USC (6-0, 3-0) extended their nation-best winning streak to 28 games in a thrilling 34-31 win over Notre Dame (4-2) Saturday.
Junior running back Reggie Bush made a big statement in his Heisman campaign by rushing for 160 yards and three touchdowns, but it was reigning Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart who made the crucial plays when the Trojans needed them most.
Down 31-28 and facing a fourth-and-9 with 1:32 left and the Notre Dame fans going crazy in anticipation of the upset, Leinart audibled and tossed a 61-yard pass to wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett.
Then, with seven seconds to play and no timeouts, Leinart decided to try to sneak the ball in for a touchdown rather than spike it to set up a tying field goal attempt. With a helpful push from Bush, he was in and USC had the win to keep their hopes of a three-peat alive.
"It was a great event," coach Pete Carroll said. "We were fortunate to be in that setting and that kind of a matchup. We went in there knowing it was going to be a cranked up environment, and we were going to enjoy the heck out of it and have fun playing, and that's what we did."
UCLA
For the third straight week, UCLA (6-0, 3-0) trailed by double digits in the fourth quarter and came back to win, this time a 44-41 overtime victory at Washington State (3-3, 0-3) Saturday.
"We don't like to play from behind a lot of the time, but we have been able and fortunate to do very well late in the game and to be decisive and execute under pressure," coach Karl Dorrell said of his team's recent comebacks.
The Bruins trailed by 21 points twice in the first half and 38-21 at the start of the fourth quarter, but senior quarterback Drew Olson had his best game statistically this season, going 31-43 for 338 yards and five touchdowns, capped off by the game-tying 9-yard completion to wide receiver Marcus Everett.
After UCLA's defense held the Cougars to a field goal on the first possession of overtime, the Bruins put the game in the hands of running back Maurice Drew, who pounded the ball in the for the game-winning score from a yard out.
In all, Drew had 109 yards rushing and 78 yards receiving with a 45-yard touchdown catch, while tight end Mercedes Lewis had two touchdown catches.
One of the bright spots for Washington State was running back Jerome Harrison, who rushed for 260 yards on 34 carries and had two touchdowns.
UA
One week after being within seven points of USC in the fourth quarter, UA (1-5, 0-3) fell 20-16 at home to Stanford (3-2, 2-1) Saturday night.
The Wildcats turned the ball over five times, including two interceptions and two fumbles by quarterback Richard Kovalcheck, and Stanford got points off of three of those turnovers to win their second straight Pac-10 game.
UA actually outgained Stanford by more than 75 yards, winning the rushing battle by more than 50 yards, but the mistakes were too costly, as coach Mike Stoops lost his 13th game in just over a year and a half at the helm.
"Sometimes you go backward before you go forward," Stoops told the The Arizona Daily Star. "For whatever reason, we did that today."
Stanford quarterback Trent Edwards threw for two touchdowns and was his team's leading rusher, albeit with just 32 yards.
California
After a promising 5-0 start, California (5-2, 2-2) lost their second straight game Saturday, this time falling 23-20 at home to Oregon State (4-2, 2-1).
The Golden Bears led 14-9 at halftime, but Oregon State running back Yvenson Bernard ran for two second-half touchdowns to lift the Beavers to the victory. Bernard rushed for 194 yards on 42 carries in the game.
California struggled offensively against an Oregon State team that had yielded 63, 42, and 33 points in their last three games respectively. Golden Bears' quarterback Joe Ayoob was just 13-39 passing, including 4-20 in the fourth quarter, and their 18-game streak with a 100-yard rusher came to an end, as the team totaled just 75 yards on the ground.
Reach the reporter at matthew.storey@asu.edu.
