CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Now that he's proven to himself that his knee is healthy, Mark Sanchez can settle into showing everyone that Southern California is in really good hands.

Sanchez threw three touchdown passes in his first game as the Trojans' true No. 1 quarterback on Saturday, leading third-ranked USC to a 52-7 victory against Virginia.

Just more than three weeks removed from a dislocated kneecap that kept him out of practice until this week, Sanchez showed no ill effects. He was 26-for-35 for 338 yards and directed the Trojans on three touchdown drives in the first 11 minutes. They rolled from there.

"It's exciting to know I got one under my belt with this whole knee deal," he said. "I'm back to 100 percent. I feel good and we're ready to start preparing for Ohio State."

While Sanchez plans to spend some of that time continuing the rehabilitation that sparked his remarkable recovery, it may be that coach Pete Carroll uses it to tweak some things.

The offense, for example, to make use of Sanchez's resourcefulness in the pocket.

"That's an exciting aspect of our offense that I felt like we didn't have the last couple of years," Carroll said, recalling a play when Sanchez ducked under a pass rusher and stepped into a long ball that hit wide open Ronald Johnson in the end zone for a 49-yard TD play.

"I think we all sense it," Carroll said, "and we've been excited about it."

The Trojans lead 21-0 very quickly and weren't tested, allowing Carroll to keep the offense simple in advance of their home game against the No. 2 Buckeyes in two weeks. Even this early in the season, the matchup figures to greatly impact the championship race.

"Knowing we have these two weeks to prepare means a lot, too," Sanchez said.

Sanchez, a junior, started three games last season, filling in for the injured John David Booty and going 2-1. Now, USC is Sanchez's team, and he made that evident in the opener.

"You can just sense that if you give him time back there, he's going to find guys and he's got a real attitude about him to take advantage of it," Carroll said. "It's his nature."

The Cavaliers could clearly use some of that swagger.

Virginia had former stars Tiki and Ronde Barber and Chris Long in attendance and a Scott Stadium record crowd of 64,947 on hand, but the Cavaliers had minus 15 yards on their first three offensive series and needed 25 yards in penalties on their lone scoring drive.

Virginia ran for just 32 yards and was outgained 558-187.

The Cavaliers' TD came on Mikell Simpson's 7-yard run late in the first quarter, after a 15-yard roughing the passer flag and a 10-yard pass interference call against the Trojans.

Virginia never threatened again and USC was nearly flawless behind its quarterback.

The Trojans drove 56 yards in eight plays on their first possession, with Stafon Johnson running it in from the 2, and took over at the Virginia 47 on their next possession.

Sanchez completed three 10-yard passes in the drive, twice hitting tight end Anthony McCoy over the middle and then Joe McKnight took a dump-off pass 10 yards to the end zone.

"It felt good," Sanchez said. "I moved when I needed to and was really happy out there."

(Aug. 31, 2008)