USC's defense did not let Fresno State score

Fresno State went three-and-out on 60% of its drives. That is the game. USC (1-0) routs Fresno State, 39-0 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. USC led from start to finish and never let Fresno State within striking distance. Jayden Maiava threw for 349 yards on 25 attempts with three touchdowns.

The big plays only went one way

USC produced 11 plays of 15+ yards to Fresno State's 2: Jayden Maiava (involved in 8), Kayden Dixon-Wyatt (involved in 3) and Trent Mosley (involved in 2). USC won the turnover battle 1-3, led by Prophet Brown (1 INT). Stacked together, it was never close.

The standouts

Jayden Maiava threw for 349 yards on 25 attempts with three touchdowns, including that score from inside the 20, three third-down conversions and a hand in eight plays of 15 yards or more. Trent Mosley caught four passes for 104 yards, two of them for touchdowns. Tanook Hines caught two passes for 18 yards, one of them for a touchdown, with that score from inside the 20. For Fresno State, Rayshon Luke ran eight times for 21 yards and caught one pass for 7 yards. Jayden Mandal threw for 77 yards on 15 attempts and lost 19 yards on eight carries, including two third-down conversions. Bryson Donelson ran six times for 15 yards. Prophet Brown was the disruptive one for USC: 1 INT.

What Fresno State has to fix

The problems had names: Jayden Mandal (1 interception and 1 lost fumble).

The defensive story

Two names to keep: Prophet Brown (1 INT) for USC and Kiontre Harris (1 INT, 2 tackles) for Fresno State.

The takeaway

USC did exactly what a better team should against Fresno State: leave no doubt.