• Box Score

Ken Peters
AP Sports Writer

Arizona quarterback Ortege Jenkins, left, dodges USC's Kori Dickerson attempt to tackle during the first half, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2000, in Los Angeles. Arizona won the game 31-15. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ortege Jenkins ran for a pair of touchdowns and threw a 75-yard scoring pass to lead Arizona to a 31-15 victory over No. 18 Southern California on Saturday.

Jenkins connected with Bobby Wade for the long TD on the third play of the game, and freshman Clarence Farmer ran 80 yards for another score as the Wildcats (4-1, 2-0 Pacific-10) built a 21-point lead in the first quarter.

USC's Carson Palmer threw three interceptions and lost a fumble. The sputtering Trojans (3-2, 0-2) also missed two field goal tries and had both their PAT kicks blocked.

Many in the Coliseum crowd of 49,342 booed the Trojans as they lost to an underdog for the second week in a row. USC was ranked eighth nationally before a 31-21 defeat at Oregon State the previous weekend, their first loss to the Beavers in 33 years.

Jenkins, who scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter and a 4-yard run in the third, passed sparingly after Arizona took its big lead, completing six of 12 for 110 yards in the game, with one interception.

Arizona's Clarence Farmer rushes a career high 80 yards for a touchdown during the first half against USC, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2000, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Arizona shut down the Trojans' running game, holding the USC to 10 yards rushing. Michael Jolivette had two interceptions for the Wildcats.

The Trojans' scoring came on a 1-yard run by Petros Papadakis in the second quarter and a 27-yard field goal by John Wall in the third, and a 7-yard pass from Palmer to Matt Nickels with 29 seconds left in the game.

Wall took the kicks for USC after David Newbury missed two field goals and had a PAT try blocked in the first half.

On Arizona's long touchdown play that seemed to stun the Trojans early in the game, Wade was a step behind cornerback Kris Richard, caught the ball in stride and sprinted the final 30 yards to the end zone. It was the longest completion of Jenkins' career, and also Wade's longest reception.

Jenkins gave the Wildcats a 14-0 lead when, on fourth-and-goal at the USC 1, he faked a handoff to the right and sprinted left, going untouched into the end zone with 6:59 left in the opening quarter.

Farmer, a 6-foot, 224-pounder, widened Arizona's lead to 21--0 when he took a handoff and started running wide to his left, cut back off tackle and, behind good blocks by the Wildcats' offensive left side, broke into the secondary and was off to the end zone.

Jenkins' second scoring run, out of the shotgun, made it 28-9 with 5:10 left in the third quarter, and Sean Keel added a 29-yard field goal for Arizona in the final quarter.

Palmer was 26-of-50 for 321 yards.