Three days after the team’s 66-14 win against Rice, USC was still teeming with leftover energy and excitement.
Some of that excitement came from the defense’s strong performance in the opener. USC recorded three pick-sixes, tying the single-game record for both USC and the Pac-12.
“Love it, I’ll take it every week,” head coach Lincoln Riley said after practice Tuesday. “You don’t always plan on getting three pick-sixes.”
Another bright spot from the Rice game was the offensive line’s stout performance. Riley decided to put redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Courtland Ford and redshirt senior offensive lineman Bobby Haskins into a rotation on the left tackle spot, but not because either player was incapable of being the starter. Rather, Riley saw promise in both players and wanted to give both a shot at the lead role.
“They both handled it well,” Riley said. “I thought it was a winning effort from both of those guys, what we hoped it would be. Obviously, as the time goes on, you’re probably going to get more snaps, more opportunity to look at them. But neither one of them hurt themselves by any stretch. I think they both showed why they’re going to both be in the mix, and then we’ll just see how this thing evolves throughout the year.”
Even though picking a main left tackle could help the team maintain some consistency, Riley said that there is always a chance the same strategy will be reused and that picking a main left tackle between Ford and Haskins is not necessarily a goal.
While the left tackle rotation may be unconventional on its own, that was not the only unorthodox move Riley made over the weekend. Many teams in USC’s position might have chosen to conserve some creative play designs for tougher opponents, but Riley said he did not attempt to tone down his play calls in the slightest.
“I’ve just never really looked at it that way,” Riley said of keeping some plays hidden until they’re necessary. “You try to do the best you can. We only get 12 of these things.”
The win over Rice was the first for many Trojans with the roster being largely composed of transfers. Graduate running back Travis Dye, a transfer from Oregon, was content with the team’s performance but knows the season is far from over.
“USC can always do more, that’s after every game, but I felt great,” Dye said. “The W is the most important part — it’s the only part — and it was just wonderful finally seeing what we can do.”
This week, the team is preparing to play Stanford in the first away game of Riley’s tenure. There are a lot of things for the team to address to perform at their best this weekend, according to Riley.
“You’re going to have to be cleaner in the run game,” said Riley. “There were some moments in this last game where we were and some moments where we weren’t and we need to be more consistent there and on top of it. Coverage has gotta be short, guys have got to do a great job of getting pressure on them. I mean it’s going to take a little bit of everybody and we gotta play great team defense.”
Will the team avenge last season’s blowout loss to the Cardinal? Only time will tell, but Riley is confident the Trojans are up to the task.