Pac-10 Talk: USC

"We’re really expecting a great season. Our football team has enjoyed an upbeat off-season and we have the intention of really putting together a great team. Everything has been upbeat and along with the expectation about being the top team in country adds to the fun and build-up and all. We will go for it see what we can put together."

That was Pete Carroll’s take on the 2007 football season at USC at yesterday’s Pac-10 Football Media Day. He knows he has a powerful team and he knows that everyone else knows it as well. So he didn’t beat it into the ground.

Asked about the large perceived gap between USC and the rest of the conference, Carroll demurred: "Gap? Our toughest games by far were in the conference. This is an extraordinary conference with tremendous offenses and excellent football players. If you look at our score spreads [margin of victory], it’s obvious that the best teams we play are in this conference."

He and quarterback John David Booty were asked about what to look for on this year’s team with Booty excited about receivers Patrick Turner and Vidal Hazelton and Carroll enthused about a new fullback. "Stanley Havili is really a good football player," Carroll said. "We feel good about the position. We have three guys in an aspect of our offense we were a couple dimensions down [last year] from where we want to be."

Booty said that, especially for the players who had been in the program during the Leinart-Bush-White days, a two-loss season like last year’s 11-2 is motivation to do better. He was happy about the large number of new players, especially at the skill positions, who can make big plays this season.

A final wrap on Pac-10 Football Media Day still to come. . .