Ware's career night carries USC past Oregon State

Aca'Cedric Ware's 62-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter enabled USC to repel an Oregon State rally and record a 38-21 win Saturday night at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Ore.

Ware, who rushed for a career-high 205 yards and three scores on 17 carries, broke into the clear off right tackle and scored with 11:53 remaining on the first play of the drive. It enabled the Trojans (5-4, 4-3 Pac-12) to tie Utah and Arizona for first place in the Pac-12 South, as well as avoid their first three-game losing streak in one season since 2012.

Ware also scored on a 57-yard run to start the second quarter and a 2-yard run in the third quarter for USC, which rolled up 332 rushing yards. Vavae Malepeai added 101 yards on 15 carries for the Trojans.

Freshman quarterback JT Daniels, who missed last week's loss to Arizona State with a concussion, completed 14 of 26 passes for 177 yards with a 41-yard touchdown pass to Devon Williams. That gave USC a 21-0 advantage with 7:13 left in the first half.

At that point, the Beavers (2-7, 1-5) stormed back, using a short-passing game orchestrated by quarterback Jake Luton. He completed 31 of 45 passes for 301 yards and led two scoring drives before halftime. Luton's 11-yard touchdown strike to Noah Togiai with four seconds left in the half pulled Oregon State within 21-14 at the half.

After Ware's 2-yard scoring run restored a two-touchdown lead, the Beavers edged within a score again on Artavis Pierce's 6-yard run at the 6:23 mark to make it 28-21.

Oregon State drove to the Trojans' 19 early in the fourth quarter, but turned down a 36-yard field goal try and attempted a trick play. But holder Timmy Hernandez, normally a wide receiver, took a shotgun snap and tried a pass that fell incomplete.

The Beavers then recovered a fumble at the USC 39, but Luton's fourth-down pass to Hernandez from the 38 was knocked away with 13:13 to play.

One snap later, Ware broke away for the score that shaped the game's remainder.

--Field Level Media