The USC Trojans used a strong defense to contain Andrew Luck for most of the first half, but a poor offensive performance still left them trailing the Stanford Cardinal 10-6 at halftime at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Andre Heidari drilled a 50-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining in the second quarter, pulling the Trojans to within four points heading into the break.
The Trojans begin the second half with the ball.
Luck began the game by completing all five passes on the opening drive for 74 yards and a touchdown. However, since then, under constant pressure from Nick Perry and the defensive line, Luck completed just four of nine passes for 24 yards in four drives.
USC and their defense made Stanford do things they haven't been used to this season. Per Bruce Feldman of CBS Sports:
USC forces another punt. First time Stanford has had to punt on back-to-back series in three games.
USC forced Stanford into three different three-and-out drives, something the Cardinal only did three times in seven games before tonight, per Feldman's colleague Bryan Fischer of CBS Sports. But while the defense has been good news for the Trojans, the offense has been sluggish all night.
Matt Barkley completed just 14 of 25 passes for 125 yards, while Robert Woods had a few uncharacteristic drops on potentially big plays. On the Trojans' third drive, Barkley locked in on tight end Randall Telfer on third down, and his forced pass was intercepted by linebacker A.J. Tarpley.
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