By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES — While Toby Gerhart rampaged through the
Southern California defense in an awfully quiet Coliseum, the
star tailback and his Cardinal teammates flattened a bunch of
recent college football certainties as well.
USC’s streaks of seven straight BCS bowls, 11-win seasons and
top-four AP poll finishes? Those are all finished.
The Trojans’ Pac-10 dominance over the past seven years? It’s
all but over after Stanford paved the way for a new West Coast
champion.
Gerhart took time on the Coliseum field to savor the moment
after rushing for 178 yards and three touchdowns in No. 25
Stanford’s 55-21 victory Saturday over the 11th-ranked Trojans,
who allowed the most points in school history.
“To do that against a storied program, a perennial power, it’s
the greatest feeling in the world,” said the Pac-10 rushing
leader, whose Heisman Trophy hopes are gaining momentum. “It was
just will. The offensive line just moved people. We got after
them and got downhill, and it was just a good offensive day.”
How good? The loss was the Trojans’ worst since a 51-0 defeat at
home against Notre Dame in 1966. Coach Pete Carroll lost in
November for the first time at USC after 28 straight victories.
And for the second time in three weekends, Carroll endured the
worst loss of his nine seasons.
“I’m not sure I have the right words to describe being humbled
like this,” Carroll said. “I don’t really know where to put it.
… We have fallen apart and given our opponents the opportunity
to do whatever they want, but you have to give Stanford a lot of
credit.”
Andrew Luck threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score
for the Cardinal (7-3, 6-2 Pac-10), who followed up their
surprising rout of Oregon last week with a strong start and a
big finish at the Coliseum. The Trojans (7-3, 4-3) haven’t lost
to any other opponent at home since 2001, going 47-2.
Richard Sherman returned an interception 42 yards for a score
with 11:41 to play, part of a 27-point fourth quarter for the
Cardinal. After the postgame handshsake, the Cardinal raised
their helmets and raced to their cheering section for their
second celebration at the Coliseum in three years.
Stanford’s 24-23 victory as a 41-point underdog in 2007 was a
major shocker, yet this win barely even qualified as an upset.
That might be the most incredible thing of all about the
Trojans’ downward slide, which will end with a minor bowl berth
- and with more than two losses – for the first time since 2001.
“We came out there, and there was something wrong,” USC safety
Taylor Mays said. “It is very disappointing. It’s almost
sickening. To be a senior and leave a legacy like this, it’s
sickening.”
Luck soundly outplayed fellow freshman quarterback Matt Barkley,
while Gerhart steamrolled the once-vaunted USC defense. Stanford
piled it on late, scoring four touchdowns in the fourth quarter
after leading 28-21.
And the Cardinal did it on USC’s homecoming, no less, in front
of 90,071 somnolent fans.
“We were just consistent,” Luck said. "Starting fast in both
halves really helped us. Once we got rolling, we kept doing good
things. "
Two weeks after USC’s 47-20 loss at Oregon, the Trojans’ defense
was again embarrassed, giving up 469 yards.
Barkley went 21 of 31 for 196 yards with three interceptions in
his third straight unimpressive game for the Trojans. Carroll
has stuck with the freshman all season, but Barkley made
turnovers on USC’s first two drives to put the Trojans in an
early 14-0 hole.
When Sherman jumped on Barkley’s short pass and returned it down
the USC sideline to put the Cardinal up 42-21, Coliseum fans
headed for the exits with unfamiliar emotions.
“This isn’t what we grew up watching,” Barkley said. “I’m not
used to this. … I don’t know what to think right now.”
Joe McKnight rushed for 142 yards and a score for the Trojans,
who fell behind 21-7 at halftime without top receiver Damian
Williams, who has a sprained ankle. Brice Butler caught a
scoring pass among his six catches for 96 yards, but USC’s
offense rarely found a rhythm after its first drive ended in a
fumble by Barkley deep in Stanford territory.
Although USC kept it close through three quarters, the fourth
was a long celebration for the Stanford band, a small cheering
section and the players who already are bowl-eligible for the
first time since 2001. After Gerhart’s third touchdown, Stanford
coach Jim Harbaugh even attempted a 2-point conversion, but USC
stopped the try at the goal line.
Harbaugh’s explanation for trying to pile on a couple more
points: “I just honestly thought there was an opportunity coming
off the ball, the way our backs were running and the way we were
playing.”
Said Carroll: “I don’t know what they were thinking with that,
but in that situation, they get to do whatever they want.”
Few of the Cardinal’s key players remain from their 2007 upset.
Tavita Pritchard, the backup quarterback who led that 2007
victory, watched most of this game wearing a headset before
playing the final minutes of the blowout.
The 2007 Cardinal couldn’t even manage a winning season, but
these Cardinal still have a shot at the Rose Bowl. Stanford
finishes its Pac-10 season against California next weekend and
would need some help to take the title.
“It’s just an overwhelming feeling now,” Luck said.
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