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USC tops Stanford 31-28 in thrilling Pac-12 Championship Game: 3 takeaways

By Nathaniel Reeves

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 18: Sam Darnold (14) of the USC Trojans hands off the ball to Ronald Jones II (25) of the USC Trojans during a college football game between the UCLA Bruins vs USC Trojans on November 18, 2017 at the Los Angeles memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Jordon Kelly/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 18: Sam Darnold (14) of the USC Trojans hands off the ball to Ronald Jones II (25) of the USC Trojans during a college football game between the UCLA Bruins vs USC Trojans on November 18, 2017 at the Los Angeles memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Jordon Kelly/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Here’s what we learned from the No. 10 USC Trojans capturing the Pac-12 title with a thrilling 31-28 win over the No. 12 Stanford Cardinal on Friday night in Santa Clara.

The No. 10 USC Trojans became the first Pac-12 South team to capture the conference title with a 31-28 win over the No. 12 Stanford Cardinal on Friday night at Levi’s Stadium.

After the two teams traded punts to begin the game, USC struck first on a short Michael Pittman touchdown to cap off an impressive 70-yard drive to go up 7-0 at the 4:38 mark of the first. The Cardinal responded five minutes later on a Bryce Love touchdown, as quarterback K.J Costello guided a strong drive of his own.

Costly Stanford penalties began to pile up on the ensuing drive, allowing USC to re-take the lead on a field goal. After a Cardinal punt, the Trojans extended the lead to 17-7 late in the half behind star quarterback San Darnold, who beautifully orchestrated a 97-yard drive with a pair of long passes.

Stanford then moved down the field quickly for a crucial touchdown before the break, keyed by a 42-yard J.J Arcega-Whiteside reception in double coverage. With Love somewhat limited by a nagging ankle problem, Cameron Scarlett scored on a short touchdown to make it a 17-14 game at the half.

The USC rush defense initially tightened up in the third quarter, and Ronald Jones II scored from one yard out at the five minute mark after Darnold hit on yet another long pass to push the lead back to 10.

Once again, Stanford responded quickly with a 52-yard run to set up a Kaden Smith touchdown with three minutes remaining in the quarter. Stanford’s defense suddenly came to life over the next few minutes, forcing a fumble and then sacking Darnold near his own goal line to earn great field postion on back to back drives.

Neither of those possessions resulted of points however, as USC came up with a huge goal line stand to keep it a 24-21 game at the 8:04 mark of the fourth. Darnold then hit Pittman on a 54-yard pass, setting up a backbreaking Jones II touchdown with 4:24 to go.

Impressively, Costello and the Cardinal weren’t done yet and quickly made it a 31-28 game with 2:03 to go on Smith’s second touchdown. Stanford couldn’t connect on the onside kick attempt, and USC made a gutsy call to go for it on fourth and short, sealing the game on a Darnold completion to Josh Falo.

The balanced Trojans finished with 501 yards despite leading receiver Deontay Burnett being shut out. Here’s what we learned from USC’s 31-28 win over Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship Game.

3 takeaways

The Trojans finally made Ronald Jones II the focal point of the offense

Darnold was brilliant with 325 yards and two touchdowns, but the real story of the game was USC sticking with the run evening long.

While overshadowed by Love and Saquon Barkley, Jones II has quietly been one of the best running backs in the nation with 1,346 yards and 16 touchdowns on the season. The Trojans fed Jones II the ball consistently on Friday night, as he finished with 30 carries for 140 yards and two scores.

That’s a stark difference from USC’s losses to Washington State and and Notre Dame, where Jones II received a combined 24 carries. The Trojans’ five-game winning streak has been fueled by the run game, helping Darnold cut down on mistskes.

Stanford has a bright future under center 

While it will hurt to lose Love, who turned in a courageous performance with 125 yards despite the ankle problem, the Cardinal should be optimistic about the future.

After a lackluster 15-14 win over Oregon State in late October, David Shaw made the switch from Keller Chryst to Costello under center. The sophomore has largely been solid since, keeping Stanford in the game with a few big throws as part of a 192-yard, two touchdown performance that included a couple of nice gains on the ground.

If Costello doesn’t work out for whatever reason, four-star recruit Davis Mills should also be ready to go next season. The Cardinal should remain as consistent as ever under Shaw in 2018 and beyond.

This is the USC team everybody envisioned at the start of the season. 

While the Trojans will be disappinted to fall short of their national championship goals, they have shown their full potental over the past few weeks at full strength.

Tons of injuries, particularly in the trenches on both sides of the ball, hampered USC during an uninspiring stretch in September and October. Darnold was making far too many mistakes in the first half of the season behind a shaky line, while the defense was run off the field in the blowout loss at Notre Dame.

Next: ACC Championship Game Preview

The future first-round pick made a number of NFL-caliber throws down the field on Friday night, while USC’s rush defense did just enough. USC will now get a chance to earn a signature win in the New Year’s Six to close out its up and down campaign.

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