ANSWERS COULD MAKE A TROJAN HOARSE.

Byline: SCOTT WOLF College football

No. 1 USC is 4-0 but there still are plenty of questions a lot more interesting than who buys the postgame pizzas.

Here's some things to ponder for the final eight games:

Will USC even think about kicking a 40-yard field goal?

Is tight end Dominique Byrd still on the team?

Will LenDale White get promoted with the same gusto as Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush by USC to be a legitimate Heisman candidate?

Will punter Tom Malone regain his 2004 form?

Does linebacker Keith Rivers have the big-play ability of Matt Grootegoed?

Will players continue to celebrate after making tackles on a 5-yard gain?

How many more times will USC get unsportsmanlike conduct penalties scoring a touchdown?

Is coaching college football too easy for USC coach Pete Carroll? Exhibit A: Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter ran the same short-yardage play against the Trojans that he ran in the previous four games.

Will the offense ever resemble former offensive coordinator Norm Chow's philosophy or is this the ``new look'' for USC football?

Will cornerback Cary Harris play in crunch time this season?

Whatever happened to wide receiver Whitney Lewis?

Will Arizona fans be able to see the game Saturday from the worst seats in the Coliseum?

--Another Harris Poll foul-up: Although the Harris Poll boasts 114 voters, only 113 voted the first week and 112 last week.

``Harris Interactive has full confidence in this week's statistically valid Top 25 ranking, based on 112 votes,'' said spokesperson Nancy Wong in a statement. ``One participant's rankings were excluded because they could not be verified, despite multiple attempts to contact the panelist. Another panelist did not submit a ranking.

``This same large sample size of more than 100 ensures that no single vote has an undue influence on the rankings, and additionally it ensures that an occasional missing vote has no detrimental effects on the statistical validity of the findings.

``Each week Harris Interactive statisticians conduct a series of diagnostic tests on the rankings to ensure that they are robust and stable.''

--Add Harris Poll: Unlike every other sports poll ever conducted, the Harris Poll votes are ``adjusted'' as in a political survey. For example, if a Harris voter left USC or Texas off the ballot, those schools still get credited with points against the voter's wishes.

This follows Harris practice for political polls, which get adjusted for accuracy.

However, this is sports, and it's unprecedented. If USC or Texas were left off the coaches' top 25 or Associated Press top 25 ballot, those schools would receive zero points. End of story.

--Blunder of the week: Kansas State snapped the ball through the back of the end zone with no punter on the field.

--Player of the week: Wake Forest linebacker Jon Abbate, a 5-foot-11, 245-pound sophomore, intercepted two passes and made 13 tackles in a 31-27 upset of Clemson. Both interceptions came in the first quarter as he became the first Wake Forest player to pick off two passes in a quarter since 2002. After the game, he needed four stitches to patch up a cut on the bridge of his nose.

--Kicker, tailback, no matter: Illinois Coach Ron Zook is upset about an Iowa City newspaper article that quoted former Hawkeyes kicker Nate Kaeding about Zook referring to him as a running back before the 2004 Outback Bowl. Iowa defeated Zook's Florida team 37-17.

``I don't know the history of what happened before between Iowa and Illinois, and I don't care,'' Zook told the Chicago Sun-Times. ``I know the Iowa papers are complaining about me not knowing the kicker's name in the bowl game. I'd just gotten off a recruiting trip, I'd just found out we were playing them four days before and I'm supposed to know the names of their personnel?''

--Penny pinchers: ESPN commentator Mark May, talking about the often-rowdy behavior of West Virginia fans, said the Mountaineers fans threw pennies at opposing players because they couldn't afford nickels.

The next day, Martinsburg, W.Va., attorney Mike Burke mailed 50,000 pennies to May at ESPN. Burke sent along a note saying it was all the pennies that had been thrown at players from Pitt, where May played offensive tackle.

``We threw quarters at all the other visiting teams,'' Burke wrote. ``But Pitt's players were known to be so well-paid that only pennies were necessary for them.''

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes

Photo:

Have things become too easy for USC coach Pete Carroll?

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) ON CAMPUS

(2) DAILY NEWS/CBS 2/KCAL 9 SPORTS CENTRAL POWER RANKINGS