updated 10:00 p.m. ET Dec. 7, 2006

LOS ANGELES - Too much speed, too much defense, and too much Dwayne Jarrett.

With all that, Southern California didn’t need last-second heroics to beat Notre Dame this year.

John David Booty passed for 265 yards and three touchdowns to Jarrett as USC overpowered the sixth-ranked Fighting Irish 44-24 Saturday night and likely leapfrogged Michigan in the race for the national championship.

No. 3 USC contained Brady Quinn, the Irish’s Heisman Trophy contender, and put together a performance that should boost its Bowl Championship Series standing. The Trojans were a close third behind the Wolverines last week.

“I think we’re a pretty good team right now,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. “We’ll play anybody, any where.”

Should the Trojans (10-1) beat UCLA (6-5) at the Rose Bowl next weekend, they’ll probably face top-ranked Ohio State in the BCS title game Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz. USC has beaten its cross-town rivals seven straight times. And now the Trojans have won five straight against Notre Dame (10-2).

The Trojans played in the BCS title game the past two years — winning one and losing one — and earned a piece of the national championship three years ago after being bypassed for the title game.

“It was really a fun night of football,” Carroll said. “For the most part, we felt in command in the game. The offense was ripping, it was just an extraordinary night for Dwayne Jarrett. He made the plays great players make.”

Booty, who completed 17-of-28 passes and was intercepted twice, watched from the sideline when the Trojans beat the Irish 34-31 at Notre Dame last year on Matt Leinart’s 1-yard sneak with three seconds remaining.

Jarrett, whose 61-yard reception on a fourth-and-9 play kept that final drive in South Bend alive, caught scoring passes of 9, 5 and 43 yards from Booty, who succeeded Leinart as USC’s quarterback. The 43-yarder came with 8:21 remaining and gave the Trojans a 37-17 lead.

Jarrett finished with seven receptions for 132 yards and USC freshman C.J. Gable rushed for 107 yards on 20 carries.

“I’ve seen him do that time and time again — all the time,” Booty said of Jarrett. “To me, it’s not surprising at all. I’m just glad I have him on my team.”

USC lost 33-31 at Oregon State on Oct. 28. Since then, they’ve outscored the opposition 144-43.

College football How all 32 games are shaping up

“I think it was kind of good for us in a way, it was kind of a wake-up call,” Jarrett said of the loss. “We’re so used to winning. It was a reality check for us, just to get our act together.”

Quinn threw a 2-yard scoring pass to Jeff Samardzija with 3:39 left, but Brian Cushing returned the ensuing onside kickoff 42 yards to put an exclamation point on the victory.

“I told myself that if they kicked it to me, I’d take it in myself,” Cushing said.

Quinn, playing his final regular-season game, completed 22 of 45 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He also rushed for 74 yards — most of it on a 60-yard scramble in the second quarter.

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