USC looks like title contender after win

If there was any doubt, No. 4 USC declared itself a national title contender for a fourth straight season with a 28-10 victory over 19th-ranked Nebraska on Saturday night in Los Angeles.

USC (2-0) won for the 36th time in 37 games, the lone defeat coming to Texas in the final seconds of last January’s Rose Bowl. The Trojans’ home winning streak is now 28 straight games.

Making his second career start, John David Booty was 25 for 36 for 257 with no interceptions and three touchdown passes for USC.

All-American receiver Dwayne Jarrett, the one holdover star from last year’s record-breaking offense, caught 11 passes for 126 yards, including two touchdowns. He became USC’s career touchdown receptions leader with 31, breaking Mike Williams’ record of 30.

Freshman Emmanuel Moody ran for 70 yards on nine carries.

The bigger story on this day may have been the Trojans defense, which dominated the Cornhuskers (2-1).

It was the third meeting between two of college football’s traditional powerhouses and the first since 1970. USC beat the Huskers 31-21 at Nebraska in 1969, and the teams played to a 21-21 tie in Los Angeles the following year.

(21) California 42, Portland State 16: At Berkeley, Calif., Marshawn Lynch ran for 112 yards and a touchdown on just six carries, and the Golden Bears tuned up for their Pac-10 schedule with a victory over the Vikings.

Nate Longshore passed for 225 yards and two scores in the first half for the Golden Bears (2-1), who substituted liberally after rolling to a 32-point lead midway through the second quarter. DeSean Jackson caught five passes for 103 yards and a score.

(22) Arizona State 21, Colorado 3: At Boulder, Colo., Rudy Carpenter was often off-target but still threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns in a bumbling Sun Devils victory over the Buffaloes.

Carpenter, whose career TD-to-interception ratio was a sparkling 24-4 entering the game, was picked off twice and finished 21 of 37, but the Sun Devils (3-0) left Boulder unbeaten because again the Buffaloes’ inept offense couldn’t do enough to reward a stellar defensive effort. For the third straight game, the Buffs failed to score after halftime.

Arizona 28, Stephen F. Austin 10: At Tucson, Ariz., Chris Jennings, a walk-on junior college transfer, rushed for 201 yards and two touchdowns as the Wildcats pulled away to beat stubborn Lumberjacks.

Jennings, starting because Chris Henry was suspended for the game, became the first Arizona back to top 200 yards since Mike Bell – now a rookie with the Denver Broncos – who gained 222 against Washington in 2003.

Jennings, a transfer from Arizona Western College in Yuma, carried 26 times, including touchdown runs of 2 yards in the first quarter and 10 yards in the fourth.

Navy 37, Stanford 9: At Stanford, Calif., Reggie Campbell ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns to help the Midshipmen spoil the unveiling of the new Stanford Stadium by beating the Cardinal.

Brian Hampton also ran for two scored and Adam Ballard rushed 26 times for 122 yards for the Midshipmen (3-0), who started the season with three straight wins for only the second time since 1979.

This is the worst start for Stanford since it lost the first four games in 1987.