Picks, no shovel for Sanchez

After the game, it took several minutes for Mark Sanchez to clean out his locker, filling a gym bag with his helmet, shoulder pads and various knee braces.

Finally, he stood before reporters to answer questions about a few passes that, well, he might like to have back.

“You can say interceptions, I’m not embarrassed,” Sanchez said. “Just a tough outing for me.”

On a Saturday afternoon when eighth-ranked USC won ugly over Arizona State, 28-0, the junior quarterback was responsible for several less-than-elegant moments.

Surely he played well enough to lead his team to victory, which is any quarterback’s primary responsibility, but numbers-wise it was the worst day of his college career.

Worst as in 13 for 26 for 179 yards. Worst as in three interceptions and a fumble.

“We’re not used to that,” center Kristofer O’Dowd said. “We’re not used to that at all.”

Sanchez came into the game with solid credentials, having completed 67% of his passes for 1,069 yards and 13 touchdowns against only three interceptions.

But he also missed several days of practice recuperating from a bone bruise in his knee suffered during last week’s victory over Oregon. While the injury healed, Coach Pete Carroll wondered about his preparation for Arizona State.

“He wasn’t clear on stuff and he was hesitant,” Carroll said. “He wasn’t as sharp as he could have been.”

Saturday began well enough, Sanchez passing 34 yards to Ronald Johnson and 19 yards to Damian Williams on an opening drive that ended with Sanchez sneaking over the goal line for USC’s first touchdown. Midway through the second quarter, he threw a four-yard strike to Williams to extend the lead to 14-0.

But those highlights soon faded into a gruesome third quarter.

On USC’s first drive after halftime, Sanchez was sacked and fumbled. Then came an interception on a “tunnel” screen that fell apart, Arizona State linebacker Mike Nixon busting through to grab the ball.

Minutes later, Johnson broke free down the sideline but a potential big gain turned into another interception when Sanchez underthrew the pass.

“That’s the only reason I got to it,” Arizona State cornerback Omar Bolden said. “There was no air under the ball.”

How bad were things going for Sanchez?

He finally delivered a good throw to Williams only to watch the usually reliable receiver bobble it into safety Troy Nolan’s hands. For anyone keeping score at home, that’s four turnovers in four possessions.

“Four turnovers by myself,” Sanchez said, refusing to deflect the blame.

It was the type of performance that might raise doubts, perhaps evidence of a lurking problem -- he now has 10 interceptions in eight career starts.

Carroll dismissed such thoughts, predicting, “He’s going to come roaring right back.”

Sanchez, though frustrated, pointed to a silver lining. “I wasn’t making bad reads,” he said of Saturday’s game. “I just made bad plays.”

The sort of physical mistakes that he insisted can be cleaned up in practice. And with that, the usually loquacious quarterback made a polite -- and quicker-than-normal -- exit from the locker room.

“That’s all I’ve got,” he said. “Sorry guys.”

--

david.wharton@latimes.com