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The Arizona State Sun Devils exploded for 62 points against the Trojans Saturday night for their second victory over USC in the past three games. Arizona State put up 612 total yards against a USC defense that had only allowed 44 points total coming into last night's contest.
There were plenty of bright spots Saturday night. See who was the best of the best and received our game balls for the 62-41 victory over USC.
Alden Darby, Safety
Alden Darby said after last night's victory that USC does not like the underdogs. Darby, listed just under six-feet tall, always has a little chip on his shoulder against USC because the Trojans did not recruit him out of high school. Last season, Darby recorded a touchdown on a 70-yard interception return and last night, history repeated itself.
With Arizona State up 27-21 in the third quarter, Darby picked off a Cody Kessler pass and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown. Darby intercepted another pass, forced a fumble, recovered that fumble and had seven tackles in Arizona State's 62-41 victory over the Trojans.
Taylor Kelly, Quarterback
After two mediocre performances in a row, Kelly got back to where he ended last season. The junior was 23-34 for 351 yards and three touchdowns. Kelly's night would have been perfect if not for an interception in the third quarter. He found six receivers, with Jaelen Strong, DJ Foster and Chris Coyle all having over 80 yards receiving.
Kelly was also a weapon in the running game. He led Arizona State with 79 rushing yards and was effective running the read option with both Marion Grice and Deantre Lewis. Kelly's total QBR was about 50 points higher than last week.
Offensive line
Coming into last night's game, the USC defense had 10 sacks and over 20 tackles for loss through four games. House of Sparky editor Kerry Crowley was sacked as many times as Taylor Kelly was last night. That would be zero as Kelly was rarely touched. The Sun Devils ran for a season-high 261 yards last night, they gave Kelly all the time he needed to throw downfield and make plays with both his arm and his legs.
Honorable Mentions
Osahon Irabor: The senior cornerback continues his superb play early in the season. Irabor pulled his first interception last night and added three tackles.
Jaelen Strong: Strong continues to impress. Last night was his third consecutive game with more than 100 yards receiving. Strong finished with seven catches for 103 yards. He has led Arizona State in receiving yards the past three weeks.