USC Rebounds with 45-7 Rout of Utah State in Home Opener

It's not how many times you get knocked down that counts, it's how many times you get back up.

Max Browne and Sam Darnold each threw two touchdown passes and the USC Trojans rebounded from their blowout loss against Alabama with a dominant 45-7 victory versus Utah State in their home opener at the LA Coliseum on Saturday.

"As we went into the weekend, this was a team that wanted to perform and get back out there," USC head coach Clay Helton said. "It was a mad football team, an emotional football team. It was a good win and great to get back in the Coliseum in front of the Trojan family. I thought this was our form of winning."

JuJu Smith-Schuster caught a touchdown pass from each quarterback as the junior wideout hauled in seven catches for 56 yards as the Trojans bounced back from the biggest season-opening loss in school history.

"This was a game for us to bounce over and show that one game doesn't define our team," Smith-Schuster said after the game. "We have great receivers on the other side of the ball. Not just me, but guys like Steven Mitchell and Deonte Burnett."

Mitchell made four catches and Burnett grabbed three as both receivers scored a touchdown in the game.

The Trojans set the tone early with an opening touchdown drive that gave juniors Browne and Smith-Schuster their first touchdown together of the season. The duo is expected to connect on many more scoring strikes before the year is over.

This looked more like the team USC was expected to be. Browne found Smith-Schuster and Darreus Rogers early and often. The Trojans pounded the ball with a bevy of tailbacks and the always lethal, Adoree' Jackson, showed off his speed in the open field with a 77-yard punt return for a touchdown.

"I let two get away in the first quarter so I wanted to make a play," Jackson said. "I was anxious to make something happen and get in the end zone. My teammates were blocking well, so credit them for getting me into the end zone." 

Darnold is the backup quarterback for USC, but he got plenty of action in the game and threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Burnett on his one and only pass attempt of the first half.

After the Trojans went up big in the second half, Darnold got some reps in mop up duty, finishing 5-7 for 62 yards and two touchdowns.

Utah State final got on the board at the end of the third quarter. After a pass interference penalty on the Trojans spotted the ball on the USC nine-yard line, Kent Myers found tight end Wyatt Houston for the Aggies only touchdown of the game. 

"We were trying to come back in the game, and not with all drop back passes, but to keep running the ball," said Utah State head coach Matt Wells. "We got some momentum, but they have a good front and a good defense and they did a nice job of taking Mays away."

The Trojans defense was stifling throughout the game and looked more like the unit that held Alabama scoreless in the first quarter of last week's game.

The defense held the Aggies to just 49 rushing yards and 253 yards of total offense. The seven points allowed by the Trojans was the fewest since they held Idaho to just six points in the 2015 season opener.

"A stellar game defensively and making terrific tackles," added Helton of his team's performance. "To be able to go out there and play was special. We needed it as a football team to get a bad taste out of our mouth."

Players of the Game:

Max Browne: 182 yards and 2 TDs
Adoree' Jackson: 77-yard punt return TD
USC Defense: Held the Aggies to just 49 rushing yards.

Three Takeaways:

1. Hands Off The Ref: USC offensive tackle Chuma Edoga was ejected from the game early in the first quarter after taking a swing at a Utah State defender and then scuffling with the referee. Edoga's ejection is the second straight game that a Trojan player has been ejected from the game.

Hasn't been a good 2 weeks for USC. Now, tackle Chuma Edoga struck an official https://t.co/jUYzupfm2Rhttps://t.co/iHUHK3cYuq — Jason McIntyre (@jasonrmcintyre) September 10, 2016

2. Take it to the House: USC cornerback Adoree' Jackson flashed his elite-level speed as the returned a 77-yard punt all the way to the house for a Trojans touchdown in the third quarter. The "Deuce" was definitely set loose on this play.

THE DEUCE IS LOOSE IN THE COLI!@AdoreeKnows to the ��https://t.co/YfMNDWtSGWhttps://t.co/XB9idjnbTe — Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) September 10, 2016

3. You Always Remember Your First Time: Freshman quarterback Sam Darnold threw his first career touchdown pass at USC on his first pass attempt of the game when he found Deontay Burnett on a 13-yard touchdown strike. After the game, Darnold talked about the moment he heard his name at the Coliseum.

Sam Darnold talking about hearing his name announced after throwing his first career #USC touchdown pic.twitter.com/HhE1g75KFe — Connor McGlynn (@cmcglynn48) September 10, 2016

Up Next:

Utah State (1-1) The Aggies will head back to Big Blue to face Arkansas State next Friday at 6:00PM PST.

USC (1-1): The Trojans schedule gets even tougher when they travel to the Farm to take on No. 7 ranked Stanford on Saturday Sept. 17 at 5:00PM PST.