No. 1 USC Socks Washington State 55-13

Posted 7:51PM on Saturday 29th October 2005 ( 19 years ago )

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Southern California played as if it took offense to being dropped behind Texas in the latest Bowl Championship Series standings. Poor Washington State never had a chance and became the Trojans' 30th straight victim. Matt Leinart passed for 364 yards and three touchdowns before coming out late in the third quarter, LenDale White rushed for 155 yards and two scores, and top-ranked USC took command early in beating the Cougars 55-13 Saturday. The Trojans are ranked No. 1 in the AP, coaches' and Harris polls, but fell .0007 behind first-place Texas in the latest BCS standings because the computers favored the Longhorns. It might be a different story when the next set of standings are released. Playing before a homecoming crowd of 92,021 at the Los Angeles Coliseum, the Trojans (8-0, 5-0 Pac-10) tied Texas for the 11th longest winning streak in major college football history. Only three teams have won as many as 30 in a row in the past 35 years. USC also has a 24-game winning streak at home and a 20-game streak against Pac-10 opponents. Both are school records. The loss was the fifth straight for the Cougars (3-5, 0-5), but was far more decisive than the other four, which came by a total of 21 points. USC essentially put the game away by taking a 28-6 lead in the first quarter as Leinart passed for 232 yards and three scores. The Trojans, who entered as the country's leader in scoring (49 points per game) and total offense (581 yards), gained 269 yards in the opening quarter and had 459 by halftime along with 25 first downs. They finished with 745 total yards and 40 first downs. USC's injury riddled defense also had its best game of the season, holding the Cougars to 13 first downs and 284 totals yards. WSU averaged 518.6 yards and 39.1 points in its first seven games. Leinart completed 24 of 34 passes with one interception and moved to second on USC's career completions list with 693. Carson Palmer, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2002, had 927 completions in his four-year career. Leinart also tied Palmer's Pac-10 record by reaching 200 passing yards for the 32nd time. Last year's Heisman winner threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Jarrett to open the scoring, and hit Steve Smith on scoring plays of 15 and 24 yards later in the first. Jarrett had 11 receptions for 200 yards - both career bests. He has caught 26 TD passes in 21 career games. White, who carried 20 times, scored on a 2-yard run late in the second quarter and a 21-yarder early in the final period. Reggie Bush gained 97 yards on 17 carries, but didn't have a touchdown, missing out in the first quarter when he fumbled near the goal line. Tackle Winston Justice recovered in the end zone for the TD. Mario Danelo kicked a 27-yard field goal with three seconds left before halftime to make it 38-6, and added a 22-yarder late in the third quarter. Michael Coleman scored the Trojans' last touchdown on a 6-yard run. WSU's Jerome Harrison, the second-leading rusher in the country, became just the third player in the past 42 games to gain 100 or more yards against USC, picking up 147 yards on 21 carries. He has surpassed the 100-yard mark in a school-record 11 straight games. Harrison capped an 81-yard drive on WSU's second possession by scoring from 13 yards out. Lawrence Jackson blocked Loren Langley's conversion attempt, leaving USC with a 7-6 lead at that stage. The Cougars scored their other touchdown on a 2-yard run by DeMaundray Woolridge midway through the fourth quarter. USC plays Stanford next week at home, the last team to beat the Trojans in the Coliseum. The Cardinal won 21-16 on Sept. 29, 2001. © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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