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Cody Kessler earned his fourth 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 dominated Notre Dame, their intersectional rivals from Indiana, and most of that can be attributed to Kessler. The redshirt junior from Bakersfield, Calif. threw for 372 yards on 32-of-40 passing to go along with six touchdown throws despite not playing in the fourth quarter. Kessler's six touchdown passes were a record against Notre Dame.
Cody Kessler led the USC offense to a 35-0 lead midway through the second quarter, completing five touchdown passes on five consecutive drives. Kessler hit George Farmer for a 48-yard score, Adoree' Jackson from 16 yards out, Farmer again -- this time for a 31-yard strike, Darreus Rogers on a 6-yard touchdown and finally Nelson Agholor on a 14-yard catch and run that made it 35-0.
After USC took a 35-7 halftime lead, the Trojans came out and tacked on two more scores in the third quarter. Kessler found a triple-covered Randall Telfer for a 9-yard touchdown before Justin Davis capped the USC scoring with a touchdown run.
Cody Kessler finished one touchdown shy of the USC school record for passing touchdowns in a game that he set earlier in the season against Colorado. This is Kessler's third Pac-12 Player of the Week award this season, tying him with Heisman Trophy frontrunner Marcus Mariota and Arizona linebacker Scooby Wright III for the most in the conference.
Kessler also earned the award in the season opener against Fresno State with a career-high 394 yards and after his seven-touchdown performance versus Colorado. Kessler also earned the award when USC upset Stanford last season.
For the regular season, Cody Kessler finishes with 36 touchdowns to only four interceptions. He passed for 3,505 yards and a 70.7 completion percentage (292-for-413).
Scooby Wright III, a sophomore from Windsor, Calif., was named Defensive Player of the Week while Utah punter Tom Hackett earned the conference's Special Teams Player of the Week.