| BC | 37 |
|---|---|
| USC | 31 |
The sources of inspiration were aplenty for Boston College in its “Service Day’’ contest against ninth-ranked Southern California on Saturday night.
There were the red bandannas that were passed out before the game, a solemn reminder of the selfless acts of Sept. 11 hero Welles Crowther, a 1999 BC grad and former lacrosse player.
Crowther wore his signature red bandanna, given to him by his father as a boy, when he saved a dozen people before losing his life in the collapse of the World Trade Center’s South Tower.
There was Pete Frates’s special halftime message of thanks, delivered on the video board by members of BC’s baseball team, for the BC community’s support of his Ice Bucket Challenge, a viral campaign that raised $100 million for ALS research and awareness.
Then there was the breathtaking contribution of Tyler Murphy, BC’s selfless dual-threat quarterback who engineered BC’s stunning 37-31 upset of the Trojans by accounting for 245 of BC’s 506-yard offensive attack before an Alumni Stadium crowd of 41,632.
“It was a great night for our team and our players,’' said coach Steve Addazio. “We played really hard. We came off a tough loss last week [to Pittsburgh]. But they had a real steely resolve. This red bandanna game meant a lot. We talked a lot about Welles Crowther, about what it takes to be a BC man. Our guys really dug deep on this. This was a great win.”
Murphy passed for 54 yards and rushed for 191 yards on 13 carries, none bigger than the 66-yard TD run he scored with 3:30 left in the game that sealed the verdict on BC’s first triumph over a Top 10 opponent since a 2004 victory against No. 10 West Virginia.
“Tyler Murphy played like a big-time player tonight,” said Addazio.
BC freshmen Jon Hilliman (19 carries, 89 yards) and Sherman Alston (4 carries, 55 yards) helped spark a 452-yard rushing effort against the Trojans. Hilliman scored two short rushing touchdowns and Alston scored on a dazzling 54-yard reverse.
BC’s defense also came to play, harassing USC quarterback Cody Kessler (31 for 41, 317 yards, and four TDs) by sacking him five times for minus-36 yards.
“There were a lot of great plays made by a lot of great players,” Addazio said. “And we were really proud to be able to give one of the game balls to the Crowther family.”
Pelted by steady sheets of rain that were whipped by gusts of up to 15 miles per hour, the Eagles took the field hoping to redeem themselves after suffering a 30-20 home loss to Atlantic Coast Conference foe Pittsburgh last Friday.
The Trojans won the opening coin toss and elected to receive. However, BC’s defense, which gave up 303 yards rushing against Pitt, forced a three-and-out when freshman linebacker Christian Lezzer, part of BC’s youth movement, sacked Kessler for a 9-yard loss.
Problem was, BC’s offense went three-and-out on its first three possessions.
That stressed the Eagles defense and when USC started its third possession at the BC 38, the Trojans needed just six plays to punch it in. Kessler tossed an 8-yard TD to George Farmer, giving USC a 7-0 lead.
On their next possession, the Trojans took over at the BC 33, threatening to tack on another touchdown.
BC’s defense, which held USC to 158 yards total offense (22 rushing) in the first half, held firm and forced the Trojans to settle for a 52-yard field and a 10-0 lead with 3:16 to go in the first quarter.
It was a critical series for the Eagles. They responded on their ensuing possession with a seven-play, 78-yard drive, highlighted by Myles Willis’s 52-yard run to the USC 26 on the first play. Tyler Rouse took an option pitch from Murphy and scampered in from 4 yards to pull the Eagles within 10-6 (Joey Launceford’s PAT failed) with 14:46 to go in the half.
Rouse also scored a touchdown in last season’s 35-7 loss to the Trojans in Los Angeles.
USC wasted little time in striking back. Freshman Adoree’ Jackson returned the ensuing kickoff 50 yards to the BC 49. After Javorius Allen was dropped for a 2-yard loss, Kessler hit Allen with a delayed screen that went for a 51-yard TD, giving USC a 17-6 lead with 14:08 left.
BC answered the bell again when Hilliman, a four-star recruit from Plainfield, N.J., became the first freshman from the heralded Class of 2014 recruits to score a touchdown. He lunged for the pylon on a run around the right side for a 3-yard TD that made it 17-13 with 10:08 left.
After BC’s defense forced USC’s third consecutive three-and-out, the Eagles struck quickly to take their first lead. Alston joined Hilliman in the frosh first-timers TD club by scoring on a dazzling 54-yard reverse around the left side, giving the Eagles a 20-17 lead.
One play. Fifty-four yards. Eleven seconds.
That’s all it took for the Eagles to seize momentum from the Trojans, who averted trailing by an even larger deficit at the half when BC kicker Alex Howell missed a 47-yard field goal wide right.
“[The win] means a lot, especially after last week’s loss,” Murphy said. “Coach really challenged us this week in practice. It just shows that when we set our minds to something, the sky’s the limit.”
The Eagles expanded their halftime lead to 27-17 when Hilliman scored his second TD of the game on a 1-yard run off the right side, capping a five-play, 41-yard drive on BC’s second possession of the second half.
BC’s defense continued to harass Kessler, forcing the Trojans to punt on their next three possessions. The Eagles appeared poised to deliver a crowning blow to USC when they drove to the Trojans’ 5, but the drive stalled when Rouse fumbled an option pitch on third and goal and recovered it after absorbing a 3-yard loss. It forced BC to settle for a Launceford 25-yard field goal for a 30-17 lead with 7:42 to go.
But it seemed like it wouldn’t be enough of a buffer when Kessler drove the Trojans 75 yards in 10 plays and found Nelson Agholor for a 10-yard strike that pulled USC within 30-24 with 4:32 left.
Murphy, though, came up with the haymaker with 3:30 left when he converted a second-and-4 read-option keeper into a 66-yard TD run.
“We played hard,” Addazio said. “We just kept coming. We didn’t back down. I’m most proud of that.”
It helped the Eagles stave off a final parting shot by USC when Kessler fired a 14-yard TD pass to Darreus Rogers to complete a nine-play, 65-yard drive that pulled the Trojans within 6 with 1:18 remaining.
Hilliman helped the Eagles run the clock out, picking up gains of 22 and 14 yards, and trigger a wild student celebration on the field.
Michael Vega can be reached at vega@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @MBVEGA.