Pac-12 roundup: No. 20 USC rallies again to beat Arizona 34-30 on late TD

Associated Press

Vavae Malepeai bulled his way through multiple tacklers for an 8-yard touchdown run with 25 seconds left, and No. 20 Southern California beat Arizona 34-30 on Saturday in Tucson, Arizona, with another late rally.

USC (2-0) was outplayed by Arizona State last week before scoring two touchdowns in the final 3 minutes to win 28-27.

The Trojans again had two late scoring drives to win a game they were outplayed in for most of the afternoon.

Kevon Slovis hit Erik Krommenhoek on a 6-yard touchdown, but Arizona (0-1) marched quickly down the field for a 6-yard touchdown pass from Grant Gunnell from Stanley Berryhill III with 1:20 left.

Slovis, off target early, completed four straight passes for 68 yards, and Malepeai capped the 75-yard drive by carrying several defenders with him into the end zone.

Slovis threw for 325 yards and a touchdown on 30-of-43 passing.

Gunnell threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns for Arizona, which played its first game in nearly a year after last week’s opener against Utah was canceled due to the coronavirus.

The sophomore entered the 2020 season as the starter after sharing time with Khalil Tate last year and had a streak of 92 straight passes without an interception. The streak nearly ended on his first pass against USC and then did on the second, when he overthrew a receiver into Talano Hufanga’s arms.

Colorado 35, Stanford 32: Sam Noyer passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more, Jarek Broussard had another strong day rushing, and the Buffaloes (2-0) topped the Cardinal (0-2) in Stanford, California.

Dimitri Stanley caught six passes for 126 yards and a score as Colorado remained unbeaten under first-year coach Karl Dorrell.

Noyer, a fifth-year senior who nearly transferred out of Colorado after playing safety last season, threw an interception on his fourth pass of the afternoon then settled in to complete 15 of 24 attempts for 255 yards. Noyer scored on a 7-yard option keeper midway through the second quarter then led the Buffaloes on three scoring drives coming out of halftime.

Brenden Rice had a 34-yard touchdown catch and Jaren Mangham added a 1-yard touchdown run for Colorado.

Davis Mills passed for 327 yards and a touchdown in his first game of the season for Stanford. Mills was one of four players forced to sit out last week’s game against Oregon because of coronavirus concerns.

The Pac-12 later admitted errors in the testing protocol that kept the four Stanford players out.

Pac-12 after dark: Washington’s season-opening game against Oregon State in Seattle was not completed by press time.