier of college football. Overall, USC has been the biggest beast among them for the last five years. In that span, they’ve have five top-four finishes in the rankings, five Pac-10 championships and two national titles. Even this year, the Trojans will be better than almost everyone else, regardless.

Go up to Seattle and ask Huskies Coach Ty Willingham if he would like to have these kids at Washington. Ask the coaches at Notre Dame, Texas A&M;, Iowa and Michigan State. Would they like to have these kids on their teams?

Go out to Westwood and ask Karl Dorrell.

These aren’t cream-puff schools, and they’d all love to be USC right now.

But for some in Troy, even after Saturday night, that’s just not good enough. They consider big wins, big titles and big bowls their birthright. Nothing is worse than spoiled children who expect everything to go smoothly, to turn out just right.

That’s the problem with some Trojans fans this year. They’re spoiled silly.

Their expectations are way out of whack.

Take this game against Cal. Remove the unmet expectations -- on both sides, frankly -- and this was college football at its best.

The Golden Bears came out breathing fire. They marched down the field on their second drive and made it look as if this would be their day. A pass, a hard run, a double reverse, and Justin Forsett smoothed into the end zone practically untouched.

The stands shook. Hatred for the Trojans and everything they represent -- all the winning, all the arrogance -- swirled like a tornado.

But USC did not bask in early-season praise for no reason. In terms of sheer strength, the Trojans are a battleship.

Need proof? By the end for the first half, USC had its guns blazing.

Booty hit his receivers. Chauncey Washington rolled past defenders on his way to a career-high 220 yards rushing. USC stayed tough when the game got rocky. In the end, it came down to Stafon Johnson skirting the left side for an all-guts gain that preserved the final drive and sealed the victory.

How well the Trojans fare for the rest of the season will depend largely on their coach.

Despite his struggles this year and the criticism he and his staff have weathered, Pete Carroll is still considered a coaching genius. He still makes bushels of dollars more than the best professors on his campus. He is still a coach who thrives on challenges. The bigger the challenge, he says, the better.

Now he has one. In Tempe next week and then back in Los Angeles for the knockdown against the Bruins, high-wattage Pete must earn his keep. Can he keep his boys rolling? Can he nudge them closer to their potential? We’ll see.

One thing we do know: The season won’t end the way he or the Trojans or their fans had in mind.

That’s fine.

Trojans fans need to be reminded that winning isn’t easy. There are no guarantees. National titles don’t just fall from the sky.

Sometimes, a taste of humble pie is good.

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Kurt Streeter can be reached at kurt.streeter@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Streeter, go to latimes.com/streeter.