Clay Helton’s nearly six-year tenure at the helm of Southern California ended almost four years to the day of him bringing Georgia Southern into Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for Saturday’s matchup.
Helton, who took over at USC in October 2015 as interim coach following Steve Sarkisian’s firing, went 46-24 with a 2017 Rose Bowl championship and the Trojans’ only conference title since 2008.
While he finished with a losing record just once, going 5-7 in 2018, USC repeatedly falling short of expectations resulted in his ouster following a Sept. 11, 2021, loss at home to Stanford. That marked the last time Helton was on the sidelines in Los Angeles.
Georgia Southern (0-1), meanwhile, is playing its second game in California in as many weeks. The Eagles opened the season last Saturday with a 42-14 loss at Fresno State, during which it surrendered 29 unanswered points in the second half.
Despite the loss, Helton heaped praise on quarterback JC French IV, who finished 17-of-28 passing for 158 yards with a pair of first-half touchdowns.
“He played a really mature game,” said Helton, who is in his fourth season with Georgia Southern. “Overall, for his first game out, I saw a poise about him that was a lot different than game one of last year, which gave me hope and gave hope to our entire offense.”
USC (1-0) came away from its Week 1 with more than just hope: The Trojans eclipsed 70 points for the first time in 20 years, destroying fledgling FBS member Missouri State 73-13.
Jayden Maiava went 15 of 18 for 295 yards with two touchdowns and rushed for a score in just over two quarters of playing time. The quarterback was one of five Trojans to who accounted for six rushing touchdowns.
Maiava’s backup, Husan Longstreet, rushed for two scores while playing most of second half.
USC coach Lincoln Riley, introduced as Helton’s full-time successor in November 2021, said the opportunity to play numerous Trojans in Week 1 was energizing for the team moving forward.
While speaking following Tuesday’s practice, Riley also spoke fondly of his limited interactions with Helton. Riley said the two participated in a charity golf event together and “had a chance to sit down and have some really cool conversations.”
“Those have been conversations I’ve appreciated, talking ball,” Riley said. “He’s been great. He’s incredibly complimentary of (USC). … The kind of human being he is, it’s pretty special.”