Trojans Finally See the Light

A month’s worth of frustration faded in the chill of Saturday evening, with darkness settling over the Coliseum. The disappointment of four straight losses--all close, all to nationally ranked teams--melted under a downpour of long passes and tough catches and big plays on defense.

So the USC coaches and players could afford to relish their big lead in the final minutes of a 48-17 victory over Arizona State, their first win since early September, a game that had long since been decided.

“It was cool,” Coach Pete Carroll said. “That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”

Said cornerback Kevin Arbet: “Emotionally, we needed a victory really bad.”

This figured to be their best chance in a while. Though Arizona State came into the game with a 3-1 record, those victories had been stockpiled against the likes of San Diego State and Louisiana Lafayette. And the Trojans, despite a 1-4 record, had shown glimpses of improvement against more respected opponents.

But there was also the pressure of a season threatening to slip away, the aggravation of close losses.

“We were like a bomb ready to burst,” offensive tackle Jacob Rogers said.

The Trojans came out tense and ineffective before a small, restless crowd of 43,508. They wanted to run the ball to keep Arizona State’s offense, averaging more than 45 points a game, off the field. But tailback Sultan McCullough quickly left with a strained abdominal muscle--an injury he has tried to conceal the last few weeks--and the offense had all of minus 13 yards in the first quarter.

“I thought they were going to run us out of town,” offensive coordinator Norm Chow said.

The defense kept that from happening. On the first play of the game, end Lonnie Ford beat his man to the outside and stripped the ball from Arizona State quarterback Jeff Krohn, the fumble recovered by linebacker Mike Pollard. It was the first in a string of Sun Devil turnovers.

“After one guy made a play, another guy made a play and then another one,” Arbet said. “I think it was contagious.”

Arizona State managed no better than a 3-0 lead in that first quarter and when Krohn was knocked out of the game, carted off with a sprained ankle, the momentum turned. “It kind of broke us down,” Arizona State tailback Delvon Flowers said.

With the Sun Devil defense keeping eight men close to the line, determined to stop the run, USC turned to the pass. First, tight end Kori Dickerson beat linebacker Solomon Bates across the middle for a 21-yard touchdown reception.

On the next drive, USC quarterback Carson Palmer froze linebacker Josh Amobi with a play-action fake, which allowed fullback Charlie Landrigan to sneak out of the backfield and collect a 20-yard scoring pass.

That quickly, USC led, 14-3, and the Sun Devils had no real answer, their high-powered offense sputtering in Krohn’s absence. Backup quarterback Matt Cooper threw the first of three interceptions, cornerback Kris Richard returning it to the three-yard line. Backup fullback Sunny Byrd--playing out of position at tailback--scored on the first carry of his career and USC led, 21-3.

Cooper would have his moments, leading his team to touchdowns just before halftime and late in the third quarter. But he missed too many receivers, completing nine of 17 passes for 117 yards, and his offense finished with 298 yards, well below its season average.

Meanwhile, Palmer was enjoying his best performance this fall. He had come under heat for making key turnovers, but there would be no such mistakes on Saturday as he completed 18 of 26 passes for 295 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He ran draws and scrambled without fumbling.

“We came out and played better than we had all season,” he said. “We were doing things right all the time.”

After exploiting the Arizona State linebackers, the Trojans focused on the freshmen cornerbacks who were playing in man coverage. Palmer tried to exploit this matchup early and overthrew Kareem Kelly along the sideline. “I just told Carson to keep coming to me,” Kelly said.

The pair hooked up for a 56-yard bomb at the start of the second half, a play that got USC close enough for tight end Alex Holmes’ four-yard touchdown catch. Palmer then threw 45 yards to Keary Colbert, setting up Byrd’s two-yard touchdown run that effectively put the game away, 35-17, late in the third quarter.

Ultimately, the Trojans let Byrd pound out their final drive. The unlikely hero, a seldom-used senior, would finish with 20 carries for 63 yards. He carried his team within striking distance and a freshman, Darryl Poston, scooted seven yards for the last touchdown.

“We got our butts kicked today,” Arizona State Coach Dirk Koetter said. “We got outcoached and outplayed. There are no easy words for it.”

In the locker room afterward, the USC players had plenty of words for it. They talked about how good it felt to look up at the scoreboard in the final minutes and see a lopsided score.

They acknowledged how much they needed a victory going into next week’s game at Notre Dame. They spoke of erasing the taste of a losing streak.

“This was the beginning of our season,” Arbet said. “This should have been the way it was.”