Zachariah Branch steals the show in USC’s season opener

Matt Zemek
·4 min read
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Zachariah Branch isn’t really a revelation, in the sense that anyone and everyone who follows USC closely knew he would be special.

The surprise might be that he was this special this quickly. He didn’t need a game in which to get settled and find his bearings. The impact Zachariah Branch made was substantial and profound.

As a playmaker on both offense and special teams, Branch dazzled the crowd inside the Los Angeles Coliseum in USC’s home opener against San Jose State on Saturday evening. The Trojans pulled away in the fourth quarter for a comfortable win after struggling for the first two and a half quarters of play.

A medium-long punt return by Branch was exciting, but it was only the beginning. Branch then delivered a 25-yard catch-and-run touchdown on a short Caleb Williams pass. He then brought the house down with his main act, a 96-yard kickoff return which gave USC a 42-21 lead midway through the second half and gave the Trojans a cushion in their season opener.

Caleb Williams is the man at USC, but Zachariah Branch — don’t call him Zach! — is going to be the man at USC in the future. He certainly was the breakout star of this season’s first game for the Trojans. Everyone went crazy when Branch did his thing in the open field:

THE KICKOFF RETURN

THE TD CATCH AND RUN

YEP

LOUD ENTRANCE

ECHOES OF GLORY

NOTABLE

DAZZLING DEBUT

MADE IT LOOK EASY

SPECIAL MOMENT

APPOINTMENT VIEWING

RUNS LIKE A DEER

POPCORN

CAPS LOCK

TRUTH

WRITE THIS DOWN

NUMBER ONE

OREGON BEAT WRITER

MISMATCH

GOOD POINT

ACHIEVED A LOT

Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire

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