At Brigham Young University in 1995, Norm Chow plucked a skinny young quarterback out of the junior college ranks and groomed him to follow the footpath of a Heisman Trophy winner and other stars in the deep Cougar tradition.

Now a decade later, Steve Sarkisian, that QB-turned-coach, is charged with filling a much larger, more visible pair of shoes: Chow's. Or, one of them, anyway.

When two-time defending national champion Southern California opens the season against Hawai'i Sept. 3 at Aloha Stadium, Sarkisian will be half of the coaching tandem USC's offense has been turned over to in the wake of Chow's curious departure.

"They are some pretty big shoes to fill, you know," Sarkisian said as the Trojans began practice this week. From among those who followed Ty Detmer, Sarkisian said, "you follow a guy who is arguably the best offensive coordinator in college football and you get an opportunity to step in and be part of a place he has just left. It is exciting and it is, obviously, challenging."

Indeed, if there are questions about the Trojans' ability to pull off what is being called the "Troyka," they stem not so much from rebuilding the linebacker corps but the new fingers on the trigger of an offensive unit that averaged nearly 40 points and 450 yards per game over the last three seasons.

If there is a place to squarely feel the burden of continuing a run of 22 consecutive victories, 33 wins in the last 34 games and two Heisman winners in three years, it is in the spotlight left by Chow's move to the Tennessee Titans, the most prominent of the five assistants who left head coach Pete Carroll's staff following the Orange Bowl.

You can see it as a sign of how much the Punahou School graduate and former Waialua High coach meant to the Trojans that it has taken two coaches to replace Chow. You can also, by reading between the lines, see it as an indication of Carroll's seizing a stronger grip on the offense and the limelight that has come with it.

Or, with USC's stockpiling of talent, does it really matter much who is calling the X's and O's?

Instead of one 59-year-old offensive coordinator with 32 years of college experience, the Trojans are plugging in a 31-year-old (Sarkisian) and one 30-year-old (Lane Kiffin) with less than 10 combined seasons of full-time college coaching experience.

Rather than sharing the billing with Chow, who was regularly showcased from the press box by network cameras, the whole show is undeniably Carroll's. And the focus is back on the man on the sideline who will no longer be regarded as the defensive half of the winning equation.

Together Sarkisian and Kiffin are tasked with keeping the offense humming for a "Three-Pete." Kiffin from the press box and Sarkisian with a say from the sidelines.

Sarkisian, who was 21-5 at BYU and the WAC's offensive player of the year in 1996, came to USC with Chow in 2001. He spent 2004 with the Raiders before returning to the Trojans as the assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach, the new role Chow was said to have been offered before bolting for greener pastures. Kiffin, a former Fresno State backup, is a son of Carroll's mentor, Tampa Bay defensive guru Monte Kiffin, and serves as the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach.

How it got to this we are only left to speculate because the parties involved diplomatically dance around questions about the how and why of their behind-the-scenes falling out. "I could still have been there if we had chosen to do so," Chow said. "Not in a reduced role but a different (one)... maybe as an assistant head coach in charge of a lot of different things. He (Carroll) wanted a little more say in the offense, if you will, and it was his (choice) to do so."

It was also Carroll, we are told, who insisted on calling some of the plays at a crucial point against California in 2003 that resulted in an overtime loss to the Bears, USC's last setback.

Chow prefers to talk about the attraction of the pro game for him, a heretofore college-lifer. And, there is the reported $900,000 package, nearly double what he had at USC.

Meanwhile, mentor and student have gone their separate ways throwing bouquets in their passing. "They'll be just fine, no doubt about that," Chow said.

"I think that league (the NFL) is in need of innovative coaches that are not afraid to do new things," Sarkisian said. "And, I think he (Chow) is gonna do a great job."

Do they talk anymore? "Not much," Sarkisian said. "He has his challenges and I have mine."

One of which, this season, has become following in his mentor's footsteps.