The question: Is this still the same team?
"We're still USC. When all is said and done, we're still going to end up the best team in the nation."
That's according to senior cornerback Terrell Thomas.
Is it the same team that has five consecutive BCS appearances?
The same team that featured Carson Palmer and Mike Williams and then Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush?
Or the same team that snapped a 35-consecutive home win streak to Stanford on Oct. 6?
The Trojans (8-2, 5-2 Pac-10), like its opposition Thursday and regardless of recent history, can likely punch another ticket into the BCS with a win.
Even after two losses to the Cardinal and the once contending Oregon and an absurd amount of injuries, there is reason for optimism.
"We all came together and said we said we should have won those games." Thomas said. "We beat ourselves."
With the fall-off, the Trojans rely heavily on a talent-laden offense spruced up by one great recruiting class after another since coach Pete Carroll arrived in 2001.
The best player the casual fan fails to notice is a big ugly.
"It will be great to have Sam Baker," Thomas said. "We're finally getting healthy with the bye week."
But Baker, a senior left tackle who missed three of the team's last four games with an injured hamstring, is not the only offensive Trojan who's played in a game everyone will be watching.
Senior quarterback John David Booty, still dealing with a broken finger on his throwing hand, is 7-0 against ranked teams during his career.
And Booty's success may depend on the reliability of the team's perpetual moniker: Tailback-U.
Senior running back Chauncey Washington is the punch, and sophomore Stafon Johnson and freshman Joe McKnight can dance.
The triumvirate combines for 173 rushing yards per contest.
Johnson, who admitted to dealing with lingering foot problems, said he'll make the most of his split carries.
"I've been trying to watch the film and see what I can take advantage of," Johnson said. "There will be some holes."
Senior tight end Fred Davis and redshirt freshman fullback Stanley Havili are good options over the middle when junior receiver Patrick Turner isn't toeing the sidelines.
Just as the offense is built by the big uglies up front and the athletes who run behind them, so is the defense.
Redshirt seniors Sedrick Ellis and Lawrence Jackson pave the way for three excellent linebackers.
ASU coach Dennis Erickson said Ellis and Jackson remind him of his former players at the University of Miami in the 1990's: Cortez Kennedy and Warren Sapp.
But the 'backers could be even better.
Juniors Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga are flanked by senior Keith Rivers.
The Trojans yield an average of just 268 yards per game, third best in the nation, and 16 points, which is sixth-best.
And though Taylor will be sitting back in a man defense likely covering ASU's Michael Jones or Chris McGaha, he knows his teammates will make every effort to apply pressure on ASU quarterback Rudy Carpenter.
"With all the sacks they have given up, not only during the last two weeks but during the entire season, I think we have to," Thomas said.
The Sun Devils inconsistent pass protection has resulted in a conference-worst 43 sacks yielded, including fifteen in the last two games.
Even though its last game was almost two weeks ago, USC is still hurting.
Rivers, a strong candidate for five separate defensive awards, is questionable due to a sprained ankle, while others including Baker, Booty, and Johnson play through injury.
"Coach Carroll always told us even if we are still a little banged up, we can compete with anyone," Thomas said. "We're starting to get everyone healthy, but they are too."
All in time for two games, as each program is pitted against each other Thursday and its rival to finish the season; both USC and ASU hope to delicately place rose thorns between their teeth come Jan. 2008.
Johnson said he's relishing the chance to play for such stakes, and especially on a day as much about football as it is about the turkey.
"It's a bowl game in the middle of the season against a great team," Johnson said. "I love it. The whole world will be watching: mom and pop and the kids. This is the reason I came to 'SC."
Ask and you shall receive: the answer.
Asked what the difference from last year's USC-ASU match up, when the Trojans held onto victory in the Coliseum 28-21, Thomas said bluntly, "Nothing."
Reach the reporter at: andrew.pentis@asu.edu.
