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Live: Gophers football vs. No. 18 USC

 Minnesota (1-1) is set to host No. 18 South California at TCF Bank Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. Check back for live updates throughout the game. All Twitter fans can follow the action @mndailysports and @jkatzenstein. The game is also being televised on ESPN.

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FINAL–USC 32-21 The Gophers scored on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Weber to Gray as the clocked wound down, but the deficit was too great. The Gophers fall to 1-2. The last time they started 1-2 was in 2007, and they finished 1-11. The No. 18 Trojans are 3-0 for the first time since 2007. 3:47 4th–USC 32-14 Time for USC to run the clock out. Weber throws his second interception of the game, which Chris Galippo returns to the Minnesota 44. The Gophers trail by 18 and have just two timeouts. Barring some miracle, this one is over. 8:32 4th–USC 32-14 And there goes the crowd. Allen Bradford scores on a 56-yard touchdown run to stretch the lead to 18. The two-point conversion is again no good. Bradford has run 12 times for 127 yards and a touchdown. 13:39 4th–USC 26-14 Brock Vereen is just being picked on by Barkley. Vereen bit on Barkley’s pump fake, leaving Ausberry open in the end for a 21-yard touchdown catch. After the PAT, the Trojans lead 26-14. End 3rd–USC 19-14 The end of the quarter couldn’t come sooner for the Gophers. The Trojans are moving the ball well on the ground and have all the momentum at the Minnesota 37. Through three quarters the Trojans have pulled ahead 13-11 in first downs and hold an edge in total yards, 257-187. 5:35 3rd–USC 19-14 That didn’t take long. USC’s Robert Woods returned the kickoff untouched for a 97-yard touchdown. USC goes for the two-point conversion, but cornerback Ryan Collado broke up the pass. USC leads 19-14. 5:47 3rd–Minnesota 14-13 Da’Jon McKnight makes a remarkable catch along the sideline and scores a 31-yard touchdown to give the Gophers a 14-13 lead. The touchdown pass moves Weber into first place in the Minnesota record books with 56. 11:14 3rd–USC 13-7 Gophers catch an early break in the second half. Barkley throws a lame duck that is intercepted by freshman safety James Manuel. Gophers take over at the MINN 35. The interception was Barkley second of the game and the season, and it was the first of Manuel’s career. Halftime–USC 13-7 Here are the halftime leaders: MINN Passing–> Adam Weber: 3-for-8; 49 yards, 1 INT Rushing–> Donnell Kirkwood: 6 rushes, 34 yards DeLeon Eskridge: 7 rushes, 15 yards, 1 TD Receiving–> MarQueis Gray: 1 rec, 37 yards USC Passing–> Matt Barkley: 10-for-14, 135 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing–> Allen Bradford: 4 rushes, 32 yards Receiving–>Robert Woods: 3 rec, 24 yards Ronald Johnson: 2 rec, 61 yards, 1 TD Team stats Time of possession: Minnesota 15:39, USC 14:21 Total yards: USC 176, Minnesota 109 Turnovers: USC 1, Minnesota 2 First downs: USC 8, Minnesota 8 Halftime–USC 13-7 Without either team scoring, this was the wildest final five minutes of a first half. The Gophers caught a tough break on a USC punt at the 4:27 mark. The officials ruled and upheld that the ball bounced off cornerback Brock Vereen and the Trojans recovered at the Minnesota 38. The Gophers responded, though, and on the next play, Kendall Gregory-McGhee sacked Barkley for a loss of 11. After a three-and-out the Gophers got the ball at their 17 with 2:17 remaining in the half. But the Gophers couldn’t decide whether or not they wanted to be conservative and mixed in a couple run plays before Adam Weber threw an interception. The ill-advised throw went over the middle, and Trojans strong safety Jawanza Starling made a great catch for the turnover. Starling had it, then was hit by Gophers receiver Troy Stoudermire, then caught it on his way to the ground. On the next play, Barkley was picked off by Theret who gave the Gophers the ball at their own 33 with 25 seconds remaining in the half. The Gophers ran each of the next three plays, and USC called a timeout just to get the ball back with four seconds. Barkley took a knee and the Trojans lead 13-7 at halftime. 11:53 2nd–USC 13-7 Barkley finds Ronald Johnson wide open over the middle for a 53-yard touchdown. The Trojans tried for two, but failed to hold just a six-point lead. Johnson gained separation from strong safety James Manuel after a little stutter step. The scoring drive went 77 yards on four plays in 1:37. 13:30 2nd–7-7 Gophers punter Dan Orseske is having issues today. He just punted 20 yards to give the Trojans the ball on their 23. His first punt went 34 yards. If this game stays close, that could become a BIG problem. 1:47 1st–7-7 The Trojans answer with a methodical drive that goes 60 yards on 13 plays in 5:28. USC junior running back Marc Tyler punched it in on a second-and-goal from the 3. The Gophers appeared to stop the Trojans when a Kyle Theret tackle forced a fourth-and-inches on the 5, but USC went for it and scored two plays later. 7:15 1st–7-0 Gophers And the first score of the game is a Gophers touchdown. Junior running back DeLeon Eskridge punched it in from one yard out to make it a 7-0 game in favor of the home team. The scoring drive covered 69 yards on nine plays in just four minutes, 14 seconds. The play of the drive was a 37-yard completion from quarterback Adam Weber to MarQueis Gray on a third-and-nine. The play brought the Gophers to the USC 31. A USC penalty also helped keep the drive alive. On third and one, on the USC 8, a defensive holding moved the chains to give the Gophers first and goal. 11:29 1st quarter Gophers take over after USC kicker Joe Houston barely misses a 48-yard field goal wide left. On the Gophers first possession, they went three and out and had to punt. The Trojans had a 23-yard pass play, but the drive stalled when quarterback Matt Barkley overthrew wide receiver David Ausberry on third and nine.

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