Trojans plan to draw line in sand

TEMPE, Ariz. -- USC’s defensive linemen patiently waited 12 days for Thanksgiving to arrive, hungrily anticipating a feast that has nothing to do with turkey.

Arizona State has given up 43 sacks, most in the Pacific 10 Conference and second most in the nation.

“We’re licking our chops,” Trojans end Kyle Moore said.

Tonight at Sun Devil Stadium, 11th-ranked USC will try to continue the trend that has plagued but not yet seriously hurt seventh-ranked Arizona State.

The defensive line, thinking back to USC’s season-best nine-sack performance against Oregon State, believes it can be the difference as the Trojans try to keep their Rose Bowl hopes alive.

“It really does feel like it’s the midst of playoff time,” Coach Pete Carroll said.

USC, 8-2 overall and 5-2 in the Pac-10, will target quarterback Rudy Carpenter with hopes of forcing interceptions and fumbles that could hurt the Sun Devils’ prospects for the Rose Bowl and possibly more.

“We’ve been working on little things to help us capitalize,” said senior end Lawrence Jackson, who has 5 1/2 of the Trojans’ 30 sacks. “They have long-developing pass routes and an NFL-style offense.

“They put a lot on their O-line and they’re going to strike you big if you don’t get the sacks.”

The strategy has paid off for first-year Coach Dennis Erickson.

Arizona State (9-1, 6-1) is sixth in the Bowl Championship Series standings. If the Sun Devils defeat USC and Arizona, they are guaranteed a Rose Bowl berth and might be in contention for the BCS title game.

Erickson, who won two national championships at Miami, let Sun Devils players know early in the year that success was possible.

“I told them that I hoped that I could take them to places like this, where they would have this opportunity, and it’s here,” Erickson said.

Erickson has studied USC’s defensive front, which includes Jackson, nose tackle Sedrick Ellis, tackle Fili Moala and Moore, who will play behind freshman Everson Griffen today because of a hand injury.

Some of what Erickson sees is familiar.

“They remind me a little bit of some of the fronts I had at Miami, Warren Sapp, Cortez Kennedy and some of those guys,” Erickson said.

USC is ranked first in the Pac-10 and third nationally in defense, giving up 267.9 yards per game.

Said Erickson: “We haven’t seen a defense close to it.”

That might be a problem for Carpenter, a junior from Westlake High who has passed for 20 touchdowns with eight interceptions. Carpenter suffered a sprained thumb against California on Oct. 27. He re-injured it when he hit his hand on a helmet against UCLA on Nov. 10.

Carroll, though, is wary of a player who has a knack for making something out of nothing.

“Rudy makes plays that you just can’t fathom how he figured it out,” Carroll said.

Arizona State also is counting on running backs Keegan Herring and Dimitri Nance to take some of the pressure off Carpenter.

“It is going to be a huge week for our offensive line and a huge challenge for those guys to see how well we can protect and run the ball against probably the best defensive line in the country,” Carpenter said.

Griffen, an Arizona native, did not hesitate when asked about the Sun Devils’ offensive line.

“They’re just slow, big guys, that’s it,” he said. “Just run past them.”

USC’s offensive line, meantime, is back to full strength with the return of All-American tackle Sam Baker, who sat out all or most of the last three games because of a hamstring injury.

The open date after USC’s rain-soaked victory at Cal on Nov. 10 also provided quarterback John David Booty with some extra rest for the right middle finger that was broken against Stanford on Oct. 6.

Booty completed 11 of 20 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown without an interception against Cal.

“If he does what he did last week and complements what we need in the game, that’s really what we’re looking for,” Carroll said.

Last year against Arizona State, with Booty struggling in the second half, USC put the ball in tailback Chauncey Washington’s hands. Washington carried 10 times during a fourth-quarter drive that led to the decisive touchdown in USC’s 28-21 victory.

The Trojans turned to Washington again against Cal. The fifth-year senior carried 29 times for a career-best 220 yards and a touchdown.

A win today, combined with a win over UCLA on Dec. 1 and a stumble by Oregon in at least one of its final two games would give USC a least a share of its sixth consecutive Pac-10 title and a third consecutive trip to the Rose Bowl.

“It’s a long ways to home, and there’s a lot of games to be played around the conference and a lot of really competitive matchups coming up here,” Carroll said. “You’re going to have to earn your way.”

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gary.klein@latimes.com