USC FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT TIME.

Byline: SCOTT WOLF  Staff Writer

USC coach Pete Carroll was so upset about losing to UCLA on Saturday night, he drove straight to his office and watched the film.

``Any of these games we've lost, they stay with me forever,'' Carroll said.

He was looking for answers and didn't have many Sunday.

``I don't think we were as crisp as we've been at the line of scrimmage, getting off the mark on offense, getting movement,'' Carroll said. ``I'm still not sure why. They're not a big, physical group. They're quickness was really effective.''

In the meantime, Carroll found out USC will play Michigan in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day, a game neither school wanted to participate in. The two schools have played on New Year's in Pasadena more than any other. But neither wanted to be there this year, preferring instead to go to Glendale, Ariz., for the BCS title game. Instead, the game will feature undefeated Ohio State against Southeastern Conference champion Florida (11-1).

Carroll sympathized with Michigan coach Lloyd Carr.

``I don't understand that at all,'' he said. ``How it happened. I feel bad for them.''

But Carroll dismissed critics of the coaching and quarterback John David Booty following the UCLA loss.

``Anyone who criticizes (Booty) was not paying attention to the game,'' he said. ``We still threw the football well. He played as he played all year long. But the continuity wasn't there.''

Carroll attributed the problem to UCLA's pass rush.

``They just took a lot of chances consistently, and we were not picking them up,'' he said. ``We made a lot of mistakes in picking stuff up at fullback and tight end.''

Carroll also said he was not questioning himself or his coaches.

``I'm not questioning what we're doing,'' he said. I'm always analyzing how we can do things better, but I've done things a long time.''

Carroll will now spin the situation for the Trojans over the next three weeks to get his team thinking the Rose Bowl is the game they want to play.

``This is a championship team,'' he said. ``We played like champions through the year to get that done, and we have a big opportunity to represent in the Rose Bowl.

``That was very important for me to say that to them today in this locker room. We'll go about how we reconstruct that mindset in the weeks we have ahead of us in the Rose Bowl.''

But even Carroll was shell-shocked following the loss. He is so accustomed to USC pulling out these kinds of games and had a 5-0 record against UCLA entering the contest.

``I do know that we can't do anything about it,'' he said. ``We just have to put it in its proper perspective, make sure everyone understands it and start marching again.

``That's always how we do it. Win or lose. I don't think this is something we can't handle. We'll deal with it. We'll deal with the frustration of it and the disappointment, and then we'll go back to work.''

It's obvious the Trojans have some attitude adjustments to make about their final game.

``The fact we didn't make the next (step) is obviously a bummer,'' offensive tackle Kyle Williams said.

If USC is disappointed, Michigan feels worse. Carr could not contain his displeasure with the unfolding of events and curtly answered questions during a press conference Sunday night.

``I don't think there is any question there are flaws in the system. I don't know exactly what the voters were thinking,'' Carr said of the human component of the BCS poll.

As for the players' reaction, Carr said, ``obviously disappointment, but that's part of life.''

Carr also seemed irked Ohio State coach Jim Tressel opted out of voting in the coaches' poll Sunday, saying it would be a conflict of interest. Carr said it was a ``slick'' move.

Asked if he would ever decline to vote, he said, ``no.''

He also seemed unhappy Florida coach Urban Meyer lobbied for the Gators.

``That's for other people to judge,'' he said. ``I'm not going to comment.''

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