No. 20 USC scored two touchdowns in the last than three minutes of the fourth quarter to complete a stunning comeback and avoid an upset at the hands of Arizona State, winning the Pac-12 opener for both teams 28-27.
Trojans quarterback Kedon Slovis threw for 381 yards on 40-of-55 passing with both of his touchdowns helping guide the Trojans back from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit. The game the first time USC has come back from a deficit of 13 points or more in the fourth quarter since the 2017 Rose Bowl against Penn State. Slovis also had an interception -- one of four turnovers for USC.
The game appeared to be in hand for Arizona State as USC was facing a fourth-and-13 from just outside the red zone with 2:52 remaining down 27-14. A stop there would give the Sun Devils a reward from what had been, to that point, the perfect gameplan for pulling off the upset. Arizona State's defense limited USC's explosive plays through the passing game and played solid defense at and around the line of scrimmage. The Trojans were left trying to put together long scoring drives with short gains, and USC could not finish those drives in the end zone.
On that fourth-and-13, Slovis heaved a pass into the corner of the end zone in the direction of Amon-Ra St. Brown and Bru McCoy. St. Brown went up first with two defenders contesting the ball and it got tipped right into the hands of McCoy for the 26-yard touchdown to cut the Sun Devils lead to 27-21.
The good bounces for USC continued on the successful onside attempt. In just two plays and a matter of minutes in real time (but importantly just a few seconds off the game clock) the game had flipped. USC had the ball with good field position and a chance to score to win the game. The Trojans faced another fourth down with the game seemingly on the line, and this time there was nothing fluky about the play. Slovis fired a pass over the middle to Drake Jackson, who brought in the score with a defender on his back for a 21-yard touchdown catch with 1:20 remaining to tie the game. The extra point gave USC the 28-27 lead.
Arizona State has a lot to take away from this game that's positive, but this is going to sting. Defensive coordinators Marvin Lewis and Antonio Pierce had USC's offense stuck in the mud, but a few strange bounces led the double-digit favorites off the hook. The Sun Devils were close to taking control of the Pac-12 South, but now remain the unquestioned second-best team in that division. If USC takes a loss, the door for conference championship competition remains open.
USC leaves the game with more concern, since the circumstances of the potential loss mirrored some of the more frustrating offensive performances of 2019. The losses to BYU, Oregon and Iowa all involved at least three turnovers and a final turnover margin of -3, and the margin was -2 in the loss to Washington. Teams would challenge the Air Raid by forcing USC to keep everything short, and eventually the high volume of snaps led to game-changing turnovers.
USC is happy to leave the game with a win and remain ranked, but the team knows exactly where it needs to improve as it moves forward in the schedule now looking good as the division title favorites in the Pac-12 South. USC needs more consistency from its ground game to force defenses to crowd the line of scrimmage and give some matchup advantages to the Trojans' elite wide receivers. Both Markese Step and Stephen Carr scored touchdowns on the ground, but Arizona State won a lot of the battles in the trenches when USC had the ball.
Up next for USC is a road trip to Arizona and then a trip to Salt Lake City to face Utah, the defending champs in the division. USC won last year's meeting with the Utes 30-23, but handed over the division lead after losses to Washington and Oregon. The Trojans might have won the toughest game on its schedule on Saturday, taking out the Sun Devils in the unique 9 a.m. local time kickoff from a fan-less Coliseum. But the narrow circumstances of the win should tell USC that this performance won't win every game it plays this year. Without a better effort, the Trojans have at least one loss on this limited Pac-12 schedule.
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November 08, 2020 at 05:17AM
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USC vs. Arizona State score: Trojans complete epic comeback against Sun Devils to avoid upset in Pac-12 opener - CBS Sports
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