USC Football: 3 takeaways from thrilling win over Arizona State

2. Kedon Slovis leads an elite passing offense

On the other side of the ball, the Trojans had a chance to showcase their high-caliber passing offense to a national audience as a result of their early kickoff. The Trojans needed to make a statement in the passing game much like they did last season when they finished sixth in passing yards per game (335.8). Their air raid offense looked to be too much for the Sun Devils.

Their biggest obstacle against Arizona State was its own mistakes in the first and second half. After recovering a fumble on their first punt to Arizona State, the Trojans were looking to capitalize on the drive. Vavae Malepeai fumbled the ball as he was stretching toward the end zone thus giving the ball back to Arizona State. They were also trying to take a lead against the Sun Devils before halftime when Kedon Slovis threw an interception near the red zone.

After some readjusting during halftime, the Trojans looked to fire all cylinders with multiple dynamic routes from junior wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and sophomore wide receiver Drake London. Slovis was more consistent as the game went on as he was making quick reads.

With 4:34 left on the clock, the Trojans were down 27-14 and needed two solid drives for a big potential comeback. The Trojans were able to convert a nine-play, 80-yard drive in only 1:36, resulting in a touchdown pass from Slovis to freshman wide receiver Bru McCoy to make the score 27-21.

After an onside kick, the Trojans, led by were able to score another touchdown from Slovis to Drake London to take the 28-27 lead with 1:20 left on the clock. The Trojans were able to score two touchdowns and recover an onside kick in a span of 92 seconds.

Slovis threw for 381 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on 40-of-55 completions. Key receivers Drake London and Amon-Ra St. Brown caught eight passes for 125 yards and a touchdown and seven passes for 100 yards, respectively.