• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Washington runs wild as USC edges Cal

Nov 11, 2007 - 6:44 AM BERKELEY, California (Ticker) -- In a game that did not loom nearly as large on the college football landscape as it would have three weeks ago, Chauncey Washington came up big.

Washington rushed for a career-high 220 yards and a touchdown to lead No. 12 Southern California to a 24-17 victory over No. 24 California in a Pac-10 Conference clash Saturday.

The preseason No. 1 team in the country, USC (8-2, 5-2 Pac-10) was stunned by lowly Stanford at home on October 6, 24-23, before losing against three weeks later at Oregon, 24-17.

Cal (6-4, 3-4) was ranked second nationally and was poised to become No. 1 for the first time in program history before losing at home to Oregon State on October 13, 31-28.

With Oregon and Arizona State at the top of the conference standings, this matchup was for pride with an outside shot at a league title and a BCS bowl berth thrown in.

Those possibilities - as unlikely as they may be - are still alive for the Trojans.

"This was an exciting game tonight. I thought they (Cal) played terrific under difficult conditions, right down to the fourth quarter, and so did we," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "Both teams had their chances. I thought we made the important plays. The front guys did a fantastic job tonight protecting our quarterback."

Stafon Johnson ran for a three-yard TD with 7:38 to play to cap a 96-yard drive and give the Trojans a 24-17 lead.

"They're big and physical up front, and (Chauncey) Washington is a big back that runs hard, he doesn't go down with arm tackles," Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. "You saw how he carried the pile. He's a great running back. Obviously, those were big plays in the running game."

Cal tied the game, 17-17, late in the third quarter on a 20-yard TD pass from Nate Longshore to Lavelle Hawkins. The Golden Bears had a few chances to tie the game late, but Longshore gave those opportunities away.

Longshore fumbled a snap and threw an interception in the final minutes. He finished 13-of-20 for 199 yards and two interceptions.

"I thought Nate played well. Obviously, there were a couple of plays that he'd like to have back," Tedford said. "He was making pretty decent reads. He got rid of the ball quick; I don't know that we got sacked. We stayed out of some long yard situations, which you can't get in against these guys."

Justin Forsett rushed for 164 yards and a TD for Cal, which has lost the last four meetings with USC since winning in triple overtime here in 2003.

Cal had a 10-7 lead before Washington ripped off a 36-yard TD run with 4:26 left in the second quarter. He had over 100 yards in each half and was key in USC's game-winning march.

"This was my best performance at USC," Washington said. "I didn't know how many yards until we came back to the locker room. I never think about that. I just try to do my job and help the team win. I never think about my personal goals because that's when you lose games."

"The last couple of weeks he's just been feeling it," Carroll said of Washington. "He ran hard all night tonight and people just missed him."