September 18, 2004 Week 4 · Regular Season Belt defended

USC defends the belt, 42–10, on the road at BYU.

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BYU 10

Away · Defending Holder

USCAP No. 1 42

AP poll, week 4: USC No. 1 at BYU unranked · No. 1 that week: Maryland. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

USC came in 261 days into reign #258, which began with a win over Michigan, with 2 defenses already behind it; this was its third defense. USC went on to defend it 22 more times before Texas took it on January 4, 2006, 734 days after the reign began.

For BYU this was its 5th shot at the belt; it had held the belt twice before.

This is the only time BYU and USC have met with the belt on the line.

AI-Written

Recap

USC dominated BYU from start to finish, controlling the line of scrimmage and the clock en route to a 42-10 victory. The Trojans struck early and often in the second quarter, with Reggie Bush scoring on a 21-yard reception and then again on a remarkable 66-yard rushing touchdown, while Matt Leinart connected with Dwayne Jarrett for a 15-yard score to put the game well out of reach. BYU's defense couldn't contain USC's ground game, which totaled 278 yards, and the Cougars' offense sputtered throughout the night, committing four turnovers including three interceptions thrown by John Beck. Despite a brief spark in the third quarter when Todd Watkins hauled in a 69-yard touchdown reception from Beck, USC's offense simply had too much firepower, with Leinart also scoring on a 1-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Reggie Bush's 66-yard rushing touchdown in Q2 - put the game away with 22 points already on the board
Three interceptions of John Beck - USC's defense forced turnovers that prevented any BYU momentum
Matt Leinart to Dwayne Jarrett 15-yard touchdown in Q2 - exemplified USC's dominance in the passing game
Todd Watkins 69-yard touchdown reception in Q3 - BYU's only real offensive success, but too late to matter

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.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score

BYUUSC

Total yards221514

Rushing yards27278

Passing yards221253

First downs1126

3rd down conv.4/1511/19

Turnovers41

Penalties–yards0–00–0

Time of possession14:2222:04

Full 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.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 11:20	USC	+23 yd	Matt Leinart (USC) pass left side intercepted by Jon Burbidge (BYU). Returned for 23 yards.
Q1 0:45	BYU	+0 yd	John Beck (BYU) pass across the middle intercepted by Matt Grootegoed (USC). Returned for no gain.
Q1 0:41	USC	+23 yd	Matt Leinart (USC) pass left side complete to Dwayne Jarrett (USC) for 23 yards.
Q2 14:24	USC	+43 yd	43 yard field goal by Ryan Killeen (USC) is no good.
Q2 11:20	BYU	+0 yd	Cougars fumble by John Beck (BYU), recovered by John Beck (BYU), advanced for no gain.
Q2 10:55	BYU	+46 yd	46 yard field goal by Matt Payne (BYU) is good.
Q2 8:39	USC	+0 yd	Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q2 10:17	USC	+20 yd	Matt Leinart (USC) pass across the middle complete to Dwayne Jarrett (USC) for 20 yards.
Q2 8:39	USC	+21 yd	Matt Leinart (USC) pass left side complete to Reggie Bush (USC) for a 21 yard touchdown.
Q2 8:10	BYU	+8 yd	John Beck (BYU) pass left side intercepted by Darnell Bing (USC). Returned for 8 yards.
Q2 2:10	USC	+0 yd	Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q2 2:10	USC	+66 yd	Reggie Bush (USC) rushed right side for a 66 yard touchdown.
Q2 2:03	BYU	+0 yd	Cougars fumble by John Beck (BYU), recovered by Lofa Tatupu (USC), returned for no gain.
Q2 1:18	USC	+15 yd	Matt Leinart (USC) pass left side complete to Dwayne Jarrett (USC) for a 15 yard touchdown.
Q2 1:18	USC	+0 yd	Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q2 1:06	USC	+26 yd	Kickoff returned by Antwaun Harris (BYU) for 26 yards.
Q3 11:52	USC	+49 yd	49 yard field goal by Ryan Killeen (USC) is no good.
Q3 11:27	BYU	+69 yd	John Beck (BYU) pass left side complete to Todd Watkins (BYU) for a 69 yard touchdown.
Q3 11:27	BYU	+0 yd	Extra point by Matt Payne (BYU) is good.
Q3 11:16	BYU	+38 yd	Kickoff returned by Reggie Bush (USC) for 38 yards.
Q3 3:42	BYU	+0 yd	Cougars fumble by Curtis Brown (BYU), recovered by Curtis Brown (BYU), advanced for no gain.
Q4 14:25	USC	+0 yd	Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q4 14:25	USC	+1 yd	Matt Leinart (USC) rushed up the middle for a 1 yard touchdown.
Q3 0:26	USC	+20 yd	Reggie Bush (USC) rushed left side for 20 yards.
Q4 14:00	BYU	+20 yd	John Beck (BYU) pass left side complete to Austin Collie (BYU) for 20 yards.
Q4 10:35	USC	+0 yd	Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q4 10:58	USC	+24 yd	Matt Leinart (USC) pass across the middle complete to Steve Smith (USC) for 24 yards.
Q4 10:35	USC	+43 yd	LenDale White (USC) rushed left side for a 43 yard touchdown.
Q4 2:36	USC	+9 yd	Lee Webb (USC) rushed left side for a 9 yard touchdown.
Q4 2:36	USC	+0 yd	Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q4 0:30	BYU	+29 yd	John Beck (BYU) pass across the middle intercepted by Terrell Thomas (USC). Returned for 29 yards.

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).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

BYU

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT
John Beck	18/34	194	5.7	1	3

USC

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT
Matt Leinart	22/34	236	6.9	2	1

Rushing

BYU

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	LONG
Naufahu Tahi	7	27	3.9	13
Curtis Brown	6	15	2.5	7
Ray Hudson	1	1	1.0	1
Austin Collie	2	-3	-1.5	0
John Beck	8	-13	-1.6	8

USC

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Reggie Bush	14	124	8.9	1	66
LenDale White	17	110	6.5	1	43
Desmond Reed	7	21	3.0	0	7
Hershel Dennis	3	18	6.0	0	10
Lee Webb	1	9	9.0	1	9
Matt Leinart	8	-3	-0.4	1	9

Receiving

BYU

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Todd Watkins	4	94	23.5	1	69
Austin Collie	4	36	9.0	0	20
Daniel Coats	3	25	8.3	0	13
Rodney Wilkerson	1	14	14.0	0	14
Naufahu Tahi	3	10	3.3	0	8
Curtis Brown	2	8	4.0	0	10
Jason Kukahiko	1	7	7.0	0	7

USC

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Steve Smith	6	62	10.3	0	24
Dwayne Jarrett	3	58	19.3	1	23
Reggie Bush	4	42	10.5	1	21
Chris McFoy	4	37	9.3	0	18
David Kirtman	2	19	9.5	0	15
Alex Holmes	2	11	5.5	0	7
LenDale White	1	7	7.0	0	7

Show more stats (4 more categories)

Interceptions

BYU

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Jon Burbidge	1	23	0

USC

Player	INT	YDS
Terrell Thomas	1	29
Darnell Bing	1	8
Matt Grootegoed	1	0

Kicking

BYU

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Matt Payne	1/1	100.0	46	1/1	4

USC

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Ryan Killeen	0/2	0.0	0	6/6	6

Punt Returns

BYU

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Bryce Mahuika	2	0	0.0	0	0

USC

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Reggie Bush	3	7	2.3	5	0

Punting

BYU

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Matt Payne	8	386	48.3	0	0	79

USC

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Tom Malone	4	176	44.0	0	0	54

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 242620252) · This game in the downloadable dataset

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