TROJANS PERFORMING ON A WING AND A PRAYER; PLAYERS, COACH SEEK SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE.

Byline: Scott Wolf Daily News Staff Writer

USC might be an underdog for most of its final six games, but it's unfair to say the Trojans don't have a prayer. For even a casual observer, it's hard not to notice the increasing role religion plays among many of the Trojans this season.

When the team comes on the field before games, about 65 players gather in the end zone to pray.

Coach Paul Hackett has the team say the Lord's Prayer before and after each game.

Whenever quarterback Mike Van Raaphorst throws a touchdown pass, he puts his hands together and raises them toward the sky as a way of giving thanks.

Wide receiver Billy Miller wears a piece of tape around his waist during games with the inscription ``Philippians 4:13,'' which says ``I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.''

After USC's game with Florida State, players from both teams joined at midfield for a postgame prayer.

``Playing college football, you always have stressful times. Having faith in something really helps you get through things,'' said cornerback Prentice Hill, whose father and grandfather have both been pastors. ``I really believe that it builds team unity.''

Because religion is a personal issue, most of the symbolic gestures and prayers are not forced upon players but remain an individual choice.

Offensive lineman Travis Claridge never joins his teammates in the end zone before a game, instead choosing to warm up on the sideline.

``Basically, I think you can pray all you want, but God's not going to help you make a block or run the ball,'' said Claridge, who said he doesn't feel pressured to join the others. ``If you're not ready to play, praying's not going to help you.''

Hackett, who was reared an Episcopalian, introduced the Lord's Prayer as part of the locker-room routine this season. He also makes the players take a moment of silence so they focus before the game.

``If you have 100 people in a room, you can't pretend to satisfy everyone. I prefer a lot of leeway for the individual,'' Hackett said. ``That's why we say the Lord's Prayer. It's very universal. . . .

``I think that what's important is that everyone gets an opportunity to prepare themselves in that way.''

Before anyone thinks USC is becoming a secular version of Notre Dame or Brigham Young, Hackett points out that nonreligious rituals take place after the Lord's Prayer, such as having the team sing the school's fight song.

Individual players, however, have developed their own methods of expression. Van Raaphorst could be seen in the middle of the Coliseum field last Saturday, with his hands clasped together and motioning upward, moments after throwing a 77-yard touchdown pass to R. Jay Soward against California.

``Every time I throw a touchdown, I give thanks to the Lord. This is what it's all about,'' Van Raaphorst said. ``I'm not doing it to show off.''

Few players have undergone as dramatic a conversion as Van Raaphorst at USC. After enjoying a wild first semester in college, he became a born-again Christian.

``For me, it's just a way of life,'' Van Raaphorst said. ``You learn a lot. I have a past and I've done a lot of things I regret. I became a born-again, and that's changed my life.''

Van Raaphorst said his faith has made it easier to get through this season, when he has been engaged in a quarterback controversy with freshman Carson Palmer.

``This year it's helped me tremendously. There's been some tough times,'' he said.

Hill said he noticed a difference in Van Raaphorst.

``Mike, his freshman year, I knew about his life and the stuff he did,'' Hill said. ``It's a big change in attitude. It's really easy to talk to him now. That's a side I didn't see when he first got here.''

Hill, whose father is the pastor at the True Gospel Pentecostal Church in Dallas, said there have been other marked changes among team members. There used to be two or three players attending the Saturday-morning chapel on game days. Hill said as many as 15 now attend. He said he doesn't think other players feel peer pressure to join in on any of the religious activities.

``I don't think guys feel that pressure,'' he said. ``It's nothing negative. I think the guys on the team that aren't Christians understand what we're about.''

Van Raaphorst and Hill agree, however, that players have become more careful not to discuss certain subjects in the locker room, so they don't offend any teammates.

`` The other guys keep it down,'' Hill said. ``The talk about partying, I don't hear it in the locker room. A couple years ago, guys would say anything. Guys would tease me about being a preacher, or sexual things or going out and drinking. But they figured out I was serious about what I was doing.''

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Photo: USC players gather in the end zone for a pregame prayer. Coach Hackett has the team say the Lord's Prayer before and after games.

Myung J. Chun/Daily News