Saturday, September 26, 2015 10:30 PM
(ET)
USC 42, Arizona State 14
The Sports Xchange
Sep 27, 2015
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Cody Kessler threw for 375 yards and five touchdowns and No. 19 USC scored 28 points after Arizona State turnovers for a 42-14 Pac-12 victory on Saturday night.
Kessler had four touchdown passes in the first half when the Trojans (3-1, 1-1) took a 35-0 lead after scoring twice in the final 25 seconds of the half after two Arizona State fumbles.
USC sophomore safety Chris Hawkins returned a fumble 94 yards for a touchdown with 25 seconds left in the half after Arizona State senior quarterback Mike Bercovici mishandled a snap on a play from the Trojans' 1-yard line.
De'Chavon Hayes fumbled the ensuing kickoff at his 4-yard line, and Kessler completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster with three seconds left in the half.
Kessler completed 19 of 33 passes after throwing his first interception of the season on the first series of the game. He has 15 touchdown passes and one interception.
Sun Devils sophomore running back Demario Richard had 131 yards rushing and scored on 1- and 4-yard touchdowns runs in the second half, the first with 1:55 remaining in the third quarter to make it 35-7.
Smith-Schuster had five receptions for 103 yards and two scores and sophomore Adoree' Jackson had three receptions for 131 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown catch four minutes into the game for a 7-0 lead.
Bercovici completed 23 of 44 passes for 272 yards with one interception. He had 77 yards passing in the first half.
Arizona State wide receiver D. J. Foster became the fourth player in NCAA history with 2,000 career yards both rushing and receiving when he caught six passes for 67 yards. Texas Tech's Taurean Henderson was the last player to do that in 2005.
Arizona State (2-2, 0-1) had 185 yards rushing but could not overcome its four turnovers and two missed field goal attempts in the first half.
Kessler threw his first interception of the season on the fourth play of the game, but Arizona State fumbled four plays later. Kessler hit Jackson with an 80-yard touchdown pass for a 7-0 lead three plays later.
Kessler connected with Steven Mitchell Jr. on a 27-yard touchdown pass after Bercovici's first interception for a 14-0 lead with 11:22 left in the second quarter.
After Arizona State kicker Zane Gonzalez missed his second field goal attempt on the next possession, Kessler drove the Trojans 66 yards in 2:34, hitting Smith-Schuster on a 9-yard touchdown pass for a 21-0 lead with 3:37 left in the half.
Two turnovers later, it was 35-0.
NOTES: ASU quarterback Mike Bercovici was the first quarterback in history to throw for five touchdown passes against USC when he did it in the Sun Devils' 38-34 victory at the Coliseum on Oct. 4, 2014. ... Starting with USC, Arizona State is to play four of five games against teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25. UCLA, unranked Colorado, Utah and Oregon are next. ... USC does not play again until playing host to Washington on Oct. 8. ... USC had lost the last two meetings and three of the last four. ... Arizona State RB Kalen Ballage played Saturday after missing the first three games with mononucleosis.
Sep 27, 2015
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Cody Kessler threw for 375 yards and five touchdowns and No. 19 USC scored 28 points after Arizona State turnovers for a 42-14 Pac-12 victory on Saturday night.
Kessler had four touchdown passes in the first half when the Trojans (3-1, 1-1) took a 35-0 lead after scoring twice in the final 25 seconds of the half after two Arizona State fumbles.
USC sophomore safety Chris Hawkins returned a fumble 94 yards for a touchdown with 25 seconds left in the half after Arizona State senior quarterback Mike Bercovici mishandled a snap on a play from the Trojans' 1-yard line.
De'Chavon Hayes fumbled the ensuing kickoff at his 4-yard line, and Kessler completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster with three seconds left in the half.
Kessler completed 19 of 33 passes after throwing his first interception of the season on the first series of the game. He has 15 touchdown passes and one interception.
Sun Devils sophomore running back Demario Richard had 131 yards rushing and scored on 1- and 4-yard touchdowns runs in the second half, the first with 1:55 remaining in the third quarter to make it 35-7.
Smith-Schuster had five receptions for 103 yards and two scores and sophomore Adoree' Jackson had three receptions for 131 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown catch four minutes into the game for a 7-0 lead.
Bercovici completed 23 of 44 passes for 272 yards with one interception. He had 77 yards passing in the first half.
Arizona State wide receiver D. J. Foster became the fourth player in NCAA history with 2,000 career yards both rushing and receiving when he caught six passes for 67 yards. Texas Tech's Taurean Henderson was the last player to do that in 2005.
Arizona State (2-2, 0-1) had 185 yards rushing but could not overcome its four turnovers and two missed field goal attempts in the first half.
Kessler threw his first interception of the season on the fourth play of the game, but Arizona State fumbled four plays later. Kessler hit Jackson with an 80-yard touchdown pass for a 7-0 lead three plays later.
Kessler connected with Steven Mitchell Jr. on a 27-yard touchdown pass after Bercovici's first interception for a 14-0 lead with 11:22 left in the second quarter.
After Arizona State kicker Zane Gonzalez missed his second field goal attempt on the next possession, Kessler drove the Trojans 66 yards in 2:34, hitting Smith-Schuster on a 9-yard touchdown pass for a 21-0 lead with 3:37 left in the half.
Two turnovers later, it was 35-0.
NOTES: ASU quarterback Mike Bercovici was the first quarterback in history to throw for five touchdown passes against USC when he did it in the Sun Devils' 38-34 victory at the Coliseum on Oct. 4, 2014. ... Starting with USC, Arizona State is to play four of five games against teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25. UCLA, unranked Colorado, Utah and Oregon are next. ... USC does not play again until playing host to Washington on Oct. 8. ... USC had lost the last two meetings and three of the last four. ... Arizona State RB Kalen Ballage played Saturday after missing the first three games with mononucleosis.
