San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
USC, with 2 late TDs, rallies from 13 down to stun Arizona State
Drake London caught a 21yard TD pass with 1: 20 to go and No. 20 USC rallied from a late 13point deficit for a 2827 victory over visiting Arizona State on Saturday in the Pac12’ s longdelayed season opener.
Bru McCoy caught a deflected 26yard TD pass with 2: 52 left for the Trojans, and Max Williams recovered the onside kick. On 4thand9, Kedon Slovis fired a pass down the middle to London, who beat double coverage to haul it in for a score.
USC’s defense then stopped Arizona State on downs near midfield with 50 seconds left to preserve an astonishing comeback for perpetually embattled coach Clay Helton’s team.
“Well, it reminds you of 2020, doesn’t it?” Helton said. “A year of adversity and finding a way to overcome hard situations. I’m proud of our football team. We made it.”
Until their rally, the Trojans struggled to show poise and precision in a game that began at 9 a. m. USC agreed to its earliest kickoff in at least 70 years for a national television audience, but it looked like another embarrassment for Helton and his Trojans — before it abruptly turned into a thrilling triumph.
Slovis passed for 381 yards and Stephen Carr and Markese
Pac- 12 kickoff SATURDAY
No. 12 Oregon 35, Stanford 14 Washington at Cal, canceled No. 20 USC 28, Arizona State 27 Colorado 48, UCLA 42 Washington State at Oregon State ( late)
Arizona at Utah, canceled
NEXT WEEK Friday
Utah at UCLA, 7: 30 p. m.
Saturday
Colorado at Stanford, 12: 30 p. m. Cal at Arizona State, time TBD No. 12 Oregon at Wash. St., TBD No. 20 USC at Arizona, TBD Oregon St. at Washington, TBD
Stepp had scoring runs in the first half for USC. London also caught eight passes for 125 yards, none bigger than his winning TD reception.
The Sun Devils’ Jayden Daniels passed for 134 yards and ran for 111 more but threw four consecutive incompletions to end their lastditch drive.
OTHER GAMES
Notre Dame upset topranked Clemson 4740 in South Bend, Ind.
Ian Book threw for 310 yards and a touchdown for the Irish ( 70, 60 ACC). Notre Dame’s Kyren Williams ran for 140 yards on 23 tries.
Uiagalelei passed for 426 yards, completing 28 of 43 passes for the Tigers ( 71, 61) while playing in place of Heisman Trophy hopeful Trevor Lawrence, who was out because of the coronavirus. Cornell Powell and Amari Rodgers combined to catch 14 passes for 295 yards.
# 3 Ohio State 49, Rutgers 27: Justin Fields threw for 314 yards and five touchdowns, completing 24 of 28 passes, for the Buckeyes ( 3- 0 Big Ten) against the visiting Scarlet Knights ( 1- 2). Ohio State scored 28 unanswered points in the second quarter.
# 8 Florida 44, # 5 Georgia 28: At Jacksonville, Fla., Kyle Trask had a four- TD night, becoming the first quarterback in SEC history to do it in five consecutive games, and the Gators ( 4- 1) ended a three- game losing streak in the rivalry known as the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.” Trask completed 30 of 43 passes for a474 yards, 8 yards shy of Tim Tebow’s single- game school record.
# 6 Cincinnati 38, Houston 10: Gerrid Doaks rushed for 184 yards and one touchdown, Desmond Ridder ran for three scores and threw for another, and the host Bearcats ( 6- 0, 4- 0 American Athletic) extended their school- record home winning streak to 18.
# 7 Texas A& M 48, South Carolina 3: Kellen Mond threw four TD passes to become Texas A& M’s career leader, Isaiah Spiller ran for 131 yards and the visiting Aggies routed the Gamecocks ( 2- 4). Mond moved past Jerrod Jefferson with the 68th touchdown pass of his career, a 52- yarder to Devon Achane in the third quarter with the game long decided. Mond also ran for a score to help Texas A& M improve to 5- 1 — all in the SEC — for its best start since opening 6- 0 in 2016. The Aggies are 7- 0 against the Gamecocks.
# 13 Indiana 38, # 23 Michigan 21: Michael Penix Jr. passed for 342 yards and three touchdowns, and the host Hoosiers ( 3- 0, 3- 0 Big Ten) beat the Wolverines ( 1- 2, 1- 2) for the first time since 1987, a losing streak of 24 games — tied for the longest active skid in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Wolverines ( 1- 2, 1- 2) still don’t have a top- 15 road win since beating Notre Dame in 2006. Their second consecutive loss could turn up the pressure on coach Jim Harbaugh in his sixth season at Michigan.