ESPN tweeted out an almost unbelievable stat Saturday, noting that its algorithm for such things had calculated a 99.8 percent chance of Arizona State beating USC while leading 27-14 with a little more than 3 minutes left to play.

Having had a day to fully reflect on the Trojans' improbable 28-27 comeback victory, coach Clay Helton was asked Sunday night about that ESPN projection and how he had put the wild win into perspective.

"Thank God for the .2, and thank God for a lot of good men that have trust in each other and never quit fighting," he said. "That's what Trojan family and Trojan legacy is all about. As I told the kids in the locker room, I've been doing it a long time and I can promise you I'll be on my death bed but I'll never forget this game.

"Just for what it means for this year, to have the opportunity to play that game through all that we've been through and then to win it in that fashion, it just speaks to what these kids have done since March and how they're just resilient and keep on coming back. It provides us a lot of confidence, like I said, that we could be in a situation like that. Good teams find a way to win. ... I was proud of them, and like I said, thank goodness, as long as you've got a chance just keep fighting, you're always in the fight."

Depending on what Utah turns into this fall, it's possible that USC played its toughest opponent in Week 1. The win makes the Trojans the clear favorite to reach the Pac-12 championship game, especially owning a potential tie breaker over the Sun Devils.

That road trip to Salt Lake City, Utah, is always a tough challenge for this program, but otherwise USC plays a bunch of teams that finished with losing records last season in Arizona (on the road this week), Colorado and Washington State at home and UCLA in Pasadena.

The Trojans certainly have to play better than they did overall Saturday if they are going to take care of business, but a seemingly wide-open path now lays out before them.

"It's a win that I think will build a lot of confidence for our team. When you have special seasons, you're always going to have one of those games that you have to pull out and have to dig deep and show your mental toughness," Helton said. "And that's what I thought all our kids did. I did not see any panic. I saw immense poise on the sidelines from staff and players and just looking for the next opportunity."

It's been clear all along that any Pac-12 team was set to have an uphill climb in pushing for a potential College Football Playoff spot with a max of seven potential games this fall, well below what each of the other Power 5 conferences are trying to play.

That was seemingly part of the impetus to play that USC-ASU game at 9 a.m. local time, so that it would get a prime viewing audience back east. As noted with the rest of the schedule, the Trojans may not have any more marquee games before a potential slot in the Pac-12 championship game.

So Helton was asked how he feels the nature of USC's win Saturday impacts its playoff chances.

"We’re 1-0. We played a good Arizona State team that I think will do some really good things this year. As we improve each and every week and build this resume, and you see a team that can put up 550 yards plus per game offensively with the type of playmakers we have, and a defense I think is going to grow and get better every week, we’ll see what the resume is at the end," he said. "Make no mistake, Arizona State is a good football team. We knew going in that this was going to be one of the critical steps for us in winning a Pac-12 south championship and getting to a Pac-12 championship. Hopefully we can grow. We can get better.

"There were a lot of positive things that happened in that game, and there’s a lot we have to fix. Number one, the turnovers. I’ve always felt that good teams find a way to win. If you turn the ball over four times and find a way to win, mercy, you got a good football team. We’ll continue to build on our resume and hopefully get better each and every week."

Senior defensive tackle Brandon Pili was a noticeable absence Saturday, and Helton said the big interior lineman had surgery Friday to insert pins into a broken middle finger.

"Don't know how long that's going to be. It's gonna be a week-to-week thing. But we'll see where that goes," he said.

Pili was listed second-team on the Trojans' depth chart behind nose tackle Marlon Tuipulotu, but he figured to play a major role, especially with Jay Tufele opting out of the season.

Meanwhile, starting center Brett Neilon left with a sprained ankle late in the game Saturday and was replaced by redshirt sophomore Justin Dedich, who started two games in his stead last season.

"We'll see how that goes through the week," Helton said. "You saw Justin Dedich come in who I was so proud of. We always say you never know when you're going to get your opportunity and here comes that kid in and there was not one lack of production in two really important drives. He did a really nice job. We have Justin Dedich, we have Andrew Malek who's a freshman as well as Liam Douglass who also practices at the position so we'll have those three practicing this week and we'll see where Brett gets to. He's a tough kid, we'll monitor it through the week."

As it turns out, there was a heated position battle that few if any even realized was ongoing this preseason.

The biggest surprise of USC's depth chart reveal Friday was that true freshman Parker Lewis would be the starting kicker over redshirt junior Chase McGrath, who made 14 of 17 field goals and all of his extra point attempts last year.

Lewis didn't get any field goal attempts Saturday, but he did execute the Trojans' successful on-side kick to keep that comeback alive late in the fourth quarter.

"Parker has been extremely productive in camp. I know that you all have not got a chance to see him live, but extremely explosive leg. I think you saw that in the game, and Chase is in my opinion one of the better kickers in the country and he competed with one of the better kickers in the country," Helton said. "Chase has been suffering from a little bit of knee tendinitis, hip tendinitis, no fault of his, but just the other kid was producing better in the moment going into this game.

"And sometimes that's hard decisions, and Chase took it like a pro -- said 'Coach, I'm there for you, and I'll be there for you if you need me.' And he'll continue to get better and get healthier, and hopefully that pain will go away. And like we always say, we're always in competition. Parker did a very nice job for his opening game."

Helton also discussed that onside kick more at length, including how Bru McCoy, who recovered the loose ball, ended up a part of the play despite telling reporters he had never taken any reps on an onside kick in practice.

"It’s something we do practice each and every week. I really thought that the kicker did an exceptional job on his placement of the ball, of where it was," he said. "A lot of times, that ball gets a little too deep and it allows the blocks to happen by the front line, which they were trying to do. Then it just goes straight to the returner. On that kick, we tried to get him off the spot, and he got the returner off his spot. Bru being in did a great job. He got close enough to the receiver to be able to cause some hesitation. Obviously that ball gets away and then he gets on it. He’s got it in a headlock with his arm, just long enough to create possession.

"You try to get guys on there that you know can make plays for you. Bru was in a position where we wanted him on there. Another gentleman had gone down. Sean [Snyder] put him on there, and he made a big play."