The Rams were in the Coliseum on Saturday, but it wasn't the Rams team that once played in Los Angeles. It was the Colorado State University Rams. Green helmets with gold horns. The Southern Cal Trojans (2-0) grabbed CSU by their headgears and never let go, bullying the boys from Fort Collins, 49-0.

USC, ranked No. 1 on both the Associated Press and USA Today polls, had too many weapons. It didn't just beat Colorado State — the Trojans beat up the Rams. Heat (it was in the 90s at kickoff) and the brutal USC onslaught were too much for Colorado State to overcome, and the Rams were spent by halftime when USC led, 28-0.

A crowd of 85,000, a record for a non-conference season-opener, watched LenDale White score three touchdowns, thanks in part to improved play by the offensive line, which had difficulties against Virginia Tech two weeks ago. White and Reggie Bush consistently found large holes to run through, and the line protected quarterback Matt Leinart, who ran the offense as if the game were a day at the beach.

Coach Pete Carroll brought in his reserves just after the third quarter started and said he was impressed by the second-string defense's play. "That was a good looking group for a second group," Carroll said. "A lot of guys played. That will help us over the long haul." Carroll worked in freshman sensation Jeff Schweiger  with stalwarts Shaun Cody and Mike Patterson, and the high school All-American from Northern California played up to the recruiting services billing.

Although the rest of the schedule isn't difficult, USC faces one of its stiffer challenges this Saturday when it travels to BYU (1-1) for a night nonconference game. Trojan offensive coordinator Norm Chow once coached at BYU, and in the first encounter against his old team last season, the Cougars scratched and clawed at Chow's offensive strategy with an unorthodox defense that employed five players in the secondary. USC won, 35-18, but the game was much closer than the score. "We spent some time on these guys in the off season," Carroll said. "Hopefully we can do better than the last time."

Meanwhile, the Cougars opened the season with an impressive win over Notre Dame, 20-17, then lost last Saturday to Stanford, 37-10. USC expects to see the Cougar team that beat the Irish. The game will be televised on ESPN at 7 p.m. in Los Angeles.

UCLA evened its record at 1-1 with a victory at Illinois, 35-17, after the Bruins lost their   opener to Oklahoma State. Against the Cowboys, the defensive line played a porous game, allowing OSU over 400 yards on the ground, 261 by Vernand Morency. Against the Illini, however, Coach Karl Dorrell and defensive coordinator Larry Kerr took the pressure of their inexperienced defenders by allowing them to continually blitz. The plan didn't always work--the lllini completed a 46-yard pass on the first play--but it was effective enough to disrupt the offensive's timing.

Meanwhile, quarterback Drew Olson efficiently completed 14 of 21 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns, and Maurice Drew and Manuel White combined for 239 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

UCLA begins its Pacific 10 season this Saturday against Washington (0-1) at Seattle. The game will be regionally televised back to Los Angeles by ABC at 4 p.m., Pacific.

The Fresno State Bulldogs are the surprise of the West Coast so far after impressive road victories against Washington and No 14 Kansas State. Fresno State worked it's way into the Top 25 after it dominated  the Wildcats, 45-21 at Manhattan. "We never had a football team that got beat up as badly as we did Saturday," said Kansas State Coach Bill Snyder.

The win was costly, though, for Coach Pat Hill  because running back Dwayne Wright suffered a season-ending knee injury. Fresno State is at home against Portland State Saturday.

POWER SWEEPS: The nonconference game between California and Southern Mississippi, which was to be played Thursday night on ESPN, was postponed because of the increasing threat of Hurricane Ivan to the Gulf Coast. The trip would have been the Golden Bears (2-0) first ever to the state of Mississippi.

• USC tailback Herschel Dennis returned to practice Monday after a four-week suspension. He had been the subject of a police investigation involving an alleged sexual assault, but officials said it was unlikely that charges would be filed.

• Just asking: After its biting loss to Notre Dame, Michigan plays San Diego State at Ann Arbor, Mich. Some might think the Wolverines will take out their anger of losing to the Irish on the Aztecs, but remember SDS's game last season at Columbus, Ohio, when it nearly upset the Buckeyes.

• High scoring Boise State (2-0) hammered Oregon State, 53-34, after trailing 14-0 in the first half. The Beavers were probably still woozy from their heartbreaking overtime loss to LSU a week earlier. Boise State has the longest winning streak among Division 1-A schools (14) and has won 18 straight at home. The Broncos visit Texas El Paso on Saturday. In their last four games against the Miners, the Broncos have scored 189 points.