LOS ANGELES — After an underwhelming season opener, the USC Trojans finally played like a team with playoff hopes on Saturday, overwhelming Nevada in a 66-14 win at the Coliseum.
Quarterback Caleb Williams so casually cut up the Nevada defense that he could retire to the sideline with two minutes and 12 seconds remaining in the third quarter after his 319 yards and five touchdowns led to a comfortable 42-7 lead. Including backup Miller Moss’ seven completions on 10 passes, 14 different USC players caught a pass and six scored touchdowns, led by two from Tahj Washington.
Even the much-maligned defense recovered from an embarrassing touchdown on Nevada’s first possession to hold the Wolf Pack scoreless for 10 consecutive drives during USC’s run of 45 consecutive points.
Defensive lineman Stanley Ta’ufo’ou highlighted the lights-out defensive performance with a 23-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown with 12:05 remaining that put the Trojans up 52-7. The redshirt senior scooped the ball after freshman Braylan Shelby sacked Nevada quarterback Brendon Lewis and trotted into the end zone.
The comprehensive rout was a swift turnaround from the uninspired, inconsistent effort against San Jose State last week, but is still far from what the No. 6 Trojans (2-0) will need to conquer the Pac-12 in their final year in the conference. After successfully avoiding any pitfalls against the Wolf Pack — a team that went 2-10 last season and lost their quarterbacks coach less than two weeks ago — USC begins conference play against Stanford next Saturday at the Coliseum.
Running back MarShawn Lloyd staked his claim to the starting role with a team-high seven carries for 76 yards and his first touchdown as a USC player. The South Carolina transfer may have edged returner Austin Jones for the leading role as Jones was limited to two carries for 19 yards.
Showing much-needed depth on defense, the Trojans overcame the loss of three inside linebackers to hold Nevada (0-1) to just 49 rushing yards on 38 carries.
Senior linebacker Mason Cobb and returning starter Eric Gentry watched the game from the sideline with injuries, and the linebacker position got even thinner after freshman starter Tackett Curtis was ejected for targeting during the second quarter. Raesjon Davis, who started in Cobb’s place, teamed with Shane Lee to anchor the defense for the rest of the game.
After working through a nagging training camp injury that cost him his starting role, Lee led the team with nine tackles and one sack.