Two games in and this season couldn't be going much better for Lincoln Riley and his Trojans.

USC rolled over Utah State on Saturday in the Coliseum, winning 48-0 to post the program's first shutout since 2011, and afterward Riley lauded the defense but also cautioned that it's still so early in the process of what they're trying to accomplish.

"We've tackled pretty well the first two games. I think we've done a pretty decent job against the run the first two games. And I think it's been fun to see, honestly, our guys come together," Riley said. "It's a new staff, there's a lot of new players, more new players on that side of the ball than the offensive side of the ball. So just to see, I mean, that group really come together and play as one early here in the year is very important.

"But, listen, it's great, we're excited about it. There's just a long ways to go, man, but shoot, we couldn't be more excited about what they're doing, the way we're playing defensively right now, the way we're flying around and most important the camaraderie that exists on that side of the ball right now."

Riley also talked about the improvements made in the run game this week, the opportunity to get backup quarterback Jayden Maiava some valuable experience and other storylines.

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

Opening comments:

"Really just a great team win, very complementary football on all sides, really proud of our defense. I was told the first shutout at 'SC since 2011, so obviously very hard to shut people out in modern day college football, so really proud of us maintaining our play defensively the entire night. And yeah, the complementary ball was really good. The offense did a good job running the ball. That was a big emphasis -- we're proud of the way the guys responded and ran the ball. Really, it was just kind of back and forth all night, and the guys never really took their foot off the gas, which was exciting to see.

"Great win, we got to play a lot of guys, which was awesome. You don't always get those opportunities, so we got to see a lot of young guys, a lot of news guys get their first time on the field in the Coliseum as USC Trojans, which was really cool. So great win, looking forward to getting to the bye week. We've got a lot of work to do, and excited for what's ahead."

What does the shutout do for the confidence in what you're building?

"Yeah, we've done a lot of good things. I thought we made some improvements today in terms of our communication, especially in pass coverage. I know that was something defensively in the first game we weren't real thrilled with, so we did a nice job there. That was a big emphasis point, so proud of the guys for making some of the adjustments and corrections that we needed to do, and we played a little bit more clean than we did against LSU."

There were a lot of let-down performances across college football -- is that something you talked about with the team?

"I mean, we talked about it all week. We talked about it pretty specifically last night in our team meeting, but you know, listen, I'm sure all those other teams did too. So at the end of the day, it's a players' game and they're either going to listen to the things that you say, take it to heart and be ready, or they're not. And our guys were certainly ready to go."

How does it feel to be on a three-game win streak?

"I don't know, we've been on a bunch of three-game win streaks since I've been here so it's cool -- better than not being, I guess. I don't know. We won tonight, it's about tonight, we're pretty in the moment right now and in the present. So, good win tonight, onto the next one."

How confident are you that you can build off this rushing performance?

"It's important. Guys ran hard, we blocked well up front. I thought we took some steps. That was the big thing offensively -- we wanted to be cleaner in the run game, and the big thing defensively is we wanted to be cleaner in our pass defense and communication. I think we did a pretty good job of both tonight. So, yeah, we've got to get better. We did a good job of it. We know we've got some exciting challenges coming up."

How has Eric Gentry's role changed this year?"

Well, he's healthy, I think No. 1. We've got a really good thing going on in our linebacker room with him and Easton, Mason, Raesjon, Des, all those guys. Those guys are improving fast -- there's a lot of really good, healthy competition in that room so those guys have had to really all play at a high level if they want to be on the field, and that's how you want it. He's done a good job and he's been really engaged, high-energy, as he always is. And I think he's taken to our new defensive staff and scheme and his new teammates really well."

What do you think of Jayden Maiava's performance?

"He did a good job, he did a good job. It was fun to get him in the game. Like a lot of these young guys, you never know when that opportunity is going to come and these reps are invaluable. That's why I was glad we figured out how to turn some lights on so we could get the rest of them."

What did happen with the lights going out?

"Yeah, you're trying to determine at that point if you're going to keep playing or not because you don't know when the next one's going to pop, and right as we were considering maybe not playing anymore they came on, so it was good. We wanted to play -- the opportunity for our guys to play. These guys work a lot of long hours, man, to be able to play a game."

What aspect or attribute of this defense are you most encouraged by?

"We've tackled pretty well the first two games. I think we've done a pretty decent job against the run the first two games. And I think it's been fun to see, honestly, our guys come together. It's a new staff, there's a lot of new players, more new players on that side of the ball than the offensive side of the ball. So just to see, I mean, that group really come together and play as one early here in the year is very important. But, listen, it's great, we're excited about it. There's just a long ways to go, man, but shoot, we couldn't be more excited about what they're doing, the way we're playing defensively right now, the way we're flying around and most important the camaraderie that exists on that side of the ball right now."

Do you feel the TEs have taken a step forward in run blocking?

"I do. It's a deeper room and probably a more talented room than what we had in the first couple of years. Lake has certainly led the charge and is playing some pretty good ball for us, and it's been fun to see the young guys come on as well. That's been a big part of the team, a room we really wanted to develop and obviously become a bigger part of our team, so they've had some pretty good performances two weeks in."

What makes D'Anton Lynn such a good teacher?

"He's patient. He's very organized. And he's always very prepared. And he has a unique ability to take things that may not be honestly that simple and make them really, really simple. It's just very, very organized, very well thought out, and I think our guys take a lot of confidence from that. And he's got a great staff around him, we have a lot of synergy with that group right now, and it's been fun to see how they're all operating together."