Los Angeles – As the fourth quarter droned on and Notre Dame became just another inconsequential Irish team here Saturday night, the cool marine air cleared and the national title picture started clearing up along with it.
Suddenly your imagination wandered. You looked onto the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum turf and imagined Ohio State’s superb defense trying to shut down Southern California’s wunderkind receiver, Dwayne Jarrett. You imagined a USC defense that is finally meeting its hype hooking facemasks against the best player in the college game, Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith.
Because that’s what we will likely have before us on Jan. 8, folks. Ohio State vs. USC for the Bowl Championship Series title. It’ll be just like Rose Bowls of years gone by, except in the Arizona desert with so much more at stake.
USC’s convincing 44-24 win over sixth-ranked Notre Dame should carry enough weight in the BCS computers to move the third-ranked Trojans (10-1) over Michigan (11-1) into the coveted No. 2 spot in today’s BCS standings. If that happens, all USC needs is a win at 6-5 UCLA next Saturday to set up Buckeyes vs. Trojans in Glendale, Ariz., for the crystal trophy.
“All I can say is we played a heckuva schedule this year,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. “I don’t know what more we can do. We screwed up one game and it was close. Real close. Let the system figure it out.”
While No. 4 Florida (11-1), desperate for style points, struggled to beat unranked Florida State with a lame-duck offensive coordinator, USC nailed about a 9.5 for the judges. Jarrett had three touchdown receptions and a couple others that you’ll get tired of seeing on TV this week.
Freshman C.J. Gable rushed for 107 yards and the Trojan defense stopped Notre Dame three times on fourth down.
It wasn’t complete domination. Brady Quinn did throw for 274 yards and three touchdowns, and Notre Dame matched USC’s 404 yards total offense. Michigan’s 47-21 win at Notre Dame in Week 3 was probably more impressive.
However, it appears Ohio State will be getting a USC team peaking at the right time. Take out a nightmarish second quarter Saturday and junior quarterback John David Booty did a pretty good impersonation of Matt Leinart, sans the miracle fourth-quarter comeback last year in South Bend.
With Notre Dame sporting an improved but still paltry 81st-ranked pass defense, Carroll went up high, deep and often. Notre Dame’s feeble pass rush this year didn’t change Saturday, and its secondary was no match for the pitch- and-catch clinic of Booty to Jarrett.
Jarrett, left off the Biletnikoff Trophy list for the nation’s best receiver, was simply spectacular. He had TD receptions of 9 and 5 yards for a 14-0 lead after two possessions and bounced off a vicious hit from cornerback Mike Richardson before outracing the world on a 43-yard TD to ice it in the fourth quarter, 37-17.
But Jarrett also made a highlight-reel, one-handed sideline grab that kept a scoring drive alive and a wild leaping grab that set up a field goal with Notre Dame creeping back.
“At the beginning of the year,” Jarrett said, “we were the only ones that believed in ourselves. A lot of media guys … said we were going to lose, SC was struggling.”
If USC had incentive, Jarrett had almost as much. Jarrett revealed Notre Dame dropped its scholarship offer two years ago because then-coach Tyrone Willingham didn’t think he’d make grades.
He certainly passed Saturday. So did USC’s defense. It had to. When Booty sneaked in from the 1 for a 21-3 lead early in the second quarter, Booty curiously morphed into a first-year starting quarterback trying to replace a Heisman Trophy winner.
After going 6-for-7 for 91 yards in the first quarter, he went 1-for-7 with two interceptions in the second. However, USC’s defense has been a stone wall since its lone loss at Oregon State four weeks ago.
It stopped Notre Dame after each interception, not with withering pressure on Quinn but with blanket coverage by its secondary. Countless times Quinn rolled out to pass, and rolled and rolled before firing into Notre Dame’s band section.
“We learned something in the Oregon State game,” Carroll said. “I don’t know what it is, but we’re different. We’ve been different ever since we looked at the scoreboard and it was 33-10. It was like, ‘What the heck happened?’ But we’ve played spectacular football ever since.”
Even computers and their passionless programmers should recognize that today. While USC is third in The Associated Press poll, it’s already second in the Harris and USA Today polls, which the BCS uses in its formula. All USC must do is move ahead of Michigan in two computer ratings and it will move ahead of Michigan in the BCS standings.
If it doesn’t happen today, it surely will with an expected rout at UCLA.
“I think we’re a pretty good team right now,” Carroll said. “We’ll play anybody anywhere. We’re tough to beat.”
John Henderson can be reached at 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com.
