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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Southern California dominates Virginia

Associated Press

Now that he’s proven to himself that his knee is healthy, Mark Sanchez can settle into showing everyone that Southern California is in really good hands.

Sanchez threw three touchdown passes in his first game as the Trojans’ true No. 1 quarterback on Saturday, leading third-ranked USC to a 52-7 victory against Virginia at Charlottesville, Va.

Just more than three weeks removed from a dislocated kneecap that kept him out of practice until this week, Sanchez showed no ill effects. He was 26 for 35 for 338 yards and directed the Trojans on three touchdown drives in the first 11 minutes. They rolled from there.

“It’s exciting to know I got one under my belt with this whole knee deal,” he said. “I’m back to 100 percent. I feel good and we’re ready to start preparing for Ohio State.”

While Sanchez plans to spend some of that time continuing the rehabilitation that sparked his remarkable recovery, it may be that coach Pete Carroll uses it to tweak some things.

He may alter the offense, for example, to make use of Sanchez’s resourcefulness in the pocket.

“That’s an exciting aspect of our offense that I felt like we didn’t have the last couple of years,” Carroll said, recalling a play when Sanchez ducked under a pass rusher and stepped into a long ball that hit wide open Ronald Johnson in the end zone for a 49-yard TD play.

“I think we all sense it,” Carroll said, “and we’ve been excited about it.”

The Trojans lead 21-0 very quickly and weren’t tested, allowing Carroll to keep the offense simple in advance of their home game against the No. 2 Buckeyes in two weeks. Even this early in the season, the matchup figures to greatly affect the championship race.

“Knowing we have these two weeks to prepare means a lot, too,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez, a junior, started three games last season, filling in for the injured John David Booty and going 2-1. Now, USC is Sanchez’s team, and he made that evident in the opener.

“You can just sense that if you give him time back there, he’s going to find guys and he’s got a real attitude about him to take advantage of it,” Carroll said. “It’s his nature.”

(15) Arizona State 30, Northern Arizona 13: At Tempe, Ariz., Rudy Carpenter threw for 388 yards and a touchdown and Dimitri Nance ran for two touchdowns to lead the Sun Devils past the Lumberjacks.

Carpenter completed 22 of 28 passes, including 13 in a row in the first half to tie a school record.