watch USC win a 12th Football National Championship

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -C.J. Gable made sure there wouldn’t be a second Stanford stunner.

Gable returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown and ran for another score to help sixth-ranked Southern California overcome an early deficit and avenge last year’s shocking loss to the Cardinal with a 45-23 victory Saturday.

Mark Sanchez added two touchdown passes and Stafon Johnson ran for two scores for the Trojans (9-1, 7-1 Pac-10), who had their season ruined a year ago when they lost as a 41-point home favorite, 24-23 to the Cardinal (5-6, 4-4).

The loss still stung 13 months later and there were plenty of reminders in the first sellout in three seasons at the remodeled Stanford Stadium. From the highlights of the game played on the video board during warmups, to the “Greatest Upset Ever” T-shirts worn by many fans in the crowd to the Stanford band spelling out the score of last year’s game at halftime, the Cardinal did their best to extend the memory.

Their play on the field early in the game did even more to upset the Trojans. Stanford dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball early in the game before Gable’s long kickoff return late in the second quarter tied the game at 17.

The Trojans controlled the game the rest of the way, giving up few more big runs to Toby Gerhart the rest of the way and getting a consistent running attack from Gable, Johnson and Joe McKnight.

There was a bit of gamesmanship in the closing seconds, as Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh sent on Aaron Zagory for a field goal in the closing seconds. USC coach Pete Carroll called a timeout to ice the kicker, so the Cardinal went for it and scored on an 18-yard pass from Alex Loukas to Austin Gunder.

The win helped USC keep pace with Oregon State (7-3, 6-1) in the Pac-10 race and stay in the hunt for a berth in the BCS title game. The Beavers own the tiebreaker in the conference based on a head-to-head win and the Trojans trail five teams in the BCS standings, meaning they still need some help to reach their goals this season.

Stanford has one more chance to achieve its goal of reaching a bowl game for the first time since 2001, needing a win in the Big Game next week at California to become eligible.

Until the second half, it seemed as if the Cardinal had a chance to do that this week. But the Trojans dominated the trenches and the game after halftime. USC ran for 243 yards in the second half, while holding Stanford to just 46. The Trojans have outscored their opponents 171-19 in the second half this season.

Johnson finished with 115 yards rushing, scoring on the go-ahead 7-yard TD run late in the third quarter. Gable’s 3-yard run early in the fourth extended the lead and the Trojans put the game away on Sanchez’s 50-yard touchdown pass to fullback Stanley Havili. That gave coach Carroll the win in his 100th game at USC.

Sanchez, who watched as an injured John David Booty threw four second-half interceptions last year against the Cardinal, went 11-for-17 for 136 yards and the two scores.

Gerhart finished with 101 yards and a touchdown, giving him 1,033 for the season. He is the first Stanford back to top the 1,000 mark since Tommy Vardell ran for a school-record 1,084 yards in 1991.

Tavita Pritchard engineered the comeback to beat the Trojans last year in his first start. But he couldn’t do the same this season, going 9-for-22 for 111 yards and an interception.

Stanford started out fast, getting a 16-yard pass from Pritchard to Delano Howell on the second play. Pritchard then ran 40 yards on a scramble for the longest run of the season against USC. Gerhart capped the 80-yard drive with a 4-yard run, completing the longest touchdown drive of the season against the Trojans.

USC didn’t even manage to record a first down until early in the second quarter as Sanchez was sacked twice early. He hit Damian Williams on a 5-yard TD pass to tie the game midway through the second quarter, but Stanford answered with another long drive.

Gerhart broke tackles and stumbled his way for 40 yards down to the 1 to set up Anthony Kimble’s 1-yard score, but the Trojans tied it at 17 on Gable’s kickoff return. The Trojans had three kickoff returns of at least 50 yards in the game, also getting two from Ronald Johnson.

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Mark Sanchez threw two touchdown passes, and USC’s defense battered No. 21 California in a 17-3 victory.

The win was the sixth straight for the Trojans (8-1, 6-1 Pac-10), who have outscored the opposition 231-23 since losing 27-21 at Oregon State. The Trojans came in averaging 40.25 points and the Bears (6-3, 5-1) were averaging 36.4, with a single-game low of 24.

USC has allowed an NCAA-low 6.7 points per game, giving up just seven touchdowns this season. The Trojans have allowed only 13 points in the second half.

USC is 25-0 in November games since Pete Carroll became coach in 2001, and has won five straight over the Bears. The Trojans have also won 43 of their last 44 games at the Los Angeles Coliseum, where a crowd of 88,523 watched their latest triumph.

Sanchez completed 18 of 29 passes without being intercepted. Cal’s 17 interceptions were tied with North Carolina for the NCAA lead entering the weekend. C.J. Gable rushed for 79 yards on 10 carries and Stafon Johnson added 60 yards on 14 attempts.

Nate Longshore made his third start of the season at quarterback for the Bears (6-3, 4-2), but was pulled at halftime after completing 11 of 15 passes for 79 yards. He was sacked only once despite being under constant pressure.
Kevin Riley, considered a better runner, completed just 4 of 16 passes for 59 yards with one interception and was sacked three times in the second half. Riley sustained a mild concussion in Cal’s 26-16 victory over Oregon last weekend, but returned to practice Wednesday.

Cal finished with 27 yards on 26 rushing attempts and 165 yards of total offense.

David Buehler kicked a 27-yard field goal to give USC an early 3-0 lead.

The Bears moved 63 yards on 12 plays to set up Giorgio Tavecchio’s 35-yard field goal, tying the game at 3. Interceptions by USC’s Kevin Thomas and Taylor Mays in Trojans’ territory were wiped out, the first on a roughing the passer penalty against Brian Cushing, the second when Kaluka Maiava committed pass interference.

USC responded by going 70 yards on six plays, scoring on Patrick Turner’s diving catch of a 19-yard pass from Sanchez to give the Trojans a 10-3 lead, and that’s how it stood at halftime.

Sanchez threw a 6-yard scoring pass to Ronald Johnson with 2:59 remaining, capping a 73-yard, 13-play drive and clinching the victory.

The Bears moved into USC territory three times in the third quarter, but came up empty.

First, they appeared to tie the game early in the period, but Riley’s 27-yard touchdown pass to Shane Vereen was nullified because of an illegal receiver downfield. Shortly thereafter, on a second-and-5 play from the 10, Riley’s pass was tipped by Will Harris and intercepted by Josh Pinkard in the end zone.

The Bears then forced a punt, and Syd’Quan Thompson’s 21-yard return gave them the ball at the USC 36, but a sack by Thomas and two incompletions ended that threat.

Finally, Cal moved to the Trojans’ 30 before an illegal procedure penalty and an incompletion forced a punt.

Mark Sanchez completed 15 of 19 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns to Patrick Turner before coming out early in the third quarter, and No. 7 Southern California scored TDs on its first six possessions in a 56-0 rout of Washington on Saturday.

C.J. Gable gained 108 yards on 10 carries and scored twice for USC, which led 42-0 at halftime. The Trojans had 18 first downs and 325 yards of total offense in the first half to two first downs and 35 yards for the Huskies.

USC emptied its bench in the final 30 minutes.

“It was a happy homecoming for us,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. “We wanted it to be big for our seniors. We have a really fantastic defensive group, and they’re taking the preparation from the week and putting it into the game.”

The shutout was USC’s third in their last four games. Since losing 27-21 at Oregon State last month, the Trojans have outscored their five opponents 207-27. They’ve allowed seven touchdowns in eight games and given up an average of 7.1 points per game.

“We set a goal at the beginning of the season to swarm to the ball on every play, keep our intensity up,” said linebacker Rey Maualuga, whose second-quarter interception set up USC’s fifth touchdown. “Our best defensive play is still ahead of us.”

The win before a crowd of 80,216 at the Los Angeles Coliseum was the 42nd in the last 43 home games for the Trojans (7-1, 5-1), and kept them alive in the national championship race. They’re 24-0 in November games since Carroll was hired as coach in 2001.

USC is one of three Pac-10 teams with one loss in conference action, along with Oregon State and California. The Trojans face the Golden Bears (6-2, 4-1) next Saturday at the Coliseum.

“They’re going to throw everything at us and they’re going to fight for every inch,” Maualuga said. “My work starts tonight.”

“Obviously we played a good team,” Washington coach Tyrone Willingham said. “We came into the game knowing we had to play perfect and could not make mistakes. With penalties and different things, we did not give ourselves a chance to win.”

The victory was the most lopsided in the history of the 78-game series, surpassing USC’s 48-0 triumph in 1929. The Trojans have won the last seven games between the teams, but their margin of victory was just six points in 2006 and three points last season.

The Huskies have played their last five games without star quarterback Jake Locker, who broke his right thumb Sept. 27 in a 35-28 loss to Stanford. Redshirt freshman Ronnie Fouch was ineffective against the Trojans, going 14-of-33 for 113 yards with three interceptions – two in USC territory in the fourth quarter.

USC took a 21-0 lead in the first 11 1/2 minutes on touchdown passes of 4 and 32 yards from Sanchez to Turner and a 9-yard run by Gable.

Sanchez’s 1-yard sneak on fourth down early in the second quarter made it 28-0 after the Huskies held Stanley Havili to no gain, but were penalized for lining up in the neutral zone.

Stafon Johnson scored on a 1-yard run just 91 seconds later, two plays after Maualuga’s interception at the Washington 16.

“It was exciting to see so many of our young guys get in and to hold onto the shutout there at the end,” Carroll said. “It’s really a source of pride for everyone.”

Mark Sanchez threw for 216 yards and a touchdown, and No. 6 Southern California used its dominant defense Saturday night to hold off Arizona 17-10 and keep its national title hopes alive.

The Trojans’ stalwart defense throttled the potent Wildcats, who had averaged 40.4 points per game, ninth in the nation.

The tense, tight game ended in confusion. Arizona punt returner Mike Thomas fumbled and the Wildcats returned the ball into USC territory as the clock expired.

USC (6-1, 4-1 Pac-10) harried Arizona quarterback Willie Tuitama all night. The senior star completed 14 of 30 passes for 88 yards and threw an interception.

The Wildcats (5-3, 3-2) gained a season-low 188 yards and couldn’t even pick up an inch on a Tuitama sneak on fourth down late in the fourth quarter.

Stafon Johnson ran for 83 yards and a touchdown for the Trojans.

A fluke play helped the Trojans escape a tight spot in the final three minutes. On first-and-10 at USC’s 3, Johnson fumbled at the 10. But USC tight end Anthony McCoy recovered and rumbled 29 yards to the 39.

The Trojans needed a victory to keep pace with the four teams ahead of them in the Bowl Championship Series standings, all of whom won on Saturday.

The game matched two of the four teams tied for the Pac-10 lead midway through the season – the upstart Wildcats, who haven’t been to a bowl game since 1998, and dominant USC, pursuing its seventh straight Pac-10 title.

The desert has become a dangerous destination for Top 25 teams. The Wildcats have knocked off six ranked teams in coach Mike Stoops’ five seasons, including three in the Top 10.

The Trojans jumped ahead 3-0 on a 43-yard field goal by David Buehler early in the first quarter.

Given the way USC’s defense has been performing, that looked as if it might be enough for the Trojans. The Trojans had allowed 7.8 points per game, No. 1 in the nation, and had shut out its last two opponents.

But Arizona answered with a 30-yarder by Jason Bondzio to tie it at 3-3 early in the second quarter. It was the first score conceded by the Trojans in 11 quarters – the longest string since 12 straight in 1959.

USC marched 80 yards in 17 plays, taking a 10-3 lead on a 2-yard run by Johnson with 5:03 to play in the first half.

With its offense struggling, Arizona turned to its defense to turn the momentum early in the third quarter. Defensive end Brooks Reed sacked Sanchez, forcing a fumble that was recovered by tackle Donald Horton at the Trojans’ 15.

Four plays later, Nic Grigsby scored on a 5-yard run to tie it at 10-10.

The cardinal-clad crowd of 57,427 was rocking Arizona Stadium. But the Trojans calmly responded with a nine-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 30-yard touchdown pass from Sanchez to Stanley Havili.

Sanchez avoided a blitzing Wildcat, stepped up in the pocket and coolly found Havili loitering all alone at the 15, and Havili romped untouched into the end zone.

USC was poised to take a commanding 10-point lead when Buehler missed a 30-yard field goal with 10:35 to go in regulation – his first miss in six field goal tries this season.

Mark Sanchez became the first USC quarterback to throw five touchdown passes in a half and the focused No. 6 Trojans dominated this time as a huge favorite, beating Washington State 69-0 on Saturday a month after they were upset by Oregon State.

USC’s defense, ranked first in the nation coming in by allowing just 9.4 points per game, ended the Cougars’ streak of scoring at 280 games dating to Sept. 15, 1984, when Ohio State beat Washington State 44-0. That scoring streak was second-longest in the nation to Michigan’s 295 games.

“Our guys had a ball playing football today, from the locker room on out,” coach Pete Carroll said. “Right from the start, we wanted to find that focus that we really hadn’t had yet.”

It was the largest shutout victory for USC (5-1, 3-1 Pac-10) since a 69-0 win over Montana in 1931.

“Our intention wasn’t to come out and beat these guys by 80 points. Our intention was to come out and play a great football game,” star linebacker Rey Maualuga said.

The Trojans easily could have done both. Maualuga was kicking himself for having a potential interception and touchdown bang off his hand in the second quarter. And USC began showing mercy at the end of the first half, marching to the WSU 10 but then letting time expire.

The Trojans have won their last three games by a combined 141-10 since that stunning loss at Oregon State on Sept. 25 cost them their No. 1 ranking. They have scored 117 unanswered points. They have recorded consecutive shutouts for the first time since 1971.

“That loss to Oregon State couldn’t have come at a better time as far as waking everybody up,” Maualuga said.

Sanchez wasn’t surprised.

“It’s supposed to look that way when you prepare that way,” said the Pac-10’s leader in passing efficiency, with 19 touchdowns and six interceptions.

He completed 15 of 20 passes for 253 yards. He also tied the school record of five scoring throws for a game shared with Rodney Peete, Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart with 4:51 still remaining in the second quarter. Tight end Anthony McCoy turned a 10-yard pass into a 21-yard touchdown by spinning off a hit by Xavier Hicks.

The Cougars (1-7, 0-5) absorbed their largest margin of defeat since they began playing in 1894. And that’s with Carroll pulling his starters beginning in the first quarter, Sanchez playing only 2 1/2 quarters, and USC mostly running basic off-tackle plays in the second half—when it still scored 28 points.

At least Washington State won’t lose again this week. It has a bye.

“I’d take two,” first-year coach Paul Wulff said.

Beset by injuries, Washington State has allowed 66, 63, 66 and now 69 in four of their conference losses. The Cougars, whose only win is against Portland State of the Championship Subdivision, have been outscored 385-111 this season. That’s on track to break the Pac-10 record for most points allowed in a season, 469 by Oregon State in 1981.

“It’s unfortunate for those guys. They are trying to build a program,” Carroll said. “It’s tough. I don’t know what else we could have done.

“It was a little bit uncomfortable to see what was going to happen.”

The Trojans outgained Washington State 408-17 in the first half and 625-116 for the game. They led 21-0 less than 11 minutes in. Patrick Turner and Ronald Johnson each caught two of Sanchez’s scoring throws, freshman Broderick Green rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns and C.J. Gable ran for 109 yards and three more scores. Stafon Johnson must have had an off game. He ran for 112 yards but didn’t score.

It was the first time USC had three 100-yard rushers in a game since 1977.

Perhaps he might have been had it not been for the Trojans’ dominating defense.

Sanchez passed for one touchdown and ran for another, and No. 8 USC overcame five turnovers and nine penalties to beat Arizona State 28-0 on Saturday for its ninth straight victory over the Sun Devils. The Trojans have won those nine games by an average of 20.1 points.

“It was a tough outing for me and the offense as a whole,” Sanchez said. “I think that we beat ourselves. We didn’t see anything that we weren’t prepared for. We just didn’t execute the way we would have liked.”

Joe McKnight ran for a career-high 143 yards on 11 carries and Kevin Thomas returned an interception 46 yards for a touchdown for the Trojans (4-1, 2-1 Pac-10), who are 74-9 since the beginning of the 2002 season and have won 41 of their last 42 home games.

Sanchez, whose status was in question for several days because of a bone bruise in his left knee, didn’t have one of his better days, completing 13 of 26 passes for 179 yards with three interceptions and a lost fumble – those turnovers coming on four consecutive possessions in the third quarter. He was relieved by Mitch Mustain with 6:27 to play.

“This game was absolutely about our defense,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. “Time and again as the offense made their mistakes, the defense wouldn’t have it. This defense is playing incredible minus the penalties. We could have easily been beaten today with some of those mistakes.

“Clearly, Mark was struggling today. He wasn’t at his best, but to tell you the truth, we were surprised he played. He continues being a hero out there the way he steps up.”

Sanchez looked just fine on USC’s first possession, passing for 61 yards before capping an eight-play, 72-yard drive with a 1-yard sneak to give the Trojans a 7-0 lead. He wasn’t very productive after that, but didn’t need to be. He said the three interceptions were the result of bad throws rather than poor decisions.

Arizona State (2-4, 1-2), meanwhile, has scored just 44 points in losing four straight for the first time since 2003. The Sun Devils gained only 229 yards and committed four turnovers while being shut out for the first time since Oct. 30, 2004, when they lost to California 27-0.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been around an offensive performance like that in my career,” ASU coach Dennis Erickson said. “Give credit to USC. But whenever we get the football like we did in the third quarter as many times as we did, you’ve got to score points and we didn’t. I wish I knew why.

“I can’t say enough about our defense. They played well enough to win, but you’ve got to have all three phases of your game to win.”

ASU’s Rudy Carpenter, considered doubtful all week because of a sprained left ankle, completed 11-of-20 passes for 126 yards with one interception before limping off the field for good with 8:51 left in the third period.

“I was trying to put it out of my mind and stay positive all week,” Carpenter said. “Obviously I wanted to stay and play, but the coach felt it was the right thing to do.

“Defensively we did a good job, but we just couldn’t score. Nothing was working.”

Backup Danny Sullivan completed just 4-of-17 for 28 yards with two interceptions – the second by T.J. Bryant on the USC 2-yard line on the game’s final play.

Carpenter not only made the start to extend the second-longest active starting streak for a quarterback in the country to 37 games, he completed a 39-yard pass on ASU’s first scrimmage play. But the Sun Devils failed to get another first down before having to punt.

Purdue’s Curtis Painter made his 38th consecutive start against Ohio State on Saturday.

Neither team posed a serious threat after USC’s opening drive until a 38-yard punt return by Kyle Williams gave ASU the ball at midfield early in the second quarter. Helped by a facemask penalty against Clay Matthews, the Sun Devils moved to the 21-yard line before a sack by Thomas and an illegal motion penalty pushed them out of field goal range.

The Trojans responded by moving 80 yards on seven plays for a 14-0 lead. Sanchez threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Damian Williams after hitting Patrick Turner for 22 yards and Ronald Johnson for 29.

USC scored again just 1:19 later to make it 21-0 on the interception return by Thomas, who stepped in front of wide receiver Michael Jones before sprinting untouched into the end zone for his first career TD.

Stafon Johnson scored on a 2-yard run with 8:09 remaining to cap an eight-play, 92-yard drive and complete the scoring. McKnight had runs of 14, 33 and 20 yards.

Fili Moala blocked field goal attempts of 29 and 48 yards by Thomas Weber following the first two USC turnovers in the third quarter, tying the NCAA record for field goals blocked in a period. Carpenter left shortly before the second blocked field goal – one play after being sacked for the third time.

Southern California roared back from its stunning loss and crushed No. 23 Oregon 44-10 Saturday night, manhandling what was considered the Beaver State’s better Pac-10 team after being upset by Oregon State.

“This is exactly what we needed to do,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. “This was exactly the game we were looking for to bounce back and get back on track.

“These guys came out and played like crazy. This was a big moment for us.”

The “big moment” was keyed by quarterback Mark Sanchez, and by the Trojans’ defense, which had been pushed around by the Beavers.

Sanchez threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns in the Trojans’ 598-yard offensive avalanche, and their defense held the Ducks (4-2, 2-1), the Pac-10’s best rushing team coming in, to 60 yards on the ground and 239 overall. Oregon had been averaging 308 on the ground alone.

“It was a good victory for us and I’m excited about the way this offense and defense bounced back and how special teams played,” Sanchez said.

USC safety Kevin Ellison, who was in on 12 tackles, explained: “A lot of it was because of our performance last week. We definitely knew we had to get our assignments right and swarm the ball.”

The Ducks, playing with a third-string quarterback, never really had a chance.

“I guess they answered the wake-up call after Oregon State,” Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said.

Sanchez completed 19 of 28 and did not throw an interception. He completed passes to seven different receivers, with Joe McKnight catching five passes for 86 yards, and Patrick Turner grabbing five for 77 yards and a TD.

The Trojans also used a committee of five runners, led by C.J. Gable’s 49 yards on 10 carries, and Stafon Johnson’s 43 yards on seven carries.

Oregon’s Jeremiah Masoli, pressed into duty by injuries, completed 18-of-29 for 156 yards, with one interception.

USC’s run defense, which allowed Oregon State’s Jacquizz Rodgers to rush for 186 yards and two scores the previous game, held the Ducks’ tandem of Jeremiah Johnson and LaGarrette Blount to a combined 45 yards – all by Johnson. Blount totaled 0 yards on nine carries.

Johnson said the Trojans were a different team than they were against Oregon State.

“I can’t believe they lost to them at all,” he said. “I’m pretty sure they looked over Oregon State and they made sure they didn’t look over us. We’re tied right now with them (in the Pac-10), and next week we have to bounce back.”

Trailing 10-3 midway through the second quarter, USC reeled off 24 points before halftime, then tacked on another touchdown in the opening minutes of the third quarter.

Taking advantage of blown coverage by the Oregon secondary in the second quarter, Sanchez connected on scoring passes of 34 yards to a wide-open Damian Williams in the left flat and 63 yards to Ronald Johnson several steps beyond the final defenders.

David Buehler’s second of three field goals, a 36-yarder 40 seconds before halftime, had put the Trojans up 20-10, and an Oregon turnover set up still another USC touchdown.

Josh Pinkard recovered Jaison William’s fumble at the Ducks 20 and, with 22 seconds on the clock, Sanchez threaded an 11-yard scoring pass to Turner, who caught the ball at the goal line with a defender right on him.

Finishing off the Trojans’ first possession of the third quarter, a hemmed-in Stafon Johnson stopped, changed direction, then got a good block from Sanchez on his way to a 22-yard touchdown.

The six-time defending Pac-10 champion Trojans haven’t lost two games in a row since early in Carroll’s first season in 2001. By throttling the Ducks, they also avenged last year’s 24-17 loss in Eugene.

After the Ducks took the opening kickoff and marched to a touchdown, the Trojans put together a drive of their own. But with a first-and-goal from the 6, USC couldn’t punch it in and had to settle for Buehler’s 21-yard field goal.

Masoli had taken Oregon on a 70-yard touchdown march capped by Jeremiah Johnson’s 1-yard run with for a quick 7-0 lead 5:19 into the contest. The drive originally stalled at the USC 27 and Matt Evensen kicked a field goal, but a roughing the kicker call gave the Ducks a first down at the 13.

The Trojans wrapped up the scoring with 1:26 remaining on Mitch Mustain’s 59-yard TD pass to David Ausburry. Mustain, who moved into the backup role during the week, went 5-of-8 for 111 yards and threw one interception.

is where USC starts after their loss Thursday to Oregon State. This IS good news, with most of the season ahead, the is a good opportunity to get to the BCS Championship game, we are just doing it the hard way with 9 games to go.

Freshman Jacquizz Rodgers ran for 186 yards and two touchdowns, and Oregon State built an early lead and held on for a 27-21 upset victory over top-ranked Southern California on Thursday night.

The Beavers (2-2, 1-1 Pacific-10) also upset USC at Reser Stadium in 2006. This time, Oregon State took a 21-0 lead in the first half, then capitalized on a late turnover.

USC quarterback Mark Sanchez’s pass was intercepted by safety Greg Laybourn on the 30 with less than 3 minutes to play. Laybourn ran the ball back 28 yards to put Oregon State on the 2, and Rodgers ran 2 yards to make it 27-14.

Sanchez hit Patrick Turner with a 14-yard scoring pass with 1:19 left, but time ran out on the Trojans (2-1, 0-1). Beavers fans, clad in orange, rushed the field when the clock ran out.

They carried Laybourn on their shoulders.

“I’m beside myself,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. “They didn’t hide what they were doing, they just did it. We couldn’t stop it. We couldn’t tackle.”

Oregon State’s only other victory over a No. 1 team was a 3-0 win over USC and O.J. Simpson in 1967.

The last time the Trojans were in Corvallis, back in 2006, they were upset by the Beavers, 33-31. That loss snapped a 38-game regular-season winning streak for the USC, ranked No. 3 at the time.

Rodgers’ rushing yards were the most by a Trojans opponent since Vince Young ran for 200 for Texas in the BCS national championship game in 2006.

Beavers quarterback Lyle Moevao completed 18 of 26 passes for 167 yards and two scores.

“They came out and competed,” Oregon State coach Mike Riley said of his team.

USC tailback Joe McKnight rushed for just 10 yards against the Beavers, after gaining 105 yards in the Trojans’ 35-3 victory over Ohio State.

Sanchez completed 18 of 29 passes for 227 yards and three scores, with the one crucial interception.

The game opened with drama, as USC safety Taylor Mays was called for a personal foul on Oregon State receiver James Rodgers on an 8-yard touchdown reception.

Carroll asked that the score be reviewed, because it did not look as if the ball had crossed the line. The touchdown stood, giving the Beavers a 7-0 lead.

The Beavers more than held their own through the first half, with the Trojans appearing confused about how to handle the 5-foot-7 Jacquizz Rodgers – James Rodgers’ younger brother.

Jacquizz Rodgers, who ran for 117 yards in the first half alone, pushed through the defensive line for a 2-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0.

His big brother saw the end zone again before halftime. Moevao’s pass was nearly intercepted by USC cornerback Kevin Thomas, but the ball was tipped into the hands of James Rodgers to make it 21-0.

James Rodgers finished with six catches for 36 yards and the two scores.

USC answered on its first series of the second half with Sanchez’s 26-yard scoring pass to Ronald Johnson.

Sanchez found wide-open receiver Damien Williams, who sprinted down the sideline – and narrowly avoided Laybourn’s efforts to push him out of bounds – to narrow it to 21-14 with 2:56 left in the third quarter.

The Beavers squandered a chance to add to the lead midway through the fourth when they tried for a field goal, but Sean Sehnem’s 41-yard attempt was blocked.

The Beavers opened this season with two losses, at Stanford and Penn State, before returning home for a victory over Hawaii.

Despite their struggles, the Beavers had seen steady growth on offense and the emergence of Jacquizz Rodgers, who went into the game against the Trojans as the nation’s leading freshman rusher with 87.7 yards per game.

USC had shown little vulnerability in victories at Virginia and then at home against then-No. 5 Buckeyes. But Carroll noted earlier in the week that the familiarity of Pac-10 play posed a danger.

The Beavers certainly seemed to have the Trojans figured out, holding them to 313 yards total offense. Stafon Johnson was USC’s leading rusher with 48 yards. Williams had six catches for 94 yards.

“The reality of the Pac-10 is obvious,” Carroll said after the game.

USC was without cornerback Shareece Wright, who will miss several games due to a hairline vertebra fracture suffered in the Ohio State game.

USC has lost three of its last four games in Corvallis.

Well, now that Thursday night’s game is over, we’ll have to see what the fallout will be. They’ll release the new BCS poll results late Sunday afternoon. USC could reasonably tumble out of the top ten, but will probably remain in the top twenty.

From there, we will see if they can climb their way back to the #2 spot. If the college football landscape is anything like last year, there may not be any teams that are undefeated from the BCS conferences. So the top two spots could go to the best one-loss teams. If USC remains only a one-loss team, and plays their remaining games in a commanding fashion, they could climb their way back to the top.

If there is a bright side, then there are the following two points: 1.) USC has fallen victim to this sort of loss more than once before, including the game two years ago in the same stadium (and at UCLA that year, and at home against Stanford last year), so rebounding from this situation is nothing new. 2.) Pete Carroll inspires his teams to rebound from this kind of situation, not to climb back to the top in the polls, but to better their performances as individual players and as contributing members of an overall team. It is the combined results of the players’ subsequent efforts, that has found the USC team climbing its way back up the BCS poll in the past.

This is just another self-imposed challenge for the team to respond to, once again.