STANFORD -- The instructions from Stanford's coaching staff to the players were simple enough: Enjoy Saturday's big win over Duke, take Sunday off, then show up Monday rested and ready.

"We're going to hammer them," coach David Shaw said after the 50-13 victory. "We won big on the scoreboard, but we can play so much better. A lot of opportunities were left on the field. ... The game we played tonight still wouldn't beat USC."

Stanford has five days to prepare for the second-ranked Trojans and plenty of reasons to be encouraged about its prospects.

Its performance against Duke was largely devoid of the breakdowns that littered the season-opening win over San Jose State:

  • Stanford scored touchdowns in all three phase (offense, defense and special teams) for the first time since the first game of the 2009 season, against SJSU.

  • Quarterback Josh Nunes took advantage of Duke's all-out commitment to stopping the run by completing passes downfield.

    He connected with receiver Ty Montgomery on a 32-yard floater on the opening possession and tight end Zach Ertz on a 43-yarder down the middle (think: Andrew Luck to Coby Fleener).

    "I knew that they were going to come after us, and they came after us last year, too, and had a decent amount of success," said Nunes who completed 16 of 30 passes for 275 yards, with three touchdowns and an interception. "We needed to start airing (it out)."

  • The defense, with linebacker
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    Shayne Skov playing for the first time in almost a year, stuffed Duke's running game (27 yards) and forced four turnovers, including two interceptions by free safety Ed Reynolds.

  • The special teams produced a touchdown -- the first of the game -- on a 76-yard punt return by Drew Terrell.

    Nowhere was Stanford's week-over-week improvement more noticeable than on third down: The Cardinal converted 5 of 12 opportunities and held Duke to five of 20 while dominating the lines of scrimmage from the first possession to the last -- a stark change from the inconsistent performance against San Jose State.

    "I always use the old Bill Walsh phrase, 'The score will take care of itself,' " Shaw said. "That's what we talk about. We talk about coming out to play for 60 minutes, and the score will take care of itself."

    But the list of areas that must be improved this week is fairly lengthy. It includes the timing between Nunes and 6-foot-8 tight end Levine Toilolo on the fade pattern and the vital matter of red zone efficiency: Stanford settled for field goals on three of its six trips inside Duke's 20-yard line.

    "We've got to have our best week of practice, make sure we resharpen," Skov said. "We know what's ahead."

  • Fullback Ryan Hewitt, an integral piece of the passing game who missed the SJSU and Duke games with a sprained ankle, is expected to play against USC.

    For more on college sports, see Jon Wilner's College Hotline at blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports.