Oct. 16, 2004
By Nate Policar
ASU Sports Information
LOS ANGELES - Facing the top-ranked team for only the second time in the program's history, the Sun Devils were unable to keep up with the defending champion USC Trojans at L.A. Coliseum as the Trojans put up 21 unanswered points to begin the game and never looked back.
"We came in with a great deal of respect for ASU," said USC head coach Pete Carroll. "I'm proud of how we played on offense. Overall, it was a huge day at the Coliseum. We love it, and it showed. We went right back to the fundamentals and right back to the basics today. We love seeing that stuff go. Our coaches and our players take great pride in it."
USC wasted no time in getting started on offense, taking over on the ASU 45-yard following a Sun Devil punt. After a 19-yard completion to Chris McFoy, USC's Matt Leinart hooked up with tailback Reggie Bush on a 10-yard touchdown pass for an early 7-0 lead.
The Sun Devils strung together a 50-yard drive with long completions to junior receiver Derek Hagan but came up empty handed after a 47-yard field goal attempt by sophomore Jesse Ainsworth fell short of the goal posts. USC took over at midfield following an ASU punt and drove 50 yards in seven plays, using a combined attack of tailbacks Bush and LenDale White. From nine yards out, Leinart found White across the middle for the Trojans' second touchdown of the game and a 14-0 lead.
As the first quarter ended, the Sun Devils showed some signs of life on offense, as senior quarterback Andrew Walter completed two straight passes to Miller for a combined 32 yards. However, Walter's next pass ended up in the hands of USC's Matt Grootegoed, who returned the pick 40 yards down to the ASU 19-yard line. One play later, Leinart found Dwayne Jarrett on the right side of the field for a 19-yard TD pass.
Following a Sun Devil punt, ASU forced a fumble by Bush on the first play from scrimmage, and senior Ishmael Thrower recovered, giving ASU possession on the USC 33-yard line. Walter hit sophomore Terry Richardson on a 15-yard completion to bring the ball to the Trojan two-yard line, where junior tailback Hakim Hill powered it into the end zone to cut the USC lead to 21-7.
However, the Trojans answered with an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive of their own. Following a 35-yard completion to Bush, Leinart took the ball into the end zone himself on a one-yard quarterback keeper to give the Trojans a 28-7 advantage with 5:08 remaining in the first half. After a quick three-and-out by the Sun Devils, the Trojans scored again quickly with a trick play as tailback Reggie Bush connected with Jarrett on a 52-yard halfback pass for USC's fifth touchdown of the half.
Before the half ended, however, USC struck again as Reggie Bush returned a punt by MacDonald 41 yards to the ASU 34-yard line with 0:49 remaining in the half. Leinart quickly found Jarrett on a 34-yard pass to take the Trojans into the locker room with a 42-7 lead.
Much of the second half passed uneventfully. Taking over on its own 33-yard line following a punt by the Sun Devils, USC moved the ball 50 yards in 11 plays to set up a 34-yard field goal by kicker Ryan Killeen to make the score 45-7 with 9:07 left in the game. The Sun Devils and the Trojans would both run the ball on their next possessions to run out the clock as USC came away with the victory.
"We didn't get tricked today, we got outplayed. If you look at the game, we got off to a horrendous start from a field position standpoint. We couldn't get anything going and when we got down 21-0, we couldn't answer the bell," said ASU head coach Dirk Koetter. "At that point, I think a little doubt creeped in and you can't do that against a team like USC. I didn't think we would get totally stoned in the running game in the first half. We couldn't get two inches. This is an 11-game season. We can still have a good year. This one hurts. We can see why USC is the team that they are. As bad as we were today, there's still good things in store for this team."