Final Stats | Photo Gallery

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Senior tight end Wyatt Houston caught his first touchdown pass of the season and redshirt junior boundary safety Dallin Leavitt recorded a career-high 15 tackles, but it still wasn't enough in a 45-7 loss to Southern Cal on Saturday at Memorial Coliseum.

Houston's touchdown grab, a six-yarder from junior quarterback Kent Myers on the final play of the third quarter, pulled the Aggies to within 31-7. Houston tied his career high with four receptions for 33 yards, while Myers was 25-of-37 for 204 yards and the one TD, to go along with an interception.

Sophomore wide receiver Ron'Quavion Tarver and freshman wide receiver Rayshad Lewis each finished with a career-high four receptions for the Aggies (1-1, 0-0 Mountain West). Tarver led Utah State with 37 yards receiving and Lewis finished with 34.

USC quarterback Max Browne was 23-of-30 for 182 yards and two touchdowns on the day, while fellow signal caller Sam Darnold was 5-of-7 for 62 yards and two TDs. The Trojans (1-1, 0-0 Pac-12) tallied 422 yards of total offense and limited the Aggies to 253.

A scary moment occurred late in the first quarter when senior cornerback Daniel Gray was injured while making a tackle. He was carted off the field on a stretcher, but gave the announced crowd of 62,487 the thumb's-up sign. After the game was over, Gray was being greeted by his teammates as he stood just outside of the Aggies' locker room seen in the tunnel

Leavitt, who was also shaken up late in the first half, recorded 10 of his tackles during the first 30 minutes of play. He also had a pass breakup.

USC struck first following a blocked punt by Michael Pittman, Jr. Quinton Powell recovered it for the Trojans and returned it nine yards to the Aggies' 6-yard line. Three plays later, Browne threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster to give the hosts a 7-0 lead with 11:50 remaining in the first quarter.

Both teams then traded missed field goals as Utah State's Brock Warren missed a 37-yarder wide left, while USC's Matt Boermeester missed one of his own from 47 yards out wide right.

The Trojans led 21-0 at halftime following a couple of second-quarter touchdown passes by Darnold and Browne. Deontay Burnett hauled in a 13-yarder from Darnold with 8:00 left until intermission, then Browne found Steven Mitchell, Jr. from two yards out with 19 seconds remaining on the clock. The second of those two scores came after Myers' pass was intercepted by Leon McQuay III.

Prior to Myers' first interception of the season, the defense created a turnover of its own when sophomore free safety Jontrell Rocquemore picked off a pass by Browne.

USC increased its lead to 31-0 in the third quarter courtesy of two special teams scores when Boermeester kicked a 20-yard field goal and Adoree' Jackson returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown.

Following Houston's touchdown grab, the eighth of his career, the Trojans capped the game's scoring when Smith-Schuster caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Darnold and Aca'Cedric Ware scored on a 2-yard touchdown run.

The Aggies return to action on Friday, Sept. 16, when they host Arkansas State on Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium. The game is slated to kick off at 7 p.m.

For Aggie football ticket information, fans can contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office over the phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305 during regular hours of operation. Fans can also buy their tickets in person at the USU Ticket Office inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or online by clicking on the "Buy Tickets" tab at www.UtahStateAggies.com.

Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on Facebook at Utah State Football, as well as on Instagram at instagram.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics