Trojans pull together in second half

STANFORD, Calif. — Southern Cal went to halftime trailing and flailing, down by 11 points and stung by an 82-yard run through the heart of its defense on Stanford’s final play.

Reggie Bush was worried the locker room would resemble a funeral. Instead, the top-ranked Trojans seemed thrilled to be in a close game — and they rode a wave of halftime emotion to a 31-28 victory Saturday night.

“I don’t think it was anger. It was excitement,” said Bush, whose spinning 33-yard punt return set up LenDale White’s go-ahead score with 6 minutes, 15 seconds left. “These are the type of games that we miss, that we love. It’s easy to blow a team out. When you win a game like this, you feel so much better. You feel great.”

Matt Leinart passed for 308 yards and White scored on a 2-yard run to cap the Trojans’ comeback. Steve Smith caught eight passes for 153 yards and a touchdown, and Bush contributed 95 yards rushing and the pivotal punt return to Southern California’s 13th consecutive victory.

But the final result didn’t seem nearly as important to the Trojans (4-0) as the thrill of making an impressive comeback. Sure, USC has a roster stuffed with high school All-Americans and NFL prospects, but even the best individual talents need chemistry and camaraderie.

“At halftime, this was the first time this team really had a chance to bond,” defensive end Shaun Cody said. “It was a real special moment. It was the first time you felt everybody together as one. We’re not always going to blow teams out. You need these kinds of nights to get a real team together.”

The defense blamed itself for the 28-17 deficit after yielding 291 yards in the first half, so USC changed its timid scheme and gave up just 36 after halftime in both schools’ Pacific-10 opener.

Leinart’s offense did the rest, scoring two touchdowns and holding the ball for 18 minutes.