LOS ANGELES (ABC4 Sports) – The last time Bryson Barnes played at the Coliseum against USC in October, he led Utah to a dramatic comeback victory over the Trojans.
Saturday night, it was a completely different story quarterbacking Utah State.
Quinten Joyner rushed for 84 yards and two touchdowns, while the Trojans’ revitalized defense had the Trojans’ first shutout since 2011 in a 48-0 victory over the Aggies.
Barnes struggled to move the Utah State offense at all, throwing for just 103 yards. USC out-gained Utah State in total yardage, 544-190.
Utah State was shutout for the first time since Sept. 3, 2022, when it lost at No. 1 Alabama, 55-0.
Miller Moss passed for 229 yards and a touchdown while playing only the first 2 1/2 quarters in his first home start for the Trojans (2-0). Woody Marks ran for 103 yards and a TD, while A’Marion Peterson rushed for another score.
USC was in control all night at the Coliseum, building on its impressive season-opening victory over LSU with another demonstration of the thorough transformation of last season’s pathetic defense.
After USC held the Tigers to 20 points in Las Vegas last week, defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn’s group yielded just 190 yards to the Aggies (1-1), with 40 of those yards coming against the Trojans’ backups on a final drive that ended with a missed 52-yard field goal attempt with 1:08 to play.
The Trojans’ shutout in the first half was its first in any half since the 2022 season, and they held on to finish off the school’s first shutout in 153 games since its 50-0 victory over UCLA in the final game of the 2011 season.
Makai Lemon caught a TD pass shortly before halftime, while Marks made three receptions in the Mississippi State transfer’s home debut, catching a pass in his 47th consecutive game to extend the nation’s longest active streak.
UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava finished up for Moss, rushing for a touchdown in the fourth quarter and passing for 66 yards while leading two scoring drives in USC’s 544-yard offensive performance.
A power outage on the north side of the Coliseum forced the teams to begin the second half in less light than normal, and the game was delayed for a few minutes in the fourth quarter when all of the north-side lights went out. The Coliseum eventually restored power to the two main light towers.
The loss was the first for Aggies interim head coach Nate Dreiling, the former defensive coordinator who got the job two months ago amid Blake Anderson’s stormy departure from Logan.
After USC scored on four of its first five drives, Easton Mascarenas-Arnold’s interception 1:14 before halftime set up a 40-yard TD drive ending in Lemon’s artful catch-and-run for a 6-yard score with 4 seconds left.
Joyner rushed for his second TD on the Trojans’ first drive after halftime.
Not every defense the Aggies face will be as good as USC’s group, so they’ll hope to return to the form in which they racked up 343 yards passing in a season-opening win over Robert Morris, instead of the punchless attack that managed only 103 yards in the air at the Coliseum.
Jalen Royals led Utah State in receiving with six catches for 47 yards, while Rahsul Faison paced the Aggies on the ground with 54 yards on nine carries.
The competition continues to stay stiff for the Aggies, as they now get ready to host #11 Utah Saturday at Maverik Stadium.
إرسال تعليق