IT'S A CATCH-22 DEFENDING USC'S WILLIAMS A LOSE-LOSE SITUATION.

Byline: Scott Wolf  Staff Writer

It's appropriate USC receiver Mike Williams wears No. 1, because every time a defensive coordinator watches game films of the Trojans, stopping Williams becomes the top priority.

``He causes huge, major problems,'' California defensive coordinator Bob Gregory said.

Whether they're successful is another matter, but everything defensive coordinators do to prepare for USC usually revolves around stopping the 6-foot-5 sophomore.

``I think he is (the top priority),'' Notre Dame defensive coordinator Kent Baer said. ``Obviously, he's one of the top three or four wide receivers in the country. The biggest thing is Mike is taller and stronger than most receivers.''

Williams presents such a dilemma for teams. Should you double-team him, which leaves other receivers open? Or play him one-on-one and hope your cornerback contains him?

It's not an attractive proposition for most coaches but it does make USC's offense one of the most difficult to stop.

Last week, Baer decided to double-team Williams for the first three series of the game and the Irish did a decent job, as Williams caught two passes for 23 yards.

There was only one problem: USC threw to receiver Keary Colbert instead, and the senior caught six passes for 80 yards in the first quarter.

``The biggest thing is, in addition to him, USC has a bunch of other guys to go to,'' Baer said. ``It's tough to focus on one guy. It's easier to double-team a guy like (Pittsburgh receiver) Larry Fitzgerald.''

Even USC coach Pete Carroll, who doubles as the defensive coordinator, cautioned about the perils of double-teaming, remembering the problems from his days in the NFL.

``When we played the Dallas Cowboys with Michael Irvin, you had to make sure the other guy didn't kill you,'' Carroll said. ``How much you go after one guy depends on the other.''

That also weighed heavily on Gregory's mind during the Cal-USC game.

``He's such a dominant player but we really felt Colbert was a good receiver as well and didn't want to have that guy alone,'' he said.

Notre Dame abandoned its plan after the first quarter and Williams ended up with another typical game (nine receptions, 112 yards, one touchdown).

``I don't know if you can take him out of the game,'' Baer said. ``He's big and gets his catches. If you double-team him, it opens up the middle.

``It's a difficult decision. If you try to play straight man-to-man, they'll put you in a position where you can get in trouble too.''

Even double-teaming isn't foolproof in offensive coordinator Norm Chow's offense. Notre Dame tried to assign a cornerback and safety to Williams. But if the Trojans want to free him, Williams can line up on the inside, which makes it almost impossible to double-team him.

``As far as game plans, I don't think other teams can do anything I don't expect,'' Williams said. ``The first one or two series they do double-team me this season. But not a lot after that. The first three series with Notre Dame, it seemed like it was me, me, me on the double-team. But Keary ripped it up.''

The only thing worse than getting burned double-covering Williams might be single coverage.

``It's not like you can just tell a corner to go and cover him,'' Gregory said. ``Because of how big he is, you can't do much on him one-on-one. And if you put another guy on him, your run defense suffers because you take a guy out of the box.''

The other problem Williams poses is an equal ability to hurt a team on short passes at the line of scrimmage or deep balls.

``Sometimes a defensive coordinator can become frustrated if you contain him but he still gets a lot of short passes,'' Baer said. ``And then you gamble, and he beats you deep.

``He's got deceptive speed. He's a long-striker and you don't realize he's faster than most receivers.''

That's particularly apparent on third downs, or when USC has the ball inside the 20, and Williams utilizes his size.

``You can throw it up and let him outrebound people in the red zone,'' Baer said.

Williams said he knows third downs are usually a time the offense finds a way to get him the ball.

``Third downs are big, you step it up and you go a little bit harder,'' Williams said.

Even without Carson Palmer, Williams' stats are ahead of last year. He caught 81 passes last season and is on pace to catch 90. He has 48 receptions for 743 yards and eight touchdowns in seven games.

Williams said he's not surprised with his stats, only that people doubted he could duplicate last season.

``That shows how much they know,'' Williams said. ``A lot of people think they are football analysts.''

Even if his numbers declined, Williams said he wouldn't care.

``It doesn't matter if they were down, we're 6-1,'' he said.

Gregory is an exception this season, the only coordinator who experienced a victory over the fifth-ranked Trojans. Still, he's not taking credit for stopping Williams.

``We felt good with how we played overall,'' Gregory said. ``But there wasn't anything magical about what we did.''

Williams was limited to six receptions for 96 yards but Gregory admitted there really isn't a solution to defending Williams.

``The only thing that jumps out is to try to keep two guys on him,'' Gregory said. ``But is there anything physically we can do? Not really.''

Scott Wolf, [phone]

scott.wolf(at)dailynews.com

OFFENSIVE BAROMETER

How important is receiver Mike Williams to USC's offense?

--USC is 9-1 when Mike Williams has 100 yards receiving.

--USC is 13-1 when he catches a touchdown pass.

--USC is 13-0 when Williams ties or leads the Trojans in receptions.

--USC is 4-3 when Williams does not lead the team or ties for the lead in receptions.

--Williams has caught has caught a touchdown pass in 14 of USC's past 17 games.

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

no caption (USC receiver Mike Williams)

Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News

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OFFENSIVE BAROMETER (see text)