The Trojans took it right to Fresno State with back-to-back-to-back TD’s to take a 14-0 lead in the 1st Qtr and a 21-10 lead at the break as the Bulldogs came back with a field goal and TD of their own in the 2nd Qtr. Fresno State’s QB Jake Haener threw an interception before the half and then fumbled the ball on their first possession of the 3rd Qtr after being sacked which resulted in an injury and him being carted off the field and replaced by Sophomore QB Logan Fife. Five plays later USC was back into the end zone on a 4 yard Austin Jones TD run with USC now leading 28-10. The Bulldogs would get those seven back on their next possession featuring a Jordan Mims run, two Logan Fife passes and a 32 yard run to the house by Sophomore RB Malik Sherrod to pull within 11 points at 28-17. But after that it was all USC as the Trojans would score two more TD’s and a field goal while holding the Bulldogs to a missed field goal and two turnovers on downs.
USC Sophomore QB Caleb Williams had another stellar game connecting on 25-of-37 for 284 yards and 2 TD’s, one to Senior TE Malcomb Epps and the other to Junior WR Jordan Addison, as well as rushing 12 times for two more scores. The Trojans ran the ball 38 times for 233 yards and 4 TD’s in all with 212 of those yards and a TD a piece accounted for by Senior RB’s Austin Jones and Oregon transfer Travis Dye. USC had six more first downs than Fresno State; completed 50% of their 3rd downs compared to 30% for the Bulldogs; had almost 100 more Total Yards, 517 to 421; played a clean game with no fumbles or interceptions; and possessed the ball eight minutes longer. At the rate which USC scores, which in this game was 1.32 points per minute, eight minutes represents 10+ more points. Something for teams to think about. USC faces their toughest opponent to date when they travel to Corvallis for a PAC-12 Conference matchup against Oregon State. Don’t miss this one!