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USC on verge of seventh straight Pac-10 title

Dec 6, 2008 - 11:16 AM (5) USC (10-1) at UCLA (4-7), 4:30 pm EST

PASADENA, California (Ticker) -- After spending the past two months wondering if it would lose a tiebreaker to Oregon State, fifth-ranked Southern California finds itself in a familiar position.

The Trojans need only to beat city rival UCLA on Saturday to capture a seventh straight Pac-10 Conference crown and set up a meeting with Penn State in the Rose Bowl.

USC (10-1, 7-1 Pac-10) now has a chance to win the outright Pac-10 title after Oregon State suffered a 65-38 home loss Saturday to Oregon in the "Civil War."

The Beavers, who handed USC its only defeat, 27-21, on September 25, could have secured their first Rose Bowl appearance since 1965 with a victory over the Ducks.

Should UCLA (4-7, 3-5) somehow pull off a shocking upset, Oregon State would back into the Rose Bowl.

However, it's hard to imagine the Bruins, who have endured a disappointing first season under coach Rick Neuheisel, mounting much of an attack against USC's stingy defense.

UCLA's opened the Neuheisel regime with a dramatic 27-24 win over Tennessee, but things quickly went downhill, starting with a 59-0 loss at Brigham Young the following week.

The Trojans yielded just 91 yards in last week's 38-3 win over Notre Dame and did not allow a first down until the final play of the third quarter.

It marked the seventh time USC has held an opponent under 10 points this season. The Trojans top the Football Bowl Subdivision in scoring defense, surrendering only 7.8 per game.

"People always ask if this is our best defense ever and all I can say is we're playing the best we ever have," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "Nobody is playing better for us than these guys. Nobody can seem to score on us."

While USC has dominated the rivalry with UCLA in recent years, the Bruins prevented the Trojans from playing in the national championship game two years ago with a stunning 13-9 victory.

USC avenged that defeat with a 24-7 win last season, its eighth victory in the last nine meetings between the teams.

While the Trojans are eyeing their fourth straight Rose Bowl appearance, they seemingly have dropped out of the national championship race, which appears to have come down to four teams.

One spot will go to the winner of the Southeastern Conference championship game between No. 1 Alabama and No. 4 Florida, while No. 2 Oklahoma would lock up the other berth with a victory over Missouri in the Big 12 title clash.

If the Sooners lose to Missouri, third-ranked Texas likely would climb into the all-important No. 2 spot in the final BCS standings.

However, if the Trojans crush UCLA by six or seven touchdowns, it might have an outside chance to pass Texas (assuming Oklahoma doesn't win the Big 12).

But Carroll knows that scenario is a longshot at best.

"It's (Rose Bowl) the only place for us right now," Carroll said. "It's always what we play for ... but, you never know."