KMAX: Sports

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) USC picked the wrong town and the wrong time for an early celebration.

Several California players got all the motivation they needed for Saturday's game after hearing reports of a raucous informal parade by Southern California's boosters and band on the streets of Berkeley on Friday night before the Trojans' game against the Golden Bears.

``They were marching down our streets, partying in our town,'' Cal running back Adimchinobe Echemandu said. ``That's just the way USC is. They're so arrogant. They think they're better than everybody else on the West Coast before they even play a game.''

The actual extent of the pregame partying was heavily debated, with most USC people insisting nothing significant happened. That didn't make the sting any easier when Cal outplayed the Trojans in regulation, then held on in overtime for a 34-31 win that sent USC tumbling from No. 3 to No. 10 in the rankings.

Last season, Southern California's rally from an 18-point deficit against Cal was the start of an 11-game winning streak. USC nearly made another comeback against the Bears and coach Jeff Tedford's inventive offense, but the Trojans (3-1, 0-1 Pac-10) never got the lead in a heartbreaking loss.

``They came out and punched us in the mouth,'' USC defensive tackle Shaun Cody said. ``We didn't have an answer for anything. We were expecting them to run certain things out of certain formations. They just switched it up on us. ... We were fooled.''

In their first three games of the season, USC reclaimed a large measure of the mystique that had surrounded the program for decades. Starting with a dominant win over Auburn, the Trojans appeared to be the latest emerging West Coast power under coach Pete Carroll.

Now, USC is looking up at Cal (3-3, 1-0) and Washington State, among others, in the Pac-10 standings. The Trojans still might be a Western power, but the Bears exposed weaknesses that nobody knew existed.

USC never moved the ball consistently against Cal's defense, which endured many poor stretches during the Bears' 2-3 nonconference start. A quarter of USC's 99 rushing yards came on pass plays that began behind the line of scrimmage.

After a mostly dismal game, there's bound to be speculation around quarterback Matt Leinart, who threw three interceptions. The sophomore never got the Trojans' offense moving through the air despite talented receivers Keary Colbert and Mike Williams lining up against Cal's suspect pass defense, which had been shredded regularly this season.

There's a section of the USC fan base that's devoted to John David Booty, the former Louisiana high school prodigy considered the Trojans' quarterback of the future. But Carroll never considered replacing Leinart, not even after the quarterback bruised his knee in the second half.

``I was just making mistakes I shouldn't have made,'' Leinart said. ``I didn't play well in the first half, and that's why we were down.''

USC's vaunted run defense hadn't allowed a 100-yard rusher in 16 games until Adimchinobe ran for 147 yards against them, cracking 100 yards well before overtime. Cal confused the Trojans with the unorthodox formations and clever blocking schemes that have become Tedford's trademark.

A long conference season looms for the Trojans, who have left the Pac-10 without a clear favorite. USC also lost linebacker Lofa Tatupu, who returned an interception for a score against the Bears, and offensive tackle Winston Justice to sprained ankles.

Though the Trojans reminded each other of a long schedule still to play, there was a sense of disbelief among their fans. The USC band stayed in the stands at Memorial Stadium for an hour after the game, still playing while the Cal students and band celebrated on the field.

``We're the third-ranked team in the nation,'' Cody said. ``It's not supposed to happen like this.''