USC’s Austin Jones (6) rushes Stanford during an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Sep. 10, 2022. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Stanford’s Benjamin Yurosek (84) run for 50 yards in the 1st quarter against USC during an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Sep. 10, 2022. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
USC quarterback Caleb Williams (13) is pressured by Stanford’s Levani Damuni (3) during the 2nd quarter of an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Sep. 10, 2022. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Stanford quarterback Tanner McKee(18) is sacked by USC’s Solomon Byrd (51) during an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Sep. 10, 2022. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Stanford’s E.J. Smith dives near the end zone in the 1st quarter while defended by USC’s Shane Lee (53) during an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Sep. 10, 2022. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
USC’s Mario Williams (4) challenges Stanford’s Patrick Fields (24) in an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Sep. 10, 2022. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
USC wide receiver Jordan Addison (3) scores one of his two 1st quarter touchdowns against Stanford in an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Sep. 10, 2022. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Head coach Lincoln Riley of the USC Trojans talks to Caleb Williams before their game against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium on September 10, 2022 in Stanford, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Tanner McKee of the Stanford Cardinal passes the ball against the USC Trojans at Stanford Stadium on September 10, 2022 in Stanford, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Tanner McKee of the Stanford Cardinal passes the ball against the USC Trojans at Stanford Stadium on September 10, 2022 in Stanford, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Travis Dye of the USC Trojans runs the ball in for a touchdown against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium on September 10, 2022 in Stanford, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Max Williams of the USC Trojans runs in for a touchdown against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium on September 10, 2022 in Stanford, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Caleb Williams celebrates with Justin Dedich of the USC Trojans after the Trojans scored a touchdown against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium on September 10, 2022 in Stanford, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Caleb Williams of the USC Trojans reacts after he threw a touchdown pass against the Stanford Cardinal in the first half at Stanford Stadium on September 10, 2022 in Stanford, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Caleb Williams of the USC Trojans reacts after he threw a touchdown pass against the Stanford Cardinal in the first half at Stanford Stadium on September 10, 2022 in Stanford, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Caleb Williams of the USC Trojans passes the ball against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium on September 10, 2022 in Stanford, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Caleb Williams of the USC Trojans passes the ball against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium on September 10, 2022 in Stanford, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
USC wide receiver Jordan Addison (3) runs after catching a pass to score a 22-yard touchdown against Stanford during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
USC wide receiver Jordan Addison scores on a 22-yard touchdown reception against Stanford during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
USC wide receiver Jordan Addison celebrates after his 22-yard touchdown reception against Stanford during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
USC defensive back Latrell McCutchin (21) tackles Stanford wide receiver Elijah Higgins during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
USC wide receiver Mario Williams (4) scores on a 15-yard touchdown reception against Stanford during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
USC wide receiver Mario Williams (4) reacts after scoring on a 15-yard touchdown reception against Stanford during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
USC quarterback Caleb Williams (13) looks to pass against Stanford during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Stanford running back E.J. Smith, center, runs the ball against USC during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
USC running back Travis Dye (26) scores on a 27-yard touchdown run against Stanford during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
USC wide receiver Kyron Hudson (10) congratulates running back Travis Dye (26) who scored on a 27-yard touchdown run against Stanford during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
USC defensive back Mekhi Blackmon (6) tackles Stanford wide receiver Michael Wilson (4) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
PALO ALTO — Two games into Lincoln Riley’s tenure at USC, and you can already feel secure in making at least one conclusion: The head coach’s offense is as good as advertised.
Yes, it’s two games, but let’s consider the evidence that the 10th-ranked Trojans put on display in a 41-28 win over Stanford on Saturday evening.
You could go with the eye test. The four-play, 33-yard opening drive that ended with a Lake McRee touchdown was seamless, but largely produced by Max Williams’ interception.
So how about the 75-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Williams to Jordan Addison? It was a bullet of pass that caught the streaking receiver perfectly in stride as he broke a tackle from the lone defender anywhere near the play.
In his first two receptions, Addison had 97 yards and two touchdowns. He went on to finish with seven catches for 172 yards.
Prefer the run game? Then take the 27-yard touchdown run by Travis Dye, who could have bear crawled into the end zone with the size of the hole created by Justin Dedich and Jonah Monheim.
Want some hard numbers to back up your eyes? USC had plenty of those, too.
It wasn’t until the 0:52 mark of the second quarter that the Trojans faced a third down. Prior to that, USC scored five touchdowns on five drives without ever failing to move the chains in the first two downs.
And with those five touchdowns, Williams extended his streak to 11 drives leading to a score to start his career as a Trojan: 10 TDs, one field goal as time ran out at the end of the second quarter against Rice.
And again, it was only conservative play calling and a short clock that led that streak to end as the first half ended against Stanford.
Williams has been simply masterful in his first two games as a Trojan. In front of a Stanford Stadium crowd that leaned more toward the USC side, he completed eight of his first 10 attempts for 200 yards and four touchdowns.
He finished the game 20 of 27 for 341 yards and no interceptions, never putting the ball in a position to be taken away.
USC spent the off-season assembling an All-Star team of transfers, but as we’ve seen in the past several seasons talent means little without a coaching staff that knows how to utilize it.
But Riley’s fingerprints were all over this game. From the brilliant screen play drawn up for Addison’s first touchdown to his decision to reward Mario Williams after a deft 43-yard reception with a touchdown pass on the next play, Riley kept pushing all the right buttons as he read his play sheet beneath his white visor.
“I don’t really try to decide if it’s on or off schedule,” Riley said. “We’re just on our climb, right? We’re on our journey.”
There was some stalling in the second half. USC gained just 141 yards and went 1-for-6 on third down.
But it felt more like a case of the Trojans getting lackadaisical with a three-touchdown halftime lead than Stanford stumping USC with halftime adjustments.
“We just took the foot off the pedal, and we shouldn’t have,” Dye said. “We took it off just for a little bit and we can’t do that. We have to just put it down their throats all the way for four quarters.”
So yes, it’s two games, a small sample size, but there’s reason for confidence that the USC offense can overcome any defense it is scheduled to face this season.
Which is good news, because there may come a game when the USC offense has to overcome its own defense.
The Trojans again helped their cause by forcing four turnovers for the second consecutive game.
Two of those turnovers — a Max Williams strip and a Mekhi Blackmon interception — came in the red zone and erased drives in which Stanford had easily moved the ball down the field.
The Cardinal relied on slow mesh handoffs to confuse the USC defense, which also was frequently overwhelmed by the oncoming Stanford offensive line. Six of USC’s penalties were committed by its defense, with back-to-back pass interferences allowing the Cardinal to cut the lead to 13 with 5:01 to play.
Still, USC left the game feeling reasons for confidence after avenging the loss that ended Clay Helton’s tenure last season.
“Look at 12 months ago,” Riley said. “For us, it’d be great to raise the ceiling of our play but more than anything we’ve got to take the bottom part of our play, the not good plays, we’ve got to raise those up.”
