Scouting the Opponent: Rebuilding Nevada another low-stakes tune-up for USC

USC eventually distanced itself from San Jose State in its season opener with a 56-28 win, and that was against a top-half Mountain West program.

The Trojans' opponent Saturday, meanwhile, is expected to among the worst teams in that conference (picked ninth out of 11 MWC teams in the league's preseason poll) and is coming off a 2-10 season in which it lost its final 10 games.

USC is a 38-point favorite as the teams meet at 3:30 p.m. PT in the Coliseum in Saturday (on Pac-12 Network).

Simply put, this should have another preseason-like feel to it for the Trojans, who will again cycle through the depths of the roster to get playing time for and film on as many players and combinations of personnel as possible.

The Wolf Pack aren't without talent, though.

As part of their continuing rebuild under second-year head coach Ken Wilson, they brought in eight Pac-12 transfers to restock at key positions.

"A little unique that you're playing a second team in a row here that's their first game, so obviously your evaluation is going to be a lot based on what you have at your disposal. They've obviously got some new pieces on that roster, similar to the roster last week and everybody. It will certainly be interesting to see how they utilize the pieces," USC coach Lincoln Riley said. "The quarterback's a good player, athletic player, been able to study him a little bit. Knew about him coming out of high school, but good player. Defensively return some guys, brought in some guys that I think have a chance to be some impact transfers with them. ...

"We know a lot of guys on that staff, man. They do a really nice job, a lot of crossover, a lot of us have coached with them or known some of these guys for a while, so a lot of respect for them and it should be a fun game."

Let's take a closer look at the Trojans' second opponent ...

Conference: Mountain West (picked 9th in the conference's preseason poll)

2022 record: 2-10

Coach: Ken Wilson, 2nd season (2-10)

Series history: USC is 5-0 all-time vs. Nevada with all of those meetings coming in the 1920s.

Wolf Pack overview: This has historically been a much better program. From 2005-2021, Nevada posted 13 winning seasons and reached 14 bowl games. Things turned when former coach Jay Norvell left after the 2021 season for Colorado State and the rebuild formally began.

Wilson took over the program after serving as the linebackers coach at Washington State from 2013-19, the LBs coach at Oregon in 2020 and then co-defensive coordinator of the Ducks in 2021.

Last season, the Wolf Pack started with wins over New Mexico State and Texas State before losing the rest of its games.

Familiar faces: Nevada's roster includes two former Trojans in LB Eli'jah Winston and John Jackson III. Former USC offensive lineman Jason Rodriguez also announced his transfer to Nevada in June, but he is not listed on the team's roster.

Offensive overview: Last season, Nevada averaged just 18.8 points per game (120th nationally), which was its second fewest in 31 seasons at the FBS level. The Wolf Pack averaged 304.7 yards per game, ranking 122nd nationally. But the unit has some notable new additions this year. Former Colorado quarterback Brendon Lewis won the starting job this preseason and will look to reset his career after some tough seasons with the Buffs. At running back, Nevada brought in Oregon transfer Sean Dollars, the former top-100 national prospect out of Mater Dei HS, and Cal transfer Ashton Hayes. The Wolf Pack returns three of its top four receivers from last season, led by Dalevon Campbell (38 catches for 459 yards and 1 TD) and adds Cal tight end transfer Keleki Latu. Two primary starters return on the offensive line in redshirt sophomore right tackle Isaiah World and redshirt sophomore right guard Andrew Madrigal, while redshirt senior guards Joey Capra and Zac Welch and redshirt junior guard Kai Arneson also made multiple starts last season.

Defensive overview: Nevada ranked 81st nationally last season in allowing 396.2 yards per game and 103rd in scoring defense (30.9 points per game), but there is talent to build around. Redshirt sophomore OLB Drue Watts had 57 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and an interception last season. The Wolf Pack added Oregon ILB transfer Jackson LaDuke and Eastern Washington S transfer Tre Weed (6 career INTs) and return a decent CB tandem in veterans Jaden Dedman (50 tackles, 8 PBUs) and Isaiah Essissima (2 INTs, 9 PBUs).

1. QB Brendon Lewis, redshirt sophomore: Lewis was never able to establish himself the last two seasons at Colorado, passing for 1,540 yards, 10 touchdowns and 3 interceptions as the Buffs' primary starting QB in 2021 and then losing his job two games into last season. But then again, that was not an ideal situation for any player to thrive in as the Buffs might have been the least talented team in the FBS across the board. Lewis will try to resurrect his career in Nevada now. He started against the Trojans in 2021, completing just 10 of 17 passes for 162 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. He does have some mobility to him, though, which always seems to be an issue for the Trojans.

2. RB Sean Dollars, redshirt junior: Now in his fifth year of college football, Dollars is looking to show why he was once a top national prospect. Last season at Oregon, he rushed 34 times for 188 yards and 1 TD and caught 16 passes for 143 yards. He should be heavily featured in this Wolf Pack offense and could emerge as one of the better backs in the MWC.

3. OLB Drue Watts, redshirt sophomore: As noted, Watts had 57 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and an interception last season and is the top returning talent on defense for Nevada. One of those sacks came against a Power 5 opponent in Iowa.

4. S Tre Weed, sixth year senior: Weed had 3 interceptions and 30 tackles for Eastern Washington last season. For his career, he has 6 INTs and 15 pass breakups.

5. CB Isaiah Essissima, fifth-year senior: After starting his career at Wake Forest for two seasons, Essissima has settled in as a key cog for the Wolf Pack with 3 INTs over the last two years and a team-high 9 PBUs last season.

In total, Nevada’s offensive line has just 37 combined career starts and struggled last season in allowing 34 sacks and blocking for a run game that averaged just 3.3 yards per carry.

The Trojans' pass rush vs. Nevada's vulnerable defensive front: Expect defensive coordinator Alex Grinch to be aggressive with blitzes and pressures and for the Trojans' pass rushers to build some confidence this weekend.