USC pulls away from Utah, UCF and Arkansas State score wins

Did Robert Woods fail a USC concussion test against Utah?

That's the claim being made by at least one Utah reporter.

USC vs. Utah 2012 final score: Trojans roar back, blow out Utes behind Barkley, Lee, 38-28

The Trojans' offense got rolling after a shaky start to dispatch of the Utes behind an offensive explosion by two of their stars

Laces out, Dan!

David Pollack busts out an Ace Ventura reference on the fly, reminding everyone how much better he is than Craig James.

83-yard Matt Barkley bomb to Marqise Lee all but puts Utah away

Matt Barkley and Marqise Lee are good at sports.

East Carolina vs. UCF final score: Knights dig out of early hole for 40-20 win

Behind two big plays from Quincy McDuffie, Central Florida took care of business against East Carolina on Thursday with a 40-20 win.

Arkansas State vs. FIU final score: Red Wolves defeat Golden Panthers, 34-20

Arkansas State defeated the Florida International Golden Panthers Thursday night, handing FIU its fourth consecutive loss.

CATCH OF THE DECADE OF THE HOUR: Randall Telfer's one-hander vs. Utah

The CATCH OF THE WEEK battle has an early entrant, with USC's Randall Telfer dropping a one-handed juggler of a touchdown on the Utes.

Robert Woods injury: USC receiver stumbles to ground after hit in head

USC's Robert Woods took a hit to the side of his helmet, then had trouble keeping his feet. He immediately went back into the game despite appearing to suffer a head injury.

Star Lotulelei having breakout game (so far) on national TV vs. USC

Utah defensive tackle Star Lotulelei has been a known commodity for college football fans and NFL Draft nerds for quite a while now*, being named the Pac-12's best lineman last year and entering this year as a potential top-five Draft pick. But it might not've been until his imposing early showing against USC Thursday night that much of the nation learned the former ace furniture mover's name.

He directly or indirectly caused two immediate turnovers from what was once supposed to be the nation's best offense, producing two easy instant touchdowns for the Utes. On the first, his presence forced banged-up center Khaled Holmes to snap a dribbler back to Matt Barkley; on the second, he stood up Holmes mid-snap as the ball skittered free. He also dropped Silas Redd for a three-yard loss on one run and tied up multiple blockers on a couple passes.

The talented and experienced Holmes began to assert himself on a scoring drive by USC, but the Trojans' first two drives and seven or so snaps were completely defined by Lotulelei. Coming into the game, the interior line battle was expected to be the one to watch -- that's undoubtedly the case right now. It's still very, very early, but USC's got plenty of adjustments to make.

* How's this for a star: at Pac-12 Media Days, he got far more attention from assembled reporters than did running back John White, who ran for 1,500 yards last year.

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Utah defense does Utah student section impression

The Utes opened up their Thursday night battle with USC by rudely storming the Trojans' backfield.

USC vs. Utah leads make-or-break Thursday night

Thursday night makes for the first multi-game weeknight since Week 1. Ready your remotes, as every week henceforth includes at least one weeknight with multiple FBS games. One common story connects at least four of tonight's competitors: early letdowns.

The action on the way (and here are against-the-spread picks by Bill Connelly's computer):

Arkansas State (2-3, 0-1) at Florida International (1-4, 0-1), 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU: Not entirely a do-or-die game for the two teams picked to finish at the top of the Sun Belt standings, but with Louisiana-Lafeyette, Western Kentucky, Louisiana-Monroe and Middle Tennessee all boasting impressive claims to local superiority, the loser will go down as one of the early season's biggest mid-major disappointments. Each is 0-1 in conference play with a losing record overall. Preseason fave FIU has beaten only lowly Akron (in overtime), while defending champ ASU claims only Memphis and FCS Alcorn State.

East Carolina (3-2, 2-0) at UCF (2-2, 0-0), 8 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network: The game exempt from the night's forced story line, as both Conference USA sides have at least met expectations. Central Florida was the preseason C-USA East pick, and they kept it close against Ohio State and Mizzou before entering conference play. ECU currently leads the division, knocking off 2011 champion Southern Miss in Hattiesburg. Still, unless 2-3 Marshall's defense can start pitching into the Herd's own title hunt, this could be the division championship game.

No. 13 USC (3-1, 1-1) at Utah (2-2, 0-1), 9 p.m. ET, ESPN: The game circled months ago as the chic Trap Game of the Year choice doesn't look quite so trappy, with the Trojans already dumping one to Stanford and Utah falling to Utah State and Arizona State. Still, it's a battle of strength-on-strength, with what's still believed to be a talented Utes front seven going against Matt Barkley's all-star arsenal. The Pac-12 South race is crowded. Neither team can reach its season goals without winning this game. Don't need much more than that.

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USC vs. Utah game time, TV schedule, spread and more

Week 6 of the college football season kicks off on Thursday night with USC heading to Utah for a Pac-12 matchup.

Arkansas State vs. FIU game time, TV schedule, spread and more

Week 6 of the season begins in the Sun Belt, as Arkansas State faces FIU in a nationally televised Thursday night game.

ECU vs. UCF: Game time, TV schedule, spread and more

East Carolina will travel to Central Florida for a Conference USA East Division showdown.