BCS-busted again

"I didn't make any plays," said McKnight, who gained 10 yards in seven carries and caught three passes for 29 yards.

USC, however, still had a chance to win in the final minutes.

After struggling to elude pressure throughout the first two quarters, quarterback Mark Sanchez came out firing and quickly pulled the Trojans to within seven points with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Ronald Johnson and 29-yard strike to Damian Williams.

When Clay Matthews blocked a field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter, the Trojans looked primed to come back.

But USC failed to capitalize and gave the ball up on downs.

The Trojans got the ball back at their two-yard line with 3:15 left, but Greg Laybourn intercepted a pass and returned it 28 yards to the two, setting up a Rodgers touchdown that made the score 27-14.

"I could have made the play," said Sanchez, who completed 18 of 29 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns. "I'm throwing it and kind of getting hit but that's the way this game goes. I've completed plenty of passes when I've been under pressure like that."

After Johnson's 50-yard kickoff return, Sanchez completed four straight passes, including a 14-yard touchdown to receiver Patrick Turner to pull the Trojans to within 27-21.

But Oregon State recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock.

"For some reason, we just knew," Oregon State safety Al Afalava said. "We felt that we would do it again."

Oregon State Coach Mike Riley was proud of his team, which had been routed earlier in the season by Penn State.

"They learned from that," he said. "Every game is about competing and competition and they came out and played."

Most of the Trojans credited the 5-toot-7 Rodgers.

"He ran the ball hard, he ran the ball with a lot of heart," said safety Taylor Mays, who was forced to leave the game with a chest injury. "He was not intimidated. He wasn't scared at all."

Neither was Oregon State quarterback Lyle Moevao, who completed 18 of 28 passes for 167 yards and threw two touchdown passes to Rodgers' brother, James Rodgers.

"It's a reality check," Mays said of the defeat. "It happened to us before . . . and we know what it feels like. This was our biggest fear."

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gary.klein@latimes.com