Peristyle Podcast - USC Trojan Football Discussion

On this latest edition of Tunnel Vision USCFootball.com's Jack Smith, Chris Trevino and Connor Morrissette (aka Triple-Double) are in studio to preview USC's first road trip of the season, a conference game against struggling Arizona State. The Trojans should be fresh off of their bye week while the Sun Devils are licking their wounds after an eight turnover, home shutout against Fresno State last weekend. The guys talk about what they heard and saw this week in practice from the Trojans and take a look at this ASU squad that has been dealing with a ton of injuries and had head coach Kenny Dillingham take over the play calling duties this week. This is a podcast version of our video show Tunnel Vision that you can find on our Facebook or YouTube pages. Make sure you check out USCFootball.com for complete coverage of this USC Trojan football team. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Composite Two-Star Recruits podcast returns off the bye week to discuss the updated USC 2024, 2025 target lists from Gerard Martinez. The Cilantro Boys also talk about the new 2024 EDGE offer Gabriel Reliford and Trojans preparing for their first road game, a Pac-12 matchup with Arizona State. TIME STAMPS: 4:28: Cold Open (Updated Target Lists) 49:52: New 2024 Offer 1:09:49: NIL & Congress 1:40:46: USCFootball.com 2021 Class Draft: Sixth Round 2:08:57: Friday Night Lights 2:25:53: Week 4: USC at Arizona State 2:39:17: A Look Around College Football Week 3 2:57:49: Listener Question To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shotgun Spratling and Chris Trevino return with the Helium Boys Podcast to preview the Trojans' trip to the desert to take on Arizona State in their first road trip of the season and assess where USC stands coming of its bye week following a 3-0 start to the 2023 season. Shotgun and Chris immediately jump into what they are keeping an eye on and looking for this weekend in the 'Two-Minute Drill' segment. The boys look at what to expect from USC going on the road for the first time this season and what needs to be seen from the Trojans in the desert. They then dive into USC's next opponent, Arizona State, who is suffering through an unbelievable (but not unprecedented as Chris assures) spate of injuries, particularly at the quarterback position where the Sun Devils were down to their fourth-string QB in a 29-0 loss to Fresno State last week. The Helium Boys also discuss the state of college football as a whole and the wide-open national championship landscape in a year of increased parity. A podcast of the people, the Helium Boys also answer your USC mailbag questions about a number of topics, which mostly focus on the defensive side of the ball, including can Alex Grinch be an elite defensive coordinator. Finally, the podcast concludes without a "Take It or Leave It" section but instead with several food questions, focusing on wings, taco truck orders, danger dogs, regional delicacies and even soup safaris. Please review, rate and subscribe to the Peristyle Podcast on Apple Podcasts! Make sure you check out USCFootball.com for complete coverage of this USC Trojans basketball and football teams. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Composite Two-Star Recruits podcast returns to discuss three-star Herriman (Utah) 2024 LB Ephraim Asiata officially visiting USC. The Cilantro Boys also discus LB Chris Cole committing to Georgia, Aydin Breland & USC's DL recruiting, the Stanford Recruiting Angle and more. TIME STAMPS: 4:31: Cold Open (LB Ephraim Asiata OV) 15:34: Chris Cole and 2024 LB recruiting 34:10: Stanford Unofficial Visitors 1:03:37: Aydin Breland Top 3 & DL Recruiting 1:33:31: Armondo Blount Top 5 Schools 1:38:57: Stanford Recruiting Angle 2:03:38: Friday Night Lights 2:14:38: Around College Football Week 2 2:29:03: Listener Questions To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this edition of the Peristyle Podcast hosts Ryan Abraham and new USCFootball.com senior staff writer Connor Morrissette are in studio LIVE talking about USC's 3-0 start in which the Trojans put up at least 50 points in their first three games for the first time in program history. Of course Lincoln Riley and company got blowout wins against San Jose State and Nevada before cruising by Stanford on Saturday for the first conference win of the season. The guys talk a little bit about the blowout victory over Stanford before shifting forward to what the Trojans are trying to accomplish during this rare early bye week. With no game on Saturday, the USC football team still has a "normal" week of preparation only a slightly tweaked (earlier) practice schedule and the same media availability. On Tuesday we heard from Riley plus defensive coordinator Alex Grinch talking about what they have seen from the first few games of the season plus some of the defensive standouts. Two of the hot topics highlighted were trying to cut down on the unnecessary penalties and limit explosive plays on defense. There was also some discussion on the new interview that Riley did with Graham Bensinger in which he revealed that when he decided to leave Oklahoma there were attempts to break into his house, his desire to retire by age 50 and how his original parking spot at USC was too far away from the football facilities. Please review, rate and subscribe to the Peristyle Podcast on Apple Podcasts! Thanks to Trader Joe's for sponsoring the Peristyle Podcast! Make sure you check out USCFootball.com for complete coverage of this USC Trojan football team. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Helium Boys Podcast returns with Shotgun Spratling and Chris Trevino reuniting to react to USC's thoroughly dominant 56-10 blowout of Stanford that moves the Trojans to 3-0 on the season. The Helium Boys discuss the notable takeaways from the blowout win and the conclusion, for all intents and purposes for now at least, of a nearly 120-year rivalry. Shotgun and Chris open with the 'Two-Minute Drill' giving their initial reactions to the Trojans' destruction of the Cardinal and then break down the victory with Stock Up/Stock Down, discussing who impressed, including Bear Alexander's continued mauling in the interior of the defensive line and pressure off the edges helping to create multiple turnovers for a defense that had only one entering its third game. The boys also take a look at the bigger themes that are being developed like the lightning strikes that are popping off across the Coliseum every time the Trojans take the field. They also dive into who and what saw their stock take a dip. The Helium Boys also preview what the Trojans will do with their bye week and what should be the primary focuses with an open weekend so early in the season. A podcast of the people, the Helium Boys also answer your USC mailbag questions about topics spanning from Zachariah Branch's total touchdown total and what it would take for him to be a Heisman finalist to who have been the biggest defensive playmakers through the first quarter of the season. We also answer several movie-related questions, including what players on the current USC roster embody each of the Avenger superheroes. Finally, the podcast concludes with Chris quizzing Shotgun with some "Take It or Leave It" prompts. Please review, rate and subscribe to the Peristyle Podcast on Apple Podcasts! Make sure you check out USCFootball.com for complete coverage of this USC Trojans basketball and football teams. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this latest edition of Tunnel Vision USCFootball.com's Ryan Abraham, Jack Smith and Connor Morrissette (aka Triple-Double) are back in studio discussing what was a merciless beatdown of longtime rival Stanford. The Trojans scored early and often and built up a 49-3 halftime lead that included seven different Trojans finding the end zone and over 400 yards of offense. With the backups in for the third and fourth quarters USC cruised to a demonstrative 56-10 victory over the Cardinal. Stanford was USC's longest running series and with the Trojans off to the Big Ten next season and the Cardinal heading to the ACC, Saturday night's matchup will likely be the last time these two programs play for years to come. Ryan talks about the sad ending to the rivalry with no Stanford band halftime show making fun of the Trojans, no Stanford tree bouncing around the sidelines, essentially no Cardinal fans in the stands, no "Stanford countermarch" performance by the Trojan Marching Band and no Cardinal players on the field that good enough to even keep it close. The guys also talk about how Lincoln Riley and his squad showed the killer mentality through the first three games heading into the bye week and how he was pleased with all three phases of the game in the first half Blitzkrieg against Stanford. This is a podcast version of our video show Tunnel Vision that you can find on our Facebook or YouTube pages. Make sure you check out USCFootball.com for complete coverage of this USC Trojan football team. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this episode of the Peristyle Podcasts hosts Ryan Abraham and Coach Harvey Hyde are back together talking about USC's third-straight blowout win of the season, a 56-10 destruction of the Stanford Cardinal Saturday night in the Coliseum. Once again the Trojans were a heavy favorite and as was the case last week they were able to easily cover the 29-point spread, winning eventually by 46 points including a 49-3 edge at halftime. Coach Hyde starts out talking about how far this Stanford Cardinal program has fallen and why they are so bad. He thinks it is embarrassing for those who follow the team and those legends of the game that were associated with it, guys like Andrew Luck and Christian McCaffrey to John Elway and Bill Walsh. Coach Hyde feels that there is no way for a program to fall this far this fast unless there was a plan in place to do so or someone in power didn’t care. College football is changing and it doesn’t appear that anyone in the Stanford athletic department is willing to change along with it. Stanford’s fall isn’t USC’s concern and Coach Hyde would give the Trojans an ‘A’ grade after the 56-10 humiliation. USC could do anything it wanted in the first half and sometimes you face an opponent that isn’t capable of putting up any opposition and when that happens, it isn’t your fault. Coach liked that the Trojans just plowed ahead and ran their plans and continued to play their game. The only thing he would have changed was he would have kept the starters in longer, not because he wanted to pile on Stanford, he just doesn’t want to see the team let its guard down and lose momentum, something that happened for the Trojans in the second half. Coach Hyde thinks that is a way to lose your edge so he would have kept the starters in a little longer into the third quarter before taking everyone out. As usual the guys answer listener questions via email, text message and voicemail to finish up the show. Please review, rate and subscribe to the Peristyle Podcast on Apple Podcasts! Thanks to Trader Joe's for sponsoring the Peristyle Podcast! Make sure you check out USCFootball.com for complete coverage of this USC Trojan football team. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this latest edition of Tunnel Vision USCFootball.com's Ryan Abraham, Jack Smith and Connor Morrissette (aka Triple-Double) are back in studio taking a look ahead at the last ever Pac-12 conference opener for the Trojans, a Saturday night showdown with the Stanford Cardinal. Stanford is USC's longest running rivalry and with the move to the Big Ten along with the Cardinal heading to the ACC, this is the last time these two teams will play for the foreseeable future. The guys talk about what they have seen from Stanford in their road victory over Hawaii and some of the Cardinal players that have the potential to make big plays against the Trojans. They also discuss what USC players and coaches were talking about this week after practice, including how important the rivalry with Stanford, slowing down the pass rush of David Bailey and the new-look Stanford offense that still utilizes the tight end at a high level. This is a podcast version of our video show Tunnel Vision that you can find on our Facebook or YouTube pages. Make sure you check out USCFootball.com for complete coverage of this USC Trojan football team. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Composite Two-Star Recruits Podcast returns to discuss the in-game commitment of 2026 WR Tron Baker during the Nevada win. The Cilantro Boys also discuss 2024 LB Ephraim Asiata officially visiting, Chris Cole's official visit, five-star 2025 safety Anquon Fegans backing off his commitment and much more. TIME STAMPS: 4:26: Cold Open (Tron Baker commits) 17:46: LB Chris Cole visits, sets commitment date 32:11: LB Ephraim Asiata official visit 43:39: Nevada unofficial visitors 46:50: NIL Lawsuit in Florida 1:03:27: Tim Tebow and USC 1:09:02: Anquon Fegans decommits from USC 1:26:34: Nevada Recruiting Angle 2:00:10: Friday Night Lights 2:19:28: USC vs. Stanford 2:27:11: Around College Football Week 2 (Colorado, FSU, Clemson) 2:46:32: Listener Questions To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this edition of the Peristyle Podcast hosts Ryan Abraham and new USCFootball.com senior staff writer Connor Morrissette are in studio LIVE talking about the unfortunate injury to USC offensive guard Gino Quinones. After Tuesday's practice of Stanford week head coach Lincoln Riley told the media that Quinones suffered a lower leg injury and was going to be out for the season. The guys talk about Quinones not only being on the short list to start at one of the guard spots but also his important role as the backup center to veteran Justin Dedich. They also discuss what the players and coaches had to say about facing this new-look Stanford team led by new head coach Troy Taylor and how this is potentially the last time these two rivals play for a long time with USC heading to the Big Ten and Stanford going off to the ACC in 2024. Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch also spoke on Tuesday and the guys talk about some of the defensive improvements they have seen and some of the standout players that Grinch talked about. They also talk about how linebackers Shane Lee and Raesjon Davis stepped up and what Grinch wants to see freshman linebacker Tackett Curtis do differently after being ejected for targeting. Looking ahead to Stanford, Ryan and Connor give their initial thoughts on the Trojans first conference game of the season, facing a potentially dangerous opponent that just got a road win at Hawaii last weekend. Please review, rate and subscribe to the Peristyle Podcast on Apple Podcasts! Thanks to Trader Joe's for sponsoring the Peristyle Podcast! Make sure you check out USCFootball.com for complete coverage of this USC Trojan football team. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shotgun Spratling and Chris Trevino return with the Helium Boys Podcast to react to USC's defensive improvements in a 66-14 victory over Nevada that moves the Trojans to 2-0 on the season. The Helium Boys discuss the notable takeaways from the blowout win and why what we've seen in the first two games should still be taken with a bit of skepticism and a grain of salt. Shotgun and Chris introduce a new 'biggest takeaway' segment called the 'Two-Minute Drill' and then break down the victory with Stock Up/Stock Down, discussing who impressed, including a number of offensive players that contributed to an eight-touchdown outing as well as the defense that produced a touchdown of its own. The boys also take a look at the bigger themes that took a step towards being developed in the opener and what has to be cleaned up in Pac-12 play, which starts this weekend for the Trojans when they take on their oldest 'rival,' Stanford. The Helium Boys also preview this week's matchup against the Cardinal, who the Trojans could be playing for the last time in the foreseeable future thanks to conference realignment with USC moving to the Big Ten next July and Stanford recently having announced it is heading to the Atlantic Coast Conference with California and SMU. This Cardinal team won't resemble the Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw teams that focused on pounding opponents with a downhill, old-school rushing attack and big-bodied wide receivers and tight ends, but Stanford still does have some of those weapons with 6-foot-5 receiver John Humphreys and dynamic 6-foot-4 tight end Benjamin Yurosek. A podcast of the people, the Helium Boys also answer your USC mailbag questions about a number of topics spanning from the defending elite tight ends to the future impact of freshman pass rushers Braylan Shelby and Elijah Hughes as well as discussing the insane workload Colorado's Travis Hunter had in the Buffaloes' upset of TCU. Finally, the podcast concludes with Chris quizzing Shotgun with some "Take It or Leave It" prompts both from the Trojans' win over the Wolf Pack, including touchdown celebrations, as well as around college football in Week 1 with grilling and weather phenomena both featured. Please review, rate and subscribe to the Peristyle Podcast on Apple Podcasts! Make sure you check out USCFootball.com for complete coverage of this USC Trojans basketball and football teams. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this episode of the Peristyle Podcasts hosts Ryan Abraham and Coach Harvey Hyde are back together talking about USC's second blowout win of the season, a 66-14 beatdown of the Nevada Wolf Pack Saturday afternoon in the Coliseum. Again the Trojans were a heavy favorite and this time they were able to easily cover the 38-point spread, winning eventually by 52 points. Coach Harvey Hyde starts out talking about the impressive weekend the Pac-12 had, going 12-0 with some huge road wins like Colorado over TCU, Oregon State over San Jose State, Washington State winning at Colorado State and Stanford, USC’s next opponent, getting a win at Hawaii. With the entire conference looking better, it should make the Trojans drive to become Pac-12 champions a little more challenging. Offensively Coach really liked what he saw, saying that that side of the ball looked much improved and in rhythm. He didn’t feel that Caleb Williams was all that happy after the San Jose State game and he was able to do just about anything he wanted as USC gained 668 yards on just 54 plays. MarShawn Lloyd caught the coach's eye and he loved to see him excel as a runner and as a receiver. He also felt the offensive line played well and for the most part kept Caleb safe from being hit. On the defensive side coach loved to see a defense that was having fun out there, playing disciplined, hard and loose. He felt the pass rush was generating much more pressure and they were able to fight off blocks and get into their tackling space quickly. He really liked what he saw from the linebackers, especially Shane Lee and Raesjon Davis who had to play a lot of minutes in this game due to injuries at the position and the targeting ejection of Tackett Curtis. Coach also feels that Nevada was trying to test USC’s corners and how much speed they had with deep throws, including that one early in the game that was a huge play for the Wolf Pack. That is something to watch going forward, other teams really wanting to test these cornerbacks with deep sideline passes. As usual the guys answer listener questions via email, text message and voicemail to finish up the show. Please review, rate and subscribe to the Peristyle Podcast on Apple Podcasts! Thanks to Trader Joe's for sponsoring the Peristyle Podcast! Make sure you check out USCFootball.com for complete coverage of this USC Trojan football team. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this latest edition of Tunnel Vision USCFootball.com's Ryan Abraham, Jack Smith and Connor Morrissette (aka Triple-Double) are back in studio breaking down what they saw from the Trojans 66-14 beatdown of the Nevada Wolf Pack Saturday afternoon in the Coliseum. With the victory USC moves to 2-0 on the season heading into the Stanford game, the first conference game of the final Pac-12 football season. This is a podcast version of our video show Tunnel Vision that you can find on our Facebook or YouTube pages. Make sure you check out USCFootball.com for complete coverage of this USC Trojan football team. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this edition of the Peristyle Podcast USCFootball.com publisher Ryan Abraham previews the USC Trojans next opponent, the Nevada Wolf Pack (3:30 p.m. PDT on the Pac-12 Network). To get a better feeling for what this Wolf Pack football programs brings to the table, Ryan welcomes in Nevada SportsNet reporter Chris Murray to break down this Nevada squad that includes two former USC Trojans in wide receiver John Jackson III and linebacker Eli'jah Winston along with several other Pac-12 transfers. Please review, rate and subscribe to the Peristyle Podcast on Apple Podcasts! Thanks to Trader Joe's for sponsoring the Peristyle Podcast! Make sure you check out USCFootball.com for complete coverage of this USC Trojan football team. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Composite Two-Star Recruits podcast returns to discuss USC setting up for its first fall official visitor, 4-star Virginia linebacker Chris Cole. The Cilantro Boys also talk about the recruiting angle of USC's San Jose State win, unofficial visitors and Zachariah Branch's Reggie Bush comparison. TIME STAMPS: 4:11: Cold Open (Jalen Harvey) 16:42: USC's other unofficial visitors for Week 0 42:37: LB Chris Cole Official Visit 51:37: Recruiting Angle (SJSU) 1:38:19: Friday Night Lights 1:56:03: USC vs. Nevada 2:02:22: Listener Questions To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this edition of the Peristyle Podcast hosts Ryan Abraham and new USCFootball.com senior staff writer Connor Morrissette are in studio LIVE talking about what USC head coach Lincoln Riley and defensive coordinator Alex Grinch had to say following the Trojans 56-28 victory over the San Jose State Spartans. Heading into the game all eyes were on the new-look defense with high expectations for significant improvement over last season. The results were a mixed bag, with four three-and-out drives on the good side and defensive breakdowns leading to four touchdowns on the bad side. We heard from Riley on Trojans Live Monday night and then both Riley and Grinch after practice on Tuesday. The guys talk about what the coaches had to say about the extensive rotation used in the game as well as the good and the bad from the defensive side of the ball. They also discuss the freshman breakout player for the Trojans (and potentially all of college football), former five-star wide receiver Zachariah Branch who shined as a pass catcher, punt returner and of course kickoff returner with his electric 96-yard touchdown. USC has Nevada up next so Ryan and Connor give their thoughts on the game and what they would like to see from the Trojan offense, defense and special teams against an overmatched opponent. Please review, rate and subscribe to the Peristyle Podcast on Apple Podcasts! Thanks to Trader Joe's for sponsoring the Peristyle Podcast! Make sure you check out USCFootball.com for complete coverage of this USC Trojan football team. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shotgun Spratling and Chris Trevino return for the first in-season Helium Boys Podcast to react to the overreactions of USC's 56-28 win over San Jose State in the season opener. The Helium Boys discuss what should be the big takeaways from the blowout victory and what things should be taken with a grain of salt...at least for now. Shotgun and Chris break down the victory with Stock Up/Stock Down, discussing who impressed, including the obvious -- Zachariah Branch -- and those that might have flown a bit under the radar -- Branch's fellow freshman Elijah Hughes. The boys also take a look at the bigger themes that took a first step towards being developed in the opener and what has to be cleaned up in the next couple weeks to keep the pitchforks at bay. They preview this week's matchup against Nevada, who the Trojans have not played since 1929. Despite the nearly 100-year span between matchups, there should be some familiarity with several known faces on the other side from former Colorado quarterback Brendon Lewis, former Oregon running back Sean Dollars and most notably former Trojans wide receiver John Jackson III and edge rusher Elijah Winston. A podcast of the people, the Helium Boys also answer your USC mailbag questions about a number of topics spanning from the offensive line rotations to the top linebacker pairings and who were their standouts on the defensive side of the ball. Finally, the podcast concludes with Chris quizzing Shotgun with some "Take It or Leave It" prompts both from the Trojans' Week 0 win over the Spartans and inventions that debuted in the year the Wolf Pack and Trojans last played. Please review, rate and subscribe to the Peristyle Podcast on Apple Podcasts! Make sure you check out USCFootball.com for complete coverage of this USC Trojans basketball and football teams. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For this latest edition of Tunnel Vision USCFootball.com's Chris Trevino, Jack Smith and Shotgun Spratling are back in studio to talk about this USC football team's season opening 56-28 victory over San Jose State. The Trojans had some lapses on both sides of the ball but were still able to pull away from the Spartans, extending the lead to 35 points before giving up a late garbage time touchdown with backup defenders in the game. The guys talk about what they liked, including an absolute explosive performance by true freshman wide receiver Zachariah Branch, and what they didn't like, including the defense giving up a long touchdown pass late just before halftime that cut the score to 21-14. This is a podcast version of our video show Tunnel Vision that you can find on our Facebook or YouTube pages. Make sure you check out USCFootball.com for complete coverage of this USC Trojan football team. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this episode of the Peristyle Podcasts hosts Ryan Abraham and Coach Harvey Hyde are back together talking about USC's season opening 56-28 win against San Jose State Saturday night in the Coliseum. The Trojans came in as a heavy favorite and finished up with a 28-point margin of victory, but there was still a lot of room for improvement, especially along both lines and the overall defensive effort as a whole. Coach and Ryan don't pull any punches and share exactly what they though of the job head coach Lincoln Riley and defensive coordinator Alex Grinch did against the Spartans. The coach starts off talking about it being an opening game and you really don’t know what to expect. As a coach, you hoped that you covered all scenarios and get the guys ready to play. One of the ways Riley tried to get everyone ready to play, and ready to play the rest of the season, was using mass substitutions throughout the game. We saw three different offensive line combinations in the first four drives and just about everyone on defense was rotating in and out. Coach Hyde thinks that this is great to get more film on guys and see how they perform, but it is also tough for units to get into a rhythm with the personnel changes every drive. Offensively the coach felt it was hard to get a feeling for the run game with the carries being spread out among several backs. He also wouldn’t like to see Caleb Williams running around with run/pass option plays where he can get hit and potentially injured. Overall the balance was good with 33 runs and 33 passes, he just felt like the timing and rhythm was off with so many different personnel packages coming in and out. Defensively the tackling was much better and the players that were playing looked bigger, stronger, faster and more athletic than what was on the field last season. Coach Hyde isn’t as down on this defense as some fans are, and wants everyone to get it a little time. His philosophy is you can’t coach a kid that can’t play and while that was the case last year, it isn’t this season. USC has players that can play and he feels that will show as the season progresses. They also discuss the special player that Zachariah Branch is, with his 232 all purpose yards with a receiving touchdown and a kickoff return for a touchdown. The bad part is Coach Hyde says teams won’t even be kicking to him going forward, he is just too good with the ball in his hands. As usual the guys answer listener questions via email, text message and voicemail to finish up the show. Please review, rate and subscribe to the Peristyle Podcast on Apple Podcasts! Thanks to Trader Joe's for sponsoring the Peristyle Podcast! Make sure you check out USCFootball.com for complete coverage of this USC Trojan football team. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices