NCAA Game Summary - USC at Oregon State
Corvallis, OR (SportsNetwork.com) - Javorious Allen led the way with three rushing touchdowns to lift the USC Trojans to a 31-14 victory over the Oregon State Beavers in a Pac-12 Conference matchup at Reser Stadium.
Allen tallied 133 yards on only 16 carries for USC (6-3, 3-2 Pac-12) as it became bowl eligible and improved to 3-1 under interim coach Ed Orgeron. Silas Redd also had strong showing with 140 yards on 22 carries. Cody Kessler completed 17-of-21 pass attempts for 247 yards with one touchdown and an interception. Marqise Lee made five receptions for 105 yards and a score to record his first 100-yard receiving performance since the Trojans' season opener at Hawaii.
Sean Mannion had a rough outing while under center for Oregon State (6-3, 4-2) as he was picked off a three times. Mannion hit on 25-of-44 of his throws for 268 yards with only one interception. Mannion came into the contest with only three interceptions on the season. Brandin Cooks made an impact with six catches for 88 yards and a score while Terron Ward rushed for 53 yards on eight carries. Cooks now has 91 catches on the season, which is tied for the school's single season record with three games remaining. The Beavers have now lost two games in a row after winning six straight.
Oregon State put itself in position to put the first points on the board as Mannion led the offense into USC territory on the opening drive of the game. However, the hosts were unable to capitalize as Trevor Romaine had his 46-yard field goal attempt blocked after the Beavers were stopped on third down.
The Trojans wasted no time once they took over as Kessler completed a 71-yard touchdown pass to Lee on their first play from scrimmage. Andre Heidari converted the ensuing extra point attempt to put the hosts ahead, 7-0, less than three minutes after the opening kickoff.
The visitor's defense then forced back-to-back three-and-outs to prevent Oregon State from evening the score. USC extended its lead to 14-0 when Allen rushed nine yards for a touchdown with under a minute remaining in the first frame.
The Beavers put together a promising drive on their next possession as they moved the ball inside USC's red zone, but Josh Shaw intercepted Mannion in the end zone to keep them off the board.
After its defense forced a quick three-and-out, Oregon State took over with excellent field position. Mannion completed an 18-yard pass to Woods to set up a 27-yard touchdown pass to Crooks. Kessler had his next pass picked off by Ryan Murphy, who returned the interception 41 yards for a touchdown that tied the score at 14-14 with 9:43 remaining before the intermission.
The Trojans responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive that was capped off by an 18-yard touchdown run by Allen. Neither side managed to post any more points before the end of the first half, which sent USC into the break with a 21-14 advantage.
Kessler began the second half with a big play as he found Nelson Agholor for a 62-yard gain that put the ball at the Oregon State 13-yard line. The Beavers managed to keep visitors from advancing the ball any further which forced USC to settle for a 34-yard field goal by Heidari.
Oregon State responded with another threatening drive into the Trojans' red zone, but it once again came away empty handed as Romaine missed a 26-yard field goal try.
Allen gave the Trojans a sizeable 31-14 lead as he broke away for a 52-yard touchdown run in the closing seconds of the third period.
Both sides were held scoreless over the final 15 minutes of play. Mannion led the Beavers deep into USC's territory in the early stages of the fourth quarter, but was intercepted by Dion Bailey at the 3-yard line. Kevon Seymour picked off Mannion on Oregon State's next possession to rule out any chance of a late rally by the hosts.
USC tallied 489 yards of total offense and went 7-of-14 on third-down conversion attempts. The Beavers were limited to only 349 total yards and moved the chains on only 2-of-10 third-down plays.