Starling return sparks USC past Notre Dame
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 14 years, 1 month AGO
<p>Southern California's Marqise Lee (9) dives for a pass Saturday at South Bend, Ind. The Trojans defeated Notre Dame 31-17.</p>
PAC-12
Jawanza Starling returned a fumbled snap 80 yards for a third-quarter touchdown and Matt Barkley passed for three scores Saturday night as Southern California beat Notre Dame 31-17 at South Bend, Ind., to end the Irish's four-game winning streak.
The Trojans (6-1) jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first half and then fought off a comeback by the Irish (4-3) in the first night game at Notre Dame Stadium in 21 years.
USC, which has now won nine of the last 10 meetings in the long rivalry, had a 443-267 advantage in total yards.
Starling picked up the loose ball after Notre Dame backup quarterback Dayne Crist - who entered the game when starter Tommy Rees was momentarily shaken up - couldn't get the handle on a snap at the USC 1 with Notre Dame behind by a touchdown.
No. 7 Stanford 65, No. 22 Washington 21: At Stanford, Calif., Stepfan Taylor, Tyler Gaffney and Anthony Wilkerson powered Stanford to a school-record 446 yards rushing to blow past Washington.
The running backs gave Heisman Trophy hopeful Andrew Luck some rest as the Cardinal (7-0, 5-0) extended the nation's longest winning streak to 15 games. Taylor ran for 138 yards, Gaffney 117 yards and Wilkerson 93 yards to break the previous team mark of 439 in a victory over Oregon State in 1981.
Facing the first ranked opponent of the season, Stanford pounded the Huskies (5-2, 4-1) in a critical Pac-12 North matchup.
No. 9 Oregon 45, Colorado 2: At Boulder, Colo., playing without Darron Thomas and LaMichael James, Oregon bulldozed injury-riddled Colorado (1-6, 0-4).
The Ducks lost none of their quick-strike scoring ability without their injured quarterback and running back. Thomas was out with a knee injury and James missed his second straight game while recovering from a dislocated elbow.
With Bryan Bennett under center and Kenjon Barner at tailback, the Ducks (6-1, 4-0 Pac-10) used four drives that averaged just 1:36 each to build a 29-0 lead after one quarter.
California 34, Utah 10: At San Francisco, Zach Maynard threw for one touchdown and ran for another and California's defense completely shut down Utah's offense to help the Golden Bears beat the Utes (3-4, 0-4 Pac-12).
Isi Sofele ran for 84 yards and a score, Keenan Allen caught a TD pass and Josh Hill returned an interception 32 yards for a score as the Bears (4-3, 1-3) controlled the entire game.
Nevada 45, Fresno State 38: At Reno, Nev., Cody Fajardo passed for 313 yards and a touchdown and ran for 61 yards and another score as Nevada (4-3, 2-0) held off Fresno State (3-5, 2-1 Western Athletic Conference).
Louisiana Tech 24, Utah State 17: At Logan, Utah, backup quarterback Colby Cameron led Louisiana Tech to 10 fourth-quarter points as the Bulldogs (3-4, 2-1) pushed past Utah State (2-5, 0-2 WAC).
Hunter Lee scored on an 8-yard run on fourth down with 10:19 remaining to give Louisiana Tech a 21-17 lead.