|
LOS ANGELES -- John David Booty and Dwayne Jarrett
were determined to keep Southern California's home winning
streak alive. Booty threw two of his three touchdowns to Jarrett as the
fourth-ranked Trojans defeated No. 19 Nebraska, 28-10, to extend
their Pac-10 Conference-record home winning streak to 28 games. Making his second start since the departure of Heisman Trophy
winner Matt Leinart, Booty completed 25-of-36 passes for 256
yards and Jarrett had 11 catches for 135 yards for USC (2-0),
which has won 34 consecutive regular-season games. "I think you're always trying to get Dwayne in the game plan,"
Booty said. "It seems like if you throw it anywhere around him,
he's gonna to bring it down." In the teams' first meeting since a 21-21 tie here in 1970, the
Trojans took the lead for good, 7-3, on a 12-yard pass from
Booty to Jarrett on the final play of the first quarter. "We're not scoring quite as fast as the group last year," Booty
said. "The main thing is we're winning games." Late in the second quarter, Booty found Jarrett for a 21-yard
pickup on 3rd-and-20, and he tossed a three-yard TD to Steve
Smith on the next play for a 14-3 cushion. A minute into the second half, Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor
and Marlon Lucky botched a handoff and cornerback Cary Harris
recovered at the Nebraska 31, setting up a five-yard TD pass
from Booty to Jarrett. It was the junior's 31st career TD
reception, a USC record. "I knew I was close to the record, but that's not something I'm
really concerned about," Jarrett said. "I just try to go out
and make plays for my team, help them get the victory. That's
my first goal out there." USC limited Nebraska to just 68 yards on the ground and held a
399-211 advantage in total offense. "(It was a) good, solid win," USC coach Pete Carroll said.
"(There were) a lot of things we could have done better. All
stuff that is easily corrected." Unfortunately for the Trojans, fullback-tailback Ryan Powdrell
suffered a serious right leg injury in the first quarter and was
carted off the field. "Ryan Powdrell got hurt, a real sad injury," Carroll said. "A
big loss for us. Our hearts and love go out to him." Taylor, who went 8-of-16 for 115 yards, pulled the Cornhuskers
(2-1) within 21-10 on a one-yard run on 4th-and-goal with 12:44
to play, but Chauncey Washington countered with a seven-yard TD
run just over six minutes later to cap the scoring. "Even though we lost, we put out a great effort," Cornhuskers
coach Bill Callahan said. "(But) this was not a moral victory,
it was a loss."
|
