Coach Pete Carroll saw recurring problems for the third straight game last Saturday night against BYU. On the plus side USC's running game made the Cougars look like Oscar De La Hoya after Bernard Hopkins got through with him in Las Vegas, punched out by Reggie Bush and LenDale White on the thick grassy turf of LaVell Edwards Stadium. Both Bush and White ran for more than 100 yards and their performances left the Cougars gasping in the thin Provo air.

'The Trojans were serenaded by the BYU band which played "Fight On" before the game, but weren't impressed with the Cougars' effort later, which included three early turnovers (two interceptions and a fumble), and what some players said was lackluster play. "They didn't come after us," Carroll said of BYU's unorthodox 3-3-5 defense. "They tried to dink us. Their stuff wasn't that taxing."

Quarterback Matt Leinart settled down after he threw his first interception of the season to complete 22 of 34 passes for 235 yards and 2 touchdowns, one to freshman Dwayne Jarrett, Mike Williams' replacement at wide receiver. Jarrett has the physical specs of Williams--he's 6-5, and possesses tremendous leaping ability. But against Virginia Tech and BYU, he had trouble holding on to the ball. The drops continued against BYU and Jarrett's teammates showed their concern by first yelling at then encouraging the embarrassed rookie after he came off the field.

Also, kicker Ryan Kileen missed two field-goal attempts and Carroll's patience seems to have grown thin with the senior kicker, who has made only one field goal try so far. "I'm not worried about anything," said Kileen, trying to shake it off. "I missed a couple kicks, I can't take it back. I just have to move on."

And, USC is still having trouble defending against the deep pass. BYU scored it's only touchdown on a 69-yard pass play from quarterback John Beck to wide receiver Todd Watkins. It looked similar to the play that Oregon State successfully converted last season in the Coliseum.

USC is favored by 23 over Stanford, which is 2-0 after victories against San Jose State and BYU. The Watcher likes the Trojans to remain unbeaten but they should be wary if the real Stanford shows up, and the wacky Stanford Band. USC wins 42-17, on TBS at 4 p.m. in Los Angeles.

After it drubbed Iowa, 44-7, Arizona State now appears to be the real deal in the Pacific 10. The Sun Devils are 3-0 and entered the Top 25 this week at No. 22 after Andrew Walter threw for 428 yards and five touchdowns against the Hawkeyes at Tempe. Walter broke Jake Plummer's school career touchdown pass record of 66, and the fifth-year senior now has 11 TD passes this season. When Mike Stoops took over the beleaguered Arizona program, most thought that the Wildcats would quickly bounce back to join USC and UCLA in a trio of conference powers. But ASU's Dick Koetter appears to have out-maneuvered his state rival, at least for the moment, and ASU has a chance to be 5-0 when it plays USC in Los Angeles next month. The Sun Devils play Oregon State (1-2) this weekend and Oregon (0-2) the following week at Eugene, Ore.

Although UCLA has a bye this week, the Bruins are still reveling in Maurice Drew's record-breaking performance against Washington last Saturday when the scooty tailback ran from 322 yards in 26 carries and scored five touchdowns in UCLA's 37-31 win. Drew broke DeShaun Foster's old mark of 301 yards, which was also set against Washington in 2001. Drew said that he heard through his teammates that Foster, now with the Carolina Panthers and who is much bigger than the diminutive Drew, would come back to the school and beat him up. Drew laughed, saying "We'll see, because he's pretty big. We'll see what goes on when he comes around." Washington plays Notre Dame on Saturday and UCLA resumes action on Oct. 2 against San Diego State, which barely lost to Michigan at Ann Arbor, 24-21.

POWER SWEEPS: The game between California and Southern Mississippi that was postponed because of Hurricane Ivan last week, has been rescheduled for Dec. 4 at Hattiesburg, Miss. ...USC Coach Pete Carroll has warned his players about retaliating against Stanford's Greg Camarillo this Saturday for his block on Trojan linebacker Matt Grootegoed during last season's game at the Coliseum. A few players thought Camarillo intentionally tried to injure Grootegoed by falling on the back of his legs. Grootegoed suffered a high ankle sprain that severely hampered his play for the rest of the season. Carroll said, "That doesn't fit in line with how we ever approach stuff."...Boise State has the longest active winning streak among Division I-A schools at 14. USC is second with 12 and Utah is third at 7.