CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA running back Mike Bell is taken down by a Trojan defender. Bell had his streak of three straight 100-yard games broken against a defense UA safety Clay Hardt called "big-time."

Coming into Saturday's matchup with the Wildcats, Southern California was ranked No. 2 in both polls and was in the same spot in the Bowl Championship Series rankings.

After Saturday's contest, the Trojans made believers out of Arizona.

The Wildcats (2-9, 1-6 Pacific 10 Conference) were shut out for the first time since 1991 in a 45-0 pummeling at the hands of USC (9-1, 5-1) in front of 39,201 people at Arizona Stadium.

"They are a real solid team," UA senior safety Clay Hardt said. "They're well coached and they are a real balanced team."

USC controlled much of the game in all three aspects: offense, defense and special teams.

"They are an excellent team and I want them to go all the way now," sophomore safety Darrell Brooks said. "They have a lot of depth and can attack you from every angle."

USC outgained Arizona on offense, 587-195 for the contest.

"Their abilities made us look ineffective, but there were times when we didn't make plays that we were capable of," interim head coach Mike Hankwitz said.

"They were as good as we thought they were," sophomore running back Mike Bell said. "They played good football. We got blown out and shut out. It hurts."

The Trojans scored 35 points in the first half to put the game away before the break.

Sophomore receiver Mike Williams led the USC attack with three first-half scores to set a new Trojan record for career touchdown receptions with 26.

Williams finished the game with 11 catches for 157 yards, including his three TD receptions.

"They are excellent receivers. They made plays and they are just top-notch receivers," Brooks said.

Williams' success can be attributed to Trojan quarterback Matt Leinart. The sophomore was near perfect, completing 22 of 30 passes for 296 yards and four touchdowns.

"They did whatever they wanted to do," Hardt said.

Leinart was able to pick apart the Arizona defensive secondary with the luxury of having all kinds of time to find an open receiver.

The Trojan defense also did a tremendous job of dictating the game and shutting down the Wildcat offense.

"Their defense is big time. They probably have the best defense I've seen or played against," Hardt said.

For the first time in three games, sophomore running back Mike Bell was held under the 100-yard mark. Bell had only 14 yards on 14 carries, struggling all night to find room against the Trojan defense.

The Wildcats' only real chance to put up points against the Trojans came toward the end of the first half, when Arizona had two chances from inside the USC 20 yard line.

The Wildcats came away empty on both trips.

"That was big," Hankwitz said. "When you do score, it gives you more confidence and gives you momentum going into halftime."

Arizona's next and final game of 2003 will be against Arizona State in two weeks. The Wildcats will travel to Tempe on Friday, Nov. 28 for the team's season finale.

"We have to be ready (for ASU)," Brooks said. "We have to take what we learned from this game and implement it against ASU."