NOW, TROJANS FANS HAVE A REASON TO WATCH GAMES ON SUNDAY.

Byline: BILLY WITZ NFL 

A wave of nostalgia must have washed over USC fans Sunday. Instead of wondering whatever became of their cuticles, they could harken back to the days when Trojan fans could count on things. Such as: Their quarterback throwing more touchdown passes than their holder. The play-calling being handled by professionals rather than their progeny. And creeping to the edge of their seat meant only one thing -- that Reggie Bush had the ball.

All it took to bring them back to the good ol' days was turning on the TV.

There in living, flat-screen color was Matt Leinart, in his first professional start, throwing a couple of touchdown passes for the Arizona Cardinals. There was the Tennessee Titans' LenDale White gashing the Colts' defense for six yards a pop, thanks in part to the clever play-calling of Norm Chow. (That said, watching the Titans wasn't an altogether pleasant experience, not when Vince Young raced through the Indianapolis defense for a touchdown.)

And then, of course, there was Bush.

The Saints, much like the Trojans had in recent years, found that a multitude of sins could be erased by putting the ball in his hands.

So it happened for New Orleans, which was spared a loss to winless Tampa Bay when Bush returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown in the final minutes.

Bush's role with the Saints is still evolving. Deuce McAllister, whose 4.8 yards per carry is best among the NFL's top 15 running backs, is still Numero Uno in the backfield. But Bush not only serves as a valuable decoy, he's caught more passes -- 34 overall, 11 on Sunday -- than anyone in the NFL and, as he showed against the Bucs, he's not bad returning kicks either.

In short, the only place Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin wasn't likely to see Bush lined up was on the sidelines. Uh, not unless his son Lane, the offensive coordinator at USC, was calling plays.

And while we're on the subject of the Rose Bowl, Leinart's first start since then had a familiar feel: Big early lead, the visitors come back and then a rally falls short. Or, in this case, wide right.

Now, the quarterback who could do nothing but win -- 37-2 during his college career -- owns a personal two-game losing streak, something he hasn't experienced since he was at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana.

That Catholic school upbringing will come in handy Monday -- a few Hail Marys anyone? -- when the Bears come to town.

Nevertheless, there is at least optimism in Arizona, despite the Cardinals sinking to 1-4. Leinart looked poised, threw two scoring passes and nearly a third -- Bryant Johnson dropped a ball in the end zone -- and nearly rallied Arizona at the end. But he also looked like a rookie with a fourth-quarter interception that set up the tying score, while getting sacked four times.

It was, however, just one game. And for those making summary judgments, it's worth noting that Ryan Leaf, Akili Smith and Cade McNown each won their first starts in the NFL.

Not that USC fans were the only ones having flashbacks Sunday. UCLA fans were, too -- and not just when they saw the Jets and Bills play defense.

Now that the Bruins finally have a defense, they can afford to be reminded of the time when they used to have a running game. Rookie Maurice Jones-Drew scored against the Jets on touchdown runs of 4 and 6 yards, the third week in a row he's made it into the end zone.

In the process, he's given the Jaguars both a short-yardage runner and a short yardage-runner.

Elsewhere around the league in Week 5:

The Eagles may not have much of a run game but their passing attack is so balanced, it really isn't an issue. Hank Baskett, following Donte Stallworth, L.J. Smith and Reggie Brown, became the fourth Eagles receiver in five games to go over 100 yards receiving. Greg Lewis has next.

The Buccaneers' Bruce Gradkowski, a rookie from Toledo, brought the number of Mid-American Conference quarterbacks starting in the NFL to five, joining Chad Pennington (Marshall), Ben Roethlisberger (Miami of Ohio), Charlie Frye (Akron) and Byron Leftwich (Marshall). The only conference with more starting quarterbacks is the Pac-10 with eight: Mark Brunell and Damon Huard (Washington), Andrew Walter and Jake Plummer (Arizona State), Joey Harrington (Oregon), Drew Bledsoe (Washington State), and Carson Palmer and Leinart (USC).

The Colts have the week off to figure out what's wrong with a run defense that's allowing an NFL-worst 5.2 yards per carry, compiled in part against the Titans, Jets and Texans, who are 23rd, 24th and 29th, respectively, in rushing. That sound you hear is Clinton Portis, Mike and Tatum Bell, and Lawrence Maroney -- whom the Colts will see the following three weeks -- licking their chops.

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Photo:

(1 -- color) Reggie Bush showed flashes of his USC days with winning punt return.

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

(2 -- color) Former USC star Matt Leinart played well in Arizona's loss to Kansas City.

Matt York/Associated Press