RIVALRY ISN'T JUST BETWEEN GOALPOSTS N.D., USC BATTLE FOR TOP RECRUITS.

Byline: MATTHEW KREDELL Staff Writer

Brian Cushing grew up dreaming of going to Notre Dame.

The prestige, the tradition, the success -- It was everything he and his family wanted in a college, and they hoped to see him in a gold helmet one day.

Then came time for him to be recruited to college, and Notre Dame went to him with a scholarship offer.

He turned it down.

The Irish were coming off a 6-6 season and going through a coaching change. So the New Jersey-based player came out West and found the traits he desired with Pete Carroll and the USC Trojans. Now he wears cardinal and gold.

Cushing, who will be starting at defensive end when USC plays Notre Dame at the Coliseum on Saturday, is an example of what recruiting has become for the rival universities in the first half of this decade.

USC was getting nearly every recruit it wanted in the nation. Notre Dame couldn't even hold onto the players who were born to be part of the Fighting Irish. Charlie Weis, the second-year Notre Dame coach, has reinvigorated the USC-Notre Dame rivalry on the recruiting trail as well the football field.

``When we first started here, you could feel Notre Dame's influence (in recruiting),'' Carroll said. ``Then it quieted down a bit, but now they're doing a great job and it's heating up again. On a national scope, they've got an appeal that reaches far and wide.''

Weis let it be known that he wasn't going to let USC have its pick of players anymore when he went into Southern California to get an oral commitment from Oaks Christian of Westlake Village quarterback Jimmy Clausen in April.

Clausen, the top-rated high school senior in the nation by Rivals.com, favored USC early in the recruiting process and wasn't even considering Notre Dame. When he visited South Bend, Ind., he loved Weis, a quarterback guru who has transformed current Irish quarterback Brady Quinn from an underachiever to a Heisman Trophy candidate.

``It's all about timing,'' Clausen said. ``I really wasn't looking at Notre Dame until Coach Weis got there.''

Last year, Notre Dame got an offensive lineman USC really wanted in Sam Young.

Defensive lineman Victor Abiamiri, offensive lineman Ryan Harris and defensive back Ambrose Wooden are other Irish players in which the Trojans had interest. But they are all seniors, showing the gap where Notre Dame didn't challenge USC for recruits.

``There's not too many that we lost to them,'' USC recruiting coordinator Lane Kiffin said. ``I hope that number stays low, but it's getting tougher.''

USC's recruiting success under Carroll is based not only on dominating the ripe recruiting patch of Southern California but also going around the country to pluck top players.

``He's a tireless recruiter,'' Weis said of Carroll. ``And I think one of the ways you get good in college football is pounding the pavement.''

The Trojans know when they try to go into Florida for a recruit, they will have to battle the Gators, Seminoles and Hurricanes. To get a player out of Texas, they will have to go through the Longhorns, and from Oklahoma to pull away from the Sooners.

Notre Dame can recruit from anywhere. The Irish have the largest fan base in the nation, and players from private Catholic high schools have a natural connection with Notre Dame.

So USC will often bump heads with Notre Dame wherever it looks for recruits.

According to Rivals.com, there are 11 undecided seniors with scholarship offers from USC and Notre Dame. Some of them will be at the game Saturday, with most of the others tuning in on television.

``There are a lot of kids sure to be watching this game with USC and Notre Dame in their top two or their top five,'' Kiffin said. ``A lot of kids want to see what happens this week.''

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