LOS ANGELES -- You needed a Jaws of Life to worm your way through the happy bedlam of the USC locker room Monday evening at the Memorial Coliseum. Trojan recruits, their name tags stuck on their shirts, mingled with USC players. Reporters formed tiny scrums around assorted locker stalls. Athletic director Mike Garrett was there working the room. A few selected parents were allowed in. Coach Pete Carroll's kids seemingly were everywhere.

But there was a moment, a tiny one, when it became clear that USC football might finally be able to see around the corner. Carroll was putting the finishing touches on his postgame comments to several writers when offensive coordinator Norm Chow walked by, extended his hand and smiled the smile of a coach who knows USC's 24-17 win against Auburn was one to cherish.

Carroll held the handshake for an extra beat or two.

"It was 21-9 in time of possession in the second half,'' Carroll said.

"What?'' said Chow.

"Twenty-one-nine,'' said Carroll. "We can play defense for nine minutes now.''

Just about anybody can play defense for nine minutes. The 16th-ranked Trojans held Auburn to just 35 total yards in that second half. They stuck the Tigers's running game into red number: minus-2. They gave up only five first downs.

Meanwhile, USC's offense actually began to resemble the X's and O's Chow brought with him from BYU and North Carolina State. Quarterback Carson Palmer completed 23 of 32 passes for 302 yards. His 71.8 completion percentage would have been higher had it not been for three drops. And in the fourth quarter, with the score tied, Palmer oversaw a 13-play, 50-yard, 8-minute and 39-second touchdown drive that left Auburn with only 1:26 to work with.

Last season, who knows what happens. Maybe USC figures out a way to win, maybe it doesn't. The Trojans finished 6-6 in Carroll's first year, including a depressing loss to Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl. USC had talent, but did it have heart?

Now it knows. Or at least the Trojans say they know. After all, it is only one game, against an Auburn team that has its own issues. But the early returns are encouraging.

Palmer, the fifth-year senior who has taken more heat than an iron ore worker, looked fairly comfortable as he exploited Auburn's mistakes. Gone was much of the indecision that plagued him at times last season.

"We knew they were lazy getting to the ball,'' said Palmer of Auburn's secondary.

So as the Tigers hesitated, Palmer threw completion after completion. He was 3-for-3 on the final scoring drive (5-for-5 had it not been for penalties). And it was Palmer who crawled over the goal line to give USC the lead.

Still, Palmer wasn't satisfied. He never is. Asked afterward how he played, Palmer offered a tepid self-endorsement.

"First half, very bad,'' he said. "Second half, still not good enough.''

It was good enough for Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, who said Palmer was mostly the difference in the game. As for his own sixth-year senior quarterback Daniel Cobb, Tuberville was mildly enthused. Cobb completed only 10 of 21 passes for 132 yards, but he was also the victim of several key drops. If Auburn makes those catches, then maybe Tuberville and new Tigers offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino are exchanging postgame hugs.

Beginning with the USC game, Auburn plays four games in 18 days. USC doesn't play against until Sept. 14, when it travels to vulnerable Colorado. Then it goes to Kansas State to complete the Big 12 Conference mini-tour. Start 3-0 with that schedule and the Trojans are going to be ranked a lot higher than 16th.

"They'll win a lot of games,'' said Tuberville of USC.

We'll see. For now, USC will have to settle for a 1-0 start and a glimpse of life beyond the corners.

Gene Wojciechowski is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine. He can be reached at gene.wojciechowski@espnmag.com.