USC’s victory over Stanford was Pete Carroll’s 100th game as the Trojans’ coach but he did not mention any of his 85victories when looking back on his century of contests.

"We had three or four games that made an enormous difference in being ahead of the pack and unfortunately, we let it get away from us and it made a world of difference in what we would accomplish," Carroll said. "I don’t really look at it the other way. I don’t look at the other games."

One of those handful of games that remain vivid in the memory was last year’s loss to Stanford. USC erased some of the sting with its 45-23 victory Saturday but it’s clear Carroll and Cardinal coach Jim Harbaugh are building an intense rivalry, if they both stay in their current jobs.

The gamesmanship at the end of Saturday’s game, when Harbaugh lined up for a field goal with three seconds left and changed his mind after Carroll called timeout seemed to be a marker the Stanford coach was not conceding anything.

Carroll returned the favor Sunday night, when he complained about an official ruling wide receiver Ronald Johnson stepped out of bounds on a kickoff return.

"I didn’t think he stepped out of bounds," Carroll said. "Jim Harbaugh thought he stepped out of bounds and was pointing at it. It was the official from behind who made the call."

That irritation also surfaced Saturday night when Carroll sarcastically asked, "did they score?" when asked about the Cardinal’s
touchdown on the last play of the game.

But Carroll was more diplomatic Sunday night.

"I don’t know, you’d have to ask him (what he was doing)," Carroll said. "He wanted to keep battling. I think he did the right thing."

Carroll admitted Sunday he spoke to offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian about running the ball more against Stanford after the passing game faltered in the first half. Quarterback Mark Sanchez’s 17 attempts were fewer than any game John David Booty started the past two years.

However, Carroll said it does not mean the Trojans will become Tailback U.

"We came into the game wanting to see what (Stanford defensive coordinator) Ron Lynn would because he changes things a lot and wanted to see if (we could) go to the perimeter," Carroll said. "It just didn’t work out right in the first quarter. We knew what we had to do. We knew we needed to run the ball. It’s happened many times like this in the past where the game shifts (in the second half)."

Carroll said the decision to run is not a vote of no confidence in Sanchez. "He’s doing a solid job in all areas," Carroll said. "He’s not forcing balls. He’s playing good football. We’re happy to have him." Also…

Tailback C.J. Gable, who is from Sylmar, said he called his family before the game against Stanford to make sure they were OK following the recent fires.

"They said it was close by but it didn’t reach them," Gable said. "They said they were good." …

Carroll said Joe McKnight’s turf toe still bothered him late Saturday night. "He was still pretty sore when he got off the plane," Carroll said. …

Although linebacker Rey Maualuga said he thought he suffered a concussion during the game, Carroll said he did not. "He got banged in the head and we took him out for a series, but he wound up being OK," Carroll said. …

The Trojans remained sixth in the BCS rankings for the second consecutive week ….

USC, which has a bye this week, will not practice today as a reward for its performance against Stanford.

After giving up game-winning touchdowns on the final drive in two of the past three games - victories that would have made Stanford bowl eligible - the Cardinal defense is regrouping for one of its biggest tests of the season in explosive USC.

"There’s no lack of confidence because of what’s happening in the past weeks," said safety Bo McNally. "You’ve got to have a short memory. We’ve got to have faith that we are going to make the plays to get off the field."

Co-defensive coordinator Ron Lynn said the Oregon loss Saturday, in which the Ducks drove 74 yards to score with six seconds on the clock and secure a 35-28 win, "left a bit of a hangover."

"We all felt so badly about the way it happened," Lynn said. "It’s another one that you have a chance to win and we let it get away. It’s not a good feeling. And this one lasted a bit too."

McNally said watching the tape of that final series was "excruciating."

"Two-minute situations have kind of been our weakness all year," McNally said. "It’s been like that since the first game. It’s been something we’ve tried to correct and it’s pretty frustrating to be 10 games in and we are still making mistakes with it. But we are still trying to learn from our mistakes."

McNally said there’s been no common thread to Stanford’s late-game breakdowns, other than a lack of execution. UCLA won by completing passes underneath and breaking a big run to get into scoring position. Oregon got a key 25-yard run on a 3rd-and-8 play from quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to move to the Stanford 8.

"We’ve run different schemes against each team, trying to mix it up," McNally said. "I think what it comes down to is that they are executing and we are not."

Lynn said the Cardinal are not playing a "prevent" defense in those late-game situations.

"Every one of these is a unique situation and so much of what you do depends on what you are faced with," Lynn said. "A lot of things go into those situations, but you have a style you’ve played with throughout the game and I don’t think you want to go away from it."

Lynn might be able to help out with the Cardinal offensive game plan. He coached with USC coach Pete Carroll when Carroll was the head coach for the New England Patriots.

"I’m very familiar with his stuff and how they are doing it on defense," Lynn said. "They have good players, good schemes and a plan for what they show you and when they want to show it."

McNally admitted that it’s difficult not to flash back to past failures when these situations come up repeatedly.

"As much as you try not to think about that, you get a feeling in the back of your head, like ‘we’re going to stop them’ and then when stuff happens, it’s kind of disheartening," McNally said. "You’ve just got to shake that off."

Carroll’s regret: Carroll, who will be coaching his 100th game for USC on Saturday at Stanford, said Tuesday that his biggest regret in last year’s loss to Stanford was letting quarterback John David Booty play the second half with a broken throwing hand.

"That’s what went wrong. John David really struggled in that second half. We weren’t playing great up to then, but he threw some picks in that game he’d never done before," Carroll said. "I made a mistake that he could perform at a good level. That was the big mistake on my part."

"That was last year," USC defensive end Kyle Moore said, echoing the theme his teammates have been preaching this week.

Stanford safety Bo McNally isn’t buying it.

"They might not say they’re thinking about last year, but I’m sure they are," he said.

Thirteen months ago, Stanford showed up at the Los Angeles Coliseum for a game many thought would be more decisive than the point spread (40 points). The Trojans had won 35 consecutive games at home and new Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh dug under their skin that off-season, saying he heard 2007 would be Coach Pete Carroll’s last season at USC and that the Trojans might be the greatest college football team in history.

But when Mark Bradford leapt toward the heavens with 49 seconds left to catch a 10-yard, fourth-down touchdown pass from Tavita Pritchard and McNally hauled in John David Booty’s fourth interception moments later, the Cardinal had stunned the giant 24-23.

"I played a quarterback with a broken bone in his throwing hand; that’s what went wrong," Carroll said this week. "John David really struggled in the second half of that game. We weren’t playing great up till then, but he threw some picks in that game that he’d never

done before. I should have taken him out. I just made a mistake in judgment that he could perform at a good level, good enough for us to win. That was the big mistake on our part."

McNally, the captain of this year’s Stanford defense, said he didn’t know Booty was injured until after the game.

"If his hand was hurting that much, maybe he shouldn’t have played," McNally said. "That’s just kind of football. Everybody has those broken bones, those bumps and bruises. If you can’t play through it, then you shouldn’t play."

Asked if it bothers him that USC seems to use Booty’s injury as the reason for losing, McNally said, "It’s fine. They can do whatever they want to help themselves feel better about the loss. The bottom line is, on any given day, anybody could beat anybody."

Even if Booty’s injury affected his accuracy, it must be noted that Stanford hardly had a seasoned All-American behind center. Pritchard was making his first start since high school, filling in for senior T.C. Ostrander, who suffered a seizure six days before the game.

But Pritchard overcame an erratic 2½ quarters to become part of one of the biggest upsets in college football history. Ninety-eight of his 149 passing yards came in the final 16 minutes, including a 37-yarder to Bradford to set up the Cardinal’s first offensive touchdown, a 20-yarder to Richard Sherman on fourth-and-20 and then the 10-yarder to Bradford four plays later for the winning score.

Pritchard addressed his teammates this week, telling them that preparation was paramount to last year’s upset.

"The SC game week was probably the best week of practice we had," Pritchard said. "We didn’t win that game down in the Coliseum. We won it up here under the lights on our practice field. That’s really where we won that game, preparing for this team. It was an incredible week of practice, and that’s what we have to replicate."

Center Alex Fletcher credited Harbaugh for the victory.

"It starts with Coach Harbaugh," Fletcher said. "Coach Harbaugh believed the whole entire time that we could beat USC. Coach Harbaugh gave us a game plan to beat USC. We didn’t execute as well as we could at times. But what we did against USC last year was we gave ourselves a chance."

The only difference this time, Stanford figures to face an angrier bunch from USC — whether the Trojans, a 23-point favorite, care to admit it or not.

"The thing our team understands is that USC is a tremendous football team," Harbaugh said. "They understand that it’s a great challenge. But it doesn’t change the expectations for our ballclub — the expectations we have to prepare for the game and to ultimately go out and win the game. You play USC, you’re at the center stage of college football."

And if you beat USC — as Stanford discovered last season — you find yourself at the center of the sports universe.

Cal’s players and die-hard fans might wake up in a cold sweat early this morning recalling a handful of plays that could have cost No. 21 Cal a major upset.

Don’t get the idea that No. 7 USC did not deserve its 17-3 victory over the Bears on Saturday. After all, USC had 411 yards of total offense and 22 first downs compared with 165 yards and 13 first downs for the Bears (6-3, 4-2). Clearly, USC (8-1, 6-1) was the superior team and showed why many still think it is one of the top three teams in the country.

The Bears did not figure to score a lot of points against the Trojans’ outstanding defense, and neither Cal quarterback (Kevin Riley replaced Nate Longshore at halftime) could produce a touchdown against the Trojans, who have yielded just one in their past five games.

So heading into the game, it seemed the Bears needed a standout defensive effort and a few breaks on the offensive side to beat the Trojans, who were 21-point favorites. Cal got the standout defensive effort, and nearly got the offensive breaks, so it will be tough for the Bears to forget those several big chances.

They’ll be replaying in their minds three plays in particular:

– What if Cal had challenged the Trojans’ first touchdown? Patrick Turner’s 19-yard scoring reception was ruled a catch on the field, but replays suggested it might have hit the ground. There was no word from the replay officials that the play was being reviewed, and USC was able to kick the extra point before Cal had a chance to challenge the call.

"I’m asking our coaches up in the box what’s going on," Tedford said. "And just as they were kicking (the extra point) - oddly enough - it comes up on scoreboard (in the Coliseum)."

That provided USC with a 10-3 lead and was the Trojans’ only touchdown until the final three minutes of the game.

– What if Cal had not been penalized for having an ineligible receiver when Riley completed what would have been a game-tying 27-yard touchdown pass to Shane Vereen in the third quarter?

The Bears were lined up incorrectly, which meant a player who should have an eligible receiver was not. So instead of it being 10-10 midway through the third quarter, it remained 10-3.

"Obviously, that’s a big play," Tedford said.

– Later in that same drive, after getting to the USC 10-yard line, Riley fired a pass into the end zone intended for Nyan Boateng, who appeared to be open.

"It was going to be a touchdown for sure," Riley said.

But the ball was tipped by USC safety Will Harris halfway to its destination, and intercepted by Josh Pickard in the end zone.

"We definitely had our chances," Riley said. "I would love to play these guys again, that’s for sure."

The Cal defense more than held its own, and Cal got some breaks early that kept it in the game.

On a 2nd-and-7 play from the USC 33-yard line early in the second quarter, Longshore threw a pass that was picked off by USC’s Kevin Thomas. But soon after Longshore released the ball, USC linebacker Brian Cushing gave Longshore a rather gentle push. Cushing was called for roughing the passer, negating the interception and giving the Bears’ the ball at the USC 18-yard line.

Two plays later a Longshore pass was intercepted by Taylor Mays, but USC was called for pass interference on the play. This time the penalty seemed deserved, and eventually Giorgio Tavecchio made a 35-yard field goal to tie the game 3-3. Longshore completed 11 of 15 first-half passes but was sacked once for a 13-yard loss and fell on another play for a 5-yard loss.

Tedford decided to go with Riley in the second half.

"We felt like the pass rush was pretty heated and thought maybe Kevin could make some plays with his legs," Tedford said. "I didn’t think Nate was playing that poorly. We went toe-to-toe with a very good football team."
The low-down

USC is the only team to hold Cal to 10 points or less since Jeff Tedford became coach. Cal’s five lowest-scoring games since ‘02:
Score    Year
Cal 3, USC 17    2008
Cal 9, USC 23    2006
Cal 10, USC 35    2005
Cal 13, Stanford 20    2007
Cal 13, Oregon State 24    2002
Dominant defense

USC has given up 23 points in six games since losing to Oregon State on Sept. 25. Here’s the yardage allowed in those games:
Result    Rush yds    Pass yds    Total yds
USC 44, Oregon 10    60    179    239
USC 28, Arizona State 0    75    154    229
USC 69, Washington St. 0    88    28    116
USC 17, Arizona 10    100    88    188
USC 56, Washington 0    71    113    184
USC 17, Cal 3    27    138    165
Average (3.83 points)    70.2    116.6    186.8

But the No. 21 Bears could not score any touchdowns against a USC defense many consider the best in the country, ending with a 17-3 loss to the Trojans on Saturday at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

USC, which came into the game leading the nation in both total defense and scoring defense, has yielded only one touchdown and 13 points over its last five games. The Trojans throttled both quarterbacks the Bears used Saturday.

The loss nearly eliminated Cal (6-3, 4-2) in the Rose Bowl race, while USC (8-1, 6-1) remains in a virtual tie with Oregon State.

Cal coach Jeff Tedford is now 0-7 in Pac-10 games played in Southern California (0-3 at UCLA and 0-4 at USC).

Cal again finished the game with a different quarterback from the one who started the game. This time, Kevin Riley replaced starter Nate Longshore to begin the second half.

USC held a 10-3 lead starting the fourth quarter and was getting its offense going when Joe McKnight fumbled after a 17-yard run, giving Cal the ball at its 33-yard line, but the Bears were unable to score in the second half.

Riley started the second half at quarterback and drove Cal to the USC 10-yard line of the Bears’ first possession.

A remarkable, one-handed, 31-yard reception by Verran Tucker put Cal in position to score, and Riley hit Shane Vereen for an apparent 27-yard touchdown pass. However, the scoring play was negated by an ineligible-receiver penalty, as one of the Bears linemen ventured too far downfield.

Then, on a 2nd-and-5 play from the 10, Riley’s pass was tipped by USC’s Will Harris and intercepted in the end zone by Josh Pinkard.

USC did little offensively in the third quarter. The Trojans got to the Bears’ 43 on their first possession, but that was largely because they started on their 40-yard line after Cal’s Giorgio Tavecchio opened the second half by kicking the ball out of bounds.

Questionable officiating calls played a major role in the first half.

The Trojans dominated play in the first two quarters but their only first-half touchdown came on a 19-yard reception by Patrick Turner in the second quarter. Replays suggested the ball might have hit the ground for what would have been an incompletion, but USC was able to kick the extra point before play could be stopped for replay officials to review the play.

That score provided USC with its 10-3 lead and came immediately after Cal’s strange scoring drive that was aided by two USC penalties.

The first of those two penalties was debatable and critical. On a 2nd-and-7 play from the USC 33-yard line early in the second quarter, Longshore threw a pass that was picked off by USC’s Kevin Thomas. But soon after Longshore released the ball, USC linebacker Brian Cushing gave Longshore a rather gentle push. Longshore went flying out of bounds, and Cushing was called for roughing the passer, negating the interception and giving the Bears’ the ball at the USC 18-yard line.

Two plays later, a Longshore pass was intercepted by Taylor Mays, but USC was called for pass interference on the play. This time the penalty seemed deserved, as Kaluka Maiava hit Tucker, the intended receiver, before the ball arrived in the area.

Eventually, Tavecchio made a 35-yard field goal to tie the game 3-3 at the 8:21 mark of the second quarter. It ended a possession that milked more than eight minutes off the clock.

It was Cal’s only serious threat of the half, while USC had several chances. The Trojans had 211 yards of total offense in the first half, compared with 83 for the Bears.

USC’s first possession of the game produced a 56-yard drive that moved the ball to the Cal 10-yard line, but the Trojans were forced to settle for a 27-yard field goal.

Longshore completed 11 of 15 first-half passes, but was sacked for a 13-yard loss and fell on another play for a 5-yard loss. USC quarterback Mark Sanchez was 9-for-12 for 139 yards in the first half.

Dominant defense

USC has given up only 23 points since losing to Oregon State on Sept. 25. Here’s what the Trojans defense has allowed in those six games:
Result    Opp. Run/Pass/Tot.
USC 44, Ore. 10    60/179/239
USC 28, Ariz. St. 0    75/154/229
USC 69, Wash. St. 0    88/28/116
USC 17, Ariz. 10    100/88/188
USC 56, Wash. 0    71/113/184
USC 17, Cal 3    27/138/165

Hot off the Mercury News’ college sports blog, the College Hotline . . .

Unless Cal dominates USC from start to finish, which is just this side of impossible, the Bears would be wise to follow the advice of Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti.

"It’s all about staying in the game and giving yourself a chance," said Bellotti, who has faced both teams this season.

For our purposes, let’s call it the Stanford model — the path the Cardinal followed to its stunning upset of USC last season. The Golden Bears must follow these five steps:

1. Win the turnover battle. (Stanford had one turnover, USC five.)

2. Score on defense or special teams. (The Cardinal returned an interception for a touchdown.)

3. Be within striking range early in the fourth quarter. (Stanford trailed 16-14 with 14 minutes left.)

4. Make a drive-extending play down the stretch (Tavita Pritchard-to-Richard Sherman on fourth down.)

5. Find a way to score from the red zone in the final minutes, with the crowd roaring and the USC defense amped up. (Pritchard-to-Mark Bradford for the winner.)

Simple as that.

# Pay close attention to Cal’s success on first down. If the Bears gain 5 or 6 yards, they’ll keep the Trojans guessing. If they’re forced into second-and-long situations, the Bears are in huge trouble — the USC pass rush will come in waves.

In Cal’s only conference loss (at Arizona), 50 percent of its first-down plays in the

second half went for zero or negative yards. That won’t cut it today.

# Something to keep in mind: Cal’s Bob Gregory schemes USC as well, if not better than, any defensive coordinator in the conference.

I’ve asked Gregory about his success in the past and he’s tight-lipped (naturally). But the numbers speak for themselves: In six games, the Trojans have averaged 27.6 points against his defense, and they’ve never scored more than 35.

Given that this might be Gregory’s best defense in his seven years in Berkeley, and that USC’s offense has been inconsistent, I don’t expect the Trojans to score more than 25 or 30 points.

But can the Bears keep pace against the top-ranked defense (yards and points allowed) in the country?

# I’m curious to see how Cal tailbacks Jahvid Best and Shane Vereen perform. They’re similar in quickness and elusiveness to Oregon State’s Jacquizz Rodgers, who ran up the gut on USC for 186 yards.

If they’re contained, Cal can’t win. Period

# The hunch here is that Stanford’s running game will give Oregon trouble this afternoon — big trouble, maybe even upset trouble.

Through the use of the spread option, quarterback scrambles and its two-back power sets, the Cardinal should render Oregon’s pass rush ineffective and wear down the Ducks’ front seven.

This is not the same Stanford team that has been trashed in Eugene the past few trips. The Cardinal has a much better chance to win than the 14-point spread indicates.

# Utah’s last-minute victory over Texas Christian on Thursday night was bad news for San Jose State and the Western Athletic Conference.

It moved the Utes within two wins (pathetic San Diego State and rival BYU) of an undefeated season. And if they run the table, they probably will nudge Boise State out of the Bowl Championship Series, even if the Broncos finish 12-0.

That would limit the available bowl berths for the WAC and SJSU.

# The Stanford basketball program received its first commitment of the Johnny Dawkins era a few days ago: from Andy Brown, a 6-foot-8 power forward from Mater Dei.

Brown had scholarship offers from Arizona, Michigan, Utah and a few West Coast Conference schools.

# Interested in admissions data for Pac-10 football programs? Here are the grade-point averages and SAT averages (over a four-year period) for players who were in school in the late 1990s through the mid 2000s.

(I don’t have any more recent figures because the NCAA stopped providing the data when many schools, embarrassed by their low numbers, complained.)

I consider it a very good guide for how things stack up, but it’s not quite gospel. Standards change slightly from school to school over time.

(GPAs listed first, then SATs)

Stanford: 3.63 and 1176

UCLA: 3.15 and 990

Oregon: 2.94 and 969

Cal: 2.93 and 984

Washington: 2.86 and 963

Oregon State: 2.84 and 928

USC: 2.80 and 955

Washington State: 2.80 and 920

Arizona: 2.76 and 948

Arizona State: 2.76 and 937

This season, he says the BCS system stinks.

That presumably is because the Trojans, in seventh place in the BCS standings, don’t appear to have a likely route to the championship game in Miami.

He gets no sympathy from the Sporting News’ college football expert, Matt Hayes, who says, "Well, boo-freaking-hoo.'’

You can read Hayes at the Sporting News to find out why he’s crying crocodile tears for USC.

The Times’ Bill Plaschke expressed similar sentiments about Pete Carroll and his complaints earlier this week.

– Randy Harvey

* Oregon State (5-3 overall, 4-1 in conference play) opened the season with a league loss at Stanford, shook that off and headed for Penn State, got pounded there, 45-14, and lost a third game in Salt Lake City on Oct. 2 when the Beavers blew an eight-point lead to Utah in the final two minutes.

* California (6-2, 4-1) ventured on a cross-country trip Sept. 13 to play Maryland in a 9 a.m. Pacific time start, came out flatter than crab cakes, fell behind, 28-6, and couldn’t catch up to a team that had lost the week before to Middle Tennessee State.

A month later, Cal went to Arizona and got hammered, 42-27, by the only Pac-10 school that has never played in the Rose Bowl.

* USC (7-1, 5-1) is ranked No. 7 in this week’s Bowl Championship Series standings, boasts the nation’s top defense, has shut out three of its last four opponents, and is still in the mix for a berth in the national title game.

So which school controls its Rose Bowl destiny?

The answer is two schools do, and neither one is USC.

It’s nice, though, that the Southland can host the destiny-controllers, Cal and Oregon State, in weekend contests against USC and UCLA.

If Oregon State wins its last four games against UCLA, Cal, Arizona and Oregon, it goes to the Rose Bowl for the first time since Jan. 1, 1965.

Beavers Coach Mike Riley is doing his best to quell premature speculation.

"There’s talk about it," he said on Tuesday’s weekly Pac-10 coaches’ conference call. "Mostly just questions I get through the media. As you can all see, it’s a very, very jumbled-up conference race and so the Beavers’ motto is ‘one game at a time.’ I don’t know if it was national cliche day yesterday or national cliche week but that’s my national cliche of the day."

If Cal wins its last four games against USC, Oregon State, Stanford and Washington, the Golden Bears will make their first Rose Bowl appearance since Jan. 1, 1959.

"It is nice," Cal Coach Jeff Tedford said of knowing what has to be done, "but there’s still a lot of football left. Our No. 1 focus is USC and we all know what a challenge that is. . . . Don’t really talk so much about controlling our own destiny . . . the destiny is this week and that’s it. That’s the focus."

USC can all but derail Cal’s dream by winning Saturday’s game at the Coliseum, but there is nothing the Trojans can do about Oregon State other than pray the Beavers lose a game.

USC can start by initiating an eight-clap for archrival UCLA on Saturday.

Oregon State hijacked USC’s Rose Bowl bargaining chip with a shocking win at Corvallis in September.

Even if Cal upsets USC on Saturday, the Bears still have to beat Oregon State in Corvallis on Nov. 15 and then close with two more wins.

Cal isn’t a school that, when it comes to the Rose Bowl, can take anything for granted. In 2004, the Bears thought they were Pasadena-bound only to be boxed out by Texas in a BCS standings controversy.

Last year, Cal was 10 yards from being No. 1 in the nation when it lost a clock-crusher at home to Oregon State. Then the Bears lost five of their next six and ended up in the Armed Forces Bowl.

His reference was probably a week early.

Burdened with a lame-duck coach in Willingham, and players still reacting to the news of Williingham’s firing, the Huskies’ 56-0 loss to No. 7 USC on Saturday left Washington as the only winless team in the country. North Texas beat Western Kentucky 51-40 on Saturday, ending its own nine-game losing skid.

The Huskies (0-8, 0-5 Pac-10) are caught in a 10-game losing streak dating back to last year, matching the longest skid in school history. The 56-point rout was the third-worst loss ever for the Huskies in the modern era, and could have been far worse if Trojans’ coach Pete Carroll had wanted it to be.

"Honestly, it’s not easy," Willingham said Monday of his "interim" status. "I’ve never been in this situation before."

The announcement last week of Willingham’s firing, effective the end of the season, surely felt like the lowest point of Washington’s downward spiral. That was before the Huskies were shut out for just the second time since 1981, prompting Willingham to be asked Monday whether he second-guessed sticking around for the final five games of the season.

"No, not at all," Willingham said.

When later asked if a new voice was needed to incite some emotion from a dreary team that has scored more than 14 points only twice this season, Willingham said: "That’s a hypothetical that I won’t consider."

What Willingham must now consider is whether his team has the desire remaining to rally around it’s outgoing coach and find a way to avoid the first winless season in Washington’s history. The Huskies schedule appears to soften for the next three weeks, beginning with Arizona State at home on Saturday, which is dealing with its own six-game losing streak.

After the Sun Devils comes a visit from former coach Rick Neuheisel and UCLA (3-5) and the Apple Cup pillow fight against equally woeful Washington State (1-8).

"Our head coach keeps us grounded and keeps us focused. It’s easy for anybody in this kind of situation to lose focus but our team is pulling together and we’re staying close," quarterback Ronnie Fouch said. "We’re not letting people get frustrated or give up on the season."

The blowout against USC concluded a difficult week for Washington’s players. It started with most of them receiving word by e-mail or text message that Willingham would be out at the season’s end. It concluded with a lifeless performance against the Trojans, where Washington managed only 184 total yards and didn’t make a first down on offense until its sixth possession.

In the modern era, only a 65-7 loss at Miami in 2001 and a 58-0 loss against Oregon in 1973 had larger margins of defeat. Washington lost to California 72-3 in 1921.

Despite knowing that a new regime will be in charge next year, players still believe that Willingham’s direction is getting through and being taken seriously.

"Definitely. He’s an incredible man. He has a lot of things he can coach us on as far as being better young men and players," defensive tackle Johnie Kirton said. "I feel people are still listening to him and taking his words of advice. I don’t think anyone is going to give up on the way he teaches us."

Washington wasn’t flat against sixth-ranked USC, it was roadkill.

It played with so little emotion it didn’t get a first down in the first quarter and only the clock stopped the Trojans’ offense in the first half.

If you thought Huskies players wanted to make a statement in defense of coach Tyrone Willingham, who was forced out Monday, effective at the end of the season, they didn’t. If you thought they cared about their coach, well, they played as if they didn’t.

Wonder why Willingham didn’t work at Washington? Watch the tape of the first half of this 56-0 embarrassment at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Instead of giving it up for Willingham, the Huskies gave up on Willingham — again. They made a good USC team look legendary.

The Trojans had 35 points before the Huskies had a first down. They made Washington (0-8) look like a team of walk-ons. These were the humbled Huskies.

USC quarterback Mark Sanchez played pitch and catch with receivers Patrick Turner and Ronald Johnson. He completed 15 of 17 passes in the half, for 167 yards and two touchdowns.

Twice in the first quarter Sanchez and Turner toasted cornerback Quinton Richardson — a 4-yard slant pass, followed by a 32-yard bomb that gave USC a 14-0 lead before the tailgaters were settled in their seats.

When Terrance Dailey finally ran for the first Washington first down with 8:20 left in the first half, the Coliseum crowd cheered derisively.

The score was 42-0 before Washington’s offense crossed midfield for the first time. By halftime, USC had outgained the Huskies 325-35. The Trojans scored on drives of 57, 66, 33, 60, 16 and 71 yards.

All week, USC coach Pete Carroll worried publicly about the Huskies’ hunger. He fretted over whether they would play to win this for Willingham. This would be their Gipper game.

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Carroll expected them to enter the game breathing fire.

But the Huskies were cold as ice.

They were so bad, Carroll replaced most of his starters by the middle of the third quarter.

Now, with North Texas’ win, the Huskies are the only winless team in NCAA Division I. Washington used to be mentioned in the same breath with Oklahoma, Texas, Florida and Miami. Now it is linked with North Texas.

Did you ever think something this bad could happen at Washington? Did you ever think they would surrender this easily? Did you ever think a Washington team would look this overmatched?

"It’s a very tough thing to watch," said former Huskies quarterback Billy Joe Hobert, who stood on the Washington sideline. "And the tough thing is, if the University of Washington, in the days of old, had a really bad record, at least when they went into a stadium to play a game that other team knew we were there. They knew we would beat them up one way or another. The other team might win, but they were going to feel it.

"But I don’t get that sense with this team. I don’t see that same sense of urgency. I don’t see that desire. I don’t see that fire. I don’t see that anger. I don’t see that passion for the game, and it’s just frustrating. It breaks my heart."

Forget the infinitive in the Huskies’ fight song, this season merely has been, "Bow Down, Washington."

And for those of you who think Willingham’s firing should have been effective immediately, well, no interim coach should have had to take responsibility for this loss.

This lopsided smack in the face belonged to Willingham. He, not some unfortunate assistant, should have been on the sideline for this game. He is responsible for the mess. This loss belongs on his record.

The first half, which was all that remotely mattered, was a definition of what is wrong with this program. This lack of effort was an indictment of the coach and an example of how far the program has fallen.

The one time the Huskies did show some fight, holding USC on a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, they were flagged for an offsides penalty. Sanchez ran a quarterback sneak for a score on the next play.

Such is the unraveled state of Washington football.

Who would have thought it could ever sink to this?

The Trojans are good, but they aren’t the New York Giants. They struggled a week ago in their win over Arizona. They lost to Oregon State and virtually are out of the race for the BCS title game.

Believe it or not, there have been questions all season about the efficiency of the USC offense.

But the Huskies didn’t tackle. They dropped at least a half-dozen passes. Their special teams made poor decisions.

There only will be more of the same flawed fundamentals that have plagued the program since Willingham took over four years ago.

The university deserves better than this. The 60,000 fans who still show up at every Saturday home game deserve better.

After this debacle Willingham was steadfast in his belief that he still is the best man to lead Washington for the final four games.

Clearly he isn’t.