Pasadena ? Southern California’s dejected players trudged off the Rose Bowl field, oblivious to the celebration going on around them.

Their national-championship hopes had just ended with the biggest upset of the season.

UCLA knocked No. 2 USC out of the Bowl Championship Series title game with a stunning 13-9 victory over its crosstown rival Saturday. The Bruins did it with a vastly improved defense and a quarterback starting on three days’ notice.

“Give credit to UCLA. They made it a difficult day,” said USC coach Pete Carroll, whose team lost for just the fourth time in its last 59 games. “They kept us from doing what we wanted to do. We had no rhythm. We did not anticipate this happening.”

Neither did most fans of either team. The Trojans hammered the Bruins, 66-19, last season to lock up a second straight appearance in the BCS title game and figured to win again, if not by such a one-sided score, to make it three in a row.

It wasn’t to be, even though USC came in averaging 32.3 points a game.

Besides having their national championship hopes ended, the Trojans (10-2, 7-2 Pac-10) had their NCAA-record streak of 63 games in which they had scored 20 or more points snapped.

And a lot of the credit goes to UCLA’s first-year defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker, a former Washington Redskins assistant. It was his schemes the Trojans were unable to solve.

Southern California's C.j. cable, left, is tackled by UCLA linebacker Christian Taylor (33) and cornerback Alterraun Verner (1). The Bruins upended the Trojans, 13-9, Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

“I didn’t believe it until the clock hit zero,” UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said. “All we wanted to do was stay close and get a chance to win. I know how important this win is for the Bruin family. I know that it’s been a long time.”

Since 1998, to be exact. The Trojans had beaten the Bruins seven straight times. Before that, UCLA beat USC eight times in a row.

The Bruins sacked USC quarterback John David Booty only twice, but they had him on the run throughout and forced him to throw several balls away. And they held Trojans star Dwayne Jarrett to four catches for 68 yards.

“We gave them a lot of different looks,” Walker said. “If we confused Booty, that would take care of Jarrett.”

The strategy worked to perfection.

“Their offensive line was real wide-eyed,” UCLA defensive end Bruce Davis said. “People said we’re small. That’s all right. We were big enough to knock Booty on the ground.”

No. 4 Florida 38, No. 8 Arkansas 28

Atlanta – Freshman Percy Harvin scored two touchdowns, and Florida put up two more scores off a blocked punt and a botched return, leading the Gators to a wild victory over Arkansas for their first Southeastern Conference crown since 2000.

Now, the Gators have their eyes on another prize. No. 2 Southern California, which had the inside track to face top-ranked Ohio State in the BCS championship game, blew its chance with a loss to UCLA.

The Gators are hoping their win over Arkansas was impressive enough to vault them past third-ranked Michigan in the BCS standings. The media, coaches and computers will answer that question today.

Harvin caught a 37-yard touchdown pass and broke off a 67-yard run to the end zone. Florida scored its first touchdown after Jarred Fayson broke up the middle to block a punt, then went ahead for good when Wondy Pierre-Louis fell on a fumbled punt in the end zone late in the third quarter.

Arkansas rallied from a 17-0 deficit after being held without a touchdown in its first two appearances in the SEC title game.

No. 6 Louisville 48, Connecticut 17

Lousville, Ky. – Brian Brohm threw for 341 yards and four touchdowns, and the Cardinals ended up winning the Big East title.

Harry Douglas caught five passes for 149 yards and two scores, and Anthony Allen added two touchdowns on the ground as Louisville took control early.

Louisville’s school-record 11th regular-season win and West Virginia’s triple-overtime victory over Rutgers on Saturday night handed the Cardinals the Big East title, the automatic berth into the lucrative BCS and a likely invitation to the Orange Bowl against ACC champion Wake Forest on Jan. 2.

No. 15 West Virginia 41, No. 13 Rutgers 39, 3OT

Morgantown, W.Va. – Jarrett Brown threw a 22-yard touchdown pass in the third overtime, and West Virginia knocked down Mike Teel’s two-point conversion pass, denying Rutgers its first BCS berth and allowing Louisville to gain the automatic bid.

Brown ran for one touchdown and threw for another in his first career start to help West Virginia cap its second straight 10-win season. Brown started for Pat White, who sat out the game due to a sore ankle.

Starting with the third overtime, teams are required to go for two-point conversions following touchdowns. Brown hit Brandon Myles across the middle for the go-ahead score against Rutgers (10-2, 5-2), then found Dorrell Jalloh with the two-point conversion pass for a 41-33 lead.

No. 16 Wake Forest 9, No. 23 Georgia Tech 6

Jacksonville, Fla. – Riley Skinner completed two long passes in his homecoming, just enough to give Wake Forest its first Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 36 years and send the Demon Deacons to their biggest bowl game.

Skinner threw for 201 yards, Sam Swank kicked three short field goals, and Wake Forest beat Georgia Tech in the ACC title game.

The Demon Deacons won their second league title and first since 1970, adding another chapter to an improbable season under sixth-year coach Jim Grobe. Skinner, who grew up in Jacksonville, will be going to the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2 – the program’s biggest bowl game since the 1946 Gator Bowl.

No. 21 California 26, Stanford 17

Berkeley, Calif. – Nate Longshore passed for 217 yards, and California survived a bitter wind and stubborn Stanford in the 109th Big Game.

Justin Forsett had 67 of his 75 yards rushing in the fourth quarter as the Golden Bears barely did enough to beat the Cardinal for the fifth straight year in a lackluster performance by both of the Bay Area archrivals.

Tom Schneider kicked four field goals, and DeSean Jackson caught seven passes for 127 yards for Cal, which hasn’t lost a Big Game since coach Jeff Tedford’s arrival in 2002. The Bears had lost seven straight to the Cardinal before the Tedford era.