So when that scenario unfolded Saturday night against Colorado at the Coliseum, Palmer knew just what to do. He completed six passes in those frantic final moments, which ended in David Newbury hitting a 24-yard field goal for a 17-14 victory.

"I've dreamed about that situation so many times over the last year, from last season to the summer," Palmer said. "It was like deja vu. It's what quarterbacks dream about."

Southern Cal linebacker Zeke Moreno takes down quarterback Zac Colvin.(AP)

A year ago, Palmer's season ended in the third game against Oregon in Eugene, Ore., when he suffered a broken collarbone, and USC went down in flames by losing to the Ducks and dropping five of its next six games.

All six of those defeats were by 10 points or less, and no other Trojans team had lost so many games by so few points. All Palmer could do was watch.

In the Trojans' season-opening victory against Penn State, they won almost in spite of him, as he was overanxious, overthrowing, and underwhelming: 10-for-20, 87 yards, one interception. His 20 yards lost in sacks meant his total offense for that game was 67 yards.

But Saturday night, when he had to play well -- and had to come through in a tough game -- the 6-5, 220-pound sophomore guided USC into the Top 10. As the 11th-ranked team in the AP Top 25, it stands to reason that the Trojans will jump into the Top 10 this week.

"We'd get in that situation before," said Trojans offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, "and we didn't have the confidence to win the football games."

Palmer was more descriptive, using "scared" and "nervous" to describe USC in such tense times. That's what he saw time and again from his front-row perch on the sideline last season.

"That taught me a lot," Palmer said. "The opportunities we had ... that really prepared me."

Palmer ended with 275 passing yards and one touchdown, and only five of his 30 passes were not caught by one of his teammates. One was picked off in the end zone, after Kelly somehow tipped it. Another was the intentional toss to the grass to kill the clock on that final drive.

The only other time Palmer threw for more yardage as a Trojan came in 1998, when he accumulated 280 in a Sun Bowl loss to TCU. He even matched his career high with a 27-yard scramble.

Palmer and the Trojans got the chance to beat the Buffaloes in regulation when Colorado's Mark Mariscal hooked a 40-yard field goal by the left upright with 74 seconds remaining, giving USC possession at its own 22-yard line.

"We had to find out about ourselves," said Trojans coach Paul Hackett.

They found out they're very susceptible to mistakes, as the Trojans were flagged for an illegal shift on the first play of that drive. Didn't matter to Palmer, though, whether he started from the 22 or 17.

Five yards can't shatter a dream when you've been waiting almost a year for one.

Palmer didn't rattle when faced with his first snag in the game-deciding drive, a third-and-one call from the 31 that was intended to be a pass to Malaefou MacKenzie in the right flat.

Palmer quickly recognized that Colorado had MacKenzie covered, so Palmer switched to his second option -- Kareem Kelly just beyond MacKenzie and along the right sideline. Palmer rifled it to Kelly, who made a leaping catch it in front of Scott Nemeth and slipped out of bounds at the Colorado 45.

"The kid had the presence of mind to find the No. 2 receiver," Jackson said. "That was a great throw, and a great catch."

The best was yet to come, after Palmer connected on a five-yard pass to MacKenzie and then zipped the ball at the ground to kill the clock with 28 seconds left. To highlight the importance of the third-and-five play at the 40, Hackett then burned his final timeout.

Then Palmer torched the Buffaloes with a 19-yard lob to Kelly along the left sideline, with junior cornerback Terrance Wood half a stride behind Kelly.

"Basically, Hue Jackson had enough confidence in me to call that play, a lot of confidence in me to catch that ball," Kelly said. "I told him to call on me in those situations, that I want to be the guy."

Palmer tried to remain calm after the big looper to Kelly.

"I knew he'd go up and get it," Palmer said. "That's his job. He's known to do that, and I knew he'd get it."

A couple of quick outs to freshman wide receiver Kerry Colbert and a personal-foul call on Colorado later, and Newbury was in chip-shot range to win the game.

"He can put the ball in a space," Jackson said of Palmer, "that most people can't."

The schedule isn't conducive to developing continuity, since the Trojans already get their second bye week this week before playing host to San Jose State. But with a string of starts, plenty of people are expecting even bigger things for Palmer.

So are his foes.

"He made some great plays, and he's going to have a bright future," said Colorado linebacker Jashon Sykes, a junior from Gardena (Calif.) Serra High. "But that game came down to just one or two plays."

Which Carson Palmer had been waiting nearly a year to complete.