a streak of six games in a row and eight total in the season where he led both teams in tackles. Against Oregon State, he accumulated a game-high 11 tackles, two tackles for a loss, two pass deflections, one forced fumble, and a blocked punt that USC recovered. His streak ended against California, when he had four tackles, but made a game-deciding play with an interception that he returned for a 58-yard touchdown. The next week, the Trojans played their rival, UCLA. Polamalu had two tackles but made key plays when he blocked a punt and made an interception that set up key field goals for USC. He won his first PAC-10 Defensive Player of the Week. USC went on to the Las Vegas Bowl against Utah and Polamalu made a career-high 20 tackles, and three tackles for a loss. He finished his junior campaign with a team-high 118 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss, one sack, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, three blocked punts, and two touchdowns. Polamalu won USC's MVP award and was voted a first-team All-American by Football Writers and College and Pro Football News Weekly. The Associated Press voted him second-team All-American. Senior season For his last season, Polamalu continued to uphold his big play reputation. After being voted team captain for the second consecutive year, he opened the 2002 season with seven tackles and one tackle for a loss in a victory over Auburn. The Trojans faced #18 Colorado in the second game and Polamalu had a team-high 11 tackles. His performance in the 40–3 blowout over Colorado won him Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week. In the fifth game of the season, he injured his ankle on the first defensive series against #17 Washington State. After sitting out a game, he returned against #22 Washington and recorded five tackles and returned an interception 33 yards. Polamalu then disrupted Stanford for the third year in a row, accumulating a season-high 13 tackles, two tackles for a loss, and one sack. He played his last college game in the Orange Bowl against #3 Iowa. A hamstring injury sidelined him for the majority of the game. Polamalu finished his senior season with 68 tackles, nine tackles for a loss, three sacks, one interception, and three forced fumbles. He was voted a first team All-American by the Associated Press, Football Writers, ESPN.com, and Walter Camp,