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USC’s Amon-ra St. Brown has record first quarter against Washington State

Southern California wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, right, catches a touchdown over Washington State defensive back Armani Marsh during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Los Angeles, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020.  (Associated Press)
By Theo Lawson theol@spokesman.com(509) 459-5584

They know he’d be a load, but the Washington State Cougars couldn’t have expected this from USC wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

By the time the junior matched Pac-12 and USC single-game records with his fourth touchdown reception, there was :44 left on the game clock. Make that :44 left in the game clock in the first quarter.

St. Brown, taking advantage of a paper-thin Washington State defensive secondary, reeled in four touchdown passes in the game’s first 15 minutes, tying the record by another USC great, receiver Robert Woods, who’s now playing pro football in Los Angeles with the NFL’s Rams.

Coming into the game, St. Brown was USC’s leading receiver with 19 catches for 266 yards, but the Anaheim Hills native had yet to catch a touchdown during the 2020 season. By the end of the first quarter, he was the Cougars’ leader in that category, with two more TD receptions than tight end Erik Krommenhoek.

Per USC’s sports information department, St. Brown also became just the second player in NCAA history to score two touchdowns – receiving or rushing – in the first quarter of a game. 

Each of St. Brown’s first four receptions in the game went for touchdowns and helped push the Trojans out to a 28-0 first-quarter lead over a WSU team playing without its top cornerback, junior Jaylen Watson, and three other rotational players in the secondary.