October 31, 1998

Final Stats | Quotes | Secondary Shines

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Freshman Carson Palmer threw for 279 yards and a touchdown in his first start and Antuan Simmons returned two interceptions for scores Saturday as Southern California beat Washington 33-10 on Saturday.

Simmons intercepted Brock Huard pass and returned it 29 yards for a TD give the Trojans some breathing room early in the fourth quarter and then capped his day by picking off a pass by Marques Tuiasosopo on the final play of the game and running 90 yards for another touchdown.

Simmons' two interceptions were among five by the USC defense, which also held the Huskies to 116 yards rushing.

Palmer, just the second USC freshman to start at quarterback, completed 18-of-31 passes, including a 57-yard TD pass to Billy Miller for the Trojans' first score.

Palmer came off the bench to share the quarterback duty with sophomore Mike Van Raaphorst in the first eight games this season, but this time Van Raaphorst remained on the bench for USC (6-3, 4-2 Pac-10).

Huard was 33-of-62 for 301 yards, one TD and four interceptions as the Huskies fell to 5-3, 3-2. Dane Looker had 12 catches for 84 yards.

Miller had five catches for 109 yards for the Trojans, while Chad Morton carried 13 times for 110 yards for USC, including a 10-yard TD run that gave the Trojans a 14-0 first-half lead.

Washington, which went nowhere on offense most of the game, had a brief burst in the third quarter, narrowing the gap to 14-10 with a field goal and a touchdown six minutes apart.

But the Trojans pulled away again on a 1-yard scoring dive by Petros Papadakis three minutes into the fourth quarter, then Simmons intercepted Huard's throw two minutes later and raced untouched into the end zone.

After sputtering the first half, the Huskies finally put together a 63-yard march that ended with 34-yard field goal by Joe Jarzynka midway through the third quarter.

Washington pulled within 14-10 with another drive, this one for 72 yards, on their next possession. Huard's 23-yard touchdown pass to Chris Juergens briefly gave the Huskies new life, but the Trojans came right back to open the lead to 27-10

. USC went up 14-0 early in the second quarter, with Morton setting up a touchdown with a 50-yard run down to the Washington 19, then scoring it himself with his 10-yard run.

Miller put USC up 7-0 late in the first quarter when he came open across the middle deep in the Huskies' secondary, caught Palmer's pass and then broke two tackles on his way to a 57-yard touchdown.

The only other freshman to start at quarterback for USC was Brad Johnson in 1991.

By KEN PETERS
AP Sports Writer