The late-night eyes of the college football world will be focused on Mountain America Stadium on Sat., Sept. 23, when Sun Devil Football hosts current No. 5 USC at 7:30 p.m. MST. The game will be televised to a national audience by FOX.
FORKS UP, EYES UP:
Thanks to a generous gift from the Swette family, ASU design and arts students are working closely with Nova Sky Stories, a company whose "drone shows" have turned heads at the Super Bowl and the Olympics. Together, they are creating a special halftime show for the September 23 game against USC that you won't want to miss.
The final showdown with the Trojans as members of the Pac-12 Conference will be the annual Maroon Monsoon as well as include Family Weekend and Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations.
FORKS UP, EYES UP:
Thanks to a generous gift from the Swette family, ASU design and arts students are working closely with Nova Sky Stories, a company whose "drone shows" have turned heads at the Super Bowl and the Olympics. Together, they are creating a special halftime show for the September 23 game against USC that you won't want to miss.
The final showdown with the Trojans as members of the Pac-12 Conference will be the annual Maroon Monsoon as well as include Family Weekend and Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations.
In anticipation of next Saturday's game, TheSunDevils.com recaps the series and recalls some of the most memorable Sun Devil moments in the 39 meetings between the two schools.Check out our new Hispanic Serving Institution webpage complete with #HispanicHeritageMonth stories and information: https://t.co/dwhwXN2eOx. @ASU is proud to be designated a Hispanic Serving Institution from @usedgov. #EducationMatters #HigherEd #HispanicHeritageMonth pic.twitter.com/BhTOlx90lG
— Veronica Sanchez (@asuvsanchez) September 13, 2023
- USC leads the all-time series – which dates back to 1978 – 25-14: 12-8 in Tempe and 13-6 in Los Angeles.
- ASU won five of the first seven and six of the first 10 contests between the two schools.
- 1978 – After leaving the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) to join the Pac-10, the Sun Devils shocked second-ranked USC 20-7 at Sun Devil Stadium on Oct. 14, 1978, to earn the program's first ever Pac-10 win. That USC team would go on to earn a split national championship (coaches poll) with Alabama (Associated Press poll).
- 1985-86 – The Sun Devils posted the first shutout in the series, 24-0 in 1985, in Tempe. The following year, they won at the Coliseum, 29-20, on their way to their first Pac-10 championship.
- 1996 – The Sun Devils and Trojans combined to make history when they participated in the first DI game that involved overtime. In one of many dramatic games the Sun Devils would have in a regular season that culminated with an 11-0 record, second Pac-10 championship and second Rose Bowl appearance, Terry Battle ran for 184 yards and four touchdowns, including a seven-yard run to tie the game at 28-28 with 1:30 remaining. Battle's 25-yard dash on the first play of the second overtime gave the Sun Devils a 42-35 lead. Then-freshman cornerback Courtney Jackson returned a fumble 85 yards on USC's second overtime possession to clinch ASU's 48-35 win. Senior quarterback Jake Plummer threw for 277 yards, including a six-yard scoring toss to Keith Poole on ASU's first overtime possession to square the game at 35-35.
- 1998 – J.R. Redmond set a school record with 350 all-purpose yards (214 Rush., 34 Rec., 17 PR, 85 KOR) in a 35-24 loss at USC. At the time, Redmond was only the eighth tailback to rush for more than 200 yards vs. USC and just the third to do it at the Coliseum.
- 1999 – Redmond started at both tailback and safety in ASU's 26-16 win at USC. On the offensive end, Redmond ran for 148 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-clinching score on a 14-yard run with 1:47 remaining. Playing on defense, Redmond had four tackles, including one that prevented a USC touchdown.
- 2013 – ASU tied the record for most points scored vs. USC when it defeated the visiting Trojans 62-41. Taylor Kelly passed for 351 yards, Marion Grice accounted for four touchdowns (two rushing and two receiving) and Alden Darby returned an interception 46 yards for a score. Darby's touchdown was one of four ASU scored in the third quarter after USC opened the second half with a touchdown to take a 21-20 lead.
- 2014 – In what has come to be known in Sun Devil lore as the 'Jael Mary,' Sun Devil wide receiver Jaelen Strong leaped in front of a pair of USC defenders to snare a 46-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Mike Bercovici as time expired to give ASU a 38-34 win over the Trojans in Los Angeles. It was the last of Strong's three scoring receptions as he caught 10 passes for 202 yards. It was also the fifth touchdown pass of the game for Bercovici, who became just the fifth Sun Devil quarterback to throw for more than 500 yards in a single game. For Bercovici, the feat came one week after accounting for 488 yards through the air in a loss to UCLA. The three Bercovici-to-Strong scores – the duo also connected for touchdowns of four and 77 yards in the second quarter – was also the last of three Sun Devil touchdowns in the final 3:53 of the game.
- In 2018, N'Keal Harry caught a 44-yard touchdown pass and returned a punt 92 yards for another score while Eno Benjamin rushed for 166 yards and two touchdowns in ASU's 38-35 win at USC, ending the Trojans' 19-game home winning streak.
- 2021– In ASU's most recent win, the famous 'fox' game – the animal, not the network – Rachaad White ran wild through USC's defense, accounting for 202 yards and three scores in ASU's 31-16 win. White, who also caught two passes for 35 yards, had touchdown runs of 50 and seven yards in the final 7:13 to break open what was a slight 17-16 lead for ASU entering the final quarter.