BERKELEY, Calif. — Tyrone Willingham's final hours as Washington's football coach resembled all too many sorry Saturdays during his four years at the school.

With just one chance left to avoid the lifelong humiliation of being part of an 0-12 team, his Huskies struggled with the simplest tasks while falling behind 31-0 at halftime to a California team playing for nothing but fun. The defense barely put a hand on Cal tailback Jahvid Best, who glided through gaping holes on the way to a school-record 311 yards and four touchdowns.

By the time Washington concluded the first winless season in school history with a 48-7 defeat, the taciturn Willingham seemed both sad and angry — and the veteran coach looked like he couldn't wait to remove his purple polo shirt with the "W" crest for the last time.

"You hurt for your kids," said Willingham, a lame duck since his dismissal in late October. "You hate to see them have to deal with anything of this nature. ... I'm just disappointed that we didn't get done what we set out to do."

After a downbeat coda to this dirge of a season, Washington (0-12, 0-9 Pac-10) staggered back to Seattle as the nation's only winless school and the first 0-12 team in conference history. The Huskies have lost 14 straight since their last victory, over Cal late last season.

"(Going) 0-12 is just horrible," Washington linebacker Mason Foster said. "It's appalling to go 0-12 ... (but) I think it's going to turn around real quick next season. Hopefully guys will take this season and remember it so we never have this feeling again."

Hours after the game, Washington announced that Southern California offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian will replace Willingham, a former Stanford and Notre Dame coach who won just 11 games with the Huskies. Willingham again hinted that Washington had institutional problems that impeded his effectiveness at the school, but he made no overt excuses for the mess Sarkisian will inherit.

"It's great to know who it is, so you're not sitting around waiting for the coach to be announced," Washington linebacker Mason Foster said. "We can get an early start on what we need to do next year to show everybody that this season is only temporary."

And if Sarkisian can mend a fan base that severely fractured during Willingham's tenure, all the better. The simplest way, of course, is with wins. Washington's hope is that Sarkisian can provide needed stability for a program that has cycled through four head coaches in the last 10 years — Willingham, Keith Gilbertson, Rick Neuheisel and Jim Lambright.

"I'm excited. It's been a great program in the past and they're obviously down now. But I'm going to get them back to fighting for a championship," Sarkisian said at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., following USC's 28-7 win over UCLA.

Sarkisian, 34, will become the third-youngest head coach in college football behind Tennessee's Lane Kiffin and Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald — both 33.

Arizona 31, Arizona State 10: Mike Thomas broke the game open with a 52-yard punt return for a score, and the host Wildcats (7-5, 5-4 Pac-10) routed the Sun Devils (5-7, 4-5) at Tucson to clinch their first winning season since 1998.

Nic Grigsby rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown and Willie Tuitama threw for 284 yards and two scores for Arizona, which was expected to accept a bid to the Las Vegas Bowl.

BIG EAST

No. 23 Pittsburgh 34, Connecticut 10: Bill Stull threw for two touchdowns and LaSean McCoy ran for another as the visiting Panthers (9-3, 5-2 Big East) rolled past the Huskies (7-5, 3-4) at East Hartford, Conn., for their first nine-win regular season since 1982 and a bid to the Sun Bowl.

Despite the loss, Connecticut has a shot at the Motor City Bowl. A slot in that game would open up if Ohio State is chosen by a BCS bowl today.

West Virginia 13, South Florida 7: Pat White threw a touchdown pass in his final home game, helping the Mountaineers (8-4, 5-2) hold off the Panthers (7-5, 2-5) on a snowy field at Morgantown, W.Va.

After the game, West Virginia accepted a bid to the Dec. 27 Meineke Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., to play an ACC opponent. South Florida accepted an invitation to the inaugural St. Petersburg Bowl on Dec. 20 against a Conference USA opponent.

CONFERENCE USA

East Carolina 27, Tulsa 24: Ben Hartman kicked a 36-yard field goal with 1:43 remaining, and the Pirates (9-4) took advantage of seven turnovers to beat the Golden Hurricane (10-3) at Tulsa, Okla., in the Conference USA championship game for their first league title in 32 years.

The conference crown earned the Pirates a berth in the Liberty Bowl, which was offered to them on the field during the trophy presentation. Tulsa (10-3) will try to get its top-ranked offense back on track in time for its bowl game, most likely a second straight appearance in the GMAC Bowl — although coach Todd Graham said that wasn't a done deal.