CFN's 2007 Annual Ultimate
College Football Playoff
West Division - Finals
No. 1 USC 48 ... No. 7
Boston College 14
USC flexed its muscle with a dominant performance that never gave BC a
chance to breathe.
The Trojans scored touchdowns on their first three possessions with
Patrick Turner catching a 36-yard scoring pass on the opening drive of
the game, a 16-yard Chauncey Washington scoring dash, and a 12-yard
Vidal Hazelton catch in the back of the end zone to end things before
they even got started.
The Eagles gained 14 yards on their first three drives, and then started
off the second quarter with a 67-yard drive finishing up with a 12-yard
touchdown catch from Ryan Thompson, but USC had an answer going 73 yards
in a crisp eight plays with Washington punching it in from two yards out
for a 28-7 lead.
Even when things appeared to be going right for BC, the end result
didn't work out well. The Eagles twice got into USC territory before
halftime, only to see drives end with a whimper.
First, QB Matt Ryan made a brilliant throw to Kevin Challenger for a
38-yard gain to get to the USC 38, but a sack and two misfires meant the
Eagles had to go for it on fourth down. Ryan got sacked again. The
second time, BC got to the USC eight only to be stopped on three
straight plays for no gain before a field goal attempt hit the upright.
"We weren't going to beat them today," said Ryan. "But
we had our chances to make things interesting and get into the
game, and we never got a break. We didn't make our own breaks,
but we never seemed to get the right bounce, either."
USC got back into a groove on its first drive of the second
half, going 93 yards in 14 plays with Washington scoring his
third touchdown of the day, barreling in from five yards out.
A USC 39-yard field goal and a 13-yard Travon Patterson
touchdown catch made it 41-7 going into the fourth quarter. Mark
Sanchez came in for Booty, but he only threw the ball twice and
let the deep stable of backs wind things down. Sanchez
bootlegged in a three-yard touchdown run.
"That's about as well as we can play against a defense as
good as theirs," said USC head coach Pete Carroll. "They've
got talent and athleticism. We simply executed well on both
sides of the ball."
BC backup quarterback Chris Crane threw a 14-yard touchdown pass
to Rich Gunnell with 1:25 to play to cap off the scoring.
Player
of the Game - USC RB Chauncey Washington ran 19 times for
89 yards and three touchdowns in two-and-a-half quarters.
Fun Stat - Total yards: USC 551 - Boston College
329
West Champion -
USC Trojans