October 1, 2005 Week 5 · Regular Season Belt defended

USC defends the belt, 38–28, on the road at Arizona State.

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AI-Written

Recap

Arizona State struck first with a special teams touchdown when Terry Richardson returned a punt 83 yards for a score in the first quarter, but USC methodically took control with their dominant ground game and balanced offense. The Sun Devils kept pace early, with Sam Keller connecting on key passing plays to Derek Hagan and Jamaal Lewis, including a 7-yard touchdown pass to Lewis in the second quarter and a 5-yard rushing touchdown by Keegan Herring that gave ASU a 21-3 lead. However, USC's defense stiffened in the second half while the Trojans' running backs took over the game, with LenDale White scoring on a 32-yard run in the third quarter and Reggie Bush adding a 24-yard touchdown run to spark a dominant second-half performance. Matt Leinart capped the comeback with a 1-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter as USC outscored Arizona State 25-0 after halftime to secure a 28-38 victory and retain the belt.

Terry Richardson's 83-yard punt return for a touchdown gave ASU an early 7-0 lead and set an aggressive tone
Keegan Herring's 5-yard rushing touchdown extended ASU's lead to 21-3 late in the second quarter
LenDale White and Reggie Bush's consecutive rushing touchdowns in the third quarter sparked USC's second-half comeback and momentum shift
USC's complete second-half dominance, outscoring ASU 25-0 after the break, demonstrated why they retained the belt despite trailing at halftime

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

Arizona StateUSC

Total yards415631

Rushing yards68373

Passing yards380270

First downs2027

3rd down conv.6/145/15

Turnovers51

Penalties–yards0–00–0

Time of possession15:0821:32

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 14:54	Arizona State	+20 yd	Sam Keller pass complete to Derek Hagan for 20 yards to the ASU 40 for a 1ST down.
Q1 11:32	USC	+23 yd	Matt Leinart pass complete to Dwayne Jarrett for 23 yards to the ASU 47 for a 1ST down.
Q1 5:41	USC	+83 yd	Tom Malone punt for 37 yards, returned by Terry Richardson for 83 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 5:41	Arizona State	+0 yd	Jessi Ainsworth extra point GOOD.
Q1 1:27	USC	+25 yd	Reggie Bush rush for 25 yards to the USC 41 for a 1ST down.
Q2 13:26	USC	+36 yd	Greig Carlson 36 yard field goal GOOD.
Q2 10:59	USC	+21 yd	Matt Leinart pass complete to Steve Smith for 21 yards to the ASU 40 for a 1ST down.
Q2 6:56	Arizona State	+7 yd	Sam Keller pass complete to Jamaal Lewis for 7 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 7:15	Arizona State	+23 yd	Sam Keller pass complete to Jamaal Lewis for 23 yards to the USC 18 for a 1ST down.
Q2 6:56	Arizona State	+0 yd	Jessi Ainsworth extra point GOOD.
Q2 5:54	USC	+21 yd	Tom Malone punt for 59 yards, returned by Terry Richardson for 21 yards to the ASU 45.
Q2 4:55	Arizona State	+25 yd	Sam Keller pass complete to Derek Hagan for 25 yards to the USC 5 for a 1ST down.
Q2 4:34	Arizona State	+5 yd	Keegan Herring rush for 5 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 4:34	Arizona State	+0 yd	Jessi Ainsworth extra point GOOD.
Q3 12:41	USC	+32 yd	LenDale White rush for 32 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 12:33	USC	+31 yd	Troy Von Blarco kickoff for 55 yards returned by Terry Richardson for 31 yards to the ASU 41.
Q3 12:41	USC	+0 yd	Mario Danelo extra point GOOD.
Q3 9:54	USC	+22 yd	Matt Leinart pass complete to Dwayne Jarrett for 22 yards, fumbled at the USC 42, forced by Zach Catanese, recovered by Maurice London at the USC 42, tackled by Zach Catanese.
Q3 8:29	USC	+0 yd	Mario Danelo extra point GOOD.
Q3 8:29	USC	+24 yd	Reggie Bush rush for 24 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 9:16	USC	+27 yd	LenDale White rush for 27 yards to the ASU 29 for a 1ST down.
Q3 1:29	Arizona State	+20 yd	Sam Keller pass complete to Jamaal Lewis for 20 yards to the ASU 45 for a 1ST down.
Q3 11:50	USC	+42 yd	Matt Leinart pass complete to David Kirtman for 42 yards to the ASU 31 for a 1ST down.
Q4 8:46	USC	+1 yd	Matt Leinart rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 11:50	USC	+42 yd	Matt Leinart pass complete to David Kirtman for 42 yards to the ASU 31 for a 1ST down.
Q4 8:46	USC	+0 yd	Mario Danelo extra point GOOD.
Q4 8:41	USC	+24 yd	Troy Von Blarco kickoff for 59 yards returned by Terry Richardson for 24 yards to the ASU 30.
Q4 8:19	Arizona State	+23 yd	Sam Keller pass complete to Derek Hagan for 23 yards to the ASU 38.
Q4 5:57	Arizona State	+1 yd	Sam Keller pass complete to Lee Burghgraef for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 5:57	Arizona State	+0 yd	Jessi Ainsworth extra point GOOD.
Q4 6:36	Arizona State	+24 yd	Sam Keller pass complete to Rudy Burgess for 24 yards to the USC 12 for a 1ST down.
Q4 3:44	USC	+34 yd	Reggie Bush rush for 34 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 3:44	USC	+0 yd	Mario Danelo extra point GOOD.
Q4 4:45	USC	+23 yd	LenDale White rush for 23 yards to the ASU 38 for a 1ST down.
Q4 2:22	USC	+46 yd	LenDale White rush for 46 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 2:22	USC	+0 yd	Mario Danelo extra point GOOD.
Q4 1:22	Arizona State	+23 yd	Sam Keller pass complete to Derek Hagan for 23 yards to the USC 17 for a 1ST down.

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
Matt LeinartUSC	23/39	258	6.6	0	0	34.5

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Keegan HerringArizona State	15	59	3.9	1	15
Rudy BurgessArizona State	10	33	3.3	0	9
Terry RichardsonArizona State	1	11	11.0	0	11
LenDale WhiteUSC	19	197	10.4	2	46
Reggie BushUSC	17	158	9.3	2	34
Matt LeinartUSC	9	12	1.3	1	9
Steve SmithUSC	1	8	8.0	0	8
Desmond ReedUSC	1	2	2.0	0	2

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Derek HaganArizona State	10	162	16.2	0	25
Jamaal LewisArizona State	5	71	14.2	1	23
Rudy BurgessArizona State	3	35	11.7	0	24
Moey MutzArizona State	3	34	11.3	0	14
Matt MillerArizona State	1	20	20.0	0	20
Terry RichardsonArizona State	1	13	13.0	0	13
Randy HillArizona State	1	8	8.0	0	8
Lee BurghgraefArizona State	2	4	2.0	1	3
David KirtmanUSC	7	97	13.9	0	42
Dwayne JarrettUSC	7	90	12.9	0	23
Steve SmithUSC	3	33	11.0	0	21
Brandon HancockUSC	2	17	8.5	0	13
Dominique ByrdUSC	3	17	5.7	0	7
Reggie BushUSC	1	4	4.0	0	4

Show more stats (4 more categories)

Interceptions

Player	INT	YDS
John WalkerUSC	2	1
Oscar LuaUSC	1	13
Justin WyattUSC	1	0
Kevin EllisonUSC	1	0

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Jesse AinsworthArizona State	0/0	0.0	0	4/4	4
Mario DaneloUSC	1/1	100.0	36	5/5	8

Punt Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Terry RichardsonArizona State	3	111	37.0	84	1
Reggie BushUSC	3	13	4.3	11	0

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Tom MaloneUSC	7	313	44.7	0	0	60

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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