Making a bed of roses

This is what it took to save USC’s season.

An unexpected fog rolling into the Coliseum midway through the third quarter.

An unknown player -- in big shoulder pads, no less -- lining up for a long field-goal try.

And a gutsy fourth-down pass.

On a Saturday night with the Rose Bowl and the national championship race on the line, the No. 4 Trojans needed every trick in their bag to scramble back for a 23-9 victory over No. 17 California before a crowd of 91,672.

The win earned them an unprecedented fifth consecutive Pacific 10 title, guaranteed at least a Jan. 1 date in Pasadena and kept them in the hunt for even bigger game -- the BCS championship game on Jan. 8.

“It’s just what we do, it’s who we are,” Coach Pete Carroll said of the late offensive burst that sealed the win. “We finish really well.”

Or, as Cal tailback Marshawn Lynch put it, “They made the big plays.”

The game swung on a critical few minutes in the second half with USC trailing, 9-6, and sputtering on offense. On fourth and 15 at Cal’s 32-yard line, with the mists blowing in, Carroll sent David Buehler onto the field.

Buehler, a fullback wearing one of those neck rolls most often seen on linebackers. A junior college transfer who had never attempted a field goal in major college football.

Staring at a 49-yard attempt, he made it with room to spare.

“Oh man, that was huge,” receiver Steve Smith said. “That was the momentum shift.”

The fog soon cleared and quarterback John David Booty -- who completed 18 of 31 passes for 238 yards in a workmanlike effort -- found his rhythm. On USC’s next possession, he dumped a short pass to tailback C.J. Gable for a 35-yard gain, then threw a 25-yard post to Dwayne Jarrett.

Jarrett was leveled on the catch, staying on the turf for several minutes, but held on for a touchdown and a 16-9 lead.

“I blacked out when the guy hit me,” he said. “I just heard the crowd.”

The next time it got the ball, USC mounted another drive and, once again, faced a fourth down in Cal territory. This time, at the urging of assistants Steve Sarkisian and Lane Kiffin, Carroll went for it. Booty dropped back and checked through his first two options, staying patient until Smith broke free behind the secondary.

The 37-yard touchdown pass provided the final margin with 8:23 left -- 8:23 until the USC players could walk around with roses in their hands.

Carroll called it an extraordinary victory, one that his 9-1 team should appreciate. And for all the late offense, the win belonged every bit as much to the defense. All week, USC coaches talked about Cal’s propensity for big plays, and hoped in private that if the defense could force the Bears to move the ball in shorter increments, and keep them out of the end zone, quarterback Nate Longshore might stumble.

While Longshore drove his offense into USC territory on numerous occasions, he completed only 17 of 38 passes for 176 yards. He also had two passes intercepted and fumbled on a Lawrence Jackson sack.

Two of those turnovers came in the first half, when USC needed to stay close.

The Trojans saw their early drives stall, resulting in two field goals by Mario Danelo. At the same time, they gave up a safety when Cal defensive tackle Brandon Mebane charged through untouched and tackled Chauncey Washington in the end zone.

With the score at a baseball-like 6-2, Cal got rolling.

DeSean Jackson, considered the top receiver in the conference, caught a tipped pass for 36 yards and Robert Jordan followed with a 29-yard reception. Longshore finished the drive a few plays later, throwing a six-yard slant to Lavelle Hawkins for a touchdown and a 9-6 lead that carried into halftime.

But the USC defense would not let Cal threaten again, Jackson finishing with only two catches for 41 yards and Lynch held to 88 yards in 20 carries.

And that gave the USC offense all the time it needed.

Time for Gable -- filling in much of the night for a hobbled Washington -- to finish with 19 carries for 91 yards. Time for Jarrett and Smith to make their dramatic touchdown catches.

And time enough for an unexpected field goal that might have turned the game around.

USC still faces a gantlet of Notre Dame and UCLA in the next two weeks, needing to defeat both rivals for a shot at the BCS game against No. 1 Ohio State.

But Carroll didn’t want to talk about any of that Saturday.

“I don’t know ... and I don’t care,” he responded to a question about the BCS standings.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of this moment tonight. Normally I don’t stop for moments, but tonight was special.”

david.wharton@latimes.com