USC tops Stanford to take Pac-12 title

PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP

NO. 10 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 31,

NO. 12 STANFORD 28

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Sam Darnold threw for 325 yards and two touchdowns and engineered a back-breaking 99-yard drive in the fourth quarter to lead No. 10 Southern California to a 31-28 victory over No. 12 Stanford in the Pac-12 championship game Friday night.

Darnold threw touchdown passes to Michael Pittman Jr. and Tyler Vaughns to stake the Trojans (11-2) to the lead. He then delivered one of the biggest plays of the game when he stepped up to avoid pressure in the end zone before connecting on a 54-yard pass to Pittman to spark the key touchdown drive in the fourth.

Ronald Jones finished that drive with an 8-yard run that made it 31-21 to cap a productive night where he ran for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns to give USC its first victory in a Pac-12 championship game.

The long drive came after USC stuffed Stanford (9-4) at the goal line to preserve the lead. With Bryce Love nursing an injured ankle on the sideline, Cameron Scarlett was stopped on successive runs from inside the 2, including a fourth-down try from the 1 that was stopped by Uchenna Nwosu.

Darnold sealed the game with a 15-yard pass to Josh Falo on fourth-and-2 to let USC run out the clock.

The Trojans had a balanced offensive performance with Pittman catching seven passes for 146 yards and Jones doing solid work on the ground, and the defense came up with the big stop at the goal line. But it probably won't be enough to overcome earlier losses at Washington State and Notre Dame.

USC still holds out hope for a spot in the four-team playoff if there are several upsets in other conference title games today, but the chances appear to be remote. The victory Friday gives USC a season sweep of Stanford and will likely send the Trojans to the Fiesta Bowl.

Sports on 12/02/2017

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