Trojans silence Notre Dame

LOS ANGELES — For one quarter, Notre Dame was better than No. 1 Southern California.

Then the Trojans got serious and the Fighting Irish had no chance.

Matt Leinart made a big pitch for the Heisman Trophy, passing for a career-high 400 yards and a school record-tying five touchdowns, and the Trojans overcame a sluggish start to beat Notre Dame 41-10 on Saturday night.

The Fighting Irish gained 165 yards and scored 10 points on their first two possessions. They were blanked and picked up only 135 yards after that.

“They came out and punched us in the mouth,” USC defensive lineman Shaun Cody said. “Give them credit. Everyone stepped up, made a little adjustment on defense. It was nothing big, we just played more physically against them.”

And Leinart began finding his receivers with regularity, throwing for 335 yards after the opening period.

“Matt played great tonight,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. “He had great vision, the protection was really there for him. He had an opportunity to freewheel. He made some real good decisions.

“This is just another statement from Matt. He’s been doing this for two years. This was no different. The opportunity was there for him tonight, and he seized it.”

The win was USC’s 20th straight and 21st in a row at the Los Angeles Coliseum — a new school record. The Trojans haven’t lost at home since being beaten by Stanford 21-16 on Sept. 29, 2001. That team was coached by current Notre Dame coach Tyrone Willingham.

“They found ways to make the big plays and we didn’t,” was Willingham’s appraisal of this game. “That’s what makes USC such an explosive team — the ability to generate big plays. They are No. 1 for a reason. The game was right there to be had — we just couldn’t grab it.”

The victory gave the Trojans (11-0, 7-0 Pac-10) their best start since 1972, when they won the national championship with a 12-0 record.

More importantly, USC’s 34th win in 37 games since the start of the 2002 season kept its current national title hopes alive.

Should the Trojans beat UCLA (6-4) next weekend in their regular-season finale, they will almost surely secure a spot in the Orange Bowl for the Bowl Championship Series title.

Carroll has a chance to become the first coach to guide the Trojans to victories over both the Irish and Bruins — USC’s biggest rivals — in three straight seasons.

Notre Dame (6-5) leads the series 42-29-5 and had a 15-3-1 record against the Trojans from 1983-2001. But USC has dominated the Irish the last three games, winning each by 31 points.

The Trojans beat the Irish in each of the past two years thanks mainly to terrific passing performances by Carson Palmer and Leinart, who threw for 425 and 351 yards, respectively.

Palmer’s big day was the capper in a Heisman Trophy-winning season. Leinart has one more opportunity to influence the voters in a tightly packed Heisman race.

“I realize the stage was set for national TV,” Leinart said. “But I just do the stuff I’ve been doing all year. Just be a leader, just make plays. I know a lot of people are saying stuff. I just go out and do my job.”

Leinart, a junior, completed 24 of 34 passes without being intercepted. He has thrown two or more touchdown passes in 22 of his 24 starts at USC and three or more 12 times. He threw for five TDs for the second time, tying the school record set by Rodney Peete and tied by Palmer.

Leinart has 66 touchdown passes in his career, including 28 this season with only five interceptions.

With a light rain falling, Notre Dame stunned the Trojans and a sellout crowd of 92,611 by moving 92 yards on 13 plays the first time they had the ball for a 7-0 lead. Brady Quinn capped the Irish’s longest drive of the season by throwing a 1-yard pass to Billy Palmer on fourth down.

USC’s Ryan Killeen kicked a 39-yard field goal late in the opening period, but the Irish responded by moving 73 yards to get into position for a 28-yard field goal by D.J. Fitzpatrick, making it 10-3.

Suddenly, the game turned. Notre Dame had trouble moving the ball, and USC couldn’t be stopped, scoring on six of its next seven possessions. The only time the Trojans didn’t score during that time was late in the first half, when they ran out the clock.

Leinart threw a 12-yard scoring pass to freshman Dwayne Jarrett, capping an 80-yard, seven-play drive, and the same combination clicked on a 57-yard play to finish a 73-yard, four-play march, putting USC ahead for good with 2:06 left before halftime.