The Sports Xchange
Sep 12, 2015
LOS ANGELES – It was a career-setting night for USC senior quarterback Cody Kessler and sophomore wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Kessler completed 26 of 31 passes for a career-best 410 yards and three touchdowns Saturday night as the eighth-ranked Trojans mauled visiting Idaho 59-9, in front of 72,422 at the Coliseum.
Kessler’s favorite target was Smith-Schuster, a freshman All-American last year, who established career-highs in receptions (10) and yards gained (192). Twice Smith-Schuster blazed through the Idaho secondary on post routes to score on catches of 50 and 41 yards.
Adoree’ Jackson, USC’s brilliant two-way sophomore player, caught four passes for 62 yards while holding down his cornerback spot on the defensive side. USC had a whopping 737 total yards.
USC got its offense rolling on the game’s opening possession with absolutely no hiccups. Kessler connected with Smith-Schuster on two consecutive plays to spearhead the drive and backup tailback Justin Davis broke off an 18-yard run to set up his 1-yard touchdown run.
The Trojans reached the end zone on their second offensive possession. It was Davis again who sparked the drive with a 43-yard burst off tackle. Just like the first drive, it culminated in a touchdown run, with Davis scoring from seven yards.
The Kessler to Smith-Schuster connection pushed the Trojans’ first-quarter lead to 21-0 with four minutes still remaining in the quarter with a 50-yard touchdown pass and catch. Starting tailback Tre Madden, who had a 109-rushing performance last week, ran it into the end zone from the 7-yard line, for the USC’s fourth touchdown of the half. That came on the Trojans’ ensuing possession after Idaho’s Austin Rehkow kicked a 20-yard field goal.
Madden scored his second touchdown of the first half with 5:45 remaining on a 10-yard run. USC coach Steve Sarkisian used true freshmen Ronald Jones II and Dominic Davis on the Trojans’ last offensive drive of the first half. That drive stalled at the six-yard line but Alex Wood extended the halftime lead to 38-3 with a 24-yard field goal.
Idaho played keep away from USC to start the second half as the Vandals held the ball for over five minutes on a 13-play, 75-yard drive. It ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matt Linehan to Trent Cowan.
But USC got that touchdown right back when Kessler hit a wide-open Isaac Whitney on a 28-yard touchdown pass, with 7:57 left in the third quarter, boosting the Trojans’ lead to 45-9. The lead expanded minutes later when Kessler and Smith-Schuster collaborated on a 41-yard TD strike.
Jones II, already showing flashes of great potential in the first two games, rushed for a team-high 83 yards and a touchdown. His 1-yard TD plunge, with 7:28 remaining in the game, enabled USC’s lead to soar to 59-9.
USC got its offense rolling on the game's opening possession with absolutely no hiccups. Quarterback Cody Kessler connected with sophomore wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster on two consecutive plays to spearhead the drive and backup tailback Justin Davis broke off an 18-yard run to set up his 1-yard touchdown run.
The Trojans reached the end zone on their second offensive possession. It was Davis again who sparked the drive with a 43-yard burst off tackle. Just like the first drive, it culminated in a touchdown run, with Davis scoring from seven yards.
The Kessler to Smith-Schuster connection pushed the Trojans' first-quarter lead to 21-0 with four minutes still remaining in the quarter with a 50-yard touchdown pass and catch. Starting tailback Tre Madden, who had a 109-rushing performance last week, ran it into the end zone from the 7-yard line, for the USC's fourth touchdown of the half. That came on the Trojans' ensuing possession after Idaho's Austin Rehkow kicked a 20-yard field goal.
Madden scored his second touchdown of the first half with 5:45 remaining on a 10-yard run. USC coach Steve Sarkisian used true freshmen Ronald Jones II and Dominic Davis on the Trojans' last offensive drive of the first half. That drive stalled at the 6-yard line but Alex Wood extended the halftime lead to 38-3 with a 24-yard field goal.
NOTES: USC has defeated Idaho in all nine meetings between the two schools. But prior to 2007, when No. 1 ranked USC defeated Idaho 38-10, the other contests all were played in the 1920s when both schools were members of the Pacific Coast Conference. ... It only took the first half for Smith-Schuster to set career highs in both receptions and yards gained. Smith-Schuster caught eight passes for 139 yards in the first two quarters. He finished with 10 catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns. ... USC senior tailback Tre Madden has been playing his home games at the Coliseum where his grandfather, former Los Angeles Rams star, Lawrence McCutcheon, once played. Madden is the nephew of former USC defensive back Daylon McCutcheon, who played with the Cleveland Browns. McCutcheon currently is the New York Jets' defensive backs coach. ... Idaho has 23 players from California on their 2015 roster. Included is senior NT Ryan Edwards, who was a high school teammate at Long Beach Poly with Trojans sophomore WR JuJu Smith-Schuster and freshman DB Iman Marshall. Only one USC player, redshirt freshman LB Don Hill, is from Boise. ... Idaho was without standout WR Dezmon Epps, who caught a career-best 15 passes in last week's loss to Ohio, was suspended for Saturday's game for which the Idaho sports information staff termed as a coaches' decision. Epps was in uniform but spent the entire game watching from the sideline.
