In terms of rewatchability, USC's 56-10 win over Stanford was an entertaining return to the film room as we dissected the Trojans' all-around impressive performance.

That doesn't mean there weren't critiques to be made -- we have a few -- but from Caleb Williams' continued brilliance to Bear Alexander's wrecking ball ways to the overall production across the front seven, there was a lot to like from the No. 5-ranked Trojans.

As usual, we go in-depth on the good and bad in our 10 most notable takeaways from the game.

In previous weeks, I’d alluded to the small things Caleb Williams could stand to tweak despite the brilliance of his overall performances. There were no such caveats to be added when describing the reigning Heisman winner’s performance against Stanford, as he turned in as close to a flawless half of football as you’re ever likely to see on a college football field.

Williams was a machine against the Cardinal, leading the Trojans to six touchdowns on seven drives before bowing out of the contest at halftime. In fact, it’s entirely likely that Williams would have made it seven for seven had Mario Williams not given up an easy first down in favor of a cutback late in the first quarter. The Trojans’ quarterback was cooking with patient ease, calmly picking apart the Stanford defense at all three levels within the structure of the offense and performing effortless wonders outside of it to create plays whenever he needed to. Williams showed off the whole array of tricks in his bag over two quarters -- nasty sidearm throws, remarkable escapes from the pocket, deadeye passes thrown on the move, monstrous deep shots, you name it.

When Williams’ decision-making is as unimpeachable as it was in this game, the strength of his gifts make him the most unstoppable force in college football. The sense of despair opposing defenses must feel as he rolls over them time after time is palpable, and never more than on the possession immediately following Stanford’s first scratch on the scoreboard with a second quarter field goal. Williams responded immediately, taking the first snap of the ensuing drive and putting the football on the launch trajectory of an ICBM to a streaking Brenden Rice for a 75-yard touchdown. Williams' pure downfield arm strength has never really been considered to be of the highest tier, but this throw forced a reevaluation as he launched that thing nearly 70 yards through the air. Just like that, Stanford’s lone score of the game was washed out of memory, swept away by the endless tidal wave that is Williams at the head of this offense.

He went 19-of-21 passing, getting pretty much whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it en route to 281 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air. He turned in a dazzling 21-yard score on the ground as well, shaking tacklers as he angled toward the near pylon and running straight through a defender without the slightest hesitation to put the capper on that touchdown. Right now, Williams once again stands out as the early leader for the Heisman Trophy despite having played just 8 (!) of 12 possible quarters, boasting a statistical output comparable to that of anyone in the country.

That No. 13 is the best player in college football is no secret, but to be reminded of the kind of generational force he is when he’s at his best is another thing. When Williams is locked in the way he was on Saturday, the opposition’s only hope for victory is a total collapse by the Trojans defense. Given how much better things look on that side of the ball so far this year, it’s not at all wrong to start seriously thinking about whether Williams has a real shot of taking the Trojans to, and through, their first College Football Playoff.

The consternation surrounding the state of USC’s offensive line swirled all week, following a season-ending injury to backup interior lineman Gino Quinones and a collection of bad on-field reps from across the unit in the team’s first two games. Though it’s certainly far too early to draw far-reaching conclusions, the position group offered quite the response Saturday, turning in a performance that drew offensive line of the week honors from PFF.

USC’s quarterbacks had an eternity to work the pocket all game, without a semblance of interior pressure to worry about and easy lanes to step up into when rushers rounded the outside. In fact, PFF charted the offensive line as having allowed just a single pressure on the night, coming from true freshman Micah Banuelos in his first extended collegiate action. In the run game, the group carried on from where it left off in the two previous weeks, paving the way for yet another imposing performance on the ground. The Trojans rushed for 180 yards and 4 touchdowns, averaging a healthy 6.4 yards per carry through the sizable lanes reliably created by the big men up front.

The unit was moving Stanford’s undermanned defensive front around with ease, with Jonah Monheim in particular forklifting players left and right to blast open gaps for MarShawn Lloyd and Austin Jones to exploit. With far less rotation in the early going than we saw in previous weeks, the line appeared to play much more cohesively and confidently, something that we expected to see once the lineup solidified more clearly. It’ll be a while before they’re tested by a truly dangerous defensive line, but the early progress here bodes very well for the offensive line’s trajectory.

Anyone who’s really watched the Trojans offense this season will have noticed the prevalence of a unique set of option plays, which involve Caleb Williams sprinting right toward the line of scrimmage before either flicking a quick pass out wide to a waiting receiver in the flat or taking off himself. For the most part, Zachariah Branch has been the recipient of that pass, putting him in fantastic position to use his athletic dynamism in the open field, but we’ve also seen that look go to others like tight end Lake McRee, who scored on it at the goal line against Stanford. We’ve seen it used both as a regular two-read option as well as a triple-option, with a running back hand-off baked in as a possibility on the first read on some occasions. I can’t recall the Trojans whipping that design out at any point last season, but it’s clearly a staple of the USC offense in 2023, having been called at least three times in each of the team’s games so far.

What’s exciting about this design as a core call for the offense is the way it capitalizes on the abilities of the team’s playmakers in open space and particularly the way in which it sets up a whole host of counter-adaptations to be run out of it as defenses attempt to adjust. Williams is a legitimate threat on the keeper should he choose to pull it, and he’s already been able to make defenses pay for the decision to let him get rolling in the open field. As a result, most uses of the play see the read defender break on him, allowing Williams to toss the ball out into the flat. When Branch or Tahj Washington is the recipient there, the gravity of Williams inside allows either speedster to make the most of the open grass for easy yardage. If defenses try to start keying on the outside receiver as well as the quarterback in preparation for that iteration, however, Riley’s use of a flat route from the tight end as the option look instead keeps them honest.

McRee proved his ability to produce in that role in this game, taking a handful of such receptions for 29 yards and a score. Particularly in short-yardage situations, that puts the defense in a brutal bind. What’s inevitable as time passes is that defenses will start to come into games with a plan in place to counter this play, as we saw Stanford try to do as the contest went on Saturday. However, Riley will have plenty of counterpunches of his own to work with once defenses commit extra defenders to holding the reads they’ve learned to fear on film. Iterations of the same play can easily include a delayed go-route on the outside from the receiver, throwback screens to the waiting running back, or quick crossing routes from across the formation. Given how heavily the Trojans have leaned into working that design this early in the season, I’m confident that they have big plans for how to deploy it over the course of the year to maximize on the abilities of their playmakers. With Williams running it as the point man, it might end up becoming one of the hardest looks to guard in all of college football over the course of this season.