Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where I am thrilled to say we finally have an actual, genuine college football game to talk about! Even if what unfolded at the Coliseum on Saturday barely resembled a college football game at all.

USC absolutely stomped Missouri State, 73-13, in its season opener, scoring more points Saturday than it had in a game since 1930. Nine players scored touchdowns, while USC piled up 597 yards, the fourth-most in a game during Lincoln Riley’s tenure. Not exactly the warmest welcome for Missouri State to the Football Bowl Subdivision.

But for USC, this is probably what we can expect from the non-conference slate for the foreseeable future. At least, until Notre Dame gets on board with playing every September. The stance USC has taken is there’s no sense in adding another tough, non-conference opponent to the schedule, when they won’t be rewarded by the CFP selection committee for doing so.

After watching USC win by 60, though, I’m not sure what anyone really got out of the proceedings Saturday, either, aside from some sun and some added game experience for young players.

We can’t draw many conclusions from what we saw out of USC’s season-opening smackdown. But since we’ve seen so little up to this point, let’s empty the notebook from Saturday and ask what it might mean going forward.

Jayden Maiava was in total control. He also didn’t take many risks. It was, by far, Maiava’s most efficient performance to date. He overthrew Makai Lemon on what would’ve been a deep touchdown, but that was mostly it for mistakes. He was 14 of 14 on throws under 20 yards. He made the right call to keep the ball on multiple read option plays, and he had zero turnover-worthy passes according to PFF. He just looked more in command than last season, which is a positive sign. That said, Maiava didn’t really have to do much Saturday. This was as easy as it’ll get this season. But he did exactly what he should do against an inferior opponent.

Husan Longstreet’s talent is very apparent. That’s no reason to rush him. USC’s five-star freshman quarterback got to play the entire second half against Missouri State, which was probably the most valuable part of Saturday’s game. He completed 9 of 9 passes for 69 yards and a touchdown, while rushing eight times for 54 yards and two touchdowns. He’s clearly more ready as a rusher than a passer at this point. He held the ball too long on a dropback in the third quarter, got hit and lost a fumble. You can tell the game is still slowing down for him. But when he took off to run on a few occasions, he looked like Lamar Jackson Lite darting through lanes in Missouri State’s defense. Whenever he takes over at the position, he’ll be the fastest quarterback at USC since … umm … ever?

Maybe Riley wasn’t exaggerating about this being his “most talented” running back room yet. Waymond Jordan only touched the ball six times, but that was enough for me to see what the fuss through fall camp was about. Jordan has an elusiveness and wiggle to his game that reminds me a little bit of a shiftier Marshawn Lloyd. Eli Sanders, meanwhile, looked like he was shot out of a cannon on his 73-yard touchdown catch. Even King Miller, the walk-on, ripped off a 75-yard breakaway score. The only question now is how Riley will actually deploy the run game, but a 233-yard, six-touchdown performance is not a bad way to start.

Kameryn Fountain wasted no time in making his presence felt. We told you that Fountain is on the brink of a breakout season, and he definitely made us look smart in Week 1. From the very first play Saturday, when his pressure forced a quick throw from Missouri State, Fountain consistently affected the pocket. Braylan Shelby actually led USC in sacks with a pair, but I’d still bet on Fountain to be leading the team come December.

We weren’t talking enough about Bishop Fitzgerald. USC’s new safety was an absolute menace Saturday, whether he was in coverage or in the box. He intercepted one pass and returned it for a touchdown, then two drives later, broke up a third down pass. Fitzgerald and Ramsey look like a lethal combination on their own, and Christian Pierce, as the third safety, gives USC the ability to keep three safeties on the field. The more versatility D’Anton Lynn has at his disposal, the better.

Makai Lemon was targeted eight times and caught seven passes … on just 14 routes. That’s 6.42 yards per route run! The best in the NFL last season — Puka Nacua — was at 3.61 yards per route run last season. Lemon won’t face Missouri State every week, but he’s already clearly Maiava’s most reliable target.

USC opened the game with two tight ends (12 personnel), a grouping it used just 20% of the time in 2024. Expect more of it this season. After three years of mostly ignoring the position, USC may have some potential at tight end this year. And by playing more often out of 12 personnel, with two tight ends on the field, it can use bigger fronts to establish the run, while maintaining the threat of the pass. USC’s tight ends didn’t have any touchdowns last season. They have two already in 2025.

Week 1’s three highest-graded USC players by PFF were Fitzgerald, Maiava … and freshman linebacker Matai Tagoa’i. In his first collegiate game, Tagoa’i played just 15 snaps, but managed to force a fumble in the fourth quarter. He also lined up in the slot for six of his snaps and held his own in coverage. Overall, an impressive debut for a player I thought would take a while to make his mark.

USC’s AD on revenue sharing

USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

It’s been eight weeks since universities began paying their athletes directly, in the wake of the House vs. NCAA settlement. Not long enough, as USC’s athletic director sees it, to draw any larger conclusions about whether the system is functioning correctly or not.

“In college athletics, none of us have any patience,” Jennifer Cohen said. “I think in a perfect world, you’re launching a new plan, and at the same time, all the enforcement is done, all the rules are announced, it’s staffed fully, you know, and you’re rolling all at once. That’s just not where we are, but we also took on a massive undertaking. And I think that there’s as many positives as there are unanswered questions in it. 
I would say, locally speaking, it’s gone really well.”

The Times spoke last week with Cohen, who for the first time shared details of how USC is divvying up the $20.5-million cap that schools are now allowed to pay their athletes for NIL.

USC has NIL agreements with athletes in four sports right now: Football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and … women’s indoor volleyball. You might be surprised to hear that volleyball made that cut, but that’s actually consistent with other schools across the country.

How the money is divided is a bit more complicated this year, given how many NIL deals were struck prior to the July 1 start date for revenue sharing. But the formula most schools say they’re following calls for 75% to football (~$15 million), 15% to men’s basketball (~$3 million), 5% to women’s basketball (~$1 million) and the last 5% split among the remaining programs.

But added scholarships across other sports play a critical role in that picture. Newly funded scholarships only count against the cap up to $2.5 million, and so the programs who don’t get cut revenue share checks will be able to fund more scholarships than they would have before.

USC has a two-year plan to spread out those new scholarships, with some sports being granted more scholarships this year, and others adding them next year. The plan, Cohen said, is to fund that by endowing at least 100 new scholarships. Consider that annual costs at USC are nearing $100,000 per student, and that’s no small chunk of change to raise.

—USC still has $50 million left to raise for its football facility project. The Bloom Football Performance Center is quickly taking shape, with all signs still pointing towards opening sometime next summer. The original plan called for raising $175 million, but that number went up to $200 million and then $225 million. Not because of rising construction costs, but other capital project needs. Cohen, USC’s AD, said she isn’t concerned about closing the gap. “We’ll get there,” she said. But with all the added expenses now on the department’s budget, Cohen told The Times plainly that donor money has never been more important in college athletics. “This,” she said, “is a really big year for fundraising.”

—USC’s pregame “Drip Walk” is no more. The last few seasons, on their way into the stadium, USC’s players were encouraged to express themselves with their pregame fashion, the photos of which would then be posted on social media. But now those outfits have been traded out for a uniform, school-issued gear look. I, personally, never would’ve pointed to the “Drip Walk” as part of a culture problem. But hey, to each their own. Riley said that the players made the choice themselves. “If you ask these guys, we don’t show up to a meeting, we don’t do anything unless it’s all together.”

My Week 2 pick …

Clay Helton makes his triumphant return to the Coliseum, where he’ll be a 24.5-point underdog to his former team. USC absolutely crushed the Vegas line last week, and I have a feeling this one may not be big enough either. Georgia Southern gave up 351 yards rushing to Fresno State last week. Jordan should have a big day in USC’s backfield.

Give me the Trojans as the 24.5-point favorite. They win 42-17.

In case you missed it

Hernández: How does beating up a second-rate team help Lincoln Riley make USC a contender again?

Jayden Maiava and USC go on scoring spree in season-opening blowout of Missouri State

College football is back! Can USC and UCLA bounce back into relevance?

Q&A: USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen: ‘No one wants to succeed more’ than Lincoln Riley

Meet Chad Bowden, the man who has quickly transformed the USC football program

USC offers multi-year extension to Notre Dame, ‘hopeful’ for deal to extend rivalry series

‘I came here to be a player.’ Kilian O’Connor goes from walk-on to USC starting center

What I’m watching this week

Billy Joel: And So It Goes

(HBO)

Billy Joel was a mainstay in the soundtrack of my childhood. “Piano Man” and “Vienna” are still regulars in my karaoke rotation. But I never realized how little I actually knew about Joel and his life until I watched HBO’s two-part documentary, “Billy Joel: And So It Goes.” The doc is a riveting look at Joel’s rise to stardom that doesn’t hold back in digging deep on its main subject, from his failed marriages to his drinking to his reputation among other musicians.

It didn’t hurt, of course, that I found myself singing throughout all five hours.

Until next time …

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected], and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.