By Scott Wolf Staff Writer
BERKELEY - USC keeps winning so matter-of-factly, that magical record between the parentheses (32-0) finally is forcing Pete Carroll to readjust his own goals. "My whole life in coaching, I thought I wanted to win every game," Carroll said. "From the age of 25 I thought I'd win every game and then quit and do something else. "I'm kind of out of that now." Carroll needs to abandon his youthful dreams because the No. 1-ranked Trojans won their 32nd consecutive game with an effortless 35-10 rout of California in front of 72,981 at Memorial Stadium. He also buried perhaps his biggest personal USC demon by blowing out the Golden Bears at the site of the Trojans' last loss a mere 26 months ago, which - for added insult - occurred only 20 miles from his hometown. "It's way different than two years ago," Carroll said. "I was enjoying the heck out of it today. It was really rewarding to do it here. You can put all that stuff to rest, which is good because it's all everybody talks about." USC also tied Pac-10 Conference records for consecutive victories (22) and road victories (11).
But rarely has a victory been handed, or more accurately, passed to the Trojans (10-0, 7-0) so easily. This game insulted the memory of the past two duels between the schools because Cal quarterback Joe Ayoob probably played the worst game at that position against a Carroll-coached team. Ayoob completed just nine of 19 passes for 98 yards, but also completed four to USC's defense. He hog-tied Cal coach Jeff Tedford, who refused to pass on first or second down on the Bears' first four possessions. "He didn't look that bad on film," USC cornerback Justin Wyatt said. Ayoob's ineptness almost changed the way USC covered Cal's receivers. "It was almost like you couldn't cover the receiver, because the pass would either be too far behind him or in front a few yards," USC safety Scott Ware said. Even Wyatt couldn't help but wonder how much different Saturday's game would look if former Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers returned for his senior season. "All those hitches and slant passes that Ayoob missed, Rodgers would have hit," Wyatt said. Rodgers completed his first 23 passes against USC last season in a 23-17 loss, and made it impossible for Carroll to sugarcoat the obvious.
"Their quarterback struggled," he said. "I'm sure Jeff's trying to figure out an answer for it." Maybe that explained Cal fans' eager response when freshman quarterback Nate Longshore of Canyon Country, out since September with a broken leg, participated in pre-game warmups. "That was just because I wanted to get back in the flow," Longshore said. "I'm not ready yet. It's still healing." Without a quarterback, Cal (6-4, 3-4) failed to pose much of a challenge to the Trojans. LenDale White rushed for three touchdowns and Matt Leinart did not throw a touchdown pass. But he did rush for two scores. "We've had trouble with them for a couple years," Leinart said. "We wanted to make a statement to the Pac-10."
Without any suspense over the outcome, at least there was some bad blood between the teams to keep things interesting. Cal drew a personal foul when linebacker Zack Follett head-butted White after White's helmet came off.
"I felt a face mask come down on me," White said. "The offensive line got mad. It's a good thing that fighting is not allowed in football or something might have happened. They're lucky something didn't happen." The Trojans apparently also got in their own licks, at least according to Cal guard Aaron Merz. "That's the best defense we've played all year, but also the cheapest," Merz said. "I got spit on. I make a good block and the guy spits on me. I saw that too many times today.
" It's disgusting. I got poked in the eye, too." USC's freshman linebackers made their biggest contributions as Brian Cushing had a team-high seven tackles and Rey Maualaga added six tackles and an interception. Maualuga played most of the game because middle linebacker Thomas Williams sprained his left knee and did not return. Starter Oscar Lua, who strained his knee last week, said he was 80 percent recovered and the coaches would not let him play.
That left Maualuga, who missed Tuesday's practice to be with his father, who is hospitalized with cancer. "There's no words that can express what happened (this week)," Maualuga said. Maualuga, who was arrested last week for misdemeanor assault, also recorded a sack. "I felt a little nervous when I first went in," Maualuga said. "But then I ran around and felt confident." USC clinched at least a share of the Pac-10 title with the victory. About the only aspect missing for the Trojans was a big play from tailback Reggie Bush, who quietly gained 82 yards. "You have those types of days," Bush said. "I'm not going to have flashy plays every game. I'm not worried. I just want to be an effective runner."
No comments:
Post a Comment