USC vs Washington St. Preview

Seriously, it’s true.

Nor does Heisman-winning running back/kick returner/punt returner/defense destroyer Reggie Bush.

Seriously, that one’s true, too.

And there’s another little nugget floating around college football since August. Something about this 1,302-yard rushing, 24-touchdown scoring dude who goes by the name of LenDale White no longer playing at Southern California.

Apparently, that’s true, too.

We know this because: 1. The NFL drafted those three players in April; and 2. Every college football announcer and analyst can’t go three seconds without mentioning it when the topic of USC football comes up.

Yes, those guys were amazing. But there’s quite a bit more talent roaming at No. 3 USC for coach Pete Carroll to play with. That talent has been on display through the first three games – all wins, by the way – and we’ll see it again Saturday when the Trojans play at Pac-10 rival Washington State.

Oh, one quick thing about the departed Trojan triumvirate of 2005: The Trojans lost more of their offense when quarterback Carson Palmer, another Heisman winner, graduated.

“Everybody compares right back to the two Heisman guys in the backfield and all that kind of stuff and there's always the build up to make that offense what it was last year,” Carroll said. “You go back to compare in 2003 and check out what Leinart was doing at this time and what Reggie was doing at this time. Reggie wasn't even on the map yet. We've done extensive studies to make sure we know. We want to know the truth of what's going on. We're ahead in rushing yards, we're ahead in passing yards, we're ahead in efficiency, time of possession, turnovers, everything. All of the critical stats and that's really positive and it's important for our team to know that because they have a sense that they're not living up to expectations which I love.”

Look first to redshirt senior quarterback John David Booty and his gaudy 66.4 completion percentage, 697 passing yards and seven touchdowns in his first year as a starter.

“There aren't very many cons looking at John David's performance so far, other than he's been about an inch off on three or four passes that would have given him another 150 or 200 yards in passing,” Carroll said. “He threw an interception only because the guy fell down. He's managed the game. He did a really good job last week with a good crowd again like at Arkansas and he changed plays a number of times at the line of scrimmage and did it successfully. I have no hesitation and no reluctance at all to call on John to do everything we've ever asked our quarterbacks to do.”

Look next to Dwayne Jarrett, the holdover star receiver from a year ago, and his 20 receptions for 207 yards and three touchdowns. Jarrett, however, is dealing with a shoulder sprain and likely will sit out this game.

That brings us to Steve Smith, another holdover standout receiver from the Leinart regime. And Patrick Turner, the new guy. And new tight end Fred Davis.

Gee, think Carroll knows how to recruit?

Washington State coach Bill Doba does.

“Not only are they very talented, I think they've had the top recruiting class or the top one or two in the nation for the last four or five years, but they are very well coached,” Doba said. “We watch their offensive line and it looks like a chorus line. They all step on a zone play in the same step. They come up, they keep their shoulders parallel to the line of scrimmage, and they get down hill in a hurry.”

Washington State (3-1, 2-2 against the spread) has the unenviable task of trying to stop a Trojans program that has won a record 24 straight Pac-10 games and a record 17 Pac-10 road games.

That USC offensive line Doba must deal with spends their time blocking for a group of inexperienced but productive running backs. Emmanuel Moody, the speedy cutback guy, is averaging 7.0 yards a carry (37 for 258 yards). Chauncey Washington and C.J. Gable, the bruisers, are each averaging 4.7 yards a carry.

No one is ready to ask the “Reggie who?” question anytime soon. Not when we’re talking about one of the most electrifying college football players in the last 30 years.

But we can certainly stop wondering what USC will do without Bush, Leinart and White.

They’ll do just fine.

TOP PHOTO: John David Booty has a 66.4 completion percentage and USC looks to be just fine without its superstars of last year. (AP Photo)

Note: All NCAA football lines subject to change.

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