HEISMAN TROPHY In the Palmer of his hand

USC quarterback Carson Palmer has had a season worthy of Heisman honor.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Carson Palmer rolled to his right, as he has done dozens of times as the Southern California quarterback.
But on this occasion, his receivers were covered.
So he decided to run -- not a pretty sight.
With the fans roaring, the 6-foot-6, 230-pounder rumbled down the sideline before diving toward the end zone as UCLA cornerback Ricky Manning -- some nine inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter -- dived at his legs.
Palmer spun like a helicopter propeller before crash-landing at the 1-yard line, eliciting a collective groan from USC fans among the crowd of 91,084 watching in the Rose Bowl.
On the rise
But he quickly bounced to his feet after the 20-yard gain, turning the groan into cheers, and the Trojans scored a touchdown on the next play en route to a 52-21 victory over the Bruins on Nov. 23.
That was a signature moment for Palmer, who heard a lot more groans than cheers in his first years at USC. But it's a different story this season. He's a leading contender for the Heisman Trophy, which will be awarded Saturday night in New York.
"It's definitely been a struggle, so many seasons where you haven't gotten to where you want to go," Palmer said. "You hear of so many USC quarterbacks who did this, did that, guys like Pat Haden and Rodney Peete. Hopefully this will be my legacy."
Palmer completed nearly 63 percent of his passes for 3,639 yards and 32 touchdowns with 10 interceptions this year in leading No. 5 USC to a 10-2 record against the nation's toughest schedule.
Every opponent except Stanford was ranked in the Top 25 at some point this season, and five are ranked now.
Best for last
Palmer was at his best during USC's final eight games, passing for 2,676 yards and 27 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He capped the season by passing for 425 yards and four touchdowns in a 44-13 victory over Notre Dame -- the most passing yards ever allowed by the Fighting Irish.
"He's a tremendous quarterback. There's nobody who can play better football in the country, I know that," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "Now that he's a fifth-year senior, he's cashed in on all the experience. He's had a career that's been under scrutiny, he had been singled out as the reason the team didn't do well. I never thought that was the case."
Carroll coached quarterback Drew Bledsoe, the first player taken in the NFL draft in 1993, for three years with the New England Patriots.
"Carson's worthy of that," Carroll said.
Next challenge
After playing in the Sun Bowl in 1998 and the Las Vegas Bowl last year, Palmer and the Trojans have finally made it to a major -- the Orange Bowl -- where they'll face No. 3 Iowa on Jan. 2.
"It's tough to lose six games in a year and be sitting at home watching teams play in a big-time bowl," Palmer said. "I was that dumb, naive high school kid -- 'You're going to the Rose Bowl every year, you're going to win the Heisman.'
"Other than Miami, who's a pro team, everybody's good. I don't know anybody that goes undefeated except for Ken Dorsey."
Palmer was referring to the Miami quarterback, who would be his pick for the Heisman.
"Everybody says it's not a career award, we'll see," Palmer said. "It's easy to go 10-2 one year, he's done even better for three years now."
Palmer and the Trojans didn't come close to meeting expectations before this season. He passed for 7,876 yards in three-plus seasons but had 39 interceptions and 39 TD passes -- certainly nothing to boast about.
And USC was 16-16 in games he started.
"To me, Carson's always been just as good as he is now," safety Troy Polamalu said. "He's always had it in him. If he had this system by his sophomore year, he'd have been as good as he is now."