Cody Kessler Named Pac-12 Player of the Week After Record Day

Cody Kessler earned his third career Pac-12 Player of the Week award when he was named the conference's Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.

The USC Trojans lit up Colorado for 56 points on eight touchdowns and the first seven of those came from the right arm of Kessler. The redshirt junior from Bakersfield, Calif. threw for 319 yards on 19-of-26 passing to go along with the seven touchdown throws despite not playing in the fourth quarter.

Cody Kessler led the USC offense to a 28-0 lead in the first quarter, hitting Nelson Agholor for a pair of touchdown passes before finding freshmen JuJu Smith and Bryce Dixon for a pair of scores. USC took a 35-7 halftime lead thanks to Kessler finding Dixon once more, this time from nine yards out.

Rather than grinding the ball on the ground to start the second half, USC let loose with its second offensive play. Using play-action, Kessler sucked up the safeties and then had Agholor open down the field for a 75-yard score. Later in the third quarter, the quarterback did a good job avoiding the rush, scrambled to his left and then fired on the run, connecting with a diving Steven Mitchell for a 24-yard touchdown.

The seventh touchdown gave Cody Kessler the USC school record for passing touchdowns in a game and tied him for the Pac-12 record. Kessler actually is the first quarterback since Arizona State's Mike Pagel in 1981 to throw for seven touchdowns in regulation -- and Kessler did it in only three quarters.

This is Kessler's second Pac-12 Player of the Week award this season after also earning the honor Week 1 after a career-high 394 yards against Fresno State. Kessler also earned the award once last season, when USC upset Stanford.

Arizona State safety Demarious Randall was named Defensive Player of the Week while Utah kicker Andy Phillips earned the conference's Special Teams Player of the Week.