Top-ranked Trojans don’t horse around this time

LOS ANGELES — Coach Pete Carroll and his Southern California Trojans kept hearing how lucky they were to beat California.

They won’t be called lucky after Saturday’s game against Arizona State.

Dominant would be a far better description.

A week after getting past Cal despite being soundly beaten statistically, No. 1 USC took command early and routed the 15th-ranked Sun Devils 45-7.

“This was an important statement — we left no doubt about it,” Carroll said. “I thought it was going to be a great challenge. We felt like we were a step ahead all day long and we took advantage of it. I don’t think there was much doubt at all at any time in the game.”

ASU (5-1, 2-1 Pacific-10 Conference) was the third consecutive unbeaten opponent to play USC (6-0, 3-0). Stanford and Cal extended the Trojans, losing by a combined nine points.

But the Sun Devils presented no such challenge, trailing 42-7 at halftime. The 42 points are the most the Trojans have scored in a half since they chalked up 42 in the first half against Oregon State in 1981.

“We didn’t get tricked today, we got outplayed,” ASU coach Dirk Koetter said. “We got off to a horrendous start from a field position standpoint. The first quarter was the worst we’ve played all year. I didn’t think we would get totally stoned in the running game in the first half — we couldn’t get two inches.”

The Trojans gained 446 yards to 243 for the Sun Devils and held them to a net 24 yards on 30 rushing attempts thanks mainly to eight sacks — the same total ASU allowed in its previous five games.

Matt Leinart easily won his quarterback duel with ASU’s Andrew Walter.

In the first half, Leinart completed 11 of 16 passes for 193 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another TD. He finished 13 of 24 for 224 yards with no interceptions and was sacked once, before sitting out the fourth quarter.

“We just kind of went back to the basics — that’s where we’ve been making our money the last two years,” Leinart said. “We went with our bread and butter — we ran the ball well. We do have a quick-strike offense; we can make big plays. It was evident today.”

USC gained 205 yards while allowing 424 in its 23-17 victory over Cal. The Trojans picked up 307 yards in the first half against ASU, whose first five opponents averaged 304 yards and 12.8 points.

Highly regarded freshman Dwayne Jarrett, filling in for the injured Steve Smith, made four receptions for 121 yards and three TDs in the first half and five catches for 139 yards overall.

“It was a great day for Dwayne,” Carroll said. “He’s over the hump — he’s not a pup anymore.”

LenDale White gained 68 yards on 16 carries to lead USC’s ground game.

Walter, who came in having thrown 15 touchdown passes and one interception, completed 19 of 34 passes for 181 yards and no TDs with two interceptions, one leading to a touchdown. Walter was sacked six times and USC added two more after he left the game early in the final period.

“I honestly thought we could win today,” Walter said. “I don’t know what to tell you. We just made way too many mistakes. We are shocked at what happened, we thought we were ready.”

The victory was the 15th straight for the Trojans and their 18th in a row at the Los Angeles Coliseum, where a sellout crowd of 90,211 cheered them on.

USC has won 26 of its last 27 games — few more decisively than this one, which came over a team that was off to its best start since 1996.

The crowd was the largest to see a USC home game that didn’t involve UCLA or Notre Dame since 1952.

The Trojans played before consecutive sellout crowds for the second time — the first was in 1947, when the UCLA and Notre Dame games were sold out.

A crowd of 90,008 attended the California-USC game the week before.