November 19, 2005 Week 12 · Regular Season Belt defended

USC defends the belt, 50–42, at home over Fresno State.

Home · Defending Holder

USCAP No. 1 50

Away · Challenger

Fresno StateAP No. 16 42

AP poll, week 12: Fresno State No. 16 at USC No. 1 · No. 1 that week: Wisconsin. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

USC came in 688 days into reign #258, which began with a win over Michigan, with 23 defenses already behind it; this was its 24th defense. USC went on to defend it 1 more time before Texas took it on January 4, 2006, 734 days after the reign began.

For Fresno State this was its 2nd shot at the belt; it had held the belt once before.

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

AI-Written

Recap

Fresno State struck first with a defensive touchdown when Scott Ware forced a fumble on a Paul Pinegar pass at the goal line, recovered by Jermaine Jamison for a score. USC answered with a Reggie Bush 65-yard rush setting up a LenDale White touchdown to tie it up. The Bulldogs retook the lead on a Clifton Smith 1-yard rush, but USC dominated the second half, with Bush adding a 45-yard touchdown run and Matt Leinart scoring twice more (1-yard rush and 6-yard pass to Steve Smith) to put the game out of reach despite a late Paul Williams touchdown pass for Fresno State.

Jermaine Jamison defensive touchdown recovery (Q1 9:45) - gave Fresno State an early 7-0 lead
Reggie Bush 65-yard rush (Q1 7:49) - set up USC's tying touchdown and sparked the Trojan offense
Reggie Bush 45-yard rushing touchdown (Q3 10:03) - gave USC a commanding lead in the second half
Matt Leinart rushing and passing touchdowns (Q3) - extended USC's advantage and sealed the belt defense

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

USCFresno State

Total yards508427

Rushing yards308110

Passing yards209324

First downs2526

3rd down conv.6/134/14

Turnovers16

Penalties–yards0–00–0

Time of possession09:0009:00

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	Fresno State	+21 yd	Paul Pinegar pass complete to Joe Fernandez for 21 yards to the USC 28 for a 1ST down.
Q1 9:45	Fresno State	+12 yd	Paul Pinegar pass complete to Devyn Mcdonald for 12 yards for no gain, fumbled at the USC 1, forced by Scott Ware, recovered by Jermaine Jamison for a TOUCHDOWN, tackled by Scott Ware.
Q1 9:45	Fresno State	+0 yd	Kyle Zimmerman extra point GOOD.
Q1 7:25	USC	+5 yd	LenDale White rush for 5 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 7:49	USC	+65 yd	Reggie Bush rush for 65 yards to the Fresn 5 for a 1ST down.
Q1 7:25	USC	+0 yd	Tom Malone extra point GOOD.
Q2 12:07	Fresno State	+1 yd	Clifton Smith rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 12:00	Fresno State	+30 yd	Kyle Zimmerman kickoff for 61 yards returned by Reggie Bush for 30 yards to the USC 34.
Q2 12:07	Fresno State	+0 yd	Kyle Zimmerman extra point GOOD.
Q2 7:45	USC	+42 yd	Mario Danelo kickoff for 62 yards returned by Adam Jennings for 42 yards to the Fresn 45.
Q2 7:52	USC	+24 yd	Mario Danelo 24 yard field goal GOOD.
Q2 4:08	Fresno State	+15 yd	Paul Pinegar pass complete to Joe Fernandez for 15 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 4:08	Fresno State	+0 yd	Kyle Zimmerman extra point GOOD.
Q2 3:50	USC	+21 yd	Reggie Bush rush for 21 yards to the USC 32 for a 1ST down.
Q3 11:33	USC	+1 yd	Matt Leinart rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 11:33	USC	+0 yd	Mario Danelo extra point GOOD.
Q3 12:52	USC	+35 yd	Reggie Bush rush for 35 yards to the Fresn 1 for a 1ST down.
Q3 10:03	USC	+45 yd	Reggie Bush rush for 45 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 10:03	USC	+0 yd	Mario Danelo extra point GOOD.
Q3 8:25	USC	+6 yd	Matt Leinart pass complete to Steve Smith for 6 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 8:25	USC	+0 yd	Mario Danelo extra point GOOD.
Q3 5:39	Fresno State	+20 yd	Paul Pinegar pass complete to Paul Williams for 20 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 5:39	Fresno State	+0 yd	Kyle Zimmerman extra point GOOD.
Q3 5:33	Fresno State	+25 yd	Kyle Zimmerman kickoff for 65 yards returned by Reggie Bush for 25 yards to the USC 25 out-of-bounds.
Q3 4:25	USC	+58 yd	Tom Malone punt for 55 yards, returned by Adam Jennings for 58 yards to the USC 30.
Q3 2:24	Fresno State	+30 yd	Paul Pinegar pass intercepted by Scott Ware at the USC 0, returned for 30 yards to the USC 30.
Q3 1:15	USC	+50 yd	Reggie Bush rush for 50 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 1:15	USC	+0 yd	Mario Danelo extra point GOOD.
Q4 9:59	Fresno State	+6 yd	Paul Pinegar pass complete to Joe Fernandez for 6 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 9:59	Fresno State	+0 yd	Kyle Zimmerman extra point GOOD.
Q4 9:47	Fresno State	+18 yd	Wendell Mathis rush for 18 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 9:47	Fresno State	+0 yd	Kyle Zimmerman extra point GOOD.
Q4 9:41	Fresno State	+20 yd	Kyle Zimmerman kickoff for 63 yards returned by Reggie Bush for 20 yards to the USC 22 out-of-bounds, Usc penalty 11 yard personal foul on Reggie Bush accepted.
Q4 8:35	USC	+43 yd	Matt Leinart pass complete to Reggie Bush for 43 yards to the Fresn 21 for a 1ST down.
Q4 8:57	USC	+20 yd	Reggie Bush rush for 20 yards to the USC 36 out-of-bounds for a 1ST down.
Q4 6:22	USC	+2 yd	LenDale White rush for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 3:06	USC	+26 yd	Mario Danelo 26 yard field goal GOOD.
Q4 1:20	Fresno State	+40 yd	Paul Pinegar pass intercepted by Darnell Bing at the USC 0, returned for 40 yards to the USC 40.
Q4 1:37	Fresno State	+30 yd	Paul Pinegar pass complete to Matt Rivera for 30 yards to the USC 25 for a 1ST down out-of-bounds.

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

USC

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Matt Leinart	22/33	200	6.1	1	0	65.9

Fresno State

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Paul Pinegar	27/45	317	7.0	3	4	29.7

Rushing

USC

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Reggie Bush	23	294	12.8	2	65
LenDale White	7	21	3.0	2	8
Matt Leinart	4	-3	-0.8	1	5

Fresno State

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Wendell Mathis	23	109	4.7	1	18
Roshon Vercher	3	6	2.0	1	3
Matt Rivera	3	3	1.0	0	2
Josh Sherley	1	2	2.0	0	2
Paul Pinegar	2	-10	-5.0	0	0

Receiving

USC

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Reggie Bush	3	68	22.7	0	43
Steve Smith	7	42	6.0	1	11
Dwayne Jarrett	5	37	7.4	0	10
Dominique Byrd	2	16	8.0	0	8
LenDale White	2	14	7.0	0	9
Fred Davis	1	9	9.0	0	9
David Kirtman	1	7	7.0	0	7
Brandon Hancock	1	7	7.0	0	7

Fresno State

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Joe Fernandez	7	75	10.7	2	21
Devyn McDonald	5	64	12.8	0	15
Paul Williams	4	62	15.5	1	20
Matt Rivera	4	60	15.0	0	30
Wendell Mathis	4	26	6.5	0	8
Jermaine Jamison	1	16	16.0	0	15
Adam Jennings	2	14	7.0	0	7

Show more stats (4 more categories)

Interceptions

USC

Player	INT	YDS
Darnell Bing	2	54
Scott Ware	1	30
Brandon Ting	1	0

Fresno State

No recorded stats in this category.

Kicking

USC

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Mario Danelo	3/3	100.0	31	5/5	14

Fresno State

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Kyle Zimmerman	0/0	0.0	0	6/6	6

Punt Returns

USC

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Reggie Bush	2	16	8.0	16	0

Fresno State

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Adam Jennings	4	80	20.0	57	0

Punting

USC

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Tom Malone	4	152	38.0	0	0	53

Fresno State

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Mike Lingua	3	100	33.3	0	0	37

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 253230030) · This game in the downloadable dataset

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