ASU football (5-4, 2-4 Pac-12) failed to muster enough offense to come back against USC in a 31-26 loss Saturday after falling into a 21-point first quarter hole.
The Sun Devils could not contain the Trojans' passing attack, which produced 477 yards. ASU totaled 339 yards of offense in the loss.
Freshman quarterback Joey Yellen threw for 292 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions in his first start in relief of freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels, who was held out with a knee injury.
The Trojans jumped on the Sun Devil defense in the first quarter, scoring touchdowns on their first four drives. Freshman quarterback for USC Kedon Slovis capped off this stretch with a 95-yard touchdown throw to sophomore wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
ASU kept the game within two scores at the end of the first half with touchdown receptions from senior wide receiver Kyle Williams and redshirt junior wide receiver Frank Darby.
The Sun Devils cut the Trojans' lead to five points in the fourth quarter with scores courtesy of senior wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and Darby, but the team failed to score on its final drive as Yellen threw his second interception of the game with 25 seconds left.
Next up, ASU will travel to Corvallis, Oregon to take on Oregon State on Saturday, Nov. 16.
Reach the reporter at jhorst2@asu.edu and follow @HorseySeven on Twitter.
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Jeffrey Horst is the digital editor-in-chief of The State Press. He previously served as the publication's sports editor and worked at Cronkite News and ArizonaSports.com.
