LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stepfan Taylor ran for the tying touchdown with 38 seconds left in regulation and the go-ahead score in the third overtime, and Stanford’s defense preserved its 16-game winning streak by forcing Curtis McNeal’s end-zone fumble to end the No. 4 Cardinal’s 56-48 victory over No. 20 Southern California on Saturday night.
Andrew Luck burnished his Heisman Trophy credentials by engineering four late scoring drives for Stanford (8-0, 6-0 Pac-12), which rallied after trailing for the first time all season.
But four years after Stanford stunned USC (6-2, 3-2) with a one-point victory as a 41-point underdog, the schools played another classic on a cool Coliseum night — and once again, the Cardinal ruled.
Both teams scored on the first two OT possessions. After Taylor’s run in the third OT, Coby Fleener caught the 2-point conversion pass.
USC got near the goal line again, but McNeal fumbled into the end zone.
