USC's grip on No. 1 too strong
Despite loss, 'Dogs hold No. 16 spot after
hard-fought battle against USC
Joseph Vasquez / The Collegian
Above: Wendell Mathis was the go-to carrier for the Bulldogs, amassing 109 rushing yards, including an 18 yard touchdown run to put Fresno State up 42-41 in the fourth quarter. Below: In the first quarter, Adam Jennings tries to escape the grips of USC Trojan John Walker on one of his three kickoff returns. Jennings ran for 68 yards on those returns.
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By Chhun Sun
The Collegian
So close and so difficult to get over.
So much so that some of the 25,000 Fresno State fans — out of 90,007 total attendees — who made it to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum stayed to applaud their Bulldogs as they walked off of the field and made their way toward the visiting locker room.
It was a tough fight.
Just ask Bulldogs head coach Pat Hill, who compared the contest between Fresno State and USC to a boxing match.
“That was a 15-round bout,” Hill said. “That wasn’t a TKO in the first. That was a heck of a fight.”
And a fight this good won’t soon be forgotten.
But the No. 16 Bulldogs came short of a victory, losing 50-42 to the top-ranked USC in nonconference action. The win extends the Trojans’ winning streak to 33 and their home-field winning streak to 26.
It also snapped the Bulldogs’ seven-game winning streak. But the game was so close that the Bulldogs remained No. 16 in both the Associated Press and USA Today coaches polls.
The game was the second meeting between the two teams. The first time they met was in the 1992 Freedom Bowl, where the Bulldogs pulled a 24-7 upset over the Trojans.
Saturday night’s matchup was more dramatic.
With one minute, 37 seconds remaining and down by eight, the Bulldogs (8-2) depended on Paul Pinegar to take the Trojans (11-0) into overtime. But his pass from the Bulldogs’ own 25-yard line landed into the hands of Trojan cornerback Darnell Bing, his second interception of the game.
“We had a chance to win the game but when it comes down to it, you gotta make plays and they made more plays than us,” said Pinegar, who threw for 317 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions.
When the Trojans needed a boost, they looked to Reggie Bush. Good call. The Heisman Trophy candidate ran for a Pacific-10 record of 513 all-purpose yards, highlighted by his 294 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.
“No. 5 [Bush] is a great, great player,” Hill said. “We can contain him once in awhile but that’s not enough.”
Hill couldn’t be more right, considering Bush had 118 yards and no touchdowns in the first two quarters.
Then it all changed.
Early in the second half, Matt Leinart ran in a 1-yard touchdown that was followed with an interception from Pinegar. Then Bush answered the turnover by dancing his way through the Bulldogs defense and from sideline to sideline for 45 yards to the end zone.
“It just turned out that our O-line and receivers made some great blocks,” Bush said. “The receivers kept the corners off me and the line opened up some huge holes. I was just feeling it today.”
One Bulldog defender won’t deny that from Bush.
“The guy is a super athlete,” defensive lineman Garrett McIntyre said. “We knew that coming in and we could have stopped him if we played better. I’ve never seen a running back like him.”
But even superhuman athletes like Bush can commit mortal mistakes.
Marcus McCauley forced Bush to fumble on a kick return that was recovered by Jason Huss. On the ensuing drive, Wendell Mathis rushed for 18 yards to put the score 42-41, the first Bulldog lead in the second half.
Then again, the defense was able to contain 2004 Heisman Trophy Award winner Leinart, who completed 22 of 33 passes for 200 yards and one touchdown, for most of the game.
And the Bulldogs weren’t intimidated.
On a fourth-and-1 in the second quarter, they succeeded on a fake punt that later produced a Fresno State touchdown, putting the lead 14-7.
“At the end of the game, some of the players and coaches said they respect us and we played hard, but somehow they got away from us,” cornerback Richard Marshall said.
One of the coaches who gave the Bulldogs credit for a tough fight was Trojan head coach Pete Carroll.
“Fresno State did a nice job. Their offensive staff did a great job, Carroll said. “But their running game shouldn’t happen. It was uncharacteristic of us.”
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