Sanchez, USC quiet critics with decisive opening-week win

    Who's doubting them now?
    The third-ranked USC Trojans couldn't have scripted a better start to their 2008 campaign, thrashing the Virginia Cavaliers 52-7 Saturday in Charlottesville, Va. The victory cemented USC as a legitimate national title contender and silenced any critics who wondered how its offense would survive an injury to its starting quarterback and inexperience on its offensive line. Southern Cal's prolific performance led to a whopping 558 yards of total offense and the squad's first 50-point game since its 2006 opener.
    Leading the charge was junior quarterback Mark Sanchez, just three weeks removed from a left knee injury that once appeared to jeopardize his chances of making Saturday's start. Showing no ill effects, Sanchez completed 26 of 35 passes for a career-high 338 yards and three touchdowns in a performance that suggests he is now prepared to continue the lineage of great Trojan quarterbacks.
    That didn't seem as certain last season, when Sanchez made three starts filling in for the injured John David Booty. In two of those games — the first, a near-upset at the hands of the hapless Arizona Wildcats, and the third, a loss to the Oregon Ducks that ultimately cost USC a chance to play for the national championship — Sanchez tossed a combined three touchdowns against four interceptions. These poor outings, coupled with the arrival of highly-touted transfer Mitch Mustain, left the incumbent starter in a battle for his job entering spring practice in 2008.
    Head coach Pete Carroll eventually stuck with Sanchez, however, even after the California native put together a less-than-spectacular spring and suffered the knee injury that left him out of practice until the week of the season opener. Sanchez rewarded Carroll's faith on Saturday, displaying a great command of the offense by distributing the ball to nine different receivers. With two completions of over 40 yards, Sanchez also showcased a deep-threat capability that was missing from Southern Cal's offense in the two seasons that saw Booty at the helm.
    Sanchez received tremendous help from the Trojans' offensive line, which was hit hard during the offseason after four of last year's starters left for the NFL Draft. Certainly the Cavaliers' pass rush, still trying to overcome the graduation of stud defensive end Chris Long, isn't exactly amongst the nation's best.But Southern Cal's revamped line — consisting of center Kris O'Dowd, tackles Butch Lewis and Charles Brown, and guards Zach Heberer and Jeff Byers — still had an impressive showing, yielding no sacks and giving an inexperienced quarterback all the time he needed.
    For proof of the Trojan offensive line's effectiveness, look no further than the running game, where USC outpaced Virginia 218-32. Regardless of whether C.J. Gable, Joe McKnight, Allen Bradford or Stafon Johnson was rushing the football, every one of the Trojans' quartet of fullbacks had a hole to run through. The highlight came with 4:01 to play in the first quarter, when Gable ran untouched for a game-breaking 33-yard touchdown thanks to key blocks from Herberer, Lewis and O'Dowd.
    But with its toughest opponent of the season next on the docket, USC won't have much time to dwell on its performance against UVA. On Sept. 13, the Trojans will return to the Coliseum for their home opener against the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, a matchup that will surely have major BCS implications later in the season.
    Fresh off their 43-0 demolition of the Youngstown State Penguins Saturday afternoon, the Buckeyes will challenge Sanchez and the Southern Cal offensive line with a defense that held its opening week opponent to a paltry 74 yards of total offense, including -11 yards rushing. A veteran-laden defensive unit, starring senior All-Americans James Laurinaitis at linebacker and Malcolm Jenkins at cornerback, will be yet another test for the Trojan offense's largely inexperienced starters.