Although the outcome was never in doubt during top-ranked USC’s 38-10 season-opening victory over the Idaho Vandals on Saturday night at the Coliseum, the Trojans never looked like a dominant team, and their performance was probably far from what fans expected, especially since USC was favored by 46. Before we get to the articles about the game, some notes and stats…

• LB Brian Cushing injured his ankle early in the game and did not return. He was later diagnosed with a low ankle sprain and should be able to return for the Nebraska game. And aside from the previously known scratches, there were two more surprising holdouts: WR Patrick Turner (neck) and CB Josh Pinkard (knee) were kept off the field on Saturday. It is uncertain when either will return, although it seems likely that neither player will miss the next game.
• The Trojans seemed to play a conservative game on offense and defense, either to hide their playbook from Nebraska, or to ease in their new players, or a little of both.
• Although QB John David Booty put up solid numbers (21-32, 206 yards, 3 TD), the passing game looked out of sync at various times during the game. Booty had one pass picked off, another blocked at the line of scrimmage, and did not complete any long passes.
• It was nice to see the Trojans able to run the ball for a change. Both CJ Gable (68 yards on 8 carries) and Stafon Johnson (64 on 12 carries) looked very strong (as did FB Stanley Havili), and the team gained 215 yards on the ground. Again, however, there were no big gains. And Allen Bradford didn’t impress during his second-half carries, although he was mostly playing with the second- and third-string offense.
• USC did a good job of rotating players throughout the game, and getting its new players into the lineup. Everson Griffen (who started), Ronald Johnson, Joe McKnight (who had one nice improvised run but also fumbled), Adam Goodman, and–briefly–Chris Galippo and Malcolm Smith all contributed. And of course there was Kristofer O’Dowd, who played the entire game at center and looked solid doing so.
• On a night when the team honored the late Mario Danelo by intentionally lining up for a PAT without a kicker, the Trojans had a very solid night on special teams, with Clay Matthews blocking a field goal and David Buehler making his only field goal attempt, converting all of his extra points, and placing 4 out of 7 kickoffs in the endzone.
• The first-string defense surrendered only three points, although at times they seemed unable to cope with the Vandals’ inventive offense (utilizing a lot of play action and quarterback rollouts).
• The Trojans turned the ball over a disappointing three times to the Vandals one.

Booty leads sluggish Trojans to rout over Vandals (AP via ESPN.com)
Trojans take a sputter step (LA Times)
Freshman center O’Dowd helps clear the way (LA Times)
Ceremony pays tribute to Danelo (LA Times)
With these tailbacks, the season could be a blast (LA Times)
USC has more woes than whoas! in win over Idaho (Daily News)
Ho-hum start for USC (OC Register)
Inside the game: Stafon Johnson (Rivals, $)

You can also review all articles about this game on our Game Recap page:
USC-Idaho Game Recap