Georgia tries to avoid potholes on road to top

Almost two weeks without a Georgia football player getting arrested.

No reports of bar fights, no reckless driving, no urinating in public.

So far, so good.

After an off-season that rivaled Britney Spears for scandalous headlines -- eight players arrested, six suspended -- the nation's top-ranked team has finally reached the relative security of training camp.

"You don't have time to do anything else but try to catch your breath and drink water," cornerback Asher Allen said.

But that doesn't mean life will get any easier for the Bulldogs.

These are heady times in Athens, Ga., where fans have endured almost three decades since the last national championship. Coming off a blowout victory over Hawaii in last season's Sugar Bowl, the hometown team stands atop most preseason polls for the first time ever.

That means more distractions. Higher expectations. And there's the bull's-eye factor, every opponent gunning for an upset.

So when Coach Mark Richt talked about the buzz surrounding his team at the start of camp, he added: "I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

Georgia's agitated state of affairs strikes a chord at USC, where the football program has recent experience with preseason No. 1 rankings.

"You get a lot of attention," receiver Patrick Turner said.

Coach Pete Carroll said he began preparing for the downside of success as far back as 2001, before the Trojans were actually winning.

"I don't think you can effectively get it done after the fact," he said. "Once you're in the glow, it's too late."

Carroll said he talked to his team about "the Heisman Trophy thing, questions about being on the cover of Sports Illustrated. You explain what it's going to be like."

Not that talking solved everything. There have been player arrests, upset losses and the ongoing NCAA investigation into whether former tailback Reggie Bush accepted improper benefits from a pair of would-be sports marketers.

Still, the USC coach has a theory -- he's big on theories -- about mitigating the rough spots.

He cites psychology professor Albert Bandura, who happens to teach at Stanford, which upset the second-ranked Trojans last season.

Bandura's writings are all about self-efficacy and reciprocal determinism, the notion that behavior can affect environment. A person with a strong sense of self-efficacy will view challenges as something to be overcome rather than avoided, and is therefore more likely to perform well under stress.