Backfield puts another combination in motion

USC continued its revolving-door backfield against California at the Coliseum on Saturday night, starting its eighth different tailback-fullback combination in 10 games.

C.J. Gable replaced Chauncey Washington, who was nursing a knee sprain, at tailback. While Washington was able to play sparingly, it was the freshman Gable who carried most of the load, rushing 19 times for 91 yards and catching a critical 35-yard pass.

“I was getting too excited early on and I knew I had to calm down,” Gable said after the Trojans’ 23-9 victory. “After a couple of carries, I was able to focus and take it from there.”

Coach Pete Carroll was impressed by the way Gable held up.

“He was incredible tonight,” Carroll said. “He’s a tough son-of-a-gun.”

At fullback, where USC has suffered numerous injuries, converted tailback Allen Bradford made his first start of the season. Converted linebacker Thomas Williams also played at the position.

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All week long, USC and pretty much everyone else expected that Cal would assign its top cornerback, Daymeion Hughes, to cover receiver Dwayne Jarrett.

But Hughes spent most of the night on Steve Smith, leaving Jarrett to face a number of coverages that often included freshman cornerback Syd’Quan Thompson.

Smith caught six passes for 88 yards and a touchdown; Jarrett had five receptions for 66 yards and a score.

Smith said he was surprised to see Hughes across the line of scrimmage.

“But I’ve been playing against Daymeion since I was in high school,” he said. “So I’m pretty used to him.”

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DeSean Jackson was hoping to bring a Reggie Bush-type performance back to the Coliseum.

Jackson, a Long Beach Poly High graduate, came into the game ranked first in the nation in punt-return average -- including a national-best four touchdowns. He doubles as a deep-ball threat at receiver.

But the USC defense keyed on Jackson and its special teams smothered him on kick and punt returns.

“I was double-teamed and triple-teamed,” Jackson said. “I wasn’t surprised about anything they did. They came out and played a hard-fought game and they came out on top.”

Jackson finished with two catches for 46 yards and zero yards on two punt returns.

“They always had somebody jamming him,” Cal Coach Jeff Tedford said.

“They had somebody over him and they always had [Brian] Cushing under him. They really tried to take him out of the game.”

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Cal’s hopes of a Bowl Championship Series berth stumbled out of the gate in its opener against Tennessee, were knocked back last week against Arizona and died Saturday at the Coliseum.

The Golden Bears are probably headed to the Holiday Bowl after their regular-season finale against Stanford next week in Berkeley.

“Of course we are disappointed,” Tedford said. “The players worked hard for a chance to win a conference title. To be this late in the year and play for one, I give credit to the players.”

Running back Marshawn Lynch is already looking toward next season.

“Cal is on the rise,” he said. “This year, they got us. Next year is a different year.”

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The victory increased USC’s home winning streak to 32 games, a Pacific 10 Conference record, and gave the Trojans 19 consecutive victories in the month of November....Cal began the game ranked ninth nationally in scoring (34.7) and total offense (431.3) but was held to nine points and 275 yards....The last time USC gave up a safety was when former quarterback Matt Leinart fell on a fumble in the end zone against Oklahoma in the 2005 BCS title game.

david.wharton@latimes.com

jonathan.abrams@latimes.com