COACH IN FOUL MOOD AFTER TROJANS' LOSS STANFORD 21, USC 16.

Byline: Scott Wolf  Staff Writer

Pete Carroll, the nice guy, left the Coliseum immediately after USC's 21-16 loss to Stanford in front of 53,962 on Saturday.

A madder, meaner Carroll emerged in the locker room and blistered his underachieving players in a postgame speech that was harsher than anything the Trojans heard since he replaced Paul Hackett.

What irked Carroll were four personal-foul penalties, one of which erased a potential scoring drive in the third quarter, and nine penalties overall, a number more typical of the error-plagued Hackett era.

``I heard this was a problem around here last year,'' Carroll said. ``And if it continues ... I won't hesitate to make changes.''

Carroll offered a similar theme with the media.

``We made it so difficult on ourselves with penalties,'' he said. ``You've probably heard that before.''

A year didn't make much difference for USC (1-3, 0-2) against the Cardinal, as the Trojans looked every bit as inept in their third consecutive defeat as they did under Hackett.

And for the first time, there are legitimate rumblings that it might be time for a quarterback change, after Carson Palmer's erratic performance (22 for 42, 240 yards, two interceptions).

But Carroll and offensive coordinator Norm Chow steadfastly refused the possibility that Palmer might be replaced.

``He's our guy, and we believe in him,'' Chow said. ``I'm not even considering it.''

Carroll blamed a subpar running game and poor blocking as reasons for Palmer's problems.

``The guy's under a barrage,'' Carroll said. ``At the point of attack, we look like we're getting crushed. We have to keep trying to create our offense. We're not blocking very well. You need balance.''

On that subject, Carroll had a point.

For the third consecutive game, tailback Sultan McCullough (16 carries, 32 yards) rushed for less than 40 yards. It seems defenses have figured out the Trojans are helpless once teams load up inside to stop the run.

``I really can't say anything,'' McCullough said. ``I don't have answers. I'm not a coach. I'm just a player.''

USC's offensive woes were typified late in the first quarter, when the Cardinal led 7-0.

Chow tried a trick play, which called for Palmer to pitch to McCullough, who would flip the ball back to Palmer for a deep pass. Instead, McCullough got bottled up and pitched the ball toward Stanford defensive end Austin Lee. The ball came loose and was recovered by linebacker Anthony Gabriel.

``That was a little trick play,'' Chow said. ``We didn't count on throwing it to the guy in the white jersey.''

Added McCullough: ``I thought about running, and then I pitched it.''

Another gaffe occurred on USC's first possession. When faced with fourth-and-6 from the Cardinal 29, the Trojans ignored a field goal and pitched to McCullough, who lost 2 yards.

``We just felt like we wanted to make something happen,'' Chow said. ``We had a running play we worked on all week and thought it would work.''

The lack of success deflated USC's early momentum.

``It was pretty hard considering we worked so hard to get there and didn't get any points,'' wide receiver Kareem Kelly said.

On the other side, USC spotted Stanford (3-0, 2-0) a 21-0 halftime lead highlighted by quarterback Randy Fasani repeatedly burning the secondary. He threw a 50-yard pass to Luke Powell to set up the first touchdown, a 34-yard touchdown pass to Powell for a touchdown and a 27-yard pass to Teyo Johnson that set up the third.

``It really disappoints me,'' Carroll said. ``That we would go out and show that kind of first half.''

In particular, the personal fouls hurt. Lenny Vandermade had two, including one that moved the ball from Stanford's 30-yard line to the 43 in the third quarter, while USC tried a comeback.

``The guy tackled Sultan and I dove on him,'' Vandermade said. ``It was a stupid play by me. I played an awful game.''

He wasn't alone. Although USC rallied and drew within 21-16 after Chris Cash blocked a field goal and Kris Richard returned it 65 yards for a touchdown, this was hardly a winning effort.