KEDON SLOVIS

MJ Devonshire returned a tipped pass 56 yards for a touchdown with 2:58 remaining and No. 17 Pittsburgh beat West Virginia 38-31 on Thursday night in the return of the Backyard Brawl.

Chance Nolan threw four touchdown passes and Oregon State beat Southern California 45-27 on Saturday night. Tyjon Lindsey had five receptions for 102 yards and two touchdowns, B.J. Baylor ran for 158 yards, and the Beavers (3-1, 1-0 Pac-12) ended a 24-game losing streak — dating to 1960 — at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

The quarterback competition at Southern California might be over before it even started. Jaxson Dart did not practice Tuesday after the freshman sustained a knee injury in the Trojans’ 45-14 win at Washington State, while three-year starter Kedon Slovis took first-team reps after being knocked out of the game because of a neck injury. Interim coach Donte Williams would not discuss the status of Dart, who came off the bench to throw for 391 yards and four touchdowns.

Alabama looked beatable.

The Pac-12 says it will stand pat with its membership and not look to add schools to the 12-team conference, making it highly unlikely the Big 12 schools being left behind by Texas and Oklahoma will find new Power Five homes.

The Associated Press preseason college football poll has been released and Alabama is No. 1.

USC reached the Oregon 49, but the Ducks' pass rush prevented Slovis from getting off a Hail Mary. Brown’s first throw for the Ducks was a TD pass to Redd on Oregon’s opening drive. USC earned its spot in the title game by going unbeaten with three late comeback victories along the way. Shough hit Johnson with a 16-yard TD pass in the second quarter before Stepp’s 1-yard TD run capped USC’s 80-yard drive in response. Brown hit Dye with a short TD pass to finish a drive that consumed half of the third quarter.

Southern California wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, right, catches a touchdown over Washington State defensive back Armani Marsh during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Los Angeles, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)LOS ANGELES – Kedon Slovis and Amon-Ra St. Brown kept grinding in practice while No. When the Trojans and Washington State finally got the green light Sunday night, Slovis and St. Brown roared right through it for a record-setting start to a blowout win. St. Brown caught four touchdown passes from Slovis in a spectacular first quarter, and unbeaten USC cruised to a 38-13 victory over the Cougars. “We don’t like being away from football for so long, but I think the days away helped us get our legs back underneath us,” St. Brown said.

20 USC beat Arizona 34-30 on Saturday. “A lot of teams would like to be in that position.”USC (2-0, 2-0 Pac-12) was outplayed by Arizona State last week before scoring two touchdowns in the final three minutes of a 28-27 victory. Another drive into the red zone, another trip without points. “That's the bottom line.”THE TAKEAWAYUSC played undisciplined at times and was disjointed at times on offense, particularly in the red zone. Against Arizona, the Trojans struggled with penalties and capitalizing in the red zone.

20 Southern California rallied from a late 13-point deficit for a 28-27 victory over Arizona State on Saturday in the Pac-12's long-delayed season opener. Bru McCoy caught a deflected 26-yard TD pass with 2:52 left for the Trojans (1-0), and McCoy then recovered the ensuing onside kick as well. USC's defense then stopped Arizona State (0-1) on downs near midfield with 50 seconds left to preserve an astonishing comeback for perpetually embattled coach Clay Helton's team. New Arizona State co-defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis also was on the verge of a resilient debut before the Trojans broke through. “I don’t think we were out of gas,” Arizona State safety Evan Fields said.

(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)The final major college football conference to begin its season gets going Saturday. The Pac-12 kicks off at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) with Arizona State at No. Instead of Pac-12 after dark it’s Pac-12 for lunch. The Hawkeyes will try to avoid that in this unique conference-only season at home against Michigan State. Arkansas State also had a marquee upset early in the season, beating Kansas State.

ATLANTA Georgia has picked up another high-profile transfer to compete for its starting quarterback job, landing former Southern California starter JT Daniels. Daniels started for the Trojans in 2018, but lost his job to Kedon Slovis after going down last season with a knee injury. He announced Thursday that hes heading to Georgia, which is seeking a replacement for three-year starter Jake Fromm. Daniels won the starting job again out of camp last summer in new offensive coordinator Graham Harrells up-tempo scheme, but the sophomore tore a ligament in his knee in the Trojans season opener against Fresno State. Slovis stepped into the starting job and excelled in Harrells offense as a freshman, passing for 3,502 yards with 30 touchdowns and nine interceptions.