The first quarter raised the question of “What’s going on?” as Colorado's defense held USC to 8 total yards on 12 plays, but quarterback Caleb Williams and the Trojans came back quickly scoring three touchdowns and a field goal in the second quarter while rolling the Buffs from there, winning 55-17 in Los Angeles.

Colorado quarterback J.T. Shrout had more of the same struggles, finishing 11-of-24 passing for 124 yards, 0 touchdowns and an interception while also rushing in for a score and losing a costly fumble deep in Buffs territory. Meanwhile, Alex Fontenot had his best game of the season with 108 rushing yards and a touchdown on 20 carries plus a 16-yard reception with Deion Smith inactive.

Ultimately, as expected, the No. 8-ranked Trojans (9-1, 7-1 Pac-12) were just too much for the Buffs (1-9, 1-5) as the hosts ultimately covered the 34.5-point spread with a final touchdown in the last minute.

The Trojans utilized their various offensive weapons, specifically former Buff Brenden Rice. He recovered from some early struggles (including losing a post route to Nikko Reed in the first quarter for what was only Williams' second interception of the season), but he showed off against his former teammates from there with an acrobatic sideline grab that needed replay reversal to show he got his foot down, a 32-yard touchdown reception and 3 catches for 70 yards overall.

The Buffs couldn’t stop Williams at the goal line as he scored easily on 2-yard and 4-yard runs in the second quarter to get the Trojans going after they managed only a safety in the first quarter.

As the pocket collapsed, the Buffs’ front couldn’t get their hands on him as he maneuvered effectively and connected with one of his many receivers, showing why he's a Heisman Trophy candidate in finishing with 268 passing yards and 3 touchdowns through the air plus the 2 rushing scores.

Colorado led 3-2 after that wonky first quarter, but it quickly unraveled, including a Shrout fumbling inside the Buffs' own 10-yard line on a sack from Tuli Tuipulotu, leading to Williams' second rushing score in the span of 2 minutes, 14 seconds.

Rice's touchdown catch on the next USC series pushed the lead to 23-6 and the Trojans tacked on a field goal before halftime to continue separating.

USC finished with 531 yards in total offense and Colorado ended with 259.

The Trojans lost star running back Travis Dye to a season-ending leg injury late in the first half, but Austin Jones found his way through the box and finished with 74 rushing yards and 39 receiving yards with touchdown catch.

Colorado's long season continues.

RELATED: Everything Colorado interim coach Mike Sanford said after the loss at USC | Video interviews with RB Alex Fontenot and DL Jalen Sami after loss

First Quarter

7:18, USC: safety, 2-0

1:24, Colorado: Cole Becker 28-yard field goal, CU 3-2

Second Quarter

10:08, USC: Caleb Williams 2-yard rush (Alex Stadthaus PAT), USC 9-3

7:55, USC: Caleb Williams 4-yard rush (Alex Stadthaus PAT), USC 16-3

1:58, USC: Brenden Rice 32-yard reception (Alex Stadthaus PAT), USC 23-3

00:00, USC: Denis Lynch 34-yard field goal, USC 26-3

Third Quarter

5:49, Colorado: Alex Fontenot 3-yard rush (Cole Becker PAT), USC 26-10

4:50, USC: Tahj Washington 61-yard pass from Caleb Williams (Will Rose two-point rush), USC 34-10

0:27, USC: Austin Jones 12-yard pass from Caleb Williams (Alex Stadthaus PAT), USC 41-10

Fourth Quarter

11:34, USC: Raleek Brown 25-yard pass from Miller Moss (Alex Stadthaus PAT), USC 48-10

7:22, USC: J.T. Shrout 8-yard rush (Cole Becker PAT), USC 48-17

0:36, USC: Darwin Barlow 3-yard rush (Alex Stadthaus PAT), USC 55-17

Colorado's turnovers continue to kill its momentum. After a productive first quarter, the Buffs looked like they could compete, but it’s hard to kick those old habits and Shrout’s fumble in the second squashed the hope. USC took over at the Colorado 8 and scored two plays later to go up 16-3 while starting to pull away.

RB Alex Fontenot

Fontenot made the most out of his touches, turning 20 attempts into 108 yards, averaging 5.4 yards per carry with 1 touchdown. His longest run was for 37 yards and he also put the Buffs in scoring position after running 27 yards.

His performance showed glimpses of a matured 2019 Fontenot. It was unfortunate that he was absent the majority of his final season, but good to see he is making the most of the games he has left.

CB Nikko Reed

Intended for former Buff Brenden Rice, Caleb Williams' pass instead ended up in the hands of Reed in the first quarter. The interception was Reed’s first this season and a rare mistake for Williams as he only threw one other interception all season.

Fontenot’s drive in the third quarter provided that small spark Colorado needed and he needed for his confidence. The 27-yard run putting the Buffs in scoring position was the most significant offensive play of the game.

Same stuff, but a different day for this Colorado team. Shrout again was unable to finish his drives and Jordyn Tyson’s absence was felt in the pass game as they could only put up 124 passing yards.

Montana Lemonious-Craig was not utilized as effectively as he should have been.

Overall, the Buffs’ offensive inability to convert paired with USC’s defensive pressure would once again place the game on a Colorado defense that isn't capable of carrying all of that weight. The game quickly unraveled as Colorado continues to play unbalanced football.

Passing

J.T. Shrout: 11 of 21, 124 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT

Rushing

Alex Fontenot: 20 carries for 108 yards, TD

Anthony Hankerson: 5 carries for 21 yards

J.T. Shrout: 9 carries for 4 yards, TD

Jack Hestera: 1 carry for 2 yards

Receiving

Jack Hestera: 3 catches for 39 yards

RJ Sneed: 3 catches for 27 yards

Brady Russell: 2 catches for 22 yards

Alex Fontenot: 1 catch for 16 yards

Chase Penry: 1 catch for 14 yards

Montana Lemonious-Craig: 1 catch for 6 yards

Defense

Jeremy Mack: Team-high 11 tackles

Quinn Perry: 1 sack, 3 tackles

Jamar Montgomery: 1 sack, 3 tackles

Nikko Reed: 1 interception