Arizona State converts 46-yard Hail Mary to beat USC 38-34 (GIF)
Another week, another successful Hail Mary pass in the Pac-12.
For the third straight week, a team in the conference converted a Hail Mary and this time it was Arizona State as QB Mike Bercovici completed a 46-yard pass that Jaelen Strong snatched out of the air for a game-winning touchdown and 38-34 win over USC.
The play started with seven seconds left. ASU didn't have any timeouts, so instead of going for a shorter pass and playing for a field goal, the Sun Devils went for it all. It worked, as USC's defenders were incredibly timid in playing the ball. Just watch how Strong was able to easily slip in front of Hayes Pullard for the catch.
It's a turnabout for USC. Last week, the Trojans were the team that converted a Hail Mary as Cody Kessler found Darreus Rogers at the end of the first half. The week before, Arizona came back to beat Cal by converting a Hail Mary to win at home.
After Arizona State pulled within two of USC at 27-25, USC's Javorius Allen scored on a 52-yard run with just over three minutes left. But on ASU's next offensive play, Bercovici found Cameron Smith on an out route. Smith beat two defenders and turned upfield to find no one ahead of him as he raced to the end zone for a 73-yard touchdown and the Sun Devils trailed 34-32.
From there, the Arizona State defense did what it couldn't do on the previous drive and held the Trojans to a three-and-out. ASU got the ball with 23 seconds left on its final drive and Bercovici completed just two passes.
Bercovici, starting his second straight game for the injured Taylor Kelly, finished with 510 yards passing and five touchdowns. Kessler was 28-of-45 passing for 273 yards.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
