Good + bad = ugly

PULLMAN, Wash. -- As midterms go, it was kind of like having a professor supply all of the answers before the test.

Or maybe having no test at all.

Sixth-ranked USC concluded the first half of its schedule Saturday by romping over hapless Washington State, 69-0, and then deemed itself ready for a possible run to the Bowl Championship Series title game.

“We have a chance to really make this turn here with a lot of things going in our favor,” Coach Pete Carroll said.

USC’s victory before 25,118 at Martin Stadium improved the Trojans’ record to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference.

It remains difficult to gauge just how good the Trojans are, and how formidable they might become, because of the weakness of their last two opponents.

But the defense is inarguably performing like one of the nation’s best.

The Trojans posted their second consecutive shutout, the first time a USC team accomplished the feat since 1971.

Mix that with an offense that has produced most of the 138 unanswered points the Trojans have scored since the second quarter against Oregon two weeks ago, and the Trojans have reason for optimism.

Of course, the only number that really matters is the one pollsters and computers assign USC when the final BSC standings come out at the end of the season.

The Trojans will find out their starting position today when the first BCS standings are announced.

While Carroll typically downplayed the announcement -- “I don’t care,” he said -- players acknowledged interest in where they will be positioned with six games remaining.

“Everybody will look at it whether we care or not,” said quarterback Mark Sanchez, who tied a school record by passing for five touchdowns. “It’s going to be something we’ll care about come December.

“Sure, it will be great to see where we’re at but it’s not really going to change how we prepare” for the next game against Arizona in Tucson.

Sanchez came to the Northwest prepared to show that last week’s turnover-filled third quarter against Arizona State -- he fumbled and then had passes intercepted on three consecutive possessions in a 28-0 USC victory -- was a fluke.

Sanchez looked sharp Saturday, completing 15 of 20 passes for 253 yards in the first half en route to a 41-0 lead that nearly covered the 42 1/2 -point spread. Receivers Patrick Turner and Ronald Johnson each caught two scoring passes and tight end Anthony McCoy had one.

Tailbacks Broderick Green, C.J. Gable and Stafon Johnson each rushed for more than 100 yards in the Trojans’ highest-scoring performance since their 70-17 victory over Arkansas in 2005.

Perhaps more important as it relates to a possible championship run, USC remedied several problems that, if left unchecked, could cost them down the stretch.

The Trojans were called for only two penalties -- seven below their Pac-10-worst average. They had no turnovers, made strides by converting several short-yardage rushing plays and utilized McCoy and fullback Stanley Havili effectively.

“We wanted to find that level of focus that we really hadn’t had yet, “ Carroll said. “Knowing that we’ve got enormous games coming up down the schedule on the road . . . I wanted to see that we could capture it.”

Without prompting, USC defensive players repeatedly pointed to the Trojans’ 27-21 defeat at Oregon State on Sept. 25 as the spur that produced their recent outstanding play. On Saturday, the Trojans gave up only 116 yards and allowed Washington State to convert only one of 13 third downs.

The Cougars (1-7, 0-5 in the Pac-10) managed just four first downs, compared to 28 for USC, and were shut out for the first time since 1984, ending a scoring streak of 280 games.

“That loss at Oregon State couldn’t have come at a better time as far as everyone waking up and realizing the talent we have,” said middle linebacker Rey Maualuga, who made a team-high five tackles in what amounted to just over two quarters of play.

Said linebacker Brian Cushing, who had three tackles and forced a fumble in limited work: “Oregon State is still fresh in our minds. We go into every game now remembering what it felt like and that’s why we’ve continued to do what we’ve done.”

After the game at Arizona, the Trojans play Washington and California at home before traveling to Stanford. USC has a nonconference game against Notre Dame before concluding the regular season at the Rose Bowl against UCLA.

“We’ve come to a point where we understand nothing is going to be given to us,” defensive tackle Fili Moala said. “We’ve come to terms with that and we’re comfortable with it now. It’s just going to carry over and we’re going to keep getting better.”

Carroll certainly hopes so.

“We are going to go after every single game that we’ve got and just keep on roaring into this schedule and see what we can get done,” he said.

--

gary.klein@latimes.com