LOS ANGELES_Sam Darnold does not wilt easily, but USC does often melt down as spectacularly as it was late Saturday evening in a gonzo Pac-12 game between No. 17 USC and No. 22 Arizona.
USC had led by 22 points. Twenty-two points became 15. Fifteen became eight. Eight became zero. Another quarterback had taken over the game _ had started to eclipse even Darnold: Arizona's electrifying sophomore Khalil Tate. Eight minutes remained. The game was slipping away.
Darnold strolled onto the field with little apparent concern. He did not yell. He did not melt. He marshalled USC on one of the late drives that have become his signature. With a scramble and a picture-perfect pass on a wheel route _ and some help from Ronald Jones II _ Darnold rescued the game and saved USC's season. He turned back Tate. USC overcame the mid-game collapse to defeat Arizona, 49-35, in front of 70,225 at the Coliseum.
With the score tied late, Darnold overcame Arizona and more USC self-sabotage. He responded to a holding penalty with a scramble and completion to Michael Pittman Jr., 21 yards downfield, for a quick first down. He reacted to a four-yard loss on a first-down run by placing the sublime ball on the wheel route to Jones. Jones punched in a one-yard score to give USC the lead again.
Tate, who'd broken loose in the second half, finally cracked. His next pass was a prayer, a lob to the middle of the field. Ajene Harris intercepted it. Jones soon rampaged another 52 yards to the one-yard line, then rammed in another one-yard touchdown to seal the victory.
Darnold was 20 for 26 for 311 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He outdueled Tate, who was also exceptional. Tate completed just 14 of 31 pass attempts for 146 yards and two interceptions but rushed for 161 yards and scored three touchdowns overall.
Jones finished just shy of another 200-yard rushing performance. He settled for 194 and three touchdowns. He became USC's first back-to-back 1,000-yard rusher since LenDale White.
USC (8-2, 6-1 in the Pac-12) now has the Pac-12 South in a submission hold. USC needs only one win in its final two games against Colorado and UCLA, or one more loss each from Arizona (6-3, 4-2) and Arizona State, to clinch a spot in the Pac-12 championship game.
Rather than a slugfest between heavyweights, large portions of the game veered into tragicomedy. The game had more reviews than the back of a Stephen King book. USC committed 14 penalties for 123 yards.
Clay Helton earned an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty shortly after halftime. He was complaining about a Tate fumbled, whistled dead to negate a USC recovery and return (the recovery was awarded to USC after another lengthy review). He could've been emoting on behalf of anyone watching the game: The first five minutes of game time in the third quarter took more than 20 minutes to complete.
USC carved out huge chunks in the running game early. Darnold passed over the top. USC scored first when Pittman blocked a punt and Jalen Greene scooped it and scored. Darnold added a 22-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Vaughns and a 27-yard touchdown pass dropped perfectly into the arms of a diving Steven Mitchell Jr.
But USC was almost undone by Tate, and would've had company. No team had found an answer for him yet. Tate was pressed into action just five games ago after Arizona's starter was injured against Colorado. He entered the game, rushed for 327 yards as the backup and didn't stop running.
Tate is an opportunistic passer and a lethal runner. He moves like an eel, slippery and with uncommon acceleration. But he had also never faced a defense like USC's.
Defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast stuffed the box with bodies and dared Tate to throw. Pendergast's safeties played like linebackers. When Tate ran, Pendergast blitzed him. When Tate threw, Pendergast blitzed him. Entering the game, Arizona had given up five sacks all season. USC sacked Tate as many times Saturday alone.
The strategy worked early. Arizona's longest play of the first half was a 12-yard pass to Shun Brown in the first quarter. Entering the game, Tate rushed for more than that on an average play _ he averaged 13.5 yards per attempt. USC bottled up Tate rushed 12 times for 19 yards.
Then the second half began. Tate squandered Arizona's first drive with a fumble inside the 10-yard line. Arizona punted next. Then: Tate, finally breaking loose, 32 yards for a score; Tate, scrambling on fourth-down, hitting Shun Brown 30-yards for a passing touchdown; Tate, improvising then finding J.J. Taylor for a 16-yard pass and catch.
An easy toss to Deontay Burnett and a five-yard Jones touchdown run had given USC a cushy 28-6 lead early in the third-quarter. Tate, unleashed, ate away.
When Zach Green punched in a three-yard rush with more than eight minutes to go and Tate completed the two-point conversion try to Tony Ellison, USC no longer had the lead.
But it still had two players named Jones and Darnold.
