Williams, Cougars play host to No. 24 Southern Cal

PROVO, Utah (AP) - Ty'Son Williams has already made something of a name for himself in his short time with the Brigham Young football program.

Williams, the former Crestwood High School standout running back and South Carolina graduate transfer, scored the game-winning touchdown on a churning 5-yard run in the second overtime in the Cougars' 29-26 win over Tennessee last week.

Williams and BYU will be getting a chance to knock off a Power 5 Conference team for the second straight game when No. 24 Southern California visits Brigham Young.

Williams appeared to be stopped just a few yards short of the end zone on second-and-3 from the 5 with the Volunteers leading 26-23 after kicking a field goal on its possession in the second overtime. However, Williams kept running until he crossed the goal line. His offensive linemen pushed him along those last couple of yards.

"I just got in there and just got dirty, just kept my feet moving and was able to get to the goal line and score a touchdown," said Williams, who ran for 92 yards and two scores.

Williams is averaging 5.7 yards per carry for the 1-1 Cougars. He is tied for ninth in the country with three rushing touchdowns so far.

BYU will face a tough task against Southern Cal. The Trojans moved into the rankings after whipping previously ranked Stanford 45-20.

Freshman Kedon Slovis threw for 377 yards and three touchdowns in the 45-20 victory over the Cardinal. Those numbers were the best ever posted by a freshman Trojan quarterback making his first start.

Five different receivers caught at least five passes against the Cardinal. Tyler Vaughns and Amon-Ra St. Brown had the biggest performances, piling up 203 yards and three touchdowns combined.

Their efforts positioned USC to chase its second 3-0 start in eight seasons.

"(Slovis) didn't have to be Superman," USC coach Clay Helton said. "The skill kids did. Our skill kids, I thought, played really well for him. Our offensive line blocked extremely well for him. The entire team rallied around him."

BYU (1-1) saw some promising signs from its own offense late in the Cougars' 29-26 double-overtime win over Tennessee. It was a step in the right direction after a flat performance against Utah, another Power 5 foe, a week earlier.

"In all three phases, there's a lot of things we can adjust and improve on," BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. "We made some improvements from Week 1 to Week 2, but I'd like to see it continue."