LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Southern California will try to hold serve when it hosts Oregon State on Saturday in its regular-season finale.
The second-ranked Trojans remain second in the latest Bowl Championship Series standings and hope that a victory over the Beavers will keep them there when the final standings are released on Sunday.
"I told the guys, 'I don't know who can figure (the BCS) out, but I can't,'" Trojans coach Pete Carroll said. "So let's just keep playing and try to win the conference right now and figure out what happens afterward."
If the Trojans (10-1, 6-1 Pac-10) finish second and hold off hard-charging Louisiana State, they will play for the national title in the Sugar Bowl on January 4.
Even if the BCS system offers no immediate guarantee, Southern California does control its own fate in conference play. A victory on Saturday will give the Trojans their first outright Pac-10 title since 1989.
The Trojans, who were off last week, have rolled to seven straight victories and have scored 40 or more points in six straight games, a first for any Pac-10 team.
Quarterback Matt Leinart has thrown 30 touchdown passes and just seven interceptions and another strong outing could earn him a trip to New York next weekend as a Heisman Trophy finalist. Has thrown 197 straight passes without an interceptions, one short of the Pac-10 season record set by Cory Paus of UCLA in 2001.
Wide receiver Mike Williams, who has 14 TD catches this season, also should receive some Heisman consideration.
Oregon State is 7-4 overall and 4-3 in the Pac-10 under first-year coach Mike Riley, who was courted by USC before Carroll was hired after the 2000 season.
The Beavers were off last week after a 34-20 loss to Oregon on November 22. Tailback Steve Jackson has rushed for 1,334 yards and 14 touchdowns, but was limited 68 yards against Oregon.
Southern California has won 14 straight home games and has defeated Oregon State 19 straight times at Los Angeles Coliseum since the Beavers' last win here in 1960.
USC leads the all-time series, 55-8-4, and defeated the Beavers 26 straight times before losing in 2000.
