"At the half we were hanging in there, but when they went down and scored to make it 35-7, we were in a world of hurt," Toledo said.
The bulk of the crowd of 91,084 was dressed in UCLA blue and gold, and they streamed for the exits after Palmer threw his fourth scoring pass, a three-yard dart to Gregg Guenther with two minutes left in the third quarter.
"Our coaches were saying there must have been free pizza in the parking lot," Palmer said.
Red-clad fans chanted goodbye to the Bruins. They chanted "Beat the Irish," a reference to USC's game next week against Notre Dame. They chanted "Heisman" for Palmer's benefit.
And they chanted Carroll's name until the game ended and players carried the coach to the end zone. UCLA's home stadium had been transformed into a salute to Troy.
Whether or not the Trojans return to the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day, sweet memories from Saturday will linger.
"We came into an adverse situation with everything on the line and we played lights out," Carroll said. "So many opportunities were cashed in right off the bat, that's the mark of a real good football team.
"The fans were loud from end to end, they couldn't have been better. Our goal is to get here, to the Rose Bowl, so every time we play here, we want it to be special."
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
BY THE NUMBERS
16: Seconds before USC's first touchdown
52: Points by USC, the most by either team in the series since 1930
4: Victories in a row in the series by USC, equaling its longest
(1976-79)
2-0: Pete Carroll's record against UCLA
3-4: Bob Toledo's record against USC
7: Fumbles by UCLA (Bruins lost four)
28: Touchdown passes this season by Carson Palmer, one short of Rob Johnson's school record
56: Rushing yards for Tyler Ebell, ending his streak of 100-yard games at six
1981: The last year USC defeated UCLA and Notre Dame in the same season
