The Trojans didn't need the passing game alone. King Miller ran for 128 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown, becoming USC's first 100-yard rusher of the season, while Waymond Jordan added 115 yards and a score of his own on 19 totes. Between them USC piled up 222 rushing yards, averaging better than 5 yards a carry and ripping off 8 runs of 10-plus yards.
Louisiana stayed in it behind Lunch Winfield, who scored on runs of 32 and 1 yard, but the Ragin' Cajuns spent the whole night playing catch-up. Shelton Sampson, the receiver the preview flagged as Louisiana's top target, was out with a knee injury and never suited up, leaving Winfield without his most trusted weapon against a USC defense that had size and speed at every level.
Gary Patterson's defense didn't have the clean debut USC wanted. Louisiana piled up 358 total yards, including 146 on the ground, and the Ragin' Cajuns found their rhythm late, averaging 6.6 yards a carry on 15 second-half rushes and scoring on 3 straight drives across the final 20 minutes. Zuriah Fisher, the Penn State transfer USC brought in to boost the pass rush, didn't turn up in the box score at all, and the lapses in coverage the preview worried about while Patterson installs his scheme showed up right on schedule.
None of it was enough to make it a game. USC's lead never dipped below 2 scores, the Coliseum stayed unbeaten for USC to open the year, and Louisiana leaves Los Angeles with a competitive final score but not the signature road win Michael Desormeaux was chasing. For the Trojans, the split backfield and Maiava's five-touchdown clip are the kind of numbers that back up the preseason hype around the roster; for Louisiana, the fourth-quarter push is a real building block, but the missing pieces on defense and at receiver were the story of the night.