USC overcomes late deficit to improve to 2-0 with 34-30 win over Arizona

No. 20 USC improved to 2-0 Saturday after narrowly defeating the Arizona Wildcats 34-30 in the Trojans’ first road contest of the season.

A late touchdown run by redshirt senior running back Vavae Malepeai put USC ahead with 25 seconds remaining in the game after Arizona had stolen a 3-point lead with under two minutes remaining. 

After the game, Malepeai recalled a conversation with running back Stephen Carr last weekend when the Trojans were down late against Arizona State. The two had said that “some way, somehow, we’re gonna get it done.”

“That same conversation happened today before heading into our last drive,” Malepeai said Saturday. “It was something we meant from the heart. At the end of the day, the whole team was behind it.”

Despite playing its first game of the season, Arizona head coach Kevin Sumlin’s group often looked like the more disciplined and polished team. The Trojans were penalized 11 times to Arizona’s seven, with USC’s penalties costing a total of 110 yards in the game. 

USC’s inability to clean up sloppy penalties, improve upon poor tackling and hit open receivers made the team reliant on standout individual performances — such as junior receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who had six of his seven receptions and 105 of his 113 yards in the second half —  — to pull out the late win. 

USC head coach Clay Helton acknowledged the team’s problem with penalties but pointed to the turnover battle as a reason for the victory. After turning the ball over four times last week against Arizona State, the Trojans did not commit a turnover against the Wildcats.

“If we turn it over one time, we may lose that game,” Helton said.

After an underwhelming first half, defensive coordinator Todd Orlando’s group tightened up its rush defense for the final two quarters.

The Trojans appeared to spy sophomore quarterback Grant Gunnell, cutting off lanes for improvised scrambles that came easily in the first half. Junior safety Talanoa Hufanga said one of the adjustments was assigning a “bigger” player to spy Gunnell and prevent him from hurting USC with his running ability.

“We just wanted to definitely bring a little bit more pressure and try to give guys more opportunity to make our plays,” Hufanga said of the defensive adjustments in the second half.

After picking up an interception on Arizona’s opening drive, Hufanga received medical attention on the sideline and a trainer appeared to be tending to his right thigh. After the game, Helton said Hufanga was battling a “deep bruise” in his quad throughout the afternoon, explaining his absence early in the game, and praised the junior for playing through the injury. 

Sophomore linebacker Drake Jackson had a performance reminiscent of his impressive freshman season that saw him earn All-Pac-12 Second Team honors a year ago. Jackson also left the game early with an apparent injury but returned with a force.

Jackson had two sacks to lead the Trojan defense, along with redshirt sophomore inside linebacker Raymond Scott, who recorded his first career sack. Helton was complimentary of Scott, who switched from linebacker to safety this season, and his ability to adapt to what coaches ask of him. 

“To have limited time at the position, he’s really dived into it,” Helton said of Scott.

Redshirt junior defensive lineman Marlon Tuipulotu, who was named Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week for his performance against Arizona State, had another impressive showing. Tuipulotu led the Trojans with eight total tackles.

On the offensive end, a somewhat disappointing afternoon for sophomore quarterback Kedon Slovis was salvaged by another game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter. Slovis finished the game with 325 passing yards and completed almost 70% of his passes, but Slovis missed a few open receivers and many of his passes appeared wobbly.

Asked about a possible injury to his hand, Slovis said there was little reason for concern. 

“I don’t know what it is, but I’ll get it fixed next week,” Slovis said. “My arm feels great. I just need to get it fixed mechanically.”

USC squandered two trips inside Arizona’s 15-yard line through a missed field goal by freshman kicker Parker Lewis and a turnover on downs after a failed rushing attempt on fourth-and-1.

As Helton said, the game left a lot to be desired for the Trojans.

“We had somewhere around 500 yards today,” Helton said. “It was really our execution in the red zone that stood out to me.” 

After a tough start on the ground, the Trojans were able to successfully run the ball in early down situations. Running backs senior Stephen Carr and redshirt sophomore Markese Stepp combined for 163 rushing yards as the Trojans enjoyed a productive day on the ground. 

Helton said the decision to run the ball more frequently came after they were able to settle in and see how Arizona was lining up on defense in certain situations and personnel groups. 

He praised the offensive line for its ability to open up the run game and protect the quarterback.

“I don’t think we gave up a sack and we rushed [near] our mark of 175,” Helton said. “They kept our quarterback upright … I saw improvement from Week 1 to Week 2.”

Nonetheless, USC will look to improve its run game in short yardage situations, improve tackling and eliminate costly penalties as it moves forward this season.  

After being favored by two touchdowns against Arizona, Helton and company will look to clean up those mistakes as they prepare for a matchup with Utah next week.