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Pete Carroll Peter Read Miller/SI

The Lowdown 2006 Schedule Coach: Pete Carroll (6th season, 54-10) 2005 record: 12-1 (Lost to Texas in Rose Bowl) Pac-10 finish: 8-0 (1st) 2005 I-A offensive rankings: Rushing: 6th (260.0 ypg) Passing: 5th (319.8 ypg) 2005 I-A defensive rankings: Rushing: 31st (130.5 ypg) Passing: 73rd (230.4 ypg) Date Opponent Sept. 2 at Arkansas Sept. 16 Nebraska Sept. 23 at Arizona Sept. 30 at Washington State Oct. 7 Washington Oct. 14 Arizona State Oct. 28 at Oregon State Nov. 4 at Stanford Nov. 11 Oregon Nov. 18 California Nov. 25 Notre Dame Dec. 2 at UCLA Depth Chart: Offense 4 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. SE 8 Dwayne Jarrett Jr. 82 Chris McFoy Sr. FL 2 Steve Smith Sr. 1 Patrick Turner So. LT 79 Sam Baker Jr. 76 Nick Howell Fr. LG 53 Jeff Byers So. 69 Matt Spanos Jr. C 67 Ryan Kalil Sr. 53 Jeff Byers So. RG 66 Chilo Rachal So. 70 Alatini Malu Jr. RT 78 Kyle Williams Sr. 71 Charles Brown Fr. TE 83 Fred Davis Jr. 89 Dale Thompson Jr. QB 10 John David Booty Jr. 6 Mark Sanchez Fr. FB 40 Brandon Hancock Sr. 37 Ryan Powdrell Sr. TB 23 Chauncey Washington Jr. - Stafon Johnson Fr. Depth Chart: Defense 6 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. DE 96 Lawrence Jackson Jr. - Derek Simmons Fr. NT 49 Sedrick Ellis Jr. 95 Travis Tofi Sr. DT 91 Chris Barrett Jr. 75 Fili Moala So. DE 84 Kyle Moore So. 54 Jeff Schweiger Jr. SLB 42 Dallas Sartz Sr. 10 Brian Cushing So. MLB 58 Rey Maualuga So. 45 Oscar Lua Sr. WLB 55 Keith Rivers Jr. 41 Thomas Williams Jr. CB 15 Kevin Thomas So. 36 Josh Pinkard Jr. CB 7 Cary Harris So. 28 Terrell Thomas Jr. SS 4 Kevin Ellison So. 6 Antwine Perez Fr. FS 36 Josh Pinkard Jr. 26 Will Harris So. Special Teams Ps. No. Player Yr. Ps. No. Player Yr. K 19 Mario Danelo Jr. P 16 Taylor Odegard So. KR 2 Steve Smith Sr. PR 39 Ryan Ting Sr.

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Losing one Heisman Trophy winner is difficult. Losing two would seem almost catastrophic. Couple that with a batch of high-profile players who were quickly gobbled up in the NFL Draft, and you begin to wonder how USC can possibly have good vibes about the 2006 season.

Then you look at the Trojans' talent-laden roster, and you know. This is the only school in America that could say goodbye to a Matt Leinart and a Reggie Bush, wish good luck to the likes of LenDale White, Winston Justice and Darnell Bing and still be confident of competing for a national championship.

This is coach Pete Carroll's year to re-load, and before anyone feels too sorry for him, understand that the two players vying to replace Leinart were both regarded as the top prep quarterback in America their senior years. Bush, like Leinart, will be missed, but there's a roll-call list of young, highly regarded runners anxious to win the job at tailback.

This is a team that went 37-2 the past three seasons, with both of those losses coming by three points. Enough quality players return, buoyed by a string of recruiting classes regarded among the finest in the country, to give USC another shot at being in the middle of the BCS mix.

OFFENSE

Losing enough quality players to stock an NFL expansion roster would make it a major rebuilding season for most teams.

Despite the departure of Matt Leinart, Bush, and high draft picks White, Winston Justice and Dominique Byrd, the talent-rich Trojans are not intimidated.

"There's no denying we lost a lot of great players, especially on offense," says Carroll. "But this is not an unfamiliar situation for us."

It is almost a replay of '03, when Heisman winner Carson Palmer and productive tailback Justin Fargas left. Leinart is gone, but John David Booty and Mark Sanchez, the two vying to replace him. Booty, who has been in the program two more seasons than Sanchez, figures to be the starter if he recovers from springtime back surgery.

Bush's gamebreaking ability might be impossible to replace, but fourth-year junior Chauncey Washington is a more than capable tailback, and speedy freshmen like Stafon Johnson and C.J. Gable will make their presence felt.

The wide receiver corps, led by returning All-American Dwayne Jarrett (who must clear up eligibility issues) and solid Steve Smith, is even deeper than a year ago, and tight end Fred Davis is primed for a big year.

The line should also be a strength, with returning All-American Sam Baker at left tackle and All-America candidate Ryan Kalil at center.

DEFENSE

The USC defense suffered an uncharacteristic slump last year, something that Carroll is hoping to change. He brought in Nick Holt to fill the defensive coordinator position heretofore manned by the head coach.

Lawrence Jackson, who led the team in sacks with 10, returns as an All-America candidate at one end, and Sedrick Ellis is a returning starter at nose tackle.

Carroll describes the linebacking corps as "the deepest we've had since I've been here." He hopes to make good use of the versatility of outside backers Keith Rivers and Dallas Sartz. The most competitive position battle on the team will be middle linebacker, where incumbent Oscar Lua will have to fight off Rey Maualuga, who is too talented not to play somewhere.

The secondary will get a big boost if Josh Pinkard comes back 100 percent after surgery for a sports hernia. If he does, he'll likely start at free safety, with Kevin Ellison at strong safety. Cornerbacks Kevin Thomas, Cary Harris and Terrell Thomas just need to stay healthy.

SPECIALISTS

Mario Danelo returns as a dependable placekicker, but the punter, Taylor Odegard, is new and unproven. Smith is likely to be one of the return men, along with several of the speedy freshmen.

FINAL ANALYSIS

Carroll recruits more great talent than the producers of American Idol. Even though he'll have to endure the heaviest losses of his remarkable five-year run, he has more than enough blue-chip players to make USC the Pac-10 favorite and a major force again nationally.

The plan is to strengthen the defense and develop this into a more balanced group than the one a year ago. Considering the schedule appears softer, with most of the more difficult games at home this time, he appears to have an excellent chance to pull it off.

Look for the Trojans to be in the middle of the BCS mix again.