SENDING MIXED MESSAGES

It was by no means flashy, but it was more than enough to get the job done.

That was the prevailing sentiment about USC's performance in its season-opening 38-10 win Saturday at the Coliseum in front of 90,917 fans. Despite a dearth of big plays, USC mustered enough early offense to put the game out of the Vandals' reach.

"We had a workman-like game," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "We were ready to explode in the first quarter and then went a little flat in the second."

The Trojans' ground game was most emblematic of the team's grind-it-out performance. USC netted 214 yards on 43 carries. The Trojans were led by the sophomore tandem of running backs Stafon Johnson, who rushed for two touchdowns, and C.J. Gable, who churned out 68 yards on eight carries.

"We just wanted to take the yards that the defense gave us," Gable said. "If we keep doing that, the big plays will eventually come."

The USC aerial attack was also solid, if unspectacular. John David Booty completed 21 of 32 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.

"At times we played how we expected, but at times we didn't," Booty said. "We feel like when the offense stopped, we stopped ourselves."

But for whatever struggles USC had to iron out offensively, the Trojans posed enough of a problem to frustrate the Idaho defense.

Long, methodical drives kept USC's confidence level up and the Vandals' offense off the field.

"Defensively, it took an awful lot to get into the game," Idaho coach Robb Akey said. "We had bodies where they belonged but were not making plays, which is not unusual in your first game, and it also had something to do with who we were playing."

One player who seemed to be in the right place and making plays was the Vandals' Shiloh Keo. The safety picked off a pair of passes and recorded 10 tackles and a fumble recovery.

The Trojans' passing game was dealt a blow before the game even started when it was announced that Patrick Turner would not play. Turner suffered a shoulder injury during practice Aug. 28. Vidal Hazelton started in his place and nabbed a touchdown pass with one hand, early in the second quarter.

"We could feel [Turner] not being out there," Carroll said. "We went up to game time thinking he was going to be in there, but he's not quite recovered from that stinger yet."

Turner was joined on the sidelines by linebacker Brian Cushing, who suffered an ankle injury early in the first quarter and was carted off the field. Carroll later confirmed that Cushing had sustained a left ankle sprain. With the Trojans' having a bye week before traveling to Nebraska in two weeks, USC hopes Cushing will have ample time to recover for the matchup with the Cornhuskers.

"It'll be close to get him back by then, but [the injury] will probably be a 10-day deal," Carroll said.

Cushing's injury was one of the few blemishes on an otherwise sterling defensive performance. The Vandal offense sputtered to 253 total offensive yards compared to USC's 420. Idaho's lone touchdown came in the final minutes of the game against the Trojans' defensive backups. Vandal running back Jayson Bird punched in a touchdown run from one yard out.

Deonte Jackson led all rushers with 102 yards on 22 carries.

"We didn't shut down the run quite the way we wanted to," Carroll said.

The Trojans' pass defense picked up the slack left by the Trojans' rush defense. Nathan Enderle had an intimidating intoduction to the world of college football, finishing 16-of-34 for 155 yards in his first collegiate start.

With two weeks to evaluate the first game before playing again, Carroll sees plenty to like about his team and plenty he would like to change.

"There are a lot of areas we can do better in," Carroll said. "I'm just happy that we got here and won a game, and I'm ready for the next one."