SANCHEZ MANAGES TO KEEP HIS COOL MAKES TWO CRUCIAL PLAYS AFTER INTS.

Byline: PHIL COLLIN

Staff Writer

He was no Nervous Nellie out there, that's for sure. Still, Mark Sanchez had just thrown interceptions on consecutive passes, USC was tied just before halftime and the Trojans were lucky to have the ball back because of a fumble.

"That's when you really have to regroup and rethink things and make sure you're not trying too hard," Sanchez said.

As USC's quarterback of the future -- and the future could be as soon as this week -- the sophomore probably sensed he was at the tipping point. Could he suddenly lose the trust of his teammates? Could he lose the confidence in himself that got him this far?

"You've got to reel him in, because we couldn't lose him, and that can happen," USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian said. "Your first start, you throw a couple picks, you're not playing as well as you want, you can hear the grumblings a little bit and you can start to get lost in the emotion and the things outside instead of (saying), 'What's really going on and how can we get this thing going?' The one thing Mark is, is a really tough kid. He's going to play hard and you don't want him to lose that."

The Trojans didn't lose Sanchez, and they didn't lose to Arizona.

Thanks to a kid who kept his head and came up with two crucial plays, USC scored a 20-13 win over Arizona on Saturday that kept them alive in the Pacific-10 Conference race.

After all, this might not be just a one-game, fill-in performance for Sanchez, who stood in with starter John David Booty toting a broken finger on his passing hand.

Sanchez had more than modest passing statistics, completing 19of31 throws for 130 yards and the two interceptions.

Coach Pete Carroll said there's no guarantee Booty returns this week at Notre Dame.

Booty said he will test his finger on Tuesday and see how it turns out.

More than once, Sanchez referred to his status as basically being ready for next week.

After he was asked about sliding down instead of risking injury running into the teeth of the defense, he came up with this response: "We'll probably talk about that quite a bit," he said. "I can't keep doing that for whatever, the next six, seven games after that."

Maybe the Trojans shouldn't have been too worried about him losing confidence.

On the heels of a 45-yard punt return by Joe McKnight, Sanchez threw a perfect 25-yard touchdown pass to tight end Fred Davis that gave USC a 17-13 lead.

On third-and-7 from the Arizona 2-yard line with less than twominutes remaining, Sanchez dropped back to pass. In an instant, he was instead running up the middle. An awkward juke here, a lunge there and all of a sudden USC had a first down.

It enabled to Trojans to run down the clock and get a breathing-room field goal.

"It was instinctive and I don't know where those crazy legs came from," Sanchez said. "I probably looked like a running fool out there."

So, will he be on the field again this week? Is this a challenge to the 11/2-year Booty regime?

"Sure, and now he's got game experience," Sarkisian said. "He's got (74) plays under his belt. Critical third downs, taking tough hits and a bloody lip and a bloody elbow -- now he's kind of a guy."

Nice endorsement.

"In the end," Sarkisian said, "it'll make John David a better player, too."

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USC quarterback Mark Sanchez has his helmet pulled back by Arizona's Corey Hall, who was penalized, on Saturday.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer