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USC flaunts 'attack mode'

Associated Press Arizona Daily Wildcat USC wide receiver R. Jay Soward runs through the Oregon State special teams unit en route to an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown. Soward will be catching passes from junior quarterback Mike Van Raaphorst for the remainder of the season because sophomore quarterback Carson Palmer is out with an injury.

It's been a while since Southern Cal has sent its football team to Tucson.

Four years, to be exact.

Because of the Pacific 10 Conference's scheduling system, teams miss each other for two year periods. Arizona and USC haven't played for the past two seasons, but they will renew their rivalry this Saturday afternoon at 12:30 at Arizona Stadium.

"I got to see them play up close and personal," USC junior quarterback Mike Van Raaphorst said in regards to the last meeting between the two teams back in 1996 at the L.A. Coliseum, a 14-7 Trojan victory. "They (the Wildcats) play a fun kind of defense. They try to come after you."

Van Raaphorst, who took over for sophomore Carson Palmer as the Trojans' starting quarterback after Palmer broke his collarbone at Oregon two weeks ago, is glad to be back in the driver's seat.

"I think that's why everyone comes to a major program, to play and not to watch," he said. "The competitive part of you wants to be on the field."

USC head coach Paul Hackett admitted that losing Palmer hurts, but he's not that worried.

"Mike has a lot more experience really than Carson," Hackett said. "He has a lot more starts, he's been in the system for a couple more years than Carson has."

But Hackett said he wasn't as worried about Van Raaphorst as he was about the rest of his young but talented offense.

"Mike is really not the issue," Hackett said. "We know Mike will play well. It's how the other people play around Mike that will be the key to our games."

The lone seniors in skill positions for USC this year are wide receiver R. Jay Soward and running back Chad Morton.

"He's (Soward) really an electric player, when the ball is in his hands pretty much anything can happen," Hackett said. "He was a little frustrated early in the season, we had games where we didn't get him the ball as much as he'd like."

As for Morton, he is coming off his best game of the season with 153 yards on 27 carries and two touchdowns in USC's 37-29 win over Oregon State last weekend.

"Chad has really been the guy who's carried our offense this year," Hackett said. "He's an exciting runner, he's a tough guy with good speed who can go up the middle or fly around on the outside."

While the Trojans' offense presents plenty of problems for Arizona in terms of its balance, the USC defense might be one of the best UA has faced all season.

"They run very well," UA head coach Dick Tomey said. "They lost some players, but they've added speed. They hit very well, they're disciplined and they play hard. They have all the things you admire about a good defense."

Leading the way for the Trojan defense is junior middle linebacker Zeke Moreno, who has done a good job of making the fans forget about departed All-American and current Detroit Lion Chris Claiborne.

"Zeke Moreno has had an exceptional beginning to a season," Tomey said. "There is nobody in our conference who's been as outstanding this year at that position. He's an incredible player."

Hackett said it's all a matter of the mind-set he installed last season.

"I think it's always a combination of a couple of things," he said. "The first thing is last year we re-established defense at USC. I think USC has always had a great tradition of defense. These young players got a good feel last year of what was expected in the new defense.

"If you take that and add some speed, which we didn't have as much a year ago, a veteran coaching group (and) you put in (whip linebacker) Markus Steele, we're pretty good on defense."

From the defensive standpoint, agression has become key for USC.

"We're in an attack mode," Hackett said. "We're not a defense that sits back and waits for you to explode.

"More than anything else it's that attitude and the speed. We're playing confident defense right now."