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LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Southern California's Carson Palmer threw Washington right out of the Pac-10 Conference race.

Palmer threw for 348 yards and a career-high four touchdowns - three to true freshman Mike Williams - as No. 20 USC rolled to a 41-21 victory over No. 17 Washington.

Palmer threw an interception on the first play from scrimmage but was extremely sharp thereafter. The senior completed 21-of-34 passes for his third 300-yard game of the season, strafing a secondary that was missing injured cornerback Roc Alexander with long passes.

"It was buzzing around down there that he wasn't there," Palmer said. "We really wanted to take advantage of that if we could."

Williams caught nine passes for 159 yards in his third straight 100-yard game. He is the first Trojans receiver to put together three straight 100-yard games since Keyshawn Johnson in 1995 and tied a school record with three TD catches.

"It was a huge day for the passing offense," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "Carson was really sharp today and Mike Williams just keeps lighting it up. He's a tremendous football player and keeps getting better."

"I knew my abilities, but I can't say I expected this," Williams said.

Keary Colbert caught seven passes for 146 yards and a touchdown for USC (5-2, 3-1 Pac-10) won its seventh straight home game and remained in the hunt for the conference title and the automatic BCS berth. Washington State and Arizona State are unbeaten in league play.

"We need to take care of our schedule," said Carroll, whose team lost to Washington State and hosts Arizona State in three weeks. "I'm hoping we'll get better each week, better execution each week."

The first road game since Labor Day for the Huskies (4-3, 1-2) was not a good one. They trailed 34-7 in the third quarter before staging a half-hearted rally behind Cody Pickett that fell well short.

"I was disappointed in the way we played because this game had big implications," Washington coach Rick Neuheisel said. "I thought we were ready to play, but we were plagued by the things that have plagued us all year - big plays and the inability to run the ball."

Pickett threw an astounding 61 times, completing 34 for 350 yards and three TDs. But he was intercepted on consecutive third-quarter possessions and sacked three times before being replaced by Taylor Barton.

On the first play, Palmer tried to go deep, but his pass deflected off Williams' hands and was picked off by Sam Cunningham, who returned it 11 yards to the USC 35. But John Anderson's 40-yard field goal was partially blocked.

Late in the first quarter, Palmer tried again, this time finding Williams on a deep post route for a 43-yard TD.

"It's called a flood pattern," Williams said. "If they break for it, well, you saw the results."

"When something happens like that, it's a big blow to their defense," Palmer said. "It wears them down mentally."

Pickett, who has seven straight 300-yard games, responded with a five-yard TD toss to Paul Arnold, a beautiful throw over the defense into the back of the end zone that tied it with four seconds left in the opening period.

But it was all Trojans - and Palmer - for the next two quarters. He caught the safety in a blitz and found Colbert on a streak pattern from the slot for a 61-yard TD and a 14-7 lead with 10:53 left in the first half.

"That was something we watched on film," Palmer said. "Their safeties are really aggressive and come up on the run game."

"Those big plays to our receivers had a huge effect on the game," Carroll said. "It was just great execution."

Four minutes later, Ryan Killeen kicked a 30-yard field goal after a 21-yard catch by Colbert and a 16-yarder by Williams, giving USC a 17-7 halftime lead.

In the third period, Palmer hit Williams on a slant pattern for a 14-yard TD before the Trojans cashed in on a pair of turnovers.

Two plays after a 49-yard interception return by linebacker Matt Grootegoed, Palmer threw a short pass underneath the zone to Williams, who crossed from left to right and took it in for an 11-yard TD and a 31-7 lead with 6:56 left.

"There's a miscommunication between our receiver and quarterback and it glanced off his shoulder pad and they ran it back and scored," Neuheisel said. "Now you're in a catching-up mode."

Two minutes later, Killeen kicked a 33-yard field goal after safety Troy Polamalu returned another interception 33 yards.

In the fourth quarter, Pickett threw TD passes of two yards to Kevin Ware and 27 yards to Reggie Williams, who caught seven passes for 134 yards.

The Huskies forced a punt and drove into Trojans territory before turning it over on downs. On 4th-and-3 at the Washington 33 with just over four minutes to go, Palmer threw a screen pass to Colbert, who raced 25 yards. Two plays later, Justin Fargas rumbled 13 yards for the clinching score.

Neither team did much on the ground. USC managed 74 yards and Pickett's sacks took Washington's total to minus-5.

Huskies running back Braxton Cleman caught a school-record 15 passes for 69 yards. Pickett pushed his season passing yardage total to 2,601, another school mark.

USC opened a 43-26-4 lead in the all-time series with just its second win since 1995.