USC football fans were emotionally exhausted at the end of the Clay Helton era. They were tired of the same old realities, the same old patterns, the same old bad habits. They are too numerous to list, but if two particular qualities rose above all others on the field each season (recruiting is a separate matter), most USC fans would agree that these were the two worst aspects of USC football under Helton:
- Helton teams were soft and did not go all-out on every play.
- Third quarters were a total disaster, with no halftime adjustments and no sharpened focus from players if they played an uneven first half.
Boom.
Those were the two things which instantly changed in Game 1 of the Lincoln Riley era this past weekend against Rice. You saw complete focus — not always perfect execution, but always a sincere effort. You saw intensity by the defense in the second half after a poor first half. You saw guys get stronger and show mental toughness instead of sulking and retreating, as so many Helton teams did, especially last year.
Then there was the third quarter.
USC got a lot better after halftime. Scoring touchdowns in the third quarter was almost completely nonexistent under Helton. The defense improved. No one coasted.
This is Lincoln Riley football. This is not the previous administration at USC.
We talked about this with Mark Rogers at The Voice of College Football. Be sure to watch not only our Tuesday show at 1:05 p.m. in Los Angeles, but also the USC postgame show after every Trojan game on Saturdays with Tony Altimore, Tim Prangley, and LBC Trojan:
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