Orange Bowl
2003
USC 38
Iowa 17
MIAMI - Carson Palmer has yet another trophy for his shelf: Orange
Bowl MVP. The Heisman Trophy winner dominated his duel with Heisman
runner-up Brad Banks, throwing for 303 yards and a touchdown to help No.
5 Southern California beat No. 3 Iowa 38-17 Thursday night.
Palmer led scoring drives of 79, 80, 99, 85 and 61 yards, helping the
Trojans to a 16-minute advantage in time of possession. They mounted
long touchdown marches on their first three possessions of the second
half to blow open a game that was 10-10 at halftime.
Banks was limited to 204 yards passing and failed to lead the Hawkeyes'
normally high-powered offense to the end zone until the final minute.
Their biggest play came when C.J. Jones returned the opening kickoff 100
yards for a touchdown, an Orange Bowl record.
Southern California (11-2) beat a Top 25 team for the seventh time this
season. USC won its final eight games and snapped a nine-game winning
streak by Iowa (11-2). "We didn't think it would be this easy," said
Mike Williams, who caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Palmer. "After
the kickoff, they didn't do anything."
The Trojans outscored UCLA, Notre Dame and Iowa 134-51 over their final
three games, a showing that might be impressive enough to vault them to
second in the final rankings behind the Fiesta Bowl winner between No. 1
Miami and No. 2 Ohio State. That would be USC's highest finish since
1979.
"We're playing terrific football right now," coach Pete Carroll said.
"We'd like to just keep on going."
Palmer completed 21 of 31 passes, feasting on a defense that ranked last
in the Big Ten against the pass. His 65-yard bomb to Kareem Kelly set up
Southern Cal's first score, but mostly Palmer made short throws to keep
drives alive.
Banks, a Florida native who had dozens of relatives watching from the
stands, went 15-for-36 and threw his first interception since Oct. 19.
Iowa's muscle was a concern for Southern California coming into the
game, but instead the fleet Trojans wore down the Hawkeyes. USC gained
363 yards in the second half to finish with 550.
The matchup was dubbed the Rose Bowl of the East because Pasadena is the
more traditional postseason reward for both teams, but USC thrived in
the unfamiliar setting. Justin Fargas rushed for 122 yards, including
touchdowns of 4 and 50 yards. Williams caught six passes for 99 yards,
including his 14th touchdown reception of the season to tie an NCAA
freshman record.
After Jones scored on the opening kickoff, more than 40,000 Iowa fans in
attendance had little to cheer about. While Iowa fans sat mostly silent,
such former Trojans stars as Keyshawn Johnson, Tony Boselli and Rodney
Peete rooted from their team's sideline. There were no sightings of O.J.
Simpson, who lives in Miami and showed up at a USC practice last week.
The Hawkeyes were hurt by 13 penalties, two turnovers and several missed
opportunities. In the first half they had first-and-goal at the 2 and at
the 1, but they came away with only three points from the two
possessions. A sack by Matt Grootegoed stymied the first threat, and
Iowa settled for a 35-yard field goal by Nate Kaeding. The Hawkeyes
earned a first down at the 1 with 10 seconds left in the half, but after
Banks overthrew Brown in the end zone, they sent in the field goal team.
Consecutive false-start penalties pushed the ball to the 11, and Bernard
Riley then blocked Kaeding's 29-yard attempt, ending the half with the
score tied (video).
Iowa never recovered from that deflating sequence. USC took the lead for
good by driving 80 yards on the first possession of the second half and
scoring on Williams' acrobatic catch.
A punt then pinned the Trojans at their 1, and on third down a
scrambling Palmer was stopped short of a first down. But Bob Sanders was
flagged for a late hit, sustaining a drive that ended with Fargas' long
touchdown sprint (video). Another Iowa punt was followed by another USC score,
Sultan McCullough's 4-yard run.
Playing for the first time since Nov. 16, the Hawkeyes still managed a
quick start. Jones took the opening kickoff at the goal line, broke into
the clear thanks to a block by Jermelle Lewis and scored untouched.
The Trojans quickly came back. Palmer's first pass was negated by a
penalty. His second was the long strike to Kelly, setting up Fargas'
4-yard touchdown run (video). USC spent much of the second quarter in Iowa
territory but couldn't score until the final 72 seconds, when Ryan
Killeen kicked a 35-yard field goal after Lewis lost a fumble at
midfield.
Attendance:75,971
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
IOWA- Jones 100 kickoff return (Kaeding kick)
USC- Fargas 4 run (Killeen kick)
IOWA- FG Kaeding 35
Second Quarter
USC- FG Killeen 35
Third Quarter
USC- Williams 18 pass from Palmer (Killeen kick)
USC- Fargas 50 run (Killeen kick)
Fourth Quarter
USC- McCullough 5 run (Killeen kick)
IOWA- Brown 18 pass from Banks (Kaeding kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
IOWA- Russell 9-45, Banks 8-36, Lewis 2-31
USC- Fargas 20-122, McCullough 12-77
Passing
IOWA- Banks 15-36-204
USC- Palmer 21-31-303
Receiving
IOWA- Brown 6-63, Clark 4-97, Hinkel 3-31
USC- Williams 6-99, Colbert 6-81, Kelly 3-74, Holmes 3-27
