USC Trojans upset Stanford Cardinal 20-17, Oregon celebrates
By Josh Davis
The No. 4 Stanford Cardinal had won four straight over the rival USC Trojans. That streak is over and the Trojans are back!
USC’s much maligned kicker Andre Heidari blasted a 47 yard field goal with only 19 seconds remaining to give the Trojans the upset. It’s the second incredible upset in as many weeks in the Pac-12 and the you could hear the fans in Eugene explode with joy as the kick went through. The Ducks took back the lead in the Pac-12 North with the Stanford loss and their own big win over Utah earlier in the day.
The Trojans started out by taking a 7-0 lead early on with a Cody Kessler to fullback Soma Vainuku from 1 yard out. Tyler Gaffney and the Stanford Cardinal would respond, taking a run 35 yards for the touchdown after ripping away from two USC linemen.
The Men of Troy would respond with an 11-0 run, first Javorious Allen from 1 yard out and the two point conversion, then Heidari kicked a field goal. In the back and forth, Stanford would then cut the lead to a touchdown with a field goal before the half and give it to Gaffney for his second touch of the day to tie it back up.
USC would get a huge break late in the game when Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan threw on the run up the sidelines and the ball got tipped and intercepted near midfield. After converting a 4th and 2, Heidari crushed the Cardinal with his boot.
Heidari was 11-18 field goals coming into the game and missed the first extra point, pushing it to the right. Redemption was sweet.