Riley talked all spring and summer about what was needed to build a championship team. He mentioned several times he and his staff knew what that looked like.

We had to trust him because we witnessed his results at Oklahoma. Now, after Saturday’s result, Trojans fans have to be fully invested in what is occurring before their very eyes.

Offensively it was production by committee. Twelve players caught the football, none registering more than 5 receptions. Seven players ran the football, none registering more than 6 carries.

Those six figure to be the glue holding this defense together as the season progresses, but we could easily be talking about different players stepping up at the mid-way point and beyond.

There were eight tackles for loss including four sacks, helping to limit the Owls to just 280 total yards.

Touchdowns were handed out like Halloween candy on both sides of the ball.

Lee, Bullock, and Raylan Goforth had pick-sixes. Caleb Williams threw 2 touchdown passes; and  eight different Cardinal and gold jerseys scored. Back-up QB Miller Moss excelled during the fourth quarter.

You could argue that yes, that’s all well and good, but it was Rice.

This offense is already executing at an elite level, in large part because of the complete control the offensive line had over a good veteran Rice defensive line.

When pass protection broke down, Williams had no resistance scrambling free for large chunks of yardage.

At this early stage of the race, it’s difficult to criticize the Trojans for much. Edge rusher Korey Foreman remains M.I.A. from last year.

DC Alex Grinch has to figure out what it’s going to take to get consistent, maximum effort and production from him. It would lighten the load for the rest of the defense if he did.

Romello Height was ejected for targeting. In past years I would have blamed the coaching staffs for not teaching proper technique, but yesterday, it felt more like an accident, a highly forgivable transgression.

I grumble every time a player feels compelled to strike a Heisman pose, especially in their first game. Raleek Brown joined the growing ranks of Downtown Athletic Club wannabees after stiff-arming to his first collegiate touchdown.

After my initial disappointment, even that attention-grabbing act seemed larger than Raleek himself; perhaps a veiled message to the college football world that USC is on the way back.

I guess it was to be expected given a temperature over 100 degrees on the field, and given Angelenos’ penchant for comfort.

But it’s a much better turnout than our powder-blue friends 20 miles west had. Rumors that UCLA bribed 27,000 people to attend with NIL money are totally false.

Much like the spring game, it took a while for the defense to set its jaw against the offense. They gave up several third-down conversions and were gashed up the gut a few times in the first half.

But they stayed steady and as the game wore on, the Owl’s offense wore down.