Mighty Like a Rose

MIAMI -- The Orange Bowl halftime show once again lived up to its billing as the most spectacular of the college postseason, wowing a prime-time television audience and fans at Pro Player Stadium with fireworks and fancy moves.

But the real entertainment Thursday night began after the smoke and dancers cleared the field.

Fifth-ranked USC finished its near-storybook season by dominating third-ranked Iowa in the final 30 minutes for a resounding 38-17 victory.

“This was a fantastic season,” USC Coach Pete Carroll said. “No one can describe how much fun this has been.”

Iowa fans, who turned most of the 75,971 seats into a sea of yellow and black, were not celebrating as they streamed toward the exits after USC broke a 10-10 halftime tie by scoring touchdowns on its first three second-half possessions.

It was a typical performance for a Trojan team that won eight consecutive games en route to finishing 11-2.

“I want another week of football!” junior cornerback Marcell Allmond exclaimed during a celebration that moved from the field to the locker room. “You can’t tell me there is another team in the country playing better than we are.”

Miami and Ohio State will settle college football’s national championship tonight in Arizona, but the Trojans enjoyed a postgame fiesta of their own after manhandling an Iowa team that shared the Big Ten Conference championship and had won nine in a row.

“We showed the world where USC is at now and where it is going,” senior linebacker Mike Pollard said.

The gamewas supposed to be a showcase for USC quarterback Carson Palmer, the Heisman Trophy winner, and Iowa quarterback Brad Banks, the runner-up.

Palmer, named the most valuable player, kept up his end by completing 21 of 31 passes for 303 yards and a touchdown and scrambling for key nine- and 12-yard gains when the Trojans were pinned deep in their territory early in the third quarter.

Receiver Mike Williams, who went to high school in Tampa, completed a record-setting freshman season by catching six passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. Junior flanker Keary Colbert caught six passes for 81 yards and senior receiver Kareem Kelly had three receptions for 74 yards, including a 65-yard catch that set up USC’s first touchdown after C.J. Jones returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.

“I can’t imagine going out in any bigger way than this,” Palmer said after the Trojans piled up 550 yards of offense and controlled the ball for 38:06. “This has been the biggest game of my career.”

Banks, however, struggled against a Trojan defense that was without Troy Polamalu because of an adverse reaction to a shot for a hamstring injury. Banks, the nation’s leader in passing efficiency, completed 15 of 36 passes for 204 yards. He threw a fourth-quarter touchdown pass after the result was settled and had a pass intercepted by Jason Leach, Polamalu’s replacement.

Meanwhile, USC ran right through Iowa. The Hawkeyes were ranked second in the nation in rushing defense at 68.2 yards a game. USC tailback Justin Fargas carried 20 times for 122 yards and two touchdowns, including a career-long 50-yard sprint in the third quarter that put the Trojans ahead, 24-10. Senior Sultan McCullough added 76 yards in 12 carries as the Trojans rushed for a season-high 247 yards.

“They were really sucking air in the second half,” USC tackle Winston Justice said. “They were still fighting in the fourth quarter, but you can tell when the pop isn’t there anymore.”

The Trojan defense shut down Iowa running back Fred Russell, who came in averaging 121.9 yards a game. USC held him to 45 yards in nine carries and finished the season without allowing an opposing back to eclipse the 100-yard mark.

“What a way to finish,” senior defensive tackle Bernard Riley said. “You can’t do much better than that.”

Riley, who stepped in as a regular after Shaun Cody was injured against California on Oct. 12, provided the turning point when he blocked a 28-yard field-goal attempt by Nate Kaeding on the final play of the first half, preserving a 10-10 tie.

“I noticed a weakness in their line on the first field goal they made -- one of their guards was loose,” Riley said. “I just got in there and put my hand up.”

USC drove 80 yards for a touchdown on the first possession of the second half. Palmer was five of five during a drive that featured 21-yard completions to Williams and Colbert and a leaping 18-yard touchdown reception by Williams that gave the Trojans a 17-10 lead.

A little more than three minutes later, Iowa punter David Bradley pinned USC at its one-yard line.

No matter. USC drove 99 yards in seven plays with the touchdown coming on Fargas’ run off right tackle with a key block from Kelly.

“I saw guys in the secondary, and all of sudden one of them was wiped out,” Fargas said. “I just kept my eyes on the end zone and turned on the speed.”

McCullough added a four-yard touchdown run with 14:25 left in the fourth quarter and senior fullback Sunny Byrd scored with 2:36 left to complete a run of 31 unanswered points.

“We didn’t do a lot of different things,” offensive coordinator Norm Chow said. “We just settled down because everyone was so fired up. We wanted to get in synch.”

Williams said USC has found its rhythm and is looking forward to next season.

“I’m living it up, on top of the world,” Williams said. “The only thing that can feel better than this is if we’re playing for the national championship next year.”

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The Better Half

USC was tied with Iowa, 10-10, after the first half of the Orange Bowl, but played the second half in a fashion that was typical of its 11-2 season. The Trojans were tied or trailed in six games at halftime, but were outscored in only one second half -- and were often dominant in their other games. A look:

*--* Opponent 1ST HALF USC-Opp 2ND HALF USC-Opp FINAL Auburn 14-14 10-3 W 24-17 At Colorado 20-0 20-3 W 40-3 At Kan. St 6-12 14-15 L 27-20 Oregon St 13-0 9-0 W 22-0 At Wash. St 7-10 20-17* L 30-27 OT California 17-21 13-7 W 30-28 Washington 17-7 24-14 W 41-21 At Oregon 14-19 30-14 W 44-33 At Stanford 21-10 28-7 W 49-17 Arizona St 20-10 14-3 W 34-13 At UCLA 28-7 24-14 W 52-21 Notre Dame 17-13 27-0 W 44-13 Iowa 10-10 28-7 W 38-17 TOTALS 204-133 261-104 465-240 Per Game 15.7-10.2 20.1-8.0 35.8-18.4 * not including overtime period

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