Trojans get a fresh start by making stops

TEMPE, ARIZ. — Notre Dame exposed them.

Oregon State took it another step further.

And then, of course, Oregon humiliated them.

So USC's defensive players came to the desert seeking redemption.

They got a measure of it on Saturday night at Sun Devil Stadium, the defense leading 12th-ranked USC to a 14-9 victory over Arizona State before a crowd of 55,582.

Senior safety Will Harris returned one of his two interceptions for a touchdown and receiver Damian Williams turned a short pass into a spectacular 75-yard scoring play as the Trojans bounced back from last week's blowout loss at Oregon.

A few hours after Oregon fell at Stanford, the Trojans improved to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the Pacific 10 Conference.

With three home games to finish the season, the Trojans could still be in the mix for an eighth consecutive conference title.

"It ain't over," Harris said.

It's not over because the Trojans did what they have always done after suffering regular-season losses under Coach Pete Carroll: They bounced back with a victory.

It was far from artistic, USC committing nine penalties for nearly 100 yards, but the Trojans improved Carroll's record in November games to 28-0.

The defense forced four turnovers, getting its groove back on a balmy night when the offense continued to struggle.

"We didn't make much of them," Carroll said of the turnovers. "But it felt so much more like you like to feel."

Defensive players were in search of a better feeling after enduring an agonizingly long week of answering questions from the media and fans.

The Trojans had given up 613 yards, including 391 yards rushing, in their nightmare Halloween defeat at Oregon.

Carroll had blamed himself for making the scheme too complicated, but the players had tackled poorly.

"All week we talked about coming back and being the D we were at the beginning of the year," middle linebacker Chris Galippo said.

According to Carroll and his players, that meant going back to the basics.

"We hoped that by doing that our guys would get out of the funk we've been in these last couple weeks," Carroll said. "We forced them to execute base defense."

The strategy paid off, the Trojans forcing a fumble in the first quarter, Galippo intercepting a pass by Sun Devils quarterback Danny Sullivan early in the second quarter, and Harris dashing 55 yards with an interception late in the period to give the Trojans a 7-3 halftime lead.