Trojans trounce Cardinal

STANFORD, Calif. – A trip to Stanford turned out to be the perfect tonic for Southern California to bounce back from its first regular season loss in more than three years.

John David Booty threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter and Terrell Thomas scored on a 71-yard blocked field goal return to help No. 9 USC roll to its most lopsided win of the season, 42-0 over winless Stanford on Saturday.

The victory got the Trojans (7-1, 5-1 Pac-10) back on track following last week’s 33-31 loss at Oregon State that snapped USC’s 32-game regular-season winning streak dating to September 2003.

Booty went 12 for 21 for 203 yards, Dwayne Jarrett caught five passes for 118 yards and a touchdown, and the Trojans finally had a laugher after four close games.

Those games were all decided by seven points or fewer, including the loss to the Beavers. The Trojans hadn’t won by more than 18 points since blowing out Arkansas 50-14 in the season opener.

That’s a far cry from recent years, when USC overwhelmed the opposition on the way to national championships in 2003 and ‘04 and a loss in the title game last season to Texas.

With Heisman Trophy winners Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart in the NFL, this year’s offense isn’t nearly as prolific as it had been the previous three years.

That was no problem against the Cardinal (0-9, 0-6), who were no match for the Trojans, losing their 11th straight game to match a school record. Only a few of those defeats have been close as Stanford has led in only one game all season – a 35-34 loss to San Jose State on Sept. 9.

This was the Cardinal’s worst shutout loss since falling 49-0 to UCLA on Oct. 3, 1987.