NO. 11 USC 44, NO. 7 ARIZONA STATE 24 - Booty and a feast - Quarterback accounts for all five USC touchdowns as the Trojans remain in the Rose Bowl chase
TEMPE, Ariz. -- John David Booty heard the boos at the Coliseum.
He played through the pain of a broken finger and then stoically endured skeptical fans and columnists who questioned whether he should be replaced as USC's starting quarterback.
For some, even after he sat out three games and then came back with two fair performances, the jury remained out on the fifth-year senior.
But Thursday night, Booty delivered one of the most productive games of his career, passing for four touchdowns and running for another as 11th-ranked USC kept its Rose Bowl hopes alive with a 44-24 victory over seventh-ranked Arizona State in front of a national television audience and an announced 71,706 at Sun Devil Stadium.
"I know where I am, and I know how dedicated I am to helping this team win," Booty said. "When you're not 100%, it makes it that much more difficult. But I'm getting back. It might have taken longer than I would have liked, but I'm getting there."
On a warm and clear desert evening, USC stayed in contention for a sixth consecutive Pacific 10 Conference title by playing its most complete game of the season.
Defensive end Lawrence Jackson had four of the Trojans' six sacks as USC overpowered the Sun Devils and improved to 9-2 overall and 6-2 in the Pac-10.
"We blew them out," freshman defensive end Everson Griffen said. "We just showed the nation what we could do on both sides of the ball and dominated."
USC Coach Pete Carroll and his players said they could sense it coming after finally returning to near-full strength following a barrage of injuries that contributed to losses against Stanford and Oregon.
"It's really a great statement for our guys," said Carroll, who improved to 23-0 in November games at USC. "They know. They know now. They know what they're capable of doing."
USC, 11th in the Bowl Championship Series standings, will move up after defeating the Sun Devils, who were sixth before the loss that dropped their record to 9-2 and 6-2 in the Pac-10.
"They played like they haven't played all year," Arizona State Coach Dennis Erickson said of the Trojans, "and obviously, they're healthy."
To reach the Rose Bowl, USC must defeat UCLA in its conference finale Dec. 1 and hope that Oregon stumbles Saturday against the Bruins or in its final game against Oregon State.
Even if Oregon wins out, the Trojans could possibly qualify for a berth in another BCS game such as the Fiesta Bowl.
