Unfathomable

Stanford Coach Jim Harbaugh made national headlines last summer when he proclaimed that USC might be the greatest team in college football history.

This week, after USC barely squeaked past Washington, Harbaugh held firm in his hyperbolic belief.

On Saturday at the Coliseum, USC was not even the best team on the field.

In one of the greatest upsets in college football history, Harbaugh's previously struggling Stanford team defeated the second-ranked Trojans, 24-23, ending USC's 35-game home winning streak and possibly its bid for a national title.

"To give it up on a night like this when you play so miserably . . . it's a crusher to have to give it up," USC Coach Pete Carroll said of the winning streak.

A week after USC barely survived a penalty- and turnover-plagued performance at Seattle and fell from the top spot in the Associated Press media poll, the Trojans played even worse on offense against the Cardinal.

Quarterback John David Booty had four passes intercepted, one that was returned for a touchdown, one that set up the game-winning score and one that ended the Trojans' hopes for a last-second victory.

Stanford won the game on quarterback Tavita Pritchard's touchdown pass to Mark Bradford on fourth and goal from USC's 10-yard line with 49 seconds left. Bradford beat cornerback Mozique McCurtis on the play, which silenced a crowd of 85,125, the first to witness a USC loss at home in six years.

Stanford, a 41-point underdog Saturday, also was the last team to defeat the Trojans at the Coliseum, 21-16 on Sept. 29, 2001.

"I don't know if there's ever been a game where a team was a 40-point underdog and playing with a quarterback making their first start" and won, said Harbaugh, whose team improved to 2-3 overall and 1-3 in the Pacific 10 Conference in his first season.

USC fans booed the team at halftime and also into the third quarter as the Trojans allowed the Cardinal to stay in the game with interceptions and a fumble. The Trojans sprinted off the field after the loss.

"It's very, very surreal," said senior nose tackle Sedrick Ellis, who had three sacks. "I've never had to do that before -- walk off our own field in defeat. It's a very disgusting feeling."

Stanford was coming off a 41-3 loss to Arizona State and was ranked last in the Pacific 10 in rushing defense and passing efficiency defense. But receiver Evan Moore, a senior from Brea, said he knew the Cardinal could beat USC when the Trojans went into halftime leading only 9-0.