LOS ANGELES -- In 1977, Star Wars taught the world that the Force was Strong. On Saturday night in Los Angeles, when all seemed lost, one of the most famous quotes in movie history became a reality for the Arizona State University football team.
Junior wide receiver Jaelen Strong capped a career night as he hauled in a 46-yard Hail Mary from Mike Bercovici as time expired and the Sun Devils pulled off an improbable 38-34 upset over No. 16 USC on Saturday evening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
It was ASU's first victory in the Coliseum since 1999, ending a streak of seven consecutive losses in the historic stadium.
The catch capped a monumental comeback for the Sun Devils (4-1, 2-1 Pac-12), who scored three touchdowns in the final 3:53 of regulation to stun the home Trojans (3-2, 2-1 Pac-12), who appeared well on their way to victory when ASU took over on their own 28-yard-line with 23 seconds remaining and no timeouts left.
Following an incomplete pass, Bercovici found Gary Chambers over the middle for 26 yards to the USC 46-yard line to give ASU one shot at a miracle with seven remaining.
And as the Coliseum collectively held its breath as Bercovici floated a prayer, it was Strong who appeared to use the Force and knew exactly where the ball would end up. And while the USC defense seemed to move in slow motion, Strong adjusted his body, lept and picked the ball out of the air in front of three members of the USC secondary at the goal line, securing the ball in the end zone and capping an incredible back-and-forth affair.
The catch was Strong’s 10th of the evening as he finished with 202 yards and three touchdowns, setting a career high in the latter two categories. It was the first time a Sun Devil receiver eclipsed 200 receiving yards in a game since Shaun McDonald had 204 against Oregon in 2002 and just the eighth time in ASU history a receiver has gone over 200 yards.
It was also the most receiving touchdowns by a Sun Devil since Rashad Ross had three against Navy in the 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.
And the catch also capped a coming out party for Bercovici.
A week removed from an admirable effort that saw the backup quarterback set school records for attempts and completions in his first career start, Bercovici became the first quarterback in ASU history to pass for over 400 yards in his first two career starts.
Unlike last week however (where he accounted for three turnovers), there weren’t many blemishes for the junior quarterback on Saturday as he finished 27-for-45 for 510 yards and five touchdowns and no interceptions. He became just the fifth quarterback in ASU history to throw for over 500 yards in a game and finished with the fifth-highest single game total in program history. He is also now tied for fourth for touchdown passes in a game with five.
The Strong reception capped a furious rally by the Sun Devils, who made things interesting with 3:53 left in regulation as Bercovici found D.J. Foster for a 21-yard scoring reception to climb back within 27-25 on his third touchdown pass of the day.
The excitement was quickly dulled following a failed attempt at recovering an onside kick as USC’s Buck Allen ripped off a 53-yard touchdown rush on the following drive to put USC back up 34-25 with 3:02 left in regulation
But it took just one play to put everyone on the edge of their seats against as Bercovici put a perfectly placed ball over a defender to Cameron Smith for a 73-yard catch-and-run to bring ASU back within two with 2:43 left.
After another failed onside kick attempt, the ASU defense - which saw its share of struggles on the evening - stepped up when it mattered most in forcing its first three-and-out since the opening drive of the Colorado game and forcing USC to punt the ball with under 30 seconds left. Cody Kessler, who had three punts on the day, shanked the ball off the side of his foot for only 18 yards to give ASU some breathing room to set up the momentous comeback.
Kessler finished 28-of-45 for 273 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions while Buck Allen led all rushers with 143 yards on the ground with two touchdowns on 29 attempts.
ASU needed all 510 of Bercovici’s passing yards, finishing with a season low 31 total yards on the ground.
Jordan Simone led three ASU defenders with double-digit tackles, finishing with 20 – the most for an ASU defensive player since Mark Tingstad also had 20 against Arizona in 1988.
After trailing at the half, ASU would take a short-lived lead following a 19-yard field goal attempt on ASU’s first drive of the second half to give the Sun Devils a 18-17 lead. But the Trojans would respond on the next drive, driving 46 yards on 12 plays and taking a 20-18 advantage of a 33-yard Andre Heidari field goal.
After another fruitless drive for the Sun Devils, USC drove 79 yards on eight plays to take a two-possession lead following a Cody Kessler eight-yard scramble to put the Trojans up 27-18 with 13:42 remaining in the game.
The Trojans drew first blood in the game just over five minutes into the first quarter as Nelson Agholar took ASU’s first punt of the game 53 yards to the house for an early 7-0 lead.
It was a battle of attrition for the offenses through the first quarter but the Sun Devils finally got their feet under them early in the second quarter, driving 73 yards on eight plays in 2:24 as Bercovici found Strong for a four yard touchdown with 11:41 remaining in the half.
The Sun Devils would force USC to turn the ball over on downs on the ensuing possession, stopping the Trojan drive at the ASU 23-yar line. ASU immediately took advantage of the turnover as Bercovici found strong in stride for 77-yard touchdown on the very first play from scrimmage of the drive. ASU took an eight-point advantage following a two-point pass conversion from Bercovici to Kody Kohl, leading 15-7 with 7:23 left in the half.
USC would rally to end the half with two scoring drives of 67 and 64 yards that accounted for 10 points and a 17-15 edge heading into the locker rooms.
The Sun Devils will head into their second bye weekend of the year before hosting Stanford in a key Pac-12 battle in Tempe on Oct. 18 at Sun Devil stadium.
