SAN DIEGO, Calif. – All-American quarterback Josh Johnson rushed for 2 touchdowns and threw for 138 yards while sophomore running back J.T. Rogan added another 2 scores to lead the University of San Diego, the No. 1-ranked team in NCAA Division I-AA mid-major, to a 27-0 victory over Azusa Pacific in both team’s season-opener.

Johnson, who is coming off a brilliant 2005 campaign in which he threw for over 3,200 yards while completing 70-percent of his passes, continued right where he left off a year ago, picking apart a good Cougar defense and then piling up the rushing yards when flushed from the pocket. Johnson rushed for a game-high 67 yards on just 7 carries, 4 of which produced key third down conversions that kept the ball out of Azusa Pacific’s hands.

“We knew they were a good football team,” said Azusa Pacific coach Victor Santa Cruz who suffered the loss in his debut as a collegiate head coach. “We had to get the defense off the field, and we just couldn’t control the ball on offense.”

The Cougars put the ball on the turf 4 times, and they never lost possession, their miscues continually thwarted drives.

“We have a lot of work to do,” added Santa Cruz. “We have to take care of the little details. We’re not far off. We played maybe at 70-percent tonight, but you can’t do that against a No. 1-ranked team.”

USD scored on its second possession of the game when Rogan capped a 9-play, 52-yard drive with a 3-yard burst into the end zone. The Toreros took advantage of a short field and came right back on their next possession to go 42 yards on 7 more plays, highlighted by Johnson’s 7-yard sprint around right end to put San Diego up 13-0.

Perhaps it was rather optimistic thinking but the Cougars may have been a mere hand-swipe away from turning the game around midway through the second quarter. Behind back-up quarterback Ryan Bridges, who was making his first-ever collegiate appearance after 2 years on the bench, the Cougars moved downfield for the first time in the game. Bridges converted a key third-down play with his own 20-yard draw to put the ball in San Diego territory. Two plays later he appeared headed toward a touchdown on another 32-yard scamper, but he was tripped up at the Torero 10-yard line, eventually falling at the 4. Two plays later, under duress, Bridges was picked off in the end zone by Chase McBride to end the Cougars’ only scoring chance.

“That was a huge play,” said Santa Cruz of Bridges’ being caught at the 4-yard line. “You have to be able to put the ball in from that close and we didn’t.”

USD turned right around and motored 80 yards downfield in less than 2 minutes. Johnson connected with Kenny Stivers on back-to-back pass plays to cover 38 yards. Johnson then took care of the rest when he was chased out of the pocket and sprinted around left end 29 yards for another touchdown to give San Diego a 20-0 lead at halftime.

Rogan completed the scoring with a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

Bridges, who replaced injured starter Rudy Carlton (thumb) midway through the second quarter, finished with 35 yards on 8 carries and was 3-for-7 passing for one yard. Marcus Lampkin rushed for team-high 52 yards, 29 of which came in the fourth quarter.

After misfiring on his first 3 passes of the game, Johnson came back to complete 11 of his next 18 for 138 yards. Cougar cornerback Cameron Tucker picked off Johnson on the Toreros’ first drive of the second half, but Azusa Pacific was unable to do anything with the turnover.

San Diego finished with 354 yards total offense, while Azusa Pacific managed a mere 113. Linebackers Clint Shamblin and Scott Ellis led the Cougar defense with 8 tackles apiece.

The victory is San Diego’s ninth straight dating back to last year and the Toreros’ 14th consecutive at home, setting a program record. Azusa Pacific, which is ranked No. 11 in the NAIA Preseason Poll, suffers its first shutout loss since 2004 when defending NAIA champ Carroll downed the Cougars, 12-0, in Azusa. It is also Azusa Pacific’s first shutout setback in the season-opener since the program’s first game back in 1965 when Taft Junior College clubbed an upstart Azusa Pacific team, 65-0.