Walk into Heritage Hall, and USC's heritage almost clotheslines you.
Four Heisman Trophies in the lobby, lined up in a row like some superhero backfield, greet any visitor to USC's athletic department. Allen. White. Simpson. Garrett.
It is one of the most imposing sights in college football. It is also a dichotomy to USC's current football fate. To hear key Trojans tell it this week, USC is playing in Division III. Its scores hardly make the papers. It needs a cheesy bobblehead campaign to get its stars recognized.
The catch-all term is West Coast Bias. The perception at Troy, if you can believe it, is that USC is not getting enough attention.
"Everybody keeps saying all this, so there must be something to it somewhere," USC coach Pete Carroll said.
The term has been in the sports glossary for years. West Coast Bias comes up whenever a player or team from the West is perceived not to get its props. Oregon banged the drum last year for its BCS title hopes and quarterback Joey Harrington.
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| USC coach Pete Carroll strongly touts Carson Palmer for the Heisman. (AP) |
To Carroll, Palmer is "the best player in America." USC (9-2), having played the toughest schedule in the country, is deserving of a BCS bowl.
Yet, there is the very real possibility that none of it could mean anything. Despite Palmer becoming the Pac-10's career passing leader, he is not at the top of many Heisman lists, considered a latecomer to the process that is focusing on Miami's Ken Dorsey and Penn State's Larry Johnson, among others.
It's particularly disturbing to the Trojans that they could beat Notre Dame, end with the same record (10-2) and be aced out of a BCS berth by the Irish. USC would be assured of a Rose Bowl berth if it wins Saturday and Washington State loses to UCLA on Dec. 7. But half of that scenario is out of its hands.
"I can't imagine anybody playing better football than us right now," Carroll said. "I certainly don't want to be campaigning. I just want to talk the truth. I feel real strongly about it."
It's hard to sympathize with part of the USC argument. It's one of the few schools in the nation that can turn on televisions in Alabama, New York, Texas and Minnesota as well as Southern California. It has a streak of 111 consecutive games on some form of live television. It is rated in the BCS ahead of the two teams it has lost to -- Washington State and Kansas State. All three teams have two losses. Even when Oregon, Washington and Washington State were taking away SoCal players, USC was still the standard because of its rich history.
"It's tough not to be reminded (of that)," Palmer said. "There's plenty of accolades all over the place, trophies. Heritage Hall is a monument to USC football. You're reminded every day, everywhere, you go. Ronnie Lott, Keyshawn Johnson and O.J., you're always reminded of tradition."
It's that previous standard that didn't allow USC to stay down for long. The school just needed the right coach. John Robinson, in his second tour of duty, and Paul Hackett didn't get it done. Like Notre Dame, USC got lucky with a guy who wasn't its first choice. While other, bigger names were turning athletic director Mike Garrett down two years ago, Carroll got the job basically because he was available.
Eighteen years removed from the college game and two years removed from his last job in the NFL, Carroll took the job with enthusiasm. Like Tyrone Willingham, it took him only a short while to wake up the echoes. Since an overtime loss to Washington State on Oct. 5, USC has won six in a row.
"They had a coach that got fired," Palmer said. "We had a coach that got fired. It's kind of the same for both programs. This rivalry is kind of back. It's really worth something now."
Notre Dame (10-1) has won 10 games for the first time since 1993. It has been since 1998 since USC won 10 games. That was the last year this much was on the line. No. 2 USC lost to No. 1 Notre Dame 27-10. The Irish went on to win that year's national championship.
Right now, the Trojans simply are one of the nation's best teams but most likely won't play for a championship. Slipups against Washington State (30-27) and Kansas State (27-20) cost them that chance. That is amazing considering the schedule has included eight ranked teams and 10 bowl-eligible teams.
"I feel comfortable playing anybody," Carroll said.
These Trojans aren't one-trick horses. The defense doesn't fit the wide-open, offense-first rep of the Pac-10. It's 14th nationally, the second-best Notre Dame has faced. The rush defense is fifth.
Part of USC's story isn't going out because of its geography. The Pac-10's national television contracts are with ABC and Fox Sports Net. The ABC games are usually regionalized while the rest of the country is watching Big Ten or Big 12 games. The Fox games are on cable in the 3:30 and 7 p.m. ET time slots.
Frequently, the best players in the league just aren't seen by media members back East. But historically USC has punched through that West Coast Bias. Its alums populate television screens on Sundays in the NFL. The Notre Dame game will be seen on a prime-time national telecast. Oh, and there are those Heismans, the last of which was won by Marcus Allen in 1981.
The Notre Dame-USC games of the past are part of college football lore. This game marks the 30th anniversary of Anthony Davis scoring six touchdowns against the Irish. Davis, a third-stringer who was forced to play because of injuries, dropped to his knees that day, starting his famous end zone dance.
Two years later, USC rallied from a 24-6 deficit to win 55-24 as Davis scored four times. That's just a slice from a rivalry that started in 1926.
Until this year, recent tradition had been lost. Bob Davie never caught on at Notre Dame. This is only USC's second winning season since 1995. The program is on its third coach in that span but seems to have settled wisely on Carroll.
After a lurching 2-5 start in 2001, Carroll and the Trojans have won 13 of their past 16. Palmer has blossomed into the player he was supposed to be when he arrived with everything but a Roman chariot in 1998. Through his first four seasons -- he got another year as a medical redshirt -- he had as many touchdowns as interceptions, 39.
This season, under his fourth offensive coordinator, Palmer has flourished. The venerable Norm Chow has Palmer making quick reads to take advantage of his quick release. The result has been a career-high 28 touchdowns. He has thrown for 800 more yards than Dorsey and has completed a better percentage than Iowa's Brad Banks (62 percent to 60 percent).
"It was tough when I first came in," said Palmer who has thrown for 3,214 yards. "I really didn't know what I got myself into. I was 17, 18 years old in a very complicated West Coast offense. I struggled a lot, and I was confused a lot. It took me a while to figure things out and mature."
Kind of like the two programs that will meet Saturday. Prime time. Big time. This is Notre Dame-USC. No time to whine about lack of attention.
"We get tremendous response from the best players in America," Carroll said. "Then I think we can win a lot of games and be on a consistent basis. As a matter of fact, I'm kind of counting on that."
