Eye-opener: USC victory reveals flaws in No. 1 club

LANDOVER, Md. -- The inexperienced receivers had a tough time getting open. The retooled offensive line had some trouble protecting the star quarterback. And the No. 1 team was trailing the 17 1/2- point underdog with 17 minutes left in the season opener.

Southern California doesn't look unbeatable -- yet.

USC began its title defense with a tougher-than-expected 24-13 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday night at FedEx Field that had to have some wondering what all the fuss was about the Trojans.

"What you're going to tend to do right now is you guys are going to tend to feel like this wasn't a good enough win," USC coach Pete Carroll told reporters. "This was a great win for our program."

Great only because a loss would have been devastating.

"There's more pressure when you're No. 1," linebacker Matt Grootegoed said. "That comes with the territory."

The hype around USC entering the season was feverish. The Trojans were an overwhelming top choice in both The Associated Press media poll and the coaches poll.

With numerous established stars and a stockpile of blue chippers to fill holes, there appeared to be no reason to question USC's credentials.

But in the midst of all the talk about Matt Leinart making a run at the Heisman Trophy, the talented tailbacks and ferocious front seven, the fact that the Trojans had to replace more than half their offense got buried.

Up front the Trojans have just one senior, guard John Drake, and only two players with starting experience -- Drake and guard Fred Matua, a sophomore.

They have a redshirt freshman, Sam Baker, at left tackle, and a junior college transfer, Taitusi Lutui at right tackle. Center Ryan Kalil is a sophomore who played sparingly last season.

Last year Leinart rarely hit the turf. USC allowed 15 sacks with All-American Jacob Rogers and Winston Justice manning the tackles.

Rogers is now in the NFL and Justice is suspended from school. They were missed against Virginia Tech.

Leinart was sacked twice and another Hokies' sack was wiped out by a facemask penalty. On the ground, USC managed 101 yards, 55 less than last year's average, and 3.5 per carry.

The Mike Williams-less receiving corps needs even more work than the line.

Sophomores Steve Smith and Chris McFoy and freshman Dwayne Jarrett combined for eight catches and 87 yards. Williams alone averaged seven catches, 101 yards and touchdown a game last season.

Leinart turned to tailback Reggie Bush for big plays in the passing game Saturday night, connecting with the sophomore three times for long touchdowns.

"It will take time for Matt to develop the chemistry with the young guys," Carroll said.

Several times in the first half, Leinart's quick passes went to vacant spots where receivers should have been.

"I don't think we won as much outside as we're used to winning, I think that definitely happened," Carroll said. "We weren't as sharp outside with the receivers. We had a couple of routes where we ran the wrong depth and stuff like that with the young guys. That's all stuff that will be fixed in time."

Obviously, there is no reason for Carroll or anyone else associated with USC to panic.

The talent is there and Carroll's staff is one of the best in the business. The Trojans also have time and the schedule on their side. They're off next week before the home opener against Colorado State - - a solid team that should provide just enough of a challenge to help USC get better.

After that the Trojans can work out the kinks with road trips to BYU and Stanford. USC beat those two by a combined 79-39 last year. The next major test comes Oct. 9 when No. 13 California comes to Los Angeles.

The offseason was anything but ordinary for USC, with Williams being denied reinstatement by the NCAA, the suspensions of Justice and tailback Hershel Dennis and a police investigation into a possible sexual assault involving at least one USC player.

With all those distractions on top of the offensive turnover, it should be no surprise USC struggled against a fired-up Virginia Tech playing close to home.

Maybe a good scare was just what the Trojans needed after all the praise and all the magazine covers.

"This is a game that we will take a long ways down the schedule," Carroll said. "This will really help us. Because it was a tough game, because we were behind at halftime, because we finished it.

"I think this is a really quality win for our program and something that we'll be able to build on."

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