The Trojans look to defend their home ground Saturday after opening the season with a 28-point victory against San Jose State. USC will face off against an old foe, the Nevada Wolf Pack, marking the first time the two colleges have squared off since 1929.

Despite a dominant scoreline against San Jose State, the Trojans had a few mishaps that will need to be cleaned up come gameday. Head Coach Lincoln Riley’s team was penalized eight times to the Spartans’ three, while San Jose State won the time-of-possession battle and accumulated nearly 200 rushing yards.

“We had a couple of critical errors on both sides that held us back at times,” Riley said. “Watching it, they’re totally correctable, they’re totally self-inflicted, and I expect that we will not carry those forward.”

Riley looks ahead to a challenging Nevada team looking to put its previous 2-10 season behind them. After 19 years on the Nevada staff, Head Coach Ken Wilson is entering his second season with the team.

The Wolf Pack hangs its hat on the defensive side of the gridiron, getting 11 interceptions and the second-most fumble recoveries in the Mountain West in 2022. Wilson’s squad also ranked in the national top 50 in red-zone defense and tackles-for-loss with 6.3 per game. However, USC has the ultimate game-breaker: junior quarterback Caleb Williams.

Williams looked like he had not missed a beat against San Jose State after securing the Heisman Trophy in his first year at USC. The bona fide superstar put up 278 yards and four touchdowns, connecting on 18 of his 25 attempts, including a ridiculous fumbled-snap-turned-76-yard-touchdown.

It marked the quarterback’s sixth game with four or more touchdowns as a Trojan, with his arm strength, agility in the pocket and pinpoint precision on full display. Williams must emulate those heroics, yet stay patient against a feisty Wolf Pack defense.

Riley’s squad will look slightly different than it did against the Spartans, as the coaching staff heavily tinkered with the rotation in the team’s first action of the season. Ten different receivers caught a pass, while 13 different offensive linemen saw minutes at the line of scrimmage.

“We went into the first game with a pretty good idea that we were going to use some pretty heavy rotations on all sides of the ball,” Riley said. “I don’t know that we’ll plan to use that many [against Nevada].”

The Trojan defense will have to be on full alert with Colorado transfer sophomore quarterback Brendon Lewis under center for the Wolf Pack. Lewis’ best season came in 2021 when he threw 10 touchdowns and rushed for an additional two scores while throwing just three interceptions. Lewis possesses a strong arm, and an innate ability to feel the defensive pressure and scramble out of the pocket when necessary.

Lewis will be in a constant chess match with USC junior safety Jaylin Smith, who led the defense in tackles in the thumping of San Jose State. Smith was impressed with the way the Trojans came out in their first game of the season, yet is focused on trying to clean up certain plays through the game.

“We played together; we played hard; we competed against those guys,” Smith said. “There’s always room for improvement, little plays, money on the floor that we left out there that we want to get back.”

The Trojan defense will see a familiar face in John Jackson III, who spent four seasons at USC, totaling four receptions and 39 yards. Jackson’s familiarity with the Trojans’ offense will be something to look out for as the Wolf Pack attack the seams of defensive coordinator Alex Grinch’s lineup.

The Trojans look to put another win under their belt Saturday as they host the Nevada Wolf Pack at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at 3:30 p.m.