Pat Haden Banking on USC, Lane Kiffin

LOS ANGELES -- As college football games go, USC's matchup against top-ranked Oregon on Saturday will go a long way toward determining the immediate future for controversial coach Lane Kiffin's program.

An upset victory over the high-scoring Ducks and USC is back in the national spotlight.

An ugly defeat to Oregon -- 7-0 and ranked No. 1 in both human polls -- and the Trojans' Kiffin-led journey through NCAA probation becomes that much tougher.

"People have talked about this game like it's a [bowl game for USC]," fifth-year senior cornerback Shareece Wright told FanHouse on Monday. "In a way, I understand. But I just see it as another opportunity for us to prove ourselves. We get a chance to show what we're about."

With a 5-2 record, a defense ranked 87th nationally (allowing a whopping 402.4 yards per game) and a tough probation stretch to endure, USC is generally considered a program in decline and facing Oregon at the L.A. Coliseum will be a major challenge.

That's because the Ducks' fast-paced offense has become the talk of college football under the direction of second-year coach Chip Kelly.

Every Oregon play seems to happen in double-time with quarterback Darron Thomas and running back LaMichael James leading the nation's top offense in scoring (55.14 points) and total yards (569.14) per game.

In breaking down the Ducks' 2010 offensive attack, Kiffin told reporters this week that he's "never seen a team play at such a tempo."

"It's difficult when you go against an offense that plays so fast," said Wright, who has faced former Oregon quarterbacks Dennis Dixon and Jeremiah Masoli.

"You're trying to get calls from the sideline and get lined up at the same time. When you have to do that play after play after play, it's hard to catch your breath at times."

"Not only do they play faster now, their offense is more developed than it was a few years back with more plays and more route combinations."

In many ways, Oregon has already overtaken USC as the top program in the Pac-10. The Ducks are the defending conference champions and have defeated the Trojans seven times over their last 12 meetings, including a 47-20 beat-down last season in Eugene.

But USC first-year athletic director Pat Haden told FanHouse he believes Kiffin is the right man to keep the Trojans in the mix.

"The more that I'm around Lane Kiffin, the more that I like Lane Kiffin," said Haden, who was brought in by USC after Kiffin had been hired.

"This is a guy that has been hired by three big-time programs as a head coach. The Oakland Raiders, the Tennessee Volunteers and the Trojans. I didn't have anything to do with any of those decisions. All I know is that he must have passed some real tough strict due-diligence to get those jobs. He's got head coaching ability. It's oozing out of him. He's only 35 years old, but he's already been coaching a long time. He's a young person with a big upside."

But people around USC's Heritage Hall know better than anyone that the days when Pete Carroll-coached teams dominated are long gone.

And, it's clear that Kiffin will have his hands full building up a program that has suffered through more than a few hits recently. Here's a quick USC football timeline:

Flash back to Sept. 19, 2009, and the Trojans are on an early season roll. Fresh off a tough road win over Ohio State, USC owns a 2-0 record and a No. 3 national ranking heading into its league opener at Washington.

That's when things start to go downhill. The Huskies win with a last-second field goal and the Trojans lose four of their final 11 games to finish a disappointing 9-4.

Then came the offseason. First, Carroll takes a job coaching the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL and he's replaced by Kiffin.

Next, USC finally hears from the NCAA and it's not good. The Trojans are hit by severe sanctions that not only prevent them from playing in a bowl game the next two seasons but also limit scholarships for the next three years.

That was followed by long-time athletic director Mike Garrett being replaced by Haden.



"There's definitely been a lot of changes going on around here," said Wright, who began his USC career in 2006 and played on three Rose Bowl-winning teams that put together a 34-5 record over his first three seasons.

"When I came in, there's no question that USC was at the high. But things are different now. Now's the time when veteran players like myself are needed most. I'm here for my teammates more than I have ever been. I know that we have a lot of young guys looking for direction from older players and I take pride in providing leadership."

So, it's no secret that a victory over Oregon would provide a huge boost for the Trojans, who are coming off their best game of the season, a 48-14 win over California on Oct. 16.

With ESPN GameDay making an early morning stadium appearance, all eyes will be on Kiffin and the Trojans. But even Haden acknowledged that an impressive win over Oregon may not help Kiffin in the public relations department.
"If anybody spent a month or two here and observed Lane, they would have a much different view of him if they hadn't already made up their mind about him,"
-- Pat Haden
"If anybody spent a month or two here and observed Lane, they would have a much different view of him if they hadn't already made up their mind about him," Haden said about Kiffin, who has often been called brash and arrogant by his critics.

"I think he may always have that reputation. It's there and I know that... but I know that in my two months, he's been very good. ... The perception of him is different than the reality."

Haden added more about Kiffin: "I always tell people that here's a guy who took this position coming after a superstar in Pete Carroll, and knowing there was going to be an NCAA cloud over the program. You have to give the guy a lot of kudos with the fact that he wasn't fearful of the job."

But at USC, winning is the only thing that keeps football coaches in jobs and Haden said that he'll always do what's best for the program.

"All of our programs are going through constant evaluation, from wins and losses to graduation rates to even how much our kids enjoy the total college experience," Haden said.

"Our goal is to win a national championship in every sport. Be we also aspire to win in the right way. We're not going to knowingly break any NCAA rules. It's a tough challenge, but this how it is for every sport, especially football."

And just in case Kiffin didn't have enough to worry about heading into the Oregon game ...

"Working in the venture capitalist business before taking the job here, I hired and fired people," Haden said with a laugh. "I had to tell at least five CEOs of their companies that they were let go. No one likes that part of the job, but as [athletic director], hiring and firing a coach is part of the profession."