CARDINAL RULE: DON'T TRIP UP.

Byline: Scott Wolf  Staff Writer

STANFORD - It's more about what No. 10 USC can lose than gain today.

A one-hour flight to the soggy Bay Area to play one of the lowliest teams in the Pacific-10 Conference does little to impress poll voters or Bowl Championship Series power rankings. But a loss to ninth-place Stanford? Now that would be news.

It's a scenario that provides more than enough motivation for the Trojans (6-2, 4-1), who are in the odd position of trying to avoid making headlines this weekend.

``November is a month for contenders,'' USC wide receiver Kareem Kelly said. ``If we can't put together a winning streak, everything we did in September and October won't mean anything.''

There's not much about this year's Cardinal (2-6, 1-4) to excite anyone, so USC will fight memories of past Stanford teams to provide the proper impetus. The Trojans have dropped three in a row to Stanford, and you could argue the Cardinal was partly responsible for the firing of former USC coach Paul Hackett, which means the losses had some beneficial effect.

Three years ago, the Trojans blew a 21-point lead against Stanford at the Coliseum in one of Hackett's more memorable losses. Two years ago, Stanford quarterback Chris Lewis threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jamien McCullum on the last play of the game to defeat USC 32-30, which just about finished Hackett's chances of salvaging his job.

``My freshman and sophomore year, we blew leads,'' Kelly said. ``This is a different team. This is a team that finishes strong. It's like a burning sensation within knowing I haven't beaten them.''

``That bothers me a lot. It's my third year and I haven't beaten them,'' tight end Alex Holmes added.

If nothing else, USC views today's game as a form of payback.

``It's definitely a chance to beat them and send a message,'' tight end Gregg Guenther said.

Especially irksome to Kelly, he has yet to defeat Lewis, his former teammate at Long Beach Poly High.

``I'm going to make my presence felt,'' Kelly said. ``He's playing against his old teammates today.''

If the Trojans can't get past the Cardinal this afternoon, they might never win up here. New coach Buddy Teevens brought his Fun 'n' Gun offense from Florida, but nobody's comparing him to Steve Spurrier. Injuries forced the Cardinal to use three quarterbacks the past three games, but freshman Kyle Matter of Hart High of Newhall probably will start over Lewis (bruised shoulder).

Matter has a bruised forearm but is expected to be fine for the game.

Lewis might play, however, especially since Stanford passed for 75 yards against UCLA two weeks ago and 92 against Oregon last week.

``We studied it hard because we didn't see their offense last year,'' USC coach Pete Carroll said.

With its offense ineffective, Stanford tried to borrow a page from USC's playbook against Oregon by throwing short passes like the Trojans did with freshman Mike Williams. It didn't work, however, and the Cardinal had minus-15 yards offense in the first quarter against the Ducks.

In fact, one wrinkle preparing for the Cardinal is that it has a habit of taking successful plays previously used against each week's opponent.

``They're very diversified from week to week,'' Carroll said. ``I'm a little uncomfortable with how they're going to play us. We're going to have to wait and adjust during the game to see what their thoughts are. They tailor their system to their opponents.''

While playing the second-to-last-place team in the conference hardly offers a marquee matchup, Carroll certainly has no trouble getting fired up. He's good friends with Cardinal athletic director Andy Geiger and interviewed for the Stanford job more than 10 years ago.

But nothing pleases Carroll more than coming home (he grew up in Larkspur) with a team ranked in the top 10.

``It's an exciting time, and it starts with Stanford,'' Carroll said. ``It's a huge game for us, and each of these games, as they've been, seems pivotal.''

--Note: Although the Cardinal drew fewer than 34,000 its past two home games, a crowd of around 50,000 is expected today. Some will be USC fans making the annual trip to the Bay Area.

USC at STANFORD

Today

4 p.m., Ch. 7

UCLA at ARIZONA

Today

6 p.m., FSN2

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Stanford quarterback Kyle Matter, who played at Hart High of Newhall, is expected to play against USC today despite a bruised forearm.

John Gress/Associated Press