ARLINGTON, Texas _ For all the gaudy numbers Sam Darnold has put up in his two seasons as USC quarterback, there's one statistic he would just as soon forget.
Darnold threw 13 interceptions and fumbled nine times this season, handing the ball over 22 times _ that's more turnovers than 95 teams committed. Three of those turnovers came Friday, with two leading to first-half touchdowns that started Ohio State on its way to a sloppy 24-7 Cotton Bowl win played before a crowd of 67,510 at AT&T Stadium.
The victory gave No. 5 Ohio State 12 wins for the fifth time in six seasons under Urban Meyer, who is 73-8 since 2012. Only Alabama's Nick Saban (75-8) has done better.
And though No. 8 USC (11-3) posted its best record since 2008, it was a season that appeared to end before halftime Friday thanks to 21 Ohio State points that came off turnovers.
"We kind of shot ourselves in the foot," USC coach Clay Helton said. "Any time you turn the ball over (four) times you're putting a hurt on your defense. It led to points early."
Darnold agreed.
"Whenever you turn the ball over that much it's hard to win," said Darnold, who was also sacked eight times.
In fact the game was only four plays old when the Trojans coughed the ball up the first time, with Ohio State cornerback Kendall Sheffield stripping it from receiver Deontay Burnett at the USC 39.
Damon Webb recovered and five plays later quarterback J.T. Barrett scored from the one to give Ohio State the lead for good.
Then one play after the Buckeyes' Sean Nuernberger opened the second quarter with a 26-yard field goal, Darnold threw a strike to a wide-open Webb _ who, unfortunately for Darnold, was still playing for Ohio State. Webb brought the ball back 23 yards for Ohio State's first return touchdown of the season, giving the Buckeyes 10 points in 13 seconds.
The Trojans wouldn't match that total all night.
"I made a bad read. I shouldn't have thrown it, obviously," Darnold said. "It was a bad play on my part."
A Darnold fumble later in the period ended USC's most promising drive of the first half at the Ohio State 23 and set up the Buckeyes' final touchdown, with Barrett passing for 16 yards and running for 28 more, sandwiched around a facemask penalty.
Barrett's weaving touchdown run, his longest of the season, put Ohio State up 24-0. The Buckeyes (12-2) wouldn't score again.
But they didn't need to.
Ohio State had just one drive that last more than six plays or covered more as many as 60 yards. But they still managed 24 points.
"Everyone did their job, from the defensive line to the safeties," linebacker John Houston Jr. said. "Everyone did what they had to do."
A turnover also led to USC's only score, with Marvell Tell recovering a muffed punt at the Ohio State 15 with less than three minutes left in the half. Three plays later Ronald Jones II ran it in from the one.
With Darnold throwing for 356 yards, USC actually outgained Ohio State 413-277, picked up 10 more first downs and dominated time of possession. But the turnovers and USC's struggles on third down _ where the Trojans were 6 for 19 _ erased that advantage.
"Their quarterback is as good as advertised but our defensive line really dominated the game," Meyer said of a unit that sacked Darnold eight times and harried him at least that many times.
"They're obviously a really good defensive line," Darnold said. "They're probably the best I've played."
USC had the ball in Ohio State territory eight times but two of those drives ended on fumbles, three on punts, another on a missed field goal and the last on an incomplete pass in the end zone in the final seconds.
"We had the ball three times in the red zone. And we didn't put up points," Darnold said. "Those are tough. It's going to be hard to win ball games like that."
The most spirit the Trojans showed all night came after Darnold was shoved out of bounds following a scramble with two minutes to play.
The shove, which earned a personal-foul penalty for Ohio State's Malik Harrison, also led to a wild sideline scuffle, two personal fouls on USC and the expulsion of Trojan safety Jamel Cook.
So on a night in which Darnold became the first USC quarterback to go 4,000 yards passing in a season and Burnett set a Cotton Bowl record with 12 receptions for 139 yards, their team managed just seven points, its lowest output since last year's season opener, when it lost to Alabama 52-6. That game was also played at AT&T Stadium, a place the Trojans might want to avoid in the future.
USC's loss dropped the Pac-12 to 1-7 in bowls this month with only Saturday's Fiesta Bowl, matching Washington and Penn State, left on the schedule.
