Lincoln Riley had plenty to like after USC’s 39-0 win over Fresno State on Sept. 4, and the biggest item on the list was the clean sheet. In a primetime Labor Day Weekend matchup at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Trojans delivered a shutout and did it with authority, riding Jayden Maiava and a defense that controlled the night from start to finish.
“Real excited about the win and shutout. That doesn't happen very often in college football these days.”
Riley said USC looked sharper as a complete team than it did in Week 1, and he framed that progress as part of the process the Trojans need to keep following.
“I think we played better as a football team tonight than we did in week one. And that's what you got to do.
It may sound boring or cliche, but that's how you get good. You've got to keep taking steps and attack it.”
The USC coach also pointed to the atmosphere inside the Coliseum, saying the energy matched the level of play his team put on the field.
“We played at a standard for a higher level tonight, and it was really great to see all sides and the energy inside the Coliseum.”
Defensively, Riley credited the way USC trusted its scheme more against Fresno State. He said that confidence was a step forward from the opener, when the Trojans didn’t always stay locked into the plan.
“I think what you saw was our belief in it [Patterson's scheme] was higher than it was in the first game. When you go back and watch week one, we did a lot of good things with the first unit. But when we weren't good, it was really a lot of us not trusting it at times.”
That trust showed up in the way USC attacked Fresno State, with Riley saying the unit played faster and more confidently.
“I thought we trusted it more and he's going to put us in good positions. They played fast and confident and became a group that challenged in a lot of different ways.”
The shutout also came with takeaways, including a pair of safeties that Riley clearly enjoyed seeing.
“And the safeties, those are hard to get. I don't know as long as I've been a coach if we've had two in a game.
That was pretty darn cool. But the turnovers, how we tackled and how we were sticky in coverage was good.
Our front and backend played well together and that's what a good defense looks like.”
Even with the lopsided score, Riley didn’t pretend everything was perfect. He said USC’s offensive drives had some issues, including turnovers and a few calls he didn’t love.
“Our drives were really complete. We had a couple of things we didn't like including some bad calls. Obviously the turnovers [were costly].”
He also noted that the Trojans can still be cleaner in the run game, even if the passing attack hit on some explosive plays.
“We played pretty good. But we've got to be better there. We have to be more consistent as we were a little sloppy in the run game, but had some explosive plays in the pass game.”
Riley added that USC still has plenty to tighten up overall, but he liked the way the team came into the game prepared and said the players who got late opportunities handled their work well.
“But we have a lot of work to do. I did thought the guys who got opportunities at the end of the game were awesome.”
“I thought the team really prepped well with how they were ready to play this game. There's still a lot to clean up and obviously, there were a lot of turnovers.
“It was a good win over a really well-coached team and obviously, a proud program.
“They returned a lot of good football players from that team. So for us to limit them the way we did especially stopping the run, it was a really good performance.”
Riley also singled out Kennedy, praising his toughness and the way he has settled into USC’s system.
“He's got a lot of contact courage, a really physical guy. If you look at Kennedy, this is now his third different defense. So I think it's great that he's settling more and more into our system.”
He finished by pointing to Kennedy’s burst when he was able to play freely.
“Once he goes and turns loose, you feel his speed and physicality on the field. He stepped up big for us tonight.”
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USC Has A Freshman Turning Heads As Young Defenders Step Up
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Mosleys emergence has helped soften some of the attention on a defense that has also been getting useful early contributions from young players. Nickel Kennedy Urlacher, Alex Graham and Jide Abasiri have each shown up in recent games, giving USC signs that some of its younger defenders are beginning to settle in and play meaningful snaps when the Trojans need them most. [Read more 🡒]
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