Thomas picks good time to excel

A step-up performance from USC senior cornerback Terrell Thomas on Saturday night at the Coliseum helped the beleaguered Trojans secondary take a step in the right direction during a 24-3 victory over Oregon State.

Before the game, Thomas said, Coach Pete Carroll “was calling on the secondary to step up,” and the cornerback responded by intercepting a Sean Canfield pass and returning it 25 yards to the Oregon State 14-yard line in the second quarter.

“I got a read on the receiver, the ball was right there and I made a play,” Thomas said.

Interceptions have become something of a rarity for Trojans defensive backs, who had only three of the team’s six interceptions before the game. USC’s interception total ranked last in the Pacific 10 Conference and 96th out of 119 Division I teams before Saturday.

Thomas, whose interception was his second of the season and the sixth of his career, had one regret.

“I wanted to score and get my first touchdown in college,” Thomas said. “But it was a big play for our team.”

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Carroll launched a weeklong campaign to get the attention of Pac-10 officials, and it apparently worked.

Carroll spoke with Dave Cutaia, the conference’s coordinator of football officials, to discuss the discrepancy in the number of penalties called against the Trojans and their opponents over the last few seasons.

USC has been penalized more than its opponent six times in eight games this season. The Trojans began the game against Oregon State last in the conference, averaging 74.5 penalty yards per game. USC’s opponents average 43 penalty yards per game, fewest in the conference.

On Saturday, USC was penalized four times for 41 yards, Oregon State four times for 22 yards.

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Cornerback Vincent Joseph said he was not in uniform because he suffered a knee injury in practice. . . . Alfred Rowe suffered a left ankle sprain during the game.

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Just as they did last week at Oregon, the Trojans faced a fourth-and-one situation on their first series.

Last week, USC lined up with an empty backfield and had running back Joe McKnight in motion from left to right. McKnight took a handoff and was stopped for a loss, a play that resulted in criticism of offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.

On Saturday, USC lined up in an I formation with fullback Stanley Havili in front of tailback Chauncey Washington.

Washington took a handoff and ran up the middle for a nine-yard gain.

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Redshirt freshman Butch Lewis started for the second time in place of All-American left tackle Sam Baker, who has a torn hamstring.

Lewis played most of the game against Arizona when Baker was injured and started the next week against Notre Dame. He also played in the second half last week against Oregon after Baker reinjured his hamstring.

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Former USC linebacker Richard Wood, who will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in December, was honored at halftime.

Wood was USC’s first three-time All-American, in 1972-74, and played on two national championship teams.

Wood spent most of his NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and coached in the NFL and in NFL Europe.

Wood will be enshrined in the hall of fame in South Bend, Ind., in August.

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gary.klein@latimes.com

ben.bolch@latimes.com