FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Mike Patterson has one game remaining in what’s turned out to be a terrific career at Southern California.

Not bad for someone former USC coach Paul Hackett didn’t want.

“He said I was too small for the job,” Patterson recalled Wednesday.

Hackett was fired following the 2000 season, Pete Carroll took over, and the new coach had a much different opinion concerning the stocky 6-foot, 290-pound nose tackle – a high school senior at that time.

“He said, I want you to come here so we can be national champions,”‘ Patterson said.

With Patterson playing a major role, USC did just that last season, beating Michigan in the Rose Bowl to win The Associated Press national title.

Despite being ranked No. 1 in both major polls, the Trojans were third in the final BCS standings. So they split the national championship with LSU, a winner over Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl.

Now, USC can become the consensus national champion by winning next Tuesday night’s Orange Bowl – this season’s BCS title game. No. 2 Oklahoma is back for another shot at the title. Both have 12-0 records.

Patterson and fellow senior Shaun Cody have made their mark as one of the most potent defensive tackle combinations around. Patterson has 16 tackles for losses, Cody has 12. Patterson has six sacks, while Cody has nine.

Cody was a first-team All-American this season; Patterson was a third-teamer.

“I think they’re the best set of tackles in the country – the best I’ve ever been around,” said defensive line coach Ed Orgeron, who will leave USC to become head coach at Mississippi after the Orange Bowl.

Patterson and Cody expressed mixed feelings about the impending finish to their college careers.

“This is a great way to end it,” Patterson said of playing in the Orange Bowl.

“Everything has fallen into place,” Cody said. “We haven’t lost a game and we’re playing for the national championship.”

The Trojans will face a major challenge against Oklahoma’s veteran offensive line. The Sooners allowed only seven sacks and opened holes for freshman Adrian Peterson, who rushed for 1,843 yards.

The Oklahoma line had a terrible time against Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game and LSU in the BCS title game last year, allowing Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Jason White to take a beating while opening few holes for the tailbacks.

With five returning starters, the line entered this season with something to prove.

So far, so good.

“One of the reasons why we didn’t win was because of us, if not the main reason,” Oklahoma center Vince Carter said of the two losses to finish last season. “We just took it upon our shoulders in the offseason and through the summer two-a-days, that the success of this team pretty much depended on how we played.”

Oklahoma has had great success, but the Sooners haven’t played anyone like USC.

“They’re good players. They’re not one of the best defenses in the country for nothing,” Carter said. “They present a big challenge for us but it’s nothing that we’re not up to.”

USC has allowed its 12 opponents to average only 121/2 points, 75.3 yards rushing and 271.6 yards of total offense per game.

Carroll paused when asked about what Patterson and Cody have meant to USC since he became the Trojans’ coach.

“It’s hard to measure,” Carroll said. “I think we’ll measure it best when we don’t have them. I can’t imagine what it’s like not to have them in our program. I don’t have to worry about that for the next couple of days.”

The Trojans enter the Orange Bowl having won 21 straight games. They’re 35-3 in the last three seasons after going 37-35 in the previous six.

“I really think they’ve been the rocks of this program,” Orgeron said of Patterson and Cody. “Great men – not one problem. We’re like family. They’re like my sons.”

Freshman Lawrence Jackson, who starts at defensive end, said Patterson and Cody were like older brothers to him.

“They’re so inspirational and motivational, the way they go about everything,” Jackson said. “People that good don’t have to run around with an attitude. They taught me, “If you get to the top, you have to stay humble.”‘

AP-ES-12-29-04 1843EST