USC looks impressive by beating Rice 66-14
USC Trojans #13 Caleb Williams (QB) threw two touchdowns against the Rice Owls' defense at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1.
LOS ANGELES, CA - In the first game for the USC Trojans first-year head coach Lincoln Riley was very impressive beating the Rice Owls 66-13 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The Trojans racked up 538-yards of total offense with Caleb Williams leading the way by completing 19 of his 22 passes for 249-yards two touchdowns and running for 68-yards on six carries, and their defense intercepted four passes, and three were returned for touchdowns.
Coach Riley was very humble about the impressive win over Rice, knowing that there is still plenty of work to be done.
"I think it's meaningful to us all, but those of us that have been on these journeys before, we understand this is just the beginning and there's so much left," Riley said. "So much better to play, so much better to coach. It's a great start. It's not anything more than that, not anything less than that."
USC Trojans #3 Jordan Addison (WR) 5 -yard touchdown catch against the Rice Owls' secondary at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1.
USC Trojans #3 Jordan Addison (WR) 5 -yard touchdown catch against the Rice Owls' secondary at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1.
Williams, in the first quarter on third and two threw a 43-yard pass to his wide receiver Tahj Williams at the Owls' forty-five-yard line. USC would drive down to the Owls' five-yard line. On the next play, he threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to, Jordan Addison, to give USC a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
Wiley Green started the game for Rice and had the Owls' offense on the move went 74-yards and had fourth and goal at the Trojans' one-yard line, scored on a 1-yard touchdown run by #30 Ari Broussard, and the extra was good and the game was tied 7-7.
The Trojans' offensive line continued to give Williams time to look downfield and found a wide-open #10 Kyron Hudson for 29-yards to the Owls' nineteen-yard line with 43 seconds left in the first quarter.
Mario Williams, in the second quarter, carried the ball for 10-yards for the Trojans' to the Owls' four-yard line. USC would lead 14-7 with a 4-yard touchdown run by Austin Jones.
Rice Owls #7 TJ McMahon (QB) pursued by the USC Trojans' defense at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1.
USC increased its lead to 21-7 when #14 Raleek Brown scored on a 14-yard touchdown run with 10:49 left before halftime.
Rice at their twenty-yard line, got a big break when #1 Cameron Montgomery broke for 55-yards down to USC's twenty-yard line.
The Trojans got the first turnover of the game when Green's pass was intercepted by #7 Calen Bullock (SS) on the 7-yard line and ran it back for a 93-yard touchdown to give the Trojans a 28-7 lead.
Rice got their second touchdown of the game when Broussard scored on a 2-yard touch down making the score 28-14 with 1:35 left before halftime. The Trojans led 31-14 after Denis Lynch kicked a 25-yard field goal to end the first half.
Williams from USC in the first half completed 16 of his 19 passes for 206-yards and one touchdown. Green completed 8 of his 13 passes for 69-yards and had one interception.
The Trojans got off to a good start in the third quarter when the Owls' quarterback TJ McMahon's pass was intercepted at their forty-yard line by Shane Lee who ran it back for a touchdown, making the score 38-14.
USC Trojans #10 Ralen Goforth (DB) intercepted Rice's quarterback TJ McMahon and ran it back for a 31-yard touchdown. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportsv1.
Things continued to get worst for the Owls after another pass by McMahon was intercepted, this time by the Trojans' #10 Ralen Goforth, who ran it back for a 31-yard touchdown making the score 45-14.
USC's secondary continued to ball hawk the football and got their fourth interception of the game when #28 Xamarion Gordon (FS) picked off McMahon at the Owls' thirty-four-yard line.
Williams would connect again with Addison, and threw a 3-yard touch pass, and the extra point was good to give the Trojans a 52-14 lead with 9:12 left in the third quarter.
USC Trojans #6 Austin Jones (RB) broke several tackles while running into the endzone for a 28-yard touchdown at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1.
With 1:29 left in the third quarter, Austin Jones broke tackles and scored on a 28-yard touchdown run increasing the Trojans' lead to 59-14.
Miller Moss in the fourth quarter threw a 40-yard pass to Brown down to Rice's fifteen-yard-line. Jones would rush to the Owls' two-yard line to set up first and goal.
Darwin Barlow would run in from 2-yards out and the Trojans now led 66-14, which was the final score of the game.
Wiley Green who started for Rice at quarterback completed 8 of 13 passes for 69-yards and one interception, and TJ McMahon who replaced him completed 6 of his 15 passes for 65-yards and threw three interceptions.
What was a major factor in USC's win over Rice was the offensive line did a great job of protecting Williams in the pocket, and allowing him to be sacked one time, and time to look downfield and go to his first read, second, or third and throwing the football with razor-sharp accuracy giving him all the confidence he needed.
''We have a lot of confidence, and we didn't just build that confidence coming out here in the first game,'' Williams said. ''We built that through workouts. We built that recently. Just coming together, all one, that's the best way to do it.''
Next week the Trojans hit the road and travel up north to take on David Shaw and the Stanford Cardinal in Pac-12 Conference play and it should be a good one