USC stomps Cal 35-10

By J.E.  |   Saturday, November 12, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

College Football
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The last time the USC Trojans visited Berkeley, they lost to the Golden Bears 34-31 in triple overtime. But that was two years and 32 wins ago. This time it wasn't even close as the Trojans jumped out to a 21-3 lead in the first half before going on to win by a score of 35-10.

Although the Trojans put up only 434 yards of total offense – well short of their 600.7 YPG average – it was more than enough to get past the struggling Bears. Quarterback Matt Leinart was 20-of-32 for 246 yards on the day, putting him over 3,000 yards for the season with two games remaining. He also scored two rushing TDs in the 2nd quarter to help USC pad their lead.

Running back LenDale White had a huge day for the Trojans, rushing for 90 yards and 3 touchdowns on 16 carries. Reggie Bush also turned in a solid performance for the Trojans. Bush ran the ball 17 times for 82 yards, including a long of 20. Both White and Bush have surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season, which is the first time in USC's history that two running backs reached this milestone in the same season.

Wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett wasn't left out of the thousand-yard club either. His 5 catches for 69 yards put him at 1,033 for the year.

Cal's season, which started off so well, just keeps getting worse and worse. The Bears have now dropped four of their last five games and stand at 3-4 in the Pac-10.

Quarterback Joe Ayoob's nightmare of a second half continues. In California's six wins, Ayoob threw for 1,087 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. In the team's last four losses, Ayoob has thrown for just 620 yards and three TDs. More importantly, he has been picked off 10 times in those games, including four times today by the USC defense.

The home crowd cheered when Ayoob was lifted in the 4th quarter in favor of backup Steve Levy, who went 4-for-4 for 34 yards and led the Bears on their only touchdown drive of the game.

Running back Marshawn Lynch gained 87 yards on 13 carries and Chris Manderino had 2 catches for 37 yards to lead Cal.

Next up: The California Golden Bears wrap up their regular season at Stanford. The USC Trojans will host a tough Fresno State team at the L.A. Coliseum.
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