SPORTS 2004: ONE MORE WIN FOR USC? ORANGE BOWL VICTORY WOULD COMPLETE YEARLONG STREAK.

Byline: Scott Wolf Staff Writer

Pete Carroll likes to sing James Brown songs in USC's locker room after victories, and the way the Trojans played the past year, he might exhaust the Godfather of Soul's repertoire.

The Trojans were 13-0 in 2004, starting with a Rose Bowl victory over Michigan that earned a share of the national championship, and ending with a December win at the Rose Bowl against UCLA that propelled USC into the Orange Bowl against Oklahoma.

USC's 13 victories were part of a 21-game overall winning streak, which is just four shy of the school record, set from 1931 to 1933.

The only thing better would be one more victory on Jan. 4 in the Orange Bowl.

``We just take every game one at a time; that's the key to our success,'' tailback LenDale White said.

It's been a very good year for the Trojans, who are attempting to become just the second team to be No. 1 from the preseason poll to the final poll in the Associated Press top 25. The only team to do it so far has been Florida State, in 1999.

But the Trojans are optimistic they can match that feat, after a perfect 2004 regular season. There were several nail-biters, notably a come-from-behind 31-28 victory over Stanford, a 23-17 win over No. 4- ranked California and a 29-24 victory over crosstown rival UCLA.

``All of our wins last year were blowouts. This year we've shown we can win close games,'' quarterback Matt Leinart said.

Leinart made history too, becoming USC's sixth Heisman Trophy winner and the second in the past three years. He threw 31 touchdown passes from Jan. 1 until Dec. 4 with only six interceptions, and is 24-1 as a starter.

That's even more impressive considering the Trojans lost wide receiver Mike Williams, offensive tackle Winston Justice, fullback Brandon Hancock, tight end Dominique Byrd, and defensive end Kenechi Udeze for various reasons after the Rose Bowl.

Only Byrd returned after breaking his kneecap, but the Trojans' offense barely skipped a beat with so many starters missing.

One reason was the emergence of tailback Reggie Bush, USC's most explosive player in years. Bush, who finished fifth in the Heisman voting, was named an All-American even though he doesn't start.

He amassed 2,181 all-purpose yards this season, the most since Marcus Allen in 1981, and has 30 plays of 20 or more yards. Bush even threw for a touchdown this year.

``Reggie was our MVP,'' Leinart said. ``He won games for us by himself.''

Bush had 30 plays of at least 20 yards or more.

Perhaps one of the more important accomplishments came when USC swept its archrivals. Carroll became the first coach in USC history to sweep Notre Dame and UCLA for three straight seasons.

Carroll said the secret to dominating the archrivals was not making too much about who the opponent was.

``Hard work and clear focus is how we dealt with the pitfalls and hurdles faced during the season,'' Carroll said. ``No game is bigger than the next game. We don't rejoice after a win any more than we should.''

Other than singing James Brown.

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(color) Matt Leinart capped the Trojans' perfect season by winning the Heisman Trophy.