CARSON'S CITY AT LAST? QB PALMER YET TO LIVE UP TO GOLDEN BOY HYPE AT USC.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

He still looks like he fell from the football heavens. Carson Palmer wasn't just a quarterback, he was a specimen, an ideal.

At first the giddy USC faithful figured he was too good to be true. Now they fear he is.

If you're set up to be a god, the natives can get restless when they find out you bleed like the rest of us. And there was Palmer - all 6-feet-5 of him, golden hair and arm, quick feet, chiseled looks - looking oh-so mortal.

By last season's end, Palmer had thrown more interceptions (18) than touchdowns (16). He was the quarterback of a highly regarded USC team that lost five consecutive games and finished last in the Pacific-10 Conference.

``When you're a quarterback, you're either the bum or the hero,'' Palmer said. ``And last year I was the bum all year.''

This seemed worlds away from where Palmer was headed after his dizzy freshman season. When he arrived on campus as a heralded quarterback from Santa Margarita High School, he shared playing time immediately and became the starter the final five games.

He was the prototypical quarterback-plus, as if he popped out of a computer screen into the Coliseum. If someone didn't know Carson Palmer from Arnold Palmer and saw him passing on the street, they'd think, ``quarterback.'' He was USC's Troy Aikman.

People had him winning the Heisman by his sophomore year and entering the NFL draft early and going No. 1. The bar wasn't just set high, it disappeared in the stratosphere.

``A lot of it is just hype, just pumping people up,'' Palmer said. ``A lot of that stuff about me is false - the Golden Boy, Golden Arm, all that crap.

``It's just the media talking. I think I know who I am. I really don't pay attention to what all these other people are saying.''

It wasn't just the media, of course. It was everyone. Teammates, opposing coaches, scouts. What was not to like?

But his second season ended after just two games with a broken collarbone. He came back last year as a redshirt sophomore and the trumpets blared anew.

Palmer looked tentative but effective enough in a season-opening win over Penn State, and then had two strong games in victories over San Jose State and Colorado before things started slipping away against Oregon State.

The Beavers intercepted him three times and began USC's - and Palmer's - downward spiral. He threw at least two interceptions in a game six times. There was a brilliant game against UCLA (26 of 37, 350 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions), but otherwise the season was a long struggle. And the Golden Boy became a disappointment, yesterday's rave, the subject of criticism.

Palmer tried to keep to the course, but suddenly he was overhyped and overrated.

``I tried just as hard as I could to block it out,'' Palmer said. ``I was throwing a lot of interceptions and people were saying a lot of things. You have to just keep plugging away.

``It's difficult when people are booing you and yelling at you. You hear stuff from the stadiums and you're losing games.

``You just can't let the outside world affect your game. You can't hold back anything. You can't play a different game.''

Palmer has thrown for more than 5,000 yards in what amounts to two full seasons. He also has thrown 27 interceptions to 26 touchdowns. He claims never to have lost confidence, but you have to wonder.

Now giant portraits of Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington are painted on New York City buildings. Texas quarterback Chris Simms is the next great thing. Others are promoted for the Heisman that people once were sure would line his shelf.

In his redshirt junior season, USC's own media guide talks of his ``outstanding potential'' and how he ``could have a breakthrough year.''

``He's a tremendously gifted guy, who I think just needs a big year,'' USC's new offensive coordinator Norm Chow said. ``He needs to get his psyche, his emotions, that positive mental thing back.''

Chow is one huge reason to believe Palmer can bloom into the quarterback USC followers long for. Chow has dropped former coach Paul Hackett's complicated NFL offense in favor of his own quick-hitting, more varied scheme.

Chow coached six of the NCAA's top 12 career passing efficiency leaders while at BYU.

And there is simply Palmer having grown, and learned, from last season.

``I got in trouble a lot last year because I was trying to make a big play all the time, trying to make something happen when there was nothing there,'' Palmer said. ``It got me almost every time.

``That's something I've really been concentrating on - let the game play out itself. Let the offense work. Trust in coach Chow and take what the defense is giving us. Don't try to be the hero all the time, just let things happen.''

But people will expect him to be heroic. That's what happens when your quarterback looks like he came straight from central casting.

Certainly Palmer would love to light up the skies with touchdowns and passing yards, to be that near comic-book quarterback people expect.

``But I'm so sick of losing ... I'll run the option,'' he said. ``I'll hand the ball off 65 times. I'll do whatever it takes to win now.''

People look at him and demand greatness. They always have. Palmer could have an excellent 2001 season, yet fall short on some expectations.

Promises can be a burden, but Palmer said he's a quarterback. It comes with the territory.

PALMER FILE

USC QB Carson Palmer is 10-10 in games he's started over three seasons and has more interceptions than touchdowns (27-26). He also was fifth in the Pac-10 in passing efficiency (118.0) even though he led the conference in passing yards.

Year PA PC PCT. YDS TD INT

1998 235 130 .553 1,755 7 6

1999 53 39 .736 490 33

2000 415 228 .549 2,914 16 18

TOTAL 703 397 .565 5,159 26 27

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) no caption (Carson Palmer)

(2 -- color) no caption (football players)

(3) no caption (Carson Palmer)

Box: PALMER FILE (see text)