College Football Top 25 Roundup: Sooners lower boom on Mizzou 62-21

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - By the time Mossis Madu sprinted into the end zone in a half-empty stadium, Oklahoma was done making its point.

Here's what Sam Bradford and the high-scoring Sooners wanted to drive home: They belong in the BCS championship game.

The No. 4 Sooners did that with a 62-21 blowout of No. 19 Missouri for the Big 12 title Saturday night.

Taking advantage of an opportunity many felt it didn't deserve, the highest-scoring team in major college football history romped to a third straight conference crown and became the first to reach 60 points in five consecutive games in 89 years.

"We were tired about hearing everyone talking about how we didn't deserve to be in the game," said Bradford, who passed for 384 yards and two touchdowns. "It was a big motivator for us.

"I don't see how we could not be No. 1 tomorrow."

No need to worry, two is just as good. And if all goes accordingly Sunday, Oklahoma (12-1) will be in the top two of the Bowl Championship Series standings, looking at a title game matchup against No. 2 Florida on Jan. 8 in Miami.

Touted as the best two conferences in college football this season, it seems appropriate their champions will play for the national title.

For Oklahoma and coach Bob Stoops, it'll be their fourth appearance in a BCS national championship game. The Sooners won their first try in 2001 against Florida State, but have lost their last two - to LSU after the 2003 season and to Southern California after the 2004 campaign.

The Sooners' losing streak in BCS games overall is four, taking some of the luster off a coach who earned the nickname "Big Game Bob" early in his tenure.

No one would argue with Big 12 Bob, though. Stoops improved to 6-1 in the conference title game. No other Big 12 team has won more than two in the 13-year history of the league.

This one was over by halftime. By then Bradford had already put up Heisman-worthy numbers, with 240 yards and two TD passes, and the Sooners led 38-7. Along the way they zoomed past Hawaii's NCAA record 656 points set in 2006.

The Sooners kept trying to put up more points until the end. Soon after Bradford threw an long incompletion into the end zone, Madu dashed 37 yards for the final points with 3:33 left.

Chase Daniel and Missouri (9-4) never really had a chance and for the second season in a row, they lost the Big 12 title game to Oklahoma.

"This one hurts the worst," said Daniel, who threw two interceptions and lost a fumble while throwing for 255 yards and three TDs. "My senior year, we can't get it done, and too many turnovers on my part. You can't win a game against a team like that turning the football over."

Oklahoma became the first team to score at least 60 in five straight games since Tulsa in 1919, according to STATS LLC.

"Sam Bradford again is just sensational," Stoops said. "The defense really stepped up. We had a huge lead before they gave up anything in the second half."

Even Boomer and Sooner, the white ponies who pull the Boomer Schooner around after OU scores, cut out early. They took a short trot after Jimmy Stevens kicked a 30-yard field goal that made it 41-7 with 9:00 left in the third quarter and called it a night.

Bradford, injured non-throwing hand and all, didn't have it that easy. He was still playing in the fourth quarter and finished with a Big 12 championship game record for yards passing and completions (34).

"We were in a championship game and we were going to play to the end," Stoops said.

Expect the sophomore Bradford to be in New York next Saturday when the Heisman Trophy is handed out, along with fellow Big 12 quarterbacks Colt McCoy of Texas and Graham Harrell of Texas Tech.

Maybe, Texas can beat Oklahoma in that competition. Surely it won't make it any easier for the Longhorns to watch the Sooners, a team they beat in October 45-35, play for the national title.

Oklahoma and Texas finished in a three-way tie for the Big 12 South title with Texas Tech, but the Sooners' victory over Texas Tech, combined with Tech's win against Texas, made head-to-head moot. According to Big 12 rules, the poll voters and computer ratings used by the BCS were left to break the deadlock, and the Sooners got the nod.

"Everybody has their opinion, some are different than others," said Stoops, who has done his best to avoid getting drawn into campaigning for his team the way Texas coach Mack Brown has. "That's a pretty convincing win. If that doesn't make a statement ... then you'll find a reason why it wasn't good enough."

Texas fans have done all they could to remind anyone paying attention about their team's victory in Dallas, setting up Web sites, handing out signs and flying banners from planes - including one over Arrowhead Stadium before the Big 12 title game that read "Enjoy the BeatByTexas.com Bowl."

Yes, the Longhorns also beat Missouri in the regular season, 56-31.

But it wasn't enough to combat the Sooners' dominance. Since losing to Texas, Oklahoma has won seven straight games by a combined score of 419-205.

The numbers were staggering again Saturday night. The Sooners put up 627 yards, Chris Brown and Madu, the third-stringer playing because DeMarco Murray injured his knee on the opening kickoff, each ran for more than 100 yards and three scores. The defense, led by linebacker Travis Lewis, held Missouri 24 points below its average and forced three turnovers.

"Hopefully, the people who watched this game tonight, we made an impression on them," said Lewis, who had 13 tackles.

What's working for the Sooners these days?

"Everything," Stoops said.

No way to argue about that.

Bradford enhances Heisman chances in Big 12 game

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford is scheduled to have surgery on Sunday to repair torn ligaments in his left thumb.

He better heal quick - he might need that hand to lift the Heisman Trophy.

Bradford enhanced his chances of winning college football's most prestigious award Saturday night, throwing for a Big 12 Championship-record 384 yards and two touchdowns in a 62-21 rout over Missouri.

The sophomore already had the resume to be among the front-runners for the Heisman: gaudy numbers, Big 12 South title, season-defining moment. Now, he's got the Sooners headed to the national championship game, pulling off the kind of gritty performance that could sway undecided Heisman voters.

Wearing a brace on his injured thumb, Bradford whipped passes around Arrowhead Stadium on a frigid night, setting a Big 12 record with 34 completions, throwing to nine different receivers. He helped Oklahoma win its third straight Big 12 title - sixth overall - and has the Sooners in the national title game for the fourth time nine years.

Not bad for a guy facing surgery in less than 24 hours.

Of course, it's no surprise.

Bradford was superb all season, throwing for 4,464 yards, 48 touchdowns with just six interceptions. He had the kind of signature play Heisman voters will remember last week against Oklahoma State, whirling through the air like a copter-on-a-stick toy while trying to score a touchdown - after injuring his hand.

Bradford capped the season with Saturday's gem, hitting 34 of 49 passes, helping the Sooners become the first team in 89 years to score at least 60 points in five straight games.

With the Heisman ceremony less than a week away, Bradford has to like his chances.

-- John Marshall

Daniel, Missouri stumble in another big game

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Once again, Chase Daniel and Missouri fell woefully short in a big game.

The Tigers' quarterback was a Heisman Trophy finalist last year and has routinely picked apart lesser foes during an impressive three-year run. But he's also looked rather ordinary against higher-caliber opponents.

Daniel is 0-4 against Oklahoma with eight interceptions and only four touchdown passes after Saturday night's 62-21 blowout loss in the Big 12 championship game, including two turnovers that fueled the Sooners' 28-point second quarter. He finished 27-for-43 for 255 yards with three touchdowns, two interceptions and a lost fumble.

"This one hurts the most," Daniel said. "My senior year, we can't get it done, and too many turnovers on my part. You can't win a game against a team like that turning the football over."

The biggest disappointment for Daniel? "Just the lopsidedness of it."

Missouri has 21 victories the last two seasons but only the win over Kansas last season for the school's first North Division title really counts as a signature win. The 19th-ranked Tigers have lost two straight since coach Gary Pinkel got a new $2.3 million contract and are headed for a lesser bowl, likely the Alamo Bowl Dec. 29.

They've lost 19 of 20 to Oklahoma, one of many signals that Pinkel's rebuilding job is far from complete. They were a 17-point underdog largely because of a porous defense that couldn't prevent the Sooners from topping 61 points for the fifth straight game.

Pinkel said a lack of consistency is what is keeping Missouri from making the next step.

"You look at it historically, they're certainly different," Pinkel said. "It's my job to get there. We're just not there yet."

But he maintained that the season has been a success.

"We all evaluate the way we want to," Pinkel said. "Do I wish the regular season would have ended up that we were 11-1 instead of 9-3? Yeah, I wish we'd have done that.

"I'm not going to in any way say we didn't have a good year."

Players said they'd make the most of it, wherever they end the season. Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon pointed out that Missouri can finish with consecutive 10-win seasons for the first time in school history.

"Whatever bowl we get in, we've got to take advantage of the opportunity," Weatherspoon said. "We're disappointed, but you can't hang your head low."

Daniel has sputtered when Missouri needed him most.

His fourth-quarter interception sealed an upset loss to Oklahoma State that knocked Missouri out of the national title picture after a 5-0 start. He came up empty against Texas the following week.

Missouri followed that slump with four straight high-scoring victories, but another slow starts hurt them against the Sooners. The Tigers also squandered great field position after a taunting penalty on Oklahoma wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias after a touchdown reception put Oklahoma ahead 17-7 in the second quarter.

The Tigers had possession at the Oklahoma 47 after the kickoff from the 15, and Daniel lost a fumble on the next play. A poor punt gave Missouri the ball at the Oklahoma 41 in the first quarter and gained 2 yards before punting it right back.

"You get a short field against these guys, you'd better take advantage of it," Pinkel said. "We didn't."

Without a reliable defense to keep the Tigers in it while Oklahoma scored on all but one first-half possession, Daniel faced another futile game of catch-up. Seemingly vulnerable Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, scheduled for surgery on a broken left thumb on Sunday, was rarely hit and had plenty of time to locate targets.

It didn't help that safety William Moore, Missouri's best player, was hampered by a ribcage injury that ultimately forced him out.

Oklahoma rolled up 359 yards at the break against a defense that has been soft all season despite replacing only one starter from last year's team. The Sooners effortlessly exploited Missouri's pass defense, ranked 116th in the country.

Last week, he was 0-for-6 with an interception and a lost fumble in the first quarter and the Tigers fell behind 19-10 at halftime before losing 40-37 to Kansas, a game also played in Kansas City.

Texas was up 35-3 at the break of a 56-31 blowout that caught Missouri still smarting from an upset loss at home to Oklahoma State the previous week, then traded touchdowns the rest of the way.

-- R.B. Fallstrom

Florida likely headed to title game

ATLANTA - Tim Tebow took it upon himself to give Florida a shot at another national championship. If the Gators needed a big run, he tucked it under his arm and ran. If they needed to complete a pass, he threw it right where it needed to be.

With one of his best weapons on the sidelines, Tebow threw three touchdown passes to lead the No. 2 Gators to a 31-20 victory over No. 1 Alabama in the Southeastern Conference championship game Saturday.

Tebow's clinching TD came with less than 3 minutes to play and the win should be enough to give Florida (12-1) a spot in the BCS title game for the second time in three years. His performance will surely bolster his chances of becoming just the second player to win the Heisman Trophy two years in a row.

"We don't want to be denied in anything we do," said Tebow, who carried his team with Percy Harvin watching from the sidelines.

Showing it could win a close game in a season of routs, Florida (12-1) went into the fourth quarter trailing 20-17. But Jeff Demps, among those filling in for the injured Harvin, scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 2-yard run with 9:21 remaining. Tebow finished the scoring with a pass that couldn't have been thrown any better, hitting Riley Cooper for a 5-yard TD with 2:50 left.

"I've had some great players, and I've got some great players on this team," Florida coach Urban Meyer said. "But I've never had one like this. Tim's got something special inside him. I'm not talking about throwing. I'm not talking about running. I'm talking about making everyone around him better. That fourth quarter was vintage Tim Tebow."

Alabama (12-1) couldn't have picked a worse time to lose. The Crimson Tide will likely settle for a spot in the Sugar Bowl, ruining any chance of adding another national championship to its glorious history.

Instead, mark down a spot in the title game for Florida, which won it just two years ago with a rout of Ohio State. The Gators came into the game ranked fourth in the BCS standings, but the impressive win over unbeaten and top-ranked Alabama will surely be enough to move them into one of the top spots.

Their opponent? Oklahoma had the inside track heading into Saturday night's Big 12 championship game against Missouri. Texas was waiting in the wings if the Sooners were upset.

Whoever it is will have to stop Tebow, who was 14-of-22 passing 216 yards and led the team in rushing with 57 yards. He tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass to Carl Moore to finish off Florida's opening possession, went 5 yards to David Nelson to give the Gators a 17-10 halftime lead, and came through one more time to clinch the victory.

Alabama coach Nick Saban, who needed only two years to restore the Tide to Bear Bryant-like prominence, knew who was mainly responsible for his team's first loss.

Tebow.

"He's a great competitor. He takes his teammates on his shoulders a lot," Saban said. "They have a lot of confidence he's going to make plays, and they play that way. They scored two touchdowns where we had them covered about as well as we could cover them."

With Florida facing third-and-goal at the 5 after a rare sideline interference penalty, Tebow found Cooper breaking toward the middle in front of Marquis Johnson. The perfectly thrown pass - low enough to give no chance of an interception but high enough to catch - was cradled by a diving Cooper to make it a two-score game.

Joe Haden's interception ended any hope of a comeback. Tebow was named the game's MVP.

"One more year! One more year!" the Florida fans chanted afterward, hoping their junior quarterback will return for his senior season.

Alabama trailed at halftime for first time this year, but just the fact that it was close put the Gators in an unusual position.

Florida came in as the nation's third-highest scoring team (46.3 points a game) and its average margin of victory was a staggering 37 points. Then again, the Gators did lose their only close game, a shocking 31-30 defeat to Mississippi at the Swamp on the final weekend in September.

The Tide was feeling good about itself after Mark Ingram scored on a 2-yard run and Leigh Tiffin booted his second field goal, a 27-yarder that pushed Alabama ahead going to the final period.

But Florida caught a huge break when Demps was dragged down short of the marker on third down, but Dont'a Hightower got a handful of facemask. The 15-yard penalty gave the Gators first down at the Bama 27.

Tebow took it from there. A 13-yard pass to Nelson. Then a 6-yarder to Nelson again to convert another third down by a yard. And finally, a quick pitch to Demps, who streaked around the left side and hurdled over two fallen players at the goal line for a 24-20 lead.

"Going 12-0 is a hard thing to do," Saban said. "Every time they needed to make a play, Tim Tebow made the plays that made the difference in the game."

This was the 41st meeting between the top two teams in The Associated Press poll. No. 1 still holds a 23-16-2 edge.

The Gators had to play without Harvin, who didn't even suit up after spraining his right ankle the previous week in a win over Florida State. He walked on the field stiff-legged - clearly, it wasn't even a close call whether or not he would play - and watched the game from the sideline wearing his No. 1 jersey.

During the regular season, Harvin was the team's top receiver with 35 catches for 595 yards and seven touchdowns. He also was second on the team in rushing with 543 yards, scoring nine TDs on the ground.

But Florida still had Tebow. That was the difference.

Meyer, not surprisingly, gave his endorsement for another Heisman.

"I think he's the best college football player in America," the coach said.

The Alabama-Florida matchup was a mainstay of the SEC championship in its early years. The teams met in the first three title games and four of the first five, beginning with the historic 1992 game in which the Crimson Tide won on a late interception return by Antonio Langham.

Alabama went on to rout Miami in the Sugar Bowl, winning its sixth national title. They'll have to wait another year for a shot at No. 7.

The first 1-2 matchup in the 17-year history of the SEC championship drew a record crowd of 75,892 to the Georgia Dome. The fans were essentially split down the middle - crimson and white on one side, blue and orange on the other.

The Gators marched right down the field on their first possession, looking as unstoppable as they did in most games this season. Tebow handled most of the load, completing three passes for 26 yards and running four times for 19 more.

But Alabama wasn't going to go down as meekly as most of Florida's opponents. Glen Coffee ran for 112 yards and a touchdown. Julio Jones hauled in five passes for 124 yards. The Tide defense delivered numerous crushing blows, hoping to rattle the Gators.

Tebow wouldn't let them bite.

"We kind of ran out of gas a little bit in the fourth quarter," Saban said. "We didn't finish, and they did."

-- Paul Newberry

Va Tech beats BC, wins 2nd straight ACC title

TAMPA, Fla. - A pair of Virginia Tech fans in the South end zone seats held a sign above their heads, summing up the Hokies' jubilation and Boston College's disappointment.

"History Repeats Itself," the message began. "VT over BC when it counts."

Tyrod Taylor scored two first-half touchdowns and Darren Evans ran for 114 yards and one TD in less than half-full Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, helping Tech become the first two-time winner of the ACC championship game with a 30-12 victory.

It was the fourth meeting in the past 14 months between the one-time Big East rivals. BC (9-4) won during the regular season this year and last, but the Hokies (9-4) prevailed for the second straight time with league's BCS spot and a trip to the Orange Bowl on the line.

"That was real sweet," Evans said after becoming the sixth player in league history to rush for more than 1,000 yards as a freshman. "It would be good to get the regular-season games, but you can't be too greedy."

The Hokies are just that when it come to collecting ACC titles. They've won three in the five years they've been in the conference.

Boston College left the Big East for the ACC the season after Virginia Tech and is still looking for its first outright conference title in either league. The best the Eagles have done in a four-way tie for the Big East championship in 2004 - the year the Hokies won their first ACC crown.

"We fell a little bit short, but it takes nothing away from what these guys accomplished this year," Jeff Jagodzinski, BC's second-year coach, said. "They kept battling. It didn't go our way."

Easily playing its most complete game of the season, Tech was dominant on offense and defense in avenging a 28-23 regular-season loss to BC, which won that meeting despite five turnovers.

Special teams contributed, too, with Dustin Keys kicking a 50-yard field goal - longest in the title game's four-year history.

Evans set a record for individual rushing in an ACC title game, but also fumbled twice. His 10-yard TD burst, set up by Stephan Virgil's interception and 36-yard return, put the Hokies up 24-7 late in the third quarter.

"We came out with a lot of intensity, and we took advantage of our opportunities that they gave us," Evans said.

Michael Kelly, ACC associate commissioner for football operations, said 53,927 tickets were distributed for the game, played in Tampa for the first time after a three-year run in Jacksonville, Fla.

Dwindling attendance has been a concern ever since the inaugural title game between Virginia Tech and Florida State drew an announced 72,749 in 2005. The figures slipped to 62,850 for Georgia Tech and Wake Forest in 2006 and 53,212 for BC and Tech a year ago.

Although each school was allotted about 10,000 tickets for Saturday's rematch, the Eagles and Hokies reportedly combined to sell fewer than 5,000. And, with neither Florida State or Miami in the game, and Florida playing for the SEC championship on television later in the afternoon, there was little interest locally.

"It's just the way it is right now. ... Obviously, we're never going to be satisfied until we get this game sold out," Kelly said, adding that ticket sales was affected by the economy and the fact neither school clinched a spot in the game until last week.

The game will be played in Tampa again next year, then head to Charlotte in 2010.

BC overcame an early 10-point deficit to win the regular-season meeting. But that was with Chris Crane running the offense - not Dominique Davis, the redshirt freshman who made his second start since Crane broke his right collarbone two weeks ago.

Davis threw a 16-yard TD pass to Rich Gunnell in the second quarter, but was picked off twice and had a fourth-quarter fumble returned for a touchdown.

The 19-year-old who grew up in Lakeland, about 30 miles east of Tampa, set up the Eagles' only TD with a screen pass that Montel Harris turned into a 51-yard gain to the Tech 15. Two plays later, he found Gunnell open in the right corner of the end zone to trim BC's deficit to 14-7 at the half.

Taylor, picked as the game's most valuable player, completed 11 of 19 passes for 84 yards and rushed for 11 times for 30 yards - 80 fewer than he ran for in the regular-season meeting - and scored on runs of 5 and 4 yards.

Evans carried 31 times and hiked his season rushing total to 1,112 yards. He and Josh Ogelsby were held to 40 yards on 23 carries the last time by a BC defense that limited opponents to just 57 yards per game rushing over the last five weeks of the season.

Davis was 17 of 43 for 263 yards. He was sacked five times, lost the fumble that Tech's Orion Martin returned 17 yards for a TD with nine minutes left. Gunnell had seven catches for 114 yards, but his longest reception - a 37-yarder - ended with him fumbling into the end zone and Tech recovering.

"It wasn't the game I thought it was going to be. It was totally opposite," Davis said, adding that the final score will stick with him for a while.

"I'm not going to have this feeling again. If we make it back, we're going to win. I'm not going to let my team down like this again."

-- Fred Goodall

East Carolina beats Tulsa for C-USA title

TULSA, Okla. - Patrick Pinkney had one last chance to hold up the family tradition and bring a conference championship back to East Carolina.

So he one this one for Dad.

Pinkney played mistake-free football, Ben Hartman kicked a 36-yard field goal with 1:43 remaining and East Carolina took advantage of seven turnovers to beat Tulsa 27-24 Saturday in the Conference USA championship game for its first league title in 32 years.

"He always joked about it, being the last team to win the conference championship," said Pinkney, whose father, Reggie, was a star defensive back on the Pirates' 1976 Southern Conference title team.

"I told him at the beginning of the year, ‘We'll go get it this year."'

While the Pirates (9-4) used the league's best defense to force David Johnson, the nation's top-rated passer, into a career-high five interceptions, Pinkney was solid throughout.

The senior threw for only 122 yards and one touchdown, but protected the ball all game long and routinely threw it away when there was nothing there. That put East Carolina in position for a final 12-play, 63-yard drive that chewed up 7 minutes and set up Hartman for the game-winner.

"We finished the game," Pinkney said. "We got that drive, Ben hit that kick and that sealed it for us."

The conference crown earned the Pirates a berth in the Liberty Bowl, which was offered to them on the field during the trophy presentation. Tulsa (10-3) will try to get its top-ranked offense back on track in time for its bowl game, most likely a second straight appearance in the GMAC Bowl - although coach Todd Graham said that wasn't a done deal yet.

The normally efficient Johnson had thrown only 13 interceptions in 12 games this season, but was off-target from the start. He threw an interception on the first play of the game as the Golden Hurricane came out going for the long ball. It was a sign of things to come.

Pinkney responded by driving the Pirates 83 yards and throwing a 13-yard touchdown pass to fullback Kevin Gidrey off of play action.

The lead grew to 14-0 when Travis Simmons picked off another of Johnson's passes and returned 72 yards it down the left sideline for a score. It was the first time all season that Johnson threw interceptions on consecutive drives.

He also fumbled on Tulsa's opening drive of the second half, and Norman Whitley bolted 69 yards up the middle for a touchdown that put East Carolina up 24-17 - with all of its points coming off of Golden Hurricane turnovers.

Van Eskridge sealed the win with 63 seconds left when he picked off a pass intended for top receiver Brennan Marion, who had crumpled to the turf after apparently injuring his right knee. It was Eskridge's second interception of the game.

"They got a lot of pressure on the quarterback, and we didn't have a very good answer for the things that they were doing," Graham said. "They were putting stress on us, and we were turning the football over."

Tulsa, which leads the nation with a 579-yard average, was held to 399 yards. Johnson finished with 195 yards on 23-for-42 passing. It was only the third time this season he was held below 200 yards passing. His only touchdown pass was an 8-yarder to Jake Collums that tied the game at 24 with 8:57 left, before East Carolina's final march

"It's definitely not all on Dave. We just fell short as a team, as an offense," said running back Tarrion Adams, who had a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs in a burst of 17 straight first-half points for Tulsa.

The Pirates won for the sixth time in seven games after a three-game losing streak wiped away the early BCS banter that followed their back-to-back upsets of Top 25 teams Virginia Tech and West Virginia.

"I thought this football team has had more heart, they have faced more adversity and they have hung together through some very difficult times when there's not a lot of people that have believed in them," coach Skip Holtz said. "There's not a lot of people that gave them a chance in this football game."

At the end of the day, though, Pinkney was able to follow in the footsteps of his father - who set a school record in that 1976 season with 197 return yards off of his six interceptions.

Holtz, too, followed the winning ways of his pop, former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz.

"It's big for our program. That's a long time for a conference championship," Pinkney said, before Holtz interjected.

"Are you trying to say your dad is old?" the coach asked.

And once again, the quarterback had the perfect answer: "He's got gray hair."

-- Jeff Latzke

Sanchez, defense lead No. 5 USC past UCLA 28-7

PASADENA, Calif. - For a few precious minutes, UCLA had visions of a second straight shocking upset over Southern California at the Rose Bowl.

Then, reality set in.

Mark Sanchez passed for 269 yards and two touchdowns, USC's hard-hitting defense stuffed UCLA at every turn, and the fifth-ranked Trojans won 28-7 Saturday to give them nine victories in the last 10 games between the crosstown rivals.

The win assured USC (11-1, 8-1 Pac-10) of an unprecedented seventh consecutive BCS bid, seven straight 11-win seasons and seven conference championships in a row. They'll also made a fourth straight appearance in the Rose Bowl game, where they will meet No. 6 Penn State on New Year's Day.

UCLA stunned USC 13-9 as 13½-point underdogs two years ago at the Rose Bowl, bouncing the Trojans out of the BCS championship game. The 33-point underdog Bruins (4-8, 3-6) inspired hopes for a repeat performance by taking a 7-0 lead in the opening four minutes, but they were unable to pose a scoring threat after that, crossing midfield just once.

USC opened its overall lead in the series to 43-28-7.

The Trojans rolled up 33 first downs and 478 yards of total offense while the Bruins had just seven first downs and gained only 157 yards against the national leader in total defense and scoring defense.

USC beat UCLA seven straight times before the surprising setback two years ago, one of just 10 losses in 95 games for the Trojans since the beginning of the 2002 season. They rebounded with a 24-7 triumph over the Bruins last year at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Sanchez completed 18 of 33 passes with one interception, and Joe McKnight gained 99 yards on 15 carries for the Trojans.

UCLA's Kevin Craft completed 11 of 28 passes for 89 yards with one interception, and Kahlil Bell rushed for 36 yards on 14 carries.

For the first time in 26 years, both teams wore home jerseys in their annual matchup. That meant cardinal red for the visiting Trojans and powder blue for the host Bruins.

They both played their home games at the Coliseum until UCLA moved to the Rose Bowl in 1982, and the NCAA passed a rule the following year that would penalize teams one timeout if they didn't wear their proper home and road jerseys. So the Bruins wore white at the Coliseum in 1983, and the visitors had done the same ever since.

USC was penalized a timeout after the opening kickoff, and UCLA voluntarily took its first timeout immediately thereafter, as coach Rick Neuheisel promised. The timeouts prompted a large cheer from the Rose Bowl crowd of 87,790.

After UCLA went three-and-out, C.J. Gable fumbled on USC's first scrimmage play and Korey Bosworth recovered at the Trojans' 20. Two running plays lost a yard before Dominique Johnson threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Bell, giving the Bruins their early lead. Craft tossed a backward pass to Johnson before the sophomore wide receiver was successful on the first pass of his career.

USC quickly moved into UCLA territory on a 20-yard pass from Sanchez to Patrick Turner and a roughing the passer penalty, but David Buehler was wide right on a 41-yard field goal, the first of three misses for a kicker who went 8-of-9 in the first 11 games of the season.

The Trojans tied the game on their third possession, scoring on a 12-yard run by McKnight two plays after Sanchez threw an 8-yard pass to Anthony McCoy on fourth-and-4 from the UCLA 35.

That was just the beginning for USC.

Sanchez threw a 12-yard scoring pass to Damian Williams before the first quarter was over, capping a four-play drive in which Sanchez passed for all 60 yards on three completions against the country's second-best pass defense.

Gerald Washington then blocked Aaron Perez's punt, and the Trojans moved to the UCLA 34 before Michael Norris made a leaping interception at the Bruins' 11.

Helped by a roughing the kicker penalty against David Carter, the Trojans moved 70 yards on 16 plays for a 21-7 lead, scoring on a 2-yard run by Stafon Johnson with 1:55 left before halftime.

-- John Nadel

No. 23 Pittsburgh beats UConn 34-10 for bowl bid

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. - Pittsburgh's regular season, which began with a loss to Bowling Green, ended Saturday with the Panthers accepting a bid to the Sun Bowl.

Bill Stull threw for two touchdowns and LeSean McCoy ran for another to help Pitt (9-3, 5-2) beat Connecticut 34-10, giving the Panthers their first nine-win regular season since 1982.

"It shows the character of the players and the coaches, never giving up and coming every day to practice to work hard and get better," McCoy said.

Pittsburgh scored 24 points in the third quarter to blow open a close game. Officials from the Sun Bowl were in the locker room immediately after the game to offer the Panthers a bid.

"You know what's neat about it, winning and going in with a win," coach Dave Wannstedt said. "We deserve to be there. Our players deserve to be there. We aren't backing into anything."

The win assures Pitt (9-3, 5-2) of a share of second place in the Big East.

Connecticut finishes the regular season 7-5, and 3-4 in the conference. That should be good enough to send the Huskies to a bowl, possibly the PapaJohns.com Bowl or the Motor City Bowl, which had a representative at the game. A slot in that game would open up if Ohio State is chosen by a BCS bowl on Sunday, leaving the Big Ten short of teams to fill its lesser bowls.

UConn's Donald Brown ran for 189 yards on 34 carries, assuring he will end the regular season as the nation's leading rusher.

"It has been phenomenal what he did this year," UConn coach Randy Edsall said. "The leading rusher in the country, to be from UConn, and no one ever thought that would happen, so that says a lot for him. But, again, we need to have balance in our offense, which we didn't have."

UConn's quarterbacks threw five interceptions and for just 80 yards.

The game was tied 3-all at halftime and Brown's 57-yard run with 4:29 left in the third quarter brought the Huskies to within 13-10.

But Stull responded on the next play, finding Derek Kinder over the middle on a post pattern for a 61-yard touchdown. After an 18-yard UConn punt, Stull hooked up with tight end Nate Byham for a 28-yard score that made it 27-10 with just 8 seconds left in the third.

McCoy had just 29 yards rushing at the half, but burst up the middle for a 47-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter for a 10-3 lead. He finished with 95 yards on 24 carries.

Stull had just 24 yards passing at intermission, but finished with 141 yards, completing 10 of 18 passes with one interception.

UConn's Tyler Lorenzen, playing his final home game, completed just 6 of 27 passes had had two interceptions. He was replaced by sophomore Zach Frazer at the start of the fourth quarter. Frazer only had three passes caught, all by Pittsburgh players, including a pick linebacker Greg Williams returned for a fourth-quarter touchdown.

Three plays after McCoy broke the tie, Williams, who celebrated his 20th birthday, returned an interception 41 yards to the UConn 7 line, after UConn fullback Anthony Sherman fell down on the pattern. That led to the second 21-yard field goal of the day from Conor Lee.

"The defense made a lot of plays," said linebacker Scott McKillop, who had 13 tackles. "We played one of our best games of the season. That's one of the things that coach Wannstedt always stresses, try and play your best football at the end of the season."

Pittsburgh scored first after Mike Toerper came up the middle to block a UConn punt 7 minutes into the second quarter. The Panthers took over at the 7, but had to settle for a field goal.

The blocked kick was a school-record 10th of the season. It was also the sixth time the Huskies have had a punt blocked this season.

UConn took over 6 minutes off the clock on its next drive and Dave Teggart tied the score on a 45-yard field goal. The freshman had earlier missed for the first time in 12 career attempts. His 53-yard attempt in the first quarter fell short and was caught in the end zone by Pitt's Aaron Berry, who returned it 44 yards. Berry also had a fourth-quarter interception that he returned 52 yards.

Pitt lost yards on its first three possessions, and had just 36 yards at the half. Several slips by Stull and McCoy on the frozen field had the Panthers' skill players changing cleats midway through the first quarter.

McCoy has 21 rushing touchdowns this season, just one behind Tony Dorsett's Pitt record.

The Panthers were 5-7 a year ago, but are 10-3 since the school gave Wannstedt a contract extension.

"If our chancellor had responded the way some of these guys do, I'd be coaching in the NFL now, or playing golf in Naples, I don't know what I'd be doing," Wannstedt said.

Instead he's preparing to spend New Year's Eve in El Paso.

-- Pat Eaton-Robb