OPINION

By Mike DeCourcy

updated 6:12 p.m. ET Oct. 22, 2007

The Southern California Trojans finished tied for third last season in the Pacific-10 Conference. They won 25 games, defeated Oregon, Arizona, Stanford and Washington State and forever will be known as the team that finished Kevin Durant's college career.

Tim Floyd would like you to remember all of that.

He trusts that you will.

That way, when USC turns into something of an O.J. Mayo carnival this winter, you'll keep in mind the program's success is not merely a gimmick, the product of a one-year star.
"Last year really was an important year," Floyd said. "I think another good year this year gives us national credibility."

The greatest obstacle currently to a second successful season is injuries, which kept four rotation players from practicing last week: Daniel Hackett (jaw); Davon Jefferson (knee); Dwight Lewis (quadriceps) and Marcus Simmons (ankle). That should be taken care of eventually, though.

The lasting obstacle is Mayo. Well, not Mayo personally, but what his presence has done to the program: make people notice.

Because he's a draw, the Trojans were offered games. And because "it's an opportunity to raise the profile of our program," Floyd accepted TV games that will give the Trojans one of the nation's toughest schedules.

How's this for 116 hours of insanity:

8 p.m., Nov. 29: vs. Oklahoma at the Galen Center;
11 a.m., Dec. 2: vs. Kansas at the Galen Center;
9 p.m., Dec. 4: vs. Memphis at Madison Square Garden.

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The Trojans will play two of the nation's top four teams in the space of less than three days. Later on, they'll play twice against UCLA, so that's four games against this season's elite. I'm not sure why Floyd didn't just go ahead and get North Carolina and Georgetown on the schedule so he could be sure he'd play every team under consideration for a No. 1 seed.
"We're taking them on," Floyd said, smiling at his own daring. He said he would have done this even if he'd known Nick Young and Gabe Pruitt would leave for the draft, because he was getting Mayo.

"We're going to try to play for everything every year. With O.J. here, the thing that is magnified is we're more visible. People are going to be paying more attention ... a great player helps do that. But let's face it: winning becomes a part of the equation. Without winning, nobody really cares."

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