USC defends the belt, 24–13, on the road at Virginia Tech.
AP poll, week 1: USC No. 1 at Virginia Tech unranked · No. 1 that week: Maryland. The belt vs. the polls →
Where this game sits in the lineage
USC came in 240 days into reign #258, which began with a win over Michigan, with no defenses yet; this was its first defense. USC went on to defend it 24 more times before Texas took it on January 4, 2006, 734 days after the reign began.
For Virginia Tech this was its 13th shot at the belt; it had never held the belt.
This is the only time USC and Virginia Tech have met with the belt on the line.
Recap
USC's high-powered passing attack proved too much for Virginia Tech to handle in this early-season matchup, as the Trojans methodically dismantled the Hokies' defense to retain the belt with a 24-13 victory. Matt Leinart orchestrated three touchdown passes, including a 53-yard strike to Reggie Bush in the third quarter that broke the game open after Virginia Tech had stayed competitive through the first half. Bryan Randall's consistent ground game kept the Hokies in the contest early, and Virginia Tech's defense forced an interception in the first quarter, but USC's balanced offensive approach and turnover-free performance ultimately proved decisive. The Trojans' fourth-quarter field goal by Ryan Killeen with under a minute remaining sealed a dominant road win for the defending belt holder.
- Reggie Bush's 35-yard touchdown reception in Q1 gave USC an early 7-3 lead and set the tone for the offensive onslaught
- Lofa Tatupu's interception return for 32 yards in Q1 was Virginia Tech's best defensive play but couldn't slow USC's attack
- Bush's 53-yard touchdown catch in Q3 extended USC's lead to 21-10 and effectively ended Virginia Tech's hopes of a comeback
- USC's turnover-free performance versus Virginia Tech's three turnovers proved the difference in controlling the line of scrimmage
Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.
Team stats
CFBD box scoreFull team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.
Key plays
CFBD play-by-play| When | Team | Yards | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 11:41 | USC | +23 yd | LenDale White (USC) rushed left side for 23 yards. |
| Q1 8:47 | Virginia Tech | +32 yd | Bryan Randall (VT) pass across the middle intercepted by Lofa Tatupu (USC). Returned for 32 yards. |
| Q1 10:13 | Virginia Tech | +23 yd | Bryan Randall (VT) rushed left side for 23 yards. |
| Q1 6:06 | USC | +35 yd | Matt Leinart (USC) pass across the middle complete to Reggie Bush (USC) for a 35 yard touchdown. |
| Q1 5:59 | USC | +0 yd | Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good. |
| Q1 5:59 | Virginia Tech | +21 yd | Bryan Randall (VT) rushed left side for 21 yards. |
| Q1 1:47 | Virginia Tech | +35 yd | 35 yard field goal by Brandon Pace (VT) is good. |
| Q1 4:40 | Virginia Tech | +20 yd | Bryan Randall (VT) rushed left side for 20 yards. |
| Q2 13:59 | USC | +26 yd | Matt Leinart (USC) pass left side complete to David Kirtman (USC) for 26 yards. |
| Q2 15:00 | USC | +0 yd | Trojans fumble by Alex Holmes (USC), recovered by Alex Holmes (USC), advanced for no gain. |
| Q2 11:37 | USC | +35 yd | 35 yard field goal by Ryan Killeen (USC) is no good. |
| Q2 6:25 | Virginia Tech | +12 yd | Bryan Randall (VT) pass right side complete to Josh Hyman (VT) for a 12 yard touchdown. |
| Q2 6:19 | Virginia Tech | +0 yd | Extra point by Brandon Pace (VT) is good. |
| Q2 8:52 | Virginia Tech | +22 yd | Bryan Randall (VT) pass across the middle complete to Jeff King (VT) for 22 yards. |
| Q3 7:24 | Virginia Tech | +22 yd | Bryan Randall (VT) pass right side complete to Jared Mazzetta (VT) for 22 yards. |
| Q3 2:43 | Virginia Tech | +29 yd | Punt by Vinnie Burns (VT) returned 29 yards by Reggie Bush (USC) to the Trojans 34. |
| Q3 2:03 | USC | +53 yd | Matt Leinart (USC) pass left side complete to Reggie Bush (USC) for a 53 yard touchdown. |
| Q3 1:55 | USC | +0 yd | Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good. |
| Q4 8:00 | Virginia Tech | +42 yd | 42 yard field goal by Brandon Pace (VT) is good. |
| Q4 6:05 | USC | +46 yd | Matt Leinart (USC) pass across the middle complete to Steve Smith (USC) for 46 yards. |
| Q4 5:42 | USC | +29 yd | Matt Leinart (USC) pass right side complete to Reggie Bush (USC) for a 29 yard touchdown. |
| Q4 5:35 | USC | +0 yd | Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good. |
| Q4 5:35 | USC | +30 yd | Kickoff returned by Eddie Royal (VT) for 30 yards. |
| Q4 2:09 | Virginia Tech | +0 yd | Hokies fumble by Bryan Randall (VT), recovered by Ronald Nunn (USC), returned for no gain. |
| Q4 0:59 | USC | +40 yd | 40 yard field goal by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good. |
Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).
Player stats
CFBD player statsPassing
Virginia Tech
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryan Randall | 14/29 | 153 | 5.3 | 1 | 1 | 51.6 |
USC
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Leinart | 19/29 | 272 | 9.4 | 3 | 0 | 72.9 |
Rushing
Virginia Tech
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryan Randall | 17 | 82 | 4.8 | 0 | 23 |
| Justin Hamilton | 8 | 33 | 4.1 | 0 | 16 |
| Cedric Humes | 9 | 26 | 2.9 | 0 | 8 |
USC
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LenDale White | 15 | 78 | 5.2 | 0 | 23 |
| Reggie Bush | 9 | 27 | 3.0 | 0 | 12 |
| Steve Smith | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Leinart | 4 | -3 | -0.8 | 0 | 7 |
Receiving
Virginia Tech
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff King | 4 | 65 | 16.3 | 0 | 22 |
| Richard Johnson | 3 | 27 | 9.0 | 0 | 16 |
| Jared Mazzetta | 1 | 22 | 22.0 | 0 | 22 |
| Josh Hyman | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 1 | 12 |
| Cedric Humes | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | 5 |
| John Kinzer | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 | 8 |
| David Clowney | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 | 7 |
| Justin Hamilton | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 |
USC
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reggie Bush | 5 | 127 | 25.4 | 3 | 53 |
| Steve Smith | 4 | 68 | 17.0 | 0 | 46 |
| David Kirtman | 3 | 32 | 10.7 | 0 | 26 |
| Lee Webb | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 0 | 14 |
| Alex Holmes | 2 | 12 | 6.0 | 0 | 8 |
| Chris McFoy | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 0 | 7 |
| Dwayne Jarrett | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 0 | 9 |
Show more stats (4 more categories)
Interceptions
Virginia Tech
No recorded stats in this category.
USC
| Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lofa Tatupu | 1 | 32 | 0 |
Kicking
Virginia Tech
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Pace | 2/2 | 100.0 | 42 | 1/1 | 7 |
USC
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Killeen | 1/2 | 50.0 | 41 | 3/3 | 6 |
Punt Returns
Virginia Tech
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Johnson | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 |
USC
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reggie Bush | 4 | 60 | 15.0 | 27 | 0 |
Punting
Virginia Tech
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vinnie Burns | 5 | 229 | 45.8 | 0 | 0 | 58 |
USC
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Malone | 5 | 214 | 42.8 | 0 | 0 | 53 |
Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.
Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 242410259) · This game in the downloadable dataset