September 25, 2004 Week 5 · Regular Season Belt defended

USC defends the belt, 31–28, on the road at Stanford.

Home · Challenger

Stanford 28

Away · Defending Holder

USC 31

AI-Written

Recap

USC's defense struck early in the first quarter, with Kevin Arbet returning an interception 66 yards to set up a short touchdown pass from Matt Leinart to Steve Smith, giving the Trojans a 10-7 lead after Stanford answered with an Evan Moore touchdown reception. The teams traded scores throughout the first half in a back-and-forth battle, with Stanford taking a 21-17 lead on Kyle Matter's 11-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter. However, USC responded with Reggie Bush's 17-yard touchdown run to go up 24-21, only to have Stanford's J.R. Lemon break free for an 82-yard touchdown run with just 10 seconds left in the half, giving Stanford a 28-24 advantage. USC's defense tightened in the second half and the Trojans' passing attack, led by Leinart's 303 yards, ultimately proved decisive as USC held on for a 31-28 victory to retain the belt.

Kevin Arbet's 66-yard interception return in Q1 set up USC's first touchdown and shifted momentum early
J.R. Lemon's 82-yard touchdown run with 10 seconds left in the half gave Stanford a 28-24 halftime lead
USC's defense held Stanford scoreless in the second half while the Trojans scored enough to win 31-28

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

StanfordUSC

Total yards327383

Rushing yards14499

Passing yards212303

First downs1723

3rd down conv.9/167/12

Turnovers11

Penalties–yards0–00–0

Time of possession18:5917:24

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 13:30	USC	+25 yd	Matt Leinart (USC) pass across the middle complete to Alex Holmes (USC) for 25 yards.
Q1 10:43	USC	+23 yd	23 yard field goal by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q1 10:40	USC	+31 yd	Kickoff returned by Marcus McCutcheon (STAN) for 31 yards.
Q1 8:10	USC	+0 yd	Trojans fumble by Fred Davis (USC), recovered by Steve Smith (USC), advanced for no gain.
Q1 5:50	Stanford	+66 yd	Trent Edwards (STAN) pass right side intercepted by Kevin Arbet (USC). Returned for 66 yards.
Q1 5:40	USC	+2 yd	Matt Leinart (USC) pass left side complete to Steve Smith (USC) for a 2 yard touchdown.
Q1 5:40	USC	+0 yd	Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q1 5:36	USC	+21 yd	Kickoff returned by T.J. Rushing (STAN) for 21 yards.
Q1 5:31	Stanford	+20 yd	Trent Edwards (STAN) pass right side complete to Evan Moore (STAN) for 20 yards.
Q1 0:50	Stanford	+3 yd	Trent Edwards (STAN) pass left side complete to Evan Moore (STAN) for a 3 yard touchdown.
Q1 0:50	Stanford	+0 yd	Extra point by Michael Sgroi (STAN) is good.
Q1 5:31	Stanford	+0 yd	Cardinal fumble by Alex Smith (STAN), recovered by Matt Traverso (STAN), advanced for no gain.
Q1 5:31	Stanford	+0 yd	Cardinal fumble by Mark Bradford (STAN), recovered by Evan Moore (STAN), advanced for no gain.
Q2 6:15	Stanford	+2 yd	Trent Edwards (STAN) pass right side complete to Patrick Danahy (STAN) for a 2 yard touchdown.
Q2 6:15	Stanford	+0 yd	Extra point by Michael Sgroi (STAN) is good.
Q2 5:58	USC	+0 yd	Trojans fumble by Steve Smith (USC), recovered by Mike Silva (STAN), returned for no gain.
Q2 5:58	USC	+25 yd	Matt Leinart (USC) pass left side complete to Steve Smith (USC) for 25 yards.
Q2 3:45	Stanford	+0 yd	Extra point by Michael Sgroi (STAN) is good.
Q2 3:45	Stanford	+11 yd	Kyle Matter (STAN) rushed right side for a 11 yard touchdown.
Q2 3:00	Stanford	+27 yd	Kickoff returned by Reggie Bush (USC) for 27 yards.
Q2 1:00	USC	+0 yd	Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q2 1:00	USC	+17 yd	Reggie Bush (USC) rushed right side for a 17 yard touchdown.
Q2 0:10	Stanford	+82 yd	J.R. Lemon (STAN) rushed up the middle for a 82 yard touchdown.
Q2 0:10	Stanford	+0 yd	Extra point by Michael Sgroi (STAN) is good.
Q3 12:10	Stanford	+0 yd	Cardinal fumble by Trent Edwards (STAN), recovered by Brian Head (STAN), advanced for no gain.
Q3 8:55	USC	+33 yd	Matt Leinart (USC) pass across the middle complete to Steve Smith (USC) for 33 yards.
Q3 4:40	USC	+51 yd	Matt Leinart (USC) pass right side complete to Steve Smith (USC) for 51 yards.
Q3 3:25	USC	+0 yd	Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q3 3:25	USC	+1 yd	Matt Leinart (USC) rushed up the middle for a 1 yard touchdown.
Q3 3:06	USC	+28 yd	Kickoff returned by T.J. Rushing (STAN) for 28 yards.
Q4 11:58	USC	+0 yd	Trojans fumble by LenDale White (USC), recovered by LenDale White (USC), advanced for no gain.
Q4 11:20	USC	+24 yd	24 yard field goal by Ryan Killeen (USC) is no good.
Q4 9:40	Stanford	+32 yd	Punt by Jay Ottovegio (STAN) returned 32 yards by Reggie Bush (USC) to the Cardinal 41.
Q4 6:30	USC	+0 yd	Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q4 6:30	USC	+2 yd	LenDale White (USC) rushed up the middle for a 2 yard touchdown.

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

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Trent EdwardsStanford	23/35	183	5.2	2	1	40.3
Matt LeinartUSC	23/30	284	9.5	1	1	70.8

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
J.R. LemonStanford	10	96	9.6	1	82
Kenneth TolonStanford	9	26	2.9	0	10
Kyle MatterStanford	1	11	11.0	1	11
Trent EdwardsStanford	10	11	1.1	0	19
Reggie BushUSC	16	95	5.9	1	17
LenDale WhiteUSC	11	24	2.2	1	7
Hershel DennisUSC	1	1	1.0	0	1
Matt LeinartUSC	4	-16	-4.0	1	2

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Evan MooreStanford	5	47	9.4	1	20
Alex SmithStanford	5	45	9.0	0	17
Mark BradfordStanford	4	30	7.5	0	11
David MarreroStanford	3	23	7.7	0	9
Patrick DanahyStanford	1	2	2.0	1	2
Steve SmithUSC	7	129	18.4	1	51
Dwayne JarrettUSC	5	54	10.8	0	16
Alex HolmesUSC	2	29	14.5	0	25
Chris McFoyUSC	2	28	14.0	0	15
Reggie BushUSC	4	25	6.3	0	15
Fred DavisUSC	1	15	15.0	0	15
David KirtmanUSC	2	4	2.0	0	3

Show more stats (4 more categories)

Interceptions

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Mike SilvaStanford	1	0	0
Kevin ArbetUSC	1	66	0

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Michael SgroiStanford	0/0	0.0	0	4/4	4
Ryan KilleenUSC	1/2	50.0	23	4/4	7

Punt Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG
David MarreroStanford	3	22	7.3	12
Reggie BushUSC	4	35	8.8	33
Greig CarlsonUSC	1	5	5.0	5

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Jay OttovegioStanford	5	212	42.4	0	0	50
Tom MaloneUSC	3	121	40.3	0	0	57

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back.

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