Click here for the recap and final stats.
Click here for the post-game press conference.
Home Cookin'Coming off a September to forget, USC put together a complete performance in front of the Trojan Family to alleviate some of the pressure that had been mounting on this program. "We needed [this win] so bad," admitted junior WR JuJu Smith-Schuster. The Trojans are now 2-3 on the season and 1-2 in the Pac-12, but 2-0 in the Coliseum with three of the next four still come in their building. "We love being home," said Clay Helton, who remains undefeated in the Coliseum as the USC head coach.
Dishing Out Dimes
Redshirt freshman Sam Darnold proved that his scintillating debut was no fluke, passing for 352 yards and 3 TDs, while running for one more score. "He's got several attributes that are hard to defend," Helton listed vision, anticipation and mobility. "He's a dangerous weapon." With Darnold as its point guard, the Trojans' offense has come to life, piling up 523 yards tonight. "The defense has to account for him," explained WR Deontay Burnett, who had a career-night with 7 catches and 93 yards. "If they account for him, we have a lot of playmakers on the outside. And if they are so heavy on us then Sam can make plays too. That's been helping our offense a lot, moving the chains, putting up points and looking like USC."
Lock Down D
While the offense brought the style, the defense provided the substance. Arizona State came in averaging 48.8 points per game, and the Trojans limited them to 6 points until garbage time. "I thought it was a great group effort defensively, but credit Clancy [Pendergast]," said Helton about his defensive coordinator. "You may get him once, but you're not going to get him very many times. I was really nervous against a really high-powered Arizona State offense, but I thought Clancy was fantastic tonight." Pendergast dialed up the pressure, leading to three sacks, six tackles-for-loss and one turnover. "The quarterback sees nothing but USC players coming at him," said CB Jonathan Lockett, who had the interception. "I feel like if I get on my man close enough, I should be good."
JuJu and JD
The veteran stars turned up on a night when USC desperately needed to right the ship. Smith-Schuster made 7 catches for 123 yards and 3 TDs, while RB Justin Davis ran for 123 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. "The balance of all of it put together is really gelling right now," said Helton. Smith-Schuster provided the highlight of the night (see below), turning a short pass into a 67-yard touchdown by traversing the entire field. "I saw the open field and I saw my boys blocking for me," said Smith-Schuster about Steven Mitchell and Darreus Rogers. "I just crossed the field and it was all daylight."
Clean Game
While USC has spoiled its previous success this season by shooting itself in the foot with penalties, turnovers and communication errors, the Trojans looked a vastly improved team tonight. "Overall, I thought it was a very clean game on both sides," said Helton. "Both sides came together for by far their best game of the season." USC did not turn the ball over, had only four penalties going into the fourth quarter and limited the explosive plays against. When the Trojans play fundamentally sound football, the exceptional talent is able to shine through.
Doormats No More
Next Saturday is shaping up to be a showdown. Colorado has had trouble competing in conference since joining the Pac-12, but the Buffaloes have positioned themselves as Pac-12 South contenders in the early going by winning at Oregon and blasting Oregon State. "They are playing great ball," said Helton about his next opponent (October 8 at 1 p.m.). "Coach [Mike] MacIntyre does a tremendous job. We saw that last year. They played a lot of close games, and we were one of them. We came away saying, 'Wow, that's a very well coached football team.' Now you look up, he's got some more weapons, his team's healthy, and they are putting up a lot of points on the board offensively. We've got another challenge, another great offense in the Pac-12, seems like every week."
Click here for tickets to the Colorado game!
Here are the highlights from USC's first Pac-12 win of the season:
