LOS ANGELES -- The talk entering the Rose Bowl was clear-cut to the point of being cruel.

Have a monster game, and USC quarterback John David Booty could expect to be a prominent Heisman Trophy candidate in 2007. Lose, and his starting job would be in jeopardy to Mark Sanchez, a kid from southern California who had been Parade magazine's Player of the Year as a high school senior in 2004.

Was it fair to be judged by one game? And to be judged against a Michigan defense that had limited eight opponents to 14 points or fewer?

John David Booty and his teammates slogged through a first half that ended 3-3. At the break, USC coach Pete Carroll and quarterbacks coach Steve Sarkisian hatched a new plan.

"Carroll and Sark came up to me and said: 'Get ready, man. We're about to chuck it,'" John David Booty recalled.

They weren't kidding. During one stretch of 29 plays, the Trojans called 27 passes.

"We tried to do the Bo and Woody thing for a while there -- 3 yards and a cloud of dust -- and it didn't work," Carroll said. "So we decided to play football and have fun."

It couldn't have been more fun for John David Booty, who completed 17 of 29 passes for 289 yards and four touchdowns in the second half.

"What you saw from him that day, that has carried over into fall camp," Sarkisian said after a recent practice on USC's campus. "He went out and just played football. He wasn't as concerned with the little things that can get into your head and hesitate you. He went out and played free.

"It was a great catapult into this season because he realized: I have a lot of natural feel for this game. It's not all about X's and O's and being perfect."

For example, early in the fourth quarter John David Booty spotted Dwayne Jarrett on a post route. Even though Michigan had Dwayne Jarrett bracketed with All-America cornerback Leon Hall and safety Willis Barringer, John David Booty fired away. The result: a 62-yard touchdown.

"He feels Dwayne run though the double-coverage, trusts him and lets the ball go," Sarkisian said. "He was playing the game, not playing like a robot. As much as it pains us as coaches, the great players do that kind of stuff."

John David Booty was considered a great player coming out of Evangel Christian High School in Shreveport, La., where he made his varsity debut while in the 7th grade. His older brother Josh, a two-sport star who played for both the Cleveland Browns and Florida Marlins, originally saw more potential in John David as a pitcher.

"In national tournaments he was blowing it by kids," Josh Booty said. "He was throwing 87-88 m.p.h. when he was 14 years old."

John David Booty enrolled early at USC but mostly sat for three seasons while Matt Leinart built his legend. John David Booty's biggest challenge wasn't following a Heisman Trophy winner as much as it was speaking up in the huddle and becoming more assertive.

"He has that Southern drawl," Josh Booty said. "When he first got there, everyone probably looked at him like: 'Who in the world is this redneck?' I know [former USC center] Ryan Kalil once said: 'What are you talking about?'"

Whereas Leinart was fiery and demanding of his teammates, John David -- J.D. to friends and family -- brings an easier vibe.

"Where I come from, things are at a little slower pace," he said. "There it's more laid-back, where it's so fast-paced out here."

Fast-paced in L.A., huh?

"Compared to where I'm from it is," he replied.

John David Booty has adapted to Los Angeles and playing major-college football. He doesn't try to fire fastballs all over the field. His key is accuracy.

"Have you ever watched Greg Maddux pitch? He does not miss," Sarkisian said. "[Maddux] could probably throw it harder if he wanted to, but when you throw it in the spot where it's a catchable ball, guys will make plays for you.

"That's what he has learned by studying guys like Drew Brees and Rich Gannon and Matt Hasselbeck. That's how they play."

John David Booty acknowledged being fatigued at some points last season after back surgery interrupted his off-season conditioning. He has stayed in Los Angeles this summer and did not miss a session -- not even to attend the wedding of one of his best friends, LSU running back Jacob Hester.

Hester, his former high school teammate, got married in Shreveport in July and asked John David Booty to be one of his groomsmen.

"I really hated to miss it," John David Booty said.

But football came first.

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