The USC Trojans worked out any lingering upset over the firing of head coach Clay Helton and the hiring of replacement Donte Williams by pounding Washington State.
The game at first looked like Washington State would run roughshod over the Trojans, who were behind by 14 points to nothing at all until the last minute of the second quarter, when they earned a touchdown and point after.
But those 14 points were all that Washington State would put on the scoreboard. The rest of the game was all Trojans.
The third quarter saw the Trojans add 28 points and the fourth quarter another 10 points.
Trojan QB Kedon Slovis was light on stats for the high-scoring game with only 1 completed attempt for 8 yards. Slovis left the game with an injury.
Freshman USC QB Jaxon Dart completed 30 for 391 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions.
The Trojans next play an away game against Oregon State.
USC football schedule
| Opponent | Date and Time | Location | W|L | Score |
| San José State | Sep 4 (Sat) 2 p.m. PT | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | W | 30-7 |
| Stanford | Sep 11 (Sat) 7:30 p.m. PT | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | L | 28-42 |
| at Washington State | Sep 18 (Sat) 12:30 p.m. PT | Pullman, WA | W | 45-14 |
| Oregon State | Sep 25 (Sat) TBD | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | ||
| at Colorado | Oct 2 (Sat) TBD | Boulder, CO | ||
| Utah | Oct 9 (Sat) TBD | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | ||
| at Notre Dame | Oct 23 (Sat) 4:30 p.m. PT | Notre Dame, IN | ||
| Arizona | Oct 30 (Sat) TBD | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | ||
| Arizona State | Nov 6 (Sat) TBD | Tempe, AZ | ||
| at California | Nov 13 (Sat) TBD | Berkeley, CA | ||
| UCLA | Nov 20 (Sat) TBD | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | ||
| vs Brigham Young | Nov 27 (Sat) TBD | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | ||
| Pac-12 Championship | Dec. 3 TBD | Las Vegas, NV |