Arizona State Loses Another Close Game to a Top 25 Team vs USC

A tough season for Arizona State just became a lot tougher after last night's five point loss to Southern California. Dennis Erickson's squad played well, but once again, not good enough to earn a victory.  The USC Trojans came into Tempe hobbling after a rough road trip to Eugene last weekend, and for Pete Carroll's bunch, the second consecutive road game almost ended in another nightmare.  Arizona State had a very physical gameplan, both offensively and defensively. The problem, and the main reason why the Sun Devils were not able to pull off the victory was because of turnovers.  Erickson and Offensive Coordinator Rich Olson, who was calling plays for the first time this season, had a very physical and domineering gameplan, that was nearly a perfect success until Freshman running back Cameron Marshall fumbled inside of the USC ten yard line. The Sun Devils were set on a first and goal from the nine yard line, but all hopes of a seven point lead in the first quarter were shot down when USC ... (link)