Jackson No. 1 on USC’s watch list

BERKELEY -- The Heisman Trophy campaign for wide receiver DeSean Jackson includes a splashy feature on California’s website titled, “The 1 to Watch.”

USC defensive backs will be watching -- and no doubt listening to -- Jackson today when the 12th-ranked Trojans play the 24th-ranked Golden Bears at Memorial Stadium.

Senior cornerback Terrell Thomas, in particular, has been waiting for a showdown with the former Long Beach Poly High star.

After USC limited Jackson to two catches in last season’s Trojans victory at the Coliseum, Thomas and Jackson traded verbal barbs, Thomas saying he had shut Jackson down, Jackson yelling that USC had triple-teamed him with a cornerback, linebacker and safety.

Last summer, Jackson called out Thomas in an ESPN Magazine article.

“That dude was just talkin’ to be talkin,’ “Jackson said of Thomas. “If Pete Carroll told his 10 other players to focus on everything else and it was just me and Terrell Thomas, oh man, I’d expose that dude. But being the best player, you gotta deal with that stuff. It just makes you better.”

Thomas dismissed Jackson’s comment during training camp and deflected most queries about it this week, saying Lavelle Hawkins, the Golden Bears’ leading receiver, is really the one to watch.

But Jackson, who wears jersey No. 1, is ever-present.

“I’m a competitor, I welcome that matchup,” said Thomas, who has intercepted two passes this season.

USC (7-2 overall, 4-2 in the Pacific 10 Conference) is coming off a 24-3 victory over Oregon State in which it was dominant on defense. The Trojans mixed in more man-to-man coverage against the Beavers, allowing linemen, linebackers and safeties to zero in on quarterback Sean Canfield for a season-high nine sacks.

The Trojans could deploy a similar strategy against Cal and quarterback Nate Longshore, who is also a pocket passer. But a similar result will not be possible unless the defensive backs neutralize Hawkins (53 catches, four touchdowns), Jackson (51 catches, five touchdowns) and Robert Jordan (31 catches, one touchdown).

“They can all strike you dead,” said Carroll, USC’s coach.

USC can keep alive its hopes for a possible Rose Bowl bid if it can defeat a Cal team that rose to No. 2 in the Associated Press media poll before losing three consecutive games. The Golden Bears (6-3, 3-3) ended the skid by defeating Washington State last week.

USC enters today’s game ranked third nationally in total defense, giving up 253.3 yards per game. Said Cal Coach Jeff Tedford: “It’s probably the best defense I’ve ever seen on tape.”

The Trojans are ranked eighth nationally in pass defense, giving up 173.1 yards per game, a statistic that reflects the secondary’s play, but also the team’s inconsistent and -- by USC’s recent standards -- low-scoring offense.

USC never finished higher than 16th in pass defense during Carroll’s first six seasons, many of which featured high-powered offenses. As the Trojans rolled to big leads, opponents racked up gaudy passing numbers attempting to rally.

USC has enjoyed few large margins this season.

“Teams are trying to play conservative and trying to keep the game close,” Thomas said. “We’re not getting opportunities like other DBs in the Pac-10.

“When you watch film all week and you see [opponents] chucking the ball five times deep, your mouth is watering. And then you get in the game and you don’t get one, it’s kind of frustrating.”

Thomas satisfied his own hunger for interceptions last week when he picked off a Canfield pass in the second quarter and returned it nearly to the end zone. The play set up USC’s final touchdown.

Thomas and fellow cornerbacks Cary Harris and Shareece Wright and safeties Kevin Ellison and Taylor Mays are hoping the coaching staff allows the secondary similar man-to-man opportunities against the Golden Bears.

Last season, USC set the tone early when Ellison unloaded on Jackson with a resounding hit that broke up a pass play.

“Hopefully, they know I’m out there,” Ellison said.

Thomas has no such concerns. Not with the history he shares with Jackson.

“He got one-on-one [coverage] last year, and when he did they weren’t throwing him the ball,” Thomas said, adding, “We’re not going to be stupid and play one-on-one all game, that’s just not smart.

“He can take it as a pride issue or whatever, but we play football here, we play a team game.

“Like I always said, I wasn’t worried about his comment. . . . That was a total defensive win when we played them last year and, hopefully, it will be the same this year.”

--

[email protected]

--

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Taking the air out of it

USC has never finished higher than 16th nationally in pass defense during the Pete Carroll era, but the Trojans are ranked eighth after nine games this season. USC’s pass defense statistics under Carroll:

*--* YEAR REC. RANK ATT. COMP. PCT. INT. YDS. TD YPG 2001* 6-6 16 317 173 54.6 19 1,971 11 179.2 2002 11-2 42 454 226 49.8 17 2,623 16 201.8 2003 12-1 110 567 312 55.0 22 3,591 18 276.2 2004 13-0 34 457 246 53.8 22 2,599 13 199.9 2005 12-1 73 452 270 59.7 22 2,995 18 230.4 2006 11-2 64 436 238 54.6 11 2,662 13 204.8 2007 7-2 8 319 171 53.7 7 1,558 5 173.1 *--*

* The NCAA began counting bowl games in final statistics in 2002.

Source: NCAA