USC’s offensive numbers impress, but some questions loom

I don’t care who you play.

Seven hundred and fifty-five yards are a lot yards.

This is how the USC won in its 59-20 victory against Georgia Southern on Saturday.

One hundred and thirty-two points are a lot of points.

The USC recipient, Ja’kobi Lane, evokes the defensive back of the south of Georgia, Tracy Hill Jr., during the victory of the Trojan horses on Saturday at the Colosseum.

(CARLIN STIEHL / LOS Angeles Times)

This is how much the USC scored in its two games this season, including its victory over the Missouri State the previous week.

If you want to believe that Trojan horses are better than they were during their two previous seasons, there are developments that could convince you more than you are right. If you want to believe that Lincoln Riley has raised his mediocrity team, there are statistics that you could quote to support your observations.

There is also evidence of the opposite, of course.

The two USC games played this season were more or less Rorschach tests.

The only indisputable truth to emerge was that the recipients of Troy Makai Lemon and Ja’kobi Lane would be serious problems for each of their opponents.

Everything else has remained for debate.

When you watched the horses of Troy trample the eagles of the former Clay Helton at the Colosseum, were you encouraged by the way in which the quarterrière Jayden Maiava launched for 412 yards or concerned how much he missed some of the passes that he did not finish?

Has your breathing been removed by the way Waymond Jordan changed direction in his performance of 167 yards or did you drop out of horror when he tried on the opening of the reader?

Have you been encouraged by the way in which the USC scored whenever it was in the red zone or alarmed by its three penalties of use of distinct illegal hands in defense?

Have you seen the 39-point margin of victory as an indication that Trojan horses are ready to face the Big Boys or the four consecutive training of Georgia Southern in their territory in the first half in sign that they encounter problems when the level of competition is improving?

Riley was more measured to rent his team than he was a week ago.

“Certainly a lot of positive points to withdraw,” said Riley.

However …

“Several things we have to clean,” he said. “We had some mistakes, I thought, especially with penalties where we have to be better as a football team, more disciplined as a football team.”

Riley warned his team from the consequences of not improving.

“It is as if I said to the guys last night, there were plays last week that a few weeks when we are not clean when we play more talented teams, the results will look like,” he said. “And, therefore, we must look at it through the objective of:” Have we done our best? ” We are still far from our best.

Riley had sometimes sounded a deaf tone during his three years and more at the USC, but it was not one of them.

Errors could be punished by the state of Michigan, which will present to the Trojan horses their first real test on September 20.

Errors could be punished by Illinois and Notre Dame and Oregon.

USC coach Lincoln Riley heads his touches team during the Trojans’ victory against Georgia Southern on Saturday.

(CARLIN STIEHL / LOS Angeles Times)

Errors will probably not be punished by the UCLA, which has been transformed into a full fire of the dumpster by the sports director Martin Jarmond, but this is another story for another day.

For what it is worth, Georgia Southern’s coach offered an optimistic view of the USC ceiling. Helton was the Trojans head coach for five and more seasons and still follows the program.

“I’m going to tell you what, it’s a better staff team than last year, especially, I think, offensively,” said Helton.

He specifically pointed out to lemon and track receptors, and lovers of Running Backs Jordan and Eli Sanders.

“And the quarter-tree [Maiava] really play, really in itself. You can see the representatives and the experience of importance, “continued Helton.” I have always thought that, and the experience he had last year, you see his growth.

“They have a good situation here. You can see the changes that were made from the staff group of last year to the staff group of this year, and chatting with coach Riley, I know he is happy. He has the opportunity to coach much more, he said, and you can see it. You can see it on a band.”

Helton still considers himself as a USC champion, and what he saw the Trojan horses do against his team on Saturday evening gave him hope for what they could accomplish this season.

“I hope,” said Helton, “they’ll win everything.”