USC cruises to shutout victory over Fresno State behind dominant defensive outing

LOS ANGELES — Under the Friday night lights at the Coliseum, the USC Trojans brought intensity, poise and persistence. It helped them prove overwhelmingly dominant in a wire-to-wire, 39-0 blowout of the Fresno State Bulldogs to improve to 2-0 in 2026.

"I'm really excited about the shutout, that's hard to do," said head coach Lincoln Riley. "The energy with our football team was consistent the whole way through. I think we played better as a football team than we did in week one, and that's what you have to do."

For the second consecutive game, quarterback Jayden Maiava came out razor sharp, executing with a level of efficiency that was simply too much for the Bulldog defense to keep up with. The reigning AP national player of the week, whose 86.2% completion rate against San Jose State (min. 25 attempts) had set a new program record, managed to best that mark by completing 92% of his passes on Friday evening.

Hitting on 23 of his 25 attempts, Maiava threw for 349 yards and three touchdowns before backup Jonas Williams took over in the final stages of the contest. The redshirt senior's six total touchdowns this year match his total number of incompletions through the first two weeks of the season, showcasing a true veteran presence in the pocket.

"I think it comes from the guys sitting next to me," Maiava said. "The o-line, running backs, receivers…just all on the same page, playing at a really high level. Obviously [there's] some things to clean up that we want to get better at."

It was the freshman wide receiver hype train that rolled on for the Trojans, with Trent Mosley and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt both posting triple-digit yardage and leading the way through the air. Sophomore wide receiver Tanook Hines, who made his season debut, also contributed briefly as he hauled in an eight-yard touchdown grab from Maiava on the opening drive of the night. Hines, however, would only record one more catch the rest of the way in a mostly silent performance.

Mosley had collected all four of his receptions for 104 yards and two touchdowns by halftime, and was navigating through the Fresno State secondary with ease.

His biggest moment of the night came at the 12:27 mark of the second quarter, when he ended up on the receiving end of a 68-yard touchdown pass from Maiava that helped extend the USC lead to 14-0.

Mosley struck for his second score two drives later, this time on a 9-yard reception as he tiptoed his way down the sideline to reach the ball over the pylon and punch in the third Trojan touchdown of the evening.

Dixon-Wyatt, despite not getting into the end zone, was just as effective yardage-wise. His team-leading six catches totaled 102 yards, including a huge 31-yard pickup on fourth down and five during USC's opening drive of the contest.

On the ground, USC found two more touchdowns, one coming from Waymond Jordan and the other from Deshonne Redeaux. Jordan's 67 yards on 11 carries led all rushers.

While the offense was certainly dominant, aside from a pair of lost fumbles coming at the expense of Dixon-Wyatt and Jordan, the Trojan defense proved to be the main story. The unit suffocated the Fresno State offense all night long, failing to allow a single point.

It was only the second time since 2012 that USC had not allowed a point to its opponent and the first time since September 2024. Perhaps the most impressive part of it all amongst two forced turnovers was the two Fresno State safeties that the defense managed to create.

The first came via Kennedy Urlacher, who pounced on his chance with the Bulldogs backed up on their own one-yard line facing a third down and 23. With Fresno State quarterback Jayden Mandal racing to his right to try and avoid the USC pass rush, Urlacher came screaming off the edge to bulldoze him through the back of the end zone.

"Coach sent me on a blitz…I just went out there and executed the call," said Urlacher. "Coaches put us in great positions each and every play…we execute the calls, trust in our practice throughout the week, and that's the result of that."

Steven Park.- The Sporting Tribune

Kennedy Urlacher #9 of the USC Trojans celebrates after a sack during an NCAA Football game against the Fresno State Bulldogs on September 4, 2026 at The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.

Alex Graham struck with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter for safety number two, slipping free around the left side of the offensive line to sack Mandal in the end zone. 

To seal the shutout in the final moments, Jadyn Ramos came up with the fourth USC sack of the night as Fresno State looked to convert on a fourth down and eight deep in Trojan territory. It was a fitting end to a defensive performance that will leave coordinator Gary Patterson feeling much more pleased than after Week 0's victory.

USC will return to action next Saturday in its third consecutive home game, welcoming the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns to town. 

Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. PT.