Stanford Hits Game-Winning FG To Beat USC, 37-35
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -- Nate Whitaker made up for a missed extra point by kicking a 30-yard field goal on the final play to give No. 16 Stanford a 37-35 victory over Southern California on Saturday night.
Whitaker missed his earlier kick after Stanford's fifth touchdown and that was the difference in the game before Andrew Luck calmly drove the Cardinal (5-2, 2-1 Pac-10) down the field to set up the first game-winning kick of Whitaker's career.
Robert Woods caught 12 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns and Matt Barkley threw for 390 yards and the three scores for the Trojans (4-2, 1-2), who lost for the second straight week on a field goal in the final seconds. USC lost 32-31 at home to Washington last week.
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The Cardinal were expected to win coming into the game after getting off to a fast start this season and having beaten the Trojans 55-21 in Los Angeles last year. The most memorable moment in that game came when Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh chose to go for a 2-point conversion with a 27-point lead and less than 7 minutes remaining.
It looked for a while as if the conversion after a touchdown for Stanford in the fourth once again would be the key play. Stepfan Taylor lost a fumble at the USC 48 with 4:14 remaining and the Cardinal leading 34-28.
Barkley completed a 15-yard pass to Stanley Havili on fourth-and-2 and Allen Bradford capped the drive with his 3-yard run with 1:08 remaining. Joe Houston's extra point made it 35-34.
Stanford took over at its 26 with 1:02 left and two timeouts. The drive got an immediate boost when Shane Horton was called for a personal foul after the first play to move the ball to the Stanford 45.
Luck followed with completions to Coby Fleener and Doug Baldwin to get the ball to the USC 31. Taylor then carried twice for 21 yards and Luck took a knee to set up Whitaker's kick.
USC coach Lane Kiffin chose not to ice Whitaker, who drilled the winning kick for his 15th straight made field goal, setting off a mad celebration on the field.
Luck completed 20 of 24 passes for 285 yards and three TDs. Taylor ran for 104 yards and one touchdown and Doug Baldwin caught six passes for 98 yards and two scores.
The second half was mostly a highlight reel for Luck and Barkley. The teams scored touchdowns on five straight possessions at one point before USC was stopped on a fourth down with 6:54 remaining. But Taylor's fumble and the two scoring drives made for a dramatic finish.
After being held scoreless in the second half of last week's loss at Oregon, Stanford scored touchdowns on its first three possessions of the second half against the Trojans and then came up with the game-winning field goal.
Luck led two long drives and Chris Owusu's 88-yard kickoff return set up another touchdown as Stanford's offense looked as efficient as always.
USC was nearly as good, with Stanford having no answer for Woods, who scored on a 6-yard pass in the first half, a 61-yarder in the third quarter and a 6-yarder in the fourth.
The most memorable play in the first half came in the final minute when Taylor lost a fumble. Shareece Wright scooped up the loose ball and had visions of making a long return before Luck flattened him with the kind of hit quarterbacks usually receive instead of hand out. Wright lost the ball after the jarring hit. The Trojans recovered but could not score as the game went to the half tied 14-14.
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