Ryan Pretorius kicked a 29-yard field goal on Ohio State’s second possession, capping a 69-yard, 17-play drive that ate up nearly 8½ minutes. But keeping the Buckeyes out of the end zone only seemed to get the Trojans riled up.

USC moved 74 yards on seven plays, scoring on a 35-yard pass from Sanchez to fullback Stanley Havili for a 7-3 lead.

After the Buckeyes went three-and-out, Sanchez threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to freshman Blake Ayles. McKnight provided the big play with a 24-yard run.

Ohio State moved deep into USC territory on its next possession, but the Buckeyes stopped themselves by committing two holding penalties — the first nullifying a gain to the USC 3, the second a touchdown pass by Boeckman. Pretorius then missed a 46-yard field goal.

“Had we got it to 14-10, it would not have ended up 35-3,” Tressel said. “I don’t know what would have happened.”

The Trojans made it 21-3 with 2:49 left before halftime when Maualuga stepped in front Brian Hartline for his fourth career interception and returned 48 yards for his first touchdown.

“I turned around, saw the ball, took it,” Maualuga said. “I was hoping the receiver wouldn’t catch me. It looked like I was Marcus Allen, with my Heisman skills and 4.2 speed.”

Sanchez threw a 34-yard scoring pass to Williams with 6:02 left in the third quarter and a 17-yarder 4½ minutes later. The rest was garbage time.

And Ohio State went home with yet another humbling loss on a big stage.

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