LOS ANGELES — Reggie Bush raced around left end, easily leaving most Fresno State defenders in the dust, though a few had angles on him.

Some 30 yards downfield, the Southern California star was hemmed in near the sideline — so he stopped. With would-be tacklers whizzing by him, Bush changed direction, cruised all the way across the field and into the end zone.

The 90,000-plus fans packed into the Los Angeles Coliseum went wild. And with that you-had-to-see-it-to-believe-it 50-yard touchdown, the competition for the Heisman Trophy might have ended.

A rare combination of speed, power and shiftiness, the 6-foot, 200-pound Bush had the game of a lifetime that November night, rushing for 294 yards on 23 carries and setting a Pac-10 record with 513 all-purpose yards as No. 1 USC outlasted Fresno State 50-42.

USC coach Pete Carroll said he hadn’t seen a performance like that in 40 years.

“The game I remember was when Gale Sayers played against the 49ers (in 1965), he scored six touchdowns,” Carroll said. “That was way back when.

“I’ve always thought that was the kind of guy Reggie is like.”

Others have said the same thing.

“It’s a great honor to be compared to somebody like that,” Bush said of Sayers, the former Kansas and Chicago Bears star. “I’ve evolved into my own person and running style. I’ve been playing this game since I was 8 years old.”

The 20-year-old Bush, a junior from the San Diego area, completed the regular season last weekend with another show-stopping performance, gaining 260 yards on 24 carries in a 66-19 triumph over UCLA.

The Heisman will be awarded Saturday night in New York. It was no coincidence Bush wore a Yankees baseball hat last Sunday, when it was formally announced the Trojans would play No. 2 Texas for a third consecutive national championship Jan. 4 in the Rose Bowl.

“I plan on going to New York, so I’m preparing myself,” he said with a smile.

Reggie’s trip to the East Coast will become official Wednesday when the finalists for college football’s most prestigious award are announced.

Bush was a finalist last December, when teammate Matt Leinart won the award. It appears the roles will be reversed this year.

“What would it mean? It would be everything,” Bush said. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to win it.”