Stanford upsets No. 2 USC, 21-14

Like the poster in the Stanford student section said: “Luck had nothing to do with it.”

Josh Nunes is no Andrew Luck, but Stanford’s new quarterback was plenty good enough Saturday to keep Stanford’s winning streak against USC going.

It’s now four games.

Stanford, ranked No. 21, shocked the No. 2 Trojans, 21-14, at Palo Alto.

Nunes, a junior from Upland, came up with two of the game’s biggest plays in a three-play span early in the fourth quarter.

On third and 10 from midfield, Nunes scrambled for a 13-yard gain, making two Trojans defenders miss when he was four yards short of a first down.

Then, after a run for no gain by Stepfan Taylor, Nunes connected with tight end Zach Ertz on a 37-yard scoring pass to give Stanford the touchdown advantage its defense would hold.

Nunes ran only three times but gained 35 yards. He also completed 14 of 31 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.

Meantime, Taylor, whose touchdown run last year gave Stanford a win in triple overtime, was his usual productive self.

He ran for 156 yards and a touchdown in 29 carries and caught four passes for 61 yards and another touchdown.

Stanford improved to 3-0. USC is 2-1.

Stanford trailed at the half by a touchdown, but tied the score with 10 seconds left in the third quarter on a dynamic catch and run by Taylor.

Nunes hit Taylor with a short screen pass and Taylor broke four arm tackles on a 23-yard scoring play.

USC led, 14-7 at halftime despite committing turnovers on three consecutive possessions, including interceptions on consecutive passes by Barkley.

The Trojans wasted their first opportunity before freshman receiver Nelson Agholor caught a pass and then raced 49 yards to the the Stanford two.

Harkening to the infamous Bush Push touchdown at Notre Dame in 2005, Redd scored with an assist from left tackle Aundrey Walker.

On second and goal from the two, Redd took a handoff and appeared to be stopped. But he kept his feet moving and Walker wrapped him up and appeared to pull him across the goal line.

Stanford wasted little time responding.

Taylor took a handoff from Nunes, broke off right tackle and then sidestepped one tackler and slipped another before breaking toward the left sideline and outrunning the Trojans for a 59-yard touchdown.

USC went ahead early in the second quarter with a 14-play, 58-yard drive highlighted by two fourth-down completions by Barkley.

Barkley connected with tight end Randall Telfer for eight yards on a fourth-and-three pass. Wide receiver Robert Woods gained 24 yards on a fourth-and-19 play from the 25 yard-line.

Redd scored his second touchdown on a one-yard run for a 14-7 lead with 11:19 left in the second quarter.