Travis Dye rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown and USC's defense came up with four interceptions to lift the Trojans to a come-from-behind 17-14 Pac-12 road victory over Oregon State on Saturday night.
USC quarterback Caleb Williams struggled all game, but came up big when it mattered. Williams threw a 21-yard dart to Jordan Addison with 1:13 left that proved to be the game-winning touchdown pass.
USC defensive back Max Williams sealed the game by intercepting a Chance Nolan pass with 35 seconds to play - the Trojans' fourth interception of the game and 11th of the season. Ceyair Wright, Eric Gentry and Mekhi Blackmon had the other interceptions.
Williams was off target most of the game, completing just 16-of-36 passes for 180 yards, but Dye he would come through when it mattered.
"He was super composed," Dye said after the game. "He was ready to go after it. He knew that he was going to get it done."
Williams was aided on the game-winning drive by offensive lineman Brett Neilon, who pushed him past the first-down marker on a fourth-down play to keep the drive alive.
"I'm probably more proud of this win then the previous three," USC coach Lincoln Riley said. "We had to find different ways to win tonight. We got in a slugfest."
USC (4-0, 2-0) is one of three unbeaten Pac-12 teams, along with UCLA (4-0, 1-0) and Washington (4-0, 1-0). The Trojans host struggling Arizona State (1-3, 0-1) on Oct. 1 at the L.A. Coliseum.
Here are photos from USC's win in Corvallis:
(All photos by Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports)
More must-reads: