The 55-21 final score didn't reflect how narrow the game's margins were for much of the matchup.
But that fact is just making it hurt even more.
The Trojans were down just seven points going into the fourth quarter of Saturday's game, with Stanford looking at a third-and-4 from its own 44-yard line on the first snap of the final period. Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck scampered for 16 yards on the play and, three snaps later, connected for a 24-yard touchdown to make it 35-21. USC got the ball back, but in just three plays the score was 42-21 after an interception return for a touchdown.
"That's how close this game was," Coach Carroll said during this afternoon's team meeting. "It was that close."








