Southern California turned the most anticipated September game in years into a mismatch.
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.
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.
By the time it was done the only question left was: Can anybody left on USC's schedule beat these Trojans (2-0) and keep them from playing for another national championship.
Ohio State (2-1), a decisive loser in the last two national championship games, will have an awfully difficult time making it back for a third, even if the Buckeyes win another Big Ten title.
As the Buckeyes, this performance will make a third consecutive BCS title game appearance unlikely.
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 35 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 over Ohio State and eighth straight against the Big Ten.
Sanchez finished 17-for-28 for 172 yards with one interception before being relieved by freshman Aaron Corp midway through the fourth quarter.
Georgia 14, South Carolina 7
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) The yards were tough to come by and the points even tougher for Georgia as usual when the Bulldogs play South Carolina.
But these Dawgs play big-time defense, too, and that's what kept them undefeated on Saturday.
Knowshon Moreno's sliding 4-yard touchdown run in the third quarter put the No. 2 Bulldogs ahead and the defense kept turning the Gamecocks back for a 14-7 victory.
Georgia (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) forced two turnovers by South Carolina (1-2, 0-2) in the fourth quarter.
"That shows us we can play when it's on the line,"
defensive tackle Corvey Irvin said. "When adversity strikes, who's going to step up and be the leader, be the man. Our team stepped up today."
The first time came with about eight minutes left and South Carolina on Georgia 2. Tailback Mike Davis tried to leap the pile when linebacker Rennie Curran jarred the ball loose and into the arms of cornerback Asher Allen.
"I tell you, it looked real big,"
Allen said, smiling.
South Carolina got a final chance and drove to the Georgia 17. That's when Reshad Jones sealed things, intercepting Chris Smelley's pass with 13 seconds left at the 3.
"We just wanted to keep fighting, keep grinding until the clock said zero-zero,"
Jones said. "We did it the best we could do and we came out with the victory."
The Bulldogs held South Carolina to 18 yards on 16 rushes. They also made sure the Gamecocks didn't ruin a second straight shot at a championship season.
Georgia had all offseason to remember how last September's 16-12 loss to South Carolina (1-2, 0-2) likely kept them from playing for the SEC and national titles.
Instead, Georgia had to settle for the title of team no one wanted to face at the end of 2007.
"They kind of ruined our dreams last year, stopping us from the SEC championship and the national,"
Irvin said. "This year, we don't have to worry."
For much of this one, it looked like the Gamecocks might do it again as the Bulldogs trailed 7-6 midway through the third quarter.
Georgia had already muffed a scoring chance near the goal line, settling for Blair Walsh's 23-yard field goal after having a third-and-goal at the South Carolina 1.
Moreno, who finished with 79 yards on 20 carries, didn't squander the Bulldogs' next opportunity.
He ran left, then took a hard cut up the middle with his feet sliding out from under him. Moreno steadied himself with his right hand, then slipped through for his seventh touchdown of the year.
Moreno said he's worked on improving his balance this season. "I definitely came close to slipping,"
he said. "But since I've been working on those drills, it really showed in the game."
Stafford converted the 2-point try on a pass to Kris Durham and Georgia led 14-7.
Moreno had trouble finding the room he had in big wins over Georgia Southern and Central Michigan. With the Gamecocks focused on the sophomore back, Stafford had key runs of 17 and 30 yards, the second that finished on the South Carolina 4 and came right before Moreno's scoring run.
Stafford hobbled off the field after getting sacked on the Bulldogs' next-to-last drive. But he came back out the next series and didn't expect it to affect preparation for Arizona State next week.
"I'm a little beat up, but I'm good to go,"
he said.
Moreno's TD was the first Georgia's scored in the past eight quarters against the Gamecocks.
For South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier, it was his sixth straight SEC loss, by far the longest of his stellar career.
Spurrier was proud of the effort shown by the Gamecocks. "I told them it could have definitely been worse,"
he said.
Only the most ardent Gamecock fans coming in could've expected South Carolina to hang with the mighty 'Dawgs.
Georgia, armed with the memories of last year's game and the dynamic Moreno, figured to romp to victory. But right from the start, South Carolina showed the Bulldogs things would not be easy.
Georgia's first two series dissolved into punts. It had two scoring drives that took a combined 28 plays and ate up more than a quarter of the first half, but both ended with field goals.
South Carolina's lone touchdown came on Smelley's 34-yard pass to Moe Brown.
"My gut has churned more in this series, and on this field, than anywhere else at Georgia,"
Richt said.
Good thing Richt's defense was there to ease his worries.
