His team on defense and trailing 21-7 with 44 seconds remaining, UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel called for a time out. Back on the field, USC quarterback Matt Barkley took the snap and connected with receiver Damian Williams for a 48-yard touchdown. The Bruins looked completely dumbfounded on the play, leaving Williams with plenty of room to make an easy grab. Of course, Neuheisel and his team didn’t seem too pleased.

The Trojans (8-3, 5-3 Pac-10) followed Williams’ dramatic score by jumping and yelling on their sideline before moving onto the field in unison. They appeared to be taunting the Bruins (6-6, 3-6), who then came across midfield to challenge them before coaches and officials kept them apart.

After the game, Neuheisel and USC coach Pete Carroll exchanged possibly the shortest handshake in the history of college football. The announcers on the Fox Sports telecast were trying to blow up the situation and I hope people don’t buy into it. Both coaches live to compete and this type of stuff is expected.

The bottom line is that Neuheisel called a meaningless timeout when his team was obviously beaten. Sensing Neuheisel intended to keep this game going, Pete Carroll went for a final score. I have no clue why the Bruins neglected to play defense on Williams’ touchdown. If Neuheisel did indeed call the timeout to discuss a defensive strategy, then his team failed to listen. On the other hand, if he just wanted to irritate the Coliseum (which is how it looked), then Carroll had every right to order a deep pass.

Even though Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis probably had the pink slip in his wallet, the guy would have appreciated a win today against Stanford. Unfortunately for him, Toby Gerhart is an amazing football player. With less than 6 minutes left in the game, Gerhart carried seven times for 54 yards on the Cardinals’ winning drive.

On a night when Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate put on an aerial show for the Irish (6-6) in a showcase for Weis’ offense, it was Gerhart who won the game for Stanford (8-4) and possibly earned a trip to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist in two weeks.

After Stanford stopped Robert Hughes on third-and-2 from the Irish 35 with less than 6 minutes left, Gerhart carried seven times for 54 yards on the winning drive, bowling over would-be tacklers before scoring his 26th rushing touchdown of the season. The fans chanted “To-by! To-by!” throughout the drive.

Clausen and Tate weren’t done, driving to the 24 before Chase Thomas sacked Clausen at the 31. On the final play, Clausen’s desperation heave into the end zone was batted down by Michael Thomas, giving Stanford its first win against Notre Dame since 2001.

Earlier today, I took the train through Palo Alto en route to San Jose. I was sitting by a few Notre Dame fans. They couldn’t have been less excited. Their team was hours away from losing, but they looked as if they were solemnly preparing themselves for a sour outcome.

After getting shut out by their in-state rivals, Oklahoma State relinquished its bid in the Bowl Championship Series.

DeMarco Murray ran for two touchdowns, Ryan Broyles returned a punt 88 yards for a score and Oklahoma knocked No. 11 Oklahoma State out of contention for its first BCS appearance with a 27-0 win Saturday.

With representatives of the Fiesta and Orange bowls watching, the Cowboys (9-3, 6-2 Big 12) fell completely flat with their worst offensive performance of the decade. Oklahoma State was shut out for the first time since 2005 by an Oklahoma defense coming off its worst outing of the year, a 41-13 loss at Texas Tech last week.

Oklahoma State quarterback Zac Robinson threw for only 44 yards on 9-for-21 passing after missing last week’s game with injuries to his head and shoulder. He was pulled in the fourth quarter with his lowest passing total since taking over as the starting quarterback early in the 2007 season.

Oklahoma State didn’t have a single first down in the second half and finished with only 109 yards of total offense.

Neither team — or the referees, for that matter — gave the fans much to cheer for early on as the game was marred by fumbles and constant replay reviews, including one that required a second look for officials to get the down and distance correct. But while the Sooners made up for their early mistakes, OSU never got anything going.

Considering the injuries they’ve dealt with all season, this is a huge win for the Sooners. The victory is also Oklahoma’s seventh straight in the Bedlam rivalry and its 30th consecutive at home.