USC vs. Texas: Longhorns defeat the Trojans 37-14

Texas improves to 2-1 and drops USC to 1-2 with a decisive 37-14 win.

The Trojans are going backward. After a lackluster 43-21 win in the season opener over Nevada Las Vegas, USC has looked unprepared and uninspired in losses at Stanford and Texas.

The Trojans don’t have a lot of time to make things better. They host Washington State on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Another Pac-12 loss could knock USC out of contention in the South Division before the end of September.

The Trojans get to the Texas 28-yard line, but JT Daniels fumbles on fourth down with 4:00 left in the game. USC has been abysmal since the first quarter and will fall to 1-2 after a second straight loss on the road.

There’s been no scoring in the fourth quarter (USC hasn’t scored since the first quarter) and it’s still 37-14 Texas with 8:28 left.

Remember when USC led 14-3?

Sam Ehlinger runs four yards for a score and the Longhorns lead 37-14 with 1:42 left in the third quarter.

The good news for USC is that only 15 minutes remain in the game. Texas leads 37-14 after outscoring the Trojans 21-0 in the third quarter.

Trying to get back into the game, USC has a 50-yard field-goal attempt by Chase McGrath blocked and returned for a score by Anthony Wheeler. With 6:25 left in the third, Texas leads 30-14, having scored 27 straight points.

On the verge of getting blown out, the Trojans recover a fumble by Daniel Young at the USC 15 yard line. With 8:03 left in the third quarter, USC still trails 23-14.

A run for two yards and two incomplete passes by JT Daniels and USC is forced to punt, trailing 23-14 early in the third quarter.

The Longhorns take the opening possession of the second half 74 yards for a touchdown, the score coming on a 27-yard pass from Sam Ehlinger to Joshua Moore to make it 23-14 Texas with 10:45 left in the third quarter.

USC gave up two first downs on long third-down plays and then lost Porter Gustin for the game when he was called for targeting against Ehlinger.

Gustin will have to sit out the first half of USC’s game on Friday against Washington State.

USC had several chances to increase its 14-13 lead in the second half but couldn’t get it done. Texas took a 16-14 lead into the half after a Cameron Dicker 46-yard field goal as time expired.

An interception of JT Daniels gave Texas the ball at its own 49. The Longhorns cashed in with a 46-yard field goal to pull within 14-13.

JT Daniels hit Velus Jones for a 40-yard completion, moving USC to the Texas 3-yard line. Vavae Malepeai punched it in on third-and-goal with a run to the pylon.

Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger found Lil’Jordan Humphrey for a first down. It should have been just that, but USC cornerback Ajene Harris whiffed on the tackle in the open field, and Humphrey blazed into the end zone for a 47-yard touchdown to pull the Longhorns to within 14-10.

The Longhorns put together a nice response, driving 72 yards before they stalled at the USC 3-yard line.

Sam Ehlinger looked like he was headed for a touchdown before Marvell Tell swooped in to bring him down and force the 20-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker.

The USC offense showed immediate improvement from a week ago with a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped by a 23-yard burst up the middle by running back Stephen Carr.

JT Daniels completed six of seven passes for 65 yards. He converted two third downs on passes to Amon-ra St. Brown.

C.R. Roberts is most comfortable when he’s on the move. Even at 82, he defaults easily to his natural pose, weight shifted forward to the balls of his feet in a fighter’s stance.

Roberts wasn’t a boxer. He was a running back who sparred with the world around him. On this July afternoon, he walks across the second floor of USC’s Heritage Hall, trying to remember his greatest battle. It comes with a story that stayed buried in his memory for nearly six decades — at least the part he finds interesting.

Roberts’ mind, drifting from the effects of age and dementia, isn’t sparked by discussing the 1956 USC-Texas matchup in Austin. Sure, he ran the ball 12 times for 251 yards, a Trojans single-game record that stood for 20 years. But he doesn’t see the importance of that anymore.

For so long, Roberts would tell people how he had something to prove that night. He may have mentioned that African Americans from around Austin came to the USC team hotel to get a glimpse of him, but that’s about as far as he usually went.

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USC linebacker Uchenna Nwosu forces Texas quarterback Sam Ehinger into a bad throw and interception during the fourth quarter last season.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

No. 22 USC (1-1) at Texas (1-1)

Saturday, 5 p.m. PDT, Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. TV: Channel 11. Radio: 710.

Marquee matchup

USC offensive coordinator Tee Martin vs. Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlando: With the Trojans coming off their lowest scoring output since 1997, the pressure is on USC coach Clay Helton — and, more specifically, offensive coordinator Tee Martin — to get the offense rolling against the Longhorns. The issues have been plentiful — poor pass blocking, dropped passes and a general feeling-out process for the wide receivers with freshman quarterback JT Daniels. For Martin, getting the Trojans into the right looks after two games to gather information would be much easier if he were not about to face off with Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlando. The Longhorns pride themselves on being unpredictable with their defensive game plans, and they will bring consistent heat from all directions — something USC did not handle well at Stanford in a 17-3 loss. Martin knows what he is up against and now he knows what he has to do to deal with it. Fair or not, Saturday night’s offensive showing will be viewed by USC faithful as a referendum on Martin’s ability to do his job.

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USC quarterback JT Daniels against Stanford at Stanford Stadium on Sept. 8.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Until USC’s loss to Stanford, JT Daniels’ last defeat as a starting quarterback goes all the way back to December 2016, when Santa Ana’s Mater Dei High fell to St. John Bosco in the CIF Southern Section championship.

Entering his first college season, coming off an undefeated state championship run in 2017, Daniels’ camp was readying him to face the inevitable trying moments that would come with the jump in competition.

“He’s never really failed,” Scot Prohaska, Daniels’ personal trainer and emotional guru, told The Times in May. “He’s going to have some struggles at USC. My goal is to mentor him through those, make sure he has the right mind-set to grow and not feel all the expectations he has on him. It’s been frustrating that he hasn’t failed at anything, because I haven’t gotten to teach him those lessons.”

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