If Stanford Coach Jim Harbaugh and others were to be believed, USC would now be well on its way to the Bowl Championship Series title game in New Orleans.
But instead of joining the pantheon of college football's greatest teams, USC has fallen from No. 1 in the polls to 19th in the BCS standings. The Trojans also have been left to figure out exactly where they are going in their last four games.
On Sunday, a day after USC suffered its second Pacific 10 Conference defeat, Coach Pete Carroll said the Trojans would do what they always have done -- focus on the next game. But he acknowledged that the Trojans' inability to control their destiny is unfamiliar territory.
"It's different; we haven't been in this situation in a long time," said Carroll, who guided the Trojans to a BCS bowl game in every season but his first in 2001. "I can't remember when we had to wait. We've always been one game away or in the lead."
Although USC's home loss to Stanford on Oct. 6 was a surprise, its 24-17 defeat Saturday at Oregon was not entirely unexpected.
USC was a rare underdog and quarterback Dennis Dixon and the Ducks showed why they are legitimate contenders for a berth in the BCS title game.
"It's never a cakewalk playing in the Pac-10," senior linebacker Keith Rivers said after the loss.
It doesn't get any easier for USC.
On Saturday, the Trojans play an Oregon State team that has won three consecutive games and eliminated any USC intimidation factor with last year's win at Corvallis, Ore.
USC also plays at California, at sixth-ranked Arizona State and at home against UCLA.
"There's reason to keep on fighting for all the obvious reasons," said Carroll, whose teams have lost four of their last 10 conference games. "You don't know how the season is going to turn out."
USC's season has been devoid of continuity, though the defense, save for creating turnovers, has mostly kept up its end.
The Trojans are fourth in the nation in total defense, surrendering 263 yards per game.
However, they have not generated as many turnovers as they have given up -- the Trojans are last in the Pac-10 and 96th nationally with only six interceptions.
The offense has struggled in part because of quarterback issues.
John David Booty might not have been the Heisman Trophy candidate he was thought to be after last season's Rose Bowl performance against Michigan, but he was enjoying a decent season until his four-interception performance against Stanford, a game in which he suffered a broken middle finger on his throwing hand.
