The return of college football finally occurred, and few teams got off to a better start in Week 1 than the USC Trojans.

The school cruised to a 66-14 victory over Rice and held them scoreless in the second half. Caleb Williams shined in his debut, going 19-for-22 and tallying two touchdowns. The three incompletions can be attributed to two drops and a spike in the red zone near the end of the first half. He also recorded a team-high 68 rushing yards for USC.

While Williams made a strong impression in his debut, the Trojans' defense made an even more explosive impact. USC held Rice to just 280 total yards and forced four turnovers. Shane Lee led the way with eight tackles including two for a loss. However, it was the USC secondary that made the biggest impression in Week 1.

A pick-six is one of the most exciting plays in all of sports. The quick points it provides and the spark that it ignites have a game-changing effect. In Week 1 against Rice, USC tallied four total interceptions total and three that were returned for touchdowns. This may not have been as impressive as it seems with three of the four interceptions coming off the hands of Rice wide receivers, but they count the same nonetheless.

USC Biggest Standout Players in Week 1

Calen Bullock

The man who secured the longest interception return was Calen Bullock. With 8:05 remaining in the second quarter, Bullock took a 93-yard interception return to the end zone to extend the lead to 28-7.

This is Bullock's second season at USC. As a true freshman, he played in 11 games and tallied 40 total tackles and two interceptions. He made the 2021 Football Writers Freshman All-American team, was Pro Football Focus True Freshman First Team All-American  and won USC's 2021 Co-Defensive Perimeter Player of the Year Award. The California native was the first true freshman to start a season opener at safety for USC since 2013.

While expectations were already high for Bullock coming into the season, he has done an excellent job getting off on the right foot. In addition to the interception, he tallied six total tackles. The linebackers and secondary were the strong point of the Trojans' defense in Week 1 and Bullock deserves a ton of credit for his role.

Shane Lee

There was great excitement from USC after Lee elected to transfer from Alabama prior to the season. While he played some rotational snaps during his time with the Crimson Tide, his playing time decreased throughout all three years and he desired more time on the field. Lee got that opportunity with USC and had a strong showing in Week 1. In addition to leading the team in tackles, he also took an interception back 40 yards for a score.

The Maryland product was considered the 78th-ranked prospect in the 2019 recruiting class and the No. 5 inside linebacker at the time of recruitment. While his college career has not fully gone as planned, Lee has an excellent chance to rewrite his story at USC and got off to a great start. His pick-six occurred shortly after halftime and made a statement as the Trojans took a 38-14 lead.

Lee will be looked at to play a key role moving forward with USC.

Ralen Goforth

The final pick-six of the Trojans' opener came from Ralen Goforth who grabbed an interception and ran 31 to the Rice endzone less than a minute after Lee crossed the pylons. This put the Trojans on top 45-14 and puan exclamation point on the game. Goforth also tallied two tackles in addition to the interception.

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This is Goforth's senior season at USC and he has played a role on the team each year in Los Angeles. He is coming off of his best season in 2021, when he tallied 60 tackles and one fumble recovery. The interception in the 2022 opening week was the first of his collegiate career. The 6'2″ linebacker is expected to play his biggest role this season after recording the second-most tackles on the team in 2021.

It was an overall impressive start to not just the college football season for USC, but the highly anticipated Lincoln Riley era. While the schedule is set to get far tougher than the matchup with Rice, picking up a blowout victory to start the season should have spirits and confidence high.

The biggest red flag in Week 1 was the success Rice had on the ground. The Trojans allowed 146 total rushing yards and both of the touchdowns they allowed came on the ground. This should be a targeted area of improvement moving forward. However, for the time being, USC should be extremely happy with its performance on Saturday, highlighted by the strong play of the linebackers and secondary.