What Lincoln Riley said after USC's victory over Rice

'We're going to do everything we can as a team to keep working so that people can't even stand the thought of not coming to a USC football game.'

Lincoln Riley's debut as USC's head football coach could not have gone much better.

The offense was efficient and explosive, the defense was opportunistic and the game was effectively over early in the third quarter, allowing Riley to play multiple reserves as USC rolled to a 66-14 win over Rice.

Riley's offense racked up 330 yards through the air and 208 yards on the ground, scored touchdowns on six of its first seven possessions and did not turn the ball over. 

Twelve - that's right 12 - different players caught passes from Caleb Williams and backup quarterback Miller Moss. That kind of depth at the skill positions is going to be a problem for most teams in the Pac-12 not named Utah. 

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Here's a look at what Riley had to say after USC's 66-14 win over Rice. You can watch his full postgame press conference - along with comments from Shane Lee and Williams - in the video above.

Riley on his team returning three interceptions for touchdowns: "I was told (three pick sixes) is a Pac-12 record and a USC record. They’ve been playing ball around here for a long time. You don’t break records very often, so that was really a cool thing for us defensively."

Riley on the importance of the victory: “It’s a fun moment to finally be here. I think the team was anxious and excited after all the buildup, and just ready to go play, and we responded well. ... It’s one of those moments that you don’t want to minimize. It’s meaningful to us all, but those of us that have been on these journeys before, we understand this is just the beginning, and there’s so much left, so much better to play, so much better to coach. It's a great start ... it's not anything more than that, not anything less than that."

Riley on how well Williams played in his first USC start at QB: "I thought he played well. I thought he was in control, in command, I thought he saw the field well. I thought he played just very much in control and very much at ease. When quarterbacks are playing at a high level, it often times looks like that to me. He threw the ball accurately, managed it, so it was a really good first start for him."

Riley on the expectations at USC: "We understand that in this city, and I think it's fair, we've gotta go prove who we are as a team. We're going to do everything we can as a team to keep working so that people can't even stand the thought of not coming to a USC football game."

(Video by Wyatt Allsup)