Jackson able to find footing
TEMPE, Ariz. — Adoree’ Jackson finally got going on offense for USC.
Jackson scored his first touchdown of the season when he took a short swing pass from quarterback Cody Kessler and turned it into an 80-yard touchdown in the first quarter of USC’s 42-14 Pac-12 Conference game victory over Arizona State on Saturday night at Sun Devil Stadium.
Jackson, a starting cornerback, also had a spectacular 45-yard catch-andrun play that set up the third of Kessler’s five touchdown passes.
Jackson had entered the game with four receptions, but he did not catch a pass in last week’s 41-31 loss to Stanford.
He finished with three receptions for 131 yards.
Jackson also returned two punts for 53 yards and made two tackles.
Receiver JuJu Smith Schuster caught five passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Steven Mitchell Jr. had four receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown.
Turnover time
USC, which did not force a turnover in the previous two games, got four in the first half.
Safety John Plattenburg got his first career interception when he picked off a second-quarter pass by Arizona State quarterback Mike Bercovici.
Linebacker Scott Felix recovered a first-quarter fumble for the Trojans.
Defensive lineman Delvon Simmons forced a fumble
that safety Chris Hawkins returned 94 yards for a touchdown.
Quinton Powell forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and Soma Vainuku recovered the ball at the Arizona State five to set up Kessler’s fourth touchdown pass.
Pelon starts
Claude Pelon started at nose tackle for the Trojans in place of Antwaun Woods.
Woods has been nursing a shoulder injury and was limited during practice.
Pelon, a senior, typically plays end. He sat out the opener after suffering a knee injury in training camp that required arthroscopic surgery. Pelon made four tackles, one for a loss.
Penalties
USC, which lost opportunities last week against Stanford because of penalties, struggled again in the first half.
The Trojans went into the game averaging nearly six penalties for 60 yards per game.
USC was flagged six times for 60 yards in the first half Saturday and had several substantial offensive plays nullified. They finished with 10 penalties for 91 yards.
Arizona State, among the least penalized teams in the nation since Todd Graham was hired after the 2011 season, was penalized once for 15 yards.
Quick hits
Former Trojans players
LenDale White and Keith Rivers were on the field before the game.