Off to Running Start

Somewhere amid the multiple receivers and shotgun formations, amid the swirl of USC’s new spread offense, Sultan McCullough figured to get his hands on the ball a few times.

The Trojan tailback knew this wasn’t your grandfather’s Student Body Right, but all he needed was a chance.

“If I have a crease,” he said, “I can get through.”

McCullough got through for 167 yards and a career-high three touchdowns Saturday, overshadowing the passing attack and leading his team to a 21-10 season-opening victory over San Jose State at the Coliseum.

It was pretty much the debut Coach Pete Carroll and his new-look Trojans had hoped for. There could have been a few less drive-stalling penalties. The offense could have been a little more consistent, the defense a little more dominating.

But a win is a win, especially for a team that had not won at the Coliseum since the last time San Jose State was here, almost a year ago.

“It’s great to get your first one and get going,” Carroll said. “It was a blast being on the sideline again.”

The last time USC played San Jose State, the Trojans needed a fourth-quarter rally to pull out the victory. This one wasn’t as close. And it wasn’t only the running game that made a difference.

Quarterback Carson Palmer came in vowing to be patient with the new offense and he was, content to throw short passes, completing his first nine on the way to an efficient if unspectacular 21 of 28 for 213 yards and only one interception.

Other than that mistake, the Trojans avoided the turnovers that cost them so dearly last season.

The defense, meanwhile, showed a new style of its own. Smaller, slimmer and quicker, it held San Jose State tailback Deonce Whitaker, a Doak Walker Award candidate, to a pedestrian 65 yards in 22 tough carries.

“We pretty much swarmed,” middle linebacker Mike Pollard said. “Everyone getting around the ball, jumping over the pile, having fun.”

But it was the offense that most of the 45,568 in attendance probably came to see. Carroll had made news by hiring coordinator Norm Chow, the man who nurtured Brigham Young quarterbacks the likes of Steve Young and Jim McMahon. Chow arrived promising lots of quick-release passing.

His offense hiccuped at first, moving 17 yards in the wrong direction on a botched flea flicker and a holding penalty.

But it wasn’t long before Palmer began finding receivers down the middle, wide open in the seams of the defense. Junior college transfer Grant Mattos caught one for 21 yards, establishing himself as a new go-to guy.

Then, as the coaching staff had said all spring and summer, the passing game opened things up for the run. San Jose State began dropping seven and eight men back in coverage.

That was all McCullough needed.

Late in the first quarter, he ran a draw toward the sideline and sprinted 31 yards deep into Spartan territory. Two plays later, Palmer faked a pass and handed to him again, McCullough going 14 yards for the game’s first score.

The passing attack never truly caught fire, Palmer and others saying they weren’t completely comfortable. The trick plays--like fullback Charlie Landrigan going 19 yards on a misdirection screen pass--worked only about half the time. But in the second quarter, with USC driving, McCullough made another critical play.

On a draw, the tailback outsprinted Spartan safety Larry Thompson to the sideline, then hesitated long enough for another safety, Melvin Cook, to slide past. A few steps later, he had a 35-yard touchdown run and USC a 14-0 lead.

At that point, it seemed this matchup between two spread offenses would, ironically, turn into a ground war. While McCullough was gaining 120 yards in the first half, Whitaker also started fast, breaking off runs of 17 and 13 yards and providing most of his team’s offense.

The Trojans soon adjusted.

Carroll, who doubles as defensive coordinator, stopped trying so many gimmicks. “We settled down and played a lot more base defense,” he said.

Strong safety Troy Polamalu inched closer to the line of scrimmage and the outside linebackers, Matt Grootegoed and Frank Strong, both former safeties, began using their speed to make plays.

Suddenly, Whitaker was getting hit in the backfield, losing four yards on one play, being held for no gain on the next three.

Only after Palmer made a mistake, underthrowing Kareem Kelly along the sideline, did San Jose State get on the board. Cornerback Alex Wallace returned the interception 45 yards and Nick Gilliam made a 37-yard field goal to close the gap to 14-3 at halftime.

The USC offense lulled in the second half, failing to put together enough drives for the coach’s taste, but McCullough began the fourth quarter with a seven-yard touchdown run.

That was enough to give the Trojans a cushion against a late San Jose State rally. Whitaker ran three yards for a touchdown to make the score 21-10 with six minutes remaining.

*

USC 21, SAN JOSE STATE 10

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

FIRST TIME OUT

How USC coaches since John McKay have done in their first game:

1976--John Robinson

Missouri 46USC 25

1983--Ted Tollner

USC 19Florida 19

1987--Larry Smith

Michigan State 27USC 13

1993--John Robinson

North Carolina 31USC 9

1998--Paul Hackett

USC 27Purdue 17

2001--Pete Carroll

USC 21San Jose State 10