College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Stanford 21, Southern California 14
When: 7:30 PM ET, Saturday, September 15, 2012
Where: Stanford Stadium, Stanford, California
Temperature: 76°
Head Official: Jay Stricherz
Attendance: 50360

No. 16 Stanford 21, No. 3 Southern California 14: Stepfan Taylor rushed for 156 yards and a score and caught a touchdown pass, and Josh Nunes rebounded from a rocky first half to throw two touchdown passes in the final 15:10 as Stanford won its fourth straight against USC for the first time in the series that dates to 1905.

The Trojans (2-1) had scored 30 points in 10 consecutive games, but star quarterback Matt Barkley and the offense had a tough time moving the ball against the Cardinal. They managed just 276 total yards, went 0-for-12 on third-down conversions and committed three turnovers. Barkley led USC across midfield on its final possession before he was sacked twice and the Trojans turned it over on downs.

Taylor broke a 59-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to tie it at 7 and picked his way through traffic for a 23-yard score on a screen pass from Nunes to tie it at 14 with 10 seconds left in the third quarter. He also had a team-high four catches for 61 yards.

Nunes made big plays with his arm and his legs, including a 12-yard scramble on third-and-10 that set up his 37-yard touchdown pass to Zach Ertz to give the Cardinal a 21-14 lead with 10:20 left.

Penn State transfer Silas Redd scored both USC touchdowns on 1-yard runs, but the Trojans managed just 23 rushing yards on 27 attempts.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Stanford coach David Shaw joined Chuck Taylor (1951-52) as the only coaches in school history to start 3-0 in their first two seasons. … The Cardinal improved to 6-2 at home against ranked opponents since 2009, including a 2-2 mark against top-10 teams. … The Trojans allowed eight sacks all of last season but have given up eight through three games, including five Saturday.

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Southern California   Stanford
Curtis McNeal Player Stepfan Taylor
7 Attempts 27
37 Yards 153
5.3 Avg Yards 5.7
0 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Receiving
Southern California   Stanford
Marqise Lee Player Zach Ertz
8 Receptions 3
100 Yards 71
12.5 Avg Yards 23.7
0 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Southern California 272 18 254 2 0 2 0.0 0
Stanford 417 202 215 3 0 2 4.0 2