The relief washed through the overheated USC football fans like that cool breeze that poured into the Coliseum.
In his second game of the season, Sam Darnold finally threw his first touchdown pass.
And his second. And his third. And his fourth.
One week after saying the muddled victory in baking temperatures against Western Michigan was “probably the worst I’ve felt after a game in college,” Darnold was soothed, the Trojans were refreshed, and their peskiest of rivals were rolled.
For only the third time in 10 games, USC actually beat Stanford — actually beat the Cardinal here, and actually beat them with smarts and toughness and a quarterback who epitomized both.