A tangible sense of hype could be perceived walking into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday. The highly-anticipated Lincoln Riley era officially commenced at USC, nine months after the former Oklahoma coach relocated to the west coast.
Attempting to stifle the buildup was the Rice Owls, which have been known for feisty non-conference openers in the past. While some of that feistiness traveled to Los Angeles in the early moments, a trio of pick-sixes eventually created a sizable gap between the visiting Owls and Riley’s Trojans. USC left no doubt in the end, piling 38 unanswered points to close.