In their postgame press conference, Adoree' Jackson and Cody Kessler couldn't agree which play the sophomore wide receiver, defensive back, and punt returner extraordinaire made was his best.
It was virtually the only time the two weren't on the same page all night.
In No. 19 USC's 42-14 win over ASU, Jackson was unequivocally the star – he racked up 131 receiving yards on just three catches (!) for a total 184 all-purpose yards.
So which play was Jackson's favorite? A 54-yard punt return? A simple dump-off screen that turned into a 46-yard gain where the speedy wideout was pushed out of bounds just before he could take it to the house? Why not Kessler's choice — an 80-yard touchdown where the senior found Jackson wide open in the flat and proceeded to blow past safety Jordan Simone and score the first points of the night to seize momentum in a wild opening sequence of explosive plays from both sides followed by turnovers?
Sure enough, Jackson had yet another surprise up his sleeve.
"The screen," Jackson said. "I was following (redshirt sophomore wide receiver Steven Mitchell Jr.) down the sideline, and he was pushing me forward. That was my best one."
Kessler shook his head. But the redshirt senior quarterback, an offensive mastermind, knows how difficult it is to gameplan to play against new defense each week, let alone be a significant contributor on each side of the ball.
"For him to do that, especially at the college level, that's not easy to do," Kessler said. "I think it shows how mature he is."
Jackson played into the waning minutes of the fourth quarter at corner, even though Sarkisian was decidedly cautious about how frequent he wanted to utilize him.
ASU fans in the Inferno section heckled Jackson on the final Sun Devil drive, to which Jackson responded with a smile and a friendly wave.
"When he comes out on the field (on defense) everyone goes 'two's in, two's in,' Kessler said. " Even when he's not getting the ball, everyone pays attention when he's on the field. It speaks volumes about what kind of player he is."
He was the last one off the field, staying to wield Tommy Trojan's sword and lead the USC band (which was tucked away into the northwest corner of the upper deck) while enduring more taunts from some remaining ASU fans, simply shrugging it off as he calmly conducted the ensemble, an accomplished maestro satisfied with a hard day's work.
Jackson went over to the hecklers, shook their hands, his radiant grin beaming in the backdrop of the field lights, and said "Y'all be good," before jogging off into the visiting locker room at Sun Devil Stadium.
By the way, Kessler threw for 375 yards and five touchdowns tonight. But the speedy Belleville, Illinois native overshadowed the Bakersfield, California-grown gunslinger on a night in which he posted a 92.8 quarterback rating.
"He's pretty good," said USC head coach Steve Sarkisian. "The hardest thing with Adoree' is when, and how, and how many times?"
How about a lot?
An in-rhythm Jackson, a rigorously on-point Kessler, plus JuJu Smith-Schuster? Forget about it.
The Trojans put on an offensive clinic, and with Jackson among its most decorated instructors, USC earned a resounding victory as the ghosts of the team's past two losses to ASU all but vanished into thin air.
Reach the sports editor at smodrich@asu.edu or follow @StefanJModrich on Twitter.
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