USC GAME REPORT

1st QUARTER

USC 7

Arizona St. 3

THE SCORING: * USC 7, Arizona State 0: McCullough, 52-yard run at 8:32. 62-yard drive, three plays. PAT--Wall (kick).

* USC 7, Arizona State 3: Barth, 28-yard field goal at 5:15. 59-yard drive, 11 plays.

TURNING POINT: McCullough’s quick reactions allowed him to turn a run that was headed nowhere into the first score of the game. He started into t the middle, stopped, then darted outside into the clear and went untouched all the way to the end zone.

NOT IN THE SUMMARY: Kicker Mike Barth’s presence on the field was a minor victory for the Sun Devils. He hurt his back kicking a Nerf football in the days before Arizona State’s game against Oregon, and his availability Saturday had been in doubt.

STAT WATCH: USC dominated on the ground, outrushing Arizona state 80-28. That helped the Trojans to a 115-87 advantage in total yards despite running one less play than Arizona State. McCullough carried six times for 65 yards. Palmer completed five of 10 passes for 35 yards.

2nd QUARTER

USC 20

Arizona St. 3

THE SCORING: * USC 14, Arizona State 3: Colbert, 18-yard pass from Palmer at 12:52. 80-yard drive, 10 plays. PAT--Wall (kick).

* USC 21, Arizona State 3: Papadakis, 1-yard run at 0:49. 72-yard drive, 10 plays. PAT--Wall (kick).

TURNING POINT: With the ball at Arizona State’s 1-yard line, Palmer rolled right and had Doyal Butler wide open in the end zone, but he threw to Chad Pierson, who was double-covered. If either Arizona State defender caught the ball he could have run the length of the field for a touchdown. But they merely batted it down, and USC scored on the next play.

NOT IN THE SUMMARY: Kareem Kelly’s stiff-arm of Arizona State cornerback Christon Rance that allowed Kelly to escape for an additional 10 yards. You might not read about it on the stat sheet, but Kelly made sure the Sun Devils heard about it as he woofed to their sideline on the way back to the huddle.

STAT WATCH: Statistically, it was more of the same as USC outrushed Arizona State 90-16 in the quarter and outgained them, 171-54. USC had a total of 286 yards in the first half. McCullough passed the 100-yard mark with 103 yards and Keary Colbert had four receptions for 47 yards and a touchdown.

3rd QUARTER

USC 35

Arizona St. 13

THE SCORING: * USC 28, Arizona State 3: Stevenson, 3-yard return after blocked punt at 13:43. PAT--Wall (kick)

* USC 28, Arizona State 6: Barth, 45-yard field goal at 11:31. 12-yard drive, five plays.

* USC 35, Arizona State 6: Harris, 24-yard pass from Palmer at 8:35. 80-yard drive, seven plays. PAT--Wall (kick).

* USC 35, Arizona State 13: Pace, 3-yard run at 0:46 following Arizona State fumble recovery. 12-yard drive, three plays. PAT--Barth (kick).

TURNING POINT: USC opened the door for an Arizona State comeback when McCullough fumbled and the Sun Devils recovered at USC’s 12-yard line. They scored three plays later, which was just enough to give them some life heading into the fourth quarter.

NOT IN THE SUMMARY: When USC reached the 35-point mark, the Trojans surpassed their previous highest score this season, 34 points against San Jose State on Sept. 23.

STAT WATCH: Through three quarters, USC outgained Arizona State, 366-276, even though the Sun Devils had run 18 more plays and had possession of the ball for nine more minutes.

4th QUARTER

USC 35

Arizona St. 35

THE SCORING: * USC 35, Arizona State 20: Pace, 45-yard pass from Goodman at 14:16. 45 yards, one play. PAT--Barth (kick).

* USC 35, Arizona State 27: McDonald, 81-yard punt return at 11:45. PAT--Barth (kick).

* USC 35, Arizona State 35: O’Neal, 32-yard pass from Goodman at 4:21. PAT--O’Neal pass from Goodman.

TURNING POINT: Barth missed a 43-yard field goal attempt with 1:51 left in the game, after everything had gone Arizona State’s way in the previous 14 minutes.

NOT IN THE SUMMARY: A holding penalty on third down that moved the Sun Devils back eight yards, and a bad snap both played a part in Barth’s miss.

STAT WATCH: Four USC turnovers in the fourth quarter.

OT

USC 44

Arizona St. 38

THE SCORING: * USC 38, Arizona State 35: Barth, 27-yard field goal.

* USC 38, Arizona State 38: Wall, 23-yard field goal.

* USC 44, Arizona State 38: Pierson, 2-yard touchdown. Key play--Colbert, 19-yard pass from Palmer. PAT--kick failed.