Associated Press
PASADENA, Calif ó 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 131/2-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.
USC was penalized a timeout after the opening kickoff, and UCLA voluntarily took its first timeout immediately thereafter.