QB Osweiler thrown into the fire

There was no easing into it for Brock Osweiler. The true freshman quarterback was given the reins of Arizona State’s offense to begin the second half on Saturday night, and he was not asked to manage the game, but win it.

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The Sun Devils trailed 14-3 when he entered permanently for starter Danny Sullivan, and while Osweiler trimmed the lead to 14-9 on a well-thrown touchdown pass to Chris McGaha late in the third quarter, he couldn’t lead them all the way back.

A last-ditch drive ended at the USC 45-yard line as his Hail Mary pass was intercepted as time ran out and the Trojans held on for the five-point victory.

Osweiler finished the game 11-for-27 for 153 yards, a touchdown and the late interception.

“There were opportunities for myself to make plays,” Osweiler said. “I didn’t get the job done.”

There were glimpses of Osweiler’s potential.

Several passes were crisp, and his mobility produced yards when the pocket collapsed.

On the touchdown pass to McGaha, Osweiler looked left to make the safety bite, then threw back to his right.

“That’s a play we don’t call very often,” Osweiler said. “We try to set teams up and use it to our advantage.”

But Osweiler also had his troubles.

He made bad reads, missed receivers and tended to escape the pocket too soon.

“To him, it’s just a matter of playing,” coach Dennis Erickson said. “He is what he is right now. A young guy with a lot of talent.”

Osweiler was summoned after Sullivan finished the first half 12-for-23 for 113 yards with two interceptions.

The second one was the biggest, when USC safety Will Harris jumped a route, picked off the pass and scampered 55 yards into the end zone for the Trojans’ first points.

Sullivan had one more series before the half but could not get the Sun Devils any points.

Osweiler was told at halftime about the change.

“I just tried telling the offensive guys to be ready,” Osweiler said. “We had to go out there and score points. Unfortunately, we didn’t do that. I think there were a lot of things that happened tonight that we can build on.”

Erickson said he will have to examine the game tape before naming a starter for next week’s contest at Oregon, but he was not pleased with the first-half turnovers.

Arizona State entered the game seventh in the Pac-10 in scoring offense with 26 points per game, a number that will decrease after the single-digit showing,

“Our productivity, obviously, is not there right now,” Erickson said. “We’ve got to do whatever it takes to get better on offense. That’s the bottom line.”