Trojans Pick Off Cougars : USC: Oliver’s interception stops Washington State’s final threat, 34-27.

In its last visit to Martin Stadium, USC trailed Washington State by seven points and was pinned deep in its territory late in the game, but the Trojans rallied to win on a touchdown and two-point conversion with four seconds left at the end of an improbable 91-yard drive.

So, when Washington State was in the same predicament Saturday and started to drive up the field against the Trojans, USC senior linebacker Matt Gee couldn’t help but think back to what happened two years ago.

This time, however, sophomore cornerback Jason Oliver intercepted a pass by Washington State quarterback Drew Bledsoe at the Trojans’ three-yard line with 17 seconds remaining, ending the threat and preserving a 34-27 victory.

“I’m thinking, ‘Oh my God, they’re going to do exactly what we did,’ ” Gee said. “It was going through my mind really bad.”

Gee shared his thoughts with some startled teammates.

“Once they got that first first down,” Gee said, “I got everybody up in the huddle and said, ‘Listen, we’re going to lose this game.’ We really thought we had it won and we were out there having fun--la, la, la, la, la. Once I said we were going to lose, everybody’s eyes got big and I think we came together there at the end.”

On a day when sophomore quarterback Reggie Perry completed only seven of 21 passes and Washington State burned the Trojans on several big plays, USC ultimately survived to continue its mastery over a team that has beaten the Trojans only once in 21 games since 1957.

USC has won 26 of the last 28 meetings between these teams and is 43-5-4 against Washington State in a series that dates to 1921, but the Trojans have struggled in their last three visits to Pullman.

This time, the Trojans fell behind, 21-10, less than four minutes into the second quarter as Washington State struck quickly.

On the Cougars’ third play, Bledsoe completed a slant pass to split end Deron Pointer and Pointer split the Trojans’ coverage, racing through the secondary to turn it into a 67-yard scoring play.

On their next possession, the Cougars scored on a 52-yard pass play off a double reverse, flanker C.J. Davis taking a handoff from slotback Phillip Bobo and passing to a wide-open Pointer.

Then, after tackle Chris Frank intercepted a pass by Perry early in the second quarter and returned it 10 yards to the Trojans’ 14-yard line, the Cougars scored again on a four-yard run by Shaumbe Wright-Fair.

“We weren’t even slowing them down,” USC Coach Larry Smith said. “It looked like a track meet.”

But from that point, the Trojans clamped down defensively and chipped away at their deficit behind a running game led by tailbacks Mazio Royster and Deon Strother, eventually piling up a season-high 301 yards on the ground and improving to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference.

Royster ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns in 23 carries, but a neck sprain limited him to one carry in the second half and he gave way to Strother, who rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown in 22 carries.

“It pulled us through again,” Smith said of the running game, which allowed the Trojans to pull away from Oregon two weeks ago in the second half of a 30-14 win. “The unsung group is that offensive line. They just keep pounding it out and knocking people down.”

Royster, who scored earlier on a 29-yard run, carried seven times for 41 yards during a 73-yard drive in the second quarter, scoring his second touchdown on a one-yard run to pull USC to within 21-17.

The Trojans trailed by the same margin until late in the third quarter, when USC used big plays of its own to seemingly gain control.

After a clipping penalty against flanker Curtis Conway nullified a 40-yard touchdown pass from Perry to split end Johnnie Morton, Smith pulled a gimmick out of the playbook and USC scored on a less conventional play, Strother passing 28 yards to flanker Larry Wallace on a halfback option.

“They were bringing their safeties up,” Smith said.

Said Strother: “I just threw it--he was wide open.”

Ahead for the first time since the opening minutes, 24-21, the Trojans then forced a turnover and scored again 3 1/2 minutes later.

Cougar tight end Clarence Williams took a short pass from Bledsoe and was heading up the field when he was hit by linebacker Kurt Barber and lost control of the ball. Safety Mike Salmon fell on it for USC.

With a first down at Washington State’s 30, the Trojans handed the ball to Strother on five consecutive plays. On the fifth, Strother scored on a three-yard run and USC’s lead was 31-21 with 13:41 to play.

The Cougars (2-4, 1-2) struck again--quickly.

Anthony Prior, a senior defensive back from Rubidoux High in Riverside, took the ensuing kickoff at the goal line and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown, equaling a school record and cutting USC’s lead to 31-27. However, the extra point was blocked by Barber.

USC’s freshman kicker, Cole Ford, added a 39-yard field goal with 3:39 left, increasing USC’s lead to 34-27, and the Trojans relaxed.

But Bledsoe, who completed 19 of 30 passes for 274 yards, wasn’t finished.

Only 48 seconds remained when Washington State took possession at its 11-yard line, but a 32-yard pass to Williams was followed by a 23-yard pass to Pointer and the Cougars were at USC’s 34.

After throwing the ball into the turf to stop the clock, Bledsoe aimed his next pass toward the right corner for Davis.

“I was reading the quarterback,” Oliver said. “As soon as he turned his shoulders to go to the corner, that’s when I broke. I barely got there. It was a matter of beating (Davis) to the ball.”