Usc Finds A (Con)Way In 23-13 Defeat Of Asu

TEMPE, Ariz. - USC, which seemingly has been finding a different way to win every week, fell back on an old standby last night - the Conway.

Curtis Conway, the junior flanker who generates electricity almost every time he touches the ball, caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Rob Johnson to break a scoreless tie in the second quarter, then turned what looked like a busted play into a 95-yard kickoff return for the clinching score as the Trojans defeated Arizona State 23-13.

The fourth consecutive victory for the Trojans (5-1-1) left them alone in second place in the Pac-10 at 4-1, positioned to secure a major bowl bid if they keep winning.

And it is Conway, more than any USC player, who's making it happen. With the USC offense on the fritz much of the game and the defense on the ropes midway through the second half, he did it almost single-handedly.

"He still finds ways to surprise me," USC Coach Larry Smith said. "He's amazing."

He amazed everyone in Sun Devil Stadium with his kickoff return for a TD - the first of his career and the first by a USC player since Anthony Davis' 102-yarder sparked the Trojans' legendary 55-24 comeback win over Notre Dame in 1974.

ASU (2-3, 4-4) had just staggered the Trojans by scoring 10 points in an 82-second span.

That cut a 14-0 USC lead to 14-10 after Mike Richey's 46-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Sun Devils, sensibly enough, tried to kick off away from Conway. It almost worked.

Richey's squib kick glanced off Trojan Bruce Luizzi's hands at the USC 25 and squirted inside the 10, where Conway and Estrus Crayton converged. They had trouble picking it up, and by the time Conway found the handle at the 5, the area was swarming with Sun Devils.

He appeared surrounded but found a tiny opening between two ASU players and accelerated up the left side. As he approached midfield, he cut back past ASU's Gino Valpredo, took it back across field and outsprinted the pursuit to the end zone.

Just like that, in 16 mesmerizing seconds, USC was out of danger. "It was the play of the game," Smith said.

Cal 48, UCLA 12 -- BERKELEY, Calif. - Dave Barr threw for three touchdowns and Russell White became Cal's career rushing leader in the Bears' thrashing of UCLA.

Cal broke a three-game losing streak, taking out its frustrations on the Bruins, who lost their fifth straight, their worst start since 1943.

It was the most points Cal has scored against the Bruins and it was UCLA's most lopsided conference loss since the era of Coach Terry Donahue began in 1976.

"This was the worst beating we've taken this season," Donahue said after UCLA surrendered a season-high 439 yards in total offense. "In our worst anticipation, we didn't think that we'd be in a situation where we haven't won a Pac-10 game."

White, a senior tailback, had 148 yards on 22 carries to increase his career total to 3,065 yards. He eclipsed Chuck Muncie's school record of 3,052 yards before halftime, giving Cal a 31-3 lead late in the second quarter with a 28-yard run.

Barr, intercepted four times in the past three games, connected on scoring passes of 14, 52 and 17 yards.

"I know that UCLA's an awfully beat-up team that's had a rough time," Cal Coach Keith Gilbertson said.

Gilbertson apologized to Donahue after the game for running up the score because his second offensive unit scored a fourth-quarter touchdown to give Cal a 48-6 lead. Gilbertson disdained a field goal on fourth down at the Bruin 6, but backup tailback Lindsey Chapman scored a touchdown on a run into the middle of the Bruin defense.

UCLA's offense, which hadn't scored a touchdown in 10 quarters, set up three Cal touchdowns with turnovers.

Bruin quarterback John Barnes, a junior transfer from U.C. Santa Barbara making his second start of the season because of injuries to former starters Wayne Cook, Rob Walker and Ryan Fien, set up two Cal touchdowns with interceptions.

Safety Eric Zomalt returned an interception 45 yards for a second-quarter Cal touchdown after a defender hit Barnes as he was throwing. Bears cornerback Ike Booth intercepted a third-quarter pass to set up Dave Barr's 17-yard TD pass to Pac-10 leading receiver Sean Dawkins, who had five catches for 72 yards.