Despite a 16-point victory in the season opener against San Jose State University, it’s no secret No. 14 USC football wants to play a whole lot better going forward. 

Through three quarters at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, the Trojans (1-0) seemed unstoppable. They looked the part of a team destined for the College Football Playoff and capable of exceeding their external sky-high preseason expectations. 

But after building a 35-3 advantage by the fourth quarter, USC took its foot off the gas, especially on defense. With the backups on the field, the Trojans allowed touchdowns on three straight drives to make it a two-possession game. 

Head Coach Lincoln Riley stated his frustration with how the Trojans closed the game and believes the team did not finish up to its standards. 

“[A] bunch of guys got opportunities, and we had several that did not play the way that we anticipated,” Riley said in a postgame news conference Saturday. “There will be a lot to learn and grow from. We’re going to need the depth of this roster, and we challenged that in the fourth quarter, and it obviously didn’t respond the way we wanted.”

USC’s matchup against Fresno State University on Friday presents an excellent opportunity for the Trojans to put up a dominant effort from start to finish and prove last week’s fourth-quarter ambush by the Spartans (0-1) was a fluke. 

USC takes on Fresno State in Week 1

The Trojans have traditionally taken care of business against the Bulldogs, leading 4-1 in the series that spans back to 1992. In the last matchup in 2022, USC defeated Fresno State 45-17 in Riley’s first season. 

But much has changed since then. The Trojans left the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, and Fresno State entered the remade Pac-12 earlier this year after competing in the Mountain West, where they boasted a recent track record of conference success. 

When the Bulldogs enter the Coliseum on Friday, the Trojans will face a team hungry to make some noise in the new-look Pac-12 after a 9-4 campaign in 2025. 

Junior quarterback Jayden Mandal is slated to make his first-ever regular-season start for the Bulldogs after missing the entirety of last season due to an elbow injury. Mandal’s top target will be senior wide receiver Josiah Freeman, an All-Mountain West Honorable Mention last season. 

In his Coliseum homecoming, coming off a 702-yard, six-touchdown 2025 campaign, the Trojans must contain South Central native and senior running back Rayshon Luke. Luke is also a viable force in the receiving game as a dangerous checkdown threat. 

Riley and his coaching staff must also outwit Fresno State Head Coach Matt Entz, a former USC defensive assistant coach in 2024, who will certainly be familiar with some of the Trojans’ defensive personnel. 

The Bulldogs’ gritty, relentless defense was their calling card last season, ranking sixth in the nation in turnovers forced per game and 10th best in yards allowed per game. They’ll likely pose a legitimate challenge for redshirt senior quarterback Jayden Maiava and the Trojans’ methodical, high-powered offense.

Riley preaches explosiveness, physicality ahead of Friday

For the first 45 minutes of USC’s season, the Trojans were firing on all cylinders. They were a force to be reckoned with, thoroughly outclassing an inferior opponent and getting anything and everything they wanted on both sides of the ball. 

The offense was efficient, on the ground and through the air. Defensive Coordinator Gary Patterson’s unit, in his first time throwing on a headset for the cardinal and gold, was aggressive, fundamentally sound and timely. 

But the sloppy final 15 minutes, in which the Spartans outscored USC 23-7, left a sour taste in the Trojans’ mouths after what had seemed to be a feel-good win and an encouraging coming-out party for this year’s freshman class.

After the game, Riley said he wants his team to hit some explosive plays in the run game and be more physical at the line of scrimmage on defense, two primary areas of focus in preparation for Fresno State. 

“It’s typically that first and second game when you make a lot of improvements,” Riley said. “You get that first chance to go play against someone, and it reveals a lot.”

Injury questions persist during short week

With Friday’s kickoff on the horizon, USC didn’t have much time to turn the page from its Week 0 tilt with the Spartans. The Trojans largely avoided injuries Saturday, resting most starters midway through the second half. 

However, USC entered its season opener with plenty of injury concerns, and many uncertainties about players’ statuses still linger heading into Week 1. 

Sophomore defensive tackle and reigning Freshman All-American Jakheem Stewart sat out after re-aggravating in the offseason the foot that gave him fits all of last year. The Trojans are being extra careful with the emerging star, but it’s possible Stewart could make his season debut Friday after being listed on the official depth chart.

While the Trojans will have to wait at least another week to see junior transfer wideout Terrell Anderson take the field, it remains unclear when sophomore wide receiver Tanook Hines may return to action. Maiava still has other capable threats on the outside, as seen last week in freshman wide receiver Trent Mosley’s breakout performance. 

Without two of the team’s most experienced and talented pass catchers, the new-look and injury-ridden receiving core was a question mark heading into the season opener. The group showed off their depth and delivered. With Hines’ impending return to the mix as early as this week, USC’s offense is looking more threatening each day.

Friday’s contest with the Bulldogs offers the Trojans not only a chance to improve to 2-0, but also to build roster-wide momentum and confidence as conference play quickly approaches. 

That quest begins at 6 p.m. as USC takes on Fresno State at the Coliseum for Week 1 of the college football season.