BOULDER, Colo. -- Quarterback Kedon Slovis had just nearly given the ball and game away late in the fourth quarter, flipping a desperation shovel pass to surprised running back Kenan Christon in hopes of avoiding a sack. The ball bounced of Christon and came dangerously close to being corralled instead by a Colorado defender before eventually hitting the turf for an fortunate incompletion.
The very next play, Buffaloes outside linebacker Jamar Montgomery came unblocked and was charging directly at Slovis. This time there was no panic from the true freshman, though.
It was third-and-10, Slovis knew what he needed to do and he'd just have to take the imminent hit as he stood his ground and fired off a pivotal 14-yard completion to Michael Pittman on the left sideline.
"You'll go back and you'll look at one play and it's the definition of who he is," USC coach Clay Helton would say later. "They bring all-out pressure on a third down on that last drive and he's got to believe in [Pittman] on the sideline, and he lets it go while he's getting hit, steps right into it and gets ear-holed and delivers a ball on time, accurately, with unbelievable poise. I'm not trying to blow his head up, but even me and Graham [Harrell] are sitting there going, 'Wow, that's a big-time play.'
"That's who he is. I think in the brightest moments when it's time to show immense poise in a situation, he's [done] that."
Slovis did it throughout USC's tense fourth quarter comeback Friday night, as the Trojans rallied from a 10-point deficit in that final period to steal a 35-31 win at Colorado.
That third-down completion to Pittman under pressure was the first in a sequence of steely resilience from the young signal caller, who would finish 30-of-44 passing for a career-high 406 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception.
"He's a tough kid," center Brett Neilon said. "He acts a lot older than he really is and I'm proud of him for pushing through."
Slovis was limping to the line of scrimmage between plays down the stretch. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said after the game that he thought the QB had hurt his knee on a hard-nosed run down near the goal line earlier in the game and had a cut on his finger that was affecting him as well.
Once the ball was snapped, it didn't show.
On the next play after that third-down strike to Pittman, Slovis took another big hit as this time Montgomery finished the sack and knocked the ball loose. Another moment of panic ensued for the Trojans as it bounced perilously close to a Buffs defender before Christon pounced on the loose ball.
If Slovis was affected in any way by the consistent pressure or another near fateful snafu, he refused to show it. On the next snap, second-and-20, he laced a perfect throw down the middle to Drake London, who had a defender draped on him. The ball could not have been thrown more precisely and went for a 19-yard gain to the 50-yard line.
Running back Quincy Jountti would pick up the first down on a favorable spot, Slovis slung one over the middle to St. Brown for 9 yards, Jountti got another first down and Christon followed with a rush for a loss of one to set the stage for the game-winner.
With beautiful catch-and-run from Pittman on a simple slant route -- he sprinted diagonally toward the right corner before simply blowing past the final defenders and diving for the pylon and the decisive 37-yard touchdown -- the Trojans had come all the way back from a 31-21 deficit to start the fourth quarter.
For that matter, they had trailed since the second quarter in a game that had all the makings of a devastating loss that would have likely cost them a shot at the Pac-12 championship game and eventually cost Helton his job.
Instead, the traveling Trojans fan section at Folsom Field roared in approval as the players and coaches streamed back to the locker room. Helton emphatically slapped hands with one fan and gave euphoric hugs to his assistant coaches.
And then he stood in the post game news conference, next to Slovis, and talked about what had just happened.
"I think it defines him," he said of his QB.
The reaction to this win will surely be mixed. USC needed a dramatic rally to beat one of the Pac-12 South's weaker teams -- one that had also lost its previous three games and the last two by a combined 86-13 margin (albeit on the road). The Buffaloes had never beaten USC in 13 prior meetings and nearly did Friday night, as the Trojans were outgained 520 yards to 518.
So, no, not all in the fan base will see this win as a success but rather a near disaster.
What should not be argued, though, is what Slovis showed down the stretch of that comeback and what it says about his development this season. Sure, if the Trojans lose one of those fumbles it’s a different narrative, but they didn’t and the throws he made to capitalize on that good fortune reveal plenty.
He was asked if he felt the ending was redemption for a shaky start as he missed several receivers and threw an early interception.
"I think looking back at BYU, I had an opportunity to win the game in overtime and losing, I think that more so was redemption in terms of that," he said.
This time, Slovis threw for 286 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs after halftime, including a 44-yard touchdown strike deep to Pittman down the left sideline earlier in the fourth quarter to make it a 3-point game at the time. For a guy who was never expected to play this fall, he's now completed 72.3 percent of his passes for 1,625 yards, 13 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.
All that said, Slovis' biggest supporter -- offensive coordinator Graham Harrell -- did not feel he necessarily learned anything new about his QB on Friday night, he said. Maybe everybody else did, but he wouldn't take it there.
"You ask me that every week. He's the same kid. That's what I expect him to do, and he does his job and he does it well," Harrell said. "To be a true freshman and play as well as he did in the second half especially at Notre Dame and do what he did here, like I said since the spring, he's a special player."
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