After watching his team play inarguably the best half of football it's played during his tenure at USC, coach Lincoln Riley rebuffed all attempts to put it in some grander context.

"I don't know, I don't like comparing different teams. It's the best half of football we've played this year. Situations, all that, are so different," he said. "But it was one of the more complete halves, certainly I think all three sides were firing on all cylinders. So yeah, we took some steps. Guys were really excited to play, really ready to play, really energized and combined that with some really great football."

Was this 56-10 win over Stanford -- in which the No. 6-ranked Trojans jumped out to a 49-3 halftime lead -- a statement to rest of college football?

"We're not into messages. We're trying to play the game on our own terms. We're not real concerned with what's going on on the outside," Riley said.

Riley struck the same down after the season opener when he seemed amused by a question asking his level of concern about the defense. It was one game, he said then.

It was one game, he said again Saturday night, after a much different performance all-around for the Trojans.

"It's one game. ... There's a lot good, but listen, these deals are always the same -- you play good and everybody thinks it's perfect and it's not. And if you play terrible, everybody thinks you can't get one yard, you're horrible, on either side and it always gets blown out of proportion," he said. "I mean, we're doing some good things. The next game is going to be a totally different challenge. The next game after that is going to be a totally different challenge. It just resets. So I like what we're doing, but the bigger challenges are coming."

Watch the full postgame press conference here and scroll down for a complete transcript of Riley's comments.

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Opening comments ...

"Proud of the guys tonight. We played a really, really good first half all three sides of the ball, just really surged and got the momentum and kept it. It was fun to see the team really playing there at a high level together for a sustained period and just continuing to feed off one another. So yeah, proud of the guys and what can you say, all three sides played pretty well and did a lot of good things. Did a lot of good things especially defensively there in the second half. Got an opportunity to play a lot of guys, so there was a lot of positives in the game certainly. Proud of the guys for finishing the game. Those situations are sometimes, I don't want to say awkward, I mean, it's still football, but when you separate that much you're trying to walk a fine line obviously between playing good football and also doing it with respect and class that we would expect out of program.

"So, great win, great way to start Pac-12 play. Proud of taking advantage of the moment in that this is potentially the last SC-Stanford game for a while, and this was a series that we talked with the team a lot last year. This was a series that, we talked with the team a lot last year, this was a series that in recent years had kind of went a little bit of a different way. So I'm really, kind of big picture, proud to get the final last two here up at their place last year and getting them here today was important for us to seize that moment and opportunity, and we did it."

Do you think that was the best half of football you guys have played since you've been here?

"I don't know, I don't like comparing different teams. It's the best half of football we've played this year. Situations, all that, are so different, but it was one of the more complete halves, certainly I think all three sides were firing on all cylinders. So yeah, we took some steps. Guys were really excited to play, really ready to play, really energized and combined that with some really great football."

There seemed to be an emphasis on play-action and getting the ball out quick, what was the strategy coming in?

"We're just kind of running our offense. We've got some skill guys out there that we think are good players and we try to be efficient. We were able to get the run game going. I thought the O-line really offensively really controlled the game in the first half, and that was the key, and I'd say the same thing about the defensive line. I mean, we really won the game kind of on the heels of how well we played on both fronts."

Where do you feel the defense stands after three games?

"We essentially gave up three points -- that's pretty good. We played good defense, we got pressure on the quarterback. The power read got out a couple times on us and really other than that there wasn't much else. We caused turnovers, we did pretty much everything that really, really good defenses do."

It seemed like you upped the temp on offense early on?

"Yeah, we were just efficient. It wasn't some like huge plan to do it. We were just efficient and able to do it and the guys got in a good rhythm and again the front played so well and we were making some plays in skill group that we were able to use that some to our advantage."

Are you surprised teams still kick to Zachariah Branch?

"He's a freshman. I mean, he's returned one [before tonight]. You know, I hope they keep doing it. I mean, he's good at it and what you've seen too, he deserves a lot of credit for it, but I tell you, what also deserves a lot of credit is how we blocked on those plays. Both the kickoff return and this one. We were really a not-smart holding penalty away from having two punt returns tonight. Our guys on those return teams -- the punt return team, the kickoff return team -- you're seeing a little bit of the depth of this roster and they're excited because they know we've got some dynamic returners back there and they've really blocked well. And so it's been a real group effort.

"I told you guys in the offseason that the special teams making a big jump was going to be a big key for us, and you saw that tonight. You've seen it the last few games. We've been explosive in the return game. Eddie was awesome tonight, he just bombed the ball, we covered well, it was a really good special teams performance."

How fair would it be to say this team's developing a killer instinct that maybe you didn't have last year?

"Again, I hate to get into all the comparisons. The team last year was its own team. That team won a bunch of games and did something pretty unprecedented around here, but I'd like to kind of leave that in the past. The team has to have a killer instinct to reach its potential. We're getting ready to go on the road here a lot here in the next several weeks, and to go on the road and win you've got to be a killer. You do. That's just part of it. The new challenges are coming up for us. I'm excited about how we're progressing, but we've got to keep doing it and keep getting ready for these challenges. But I believe in this group and I believe we will be."

Is there anything not clicking on offense for you right now?

"It's one game. Yeah, how long do you have? A lot. There's a lot good, but listen, these deals are always the same -- you play good and everybody thinks it's perfect and it's not. And if you play terrible, everybody thinks you can't get one yard, you're horrible, on either side and it always gets blown out of proportion. I mean, we're doing some good things. The next game is going to be a totally different challenge. The next game after that is going to be a totally different challenge. It just resets. So I like what we're doing, but the bigger challenges are coming."

What kind of message do you think your first-half performance sent?

"We're not into messages. We're trying to play the game on our own terms. We're not real concerned with what's going on on the outside. This team has really adopted that mentality, and you've got to be careful of that. Especially in a sports town like this, in a school like this, that everybody across the country whether they love 'SC or hate 'SC, everybody's checking their score, everybody wants to know what they're doing. So there's always going to be some type of buzz and attention around it, and we just decided we're going to play on our terms and we'll let the dust settle and see where we're at at the end of the day."

There was talk about how frustrated you were in the third quarter despite being up so big, what are you seeing there?

"We didn't play very good complementary football there in the second half. Specifically, the offense wasn't very good the second half. O-line didn't play very well -- second group, was disappointed with how those guys played. We kind of came in and rallied there at the end, but we had some opportunities that we totally missed and those are going to be guys that we're going to be counting on. The score's irrelevant. I expect our defense, our special teams, our offense to continue to play at a high level no matter what the scoreboard says. That's like why we challenged that last touchdown. I mean, we don't want to give anybody an inch. I still don't think he was in. We don't want to give anybody an inch. We're just going to play hard until they say it's over and then we'll get up and go to the next one."