BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Even before coach Pete Carroll's dynasty had died, Southern California began a yearly cycle of sky-high preseason hopes and comparatively disappointing results. After Carroll left and the Trojans became hamstrung by NCAA sanctions for the past half-decade, their modest winter successes never matched their enormous summer expectations. Those hopes are high again, now that USC is free of scholarship sanctions and bolstered by its first full recruiting class in four years. Coach Steve Sarkisian believes the Trojans can only break the cycle through hard work, and he can't wait to get to it next week. "It's somewhat of a beauty contest right now," the second-year coach said Friday at the Pac-12 media days.