Near-misses are now the norm

Joe McKnight brought the fire, but don’t be blinded by it.

This USC team barely smolders.

Mark Sanchez brought the cheers -- San-chez, San-chez -- but don’t be deafened by them.

This USC team is not yet worth shouting about.

Those who watched only the fourth quarter of the Trojans’ 20-13 escape from Arizona on Saturday will rave about the snapshots of McKnight and Sanchez.

But those who witnessed the previous three hours saw the bigger picture.

These Trojans are more ordinary than outstanding. These Trojans are more about surviving than steamrolling.

Stanford was not an anomaly. Stanford was not a fantasy. Tough fights with mediocrity is the new USC reality.

These Trojans are far worse than a preseason No. 1, far less than a regular-season powerhouse and far from being a big-bowl postseason lock.

And, oh yeah, these Trojans are as confused about it as you are.

“Everyone has to learn, even we’ve had to learn,” said offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian with a look of weary relief in the locker room. “This is a different team. This is not Matt and Reggie and Dwayne and those guys. None of our games are going to be easy.”

For a third consecutive game Saturday, they showed it, trailing struggling Arizona into the fourth quarter, nearly losing for a second consecutive week at a place where they had not lost on consecutive weeks in eight years.

Until the fourth quarter, the Coliseum was dead, the defense was dumbfounded, the quarterback was scary and the game plan was strange.

McKnight’s 45-yard punt return saved it, his 59-yard scamper clinched it, and Sanchez’s leadership secured it.

But nothing could sugar-coat it.

“This year they’re a regular team, and there’s no reason to be afraid of them,” Arizona receiver Terrell Reese said with a shrug.

And nothing can hide it, as Arizona Coach Mike Stoops confirmed when asked about his team’s apparent lack of intimidation.

“Our kids see what’s out there, they’re smart,” he said.

On a sunny afternoon that turned cloudy, sitting out there was plenty of Trojans luck that led to a win in which they outgained the nation’s 63rd ranked offense by only 21 yards.

“We were one or two plays away,” Stoops said.

Arizona intercepted a Sanchez pass deep in USC territory late in the second half, but Corey Hall immediately fumbled it away.

Willie Tuitama found Delashaun Dean open deep in USC territory in the third quarter for a pass that would have probably been a touchdown, but he overthrew him.

McKnight fumbled at the end of USC’s clinching drive, but Arizona couldn’t recover it.

“We had ‘em,” Arizona receiver Mike Thomas said. “Just a play here, a play there.”

The scene at the beginning of the game -- a Coliseum with empty seats, a crowd with little voice -- was odd.

The scene at the end of the game, however, was even odder.

Trojans fans dancing and chanting, Trojans players jumping into the stands, everyone throwing a party for a tough, thrilling victory -- against Arizona?

“We’re going to have to learn to play tough, tight games against everybody,” Sarkisian said. “And it’s going to be like this for a while.”

It is? What happened? How can a nationally top-ranked powerhouse that was predicted to go unbeaten just disappear like that?

It apparently starts with the offensive line. Two more linemen left with injuries Saturday, tackle Sam Baker and guard Zach Heberer, and thus plodding Chauncey Washington was held to 54 yards and Sanchez was sacked three times.

“We’re out there playing backups of backups,” Sarkisian said.

This means kids such as McKnight will be interesting, but until somebody can block for him, he might not always be so inspiring.

From the line, the problem spread to the receivers, who Saturday caught only seven balls for a combined 76 yards. This is the most underachieving group on an underachieving team.

Nobody has any idea whether any of those guys will eventually figure it out.

Now step back to quarterback, where Sanchez will be the buzz of the town this week after leading the team on that final 93-yard field-goal drive.

The players love his leadership, the coaches loves his versatility, but everybody better learn to endure his inconsistency, the crazy passes and futile runs that turn into sacks.

“He’s like a gunslinger out there,” said tackle Drew Radovich, and you know how those old westerns sometimes end.

Sanchez will be fun to watch, he is clearly the quarterback future of this program, and he should remain the starter even when John David Booty returns from his injury.

But he will require not only a better line and receivers, but a more consistent defense, whose troubles continue to baffle.

Take Arizona’s 74-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter. It featured safety Kevin Ellison being stiff-armed for a long gain, Cary Harris being juked for a long gain, the entire linebacker corps being outraced by 218-pound runner Chris Jennings.

“We’re all banged up, we’re trying to overcompensate, we’re doing the best we can,” linebacker Keith Rivers said.

The definition of USC’s “best” having changed dramatically from recent years.

“I’m not saying we’re bad,” Sarkisian said. “We’re just different.”

As Saturday sometimes showed, it can feel like the same thing.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Plaschke, go to latimes.com/plaschke.