"Fight On!" - Trojans dominate Wolverines again

There were no surprises for Southern California in the Rose Bowl. Michigan did what USC anticipated, and the Trojans met their own expectations.

"With the guys that we have and the speed that we have, we thought it would turn out this way," Lawrence Jackson said after the Trojans beat the Wolverines 32-18 Monday. "We knew if we came to play and were where we were supposed to be, we could dominate like that.

"You never envision it this big."

"We've played great defense the whole second half of the season," Carroll said. "We took an offense, it's a great offense with great players and great schemes and all that stuff, and really kept them in check all night."

The Trojans beat up the Wolverines by disguising their coverages and by blitzing from all directions. Cushing said USC blitzed 60 percent to 70 percent of the time.

"That's about right," agreed linebacker Dallas Sartz. "Every game we have different people rushing, different people dropping back. We watched enough film and scouted them enough. We knew their tendencies.

"I was surprised how fast our defense looked out there. We really showed how fast and quick our defense is, coming off those blitzes and rushing around the ends and the tight end. It was a good game for us."

Hart, who carried 17 times, had a previous low of 91 yards against Wisconsin. He was the only running back in the country to rush for at least 90 yards in every game during the regular season.

When the 5-foot-9, 196-pound junior gained 11 on his first carry, it appeared he was on his way again. But he was held in check the rest of the way.

"It was a great day for the defense," linebacker Oscar Lua said. "We stopped the run and we wanted them to go to the passing game. And when they started to go to that, we started to put as much pressure on the quarterback as we could."

Michigan finished with 12 yards on the ground after netting a minus-9 on 16 carries in the first half, when Henne was sacked five times for 33 yards.

"I pretty much knew where their blitzes were coming from," Henne said. "We just couldn't get it done. Their speed overcame ours."