USC showcases a new period for its football software in dominant opening get above Rice

After 9 months of significant hopes and delirious goals of grandeur, Lincoln Riley stood in the Coliseum tunnel, seconds absent from the start of a new chapter for the USC coach and the very pleased system he’d inherited. In that second, hope sprung everlasting. Everything still was in entrance of them.

A dismal ten years of Trojans football was firmly in the rearview. A fleet of new transfer talent was in place. The foundation of a new lifestyle experienced taken hold. All that remained have been these final few feverish breaths of anticipation just before the steamy cauldron of the Coliseum beckoned, when any one — the mentor provided — continue to could ponder how precisely this grand experiment may well arrive jointly in a genuine faculty soccer activity.

The solution arrived resoundingly Saturday — to start with in a hail of crisp downfield passes from new quarterback Caleb Williams, then in a trio of spectacular select-sixes that all but demoralized Rice into submission. It was crystal clear in the assurance of USC’s offense and the relentless opportunism of its defense, the two units combining for the most details USC has scored considering that 2008, when Pete Carroll wandered the Coliseum sideline.

USC still left very little room for question in its debut, a 66-14 demolition of Rice, that a new web page had been turned. As for exactly where that tale is headed, the parallels with its previous prominence are certain to be drawn. But Riley wasn’t having forward of himself.

“It’s a single of the times, you really don't want to decrease it,” Riley stated. “It’s significant to us all. But those of us who have been on these journeys before, this is just the commencing. There’s so, so substantially left definitely for us. So much far better to enjoy, so substantially better to coach. It is a excellent get started, not everything much more than that, not nearly anything a lot less than that.”

But it was also substantially, much far more than we’d developed accustomed to seeing from USC in the latest many years. These Trojans compelled 4 turnovers though hardly ever turning the ball above by themselves. They didn’t punt until eventually the fourth quarter and did not commit any dumb penalties. They dominated on third down — if their offense even got to third down — which is a large amount easier when you are averaging 9.3 yards for every participate in.

“We have a whole lot of confidence and we didn’t just create that self confidence coming out below psyched for the first recreation,” Williams mentioned.

USC defensive tackle Tyrone Taleni (31) celebrates following sacking Rice quarterback TJ McMahon in the second half.

(Luis Sinco / VFAB)

That assurance commenced Saturday with USC’s quarterback, who for a person sport lived up to the major anticipations positioned on his shoulders because his transfer from Oklahoma in the offseason. Williams finished 19 for 22 for 249 yards and two touchdowns. His completion proportion (86.3) was the best for a USC quarterback with bare minimum 20 passes in more than a ten years. One of all those incompletions was a drop. The other two arrived on complicated throws in the corner of the stop zone.

Normally, Williams was borderline ideal, even tacking on 68 yards from 6 carries to guide USC in hurrying. When Riley settled to switch him in the fourth quarter, Williams slyly tried out to convince the mentor to stay in.

By that place, USC’s protection had so comprehensively place the recreation out of reach for Rice that it did not issue who was under centre.

That wasn’t the circumstance at the begin of Saturday’s scorching opener, the place the temperature on the discipline neared 100 degrees. Rice’s initial push lasted for 16 performs and eight minutes right before the Owls punched in a rating. USC’s protection struggled mightily to get off the area on 3rd down.

Then, sophomore safety Calen Bullock chased down breakaway Rice running back again Cameron Montgomery two drives later, conserving a touchdown that would’ve minimize USC’s guide to 7. Four plays immediately after that, on fourth down, a tipped move floated right to Bullock, who snagged it and didn’t prevent for 93 yards till he arrived at the finish zone.

At halftime, USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch created an attraction for extra takeaways like that. He explained to the workforce he wanted 24 overall in excess of the year.

“Takeaways, that equals victories,” linebacker Ralen Goforth reported, “and that is a little something that we seriously emphasized heading into the next half.”

The emphasis worked as perfectly as Grinch could’ve imagined. Linebacker Shane Lee, who led USC in tackles (8), caught his very own tipped move on the initially travel of the next 50 % just before scampering 40 yards for a score. Goforth adopted on the extremely up coming push with a 31-property touchdown return. Xamarion Gordon extra a fourth decide on for good evaluate on the up coming generate, but couldn’t get it the length.

“It’s just one matter to tip a soccer,” Grinch claimed. “It’s yet another factor to appear down with it. And it’s a complete ’nother factor to clearly go rating with it. If it will become a practice, we’ll all be truly thrilled.”

That’s the dilemma that now looms about USC as it will take its display on the road subsequent Saturday at Stanford for the Pac-12 period opener: Is this genuinely what we should assume from the Trojans less than Riley?

It is extremely hard to know just yet. But as Riley retreated up the tunnel Saturday night, the nervous anticipation experienced specified way to buzzing elation. Waiting for the mentor outside the house of USC’s locker home have been college president Carol Folt and athletic director Mike Bohn, both equally keen to pat him on the back, understanding complete perfectly the new webpage they’d support switch in selecting him.

Now, it was up to Riley to do the relaxation. So far, so great.