THIS VERSION IS AN UNDEFEATED ENIGMA.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

It's a fine line, and those are typically the most difficult to stride. Opposites pull each way, some yin, some yang, and not a whole lot in between.

The USC faithful look at their unbeaten Trojans and are absolutely torn by conflicting reactions.

Grow up already! Get it together and cream someone! Remind us of Trojans and championships past!

And then there is that rational side that demands patience, that pleads for calm appreciation.

Look, they're 6-0! They're ranked second in the country by several polls! They're good and will get better!

Somewhere in between this land of slow, deep breaths and hyperventilation, resides the 2006 USC Trojans.

They may be the most frustrating unbeaten team in the country. They're good, but really, nobody knows just how good. Six games into the season, and they are still too much of an unknown.

They won again Saturday, won in a style that hardly harkens back to 2005 or 2004 or 2003, or even when it all really began in 2002.

Those USC teams didn't just beat you, they dazzled you in the process. Left beaten opponents struggling to fight applause.

This USC team lately has taken to squeaking out victories, frightening every cardinal-and-gold-wearing alum and faux alum back to mortality before pulling out another win.

``I don't have any problems with what's going on, other than we haven't hit any big plays,'' USC coach Pete Carroll said. ``The objective is to go out and play well and win.

``We're not the same team we were. We're very young, but we're a very good team. How many unbeaten teams are there? Six? It's hard to do.

``We feel OK about ourselves. We're ready to improve.''

Saturday against a mediocre Arizona State team, USC jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first half. Happy days were here again. The Trojans looked like they had finally found their stride.

But by the fourth quarter it was back to 2006; the Sun Devils had rallied to tie it 21-21. Fumbles, wrong routes, silly penalties, interceptions. The defensive side was no better.

That they put an impressive rushing drive together behind Chauncey Washington to score the winning touchdown in their 28-21 victory is to their credit.

It hardly hurt the USC cause that ASU coach Dirk Koetter had a serious brain cramp late in the game. Down by a touchdown with 1:30 left in the game, facing a fourth-and-22 at the ASU 22 and with only one timeout left, Koetter elected to punt the ball.

USC happily took possession and ran out the clock. Really, all it had to do was take a knee a couple of times.

Koetter's logic was that he liked the odds of forcing a turnover better than fourth and long.

``I felt we were better off advancing the ball and trying to come up with a turnover,'' Koetter said. ``The odds at fourth and 30 are tough.''

And good luck on that next coaching job.

Carroll, of course, has his own work cut out for him, if for a very different reason.

Third-ranked USC may not be the juggernaut of recent years, but this could prove to be an excellent year to just be a really good team and still get into the BCS national championship game.

Florida, The Associated Press' second-ranked team, fell to Auburn Saturday, and voters are going to run out of teams to leapfrog the Trojans in the standings.

If Ohio State is a lock to be No. 1 when the first BCS poll comes out today, it would be stunning at this point if the yin-and-yang Trojans are not No. 2.

Which is not to say they truly are the second-best team in the country, but who knows? They could be, too.

``I'm not into polling, but they are a really good team,'' said ASU cornerback Keno Walter-White. ``I don't know if they really are the No. 2 team, but they play hard. They're 6-0. I can't take anything away from them.

``Good teams find a way to win, and that's what they did.''

That's what USC did against ASU and Washington and Washington State and Arizona. All close games, all USC victories in the end.

Yet for all those eager to dismiss this USC team as a shadow of its recent self and unworthy of its high ranking, they must also recognize it has beaten two Top 25 teams in Arkansas and Nebraska.

And tough tests still await against ranked Oregon, Cal and Notre Dame.

It should all be clear in the end, but if USC is to reach the BCS game, it will certainly have to improve. Will have to grow up the way Carroll and his followers keep believing it will.

``We're right where we want to be as a team,'' said defensive end Lawrence Jackson. ``You have to expect close games. We had close games last year.

``This is a new team, but we're showing improvement. Things are going to open up. We thought it would be tonight.''

Every week, that is the USC hope. It's not some inevitable thing, however. There is no guarantee USC will evolve into the team it believes it can be. Another week has gone by.

And it's led to another USC victory.

The Trojans are very good. Some day we may even know how good. If it's a team still in search of its identity, the options still looking promising.

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Photo:

USC's Dwayne Jarrett scores on a 14-yard reception in the second quarter.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer