No. 1 makes its point
Sanchez throws 4 TD passes as USC routs Buckeyes
LOS ANGELES – Southern California turned the game of the year into another Trojans victory march.
Mark Sanchez threw four touchdown passes, Joe McKnight rushed for 105 yards on 12 carries, and the top-ranked Trojans crushed No. 5 Ohio State 35-3 Saturday night in a matchup of two of college football’s most successful programs.
On this pleasant summer night, one looked like champion, the other ordinary.
“It worked out beautifully for us,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. “Over the years, when we prepare this well and we have our guys, we’re hard to beat. It doesn’t matter who we play when we do that. This is what we’re capable of doing. We didn’t do anything out of the ordinary to get there. We had a nice night.”
Ohio State played without star tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells, sidelined with an injured right foot. But moving the ball wasn’t the Buckeyes’ biggest problem before the Trojans made it a rout. Instead, they were done in by a handful of crucial mistakes.
A holding penalty nullified a touchdown in the second quarter, and an errant throw by Todd Boeckman was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Rey Maualuga.
With that, the outcome was all but decided by halftime.
“We played as well as we could, with or without Beanie,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. “We played against a great team tonight. We were never able to take control on offense or defense. We must now roll up our sleeves and realize we can’t play like this and win.”
By the time it was over, the only question left was: Can anybody left on USC’s schedule beat these Trojans (2-0) and keep them from playing for a national championship in January for the fourth time this decade?
“If we can keep this momentum going and we can keep our playmakers showing up, we’re going to be really tough,” Carroll said. “This game is a nice win, but it doesn’t mean more than another game. Our players understand that. I think that’s why they prepare properly.”
Ohio State (2-1), a decisive loser in the last two national championship games, probably won’t have to worry about another BCS title game failure. Getting there for a third straight year after this beating will be a long shot, no matter how well the Buckeyes do in the Big Ten.
Ohio State had the ball for more than 20 minutes in the first half and gained 177 yards to USC’s 172, but left the field trailing 21-3. Sanchez threw two touchdown passes to Damian Williams in the third quarter to put the Buckeyes away.
Once they fell behind, the Buckeyes were helpless against Maualuga and the swarming Trojans. Ohio State gained only 30 yards in the second half.
At one point late in the third quarter, the right-handed Boeckman tried a desperation left-handed pass as he was being tackled by Kyle Moore. The result was an intentional grounding penalty. Everson Griffen sacked Boeckman on the next play.
The Trojans won for the 39th time in their last 40 home games before a partisan crowd of 93,607 at the Los Angeles Coliseum. In the first game between the storied programs since 1990, USC won its sixth straight against Ohio State and eighth in a row against the Big Ten.
Sanchez finished 17 for 28 for 172 yards with one interception in three-plus quarters of work.