Seventy-three points, a throwback to 1930 — and a loud answer from USC
Seventy-three points. USC hadn’t done that since 1930. On a hot opening night at the Coliseum, the Trojans erased a summer’s worth of doubts with a 73-13 rout of Missouri State that turned into both a history lesson and a message. For USC football, it was the clean, ruthless performance fans had been waiting to see under Lincoln Riley.
This wasn’t a slow burn. USC scored touchdowns on all five opening possessions, led 42-10 at halftime, and never punted. The offense hummed. The defense hit and finished. And somewhere between the first seam route and the last goal-line push, the tone of the season shifted from questions to possibilities.
Quarterback Jayden Maiava looked in control from the first snap. He ran Riley’s script with pace and patience, moving coverages with his eyes and taking the easy throws that keep chains moving. His first half alone was the difference: five consecutive touchdown drives, 382 yards of offense before the break, and a Missouri State defense that couldn’t get a stop without a whistle.
Riley needed this. He’s heard the noise after recent stumbles and a defense that too often put the offense in shootout mode. This time, style met substance. The Trojans outgained the Bears 597-224, dominated first downs 27-11, and looked like the deeper, faster, more organized team in every phase. Alumni and high school blue-chips in the stands got quite the sales pitch.
The best part for USC might be how many hands touched the ball. In his debut, running back Waymond Jordan announced himself with a 26-yard burst on his first carry, then punched in a score on the next play. Bryan Jackson and King Miller followed with touchdowns of their own as the ground game stacked 233 rushing yards with little drama. This was drive-after-drive, four-yards-here, eight-yards-there, and a whole lot of second-and-manageable.
Backup quarterback Husan Longstreet took over after the game tilted and treated the second half like an audition. He ran it, he threw it, and he showed enough poise to make the quarterback room feel like a strength, not a dependency. When your offense scores on 10 of its first 11 drives and you don’t flip the field even once with a punt, the room feels pretty good.
Missouri State arrived with new ambitions and a new label. It’s the Bears’ first year in FBS and Conference USA, and this was a hard introduction to the sport’s top tier. Credit to Ryan Beard’s team for landing the first punch — a crisp opening drive to a field goal and a 3-0 lead — but the rest was a stark reminder of the gap in depth, speed, and trench play that awaits in Year 1 of the move up.
Missouri State quarterback Jacob Clark hung in and found a bright spot with a 33-yard strike to Tristian Gardner. He threw for 147 yards and took his chances downfield when the pocket allowed. But too many snaps looked like survival mode, and too often the chains stalled before midfield. As far as measuring sticks go, this one offered a clear read: the Bears have work to do on the lines and at the edges to keep explosive offenses uncomfortable.
What the blowout really tells us about USC
Start with the structure. USC’s offense ran on schedule. Early downs were efficient. Maiava’s timing on quick game kept blitzes honest, and when the Bears widened to deny the flats, he took shots down the seams. The play-calling leaned into balance, not fireworks for their own sake. The 364 passing yards complemented, not overshadowed, the run game’s body blows.
Protection helped everything look easy. The Trojans’ offensive line controlled the first level, and the backs read their keys cleanly. Jordan’s debut wasn’t just about the splash run; it was the steady vision and one-cut patience that kept USC ahead of the sticks. Jackson hammered downhill in short yardage. Miller gave them fresh legs in the third quarter. It felt less like a rotation and more like a plan.
Riley’s best teams make you pick your poison. Here, Missouri State tried to lighten the box and avoid getting gashed over the top. USC answered with crossers that turned into yards after catch and a tempo that forced the Bears to declare coverage early. There were no wasted plays. Even the checkdowns had intent.
When Longstreet entered, the philosophy didn’t change. The calls kept him in rhythm with quick outs, a designed keeper to settle his feet, and a play-action shot to stretch the safety. That continuity says something about the staff’s confidence in their depth — and their commitment to building habits, not just highlights.
On defense, D’Anton Lynn’s fingerprints jumped off the screen. The front played through blocks instead of around them. Edge players set the corner, forced runs back inside, and made the tackles that too often slipped last season. The secondary stayed over the top, took away the cheap explosives, and drove on the ball with clear rules. That’s the discipline Lynn preached in camp.
The most encouraging part wasn’t one sack or one turnover. It was the lack of panic. After Missouri State’s tidy first drive, USC adjusted. The interior pushed the pocket. Zone eyes got cleaner. You saw linebackers pass off crossers and re-fit the run without confusion. That’s the boring, necessary stuff that turns shootouts into stress-free wins.
If you’re grading intangibles, effort and tackling stood out. Open-field stops that were missed last fall became simple, two-step finishes. Drive-killing third-down snaps weren’t about exotic blitzes; they were about winning the down and living in second-and-long. For a program that’s worn the “great offense, suspect defense” label for years, this looked like a group intent on shedding it.
The numbers back up the eye test. USC: 597 total yards to 224. First downs 27 to 11. A 42-10 halftime lead that allowed full rotation snaps across the depth chart. The Trojans didn’t need tricks to create separation; base calls did the job. That’s how you build a season that travels to colder stadiums and tougher Saturdays.
Now, perspective. This was not a conference opponent or a ranked team. USC didn’t solve every future problem in one night. The pass rush will face better tackles. The run fits will see more varied looks. Maiava will be asked to win tight-window downs against veteran secondaries. But if you were hunting for sustainable traits — organization, physicality, and clean operation — you found them.
For Riley, the win buys time and belief. He has rebuilt the roster through the portal and high school recruiting, and he’s put trust in Lynn to raise the ceiling on defense. Nights like this reinforce the plan. They also travel in recruiting. When top prospects watch an offense that scores at will and a defense that gets off the field, the decision often gets simpler.
The Coliseum’s energy helped, too. Packed house, big plays early, and a sideline that looked connected rather than anxious. USC gave recruits the one thing every staff promises but few deliver on opening weekend: a look at how they actually want to play when nothing’s on fire.
Missouri State, meanwhile, can still take value home. This is what FBS speed looks like snap after snap. It’s the tempo that erases modest wins on first down, the depth that keeps fresh legs coming, and the leverage battles that decide third-and-3. The Bears’ staff will cut this film into teaching clips — pad level, angles on outside zone, and protection checks — and use it as a baseline for Conference USA play.
If you’re tracking the sport’s moving parts, the timing matters. USC is settling into a new conference reality where line play wins in November, and Missouri State is stepping up a weight class where every mistake gets punished. One team showed it’s ready to chase hardware. The other saw exactly what it needs to build toward.
Here’s the quick snapshot that shaped the night:
- USC scored touchdowns on its first five drives and on 10 of its first 11 possessions.
- No punts for the Trojans; rhythm and field position belonged to the offense for four quarters.
- Total yards: USC 597, Missouri State 224. First downs: 27-11 to USC.
- Rushing balance: 233 yards with touchdowns from Waymond Jordan, Bryan Jackson, and King Miller.
- Passing punch: 364 yards through the air, with clean operation and timely shots.
- Defense under D’Anton Lynn: forced multiple turnovers, limited explosive plays, played sound leverage.
- Missouri State bright spots: early 3-0 lead and a 33-yard TD from Jacob Clark to Tristian Gardner.
What sticks for coaches on Sunday? Details. USC will still nitpick fits against split-zone, the occasional communication hiccup pre-snap, and a couple of angles after the catch. They’ll drill two-minute mechanics, hurry-up substitution discipline, and short-yardage pad level. Because the next few weeks bring better fronts and smarter coverage rotations, and the same plays that pop for 20 will require perfect timing to go for six.
Maiava’s next test isn’t about arm talent — he showed touch and timing in this one — but about stacking decisions. Can he keep living in second-and-5 by taking the underneath throw when the shot is bait? Can he slide protections into pressure without tipping the play? Saturday was a strong “yes” to the first question. The season will answer the second.
Defensively, Lynn will keep pushing for violence within structure. The goal is to win with four when it matters and to tackle with numbers when it doesn’t. Against Missouri State, gap integrity looked real and pursuit angles were disciplined. Against better zone-read teams, the edges will need to keep that same patience while stealing a down or two with disruption.
Special teams are the hidden thread that often separates blowouts from nail-biters. Fielding punts cleanly, stealing first downs with returns, and finishing kick coverage inside the 25 all matter when the score tightens. USC didn’t need a special teams spark to win this game; that’s good. They’ll want one before long; that’s reality.
As for Missouri State, the takeaway shouldn’t be panic. The film will show fixable issues: late hands in pass pro, eyes in the backfield on play-action, and missed fits that turned fours into twelves. The harder fix — building depth — takes time and cycles in the portal and in the weight room. Year 1 in FBS is about learning the environment and stealing wins with discipline.
Lincoln Riley’s night ended with a scoreboard that felt like 7-on-7. But this was built the old way: win the line of scrimmage, take what’s there, and finish drives. USC needed a reset game. It got something better — a template. The next Saturdays will tell us how durable it is. For now, the number that matters is the one nobody had seen in 95 years: 73.
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