Could to the Last Drop

For most of the afternoon, Carson Palmer kept his team in the game not by throwing but by running, by scrambling for key first downs. So, with USC losing by four points and driving in the final minutes, the quarterback took off again.

And when two defenders converged on him, Palmer put his head down and bulled forward.

“When you’re trying to get the first down, you’re not going to get it by sliding,” he said. “The only way I was going to get it was by taking on those guys.”

This time the other guys won, jarring the ball loose for a fumble that ended USC’s last hope against No.12 Kansas State, sealing a 10-6 loss on a breezy Saturday at the Coliseum. For all the clutch runs Palmer made, he and his team were left pondering the one that got away.

“He tried to blast through those linebackers there at the end when he should have gone down, but that’s because he’s so competitive,” Coach Pete Carroll said. “His competitiveness got the best of him.”

Maybe it was fitting that a defensive play decided a matchup that, for all the pregame talk of option pitches and multiple-receiver sets, boiled down to an old-fashioned defensive brawl before a crowd of 69,959.

Neither team sustained drives or got much going through the air. Neither got into the end zone more than once.

Kansas State escaped an upset by finding a grain of consistency, gaining 340 yards on the ground with a mixture of the flashy option and straight-ahead running. The mere sight of that number caused Carroll to grimace and drop his statistic sheet in the locker room afterward.

“We proved we’re a tough team tonight and that the Big 12 is a tough conference,” said Kansas State running back Josh Scobey, who led his team with 27 carries for 165 yards.

The Wildcats, long criticized for playing weak opponents in the early season, wanted prove they could run the option against a nationally recognized team, even if it was a USC team on the rebuild.

On their first possession, they showed just what the option can do. Quarterback Ell Roberson faked the pitch and turned upfield, racing 28 yards along the right sideline. That got his team close enough for a 41-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead.

The USC defense seemed to adjust after that, led by strong safety Troy Polamalu, who would make a team-high 10 solo tackles. When Roberson went to the air, cornerback Kris Richard knocked down one pass and free safety Antuan Simmons intercepted another. Kansas State had to find another way to get from point A to point B: Roberson--who would finish with 21 carries for 119 yards--began running quarterback draws.

He went 42 yards to launch a second-quarter drive. A couple of snaps later, he ran for 12 more and a first down deep in USC territory.

The Trojans almost dodged a bullet when Scobey fumbled short of the goal line on an option play. But the ball rolled into the end zone and Kansas State guard Nick Leckey fell on it for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead.

The only real drive USC could muster in the first half ended with kicker David Davis missing a 42-yard field goal attempt, which underscored another crucial issue. Kansas State has a recent history of excellent special teams play. USC does not.

The Trojans knew they would have to conjure an unusual effort and, in some ways, they did. Punter Mike MacGillivray had one of his best games, averaging 41.6 yards for nine kicks, thanks in large part to Polamalu tackling Kansas State’s Aaron Lockett, the leading punt returner in the nation last season.

But special teams would falter again when the Trojans finally got rolling in the third quarter. It was defense that got them going. Lonnie Ford got past his man at the line of scrimmage and forced Roberson to fumble. Tackle Bernard Riley recovered.

From there, Palmer tossed a 17-yard pass to fullback Charlie Landrigan and scrambled 13 yards for a first down deep in Kansas State territory. Sultan McCullough ran the final seven yards for a touchdown, but the extra point was blocked when Kansas State rushers poured through the middle of the line.

With two successful kicks, the score would have been tied. Instead, USC was behind, 10-6.

That was about all the Trojans’ new spread offense could muster. Palmer completed only 16 of 36 passes for 197 yards. Other than Landrigan and Kareem Kelly, who led the team with seven catches for 75 yards, the receivers struggled against Kansas State’s aggressive man-to-man coverage.

“Our secondary did a nice job,” Coach Bill Snyder said in his understated way. “Overall, our defense recovered fairly well.”

And McCullough, who ran for 167 yards and three touchdowns last week, was never a factor, carrying 18 times for 40 yards.

“Our whole plan was to pass the ball,” the tailback said. “We were trying to get the receivers and offense clicking.”

So Palmer felt as if he had to carry the load when the Trojans got one last chance with 5:39 remaining.

“They were double-covering our receivers,” he said. “You could see the middle open up.”

On third and 10, he scrambled 27 yards across midfield for a first down. After a pass to tight end Alex Holmes, he ran two more yards on a bootleg.

Players were excited in the huddle, confident they could score the go-ahead touchdown. Carroll felt it too.

“Both sides were waiting for that play to pop,” he said. “We had a chance today, a real chance.”

On second down at the Kansas State 28, Palmer took off again, scrambling a few yards before coming upon linebacker Josh Buhl and defensive tackle Justin Montgomery. Their collision sent the ball rolling into the arms of defensive end Henry Bryant.

There was 2:33 remaining. Though USC would get the ball back for one desperation play, the game was over. Palmer took little solace that, with 60 yards in 12 carries, he led his team in rushing.

“We had a chance to cash in,” he said. “We didn’t do it.”