USC dominated Arizona State from start to finish, with Matt Leinart orchestrating an explosive offensive performance to retain the belt. The Trojans struck quickly with two touchdown passes in the first quarter to Reggie Bush and LenDale White, then put the game completely out of reach in the second quarter with a relentless scoring barrage. An interception by Matt Grootegoed set up a 19-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Jarrett, and USC would eventually score five touchdowns in the quarter alone, including a remarkable 52-yard touchdown pass from Bush to Jarrett and a 34-yard touchdown pass to the same receiver in the final moments before halftime. Arizona State's only score came on a short 2-yard touchdown run by Hakim Hill in the second quarter, and the Sun Devils never threatened again as USC's defense limited them to just 243 total yards.
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.