Trojans look for edge at home

USC could see it coming. All it took was a glance at the schedule.

The Trojans traveled for five of their first eight games but knew the last third of the season would be the homestretch -- with the emphasis on home.

USC’s next three opponents are coming to the Coliseum, where the Trojans have won 30 consecutive games. Oregon will be in town on Saturday. California and Notre Dame will follow in successive weeks. The Trojans play their season finale in the Rose Bowl against UCLA.

“The opportunity to be at home should work for us,” Coach Pete Carroll said Sunday. “If we get an advantage at home, we’re going to get it here.”

USC’s 42-0 victory over Stanford on Saturday at Palo Alto helped the Trojans erase some of the residual sting of their upset loss at Oregon State.

USC moved from eighth to seventh in the Bowl Championship Series standings on Sunday and also jumped from ninth to seventh in the Associated Press media poll.

“The focus was there, especially coming off the loss,” center Ryan Kalil said after the Stanford game. “We wanted to get back and play the kind of football we’re capable of.”

After watching tape of the Trojans’ first shutout since 2004, Carroll described the victory over the lowly Cardinal as “a feel-good game.”

“We had a lot of good things happen,” he said.

Among the best were two interceptions, a fumble recovery and a blocked field-goal attempt that cornerback Terrell Thomas turned into a touchdown. The performance was a marked contrast to the Oregon State debacle, in which the Trojans turned the ball over four times.

“We went from one extreme to the other,” Carroll said. “Hopefully, we can keep it that way.”

Oregon visits the Coliseum for the first time since 2000, when the Ducks defeated the Trojans, 28-17, in former USC coach Paul Hackett’s final season.

Carroll remembers watching film of that game after he was hired.

“I’m sure they’ll be kind of pumped up about the opportunity to play down here,” he said. “They haven’t had a chance to do it, and there are a lot of kids from down here.”

Oregon is coming off a 34-14 victory over Washington, which improved the Ducks’ record to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the Pacific 10 Conference.

USC is a step up.

“They’ll be a different animal,” Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti told reporters after the Washington game. “They’re ‘SC. They’ve lost two games in three years.... It’ll be a whole different challenge.”

*

According to USC’s sports information office, the Trojans had not returned a blocked field-goal attempt for a touchdown since Sept. 29, 2001, when defensive back Kris Richard did it against Stanford. USC, however, lost that game, 21-16, the last time the Trojans were defeated in the Coliseum.... Linebacker Keith Rivers hurt his knee against Stanford, but it is not regarded as serious, Carroll said.... Freshman tailback Stafon Johnson rushed for 17 yards in three carries in the fourth quarter against Stanford, the first time he rushed the ball this season. “He ran the ball hard and had a nice little average in there,” Carroll said. “He did just fine.”

*

gary.klein@latimes.com