In University Park on Saturday, there was a familiar aroma of beer, bacon-wrapped hot dogs and blind hope, which could only mean one thing: USC football was back in town. Fresh off a triumphant upset victory over No. 16 LSU in Las Vegas, Head Coach Lincoln Riley and the No. 11 Trojans trounced Utah State University 48-0, continuing their perfect start to the season.

The Trojans (2-0 Big Ten) were impervious to the heat and the pressures of a home opener in their first shutout since 2011, thoroughly dominating the Aggies (1-1 Mountain West Conference) on both sides of the ball. USC had 249 rushing yards, which is the most in a game in six years, and it held Utah State to just 190 total offensive yards. 

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“Obviously, [it’s] very hard to shut people out in modern-day college football, so [I’m] really proud of us for maintaining our play defensively the entire night, and the complementary ball was really good,” Riley said in a post-game press conference. “The offense did a good job running the ball … and then the guys really never took their foot off the gas.”

Running backs redshirt senior Woody Marks and redshirt freshman Quinten Joyner led a two-headed rushing attack for the Trojans, combining for 187 yards, 3 touchdowns and 8.1 yards per carry. The Aggie front seven had no answers for USC’s offensive line, as improved play in the trenches has emerged as a huge factor in the Trojans’ recent success.

The prominence of the run game and the defense left redshirt junior quarterback Miller Moss as somewhat of an afterthought in his first start in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Regardless, Moss continued to impress, completing 21 of 30 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown before being pulled late in the third quarter with the Trojans already up 34-0.

In particular, Moss’ connection with redshirt junior tight end Lake McRee has stood out through the season’s opening two games. McRee has nine receptions for 137 yards, both team-leading, already amassing over half of the yardage he did in 12 games last season. 

“Me and Lake are obviously really, really close off the field. We spend a ton of time together. We’ve spent countless hours throwing together,” Moss said. “So I think that you see that when we play together. I have a lot of trust and faith in him, and I think he’s delivered in the way that we expected him to.”

McRee may stand out as the top target in an offense without a true workhouse receiver, as star sophomore wide receiver Zachariah Branch has logged only eight catches for 75 yards through two games, a measly 9.4 yards per reception. Riley has kept Branch on the field for a limited number of snaps, and Moss has struggled to get him involved outside of manufactured touches. Few would have pegged McRee as the leading receiver in this Trojan offense, but he is a strong candidate for a breakout season.

On the defensive side, senior linebacker Eric Gentry looks ready to have an explosive season in his own right, already with 14 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a pass breakup through two games. Gentry, who has always stood out due to his lanky, 6-foot-6, 215-pound frame and eccentric personality, has the potential to be a true game-wrecking X factor for this Trojan defense.

“Just chillin’,” Gentry said when asked about his reaction to his electric start to the season, as Moss and redshirt sophomore safety Kamari Ramsey tried to hold back laughter beside him. 

After Moss and the majority of the starters were removed from the game in the second half, redshirt sophomore quarterback Jayden Maiava was one of several players who got the opportunity to make their debut for the Trojans. Maiava, a transfer who won Mountain West Freshman of the Year last season at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, also got off to a good start at USC. 

Besides nearly fumbling the second snap he took, Maiava looked cool and composed running Riley’s offense, completing eight of 11 passes for 66 yards and leading 2 touchdown drives. On his first drive, Maiava led the Trojans to the red zone and scrambled for a rushing touchdown of his own, evading serious pressure and several Aggie defenders on his way. 

It was evident from his play-calling that Riley took the second half just as seriously as the first and relished getting some new faces on the field. When a power outage threatened the game’s completion in the fourth quarter, the USC coaching staff were adamant that they wanted to play out the game despite the non-competitive scoreline. 

“[Maiava] did a good job. It was fun to get him in the game,” Riley said. “Like a lot of these young guys, you never know when that opportunity is going to come, and these reps are invaluable, and that’s why [I] was glad we figured out how to turn some lights on so we could get the rest of them in.”

With his squad down big and feeling deflated, Utah State interim head coach Nate Dreiling had a slightly different attitude towards the stoppage.

“Well, they were talking about calling the game, right?” Dreiling said in a press conference. “So I asked [Riley], ‘Does that go as a draw for both teams?’ He didn’t think it was as funny as I did.”

While Utah State won’t be winning any awards on the offensive side of the ball anytime soon, in conjunction with an impressive performance against LSU (1-1 SEC) last weekend, the start to the season first-year defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn’s unit has put together can’t be ignored. The Trojan defense has reinvented itself as one that is patient, physical and plays its best football in the most important moments. 

The Aggies went just two for 13 on third and fourth downs Saturday night, after LSU went six for 15 in such situations last weekend. The Trojans have also allowed just 200 rushing yards through two games after allowing 186.5 rushing yards per game last season. 

“It’s a new staff. There’s a lot of new players and more new players on that side of the ball than there are on the offensive side of the ball,” Riley said. “To see that group really come together and play as one early here in the year was very important.”

The Trojans now have a bye week and will start preparation for a massive showdown with No. 17 Michigan on Sept. 21 at 12:30 p.m. in Ann Arbor.