TEMPE, Ariz. - Pete Carroll sat in the coaches' dressing room barefoot while thumbing through the game's stat book. His shoes were off, his reading glasses were on, and he was reclining as much as his firm-backed chair allowed. As he flipped through the pages he couldn't hide his huge grin as he had plenty to be thankful for in USC's Thanksgiving win.
He read that John David Booty threw for 375 yards and four touchdowns. He read that Fred Davis had 119 yards receiving and a touchdown. And he read that Lawrence Jackson had four sacks and a forced fumble.
And of course he read the final score - USC 44, Arizona State 24.
"This was a really, really sweet win," Carroll said. "It's a great statement for our guys. They know now - they know what they're capable of doing."
It was a night where the Trojans had the national stage all to themselves and they took advantage of it. After all, they knew they couldn't lose to a team that has as many Rose Bowl appearances (two) as it does Salad Bowl appearances.
The win keeps USC's Rose Bowl hopes alive, and the Trojans can capture an unprecedented sixth-consecutive Pac-10 title with a victory over UCLA next week.
"I've been ringing the bell in our locker room and our meeting rooms that it ain't over yet," Carroll said. "We're in a playoff run - if you keep winning, good things will happen."
And good things happened against the Sun Devils.
The Trojans dominated on offense and on defense, nearly doubling Arizona State in yardage, 508 to 259.
The game was already out-of-hand midway through the third quarter and Fred Davis' 34-yard touchdown catch at the end of the quarter capped the Trojans' scoring blitz against a helpless Arizona State defense.
Davis' run and catch on fourth-and-two epitomized the way the Trojans dominated the game. He caught the ball in the flat for what looked like a short gain before he broke several arm tackles and burst to the end zone.
"They were scared, and I was seeing the end zone, and I got hungry," Davis said. "It's a full moon, so I had to bring the beast out a little bit."
But Davis wasn't the only one who let out the beast.
Jackson's four sacks set the tempo for the defense that was in Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter's face all night.
It was Jackson who sacked Carpenter on fourth down in the second quarter with the score tied at 17. It swung the momentum for the Trojans, who went on to score the game's next 27 points.
And it was Jackson who briefly knocked Carpenter out of the game in the third quarter, causing Carpenter's lip to bleed.
Carpenter went on to throw his helmet in a temper-tantrum and it was clear the Trojans had control of the game.
"I think he got his lip a little bloody, and he was pretty upset about that," Jackson said. "He had some un-nice words to say to me after that play."
The Sun Devils had plenty of nice things to say about the Trojans after the game because they knew they got beat by a better team.
"They had a great game plan, and those guys played really hard," Carpenter said about USC. "Tonight, we were just a little overmatched."
It's clear the Sun Devils were more than just a little overmatched, and it didn't shock the Trojans at all.
"I'm not surprised," Davis said. "We felt really good about this one. I think we knew what we could do and we came out here and did what we were supposed to do."
Booty did all he was asked to and more, finishing with his third highest passing total of his career and even had a rushing touchdown. He continued his solid play against tough teams, moving to 8-0 in his career against ranked opponents.
"That's the way you dream of it," Booty said. "You can't write it any better than the way it went for us tonight offensively."
And the Trojans are hoping there will be another storybook ending at the end of the year.
"I would love to see us finish this season and make people wonder who the best team in the country is," Carroll said.
If the Trojans continue to play the way did against the Sun Devils, Carroll might just get his wish.
