USC pounds Oregon and looks for a bounce in polls

USC Coach Pete Carroll hoped for a bounce, a performance that would restore his team’s confidence after its embarrassing loss at Oregon State.

The Trojans had been manhandled on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

They had tumbled from No. 1 to No. 9 in the polls.

A slow start against No. 23 Oregon on Saturday did not exactly inspire optimism, but the Trojans came roaring back for an impressive 44-10 victory before 82,765 at the Coliseum who saw USC reestablish itself as a contender for a spot in the Bowl Championship Series title game.

“This was exactly what we needed to do,” Carroll said. “This is the game we were looking for.”

USC had hoped that Oregon State might further the Trojans’ case with pollsters by knocking off No. 15 Utah of the recently-dreaded Mountain West Conference. But the Beavers’ loss Thursday night had put even more of an onus on the Trojans against another opponent from the Northwest.

USC stayed in the BCS picture by overcoming a 10-3 deficit with a 24-point second quarter en route to scoring 41 unanswered points.

“I guess they answered the wakeup call after Oregon State,” Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti said.

The score belied what early on appeared to be a game that might not be decided until the second half.

Oregon, with an offense averaging 47 points and 503 yards a game, drove for a touchdown on the opening series and was ahead, 10-3, early in the second quarter after taking advantage of a fumbled snap by Trojans quarterback Mark Sanchez.

But that’s when Sanchez and his receivers began a highlight show that helped improve USC’s record to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference.

“We came out a little sluggish -- not as bad as last week -- and we really turned things around quickly before Oregon got too much momentum,” said Sanchez, who led an offense that rolled up 598 yards.

Sanchez completed 19 of 28 passes for 332 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. USC, however, got a scare when the junior stayed on the ground for several minutes after he was sacked by former Mission Viejo High teammate Nick Reed with 3:45 left in the third quarter.

Sanchez was taken to the sideline and trainers examined the left knee he hurt during training camp. Sanchez, however, missed only one series before returning.

“I was more scared than anything but I think it will be fine,” said Sanchez, who was wearing sweat pants with a large ice pack on his knee by the end of the game. “It’s a little sore, not bad.”

Sanchez was at his best in the latter part of the second quarter when the Trojans scored four times in the final eight minutes to take a 27-10 halftime lead.

He connected on touchdown pass plays of 34 yards to Damian Williams, 63 yards to Ronald Johnson and 11 yards to Patrick Turner during the quarter and finished the half 13 for 18 for 233 yards.

David Buehler, who had kicked a 21-yard field goal in the first quarter, added a 36-yard field goal to help the Trojans forge their 17-point advantage.

Stafon Johnson’s electrifying 22-yard cutback run for a touchdown on the first possession of the second half increased the lead to 34-10 and put the game out of reach.

The victory helped ease the sting of last year’s loss to Oregon at Eugene when a fourth-quarter interception ended USC’s hopes for a comeback win. It also got Sanchez back nine days after the defeat at Oregon State, which also included a costly fourth-quarter interception.

USC’s defense also came back strong after being pushed around by Oregon State and missing numerous tackles.

Brian Cushing, playing middle linebacker in place of injured Rey Maualuga, and safety Kevin Ellison, playing closer to the line of scrimmage than has been customary, led a unit that held a Ducks team averaging 308 yards rushing a game to 60.

Jeremiah Johnson gained only 45 yards in 13 carries, LeGarrette Blount zero yards in nine carries.

“They saw last week’s game and thought they were going to run all over us,” USC defensive end Kyle Moore said.

Ellison, who had a game-high 12 tackles, said the Trojans “needed to reestablish things not for anybody else, but for ourselves.”

With that done, they move ahead to next week’s game against Arizona State and then remaining opponents they must dispatch if they are to make a convincing case for a spot in the BCS discussion at the end of the season.

“Everybody was calling us the best team in college football after the Ohio State game and that didn’t mean anything,” Ellison said. “We learned our lesson last week.

“Tonight, we moved on.”

--

gary.klein@latimes.com