LOS ANGELES - In 2001, Pete Carroll took over as USC’s football coach. That season, he led the Trojans to a 6-5 record and a berth in the Las Vegas Bowl, where they laid an egg against Utah.

In 2002, the Trojans lost two close games, both on the road, to Kansas State and Washington State. But they finished by winning eight straight, including a rout of Iowa in the Orange Bowl.

In 2003, USC suffered only one setback, to California, and even though it was voted No. 1 in both final polls before the bowls, had to share a national championship with LSU.

Are you picking up on a trend yet?

If the Trojans continue to improve at this rate, it means they are three years away from winning the Super Bowl and five years from being considered the greatest football team ever assembled.

Such hyperbole is beyond silly, beyond absurd, beyond idiotic.

In fact, it sounds like something Lee Corso would say.

But there is no denying that the Trojans — voted No. 1 in both the preseason AP and coaches’ polls — are moving forward as if they have some unfinished business to take care of. That, of course, would be an undisputed national championship.

Donald Miralle / Getty Images FILE USC junior quarterback Matt Leinart is a preseason favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.

This year, the Trojans could be THE story in college football, eclipsing the post-scandal scrutiny at Colorado, the Willie Williams fiasco at Miami, the Joe Paterno retirement watch, the Heisman race, the Mike Price resurrection, the Rick Neuheisel job fair, the LSU repeat march, the Philip Fulmer-Alabama feud and the Maurice Clarett “Where is he now?” reports.

That’s because in just three full seasons, Carroll has built as close to a dynasty as you’ll see in college football since the days when Bud Wilkinson could dole out 500 scholarships at Oklahoma.

The Trojans are loaded with talent, so even at spots where they’re iffy, they have superior bodies who will perform at least respectably, and at best spectacularly.

They are led by quarterback Matt Leinart. In Norm Chow’s free-wheeling offense, Leinart is a cool and accurate passer who rarely throws picks — he had only 9 against 38 touchdown passes last year — and who went from unknown quantity fighting for a starting job as a sophomore to a team leader as a junior as well as one of the top Heisman Trophy candidates.

The only weakness the Trojans have this season is on the offensive line, and “weakness” belongs in quotation marks.

True, there is a lack of experience, since four starters from last year are gone. (Winston Justice, projected as the starting right tackle, is suspended for a year because of a student conduct violation). But there is still plenty of talent, including men who received valuable experience last season like John Drake, Fred Matua and Ryan Kalil.

The running game is anchored by Reggie Bush, quick and fast, and LenDale White, powerful and strong.

The receivers corps will be awesome, even with Mike Williams banished by the NCAA. Freshman Dwayne Jarrett is already doing Williams-like things in practice. And the defense, one of the nastiest in the nation last season, returns six starters and is loaded with young talent after Carroll raked in the top-rated recruiting crop.

But USC’s program is more than just bodies. It’s primarily about attitude.

Chris Carlson / AP Coach Pete Carroll and USC had to share the national title with LSU after winning the Rose Bowl last year. This season, the Trojans aren't interested in sharing the glory.

Carroll projects an infectious spirit that is almost cornball if it wasn’t so effective. He takes his players to the beach for volleyball sessions. He leads them in diving competitions at the school’s swimming complex. He dives into piles during scrimmages as an extra tackler.

He’s one of the guys, yet he’s also firmly in command. It’s an extremely fine line that few coaches can walk with any consistency. Bob Stoops can pull it off. That’s about it.

Yet there is a gaggle of college football teams preening for the BCS’s attention. The Sooners will be mighty. Ditto for Michigan and Ohio State. Notre Dame may finally be on the rise again. Florida, Florida State and Miami will make themselves heard. So will Georgia.

Teams that were slightly off the championship radar last year, such as Iowa, Oregon, Auburn and Kansas State, could make noise.

But the Trojans are in the best position of them all.

They have been building for this. The recruiting machine is more productive each year. In 2004, USC was the place to sign for the elite. One of the major reasons is Carroll’s proclivity for giving significant playing time to kids.

If you compete and earn playing time, you’ll get it. As a result, youngsters don’t play like youngsters. Carroll has created a comfort zone in which he has the same confidence in freshmen as he does in seniors, so freshmen tend to contribute more in USC’s program than in others.

The 2004 schedule lines up nicely for a title run. The Trojans open with Virginia Tech in Landover, Md., then later get Colorado State, BYU and Notre Dame as non-conference opponents who are impressive enough to poll voters, but not so formidable that they will snuff out their championship dreams.

Their toughest Pacific 10 conference test comes on October 30, when they travel to face Washington State.

Last year, there was lots of debate over the BCS and its place in society. I think we all agree that the BCS is encumbered by bureaucratic inadequacies and eggheads with pocket protectors and computers. But it looks like the Trojans are on a path to render the BCS meaningless by submitting the kind of season that leaves no doubt who will be No. 1.

For that, they deserve a big trophy.

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