This just in at USC: Going undefeated is difficult
USC FOOTBALL
Coach Pete Carroll attributes unbeaten, national championship season in 2004 to Reggie Bush; as far as this year, he says, 'I'm just trying to win a game this week.'
The more time passes since USC's 2004 national championship season, the more the difficulty of finishing unbeaten can be appreciated.
The Trojans were reminded of that over the weekend after their defeat at Oregon State and the subsequent fall of other top-five teams.
Four years ago, the Trojans never stumbled en route to 13-0 record, finishing the season with a rout of Oklahoma in the Bowl Championship Series title game.
"We were so dynamic offensively it made up for problems," Coach Pete Carroll said Sunday night. "And in hard games and difficult games something would happen.
"A lot of it was Reggie."
Reggie, of course, was tailback Reggie Bush, who laid the groundwork for his 2005 Heisman Trophy season with game-saving plays or otherwise prolific efforts in 2004 against Virginia Tech, Stanford, Oregon State and UCLA to name a few.
The Trojans played three ranked teams that season, staging a dramatic defensive stand to hold off No. 7 California, 23-17, wallop No. 15 Arizona State, 45-7, and dismantle No. 2 Oklahoma, 55-19.
On Saturday, the ninth-ranked Trojans play a ranked opponent for possibly the final time this regular season.
Oregon is ranked No. 23 in the Associated Press poll after improving to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Pacific 10 Conference with an easy win over Washington State.
Carroll reiterated that he is not concerned about rankings or climbing back into the hunt for the national title.
"I'm just trying to win a game this week," he said.
Schedule updates
Saturday's game, which starts at 5 p.m., will be televised on Channel 7 and also will be available for viewing on ESPN360.com.
USC's Oct. 11 home game against Arizona State will start at 12:30 p.m. and also will be televised on Channel 7.
gary.klein@latimes.com
