USC program showed signs of truly being on the right track again

This is something that should not be up for debate. USC impressed against Missouri State. Yes, there is an inherent advantage in terms of where the two programs are, as the Bears only recently earned their status as an FBS school.

What some are seemingly forgetting is that all programs play against lesser competition at some point on their schedule. This is true except for Notre Dame. Although it has to be conceded that their ACC competition a lot of times is nowhere near the same level of quality compared to what is faced in the Big Ten.

Still, a team has to go out there and execute. The fact that USC was able to dominate even after starters were pulled shows a great sign in the program. Past Trojan teams would have left their foot off the gas. While Missouri State was able to find moments of success. For the most part, the Trojans controlled the game and dictated the flow on both sides of the ball.

This contrasts with previous Trojan teams that would have allowed for the Bears to find a way back into the game. Instead, USC was able to quickly put the end result out of question, and fans were on the lookout for a potential record-breaking scoreline at the Coliseum.

Important aspect from USC win

It has to also be noted that the operation side of things was mostly clean. In terms of penalties, five flags for 45 yards is about where a team should be. Obviously, coaches preach staying penalty-free. It is unreasonable, though, to expect a team to go out there for 60 minutes and not draw the attention of an official for something over four quarters. This is particularly true when the second- and third-string players enter into the fray.

For a program that has not performed at the level that it needs to, this past weekend should only be viewed as a hugely positive step in the right direction. Some are not getting carried away in terms of what the final score should look like against Georgia Southern. As long as USC pulls off a win and more of the similar traits are seen against the Eagles as were present against the Bears, then the Trojan team will have done what it needs to do in Week 2.