Five Key Moments

1 USC strikes first--but has to score twice to do it. R. Jay Soward leaps to catch John Fox’s 11-yard pass in the right corner of the end zone, but officials miss the call and rule him out of bounds, even though his left foot landed in bounds by more than a foot. Two plays later, Chad Morton makes the officiating mistake moot by carrying the ball in from two yards and USC takes a 7-0 first-quarter lead.

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2 With the score tied, 7-7, in the second quarter, Fox throws behind receiver Windrell Hayes, and Arizona State’s Kenny Williams picks off the pass and returns it 30 yards to the USC one-yard line. J.R. Redmond scores on the next play for a 13-7 lead.

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3 Arizona State Coach Bruce Snyder goes for a first down on fourth and one from the USC 40 in the first half--and instead of diving for the yard, the Sun Devils burn the Trojans with a 37-yard pass to tight end Todd Heap that sets up Redmond’s three-yard touchdown run, giving Arizona State a 19-7 lead.

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4 With Arizona State leading, 19-10 in the fourth quarter, USC’s Ennis Davis gives the Trojans new life with a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown. Kicker David Newbury--who missed a field goal earlier--misses the extra point, but USC cuts the lead to three points with 8:46 left.

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5 With plenty of time left and only a three-point lead to overcome, the Trojans set themselves back an extra five yards with an illegal-substitution penalty, and then Mike Van Raaphorst’s third-and-15 pass from his own 31 is picked off by Arizona State’s Mike Pinkard.