Riding on the back of a monstrous victory, the Trojans are getting set to kick off against Georgia Southern University and former Head Coach Clay Helton in their final bout before Big Ten play, as excitement builds for the future of the program.

“Winning always energizes you,” said Head Coach Lincoln Riley in a post-practice news conference Tuesday. “If another team is way up, you may see a bunch of their guys not engaged. You could see, even on the last snap of the game, our sideline is going absolutely crazy.”

A historic 73-13 victory over Missouri State University (0-1) saw USC (1-0) score the program’s most points in a game since 1930. Moving into this week’s Georgia Southern (0-1) matchup, the Trojans prepare for a physical battle and build team chemistry as they await Helton’s Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum homecoming.

Opening with a balanced effort

The upcoming battle is a first-time matchup and is only the second time USC has played a Sun Belt Conference school, following its win over Arkansas State University 55-6 in 2015.

Momentum is in the Trojans’ hands after offensive success last week, headlined by redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava’s near-perfect 295-yard, two-touchdown performance on 15-of-18 passing in just the first half of play. For his efforts, which also included a rushing touchdown, Maiava was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.

While Maiava led the charge, everyone got their time to shine, with nine different players scoring the 10 total touchdowns, including four different running backs. The only player to cross the goal line twice was freshman quarterback Husan Longstreet, who played the second half in Maiava’s stead.

“It was great all around,” Maiava said in a post-practice news conference Tuesday. “The offensive line, the running back room, [those] guys were electric.” 

Defending the run game seemed to be a problem for Georgia Southern in its 42-14 blowout loss last week to Fresno State University (1-1). All five Bulldogs touchdowns came on the ground as the Georgia Southern defense allowed 351 total rushing yards on 45 attempts.

The Eagles are not going to have it much easier this Saturday as USC’s four-headed running back room took it to Missouri State last week, all scoring touchdowns in the rout. USC scored six touchdowns on the ground, including two from Longstreet and one from Maiava, against the Bears. 

Redshirt freshman running back King Miller and redshirt senior running back Eli Sanders both broke for over 70-yard plays, while junior starting running back Waymond Jordan looked dominant in his five carries, averaging 8.4 yards.

Georgia Southern is a ‘physical’ team

Despite getting crushed, the Eagles held Fresno State to 176 passing yards and forced three turnovers — two interceptions and a fumble. A standout performance from redshirt junior linebacker Brandon Tyson was a bright spot for the Georgia Southern team, as he combined for eight total tackles along with one of the two interceptions.

“They’re really experienced and physical,” said redshirt senior tight end Lake McRee about Georgia Southern in a post-practice news conference Tuesday. “They play well together, and I think they got a lot better after last year, too. It’s a tough defense for sure.”

McRee was another player who broke for a touchdown of over 60 yards against Missouri State, simultaneously snapping the Trojans’ tight-end scoring drought after no tight ends had caught touchdowns in 2024. 

Georgia Southern’s redshirt junior quarterback JC French IV seemed to develop a solid favorite target despite his middling performance, where he only completed 17 of 28 passes. Senior wide receiver Camden Brown led Georgia Southern with 55 receiving yards on four receptions, scoring one of the two touchdowns against the Bulldogs.

Riley says there’s room to improve

While USC’s performance was dominant, it was also Missouri State’s first game as a Football Bowl Subdivision team, meaning the Trojans have yet to prove themselves against a top opponent. USC is still unranked on The Associated Press’ Top 25 poll after starting the season off the list for the first time since 2019. 

The Trojans are set to play games against four teams that are currently ranked in the AP’s top 15, giving them a chance to earn respect from voters.

“Against better players, we’ll have to do it better,” Riley said on Trojans Live on Monday. “We were very critical of them in our game review of the things that have to be better and need to get better this week, and there [are] a lot of them on both sides of the ball.” 

Saturday’s meeting also acts as a welcome back for Helton, who was USC’s head coach from 2015 to 2021 where he led the team to a 46-24 record, including a 2016 Rose Bowl Victory against Penn State. He spent nearly 12 years on the coaching staff of the program.

Helton lost the head coaching job following a blowout loss to Stanford during the second game of his seventh season. He had led the Trojans to an 18-13 record in his final three years. 

Helton is in his fourth season with the Eagles, where he came into this year broken even at 20-20. 

Tracksuits help unite the team

A new pregame routine created buzz as players entered the Coliseum in matching black tracksuits. Players were previously allowed to wear their own gameday outfits. 

“How you do one thing is how you do everything,” said Riley in a post-practice news conference Tuesday. “It shows you where the focus of this team is.”

The decision to wear the tracksuits ahead of the game was agreed upon by members of the team.

“The whole tracksuit is kind of cool,” Sanders said in a post-practice news conference Tuesday. “Being a team, being professional, all that is one.”

USC will take on Georgia Southern on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.