Utah State (1-0, 0-0 MWC) at No. 13 USC (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten)

• Kickoff: Saturday, 9 p.m. MDT
• Venue: LA Memorial Coliseum
• TV: Big Ten Network
• Radio: KZNS 1280 The Zone
• Series: USC holds a 6-0 advantage over USU all-time. The most recent game — played in 2016 — was a 45-7 win for the Trojans.
• Weather: Clear skies with temperatures in the low 80s at kickoff.

The trends

For Utah State: The Aggies are 1-0 following a 36-14 win over Robert Morris in their season opener. Utah State started slowly against the Colonials but rallied from a first-half deficit for a convincing win. USU finished with 646 yards of total offense — 343 passing and 303 rushing — which was tied for the ninth-most yards in school history.

For USC: The Trojans are 1-0 following a thrilling 27-20 win over LSU in Las Vegas. USC, now ranked No. 13 in the country, was led by quarterback Miller Moss who threw for nearly 400 yards (378) and a touchdown, completing 75% of his pass attempts. More importantly, the Trojans appear to have discovered defense again, under new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn. USC held LSU to 421 total yards of offense, including only 117 rushing yards.

What to watch for

Self-inflicted wounds.

If there was one thing the Aggies struggled with against Robert Morris it was correctable mistakes.

USU turned the ball over three times — all interceptions — and all three were preventable. The first, a Spencer Petras interception, was the result of wide receiver Jalen Royals falling on a timed route. The second, another Petras interception, happened when a Robert Morris defensive back jumped a route, with USU wide receiver Otto Tia a little slow to get to the spot. The third and final turnover, an interception by backup quarterback Bryson Barnes, came on an aggressive heave just before halftime.

It wasn’t just turnovers, though.

The Aggies were also highly penalized, many of those coming at inopportune times. USU finished with 10 penalties for 105 yards and had multiple promising offensive drives cut short by holding along the offensive line.

Then there were the big plays allowed by the defense.

On the whole, USU was much improved defensively in its season opener, as compared to the end of the 2023 season. USU shut out Robert Morris in the second half, limited the Colonials to only 362 total yards of offense and held RMU to an average of 4.9 yards per carry and 7.8 yards per reception.

Where the Aggies messed up was only a few key sequences. A play action pass in which a cornerback lost sight of a tight end. A screen pass where multiple Aggie defenders took poor angles and missed tackles as a result.

Those miscues, plus a couple more, were why Robert Morris put any points on the board at all.

Clean up those three areas — turnovers, penalties and big plays allowed on defense — and the Aggies go from a team that struggled, briefly, with an FCS opponent to the kind of team that could be a threat to just about anyone.

Of course, USC isn’t just anyone. The Trojans are one of the more talented teams in the country — ranked in the top 15 by 247 Sports — and with the defense appearing dramatically improved, USC will be a significant challenge.

Key player

Zachariah Branch, USC wide receiver: The Trojans have no shortage of skill position players that can make a real impact, but chief among them may be Branch. Not only for his skills as a receiver, but also for his impact as a punt/kick returner.

There may not be a better returner in the country than Branch, who was a first-team All-American as a true freshman in 2023 (returner specialist), the first in USC history. The numbers speak for themselves.

As USC’s return specialist, he recorded 442 yards on 24 kickoff returns (18.4 avg.) with a long of 96 yards and a touchdown. He also recorded 332 yards on 16 punt returns (30.8 avg.) with a long of 75 yards, with another touchdown.

Branch is the type of player who could break the game open with a single run, making it all the more important that the Aggies — especially punter Stephen Kotsanlee — keep the ball out of his hands.

“That is (our) No. 1 priority, right? That is probably the fastest player in the country,” USU interim head coach Nate Dreiling said. We need Elliott Nimrod on kickoffs to be booting it like he was (against Robert Morris). Making sure that ball is out of the end zone and they can’t return it. And then Stephen and the rest of the punt team needs to be on point. He (Branch) is such a phenomenal player and they do a good job, not just on special teams. When the defense is on the field you have to eliminate his touches. He can take (one) whenever he wants). We have to be on point.”

Quotable

“I think it is never about your opponent. Whether you are playing Auburn, or SC or the Dallas Cowboys. As long as you are getting better and are focusing on what you have to do to be successful you’ll always have a chance. We need to slow the game down a little bit, capitalize on some turnovers and force them into some bad throws. Ultimately if we have the right mindset we’ll be fine. I’m looking forward to the world seeing what type of team is going to come out and be resilient. It just has to be the second-half team we saw. We don’t have time to do the first half deal, we have to come out swinging.” — Utah State coach Nate Dreiling.

“They’ve obviously had some coaching changes and turnover but looked like they handled that well and really settled in and played a good first game, especially in the second half. … (Bryson Barnes is a) really good player. Obviously we know. Got to see him last year. They (Utah State) have some really good skill position kids around him. Were very productive offensively in their first game.” — USC coach Lincoln Riley.

Next up

Utah State: vs No. 11 Utah; USC: at Michigan

Utah State schedule

• Aug. 31: Utah State 36, Robert Morris 14
• Sept. 7: at USC (9 p.m., Big Ten Network)
• Sept. 14: Utah (2:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
• Sept. 21: at Temple (TBA)
• Sept. 28: Bye
• Oct. 5: at Boise State (TBA)
• Oct. 11: UNLV (7 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
• Oct. 19: New Mexico (2 p.m., TruTV)
• Oct. 26: at Wyoming (5 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
• Nov. 2: Bye
• Nov. 9: at Washington State (TBA)
• Nov. 16: Hawaii (1 p.m., Spectrum Sports)
• Nov. 23: San Diego State (1:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
• Nov. 29: at Colorado State (TBA)

All times Mountain Time zone.