USC uses long drives, escapes deep trouble
USC doesn’t mind winning the hard way.
The 13th-ranked Trojans pulled off another comeback Saturday, and this one came down to the final hold-your-breath moments.
After quarterback Sam Darnold led USC to three long scoring drives in the second half, the Trojans stopped a two-point-conversion attempt by Utah with 42 seconds to play to edge the Utes 28-27.
USC (6-1, 4-1 Pac-12) trailed 21-7 at the half before scoring touchdowns on drives of 98, 88 and 98 yards.
“Our players made a decision to define our football team in the second half,” USC head coach Clay Helton said. “We were beating ourselves in the first half. We had our jaws set to get the job done in the second half.”
Running back Roland Jones capped the USC comeback, going 11 yards up the middle before getting hit and flipping into the end zone. Walkon kicker Chase McGrath’s fourth point-after proved the difference.
Utah had been shut out in the second half, but answered with a final drive, going 75 yards before quarterback Troy Williams scored from the 2-yard line. Utah (4-2, 1-2) went for the win, but Williams could not find an open receiver, scrambled and was stopped a yard shy of the end zone.
“We played about 80 snaps on defense and had major problems stopping them,” Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham aid. “Darnold was on fire and I thought that was the percentage play. If I had to do it again, I’d do the same thing.”
Darnold overcame his tough first half to complete 27 of 50 passes for 358 yards and three touchdowns. The Trojans finished with 532 total yards.
“I really didn’t get a rhythm going in the first half,” Darnold said. “If I can just contain the ball, I think we can compete against anyone in the country.”
Zack Moss rushed 20 times for a career-high 141 yards. Williams, making his second start in place of injured Tyler Huntley, completed 16 of 27 passes for 262 yards.
Williams went to Narbonne High School, about 17 miles down the Interstate 110 freeway that borders USC.
“I didn’t feel it slipping away,” Williams said. “They’re home and the crowd got loud, but the team we have is unbelievable.
“It just came down to one play. If we make that play, it’s a whole different conversation.” ASU 13, #5 Washington 7: Manny Wilkins (San MarinNovato) threw for 245 yards, including a critical fourthdown conversion with about two minutes left, to preserve a victory for the host Sun Devils (3-3, 2-1). Van Soderberg missed field-goal attempts of 27 and 21 yards for the Huskies (6-1, 3-1).
Arizona 47, UCLA 30: Khalil Tate followed up the previous Saturday’s record-setting performance with another strong one, rushing for 230 yards and two touchdowns to lead the host Wildcats (4-2, 2-1) over the Bruins (3-3, 1-2). The sophomore quarterback, who replaced injured Brandon Dawkins early in the previous Saturday’s win at Colorado, set an FBS rushing record for a quarterback with 327 yards in that game. Tate got the start against the Bruins, and ran for a 45-yard TD on the fourth play of the game. He added a 71-yard touchdown run in the third quarter for a 40-22 Arizona lead. Colorado 36, Oregon St. 33: Steven Montez threw a 13-yard touchdown to Bryce Bobo with 1:34 left and the visiting Buffaloes (4-3, 1-3) edged the Beavers (1-6, 0-4), who were playing their first game since the sudden departure of head coach Gary Andersen. Montez threw for 168 yards and a pair of touchdowns and also caught a scoring pass from Bobo, who finished with nine catches for 126 yards. Phillip Lindsay ran for 185 yards and two touchdowns, falling 5 yards short of reaching 1,000 yards rushing for the secondstraight season. Jordan Choukair’s 52-yard field-goal attempt for the Beavers with 10 seconds left was short. Ryan Nall finished with 172 yards rushing and three touchdowns for Oregon State.