Stanford Wins At Home Against USC 37-35

Palo Alto, CA (Sports Network) – Nate Whitaker’s 30-yard field goal at the end of regulation gave No. 16 Stanford a thrilling 37-35 victory over USC in a back-and-forth Pac-10 battle.

The Cardinal (5-1, 2-1 Pac-10), coming off a 52-31 pounding at the hands of Oregon, bounced back by sending the Trojans (4-2, 1-2) to a similar fate, as Washington kicked a game-winning field goal at the buzzer to pull out a 32-31 win at the Coliseum last week.

Allen Bradford’s touchdown gave USC a 35-34 lead with just over a minute on the clock, leaving plenty of time for Stanford to get into field goal range for Whitaker, who had missed a crucial extra point earlier in the fourth quarter.

Andrew Luck finished an efficient 20-of-24 for 285 yards and three touchdowns, a pair going to Doug Baldwin in the win, Stanford’s third over USC in its last four tries.

Matt Barkley also had a prolific day under center as well, completing 28-of-45 passes for 390 yards with three touchdowns to Robert Woods, who ended with an eye-popping 224 yards on 12 receptions in the loss.

The Sports Network
10/09 23:55:02 ET

The USC Trojans entered the game as underdogs and deservedly so against the high octane Stanford offense led by quarterback Andrew Luck.

Luck has thus far exposed the Trojan secondary by completing eight of his 11 passes for 129 yards and touchdown. USC has held it’s own against the Cardinal by converting on two turnovers, both fumbles that were recovered by seniors defensive tackle Jurrell Casey and cornerback Shareece Wright.

USC Sophomore quarterback Matt Barkley has completed 14 of his 21 passes for 185 yards and touchdown pass to Robert Woods. Woods is leading the USC receivers catching seven passes for 117 yards.

The Trojan’s running game has not solved Stanford’s defense as six different Trojans amassed only 47 total rushing yards on 16 carries, good for a 3.1 yards per rush.

USC will receive the ball to begin the third quarter.

Wide receiver Robert Woods continues to give the Stanford defense problems by catching a pass from Barkley for a touchdown.

Woods currently has seven catches for 117 yards.

USC opened it’s drive with a touchdown thanks to Dillon Baxter, who was at quarterback.

Point after touchdown is good as the Trojans lead Stanford 7-0.

As the USC Trojans prepare for their game in Palo Alto against the Stanford Cardinal, here is a look at the last five matchups between the schools:

• 2009: Stanford 55, at USC 21
• 2008: USC 45, at Stanford 23
• 2007: Stanford 24, at USC 23
• 2006:  USC 42, at Stanford 0
• 2005: at USC 51, Stanford 21

The road team has won the last four meetings between the schools. The last time USC lost at Stanford was in 2000, when a last second touchdown pass from Chris Lewis to Jamien McCullum resulted in a 32-30 Cardinal win.

If it's any consolation, that game, plus many others, got coach Paul Hackett fired, and next season USC hired some guy named Pete Carroll.

After today, the Trojans don't play another road game for five weeks.

For more USC news and information, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Conquest Chronicles.

(Sports Network) -

GAME NOTES: The 16th-ranked Stanford Cardinal will attempt to rebound from their first loss of the season, when they welcome the USC Trojans to Stanford Stadium for a Pac-10 matchup this weekend.

Jim Harbaugh's Cardinal opened the 2010 campaign with four straight impressive victories, but failed to establish themselves as the team to beat in the conference with last weekend's 52-31 loss at Oregon.

The Trojans know a thing or two about conference supremacy, but this year's squad takes on a much different look. Lane Kiffin's first season at the helm began with four straight victories, but the team was bounced out of the top-25 with last week's 32-31 heart-breaking loss against Washington.

Missed opportunities were a key factor in the loss according to Kiffin.

"Unfortunately for us, we had so many opportunities to finish the game out. If you're going to be a championship team, you have to finish people off when you have the ball. You can't go and kick field goals."

Stanford is USC's oldest rival with the series dating back to 1905. The Trojans hold a 59-26-3 advantage all-time. Stanford however, has won two of the last three meetings, including a 55-21 drubbing of the Trojans last year in the Coliseum.

For the second straight season, Washington PK Erik Folk kicked a last-second field goal to do in the Trojans. It spoiled a terrific performance by tailback Allen Bradford, who rumbled for 223 yards last week.

A strong ground attack has been the strength of USC's offense this season with the team netting 234.4 yards per game on 6.4 yards per carry. Bradford leads the team with an even 500 yards, averaging an eye-popping 9.8 yards per carry.

Balance comes from QB Matt Barkley, who has completed 65.9 percent of his throws, for 1,127 yards and 12 TDs. Wide receiver Ronald Johnson has clearly been the go-to-guy downfield, pacing the team in receptions (26), receiving yards (358) and TD catches (five).

While the USC offense has been productive, the same cannot be said of the defense. The Trojans are yielding a generous 418.8 yards per game, and have been particularly vulnerable to the pass (288.0 ypg).

Sophomore safety T.J. McDonald has been extremely busy, recording a team-high 42 tackles, with one sack and two INTs. Up front, DE Wes Horton (15 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, 3.0 sacks) and DT Jurrell Casey (30 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, 2.0 sacks) have been active. Malcolm Smith (35 tackles) and Devon Kennard (31 tackles, one sack) highlight the play amongst the LBs.

Stanford has put up big numbers in 2010 thanks to a balanced offense that is generating 44.6 ppg on 469.6 yards of total offense. The ground attack is churning out 214.0 ypg, while the aerial assault tacks on another 255.6.

Quarterback Andrew Luck is regarded as one of the nation's top gunslingers. He passed for 341 yards at Oregon this past weekend, but it wasn't enough in the loss to the Ducks. On the season, Luck has completed 62.8 percent of his passes, for 1,253 yards with 13 TDs. He has definitely spread the ball around with eight different players hauling in TD receptions. Doug Baldwin leads the way with 15 receptions, for 255 yards and three TDs.

Tailback Stepfan Taylor has handled the lion's share of the carries, averaging a healthy 5.0 yards per tote and 75.6 yards per game.

The Stanford defense has had its moments, but last weekend in Eugene wasn't one of them. The Cardinal allowed the hometown Ducks to roll up 626 yards, an obvious key to the 21-point setback. That game has inflated the stats a bit for the Cardinal, who are now allowing 21.4 ppg, on 330.0 yards of total offense.

Junior strong safety Delano Howell paces the defensive unit with 27 tackles. Linebacker Chase Thomas has shown big play ability as well, with 23 tackles, 3.5 sacks one INT and two fumble recoveries.

USC's postseason destination has already been determined by NCAA sanctions, but that doesn't mean the team can't play the role of spoiler. Still, this is a different Stanford team and the Cardinal know there is simply no more room for error.

Saturday's game between the USC Trojans and Stanford Cardinal will be seen by most of the western United States. Here is the coverage map from ESPN:

Mike Patrick, Craig James, and Heather Cox will be on the call. For areas that won't see the game on ABC, it will be available to view online at ESPN3.com.

In addition, the game will be available on radio on the USC radio network, which includes the following stations:

• ESPN 710 (Los Angeles)
• KSPA 1510 (Inland Empire)
• ESPN Radio 98.9 FM (San Diego)
• KXPS 1010 (Palm Springs)
• KVEN 1450 (Ventura)
• KSZL 1230 (Barstow)
• KUIK 1360 (Portland)

The game can also be heard online at USCTrojans.com.