USC EAGER TO AVOID `ONE-HIT' LABEL CRITICS LINING UP WITH KEY TROJANS LOST; RESPONSE COMES SATURDAY.

Byline: Scott Wolf Staff Writer

Just in case anyone at USC still was basking in last year's 11-2 season, Trojans coach Pete Carroll delivered an emphatic message at the start of training camp.

``Coach Carroll said it's not about what happened before, it's what you do now,'' wide receiver Mike Williams said.

Perhaps because it's been so long since USC enjoyed mention among college football's elite, how the Trojans respond to last year's success is a difficult question to answer. Will they build on their success or prove a one-year wonder?

Last year's season, highlighted by blowout victories over UCLA, Notre Dame and Iowa, was USC's best in 25 years. But none of the current players knows what it's like to duplicate that success, unlike the players from the 1970s who usually were expected to contend for a national championship.

Add to that the fact the Trojans lost their Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback (Carson Palmer) and All-American safety (Troy Polamalu), and it seems a daunting prediction to expect similar results this season.

``Everybody thinks because Carson and Troy left, we're not going to play our game,'' cornerback Marcell Allmond said. ``But we have our trust in Coach Carroll, and he trusts us.''

Allmond said he expects critics to discount the Trojans' ability to remain a national power without some of the best-known stars. It's actually a feeling to which he's become accustomed in his career.

``Ever since I've been here, everyone's doubted USC,'' he said. ``And when you're on top, people want you to fail. We can do the exact same thing we did last year. We can't come out and think we were 11-2, though. We're 0-0. We can't be overconfident.''

A quiet confidence permeates the Trojans. The players believe the system is good enough to produce similar results even if some faces have changed.

``Any kind of doubters should come to practice and see what we're accomplishing,'' defensive end Kenechi Udeze said. ``Based on the way we work, anything is possible.''

As an example, Udeze cites USC's commitment to forcing turnovers. The Trojans' turnover margin in Carroll's two years is the best in the nation (+1.33).

``Coach Carroll first came in and preached about getting the ball out of the other team's hands and that's what I try to do, and you can see how our game has turned around because of it,'' Udeze said. ``This is my third year here with him and I have nothing but trust and respect for his philosophy.''

Udeze set a USC record last year with six forced fumbles, which also led the Pacific-10 Conference.

Though Palmer and Polamalu are in the NFL, the younger Trojans seem to enjoy the idea new blood will be asked to keep the program from slipping to the mediocrity that defined USC in the late '90s.

``This year, is a little more exciting,'' sophomore safety Mike Ross said. ``We do have younger players and they are playing a big part on the team. Last year we had guys who had been around. It's not one single player, because we're not built on one single player.''

One thing that doesn't worry Ross is USC's newfound national respect. He doesn't mind that the Trojans will be a larger target in an opponents' crosshairs, especially with a No. 8 ranking in the current Associated Press Top 25 poll.

``I don't think playing at 'SC you can ever sneak up on people,'' Ross said. ``Last year, we didn't sneak up on anyone.''

Williams shied away from comparisons to last season, maybe because he enjoyed playing with Palmer as much as any player.

``This team will form its own identity,'' he said. ``You can't foresee the future. I think we'll be fine. Besides, you never want to do the exact same thing. You always want to do better. Carson and Troy left a lot of things here that the younger guys picked up on.''

Said Udeze: ``Of course there will be a drop-off in play at the quarterback position because we lost the Heisman Trophy winner, but the new guys are good, too. People can't assume things about this team.''

Whatever people think now, the talk ends Saturday when the Trojans play Auburn on national television.

On Tuesday, Carroll sounded relieved a game is about to arrive. He wants to know as much as anyone whether the Trojans will continue their remarkable run that saw them win eight consecutive games to end last season.

``After so much talk, thoughts and dreams about the next season, finally, we're there,'' Carroll said. ``Have we captured the intensity and the focus that we banked on last year with solid football team? We'll find out where we are.''

USC at AUBURN

When: Saturday, 5 p.m.

TV/Radio: Ch. 2; 1540-AM.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Pete Carroll is preparing USC to move past 2002's success, not bask in it.

Edna T. Simpson/Daily News

(2) USC's Matt Leinart takes over for Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer at quarterback.

Box:

MIXED RESULTS