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BERKELEY, California (Ticker) -- The decision of coach Tom Holmoe to step aside did not change California'a sagging fortunes. Carson Palmer passed for 235 yards and Chris Howard scored a pair of touchdowns as Southern California routed hapless California, 55-14, in a Pac-10 Conference contest. On Sunday, the embattled Holmoe announced he would step down at the end of the season, but it was business as usual for the Golden Bears, who suffered their 12th straight loss. California (0-9, 0-7 Pac-10) is two games away from the first winless season in school history. The Golden Bears grabbed a 7-0 lead Saturday on Kyle Boller's five-yard TD run less than three minutes into the game. But USC responded with 28 straight points to open a 28-7 lead at the intermission. Howard, who rushed for 61 yards on eight carries, scored on runs of 25 and 15 yards. USC took the lead for good, 14-7, on Palmer's five-yard TD pass to Kareem Kelly 45 seconds into the second period. Palmer completed 19-of-37 passes. The Trojans (5-5, 4-3) stretched their lead to 35-7 early in the third quarter on a three-yard TD run by David Davis off a faked field goal. California closed to 35-14 on backup Reggie Robertson's eight-yard TD pass to Charon Arnold with five minutes left in the third period. But Davis kicked field goals of 33 and 26 yards before Eric Reese scored on a 15-yard TD run to make it 48-14 with just under six minutes to play. The Trojans also got a pair of defensive scores. Troy Polamalu returned an interception 58 yards in the second period before John Cousins capped the scoring with an eight-yard fumble return with 22 seconds left in the contest. California used four quarterbacks with Boller completing just 6-of-15 for 92 yards and two interceptions. The Trojans have won three straight and face archrival UCLA next week.
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