BOOTY TAKES OVER PASSING GAME KEY TO VICTORY.

Byline: BILLY WITZ Staff Writer

PASADENA -- It was easy to see the ghosts of what John David Booty wasn't.

One of them, the quarterback who always seemed to make everything right, stood on the sidelines in jeans and a USC sweatshirt. Besides Matt Leinart, there was the stadium itself, the Rose Bowl, the site where Booty was unable last month to deliver the Trojans a trip to the national championship game.

But as the Monday afternoon skies grew dark, USC offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin saw Booty for what he was: the Trojans' only chance.

With the offense out of rhythm and a defense that might not have stood up to the pounding by Michigan much longer, Kiffin decided at halftime to put the ball in Booty's hands -- over and over and over again.

During one 29-play stretch in the second half, Booty dropped back to pass 27 times. The other two, he sneaked ahead for first downs.

The results were a Rose Bowl-record tying four touchdown passes, 391 yards on 29-of-45 passing that tied for third in the bowl's history and a large measure of redemption in the form of a 32-18 victory over the Wolverines.

``I couldn't dream of it being any better,'' Booty said on the field afterward, not far from the spot on the field where his final pass was tipped and intercepted against UCLA. ``This was the most fun I've had in my life.''

As the final seconds wound down, the offensive linemen -- the only ones who'd been beaten up like Booty after the UCLA loss -- surrounded him. Center Ryan Kalil, Booty's roommate when he arrived four years ago, planted a kiss on his cheek.

``I'm so proud of the way he came through this year,'' said Kalil, a captain. ``His first time out of the gate, and he took it upon himself. I told him I love him, and thank you for helping us get here and getting us this win.''

It was also a long time in coming. Booty arrived four years ago from Shreveport, La., with much fanfare, graduating from high school a year early and expecting to challenge Leinart, who had yet to throw a college pass, for the starting job.

That challenge never came, and by the time Booty's chance arrived last offseason, he had to survive back surgery and a challenge from another top recruit, Mark Sanchez.

When USC -- which lost Leinart, Reggie Bush, LenDale White and Winston Justice to the NFL -- proved to no longer be an offensive juggernaut, there was grumbling about Booty. It got louder after his two-point conversion pass was tipped away in the Trojans 33-31 loss to Oregon State.

And while the offense appeared to have been rejuvenated down the stretch, the stunning 13-9 loss to UCLA -- the fewest points scored by the Trojans since Carroll's first season -- brought a torrent of criticism. Some suggested that Booty would lose his job to Sanchez next season.

Through it all, Booty remained as easy going as his northern Louisiana drawl would suggest.

``He kind of bounces back the same way from a touchdown and an interception,'' Kalil said. ``It's a great quality to have. It keeps a guy very poised and you have to be poised when you're in a leadership role.''

USC entered the game hoping to be balanced, but the first half played to form. The Wolverines' top-ranked rushing defense was overwhelming the USC running game, which has struggled while relying on freshmen tailbacks and having lost four fullbacks to injury.

With the score 3-3 at halftime, the Trojans had rushed 12times for 20 yards.

``We looked at the game, and it was kind of a dead game offensively on both sides, so we went into the locker room and said, `Forget it. We ain't going that way anymore,''' SC coach Pete Carroll said.

USC took the second-half kickoff, and Gable was stopped on second-and-1, and third-and- 1. Kiffin had seen enough.

``After that, we said we're not going to run the ball, period,'' Kiffin said. ``And we didn't for the next (29) plays.''

The next time USC had the ball, Booty hit four consecutive passes, the last of which was a 2-yard touchdown to Chris McFoy. The next possession, he got the ball to Dwayne Jarrett, and the two-time All-American shrugged off cornerback Morgan Trent for a 22-yard touchdown. The Trojans settled for a field goal, pushing the lead to 19-3 when Jarrett couldn't hang on to a pass in the end zone.

After Michigan pulled within 19-11, Booty laid a beautifully thrown post pattern in Jarrett's lap on third-and-10 that he turned into a 62-yard score. Booty, who was 6 of 9 on third down, threw a 7-yard scoring pass to Steve Smith to seal the victory with 6:52 to play.

Only then did Booty hand the ball off -- for the record, to Chauncey Washington for eightyards.

``He's a big-time thrower with a big arm,'' Kiffin said of Booty. ``You put him in a situation where he gets to throw the ball a lot -- and that's what I told him, we're not running the ball again -- and you get a little pressure off him.''

The way Booty viewed, it wasn't so much the pressure that was off him as it was the opportunity he was given. It's why he came to USC -- and why he stayed.

``Tonight erases everything,'' Booty said.

Even a pair of ghosts.

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) Trojans quarterback John David Booty passed for 391 yards and four touchdowns Monday.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer

(2) USC's Ryan Kalil hugs former roommate John David Booty after the Trojans' victory.

Will Lester/Staff Photographer