No. 8 Trojans welcome Idaho in week two clash

After a convincing 55-6 win over Arkansas State in last week’s season opener, the Trojans (1-0) return to the Coliseum to host the Idaho Vandals (0-1).

While the Trojans are sitting on top of the Pac-12 with last week’s win, the Vandals fell to the bottom of the Sun Belt conference with a 45-28 loss to Ohio last week.

The Trojans’ 49-point victory over Idaho’s Sun Belt opponent Arkansas State does not bode well for the Vandals heading into Saturday’s matchup. USC has won all nine previous matchups against Idaho.

Though the Vandals suffered a tough loss, wide receiver Dezmon Epps nearly broke a school record with 15 receptions for the night, a national best. Safety Chris Hawkins will have the difficult task of containing Epps though Hawkins looked capable with last week’s interception and fumble recovery.

Cody Kessler’s No. 1 target, JuJu Smith-Schuster, kicked off his sophomore campaign with four catches for 89 yards.

Idaho, who like Arkansas State is a member of the Sun Belt Conference, allowed 489 yards against Ohio, but will need to make some adjustments on defense to stop Smith-Schuster and a dynamic Pac-12 offense.

Smith-Schuster even admitted that despite a commanding win, the Trojans were still not at their best.

“After we beat Arkansas State, I felt like my teammates, they kind of took it easy,” Smith-Schuster said. “It was kind of sluggish … To be honest, I even came out kind of sluggish.”

For Kessler to be an effective quarterback, the Trojans will need to resolve the issues with the offensive line. Kessler was sacked five times against Arkansas State, exposing some gaping holes in USC’s pass protection.

Idaho’s defense gave up nearly 500 yards and hardly poses a threat to Max Tuerk and the offensive line, but the Trojans will need to make improvements before they face Stanford next week.

“I would suspect that we were able to teach a lot off of [the Arkansas State] video,” run game coordinator Bob Connelly said. “A lot of learning opportunities off that film.”

Though Kessler’s protection was concerning, it didn’t faze him for the most part.

Kessler displayed why he is on the watchlist for the Heisman, completing 73 percent of his passes and throwing four touchdowns to no interceptions.

However, despite a talented receiving corps, Kessler struggled to connect on deep balls last week, overthrowing open receivers.

“It wasn’t about delivery or arm motion or things like that, it was just continually staying on him about his feet,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “It’s not a light switch; we’re going to keep doing it day after day after day so that come Saturday he’s back into that groove of where I think he can play at.”

Idaho will be led by sophomore quarterback Matt Linehan, who went 36 for 48 last week against Ohio. He threw one touchdown pass and two interceptions.

Linehan will need to make big adjustments if he plans to stay on his feet against the likes of Su’a Cravens and Chris Hawkins.

Cornerback Adoree’ Jackson left last week’s game with a strained abdominal muscle but is expected to play on Saturday. Tailback Justin Davis, who suffered from a rib injury, is also expected to play on Saturday.

The Vandals won only one game last season and are coming off a big loss to a mediocre opponent.

The Trojans are heavily favored to win this matchup, but have been blindsided by underdogs before. Sarkisian emphasized that the Trojans have a lot to improve on before they take the field against Idaho.

“I think we can really speed things up, get more snaps and that will help us down the road,” Sarkisian said.

Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.