LOS ANGELES — On Saturday, an old tradition will reappear at the Coliseum.

Two hours and change prior to kickoff against Rice, the USC football team busses will appear at the front of the historic stadium and players will disembark for the Trojan Walk. Heading toward the Peristyle, the players will be greeted by fans braving the heat before walking down the field to begin preparations for the Owls.

From that point on, the traditions will cease. It will be an entirely new era for USC football as the Trojans make their debut under the watchful eye of Lincoln Riley.

This is the moment that the past nine months have building toward since USC shocked the college football world with the hiring of Riley, the Oklahoma head coach and offensive guru who seemed destined to spend his career in Norman.

Instead he is in Los Angeles, and after three-quarters of a year of recruiting wins, workouts and practices, USC’s Riley era will begin in earnest at the Coliseum on Saturday.

“Right now, you kind of fight the urge to want to look ahead,” Riley said Tuesday. “[W]e’re all human too. And to say that there’s not a real excitement about Saturday, the first one in the Coliseum, would just be untrue. So we’re thrilled. I think everybody in the program, every player, every staff member, we’re just counting down the minutes.”

Riley and his players said all the right things this week about respecting Rice, about treating the Owls like any other opponent. But Saturday will truly be judged as a declaration of intent for Riley’s first season.

Is the product on the field one that the fan base can rally behind? Will the Trojans dispatch opponents that are supposed to be beneath them, or play down to their level? Will there be a sense of discipline, or at least signs of accountability when that discipline breaks down?

Some of these questions may seem silly, but they are ones that have plagued USC for the past half decade. On Saturday, though, the world will see what kind of stamp Riley has already put on this program.

When Rice has the ball

The Owl offense comes from the Stanford tree, a handy warmup for USC ahead of its Week 2 trip to Palo Alto. After shuffling through quarterbacks last season, Wiley Green is back from injury to provide some stability at the position. He’s averaged just 6.3 yards per passing attempt in his career, so expect Rice to try to attack underneath rather than blow the top off the USC defense.

As for that USC defense, it remains the greatest unknown about this team. It’s a collage of a unit, with a collection of pieces from the transfer portal pasted next to select returning players from last year’s disastrous campaign.

Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch likes a unit that combines speed with versatility. He believes he’s assembled that in his first season at USC, but is more concerned about how the team holds up physically and mentally.

“We haven’t been in that fight together. We haven’t had the long faces after a long drive and haven’t gone into halftime up or down,” Grinch said. “So really anxious to see how the guys respond. … I anticipate we’ll do a nice job of it but gotta go do it.”

When USC has the ball

Offense is Riley’s signature unit, and he’s won a reputation over the years for his innovation and creative use of playmakers. Heading into his first season at USC, Riley has assembled an impressive group of skill players.

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Quarterback Caleb Williams is the headliner and brings a sense of continuity for Riley as he followed the coach from Oklahoma. Receiver Jordan Addison won the Biletnikoff Award last season. His elite speed left several Trojans stunned during summer workouts. Mario Williams is a similarly shifty receiver, while Travis Dye and Austin Jones can make plays with their legs and hands out of the backfield.

Rice has some talent up front that will test USC’s offensive line.

“Defensively, it’ll be one of the more experienced groups we play all year,” Riley said.

Rice at USC

When: 3 p.m. Saturday

Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

TV/Radio: Pac-12 Networks/790 KABC