As USC and Stanford prepare to play for the final time as Pac-12 opponents, here's a look back at some of the greatest games between the teams.
With USC and UCLA playing their final season in the Pac-12, The Times is revisiting the top five games in the history of each series. This week: USC-Stanford.USC tailback Charles White runs for 13 yards against Stanford on Oct. 13, 1979, at the Coliseum. The Trojans couldn’t hold a 21-0 halftime lead, and the game ended in a tie.
One of the most consequential games in the rivalry didn’t even result in a win for either team. Stanford’s 21-point, second-half rally was the only blemish on USC’s 11-0-1 record, costing the Trojans a national championship in the polls. The Cardinal scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to tie the score, and on the last play of the game, USC botched the snap on a field-goal attempt. Alabama finished No. 1 despite USC’s season-ending win over previous No. 1 Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.
Backup quarterback Tavita Pritchard led Stanford, a 41-point underdog against Pete Carroll’s five-time defending conference champion Trojans, to what was the biggest upset in college football history. With just three career pass attempts leading into his first start, Pritchard threw a game-winning 10-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal with 49 seconds left. USC quarterback John David Booty had four passes intercepted, helping to end USC’s home winning streak at 35 games.
Curtis McNeal’s fumble in the third overtime period overshadowed his 154 rushing yards and two touchdowns as Andrew Luck’s Cardinal survived the only overtime game in the series. The Trojans led by seven after Nickell Robey’s 33-yard interception return for a touchdown with 3:08 left in the fourth quarter, but Luck answered by leading the Cardinal on a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive ending on a two-yard run by Stepfan Taylor with 38 seconds remaining.
USC became the first Pac-12 South team to win the conference championship game with a key defensive stand and a clutch touchdown drive led by Sam Darnold. In the fourth quarter, the Cardinal had first-and-goal from the five, but were stopped on fourth down at the one. Darnold marched the offense into the end zone on an eight-play drive that chewed up three minutes and 38 seconds and put the Trojans up by 10 with 4:22 remaining.
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