Lincoln Riley delivers halftime magic: Takeaways from USC’s win over ASU
Thus Nhi Nguyen (LA Times) — Caleb Williams punctuated his postgame press conference with a final reminder. The quarterback likes to get in the last word.
“5-0,” he said, rising from the table and pumping his fist after USC’s 42-25 win over Arizona State on Saturday at the Coliseum.
USC is 5-0 (3-0 Pac-12 Conference) for the first time since 2020 and the fourth time in the past 27 years after turning a close game at halftime into a comfortable home win. Yet the No. 6 Transfer Portal Trojans remain unimpressed. When asked of what the unblemished record means to the team, tight end Malcolm Epps didn’t hesitate.
“Absolutely nothing,” he said after he caught a four-yard touchdown in the win. “Not a thing.”
Here are three takeaways from the win:
Halftime Magic
Lincoln Riley talks with electric QB Caleb Williams during the 3rd Q of the Trojans’ win over ASU at the Coliseum on Saturday. (Luis Sinco / LAT)
Coach Lincoln Riley admitted USC didn’t quite have the “edge we’re used to playing with” in the first half. The Trojans went into halftime with a four-point lead and gave up 17 points to an offense that entered Saturday averaging 22.8 points per game.
But as is becoming a signature for this team, the third quarter shifted the game in USC’s favor quickly. The Trojans averaged 7.2 yards per play and scored the quarter’s only TD while keeping Arizona State (1-4, 0-2) to just 14 yards and minus-three rushing yards during the frame.
Including Saturdays’ 7-0 advantage, the Trojans are outscoring opponents 55-7 in the third quarter of games this year.
“I think Coach Riley’s like Steve Kerr,” Epps said, referencing the Golden State Warriors’ famous third-quarter dominance. “It’s nothing new, he just came in and said, ‘Hey, we’re not playing like the Trojans.’ Simple. Take the challenge, he challenges us all the time and we accept the challenge, and we did what we were supposed to do.”
No Comfort On Defense
Korey Foreman (0) flushes ASU QB Emory Jones out of the pocket during early at the Coliseum on Saturday. (Luis Sinco / LAT)
Without takeaways to take the sting out of allowing explosive plays and long drives, defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said he was “disappointed in how we played for the bulk of the night.”
Arizona State, which was the second-worst offense in the Pac-12 by yardage and scoring entering the game, finished with 331 yards, 218 of which came in the first half. The nation’s best ball-hawking defense didn’t get its first takeaway until the final 33 seconds of the game when Calen Bullock swooped in for his pick.
USC didn’t sack ASU quarterback Emory Jones in the first half but got to him five times in the second half. Part of it was the additional rushers Grinch sent toward the Florida transfer because the coach said he was displeased with USC’s zone defense, which was struggling to recreate the same tipped passes and takeaways USC has generated every game this season.
Jones had a season-high 23 completed passes on 32 attempts with 243 yards and one touchdown.
Offensive Shuffle
Caleb Williams throws downfield under pressure from ASU at the Coliseum on Saturday.
(Luis Sinco / LAT)
Watching a taped interview on you tube of Lincoln Riley Dated October 3rd 2022 …..Interviewer referred to the fact that USC is (points-wise) 55-7 in 3rd Quarters ! …..I remember the NY Newspapers writing articles about Pete Carroll coached SC teams and those papers complimenting SC on how well they seemed to adjust at halftime because SC (under Carroll) seemed to have a HABIT of putting points up in 3rd Quarters….Boy If LR can do same…….LOVE IT ! …..Fight On !!!!!
49ers S Talanoa Hufanga celebrates after a 24-9 win over the Rams on Monday night. Hufanga’s fantastic 52-yd pick-six in the 4th Q sealed the 49ers’ win. (Godofredo A. Vásquez / AP)
So great to just see one of my favorite Trojans ever, S Talanoa Hufanga, take it to the house against the Rams.
\https://twitter.com/i/status/1577126105944760320
ASU interim HC Shaun Aguano, not happy with Saturday’s results: “Caleb Williams has a lot of moxie.”
4-star OT Elijah Page, once a ND commit, flips to USC over UW, MICH ST and UCLA. Trojans take over #1 spot for 2023 recruiting in the Pac-12 over ORE. “The people at USC stood out to me the most,” new USC OL commit Elijah Paige (6-7, 304, Phoenix Pinnacle) told 247Sports. “The coaches are great coaches but even better people. I got a chance to get to know most of them this weekend and it was great. “I feel like I’m a great fit. I got a chance to sit down with the other offensive linemen and we are… Read more »
Dedich couldn’t play this week and yet he contributed big time.
Big pickup for the Trojans, hopefully leading to more OLine commits
Just how bad was OU’s defense Saturday during their 55-24 smash-up against TCU?
27 first-quarter points.
668 total yds, including 361 on the ground.
8.8 ypc
The Horned Frogs’ OC was none other than Garrett Riley (below), Lincoln’s little brother, a 33-year-old offensive whiz.
Garrett, coaching in only his fourth game as a Power Five OC, had his way up and down the field against Brent Venables, a renowned DC for more than 20 years.
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Jimmy Johnson — “Success in the NFL is not who makes the most great plays, it’s who makes the fewest bad plays.”
Does this aphorism apply to CFB too? In the NFL, you can let your defense win the game, at least according to JJ.
Colin Cowherd — “USC’s not gonna go to UTAH and win. UTAH is literally built to expose the defensive weaknesses of USC. UTAH’s the best team in the conference. Look at what UTAH did to ORE ST, a solid bowl team, this weekend. They just rolled them. UTAH’s the best team in the Pac-12, I think by a margin.”
Totally agree. On paper, the Utes should beat SC by at least 14. But, as you point out, the Utes must play UCLA in the Rose Bowl the week before, so they cannot take two weeks to prep for SC (as if they were playing CO). And, as the SC O and the UCLA O are similar (both centered on athletic QBs and running (Charbonnay is as good as there is the conference), this should be an interesting game for SC. But, for the SC/Utah game to matter, SC must first beat the Cougs, which is not a given.
The USC fan part of me says USC rises to the challenge in SLC based on Caleb Williams’s QB majesty. But the rational part of me says the Utes at home with their big fan base are too good to beat for this inconsistent, at times spectacular, USC team. USC has a shot and is favored by 13 over WSU. I’m surprised by that margin. I’d sure like to see the Trojans sharpen up their special teams, in many areas. In a close game, weak special teams can be a huge factor as you know, and so far, the Trojans… Read more »
We will learn a lot about the Pac 12/10 this weekend.
Utah vs uCla – this game will either expose weakness of 1 or both teams
WSU vs USC- this game will reflect if Trojans continue improving both sides of ball and can play 4 qts of LR football….. (Also if ANY work is done on special teams) disaster waiting to happen.
Come next Sat. night ,Sunday, Monday the boards will be alive with tons of opinions . (on 3 teams especially)
This is one of the most interestingly dynamic Pac-12 seasons ever because both USC and UCLA are leaving the conference, all the coaching changes, with superstar LR being this huge media magnet, the massive portal infusion of talent, as well as the ability for two teams in the same division with the best conference winning % to play for the Pac-12 title.
Craziness abounds. Very good for business.
Pac 12 Refs has become it’s own brand within the CF officiating world.
NIL deals should be created by home office.. You have all the characters of made for tv reality game shows….
Completely agree, Allen. I really thought the 24 point cover against ASU was a lock because I knew the offense would be better than the game against OSU, and I really thought they had figured things out on defense, so now I don’t know what to think, but I can’t lay the 13, and won’t bet against them. The next two weeks will for sure tell us how far the program has come, or how much more they have to improve.
I don’t know what to really expect from USC week to week. Because of all this weighty confidence we have in LR, Caleb, and a few other key players, being 5-0 with a QB like Caleb makes many of us think anything is possible. Unfortunately, that goes both ways. I’m prepared for USC to lay an egg sooner or later, in part because I know LR is always working to develop his troops. USC’s first loss isn’t gonna set me back far because these Trojans have already exceeded my expectations. We were in the scorching desert with no water for… Read more »
I have to keep reminding myself these coaches and players have only known and played with each other a short amount of time…. With exception of CW & Mario none have had time to be developed by the staff. that being said we are 5-0 going into WSU and because of that we, like the team, expect to Fight On and be victorious in every game.
If LR goes into a bowl game 10-2 or better he should be ‘Coach of The Year’
Coach of the Decade!
The amount USC’s football program has improved so much in all ways in such a short time in the super complicated world of the Portal, it is no wonder OU fans have been suicidal since LR suddenly juked them out of their jockstraps.
Let’s see if Bob Stoops can fix the huge Brent Venables problem he has now.
I think that is correct. Compare where Miami is verus where SC is. Miami hired Crystobal and SC hired LR. Both had the portal and Miami’s existing talent was in much better shape than SC’s. What LR has done is nothing short of miraculous.
OU ? Is that the northern Tx school? Actually I find it quite funny that OU fans refer to state of Tx as Baja Oklahoma… 1963 USC vs OKLAHOMA Bud Wilkinson vs John McKay George Jarman kicked the FG that decided game. 1982 Met Dr. George Jarman (RIP) in Dallas later became one of my best friends. George was my senior by 10yrs, we kept a running bet for 30yrs. whose team had the best record, got dinner and a bottle of fine tequila…. I ate free a number of years…the bottle was always shared. ( Couple times with Barry… Read more »
CC setting up for SC win lol Utah is tough and it would be a huge win but not impossible by any means. Need to stop the gash plays.
If the line stays the same -7, I’ll take us to cover. WSU is the best team we have faced this year, which isn’t saying much as the rest are average at best. Cam Ward is the best QB we have faced and will make some great plays but he will turn it over. They have some playmakers on D. Henley (LB) is a stud , Stone (edge) will be a challenge to block. I think we will pull away in 2nd half and win, but it should be a close game well into the 2nd half.