No. 4 USC beats Texas 27-24 in double overtime
This wasn’t a terrible sequel to the first game between Texas and USC since the Longhorns beat USC for the BCS Championship following the 2005 season.
USC beat Texas 27-24 in double overtime after Trojans’ defensive lineman Christian Rector ripped the ball out of Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger’s hands as Ehlinger was trying to get to a first down at the USC one on Texas’ possession in double OT.
USC didn’t get anywhere on its possession after the fumble, but freshman kicker Chase McGrath hit a 43-yard field goal to give USC the win.
Each team scored a touchdown in the first overtime, which happened after McGrath kicked a 31-yard field goal with no time left in regulation. The kick was the first made field goal of McGrath’s college career; he previously missed a 46-yard attempt earlier in the game.
USC had to have the field goal in regulation after Texas scored with 45 seconds left to take a 17-14 lead and nearly pull off an improbable comeback to stun the Trojans. Ehlinger hit Armanti Foreman on a 17-yard touchdown pass after rolling to his right for the go-ahead score.
The touchdown came two plays after Ehlinger hit Foreman for an 11-yard completion on a 4th-and-10.
Texas got the ball for the final time in regulation with just under five minutes left. The Longhorns’ final drive took over four minutes and included two fourth-down conversions to cover 91 yards in 14 plays.
The Longhorns hung around all evening with an anemic offense thanks to a defense led by Deshon Elliott, who intercepted USC quarterback Sam Darnold twice.
But after the USC defense was gassed over the final minutes of regulation, Texas’ defense was gassed in the seconds that followed. USC got into field goal range to send the game to overtime quite easily and had two chances at the end zone before settling for McGrath’s field goal.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
