LOS ANGELES — Those underdogs from the Northwest gave the USC Trojans all they could handle the past two weeks.

John David Booty threw for 243 yards and a touchdown and No. 3 Southern California held off resurgent Washington's late threat in a 26-20 victory yesterday.

The Huskies drove to the USC 15 but couldn't get off a play before the final two seconds ticked off the clock. Last week, the Trojans needed an interception near the end zone on the last play of the game to win 28-22 at Washington State.

"That was a hard-earned win, just like last week," USC coach Pete Carroll said.

"They (the Huskies) did a good job and are going to win a lot of games in this conference. I'm impressed with the job Tyrone has done. They've had a quick turnaround," Carroll said of second-year Washington coach Tyrone Willingham.

The Trojans' last loss at the Coliseum was to Stanford in 2001, when Willingham was the Cardinal coach. USC has won 29 at home since then.

"This is the best game we've played this year," said Willingham, who seems on the way to rebuilding a once-formidable program that won only three games the past two seasons.

"Our team is improving. The last drive, we just needed a few more seconds and we would have gotten the job done."

The Trojans extended their conference-record victory string to 26. Overall, USC has won 50 of its last 52.

Mario Danelo kicked four field goals for USC (5-0, 3-0 Pac-10), including a 21-yarder with 1:34 remaining for a six-point pad.

Reserve quarterback Michael McDonald's 20-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith on a fake field goal on the Trojans' first possession put them ahead to stay.

But never by a comfortable margin, and it was the clock that ended the final threat by the Huskies (4-2, 2-1).

After throwing a pair of 6-yard touchdown passes, the last pulling the Huskies to 23-20 with 10:06 remaining, Isaiah Stanback marched them down the field again in a drive that started at the Washington 20 with 1:34 remaining.

Stanback's 19-yard completion moved the ball to the USC 15, but the Huskies had no timeouts remaining. The clock stopped while the chains were moved, then the officials spotted the ball, but huddled for several moments before starting the clock with two seconds remaining.

The Huskies couldn't get a play off in time.

NO. 1 OHIO STATE 35, BOWLING GREEN 7

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Troy Smith threw three touchdown passes, Antonio Pittman ran for two scores and the Buckeyes (6-0) toyed with the Falcons (3-3), tacking on two touchdowns in the final quarter to turn a surprisingly close 21-7 game into a rout.

Smith didn't do anything to hurt his Heisman Trophy candidacy, completing 17-of-20 passes for 191 yards with no interceptions as Ohio State stretched the nation's longest winning streak to 13 in a row.

NO. 4 WEST VIRGINIA 42, MISSISSIPPI STATE 14

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Steve Slaton ran for 185 yards, Pat White rushed for two touchdowns and the Mountaineers (5-0) made two interceptions deep in their own territory to roll past the Bulldogs (1-5) to extend the nation's second-longest win streak to 12 games.

Slaton moved into fourth on the school career touchdown list with his 24th score in 15 career games. The sophomore had nine runs of 10 yards or more to help the sloppy Mountaineers overcome 11 penalties for 132 yards.

NO. 5 FLORIDA 23, LSU 10

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Tim Tebow ran for a score and threw two touchdown passes, including one on a play that he ran toward the line of scrimmage, pulled up — much like a jump-shooter would — double clutched, then flipped the ball over several defenders to tight end Tate Casey as the Gators (6-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) beat the Tigers (4-2, 2-1) for the first time in three years.

Tebow, the highly touted freshman backup, who teams with starter Chris Leak, ran nine times for 35 yards, including a 1-yard plunge on fourth down that evened the score at 7 in the first quarter. Leak was 17 of 26 for 155 yards.

NO. 6 MICHIGAN 31, MICHIGAN STATE 13

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Chad Henne threw three touchdown passes — two to Mario Manningham — as the host Wolverines (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) rolled to their fifth straight win over the Spartans (3-3, 0-2).

Big Ten rushing leader Mike Hart ran for 122 yards despite sitting out the fourth quarter as the Wolverines kept their national championship aspirations flourishing and retained the Paul Bunyan Trophy, a four-foot wooden statue of the legendary giant lumberjack.

NO. 7 TEXAS 28, NO. 14 OKLAHOMA 10

DALLAS — Colt McCoy threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter and cornerback Aaron Ross scooped up a lateral and returned it for a touchdown in the fourth to carry the Longhorns (5-1, 2-0 Big 12) over the Sooners (3-2, 0-1) in the Red River Shootout.

Texas trailed 10-7 at halftime, but McCoy took over in the third quarter, throwing a 33-yard touchdown pass to Limas Sweed and a 7-yarder to Jordan Shipley to give the Longhorns a 21-10 lead. Ross then sealed the victory with his fumble return with 10:37 left to play.

NO. 13 TENNESSEE 51, NO. 10 GEORGIA 33

ATHENS, Ga. — Erik Ainge threw for two touchdowns and ran for another and the Volunteers (5-1, 1-1 SEC) shredded the nation's stingiest defense, becoming just the second team to put up 50 points when the Bulldogs (5-1, 2-1) play at home.

Arian Foster scored three times for Tennessee, all on 1-yard runs. The Vols piled up 383 yards and 27 first downs, going a perfect 6-for-6 scoring TDs each time they got inside Georgia's 20.

No. 16 California 45, No. 11 Oregon 24

BERKELEY, Calif. — DeSean Jackson caught one of Nate Longshore's three touchdown passes and returned a punt 65 yards for another score, as the Bears (5-1, 3-0 Pac-10) took control from the beginning in rolling past the Ducks (4-1, 2-1) for their fifth straight blowout victory.

Robert Jordan and tight end Craig Stevens also caught TD throws from Longshore, who passed for 189 yards and rushed for a score as the Bears raced out to a 28-3 lead in the second quarter.

NO. 12 NOTRE DAME 31, STANFORD 10

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Brady Quinn threw for three touchdowns and Darius Walker ran for a season-high 153 yards and a touchdown, leading the Irish (5-1) over the Cardinal (0-6).

Quinn was 27-of-37 passing for 232 yards, completing TD passes to Jeff Samardzija, Rhema McKnight and John Carlson. The Irish, who won their first eight games in 2002, are off to their second best start since, also starting the 1998 season 5-1.

NO. 15 CLEMSON 27, WAKE FOREST 17

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — C.J. Spiller ran 72 yards for the go-ahead touchdown and defensive lineman Gaines Adams returned a fumble for a score as the Tigers (5-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) rallied from 14 points down in the fourth quarter to deny the Demon Deacons (5-1, 1-1) their first 6-0 start since 1944.

NO. 18 GEORGIA TECH 27, MARYLAND 23

ATLANTA — Tashard Choice rushed for a career-high 138 yards and two touchdowns and the Yellow Jackets (5-1, 3-0 ACC) rallied from a nine-point deficit and survived a last-minute scare to beat the Terrapins (3-2, 0-1), who led 23-14 after three quarters before committing two turnovers in the final period.

NO. 19 IOWA 47, PURDUE 17

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Drew Tate completed 17-of-23 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns, and Damian Sims ran for two more scores as the Hawkeyes (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) rolled up a season-high 539 total yards to rout the Boilermakers (4-2, 1-1).

NO. 21 NEBRASKA 28, IOWA STATE 14

AMES, Iowa — Cody Glenn rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns, Brandon Jackson added 116 yards and a score, Zac Taylor threw a 28-yard TD strike to Maurice Purif for a 21-7 lead just before halftime and a score, and the Cornhuskers (5-1, 2-0 Big 12) held the Cyclones (3-3, 0-2) to just 53 yards rushing.

NO. 23 MISSOURI 38, TEXAS TECH 21

LUBBOCK, Texas — Chase Daniel threw for 171 yards and a touchdown, and Xzavie Jackson and William Moore scored on interception returns on consecutive Red Raider (4-2, 1-1Big 12) possessions in the second quarter as the Tigers (2-0 in conference) improved to 6-0 for the first time in 33 years.