Part of being a good football team is winning games you aren't expected to, like USC's 31-14 win at Oregon State last week. An equally important part is blowing out the teams you should dominate. USC did just that on Saturday, riding three punt return touchdowns into a 41-14 halftime lead and a 62-28 road win against the California Golden Bears. 

In the final home game for California's seniors, it was the Trojan sophomores that nearly put the game out of reach soon after it began. Wide receiver Nelson Agholor tied the USC record with two punt return touchdowns, while USC's three punt return scores tied an NCAA record. Agholor's two punt returns tied the USC record of Heisman winner Mike Garrett, who scored on two against Cal in 1965. Agholor's fellow sophomore, running back Javorius "Buck" Allen, had 6 rushes for 135 yards and two touchdowns in addition to a 57-yard touchdown catch and run. The third big sophomore on offense was quarterback Cody Kessler, who exuded confidence and a penchant for downfield throws in finishing 14-of-17 for 170 yards and two touchdowns. 

The Trojans become bowl eligible with the win, improving their record to 7-3 overall (4-2 in Pac-12 play), while the Golden Bears dropped to 1-9 (0-7 in Pac-12). 

Even with starting running back Silas Redd injuring his knee mid-game, USC rushed for 256 yards on 29 carries, 8.8 yards per carry. Besides Allen, freshman running back Ty Isaac had two touchdowns of his own to go with 87 yards on 11 carries. 

"We really did our job," right tackle Kevin Graf said on the performance of the offensive line. "We stayed on our blocks, and pulled the run through. As a team, we became much more loose and not scared to make a mistake."

USC's special teams, much-maligned for missed field goals and other mishaps this year, broke the game wide open before the USC offense had a chance to take the field. Taking the first Cal punt, Agholor bolted forward, slid left, then wrapped back around to the middle of the field for a 75-yard touchdown return. 

"I was really just happy to see the guys make plays," interim head coach Ed Orgeron said on the game-opening play. "It's just exciting to see some explosive plays out there. That's part of our football team. That's what makes us who we are at USC." 

On USC's next drive, a blend of short passes by Cody Kessler and Silas Redd rushes culminated with a 12-yard screen pass from the former to the latter, giving USC the 14-0 advantage with just over 5 minutes left in the opening quarter. USC made it three for three on drives in the first quarter just 4 minutes later, as Allen broke a series of tackles at the line of scrimmage and proceeded to barrel down the sideline en route to a 43-yard touchdown run that upped the score to 21-0.

Cal didn't go down after the initial punch. The Golden Bears' true freshman quarterback Jared Goff looked confident on the pocket on the next drive, splicing a sideline pass to Kenny Lawler just in-bounds for a 21-yard gain to the USC 10. Three plays later, the Goff-Lawler combination worked again for a 4-yard touchdown pitch and catch. With head coach Sonny Dykes pulling out his bag of tricks, Cal converted a wide receiver pass and flea-flicker, the latter for a 24-yard touchdown, on their next drive to cut the deficit to 21-14. Goff finished the day 34-of-48 for 255 yards and three touchdowns. 

Despite the quick start, Cal stole the momentum back and after Kessler was sacked for a loss of 8 yards to force a long third down, it looked like the Golden Bears would earn an opportunity to tie the game. Allen had other ideas. After getting a slip screen out of the backfield, the 6-foot-1 redshirt sophomore quickly turned upfield and thanks to some well-timed blocking, took the ball nearly straight forward for a 57-yard touchdown. 

The next drive was nothing short of another gut punch for the home squad. Goff's sure-fire pass on third down hit receiver Chris Harper in his facemask to force fourth down. Having wrested back his starting spot, fullback Soma Vainuku blocked the Cal punt, and Josh Shaw returned the ball 14 yards for a touchdown after it nearly fell into his hands. The two USC touchdowns took less than a minute. And after the next Golden Bear stalled drive, Agholor took the punt 93 yards for his second touchdown of the game. 

"The best thing about getting that first return is that it gave the rest of those guys confidence that we could block the same way," Agholor said after the game. "You return one and everyone wants to return another. That's a unit-type thing. We want to get in the end zone." The Trojans did plenty of that Saturday, with USC's 62 points being the most since a 69-0 win over Washington State in October 2008. 

If there were any chance of a miracle second-half comeback, it was quickly erased in the second half. On the first play of USC's second drive, Allen burst through the line of scrimmage, shedding defenders, then barreled down the sideline for a 79-yard touchdown run, tying the longest run by a USC player in nearly two years. Isaac had two touchdowns to close the game while playing with USC's second and third-string units, but the focus was on the 215-pound bruiser of a back from Florida.

Allen started the season even with Isaac as the 4th-string running back, but has gone from Lane Kiffin's doghouse to Orgeron's penthouse due to injuries to Justin Davis and Tre Madden. 

"I know what I'm capable of," Allen said when asked if he ever expected such success in 2013. "It was just me biding my time and waiting for my chance." 

As for chances, the win Saturday lays the groundwork for a primetime matchup next weekend against Stanford, who defeated No. 3 Oregon on Thursday. USC has lost their last four games to their Pac-12 rivals, and would need to win in order to have a reasonable shot at a Pac-12 South title and Rose Bowl berth.

Still, the time is now for USC to be playing their biggest matchup of the season. In my two years, most definitely," Redd said when asked if USC is the most in stride it's been since he arrived in Troy. 

With the positivity movement that has been Orgeron's tenure, next Saturday is anybody's game. "I feel great about everybody we put out onto the field," Orgeron said. "We're going to strap it up and give it the best that we can, no matter who it is."

Reach Senior Sports Editor Jacob Freedman here or follow him here.