It was a subtle gesture. A nod of respect from USC to a football coach who spent a dozen years in the building before an unceremonious exit. But as the public address announcer took the rare step of reading Clay Helton’s name aloud, the frustration from his final few years at USC came pouring out in a chorus of boos from all corners of the Coliseum.
Turns out, even four years after his firing, Helton could still conjure complicated feelings among the Trojan faithful. What he couldn’t do Saturday is stop the Trojans from taking those feelings out on his football team in a 59-20 beatdown.
A reunion that began with courtesy quickly turned to catharsis, as the USC offense piled up yards and points at will for the second week in a row.
After tallying 597 yards in its Week 1 blowout of Missouri State, USC moved the ball even more efficiently in Week 2, racking up 755 yards, the most at USC in two decades. They averaged 12 yards per play and ripped off a dozen big plays of 20-plus yards.
USC receiver Ja’Kobi Lane stretches out to pull in a touchdown pass with one hand against Georgia Southern on Saturday at the Coliseum.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
And just like last week, junior quarterback Jayden Maiava was content to sit back and pick apart an inferior defense. He threw four touchdowns Saturday, while his 412 passing yards shattered his career high before the fourth quarter even began.
By that point, the Trojans were once again trotting out their backups for a full quarter’s worth of reps — all of which could end up being essential experience later in the season.
“It’s awesome getting everybody involved,” Maiava said.
Ja’Kobi Lane and Makai Lemon, USC’s top two receivers, didn’t catch any passes after halftime … because they didn’t have to. They still had 249 combined yards. And Maiava through two games has had to play just five quarters, and still has 707 passing yards and seven touchdowns to show for it.
USC’s rushing attack didn’t face much resistance either on Saturday. The Trojans racked up 309 yards on the ground alone, the most of the Lincoln Riley era by a wide margin. Waymond Jordan had five runs of 10 yards or more in just 16 carries as he finished with 167 yards. Eli Sanders added 55 more and even walk-on King Miller broke away for another big touchdown run, his second in as many weeks.
“We’re making some big plays on all sides, which is great,” Riley said. “That doesn’t mean it’ll always be like that.”
It wasn’t, however, a banner day for USC’s defense, which allowed Georgia Southern to move the ball. The secondary had several breakdowns that led to big plays for the Eagles, who finished with seven pass plays of 15 yards or more. The defense also contributed six penalties.
But on a day such as Saturday, when USC’s offense could do whatever it wanted, it didn’t much matter.
“We’re still a long ways off from our best,” Riley said. “Not as locked on results. I have a sense of how good this team can play, and all of us as coaches, we’re trying to push them to that. Don’t pay so much attention to the scoreboard or stats — it wasn’t our best. And do we need to just own it and get better? So far the team has done that, but we’ll have to continue doing that.”
USC was far from its best at the start. Jordan, on his second carry of the day, fumbled. Then a bad offside penalty kept Georgia Southern’s drive alive and the Eagles connected on a 32-yard touchdown pass on the next play.
Still, Riley went right back to Jordan on the next possession and the running back delivered, as USC rolled down the field on a scoring drive behind 41 yards from the junior.
Lane punctuated the drive as Maiava lofted a pass in his direction toward the end zone. Tangled up with a Georgia Southern defender, Lane needed just a single outstretched arm to pull down the Trojans’ first score.
USC running back Waymond Jordan carries the ball against Georgia Southern in the third quarter Saturday at the Coliseum.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
USC’s offense caught fire from there. The Trojans needed just two plays on their next possession to find the end zone. Then three plays on the drive after that. Both possessions ended with Lemon sprinting free for touchdowns.
The first saw Lemon slip two tackles before weaving his way through the Georgia Southern secondary for a 62-yard touchdown. The second, Lemon simply turned on the jets and blew past the Eagles’ defense with ease for a 74-yard score.
“Just capitalized off every opportunity I got today,” Lemon said. “Trying to impact the team in a positive way whenever I touch the ball.”
It seemed USC might leave Georgia Southern in the dust after that, similar to how it piled up points a week ago against Missouri State. But Helton’s team kept hanging around. They led four straight drives into USC territory, only to come up short on three of them.
The Trojans’ firepower was simply too much to handle. USC led another quick scoring drive, this time needing just four plays before tight end Walker Lyons trotted in for a touchdown.
By halftime, USC already had 415 yards, more than it tallied in six games last season, while Maiava had more than 300 passing yards and four touchdowns.
It only got more lopsided after half. Jordan broke away for a 36-yard touchdown scamper. Sanders scored twice in 10 minutes of game time. Miller even got in on the fun with a breakaway touchdown, his second in two weeks.
With its second-team offense in for most of the fourth quarter, USC would come up just a touchdown short of its best two-game scoring total in program history.
But when the buzzer mercifully sounded, Helton strolled across the Coliseum field with a smile on his face. He snapped photos with the few players remaining that played for him. He thought back on days spent in the stadium with his youngest son, Turner, who actually finished the game as Georgia Southern’s quarterback.
Georgia Southern coach Clay Helton reacts to a call in the third quarter Saturday in his return to the Coliseum.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
USC had just handed him a 39-point loss, but Helton sounded gracious just to have been back in the building. He even complimented USC fans’ “great passion” in booing him.
“It’s one of those special places,” Helton said, “and you get to be a part of it and you know it’s not going to last forever — you hope it does, but I got to be a part of it, and now to be back and see what Coach Riley’s doing with a really good ballclub.
“I can’t wait for them to do even more great things here.”
