Grudge match

LOS ANGELES – The Biletnikoff Award is supposed to go to college football's top receiver, and this year's finalists are Jarett Dillard of Rice, Calvin Johnson of Georgia Tech and Jeff Samardzija of Notre Dame.

What a joke.

The best receiver was on the field Saturday night when Southern California played Notre Dame at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and it certainly wasn't Samardzija. If Notre Dame's receiver ends up winning the Biletnikoff Award, he should go ahead and mail it to its rightful owner.

That would be one Dwayne Jarrett of USC.

Even after the Trojans' 44-24 victory over Notre Dame, and despite what the BCS standings might say, you can debate whether USC is more deserving than Michigan of a chance to play Ohio State for the national championship. But here's what's beyond dispute: Everybody who overlooked Jarrett because of nagging injuries early this year made a very big mistake.

Did you see the one-handed grab? Did you see the leaping catch he made while keeping one foot in bounds? Did you see the touchdown catch when a Notre Dame defender crunched him from behind? Did you see the touchdown where he collided with a defender after catching the pass, bounced right and sprinted into the end zone?

You will if you own a TV, because it's highlight-reel material. What you might not see is that sweet smile on Jarrett's face, with a hint of vindication.

He has overcome the quadriceps muscle injury that hampered him during the preseason, and he has overcome the separated shoulder that kept him out of USC's game against Washington State and limited him to only a handful of plays in the next week's game against Washington. But the insults and doubts still hurt, and on Saturday night the folks with the Biletnikoff Award weren't even at the top of the perpetrators' list.

On a night of grudges, Jarrett held the biggest against Notre Dame. Turns out the Fighting Irish had recruited Jarrett when he was a senior in high school in New Brunswick, N.J. But Jarrett said Notre Dame, then coached by Tyrone Willingham, ended the courtship because the Irish questioned whether he could make it academically.

Notre Dame fired Willingham in 2004, so current coach Charlie Weis had nothing to do with Jarrett's recruiting. But fortunately for USC, Jarrett remains vindictive.

"It was an insult to me," he said after the game. "I felt they didn't think I was smart enough or intelligent enough to go to their school. I kind of took that as a slap in my face."

He brought that anger onto the field every time he faced Notre Dame.

"My freshman year, I kind of ripped them apart a little bit," he said. "Last year I did, and this year, I mean … "'

Big smile.

For the record, Jarrett said he scored an 820 on the SAT and had a 2.8 grade-point average. But Willingham and perhaps the folks in the admissions office at Notre Dame weren't the only ones who doubted Jarrett.

To begin with, he doubted himself, almost leaving USC because he was so homesick as a freshman. He adapted to life in Los Angeles, adapted to USC and adapted to life in the spotlight, earning All-America honors last season as a sophomore.

Next among the doubters: his own position coach. Lane Kiffin, USC's offensive coordinator who doubles as the wide receivers coach, criticized Jarrett after the season opener.

Next were those who questioned his toughness and durability when a separated shoulder kept him out of the Washington State game and he managed only one catch in limited action against Washington.

On Saturday, he shared the stage with Samardzija and stole the spotlight. Samardzija had six catches for 79 yards and one touchdown but looked almost pedestrian compared to Jarrett, who was so good he impressed himself.

After his one-handed catch – reaching out with his left hand, pulling it back in with his body and doing it all while staying in bounds – Jarrett shimmied on the turf and looked up at the Jumbotron in time to see the replay and marvel at his handiwork.

"I made sure I looked back at it," he said. "It was a sweet catch."

USC quarterback John David Booty sounded less impressed than Jarrett was.

"I've seen him actually make better plays, if you can believe it," Booty said, suggesting USC practice is where the real circus catches take place.

On Saturday night, there also was the stuff that won't make the highlight reel. Jarrett fending off defenders who jostled him as he came off the line of scrimmage. Jarrett finding the seams and gaps in the zone defense. Jarrett beating anyone who dared to try and cover him man to man.

Said Notre Dame cornerback Terrail Lambert: "It's a pretty tough task." Impossible was more like it.

Poor Lambert. Poor Notre Dame. Most of the players probably had no idea that their school had snubbed Jarrett and provided him with additional ammunition. After the game, USC coach Pete Carroll claimed he knew nothing about it, then suppressed a grin and said, "The story's dead."

He had better hope not. If Jarrett can find enough grudges, he might lead USC all the way to the national championship while proving the doubters wrong.