The Sports Xchange
Sep 19, 2015
LOS ANGELES – Stanford used a punishing, clock-eating running game and the versatility of sophomore running back Christian McCaffrey on Saturday to upset No. 6 USC 41-31 in the Pacific-12 opener for both teams on Saturday at the Coliseum.
McCaffrey carried the ball 26 times for 115 yards and had 249 all-purpose yards - counting 97 kickoff return yards and 37 on receptions. McCaffrey came into the game averaging 165.8 yards per game in all-purpose running.
Stanford (2-1), which began the season with an upset loss to Northwestern, defeated Central Florida last week and is poised to move into the top 25 with its defeat of USC. The Trojans (2-1) are sure to drop significantly in the poll.
USC made a late turn and trimmed the Stanford lead to 38-31 with 9:19 remaining when Alex Wood salvaged a stalled drive with a 36-yard field goal.
But the Trojans' defense could not get the ball back immediately for the offense. Stanford evaporated more than four minutes off the clock on its next possession and extended the lead to 41-31 on Conrad Ukropina's 46-yard field goal with 2:27 left in the game.
USC quarterback Cody Kessler, who passed for 272 yards and three touchdowns, rested his right arm on the Trojans' opening possession which consumed 76 yards in six plays. The only two passes on the drive were Kessler's 3-yard pass to running back Tre Madden and a 2-yard pass to tight end Taylor McNamara.
Madden gained 50 yards rushing on six carries on that opening drive. Madden scored the touchdown on a 5-yard run.
Stanford responded immediately. The Cardinal drove 66 yards in eight plays, climaxed by quarterback Kevin Hogan's 16-yard touchdown pass to tight end Austin Hooper, with 2:49 remaining in the first quarter tie the score at 7-7.
USC's quick-strike offense needed a mere 1:56 to drive 75 yards in six plays to break the tie. The big play on the drive was a 31-yard completion from Kessler to sophomore wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
The touchdown came on a six-yard bubble screen from Kessler to wide receiver Steven Mitchell Jr.
Stanford cut the deficit to 14-10 on a 42-yard field goal from Ukropina. The big play in that drive was a 41-yard pass completion from Hogan to wide receiver Francis Owusu.
Smith-Schuster displayed his open-field running when USC mounted an eight-play, 92-yard scoring drive.
Kessler hit Smith Schuster with a precision pass over the middle. Smith-Schuster caught the ball in stride, streaked toward the Trojan sideline and then jetted up the field, outrunning three panting Cardinal pursuers for a 54-yard score. Smith-Schuster's fourth touchdown catch this year gave USC a 21-10 lead.
Stanford executed one of its patented time-consuming drives on its next possession, moving 84 yards on nine plays in a methodical 5:34. Tailback Remound Wright capped it off by squeezing into the end zone from the 1-yard line to trim USC's lead to 21-17.
Stanford next showed that it could go high speed if needed. The Cardinal took a 24-21 halftime lead on a 17-yard pass from Hogan to Devon Cajuste. It capped an eight-play, 78-yard drive in a rapid 1:23.
USC scored on its opening drive of the second half to regain the lead at 28-24. But it took an overturn of a call to keep the drive alive. Stanford appeared to have taken the ball away from USC wide receiver Darreus Rogers after a nifty catch of a ball thrown behind him.
But a review of the play returned the ball to the Trojans and after a 19-yard scramble by Kessler to the Stanford one-yard line, Kessler threw a 1-yard TD pass to Mitchell Jr.
The see-saw affair swung back to Stanford when Wright finished off a 10-play, 77-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 4:55 left in the third quarter. It gave Stanford a 31-28 lead.
The Cardinal defense forced a USC punt and Stanford extended its lead to 38-28 when Wright dove over the pile into the end zone from the 1.
NOTES: It's been football and only football for Stanford players. The first day of the fall academic quarter at Stanford is Monday. Stanford's undergraduate program is divided into four 10-week quarters. Players must take a minimum of 12 units each quarter to retain full-time student status. ... Stanford entered Saturday's game with a 39-5 record in games played in California dating back to the 2010 season. Two of those losses came against USC - in 2013 and 2014. ... Stanford sophomore cornerback Alijah Holder has a twin brother, Mikah, who plays football at San Diego State. ... Stanford senior RB Barry Sanders, son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Barry Sanders, rushed the ball for 12 yards on three carries. The younger Sanders is a backup to Cardinal starter Christian McCaffrey, who is the son of former NFL standout receiver Ed McCaffrey, who also played at Stanford. The younger McCaffrey is 14th nationally in all-purpose yards. ... Cardinal QB Kevin Hogan completed 13 of 17 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. ... USC's sophomore two-way player Adoree' Jackson had a long kickoff return for what would have been a touchdown nullified by a penalty in the first quarter.
