Stanford Cardinal vs USC Trojans Match Player Stats On Dec 01, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 2, 2017

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- USC is back on top in the Pac-12.

The No. 10 Trojans defeated Stanford for the second time this season, beating the No. 12 Cardinal 31-28 in the Pac-12 championship game at Levi's Stadium on Friday night.

The Trojans (11-2) are conference champions for the first time since 2008, when the conference was the Pac-10.

A goal-line stand played a major role in the Trojans' victory, as USC stopped Stanford's Cameron Scarlett on a fourth-down play from the USC 1-yard line with 8:00 remaining in the fourth quarter and USC clinging to a 24-21 lead.

USC then went 99 yards for a touchdown that made it 31-21 with 4:22 left, but still had to sweat through a failed onside kick attempt by Stanford with 2:09 left before getting the win.

USC beat Stanford 42-24 back on Sept. 9 in Los Angeles, but this one was more difficult.

USC quarterback Sam Darnold was 17 of 24 for 325 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, and Ronald Jones II rushed for 140 yards.

Bryce Love finished with 125 rushing yards for Stanford (9-4), and quarterback K.J. Costello was 10 of 22 for 192 yards and two scores.

USC figures to move up in the final College Football Playoff rankings, which will be announced Sunday at noon. But there is little chance the Trojans will advance to the top four and land a berth in the national championship playoff.

The Trojans are expected to play in one of the New Year's Six bowls, probably the Fiesta Bowl, while the Stanford could wind up in a number of bowl games, with the Holiday Bowl being the most likely destination.

USC took a 24-14 lead in the third quarter on Jones' 1-yard touchdown run, which was set up by Darnold's 49-yard completion to Steven Mitchell Jr.

Stanford closed the gap to 24-21 on Costello's 11-yard scoring pass to Kaden Smith, which came three plays after a 52-yard run by Love.

USC maintained its four-point lead when it stopped Scarlett short on fourth-and-goal from the 1, and the Trojans got out of trouble on Darnold's 54-yard pass to Michael Pittman on second-and-9 from the 2.

The Trojans finished the drive with Jones' 8-yard scoring run to make it 31-21 with 4:22 left.

Stanford made it 31-28 on Costello's 28-yard scoring pass with 2:09 left, but an onside kick attempt went out of bounds.

A 1-yard touchdown run by Scarlett with 34 seconds left in the half reduced USC's lead to 17-14 at the intermission. The score was set up by a 42-yard reception by JJ Arcega-Whiteside, who beat double coverage to make the catch with 55 seconds remaining.

USC scored first on a nine-play, 70-yard drive that ended with Darnold's 7-yard touchdown pass to Michael Pittman to make it 7-0.

A 48-yard completion to Daniel Imatorbhebhe was the big play in the drive, although a personal foul by Imatorbhebhe on the play took 15 yards off that gain.

Stanford tied it 7-7 on a 68-yard drive aided by 25 yards of penalties against the Trojans. Love finished the drive on a 9-yard scoring run on the first play of the second quarter.

USC regained the lead 10-7 on Chase McGrath's 24-yard field goal, after 38 yards in Stanford penalties helped the Trojans.

USC used three big plays in a 97-yard scoring drive that made it 17-7. A 40-yard completion to Pittman on a third-and-6 play from the USC 6, a 26-yard run by Jones and a 19-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Vaughns led to the score.

NOTES: When USC beat Stanford 42-24 in Los Angeles on Sept. 9, the Trojans outgained the Cardinal 623-342. ... USC QB Sam Darnold is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by NFLDraftScout.com. ... Stanford RB Bryce Love started the day with 1,848 rushing yards, leaving him 23 yards behind Toby Gerhart for second place on the Stanford single-season rushing list and 171 yards behind Christian McCaffrey's school-record 2,019 yards, achieved in 2015. ... Pac-12 North teams were 6-0 in conference championship games before Friday's contest.