LOS ANGELES — Coming off a victory over San Jose State on Saturday night, USC prepared for Nevada this upcoming weekend.

Here are three takeaways from Wednesday’s practice:

Adjustments to be made by the Trojans after the first game

USC coach Lincoln Riley mentioned that the biggest disappointment of the San Jose State game was the ending of the first half. While the defense was having trouble stopping San Jose State quarterback Chevan Cordeiro, who rushed for 52-yards, Spartans running back Quali Conley collected 108 rushing yards of his own. The USC defense allowed an average of 7.3 yards per carry which was the highest by any defense through the first weekend.

USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch is entering his second year at the school and has been working all offseason to improve this defense. They had 10 defensive players play their first snap at USC on Saturday.

“We got to coach them up,” Grinch said. “We got to coach at a high level and we also got to give credit to the opponent.”

Zachariah Branch is looking to build off his stellar debut

The offense was highlighted by the performance of freshman Zachariah Branch. He will now be on every scouting report moving forward but when we talked to Branch after practice on Wednesday, he said his life has changed since Saturday. Odell Beckham Jr, Super Bowl champion with the Rams, reached out to Branch after his spectacular debut and gave him amazing advice.

Consistency on the field is Caleb’s priority this week

There was plenty of movements on the offensive line on Saturday but Caleb Williams talked about how it was no big deal. On Wednesday, he mentioned how important it is to be consistent on both sides of the ball.

Williams has been trying to become a better leader during practice and has been doing so this week. He’s one of the first players to be on the practice field and one of the last to leave. The core of receivers have been staying late after practice running plays with Williams. You can see heart and commitment from this USC team as they are willing to put the work in to become a better team.

The touchdown throw he made to Tahj Washington was a play you imagine making as a kid in the backyard but this play happened at the Coliseum while the crowd erupted after the score.

Nevada will be playing their first game of the year this upcoming Saturday as they have a solid team with lots of new transfers. USC is entering this game as -38.0 point favorite over Nevada. After last week’s blowout win, we can certainly expect an entertaining game this weekend.