Matt Leinart and the USC offense left no question of their strength in the first two games, but the defense has yet to prove its prowess. Christian Petersen/Getty Images
	MAILBAG Submit a question or an opinion to Stewart. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

A sports talk show host in Ohio began his interview with a college football writer this week by asking, only half-jokingly, "Now that USC has won the 2005 national title, can we begin talking about 2006?" An Oklahoma columnist surveyed Trojans players on their thoughts about chasing the Sooners' NCAA-record 47-game winning streak. Assorted blogs and fans sites have begun debating the question, "Is this year's USC team the greatest in college football history?"

People, people, people. Hold your horses.

It may turn out that these Trojans are worthy of all the accolades under the sun and that Texas, LSU, Virginia Tech and the rest of the nation are engaged in a glorified chase for No. 2. Anyone who would jump to these conclusions based solely on two lopsided victories against Hawaii and Arkansas, however, learned nothing from other popular but ultimately wrong assumptions, such as "Ohio State has no chance against Miami in the Fiesta Bowl," "the 2003 Oklahoma Sooners are unbeatable" and "Vince Young can't pass."

While it's hard to find fault with a team that won its first two games by a combined 99-point margin, USC didn't prove anything against Hawaii and Arkansas that we didn't already know. We've known since last year that Matt Leinart is a near-robotically perfect quarterback, Reggie Bush is almost impossible to tackle and that Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett are unbelievable receivers. As dazzling as the Trojans' eight-play, 92-second, 28-point outburst against Arkansas was, it wasn't unexpected. We've known all summer USC's 2005 offense would be one of the greatest arsenals of talent and experience ever assembled.

What we weren't sure about, and what we still don't know, was how good the Trojans' defense would be after losing six starters, including four All-America defensive linemen and linebackers. Sorry, but Hawaii and Arkansas weren't accurate barometers. Both teams are in the early stages of replacing four-year star quarterbacks (Timmy Chang and Matt Jones, respectively) with first-time starters, and USC knocked out the Razorbacks' QB, Robert Johnson, in the second quarter, leaving them with the even greener Alex Mortensen. Neither team has beaten a Division I-A opponent yet.

You really want to know how good the 2005 Trojans are? Tune in the next two Saturdays, when the defending champs open conference play at No. 24 Oregon and No. 18 Arizona State, a pair whose offenses rank among the most powerful in the country. By the time the Trojans leave Sun Devil Stadium a week from Saturday, we'll know everything we need to about USC's defense, and, in turn, whether or not it's premature to start engraving the crystal trophy.

Through three games, the Ducks and Sun Devils ranked 11th and second in the country, respectively, in total offense (USC is No. 3). Oregon QB Kellen Clemens is thriving in the Ducks' new spread offense, which resembles the version Urban Meyer ran at Utah last season. The senior has completed 65.6 percent of his passes for 955 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions, while also running 30 times for 137 yards. Receiver Demetrius Williams (107 yards per game) is extremely athletic, and veteran running back Terrence Whitehead rebounded from a slow start to burst for 96 yards last week against Fresno State.

ASU's offense, meanwhile, has been downright scary, posting a school-record 773 yards in last week's 52-21 victory over Northwestern, 560 in a 35-31 loss to LSU the week before. QB Sam Keller threw for a combined 870 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions in those games. Receiver Derek Hagan is among the best in the country, and freshman RB Keegan Herring has already posted two 100-yard games.

Aside from preseason All-America safety Darnell Bing, USC's defense is unusually light in the star-power department. Gone are staples Shaun Cody, Mike Patterson, Lofa Tatupu and Matt Grootegoed, replaced by names such as Sedrick Ellis, LaJuan Ramsey and Oscar Lua. They may be just as good or better than their predecessors -- we don't know yet.