BOOSTING THE THREAT TB FARGAS' BREAKOUT ADDS NEW DIMENSION.

Byline: Scott Wolf  Staff Writer

USC is expected to be ninth when today's Bowl Championship Series rankings are released, the result of one of its biggest victories of the season.

The No. 11-ranked Trojans upset Oregon at Autzen Stadium for the first time in nine years, but that was not the vital development to emerge from the Pacific Northwest. The real news was the extra dimension added to the offense with the coming-out party of tailback Justin Fargas.

The fifth-year senior from Notre Dame High of Sherman Oaks displayed something that USC lacked this season: a punishing runner who could juke defenders and break tackles with equal success.

USC coach Pete Carroll made a bold decision early last week, after he decided that senior Sultan McCullough did not run hard enough against Washington. It might sound strange considering McCullough gained 176 yards against California two weeks ago.

But there's a hidden stat that was also factored into Carroll's backfield change. Of McCullough's 141 carries, 36 have been for zero or minus yardage. That's 26 percent of his carries.

The Trojans were wasting too many downs in the running game.

So Fargas got the call and, to the surprise of some, finally looked like the player who starred in spring practice and the early part of training camp before suffering a pulled hamstring.

``For us to mix the run as well as we did is a big statement,'' Carroll said. ``I'm really pleased that Justin did it.''

Fargas wasn't an instant success but he got 27 carries, in his first extended playing time of the season. And he made it count, with a career-high 139 yards.

``It took me awhile when I first started running the ball,'' Fargas said.

Once Fargas shook off the rust, he did things that Carroll wanted since August. On his prettiest run, a 15-yard touchdown, Fargas took a pitch a la ``student body right'' and made a nifty cut before charging into the end zone.

``It was a pitch to the strong side and we had just run it before and I was looking for a cutback,'' Fargas said.

The play worked because Fargas got the opportunity to get into a rhythm. He had 43 carries in USC's first seven games, but never received an extended opportunity until Saturday.

``When Justin runs as hard as he did, it makes the blocking easier,'' offensive tackle Winston Justice said.

Whatever USC does in its final four regular-season games against Stanford, Arizona State, UCLA and Notre Dame, the odds of winning increase drastically if the Trojans offer a tailback who can change the course of a game.

Whether Fargas is that back is not guaranteed, but it's intriguing that USC revealed an unforeseen weapon in its offense with the season two-thirds over. As expected, Fargas remained humble about his situation.

``Football is crazy,'' Fargas said. ``You can go one week without playing and then the next week things can happen for you.''

It's that realization and his continual hunger that should keep Fargas in the backfield for the final month - as long as he plays like he did against Oregon.

If Fargas does, it won't sound silly to think of USC (6-2, 4-1) as one of the top BCS teams each week.

UP NEXT

Nov. 9

at Stanford

4 p.m.

TV: Ch. 7

CAPTION(S):

photo, 3 boxes

Photo:

Oregon defenders Igor Olshansky (53), Haloti Ngata (96), Darrell Wright (40) and Ed Wangler sit on the bench late against USC.

Greg Wahl-Stephens/Associated Press

Box:

(1) REPORT CARD: USC 44, OREGON 33

(2) EXPERTS' consensus: WOLF'S PICKS

(3) AP TOP 25