COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Trojans Avenge Last Year's Loss, Despite Play of Cal's Quarterback
By VITTORIO TAFUR
Published: October 10, 2004
The California players left the locker room Saturday afternoon, saying they had dominated No. 1-ranked U.S.C. and showed a national-television audience and 90,008 fans at the Coliseum that they were one of the best teams in the country. Some of their claims were hard to understand, because the Southern Cal marching band was nearby blaring its trumpets and pounding its drums.
The Trojans had reason to celebrate, because they had turned back a furious Cal comeback with two minutes remaining.
Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who tied an N.C.A.A. record by completing 23 consecutive passes, led the Bears to the U.S.C. 9-yard line. But his aim was not true on the final three attempts, and the Trojans escaped with a 23-17 victory.
The crowd erupted after a diving Jonathan Makonnen could not reach Rodgers's pass on fourth down from the 14-yard line with 1 minute 16 seconds left as U.S.C. (5-0, 2-0 Pac-10) avenged its only loss in the past 26 games -- a 34-31 triple-overtime defeat to Cal last season.
''We were running on empty, but we knew they wouldn't score,'' defensive tackle Shaun Cody said. ''This game is the mark of a champion. We pull the close ones out. We know the target is on our back as the No. 1 team, but we have to take care of business.''
Cody had four tackles and a sack, and his fellow all-American defensive tackle, Mike Patterson, added 10 tackles, a sack and 2 fumble recoveries. Although U.S.C.'s defense allowed the highest-scoring offense in the country (48.7 points a game) 424 yards, it recorded six sacks.
''I'm pretty frustrated,'' said Rodgers, who finished 29 of 34 for 267 yards. ''We dominated the game. We drove up and down the field all game, and our defense was awesome. We just came up short.''
No. 7-ranked Cal (3-1, 1-1) moved the ball, but its two possessions early in the fourth quarter ended with a Rodgers fumble and a missed field goal. The wide-right 36-yard kick by Tom Schneider was huge, forcing Cal to try to score a touchdown instead of kicking a chip-shot, game-tying field goal.
After being rushed into an incompletion on first down, Rodgers was sacked by defensive end Manuel Wright for a 5-yard loss. On third down, a hurried Rodgers missed Geoff McArthur in the end zone. On fourth down, Makonnen stumbled on his cut and could not reach Rodgers's pass.
''It looked like he was bumped or held or something,'' Rodgers said. ''I threw it to a spot.''
Rodgers tied the completion mark set by Tennessee's Tee Martin in 1998. He tossed a touchdown pass, but he also fumbled twice. J.J. Arrington had 116 yards on 21 carries.
U.S.C.'s Matt Leinart (15 of 25, 164 yards) completed passes of 31 and 45 yards to Steve Smith to set up a pair of touchdown passes. But Smith also broke his left leg in the game.
The Trojans marched 66 yards in 2:49 to open the third quarter and take a 23-10 lead. Leinart completed the drive by firing a bullet to Dwayne Jarrett for a 16-yard touchdown.
Cal answered by driving 80 yards. The freshman running back Marshawn Lynch's 2-yard touchdown run made the score 23-17 with 5:30 left in the third quarter.
The U.S.C. sophomore Reggie Bush picked up the crowd with an 84-yard kickoff return, in which he fumbled the ball at his own goal line, picked it up in the right corner and shook Cal defenders across the middle of the field. But the effort was wasted minutes later, when Cal cornerback Harrison Smith intercepted a tipped pass in the end zone.
Rodgers dinked and dunked, his longest completion of the day a 14-yarder until late in the first half, when Cal finally scored a touchdown off a missed tackle. Rodgers hit McArthur with a 9-yard pass at the U.S.C. 11-yard line, but Trojans cornerback Kevin Arbet looked like he was trying to hug a seal and watched McArthur spin around and jog into the end zone. That made the score 13-10, but the Trojans were able to drive 37 yards in 1:34 for a Ryan Killeen 42-yard field goal.
''It was a challenging day,'' said U.S.C. Coach Pete Carroll, whose team was held to two possessions in the fourth quarter and 205 yards of offense. ''Regardless of the sacks and pressure that we put on, they kept throwing short and kept us off balance.''
U.S.C. scored early thanks to two miscues by Cal's special teams. On Cal's first possession, a bad snap forced punter David Lonie to run for his life and the sideline, giving the Trojans the ball at the their 31-yard line. Nine plays later, Leinart threw a 5-yard pass to LenDale White to give the Trojans a 7-0 lead.
With his team trailing 10-3 midway through the second quarter, the Cal freshman Josh Pinkard fumbled a punt return at the U.S.C. 32-yard line. The Trojans settled for a 33-yard field goal and 13-3 lead four plays later.
''The special teams let us down a little bit,'' Rodgers said, ''but we're not going to point any fingers.''
Photo: Southern Cal's Dwayne Jarrett, grabbing a touchdown pass over Daymeion Hughes of California. U.S.C. defeated Cal, the only team to beat the Trojans last season. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)(pg. 7)