The whole nine yards. Twenty-seven feet. That's how little the distance was that the 7th-ranked California Golden Bears needed to score, and upset the No. 1 USC Trojans for the second consecutive year. First-and-goal with 1:47 left, and USC ahead by a precarious six points, 23-17. Shawn Cody, Manuel Wright, Lawrence Jackson and Mike Patterson stood at the line of scrimmage with hands on hips trying to catch their breath from being pushed around and outplayed for nearly four quarters by Cal's offense, the top scoring unit in the country.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers had just tied and NCAA record by completing his 23rd straight pass, and as he called the play, 90,000 fans screamed into his ears. The old Coliseum rumbled and shook under a crystal-blue sky like something out of the San Andreas Fault. Rodgers threw a pass to receiver Noah Smith that fell incomplete. On second and goal, Wright sacked Rodgers for a five-yard loss.

On the next play, Rodgers tried another pass into the end zone, but it was incomplete again. Suddenly, the Golden Bears looked like they had been hit by a 7.0 temblor. It was a goal-line stand for the new millennium, and Wright and linebacker Matt Grootegoed capped it by sacking Rodgers for a sixth time. The exhausted Trojans danced off the field and into Carroll's arms. The defense had preserved its streak of not allowing a fourth-quarter touchdown.

"We were running on empty," said Cody after the game. "We played a lot of defense in the second half. But we knew they wouldn't score. Maybe it's just that Coliseum magic. The Golden Bears outgained the Trojans, 424 yards to 205. USC called just 50 plays for the game, a season low. "I feel we have a great team and that nine out of 10 times we'd beat USC," Cal safety Ryan Guitierrez told the Los Angeles Times. Rodgers added, "We drove up and down the field all game and our defense was awesome. We just came up short."

USC got a flawless performance out of its beleagured kicking game. Ryan Kileen, who had made just 2 out of six field goal tries before Saturday, kicked three through the uprights. Quarterback Matt Leinart was uncharacteristically sporhadic, especially after he was knocked almost unconscious by the Cal pass rush. Leinart said he had trouble breathing and the effect of the blow showed when he threw a lob pass that was intercepted in the end zone, a pass that was intended for freshman wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett, who converged on the ball along with two Cal defenders but came up empty-handed. On the ABC telecast in Los Angeles, analyst Dan Fouts said Leinart "had become infatuated" with the lob into the end zone. Maybe he forgot that Mike Williams doesn't play at USC anymore. The play came after Reggie Bush, whom some say is the best player in the country, returned a kickoff 84 yards to the Bears 16 yard line.

USC still has seven games left in the regular season, seven victories to the Orange Bowl for the BCS championship. The Trojans quest continues this Saturday against another sharp passing team, the Arizona State Sun Devils, who are unbeaten at 5-0. Cal plays at home against the ever-improving UCLA Bruins, who are unbeaten in Pacific 10 play.

Quarterback Drew Olson threw four touchdowns, three to Marcedes Lewis last Saturday against Arizona, to lead UCLA to a 37-17 victory at the Rose Bowl. With everyone focused on USC's march toward Miami, the Pac-10 title race and its prize of a berth in the Rose Bowl is being hotly contested, with UCLA, Arizona State and California the top contenders. The Bruins can greatly improve their chances of playing in Pasadena on New Year's Day by defeating Cal this Saturday. The Bears would then have two conference losses and if UCLA could navigate the rest of the season unbeaten, even a loss to USC on Dec. 4 wouldn't hurt the Bruins' Rose Bowl bid.

UCLA will have to play Cal without Craig Bragg, its best receiver. Bragg has a separated shoulder and is not expected to suit up. On the Golden Bear's side, senior receiver Chase Lyman will miss the rest of the season after he underwent surgery this week to repair a torn ligament in his left knee that he injured in the USC game. The Watcher likes UCLA in an upset.

POWER SWEEPS: Steve Smith, USC's go-to receiver, broke his leg during the Cal game will miss most of the remainder of the season. He may return when the Trojans play UCLA. Smith's departure leaves USC's receiver corps a bit thin, so offensive coordinator Norm Chow plans to use Reggie Bush more at split end....Fresno State took itself out of consideration for a BCS at-large bid by losing its second straight-game to Texas El Paso. ... Casey Paus is expected to start at quarterback this weekend when Washington resumes Pac-10 play at home against Oregon State.