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USC wins sixth straight Pac-10 crown

Dec 2, 2007 - 5:58 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- While far from its best, Southern California still extended its unprecedented run of dominance in the Pac-10 Conference.

Joe McKnight and Chauncey Washington each rushed for first-half touchdowns Saturday as the eighth-ranked Trojans defeated cross-town rival UCLA, 24-7, to capture their record sixth straight Pac-10 title.

While USC's national championship hopes ended when it suffered a second loss at Oregon on October 27, the Trojans (10-2, 7-2 Pac-10) will play in the Rose Bowl for the 32nd time in their storied history.

"There's nothing we like more than winning championships," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "I know everybody talks about all the rest of the stuff, but we don't have control of the other stuff.

"What we do have control of is this Pac-10, and every chance we get we want to win this thing and get ourselves in that Rose Bowl."

USC brought the "Victory Bell" back to Los Angeles, avenging last season's 13-9 loss to UCLA that knocked it out of the national championship game.

"We never considered ourselves out," USC quarterback John David Booty said. "We just knew that we had some injuries and some obstacles that came into our way that we had to overcome."

Still, the Trojans were guilty of a number of mistakes and allowed the Bruins to stay in the game after building a 17-0 lead late in the first half.

"I think penalties is a huge part of that," added Booty, whose team was whistled for nine flags. "I think we've got to knock down penalties. Somehow we've got to figure out how to keep ourselves from doing it."

After USC's David Buehler kicked a 46-yard field goal with 45 seconds left in the second quarter, the Trojans' defense suffered a lapse.

UCLA (6-6, 5-4) needed only 38 seconds to answer, closing to 17-7 at the intermission on Patrick Cowan's nine-yard TD pass to Dominique Johnson.

But the Bruins' offense sputtered in a mistake-filled second half that included three turnovers in as many possessions late in the third quarter.

"Special teams was really in command," Carroll said. "We did a nice job of keeping the ball away from their playmakers."

After throwing for 375 yards and four touchdowns in a 44-24 victory over Arizona State on Thanksgiving, Booty struggled through a sub-par performance against the Bruins.

Booty completed 19-of-34 passes for only 191 yards Saturday, but he finally gave the Trojans some breathing roon with a 12-yard TD pass to Fred Davis with 12:03 remaining.

USC dominated statistically, outgaining UCLA, 438-167, and managed to wear down the Bruins with an effective - if not overpowering - running game.

USC rushed for 247 yards, with McKnight, Stafon Johnson and Washington each rushing for at least 70 yards.

Cowan completed 13-of-24 for 165 yards and was replaced in the fourth quarter by Ben Olson, who failed to complete any of his five attempts.

"We didn't take advantage of opportunities like we needed to," said UCLA coach Karl Dorrell, whose team turned the ball over four times. "To play against a good team like USC, you can't afford mistakes.

"Defensively, we played well for the most part but played a lot of downs and got a bit worn down. We had too many turnovers, and against a team like this it's catastrophic."

McKnight's five-yard TD run gave USC a 7-0 lead with 7:34 left in the first quarter.

The Trojans turned the ball over on downs at the UCLA 24 on their opening possession, while their two other first-quarter possessions resulted in a missed field goal and interception.

USC, which had three turnovers, punted the first two times it had the ball in the third quarter, but the Bruins could not take advantage.

"The drive at the end of the first half gave us a boost," Cowan said. "But we had too many mistakes."

UCLA crossed midfield on its opening two possessions of the second half, but also punted each time, then turned the ball over on consecutive possessions.

In the fourth quarter, the Bruins did not advance beyond their 36-yard line.