Trojans tear into Cal Bears, 17-9
Cincinnati toppled No. 7 Rutgers and No. 10 Louisville stuck it to South Florida.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES -- Southern California is headed back to Pasadena at the very least. The No. 4-ranked Trojans kept a loftier goal alive as well with a 17-9 victory over No. 17 California Saturday night.
John David Booty passed for 238 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns, the USC defense shut down California in the second half to clinch the Pac-10 championship and a berth in the Rose Bowl.
USC became the first team to win five straight Pac-10 football titles, and took another step toward a possible berth in the national championship game against No. 1 Ohio State, a 42-39 winner over No. 2 Michigan on Saturday.
The Trojans (9-1, 7-1 Pac-10) need to beat No. 6 Notre Dame and crosstown rival UCLA to have a shot at playing in their third straight national title game, although Michigan's performance against Ohio State might have been enough to get the Wolverines in.
Those teams have completed their seasons.
No. 17 Cal (8-3, 6-2) was shooting for its first Rose Bowl berth in 48 years.
Cincinnati 30, No. 7 Rutgers 11
CINCINNATI -- Reserve quarterback Nick Davila made his first career start and led Cincinnati to its biggest upset in school history, ending the Scarlet Knights' perfect season and national title aspirations.
Davila scored on a 1-yard run and threw an 83-yard touchdown pass as the Bearcats (6-5, 3-3 Big East) had their way against one of college football's best defenses and one of its most improbable success stories.
The Scarlet Knights (9-1, 4-1) came into the day as one of only four unbeaten teams left in Division 1-A. Playing as a Top 10 team for the first time in their 137-year history, the Scarlet Knights looked like they had stage fright.
Now, only No. 1 Ohio State and No. 13 Boise State have perfect marks.
No. 9 LSU 23, Mississippi 20, OT
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Colt David kicked a 26-yard field goal in overtime to lift LSU.
JaMarcus Russell and Dwayne Bowe hooked up on a fourth down touchdown pass in the final seconds of regulation to send the game into overtime.
LSU (9-2, 5-2) could have won in regulation after Bowe's touchdown, but Mississippi blocked the extra point.
Mississippi (3-8, 1-6 SEC) opened overtime on offense, but LSU's Daniel Francis forced Ole Miss quarterback Brent Schaeffer to fumble and Tyson Jackson recovered for the Tigers.
No. 10 Louisville 31,South Florida 8
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Brian Brohm threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns to wide receiver Harry Douglas as Louisville rebounded from a loss to Rutgers.
Louisville (9-1, 4-1 Big East) avenged a 31-point loss to the Bulls (7-4, 3-3) last year behind a stout defense that limited South Florida to 286 yards and sacked quarterback Matt Grothe six times.
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