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USC ends Stanford's home winning streak on late FG

Sep 7, 2014 - 7:00 AM Stanford, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Andre Heidari kicked USC past Stanford for a second straight year, as his late 53-yard field goal sent the 14th-ranked Trojans past the 13th-ranked Cardinal, 13-10, in a tight Pac-12 tussle.

Heidari booted a 47-yarder near the end of regulation to knock off a one-loss Stanford team last November and continued to be a thorn in the Cardinal's side Saturday with a go-ahead kick that was good from about 60 with 2:30 remaining.

Stanford, which moved into USC territory in all nine of its possessions, reached the opposing 22-yard line with time winding down but came away empty.

J.R. Tavai forced a strip-sack of Kevin Hogan in the closing seconds, and USC (2-0, 1-0 Pac-12) recovered the fumble to snap the nation's longest home winning streak at 17.

"Bottom line, if you don't take advantage of opportunities, you lose games to good football teams," said Stanford head coach David Shaw.

Javorius Allen ran for 154 yards and Cody Kessler tossed for just 135 for the victorious Trojans, whose only touchdown came on their opening possession.

Stanford (1-1, 0-1) gained 413 yards to USC's 291 but could not overcome their ineffectiveness when crossing midfield. Hogan threw for 285 yards on 22-of-30 passes, while Ty Montgomery caught nine passes for 83 yards and added 113 yards on kickoff and punt returns.

A chop block penalty negated a potential go-ahead touchdown and moved Stanford out of field goal range with just over seven minutes to play, and a Kessler- to-Nelson Agholor connection of 29 yards moved USC into Heidari's range.

First-year Trojans head coach Steve Sarkisian kept his offense on the field on 4th-and-5 from the Stanford 35 before calling timeout just before the ball was snapped. When play resumed, Sarkisian opted to use Heidari, and the senior kicker delivered the deciding field goal.

Stanford's final drive mirrored six of its previous eight touches -- with lots of yards and nary any points.

USC marched 68 yards in 12 plays on its first possession, using three third- down conversions and Justin Davis' 1-yard plunge to take a 7-0 lead.

The Cardinal missed a field goal their first time with the ball and punted early in the second quarter after a bad snap moved them out of the red zone.

Patrick Skov's 2-yard touchdown run capped a lengthy drive that covered 77 yards and finally got Stanford on the board with 7:45 left in the half.

Hogan guided the Cardinal into field goal range just before the break, and Jordan Williamson's 33-yard kick gave them a 10-7 lead.

The second half was full of missed opportunities for Stanford. Williamson pushed a 26-yard chip shot wide right in the third quarter, and Daniel Marx was stuffed short of a first down on 4th-and-1 from the USC 3-yard line.

Kessler completed three straight passes totaling 31 yards to get USC out of the shadow of its own end zone, and Allen's 50-yard run set up Heidari's tying field goal from 25 yards out in the final minute of the third.

Montgomery returned the ensuing kickoff 31 yards, and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty moved the ball to the Trojans' 32. On the next snap, Hogan and Remound Wright flubbed a handoff, and USC recovered the loose ball.

Game Notes

USC leads the all-time series, 60-29-3 ... Agholor caught nine passes for 91 yards ... Wright led Stanford with 60 yards on 11 carries ... USC overcame 10 penalties for 87 yards, while the Cardinals committed eight penalties for 68 yards.