 "Photo: Eric Wolfe | Daily Trojan")
After sacking USC quarterback Mark Sanchez at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Arizona defensive end Louis Holmes performed Shawne Merriman's "Lights Out" dance.
Down three points, the Trojans responded to the celebration by flipping the switch.
No. 13 USC (5-1, 3-1 Pacific-10 Conference) scored as many points in the fourth quarter as it did the rest of the game to rally to a 20-13 victory over Arizona on Saturday in front of 84,671 people in the Coliseum.
"Guys were so frustrated at halftime, and I'm trying to tell them that the sky isn't falling," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "Our expectations are much higher."
Joe McKnight returned a punt 45 yards to give USC its best starting field position of the day with 11 minutes to go in the game.
Sanchez connected with Fred Davis on a 25-yard touchdown strike, the first of Sanchez's career, to give USC the lead over Arizona (2-5, 1-3).
The Trojans sealed the game by driving for a field goal after being pinned at their own 1-yard line with a little more than seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
A few plays after Joe McKnight ripped off a 59-yard run, kicker David Buehler converted a 23-yard attempt.
"I thought we could take the game into the fourth quarter and make some plays, but we never did," Arizona coach Mike Stoops said. "They made the plays in the fourth quarter to ice the game."
The Trojans' offense sputtered through the first three quarters, only gaining 160 total yards. Sanchez threw a pair of interceptions before the half, but the Wildcats only scored three points off the turnovers.
Arizona safety Korey Hall nabbed a Sanchez pass late in the second quarter but fumbled the ball back to the Trojans on the play.
"I didn't even see that guy off the edge right there," Sanchez said. "I thought he had blitzed, and then he flashed right in front of me and got me."
Arizona cornerback Antoine Cason intercepted Sanchez minutes before the quarterback's second turnover.
Despite the turnovers and tie score, Sanchez entered the second half on an even keel.
"I tried to keep everything under control," Sanchez said. "After the picks, I didn't want to get too down, and after the touchdown, I didn't want to get too high."
The Trojans were pinned deep in their own territory on multiple drives, putting the offense's back against the wall.
"Field position didn't help in this game today," Sanchez said. "We had a long way to go and had to get a lot of plays there."
McKnight and Chauncey Washington helped Sanchez pick up the slack throughout the game. McKnight ran for a team-high 75 yards on 13 carries, while Washington tallied 54 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.
Sanchez finished with 130 yards on 19 of 31 passing.
Sanchez also ran for 19 yards and scrambled for a key first down on the Trojans' last drive to drain the clock. Sanchez evaded and bounced off tacklers as he extended the ball for a new set of downs.
"I looked to my left, and there's another guy hitting me," Sanchez said of the run. "I was like, 'All right, we need another three yards,' so I just lunged."
Given the litany of offensive injuries, Carroll was pleased with Sanchez's performance.
"He was scrambling for his life and missing reads, but he found a way to get it done," Carroll said.
Arizona linebacker Spencer Larsen pestered USC throughout the day, finishing with a game-high 17 tackles for the Wildcats.
The Trojans' staunch defense kept the team in the game when the offense stalled. USC held a Wildcat offense that had previously averaged nearly 400 yards per game to 255 total yards.
Quarterback Willie Tuitama completed 30 of his 43 passes for 233 yards and ran for a touchdown.
After emphasizing turnovers all week, the Trojans' defense forced four fumbles and recovered two.
"They have an excellent defense and are very disruptive," Stoops said. "In the first half, we did a decent job, but the turnovers slowed us down, and in the second half, we couldn't get going."
The Trojans have now won their last six games against the Wildcats.
