LOS ANGELES -- N’Keal Harry took his time exiting the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. He had people to talk to -- people to thank.

The Arizona State wide receiver started his postgame trek in the southeast corner of the stadium. As the ASU players huddled in the corner that housed the ASU fan section following their 31-28 victory over USC (4-4, 3-3 Pac-12), Harry started jogging along the wall separating the field and the fans.

With the USC (4-4, 2-3) alma mater ringing through an emptying stadium as his background, he stuck his arm up in the crowd like it was his mission to touch and acknowledge every fan that called his name.

On Saturday, they called it a lot.

Everyone did.

Offensive coordinator Rob Likens and head coach Herm Edwards were on the headsets together in the third quarter, strategizing on what approach to take on a crucial drive down four. Quickly the conversation turned to sharp reactions as they pair watched their most dynamic player do what he does best.

“Oh no. Oh no. Oh, there he goes,” Likens said him and Edwards started yelling on the headset.

Harry fielded a punt at the 8-yard line, an act that might get most returners benched, with two USC gunners within driving distance of him. No panic.

He caught the ball almost facing the far sideline, sprinting backwards and across the field as soon as he reeled it in -- again, something that would get most returners benched.

But then red jerseys started dropping while he stayed upright. In the ‘no, no, no, no, no, yes’ sequence that Harry has dazzled fans into yelling at their TVs, most has already uttered ‘no’ at least three times.

But then he turned the corner.

“From the booth, you could see the blocks set up,” Likens said.

Added Harry: “Immediately I saw all the blocks and effort. There was only one man to beat and it was a lineman so I felt good about it.”

Spoiler alert, he beat the lineman.

Harry’s 92-yard punt return touchdown gave ASU a three-point lead and arguably changed the narrative of ASU’s season.

Some say momentum isn’t tangible. Most football players would disagree. Before Harry’s punt return, a large majority of the fans he high-fived after the game were likely saying the same thing: Here we go again.

“We’ve been on the wrong side of a lot of these games,” Edwards said. “It was fun to see them come in the locker room after beating a talented team.”

After weeks of stalled drives and missed opportunities, the Sun Devil offense came out and looked ... different. They continued to run the ball with Eno Benjamin until USC stopped him. They would run the same play multiple times … on the same drive. And, for the first time in weeks, it seemed like Harry, who caught four passes for 92 yards and a touchdown along with two rushes, was properly utilized.

“If you notice, we had a bunch of changes,” Likens said while laughing. “Just trying to put him (Harry) in better places where he could catch the ball. Put him inside a lot, put him in the backfield, motioned him out.”

Out of the gates, the changes worked to perfection.

Harry caught a 44-yard touchdown out of the slot in the first quarter, sprinting past his man down the seam with no real restraint. The catch evened the game at seven after USC wide receiver Tyler Vaughns had returned a punt to the house the series prior.

The Sun Devils would find the end zone two more times in the first half -- both via runs from Benjamin -- and with a 31-yard field goal from Brandon Ruiz, ASU was up 24-7 with just minutes to go in the first half.

But, then the momentum shifted. It bounced off the countless empty seats in the Colosseum and punched ASU right in the mouth.

With 1:46 left in the half, and down 17, USC marched down the field on an eight-play, 75-yard drive that ended with redshirt freshman quarterback Jack Sears, who was making his first career start, connecting with wide receiver Michael Pittman from six-yards out.

The drive felt a lot like the one San Diego State ran at the end of the first half against ASU, where the Aztecs marched 85 yards in 1:33 to tie the game up. This was going to be the domino that broke the backs of ASU.

“That’s USC. They have a talented group of skilled players,” Edwards said. “They can make plays. And that was what the game was about. We had momentum for a while and before the half ends, they hit some big plays. I told the guys whatever you do today, I don’t want you to look at the scoreboard. At the end we’ll win this game.”

USC scored right out of the gates in the second half and then ASU’s fears started turning to nightmares. Just about a minute later, Wilkins was pancaked between two USC defenders, forcing the ball out and into the hands of the Trojans.

“Biggie (Iman Marshall) made a helluva play. I went up to him after,” Wilkins said. “I let him know ‘Why he had to do me like that on national TV.’ He made a really good play and I coughed it up.”

Wilkins laid on the field for a few minutes before heading to the medical tent. When he exited a series later, USC was up four. On a trick play, Vaughns rolled out with the ball and chucked it to the end zone, where Pittman brought it down over ASU cornerback Kobe Williams.

“We came out in the third quarter and we get another drive with some assignment mistakes and some penalties -- and then we don’t make a play in coverage,” defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales said. “We turn the ball over and it’s a trick play. We know something’s coming and we’ve got to make those plays in coverage.”

And that brings us to Harry’s punt return.

On the drive before it, Wilkins led the Sun Devil offense 31 yards in six plays. The drive stalled at the 32-yard line, and instead of going for it on 4th and 7, ASU sent out the field-goal unit. Ruiz’s 50-yard try sailed left.

It was the culmination of every storyline ASU has had coming back to bite them.

Stalled drives? Check. Poor pass coverage? Check? Abysmal third quarters? Check. Struggling on the road? Check.

But with one swift play, Harry eased each of those. They didn’t matter anymore. ASU had the lead and momentum.

After each of its four seven-point losses, ASU’s players and coaches have argued that they’re one play away from having their fortune turned and having their season be in a much different place.

On Saturday, their genie was wearing a white, No. 1 jersey.

“He was fabulous,” Edwards said of Harry. “It doesn’t surprise me. That’s what great players do. In big moments they make plays. When you have enough of them on your team, you’re always in the game.”

A few series later, Harry added to his incredible night with a catch that many, including Like, have called, “One of the best catches I’ve ever seen.”

With the victory, ASU improves to 4-4 on the season and 2-3 in the Pac-12. The Pac-12 South is still in reach after Saturday. But above that, ASU proved they can do two things that many questioned a week ago: win on the road and win a close game.

“You want it to happen,” Edwards said. “Just talking to people, other coaches, they say, eventually you’ll win a close game. We need to realize we can win these close games. Sure enough at the end, we took the knee and that’s always a good thing.”

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