SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 15, 2012
No. 16 Stanford 21, No. 3 Southern California 14: Stepfan Taylor rushed for 156 yards and a score and caught a touchdown pass, and Josh Nunes rebounded from a rocky first half to throw two touchdown passes in the final 15:10 as Stanford won its fourth straight against USC for the first time in the series that dates to 1905.
The Trojans (2-1) had scored 30 points in 10 consecutive games, but star quarterback Matt Barkley and the offense had a tough time moving the ball against the Cardinal. They managed just 276 total yards, went 0-for-12 on third-down conversions and committed three turnovers. Barkley led USC across midfield on its final possession before he was sacked twice and the Trojans turned it over on downs.
Taylor broke a 59-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to tie it at 7 and picked his way through traffic for a 23-yard score on a screen pass from Nunes to tie it at 14 with 10 seconds left in the third quarter. He also had a team-high four catches for 61 yards.
Nunes made big plays with his arm and his legs, including a 12-yard scramble on third-and-10 that set up his 37-yard touchdown pass to Zach Ertz to give the Cardinal a 21-14 lead with 10:20 left.
Penn State transfer Silas Redd scored both USC touchdowns on 1-yard runs, but the Trojans managed just 23 rushing yards on 27 attempts.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Stanford coach David Shaw joined Chuck Taylor (1951-52) as the only coaches in school history to start 3-0 in their first two seasons. … The Cardinal improved to 6-2 at home against ranked opponents since 2009, including a 2-2 mark against top-10 teams. … The Trojans allowed eight sacks all of last season but have given up eight through three games, including five Saturday.