USC vs. Idaho Score & Summary: Trojans Rout Vandals

Saturday night’s USC vs. Idaho score wasn’t quite that close, as the Trojans ripped the Vandals for a 59-9 win.

The lowdown: For the second-straight week, the Trojans didn’t waste much time to score, driving 75 yards on seven plays in just over two minutes to start the game. Justin Davis finished off the drive and it was all USC from then on out. The Trojans led 38-3 at halftime, amassing 434 yards of total offense during the first two quarters.

The takeaway: You knew going into Week 2 that USC was a much better team than Idaho. However, on a day in which FCS Jacksonville State took Auburn to overtime and Toledo beat Arkansas, the Trojans routed Idaho as expected and then some.

Idaho played a deep cover defense to prevent the big play over the top, and USC responded by taking underneath routes all night until the Vandals crept up in the box so Cody Kessler could go over the top.

In the running game, Justin Davis had a big return from injury with a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter and Tre Madden had two as well. Ronald Jones II also had a big day, scoring another touchdown and putting together a few electric runs.

The biggest takeaway however? While the Trojans struggled on third downs and gave up a methodical touchdown drive in the third quarter, they did not suffer an injury and the defense did not ease up despite having an enormous lead.

Player of the game: It was a career night for both Cody Kessler and JuJu Smith-Schuster, both of whom set career highs for yardage. Kessler was 26-of-31 for 410 yards through the air, while Smith-Schuster caught 10 passes for 192 yards. The tandem connected twice for touchdowns, with scores of 50 and 41 yards, respectively.

Stat of the game: USC’s 434 total yards in the first half were the most by the Trojans since the 2008 Rose Bowl vs. Illinois. (h/t Kyle Bonagura of ESPN).

Next on tap: After facing a pair of Sun Belt teams in the first two weeks, the Trojans will now start their daunting Pac-12 slate. Stanford comes to the Coliseum next season, followed by a trip to Tempe to play Arizona State. How good is USC? We’ll find out soon.

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