Passing through rarified air

A week after making its passing game seem obsolete by rushing for 313 yards against Nebraska, USC proved it can move the ball through the air just as efficiently against Washington State.

Quarterback John David Booty threw for 279 yards and four touchdowns, tight end Fred Davis caught a career high nine balls for 124 yards and two touchdowns and the Trojans (3-0) rolled to a 47-14 victory over the Cougars (2-2) in front of 86,876 fans at the Coliseum Saturday night.

Behind a flurry of short, quick passes emblematic of a West Coast offense, Booty finished the night with an 80 percent completion percentage, spreading the ball around to eight different USC receivers.

"They were calling the passes [tonight]," Booty said. "First two [games] we were running, running. We'd have some third downs here and there, but tonight on first and second downs we were gunning it - letting everybody get involved; letting it all hang loose."

The Trojans struck first with a 13 play, 83-yard opening drive ending on a 6-yard Booty-to-Davis touchdown on fourth down. The Cougars countered with a touchdown of their own after quarterback Alex Brink connected with tight end Jed Collins on a 3-yard pass to cap a 15 play, 84-yard drive.

USC then scored 27 straight points to take control of the game, holding the Cougars to -8 yards during that span.

"We just got a feel for what was going on - played a little faster," linebacker Keith Rivers said. "What they were doing was nothing we hadn't seen in practice."

Brink, starting his 32nd straight game for the Cougars, faced constant pressure from USC's defensive line. He was sacked twice by defensive end Lawrence Jackson, hurried on several occasions, fumbled once and was whistled for intentional grounding in the second quarter.

On the series after throwing an interception to defensive end Kyle Moore, Brink found himself scrambling backward to avoid a charging Jackson. Brink then threw the ball into the ground only a few feet in front of him - an action that drew the intentional grounding penalty and was indicative of the senior's frustrating night.

"Their defensive line allows them to do a lot of things," Brink said of the Trojans. "They can drop their linebackers in coverage, because their line gets so much pressure."

Even when Brink did complete passes, USC's secondary and linebackers were there to lay big hits on the receivers.

Rivers' hit on Cougars running back Dwight Tardy during the team's first drive resulted in Tardy's ear pads jarring loose and flying out of his helmet.

Cornerback Terrell Thomas said physical play was a focus heading into the game.

"[It was] the Pac-10 opener. We wanted to come in and hit people," Thomas said.

For the offense, the run-pass ratio was almost even at 35 to 38, but Booty's four touchdowns - tying his career high set in the 2007 Rose Bowl - were the highlight.

"[Booty] was whistling it tonight," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "The touchdown to Vidal [Hazelton] was a great throw; beautiful touch on the pass to Freddy in the back of the end zone.

"[It was] a really good variety of throws that he hit tonight."

Carroll credited offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian with devising a game plan to expose the Cougars' tendencies.

The Trojans' first drive included three quick hitches to the wide receivers, similar to the passes former quarterback Matt Leinart used to make to Mike Williams and Dwayne Jarrett. The same pass play was run almost 10 times during the game.

Flanker Patrick Turner said the myriad short passes were an effect of the space WSU's defensive backs were giving USC's receivers.

"We adjusted to what they were playing," Turner said. "They were really off [the line of scrimmage], and the underneath stuff was open."

The Trojans' large lead - 40-14 going into the fourth quarter - allowed Carroll to give more time to younger players and to backup quarterback Mark Sanchez.

The most notable performance late in the game was tailback Joe McKnight's. At the start of the fourth quarter, McKnight took three straight carries 14, 16 and five yards, respectively.

The freshman also broke several tackles on a long punt return later in the fourth. Most of the yardage was called back, however, because of a USC penalty for an illegal block in the back.

"We got him a chance to stay on the field and just let him play," Carroll said. "He's been playing football his whole life, and he's never come off the field, and here we are giving him spot [opportunities].

"Joe's just getting started. He's an exciting, exhilarating player."

One small blemish on the evening for USC was losing the turnover battle. Booty and Sanchez each threw one interception versus Brink's lone turnover - there were no lost fumbles.

Carroll expressed concern over the team's ongoing inability to create turnovers when the opportunities present themselves and said, "We're working all over trying to get it done, but it's not happening."

Overall, Carroll and the coaching staff were extremely pleased with the team's effort, saying it was the best performance USC has had against WSU since Carroll took over as head coach before the 2001 season.

USC never had to punt the ball to the Cougars, while forcing WSU to kick it away six times.

"We ran for 200 and threw for 300 tonight," Carroll said. "That's just about what you hope to do."