Stanford vs. USC: Score, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

In a wild back-and-forth battle between Pac-12 foes, Stanford knocked off USC 41-31 at the Los Angeles Coliseum to secure its second consecutive win. 

After starting the year with an ugly loss at Northwestern, the Cardinal have found their offensive rhythm with 31 points last week against Central Florida and 41 against USC. This was also the game every fan in Stanford has been waiting to see from quarterback Kevin Hogan. 

The senior was masterful at picking apart a good USC defense, throwing for 279 yards and two touchdowns on 18-of-23 passing. He was at his best late in the contest when Stanford had a chance to put it away, completing a 15-yard pass to tight end Austin Hooper on 3rd-and-9 at the USC 16 to set up Remound Wright's one-yard touchdown to take a 38-28 lead. 

Intermediate and deep passing was not Hogan's strength coming into the game, per ESPN Stats & Info:

This was also a drastic change for Hogan against USC. According to B/R Insights, Stanford's quarterback had not thrown a touchdown pass in the previous two contests against the Trojans in 2013 and 2014. 

In addition to Hogan's brilliance late, Stanford's key to success throughout the game was its ability to respond whenever USC scored. The Trojans took a 21-10 lead with nine minutes remaining before the half. 

Stanford responded with two touchdowns in the final four minutes of the second quarter to take a 24-21 lead, punctuated by this 17-yard score from Hogan to Devon Cajuste, as shown by ESPN College Football:

Coming off last week's win over Central Florida, Stanford head coach David Shaw felt optimistic about the direction his team was heading. He told reporters, via Jon Wilner of the Mercury News (h/t Contra Costa Times), that developing a rhythm was important:

"

We sputtered early on and missed a couple things, but our guys stayed positive and then got into a rhythm. Once you get into a rhythm, we're throwing it, we're running it, we feel good. 

...

I think we've got a good approach, and we're getting to know the team. I'm excited about the explosive ability of some of the young guys.

"

Now, after finding whatever it was that was missing during the Northwestern game, the Cardinal suddenly resemble the teams that made four consecutive trips to the BCS from 2010 to 2013. 

Of course, the Cardinal's history as a substantial underdog in games since Shaw took over as head coach in 2011 almost guaranteed them a victory before the game kicked off, as noted by ESPN:

Despite the loss, USC's offense looked tremendous. Quarterback Cody Kessler had nearly as many touchdowns (three) as incompletions (four) before the final drive when he had to force passes into windows in an effort to get a quick score that didn't come.

Kessler went 25-of-32 for 272 yards to go along with those three touchdowns. This continued a trend of strong play for the senior against traditionally non-blitzing defenses, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was Kessler's favorite target, racking up eight catches for 153 yards and one touchdown one week after going for 192 yards and two touchdowns on 10 catches against Idaho. 

Smith-Schuster's skill showed up on his 54-yard touchdown catch, a play that relied so much on his natural speed and quickness, as shown by the Sports Quotient:

Yet for all that speed and all of USC's natural talent, Shaw found the right approach with his offense, and Hogan executed the game plan to perfection. Normally, the defense is called upon to bail the Cardinal out in these marquee games. 

It's a refreshing change of pace to see the offense take up that task, though the defense still made plays down the stretch to keep USC from tying the game late. 

USC will drop out of the Top 10 following this loss, and it will be interesting to see how the Trojans respond next week on the road against a solid Arizona State team.

Stanford was a borderline Top 25 team when the season started, falling out after losing the season opener, but this marquee win should push the Cardinal back into the mix. It also gives them a strong leg up in the Pac-12 standings heading into a tough two-game stretch against Arizona and UCLA in October.