By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES(AP) -- When Juron Criner stretched and stumbled across
the goal line for Arizona's go-ahead touchdown, the half-empty
Coliseum fell into a gloomy silence that matched the dark clouds
above Southern California's once-intimidating stadium.

Over on the Wildcats' sideline, it was all sunny skies and
Hollywood endings. After a bunch of crazy finishes and brutal
losses, long-struggling Arizona is headed to a fine reward for
its most impressive season in a decade.

Criner dived into the end zone with a 36-yard TD pass from Nick
Foles with 3:14 to play, and Arizona likely wrapped up a Holiday
Bowl berth with a 21-17 victory over not-so-mighty No. 20 USC on
Saturday.

"It feels amazing," Criner said. "It's an indescribable feeling.
How would you describe it if somebody asked you how it feels to
rewrite history?"

Foles passed for 239 yards and two TDs and ran for another score
for the Wildcats (8-4, 6-3 Pac-10), who finally beat USC for the
first time in coach Mike Stoops' tenure by scoring the final
touchdown in a defense-dominated game.

Although bowl berths won't be given out until Sunday, Holiday
Bowl officials had said they were likely to select the winner of
this game. While the Pac-10's No. 2 bowl would have been a
consolation prize for USC (8-4, 5-4), it's a sweepstakes jackpot
for the Wildcats, who won the Las Vegas Bowl last season in
their first bowl appearance since 1998

"With such a big bowl on the line, and a finish of anywhere from
second to sixth (in the Pac-10), it was a big thing for us,"
Stoops said. "It's been like this all year. I've never seen a
year like this. ... I don't know if we have the best players,
but we're awfully good if we're balanced."

After Jordan Congdon made a 37-yard field goal with 7:13 left to
put the Trojans ahead, Arizona's struggling offense suddenly
jolted into life, converting three straight third downs on the
decisive drive. When Foles saw single coverage on his top
receiver, he changed the play to a streak route for Criner, who
caught the long pass and eluded a tackle before scoring.

"It comes down to will and wanting it, and our guys have a lot
of heart," said Foles, who went 22 of 40 but made several clutch
throws, including an early TD pass to Delashaun Dean. "USC
played great, but our guys wanted it more."

Arizona secured a share of second in the Pac-10 with its first
eight-win regular season since 1998 and knocked off a ranked
team for the sixth straight season under Stoops. The Wildcats
also ended a seven-game losing streak against USC.

The Trojans' second home loss in three games was a dismal way to
finish the most embarrassing regular season of coach Pete
Carroll's remarkable tenure. One of college football's marquee
programs has taken a clear step backward.

The Trojans were 47-1 at the Coliseum before last month's loss
to Stanford. USC has been in the AP Top 25 for its past 102
games, a streak that could end Sunday.

"It just feels so different," Carroll said. "It's so different
than what we've done over our career. We've tried to find our
way and battled. It just hasn't ever really kicked in like we
would have liked it to have done."

Not even Senior Day could coax any consistency out of the dismal
USC offense led by Matt Barkley, who went 20 of 37 for 144 yards
with the 12th interception of his rocky freshman season. Allen
Bradford rushed for 66 yards and a tying touchdown late in the
third quarter, and Ronald Johnson caught a TD pass.

After beginning the season in search of their eighth straight
Pac-10 title and BCS bowl berth, the Trojans can't finish higher
than fifth place. A lower-tier bowl game awaits, including the
chance of a more humbling trip to San Diego for the Poinsettia
Bowl.

"It's tough to swallow, it is," receiver Damian Williams said.
"I'd be lying if I said this was expected. It was just a growing
experience. Every single person on this team has learned a
lesson."

USC couldn't get a first down on its ensuing drive after
Criner's catch, with Barkley throwing three straight
incompletions - including a fourth-down throw over the head of
Damian Williams, who was open down the middle. USC got the ball
back with 7 seconds left, but Barkley was sacked by Earl
Mitchell.

Barkley was among several Trojans who noticed a lower excitement
level after last week's 28-7 victory over UCLA. USC managed just
120 yards of offense by halftime, when the Wildcats led 14-7.

"You could tell the difference today," Barkley said. "The energy
was there in the fourth quarter, but it was almost like it was
too late. I don't know why we're putting ourselves in bad
situations."

Stafon Johnson, the USC tailback who nearly died in a
weightlifting accident that ended his season in September, was
the last of USC's seniors to take the field in pregame
introductions. Johnson, who wore his jersey and a stocking cap
as he posed for pictures with his mother and teammates, still
hasn't decided whether he'll attempt to return for another
season.