REFOCUSING THE LENS

The Trojans are in unfamiliar territory.

For the first time in five seasons, No. 13 USC is already out of the national title race in early November.

But the Trojans (6-2, 3-2 Pac-10) say their approach won't change when they face Oregon State (5-3, 3-2) at 5 p.m. Saturday at the

Coliseum.

"We are going to focus on them like it's the championship game, like we do every week," junior receiver Patrick Turner said. "We just want to play a good game and get a win out of it."

But USC coach Pete Carroll said it feels different because the Trojans don't control their own destiny in the conference race. He said he went over the rest of USC's schedule with the players to show them what is at stake for the rest of the season.

"We have to try to just max out and get everything we can out of every game," Carroll said. "That's how we go about this. It doesn't change the approach at all in terms of how we go week-to-week and focus on who you have at hand."

The Trojans will have to focus on Oregon State's defense, which leads the nation in rushing defense, allowing just 54.5 rushing yards per game while tallying 34 total sacks.

USC counters with the conference's second-best rushing attack, led by Chauncey Washington, Stafon Johnson and Joe McKnight.

But the Trojans know rushing the ball will be a challenge.

"They have a good defense," McKnight said. "We really have to execute our plays."

USC will also have the advantage of quarterback John David Booty returning to action. Booty missed three games because of a broken finger.

Booty threw for a career-high 406 yards and three touchdowns against Oregon State last year, but the Trojans lost 33-31.

Oregon State coach Mike Riley said the Beavers' win over the Trojans last season doesn't give them an advantage.

"It will be a whole new ball game and a new opportunity for the Beavers and the Trojans," Riley said.

The Beavers are looking for their fourth straight conference win after losing their first two Pac-10 games.

"Oregon State is playing really good football right now; they've won three in a row," Carroll said. "They've looked good in a number of ways."

One such player who has looked good is running back Yvenson Bernard, who is third in the conference in rushing, averaging more than 100 yards per game.

Bernard, however, is nursing a sprained shoulder and his status is still questionable. But if he does play, Carroll knows the Trojans must account for him.

"Yvenson Bernard gives them all kinds of juice inside - running the football and catching the football," Carroll said. "So it's a difficult task for us and a big challenge we have to face here."

Another challenge for the Trojans is to avoid beating themselves with costly mistakes. They are last in the conference in both penalties and turnover margin.

"We're working in every way we can to eliminate that stuff," Carroll said. "Our emphasis is where it needs to be at this point as far as talking about it and working on it. The results need to come through for us."

Carroll is looking to improve his November record to 21-0 with USC, but said he doesn't dwell on that statistic.

"That's not a big battle cry for me, never has been," Carroll said. "But finishing - finishing has always been one of the tenets of our program. And it's finish time now."

The Trojans can still salvage a BCS bowl if they win out, but they must focus on finishing strong in order for that to happen.

"If we finish really strong, and we put this thing together, we'll have really overcome some difficult things and come back to life, and put some real energy into the finish of the season," Carroll said. "I would love for that to happen for our seniors and our guys that have busted their tails around here for so long."

Oregon State has not won at the Coliseum since 1960, when the Beavers beat the No. 6 Trojans 14-0.

The game will be televised on Fox Sports Net.