USC hit the road for its final Pac-12 matchup against Arizona State Saturday night, and the Trojan offense set the tone early.
Junior quarterback Caleb Williams marched the offense down the field on the game’s opening possession, culminating in a 1-yard rushing touchdown from the 2022 Heisman winner.
However, it was the Trojans’ self-inflicted errors that made this season’s road debut a back-and-forth battle. After forcing a three and out, Williams fumbled the handoff to redshirt junior running back MarShawn Lloyd, setting Arizona State up in USC’s redzone. It only took the Sun Devils three plays to capitalize with a 15-yard rushing touchdown to even the score early.
“It’s our first road game. There’s going to be things that happen on road games that doesn’t happen at home games,” Williams said. “We kept fighting. We responded to all the events that happened throughout the game and we have things to get better at.”
The Trojans nearly fumbled the ball again during the following kickoff, but a call reversal spared them. USC took advantage, with Williams connecting on a 43-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver Brenden Rice nine plays later.
Arizona State refused to back down. The Sun Devils responded to Rice’s touchdown with a pair of field goals on both sides of Williams’ second rushing touchdown of the game to make the score 21-13 entering the half.
USC’s first drive of the second half ended in a 53-yard field goal from sophomore Dennis Lynch. Arizona State, however, continued its first half momentum into the third quarter. Gaining 75 yards in just five plays, the Sun Devils finished the drive with a 25-yard touchdown pass and successful two-point conversion to bring the score within three points.
The Trojans looked to respond on the next drive with a touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Zachariah Branch, but an offensive pass interference called the score back. USC head coach Lincoln Riley opted for another Lynch field goal, this time from 36 yards.
Junior defensive back Calen Bullock halted Arizona State’s momentum with an interception on the Sun Devils’ next possession, but the offense sputtered. The Trojans gave the ball back to the Sun Devils following a turnover on downs, USC’s second turnover in three quarters.
“For the first three quarters, it was an example of how the road games can challenge you,” Riley said. “It was an example of how mistakes tend to show up on the road a little bit different than they do at home.”
Redshirt senior defensive end Solomon Byrd shifted momentum back with a forced fumble recovered by junior defensive end Romello Height. The second defensive takeaway, combined with eight sacks, highlighted a big night from the Trojan defense. The defensive effort gave the offense prime real estate on Arizona State’s side of the field, and USC capitalized. Two plays later, Williams found Rice for a 29-yard score, their second connection of the game.
“Adversity struck us. It struck us hard, and we went ahead and took care of it and that’s all that matters,” Rice said. “We bounced back. We got things that we needed to get right.”
But, again, the Sun Devils would not go away. They responded with a 52-yard touchdown pass, capping off a six play, 75-yard drive that brought the lead back to one score.
Williams and the offense struck back less than a minute later with a long touchdown pass of their own. A 45-yard dart to redshirt senior wide receiver Tahj Washington put the Trojans ahead for good, and capped off Williams’ five-touchdown, 322-yard passing performance.
“It certainly wasn’t our cleanest performance. We know we’re going to have to get a lot better,” Riley said. “We know there’s a lot of things to learn from, and I think this team will do that and look forward to our next road challenge.”
The Trojans are on the road again next Saturday for a conference matchup against Colorado on Sept. 30.