By Scott Salomon
Lincoln Riley’s squad did Lincoln Riley things on Saturday night against San Jose State.
Despite winning 56-28 over the Spartans, the University of Southern California showed offensive prowess and some splash on special teams, which is typical of Riley teams.
However, their defense played poorly against a weaker opponent, which is also typical of Riley teams. They must play better in conference play and realize that they are not going to win a national title when they play poorly against Mountain West teams.
Riley took it all in stride.
“Here we go, everyone’s gonna write the narrative after the first game. Listen, it’s gonna be a climb,” Riley said post game. “I love what we have in there. A lot of work to do, and we’re the right people to get it done.”
USC’s first-team defense only allowed seven points in the second half, but San Jose State’s receivers were like 7-11, they were open all night.
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San Jose State quarterback Chevan Cordeiro had an above-average night against USC as he went 21-for-38 for almost 200 yards. He did not throw an interception and was only sacked once, a combo sack by Bear Alexander and Solomon Byrd.
Cordeiro ended up tossing three touchdown passes, all of which were caught by receiver Nick Nash, who finished with six catches for 89 yards. The sixth-year senior signal caller showed why he was named the preseason Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year.
“Quarterback’s a good player. We called several things throughout the game. We had a spy on him a lot of times and a couple of times we got lost in there, got a little too aggressive,” Riley said after the game. “And a couple of times he just flat-out out-ran us. He’s a good player. That part was disappointing.”
That is why the sixth-ranked Trojans cannot be seriously entertained as a national title contender. They played a weak offensive team and gave up 28 points as the Spartans rolled up nearly 400 yards of offense. It should be noted that the Trojans did this in their own backyard.
Riley admitted that his defense has a lot of work to do. He admitted the same thing last season too, but it never improved.
“I like what I see out there in terms of our good plays and how our guys are flying around,” Riley said. “Our depth that we have, we will continue to improve. The baseline for that group, the ceiling for that group is much higher than it was 12 months ago.
He also added, “I love what we have in there. A lot of work to do, and we’re the right people to get it done.”
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Riley is not necessarily the right person to get it done, as he has never qualified as a defensive genius. His Heisman QB and a freshman receiver carried the team on their backs and led the team to victory. Take out a 96-yard kickoff return by heralded freshman Zachariah Branch and a 76-yard catch and run by Tahj Washington, and this was a game that the Spartans would have hung around far too long.
USC also gave up a first down on a 3rd and 22.
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“No matter what the score was — if this was a three-point game, if this was a 28-point game, if it was a 50-point game — there’s gonna be that climb to the next step and that’s where our focus is gonna stay.”
