California raisin’

Pete Carroll may have been mockingly “lost for words” in response to USC’s opening at No. 5 in the first Bowl Championship Series standings, but there are still 26 letters on my computer keyboard -- not counting the exclamation point!

The question USC fans should be asking today is not how the Trojans got to No. 5 less than a month after that soggy log ride at Oregon State.

The question now is: How can USC get from No. 5 to No. 2, or No. 1, which would earn the Trojans a trip to this year’s BCS national championship game in South Florida?

With the help of a BCS GPS, we’ve mapped out a five-point course.

Don’t get beat again. . . . Duh!

This is a deal-breaker. USC must finish 11-1. Last year, the Trojans lost twice, to Stanford and to Oregon. Still, a lot of people thought at the end of the season that two-loss USC versus two-loss Georgia would have been a better title game than one-loss Ohio State versus two-loss Louisiana State.

The final BCS standings, though, had Ohio State and LSU at Nos. 1 and 2 and Georgia and USC at 5 and 7.

2. Don’t let “sportsmanship” dampen your dreams.

Hey, we didn’t invent the poll system. USC has to keep pounding opponents. It was interesting that USC was fourth in early BCS projections last week but debuted at No. 5 after beating Washington State, 69-0.

The Trojans were hammered in the computers for beating a school without a win over a major program this year, but that doesn’t mean USC should put the hammer away.

It is hurting USC that margin of victory is no longer factored into the computer formulas. As usual, it’s the Pacific 10 Conference’s fault.

Margin of victory was ordered O-U-T of the BCS formula when, in 2001, Oregon finished second in both polls but No. 4 in the BCS because the Ducks were penalized for winning too many close games.

And that was so . . . unfair.

How important is MOV?

This week, Jeff Sagarin, one of the six BCS computer operators, has USC No. 2 behind Texas in his USA Today rankings, factoring in victory margin. In Sagarin’s rankings reconfigured for the BCS (without MOV), USC drops all the way to No. 10.

The Trojans have won their last three games by the combined score of 141-10, but to the BCS computers those were all 3-2 Auburn wins over Mississippi State.

Margin of victory, though, is still considered by the coaches and Harris poll voters. USC can’t give pollsters any reason to drop the Trojans.

3. Learn the fight songs of your nonconference opponents. (Yeah, even Notre Dame.)

Virginia, which appeared DOA after being shellacked, 52-7, by USC in the season opener, has rallied to a 4-3 record. Ohio State is 7-1 and Notre Dame, 3-9 last year, is 4-2. Since the Pac-10 is down this year, USC may need the computer boost provided by its out-of-league opponents.

4. Pray that a BCS bar fight breaks out.

It would be nice for USC if every Southeastern and Big 12 conference contender lost twice. . . . Duh II.

It is hard to imagine USC beating out a one-loss champion from either conference.

The Trojans need a Wild West rumble in the Big 12 and SEC -- the kind where fists fly and glasses break. And the story ends with USC walking over bodies through the saloon door.

USC can’t get to No. 1 or No. 2 if two of the three undefeated teams at the top -- Texas, Alabama, Penn State -- stay undefeated.

USC can afford one undefeated team at No. 1 if everything else breaks the Trojans’ way.

What USC is up against:

* Texas. It plays No. 6 Oklahoma State in Austin this week and then goes to Texas Tech. If Texas wins the Big 12 South, it would also have to face the North champion in the conference-title game.

* Alabama. A one-loss Alabama team that wins the SEC is probably going to beat out a one-loss USC that wins the Pac-10, so it would be helpful if the Crimson Tide lost . . . twice. Best chances of that happening are at LSU on Nov. 8, home against Auburn on Nov. 29, and the SEC title game.

* Penn State. Ohio State can take care of the Trojans’ Penn State “problem” this weekend if the Buckeyes beat the Nittany Lions in Columbus.

That gets Penn State out of the way and gives USC the edge in any one-loss showdown against Ohio State, a team the Trojans beat by 32 points.

* Oklahoma. The one-loss Sooners pose a threat because they have two highly ranked (right now) schools left to play -- Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. USC needs someone to pin a second loss on the Sooners.

For what it’s worth, Texas Tech beat Oklahoma last year in Lubbock.

5. Look Out From Behind!

An undefeated Oklahoma State (BCS No. 6) or Texas Tech (BCS No. 8) would jump over USC, but that would mean Oklahoma State would have beaten No. 1 Texas and Texas Tech, or Texas Tech would have defeated Texas, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma.

A one-loss Georgia (No. 7) or Florida (No. 10) that wins the SEC will finish ranked higher than USC, but one of those teams is guaranteed a second loss because the schools play on Nov. 1. (See: Pray That Bar Fight Breaks Out)

No one said USC’s road to the title game was going to be easy.

After what happened at Oregon State, why should it be?

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chris.dufresne@latimes.com