Steve Sarkisian and the USC Trojans experienced about as bad a week as you could imagine leading up to their opener against Fresno State, but all those negative vibes went out the window once USC took the field and began taking it to the Bulldogs.
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Cody Kessler got the fast-tempo USC offense revved up early, leading the Trojans on a 17-play, 90-yard scoring drive to start the game. The throttle remained wide open for USC from there on out, and Fresno State just had no answers.
The USC weapons were too varied and too explosive for Fresno State to handle. Juju Smith, Adoree Jackson, Nelson Agholor, Buck Allen: it was pick-your-poison for the Bulldogs.
With the Fresno State defense clearly overmatched, it was up to the Bulldogs offense to at least try to keep the team in the game. But one thing became clear pretty early for Fresno State: neither Brian Burrell nor Brandon Connette is going to be erasing the memory of Derek Carr any time soon.
USC’s defense wasn’t content just to sit on Fresno State, they wanted to get in on the highlight reel action too. Safety Gerald Bowman, defensive lineman Leonard Williams and linebacker Anthony Sarao all had picks for USC, stifling any and all hope of Fresno State staying in the game.
The Bulldogs’ last glimmer of hope came when they were able to cut the 31-7 halftime deficit to 31-13 early in the third, but USC quickly took back control of the game, rattling off 21 unanswered points in the third quarter to make it 52-13 going into the fourth.
For one night at least, the Josh Shaw and Anthony Brown controversies have been pushed into the background. Steve Sarkisian gets to bask in the glow of his first win as USC head coach, and the Trojans get to look forward to their huge game next week at Stanford.
Cody Kessler finishes with 394 yards and 4 TDs on 25-of-37 passing, and Buck Allen tallies 133 yards and a TD on 22 carries.