ARIZONA STATE FOOTBALL

ASU-USC rivalry chock-full of good, bad, weird memories

Sep 28, 2016, 2:30 PM | Updated: Sep 29, 2016, 11:09 am

Southern California safety Su'a Cravens, left, looks on as Arizona State wide receiver Jaelen Stron...

Southern California safety Su'a Cravens, left, looks on as Arizona State wide receiver Jaelen Strong, front right, scores a game-winning touchdown during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014, in Los Angeles. Arizona State won 38-34. (AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)

(AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)

TEMPE, Ariz. — Todd Graham professes to have a short-term memory. He doesn’t recall much beyond his most recent meetings with Pac-12 opponents, but a visual cue before the Cal game jogged every region of Graham’s gray matter. As ASU prepared to take the field, there, standing outside the Tillman Tunnel was Houston Texans receiver Jaelen Strong.

Strong is responsible for one of the most memorable plays in ASU history, not to mention the history of the ASU-USC rivalry, which resumes Saturday at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The last time the Sun Devils played there, Strong’s last second touchdown grab from quarterback Mike Bercovici lifted ASU to a stunning 38-34 victory.

“I reflected on it when I saw Jaelen outside the tunnel before the game,” Graham said. “I hugged his neck and thanked him again. I’d be a liar if I didn’t tell you that’s a great memory of mine that will always be special to me. I’d love to go create another one.”

ASU has played some storied rivalries with other programs, most notably the one down south, but the USC rivalry has produced more than its share of memorable moments, and Graham has played a role in more than just the Jael Mary game.

“I remember last year a lot more than I remember that year,” he said, referring to last season’s 42-14 loss at home, in which ASU trailed 35-0 at halftime.

With that in mind, here are three memorable ASU-USC games from the Graham era, and four more from this 38-year-old rivalry.

Sept. 26, 2015: USC 42, ASU 14: — The second worst home loss in Graham’s ASU tenure was over by halftime, and so was all that talk of ASU being in the national championship hunt. The Sun Devils endured a complete breakdown in all three phases of the game. The offense turned the ball over three times, kicker Zane Gonzalez missed two field goals, Sun Devils return man De’Chavon Hayes fumbled a kickoff at his own 4-yard line and the defense was dusted by a faster, more athletic Trojans receiving corps as USC built a 35-0 halftime lead. You can bet this game is on Graham’s mind as he prepares for Saturday.

Weird side note: The Los Angeles Daily News’ Scott Wolf reported that Trojans coach Steve Sarkisian might have been intoxicated during this game. He was fired two weeks later.

Oct. 4, 2014: ASU 38, USC 34 (The Jael Mary Game): Any game won on a Hail Mary pass warrants a mention on a best-of list, but the circumstances of this win at the Coliseum made it all the more special. QB Mike Bercovici was making his first career start after waiting a seeming eternity behind Taylor Kelly. He made that start in his hometown with ASU coming off a humiliating 62-27 loss to UCLA one week earlier at Sun Devil Stadium. USC appeared to have the game in hand, but the defense got caught napping and Strong made them pay, stepping in front of a crowd at the goal line to haul in Bercovici’s pass as time expired. Bercovici’s reaction is priceless.

Sept. 28, 2013: ASU 62, USC 41 (Lane Kiffin’s swansong): USC entered Sun Devil Stadium with one of the nation’s top-rated defenses. It left without that distinction or its coach. ASU’s 62 points matched the second-most points scored in a Pac-10/12 game in school history. The Sun Devils had 612 yards of offense — their most in nearly 13 years — against a team that had not given up 300 in a game all season. Quarterback Taylor Kelly threw for 351 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 79 more yards. Running back Marion Grice scored four touchdowns, two on the ground and two through the air. Strong posted his third consecutive 100-yard receiving game with seven catches for 103 yards. Senior tight end Chris Coyle had five catches for 87 yards and safety Alden Darby had a pair of interceptions, including a dagger when he stepped in front of a Cody Kessler pass on the ASU sideline and returned it 46 yards for a TD and a 34-21 lead — part of a four-turnover night for the ASU defense. Upon returning to Los Angeles, Trojans coach Lane Kiffin was pulled off the team bus and told of his firing in the parking lot, the Los Angeles Daily News reported. The bus went on to campus without him.

PRE-GRAHAM GAMES

Oct. 18, 1986: ASU 29, USC 20 — John Cooper’s best season as ASU’s coach included a 29-20 win at the Coliseum that made ASU the first Pac-10 team to beat both Los Angeles schools on their home fields in the same season. The Sun Devils went 10-1-1 (with a loss to rival Arizona in the conference finale) and then beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl, 22-15, to finish No. 4 in the final AP poll.

Sept. 24, 2011: ASU 43, USC 22 (The Burfict Game) — Before the game, USC QB Matt Barkley called Sun Devils linebacker Vontaze Burfict a dirty player. Burfict was downright nasty against the Trojans, recording five tackles, roaming sideline to sideline and intercepting Barkley with a leaping grab that showed off his anticipation, athleticism and potential in one play. When Burfict had the chance to pay back the Trojans QB for his remarks, with Barkley on the ground after tackling him, Burfict offered a hand to Barkley and helped him up. The win for ASU ended an 11-game losing streak to USC that stretched to 1999.

Oct. 19, 1996: ASU 48, USC 35 (2 OT) — QB Jake Plummer doesn’t remember much of a game that was played 20 years ago. He does remember that it was “insane.” After ASU scored in overtime, USC QB Brad Otten appeared to throw an incomplete pass but it was never blown dead. ASU’s Courtney Jackson picked up the ball and ran it back for a TD, giving the Sun Devils another miraculous win in a season that fell one Rose Bowl drive short of perfection and a possible national championship. Jackson’s controversial TD negated an earlier play in the game when USC scored on Chris Miller’s touchdown catch that replays showed was never caught. “I thought the officials were having a fine year until Saturday,” Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen said at the time.

Oct. 14, 1978: ASU 20, USC 7: The Sun Devils were newbies in the Pac-10 under legendary coach Frank Kush. Nobody gave them a chance against the mighty Trojans, who boasted running back Marcus Allen, safety Ronnie Lott and a star-studded lineup that eventually won the national championship that season with a 12-1 record. The one imperfection? “All we heard was how much better they were,” safety Kim Anderson said. “Instead, we kicked their (butts).” ASU built a 17-0 lead on John Mistler’s 16-yard TD catch late in the third quarter and the Devils defense never let USC up for air.

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ASU (4-0, 1-0) at USC (1-3, 0-2)

When: Saturday, 5:30 p.m.

Where: Los Angeles Coliseum

TV: FOX (Joe Davis, Brady Quinn, Jenny Taft)

Radio: ESPN Phoenix 620 AM

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ASU-USC rivalry chock-full of good, bad, weird memories