Words fly after USC runs it up

LOS ANGELES (AP) — So what’s a bigger breach of football etiquette: Calling a timeout when your opponent is running out the clock with a 14-point lead, or responding to that timeout by throwing a long touchdown pass?

In the Coliseum and on the Internet, the debate rolled across Los Angeles on Sunday morning after the action-packed final minute of USC’s 28-7 victory over UCLA.

Bragging rights, bowl prospects, two bad offensive performances and the USC defense’s rebirth were pretty much all forgotten while everybody parsed the sportsmanship of coaches Pete Carroll and Rick Neuheisel in the waning moments of the Trojans’ third straight win in the crosstown showdown.

“They can’t disrespect us like that,” said USC quarterback Matt Barkley, who threw the 48-yard TD pass with 44 seconds left.

“I don’t forget much,” Neuheisel said.

The shenanigans even stoked a potential brawl, with both teams edging toward midfield to exchange taunts before calming down. Carroll and Neuheisel both publicly claimed they had no problem with each other’s actions — even if almost everybody else picked sides after the coaches exchanged a brief, loveless handshake.

“It is just the heart of a competitor, just battling,” Carroll said. “When the moment was there, it wasn’t thinking about what [others] might be thinking. You are either competing, or you’re not.”

The sequence began when USC stopped the Bruins near midfield on downs with 54 seconds left, preserving a 21-7 lead. Barkley then kneeled on the ball — but Neuheisel called the first of his three timeouts, drawing lusty boos from the USC crowd.

“I was trying to make them punt, and maybe if they run, we cause a fumble,” Neuheisel said. “They have their take on it, but I was trying to get the ball back. People can make their own conclusions. ... I don’t blame them for doing it.”

USC play-caller Jeremy Bates suggested a long pass, and Carroll eagerly agreed. Damian Williams got loose down the middle, and Barkley hit him for a score.

“Jeremy had the thought,” Carroll said. “I said, ’That’s a heck of a call, man.”’