The USC Trojans were fortunate that their trip to suburban Phoenix was not suffocatingly hot. Conditions were cloudy in Phoenix and surrounding areas on Saturday, with occasional sunbreaks but moderate temperatures. It was so mild in Tempe on Saturday night that Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham wore a sweatshirt. This was not an overpoweringly hot day in the desert. By playing at night and not in the middle of the day, USC avoided extreme heat. It would have been easy to think the Trojans would be comfortable for this game and would play smoothly, without hiccups.
That did not happen. USC had a lot of rough edges in its 42-28 win over Arizona State. However, the action shots from the USA TODAY photo library (including contributions from the Arizona Republic) were certainly impressive to look at.
Let’s check out some of these vivid images from Saturday night in the desert: