Five takeaways from USC’s 39-0 victory over Fresno State

On Friday, the USC football's victory team defeated Fresno State 39-0 at the Coliseum . With the victory, the Trojans improved to 2-0 on the 2026 season.

What did we learn from the game? Here are five key takeaways:

Unlike last week, USC did not take its foot off the gas in the fourth quarter. This time, the Trojans played a full 60 minutes of football and did not allow their opponent to make the game look closer than it actually was with several garbage time scores.

Is Fresno State an elite opponent? Absolutely not. But shutting out any team in college football is not easy. Defensive coordinator Gary Patterson deserves his flowers for this performance.

Trent Mosley might already be one of the best wide receivers in the country. For the second consecutive game, he recorded over 100 yards receiving and also found the end zone—this time, doing it twice.

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava had perhaps his best statistical performance as a Trojan to date. Playing less than three full quarters of action, Maiava completed 23 of 25 pass attempts for 349 yards and three touchdowns. On the season, USC's quarterback now has as many total touchdowns (six) as incompletions.

Have you ever seen a defense record not one, but two safeties in a single game? Well, the Trojans did just that!

After a short week this past week, USC will now have an extra day off before hosting Louisiana next Saturday night at the Coliseum. Kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m. Pacific time on Big Ten Network.

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