Huskies unafraid of big, bad USC Trojans

The names have changed, but Washington’s attitude about USC hasn’t. The Huskies football team respects the Trojans as much as ever, but they say they are no more confident now than a year ago.

A rise in confidence would be understandable, though. The Trojans lost 11 players to the 2006 NFL draft, including Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and LenDale White. The USC offense is mostly rebuilt, with a large group of freshmen carrying the running game and a first-year starting quarterback in John David Booty. Of course, there’s still the receiving duo of Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith and a stifling defense, but some of the aura that accompanied the Trojans teams of the last two years seems to have faded.

But the Huskies (4-1 overall, 2-0 Pac-10), who will play No. 3 USC (4-0, 2-0) today at the Los Angeles Coliseum, say they don’t feel the Trojans are any more beatable this season than last year.

“We wouldn’t go in there to play if we didn’t think we could win,” defensive end Greyson Gunheim said. “They don’t have as much talent as they did before, but they’re still a really talented team. They play really fast. We have to try to match that.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever gone into a game and not been confident,” offensive guard Stanley Daniels said. “The last few years, we just lost. But we go into the game feeling the same way we always have, that we can win the game. It’s just that this year, we’re doing a better job of preparing. Our mindset going into the game is totally different.”

Washington hasn’t played USC when coming off a win since 2003, the same season it last played the Trojans when UW sported a winning record.

USC coach Pete Carroll has certainly seen a dramatic turnaround between this Huskies team and the one he played the last two seasons.

“A lot of the same guys have grown up and they know the system,” Carroll said of UW. “They look more physical, they’re doing a good job in their offseason program. The offensive line looks very solid, they’re running the ball tough. Isaiah (Stanback) continues to grow as a playmaker. He’s finding his receivers well. The defense is playing really well; they tackle, they have guys in the right places and they’re playing really hard. In an overall sense, everything’s better.”

Still, there’s no question Washington is a prohibitive underdog, made clear by USC being favored by 19 points, despite the fact the Huskies have won three in a row. And why not? USC is riding a 28-game home winning streak and a 25-game Pac-10 winning streak.

But the Huskies say those numbers don’t phase them.

“They’re a good team, but every team in the Pac-10 is good,” Stanback said. “We’re not treating them any different.”

“We’re undefeated (in the Pac-10) and we want to stay that way,” safety C.J. Wallace said. “We want to win the Pac-10 and go to the Rose Bowl, and to do that we have to beat USC.”

“Every team is beatable,” linebacker Dan Howell said. “But it’s about who plays better that day.”