updated 12:23 a.m. ET Aug. 27, 2004

LOS ANGELES - Southern California coach Pete Carroll and the defending national champion Trojans have had an eventful offseason, culminating with the decision Thursday by the NCAA not to reinstate All-American wide receiver Mike Williams.

Hershel Dennis, the Trojans’ starter who shared the tailback duty with LenDale White and Reggie Bush last year, has been suspended indefinitely for violating team rules.

Over the winter, the Trojans lost All-American defensive end Kenechi Udeze, who passed up his senior season to enter the NFL draft and went to Minnesota in the first round.

Wide receiver Whitney Lewis and tailback Chauncey Washington, who were counted on to add depth, aren’t eligible because of academics, and tight end Gregg Guenther left the team to concentrate on basketball.

Winston Justice, a two-year starter at offensive tackle, won’t play because he was suspended from school for two quarters for allegedly pulling a pellet gun last February on a fellow student.

And last week the Los Angeles Police said at least one member of the team is under investigation for sexual assault.

Despite it all, USC begins the season as the No. 1 team in the country.

“We’re a really focused team,” quarterback Matt Leinart said. “We don’t let those types of things break us apart. We have to come together and keep battling. Put all the distractions aside and just play football.”

For the most part, Carroll avoided having to deal with these types of problems in his first three seasons at USC.

“With that many people, stuff is going to happen. You’re going to have to deal with some issues,” the coach said, referring to the 100 or so players on the squad.

“I know that we’ve dealt with everything that’s come up, and I think we’ve handled it well,” he said.

While the Trojans took some personnel hits during the offseason, they also stocked up. Their recruiting class was widely considered to be the best in the country.

Then there’s Leinart, who finished fourth in the Heisman voting as a sophomore after starting the season without having thrown a pass in a college game. The left-hander has some tendinitis in his throwing elbow, but Carroll said Leinart still has thrown the ball effectively in practice and Leinart said he isn’t concerned.

The Trojans’ running game should be productive even if Dennis isn’t playing, with Bush a slashing runner and fellow sophomore White a bruiser who’s hard to bring down.

Although they lost four-year starter and career receiving leader Keary Colbert and Williams, the Trojans might not drop off much at the position. Sophomore Steve Smith and freshmen Dwayne Jarrett and Fred Davis have the speed and skills to take up slack.

The defense figures to be outstanding again, with a deep, talented group headed by senior defensive linemen Shaun Cody and Mike Patterson, plus senior linebacker Matt Grootegoed.

USC has one of the best punters in the country in Tom Malone, who wasn’t called on often but averaged 49 yards per punt when he was. Also back is Ryan Killeen, who made 19-of-24 field goal tries and was 65-of-67 on PAT kicks.

The offensive line seems the Trojans’ major question mark.

Three of last year’s starters have moved on and Justice was the fourth. Fred Matua and John Drake, who have started at times, are back. The rest of the offensive linemen are short on experience.

The Trojans also face the challenge of living up to huge expectations.

“It’s good to have that pressure on you,” Cody said. “We know teams are going to be gunning for us and we want that, because we want to be back on top of the mountain.”

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