LOS ANGELES -- Coach Pete Carroll knows how much Southern
California's games against Notre Dame and UCLA mean to the Trojans
and their followers.
Win and you're a hero.
Lose and you're a bum.
Carroll is aware the games against USC's biggest rivals mean
even more than usual this year because they could propel the
Trojans into the national championship game if they win -- or keep
them from getting there if they lose.
That being said, Carroll did his best Tuesday to downplay the
two games.
"The overall approach we take is that no game is bigger than
the next game," he said. "We don't rejoice after a win any more
than we should. I think there's a fallout that happens when a team
wins a big upset and makes a big deal of it. You set yourself up
for the hype that you've created.
"We get the win and go about our next game. It helps us stay
consistent and keep our eye on the target."
There's another strategy Carroll employs.
"It isn't about the game this weekend. It's about a great
Tuesday," he said, speaking before practice. "Every day is big.
We only know one way."
Carroll's approach has been enormously successful -- the
top-ranked Trojans (10-0, 7-0 Pac-10) bring a 19-game winning
streak into Saturday night's game against Notre Dame at the Los
Angeles Coliseum, where they've won 20 straight.
A win over the Fighting Irish (6-4) and another over UCLA (6-4)
on Dec. 4 at the Rose Bowl will almost surely mean a berth in the
Orange Bowl and a shot at the Bowl Championship Series title.
"We are coming off a bye in a position we had hoped for at this
time of year," Carroll said. "(The season) has really been a
success up to this point, but we won't be able to get all the good
things unless we finish this thing right."
The Trojans beat Notre Dame by 31 points each of the past two
years thanks mainly to terrific passing performances by Carson
Palmer and Matt Leinart, who threw for 425 and 360 yards,
respectively.
Those games have not been typical of one of college football's
most intense rivalries. Notre Dame leads 42-28-5 and has a 15-5-1
record in the last 21 games between the teams.
Carroll is 2-1 against Notre Dame. The Irish beat the Trojans
27-16 in South Bend, Ind., three years ago.
"They kind of knocked us all over the place," he recalled.
The Trojans went 6-6 in Carroll's first season. They are 33-3
since, including wins in 30 of their last 31 games.
USC is favored by 23 points -- a huge margin in a rivalry game
such as this and unquestionably one of the biggest spreads in the
history of the series. A victory would give the Trojans their best
start since 1972, when they won the national championship with a
12-0 record.
The bye enabled the Trojans to get healthier than they've been
all season. Carroll said it's possible such injured players as wide
receivers Steve Smith and Chris McFoy, defensive backs Ronald Nunn
and Scott Ware and guard John Drake all might be able to play after
missing time.
Smith broke his left leg during USC's 23-17 victory over No. 4
California on Oct. 9. Despite playing in only five of his team's 10
games, Smith is USC's fourth-leading receiver with 27 receptions
for 414 yards and two touchdowns.
"For the most part, we are in pretty good shape," Carroll
said.
USC is playing Notre Dame and UCLA back-to-back in that order
for only the second time.