USC's first road test of the season was actually not expected to be a test at all, but it became one when Arizona State's Cam Skattebo blew through two tacklers to turn a short reception into a 52-yard touchdown and make it a one-score game midway through the fourth quarter last Saturday in Tempe, Arizona.

The Trojans would ultimately go on to win 42-28, but they'd drop three spots in the AP poll to No. 8 nonetheless, while facing questions all week about why they had operational stumbles offensively, 10 penalties for 85 yards overall and their worst tackling effort since the Cotton Bowl collapse against Tulane.

Coaches and players addressed those matters throughout this week, but the real answer will come Saturday morning as USC (4-0, 2-0 Pac-12) goes right back on the road to take on the Colorado Buffaloes (3-1, 0-1) in Boulder, Colorado.

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The matchup doesn't quite have the sizzle it would have had the Buffs not lost 42-6 at Oregon last weekend while looking totally overwhelmed at outmatched, but there's still plenty of buzz around Deion Sanders' program and a lot of attention from the college football world at large ready to see how the Trojans respond.

"Things are going to happen on the road. It's going to get loud and it's going to be even louder in Folsom [Field]," wide receiver Brenden Rice said. "You've got to be ready to strike back when things happen. A lot of teams can't strike back -- that's why 70 percent of teams lose and 30 percent of teams win on the road -- and we're that 30 percent."

That was the overriding message from coaches and players coming out of that win at Arizona State -- it may have been imperfect, but that happens on the road and the bottom line was that the Trojans lived up to their mantra of finishing strong while dropping Sun Devils quarterback Drew Pyne for 7 sacks in the fourth quarter alone while putting the game out of reach late.

"We've trained so long to be in situations like that, and it was a great opportunity for us to be put in that and just tested," said wide receiver Tahj Washington, whose 45-yard touchdown reception from Caleb Williams came less than a minute after Skattebo's late score and helped seal the win. "Just looking around and seeing the confidence instilled in everybody, it's just who we are."

Said Williams: "It's something that we preach in practice is the longer we go the better we get, and in each of our games except for I think the first one, we've gotten a lot better and kind of following that mold that we've been trying to preach to each other and keep striving for that."

The Trojans will certainly have to be better Saturday against a Colorado team that, despite its vulnerabilities, has a capable offense and can especially test USC's own vulnerabilities in the secondary.

It will be even louder and more raucous in Boulder than it was in Tempe, because Sanders may still be in the process of revitalizing that football program but he's already reenergized and regalvanized that Buffs fan base.

"We know we have a dogfight this weekend," Rice said. "We're ready to go."

First, let's break down our five most significant takeaways from the Trojans' preparations this week.

Linebacker Mason Cobb returned to action last weekend after missing two games and immediately took over again in the middle of the defense, leading the team with 74 snaps played.

But he finished with just 1 tackle and was marked for 2 missed tackles by PFF, while Raesjon Davis and Shane Lee didn't play any defensive snaps in the game as Tackett Curtis -- named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for his 7 tackles and 2 sacks -- and Eric Gentry (team-high 9 tackles, 1 tackle for loss) split time at the other linebacker spot.

Coach Lincoln Riley emphasized earlier this week that Davis and Lee will play significant roles for this team over the remainder of the season, but the Trojans do have a logjam at linebacker and Saturday provided a lot of clarity as to how the coaches assess the position.

So too did their comments this week. While fans vented about Cobb's performance, Riley complimented the veteran linebacker's impact.

"Mason did a good job. We operate typically pretty well when he’s in there," Riley said. "He’s such a good communicator and knows our stuff so well, thinks fast on the run. He’s a good player, but he brings a lot of intangible benefits to it too."

Cobb acknowledged he didn't fully feel like himself in his first game back.

"Man, it was a little weird for me. I'm sure a lot of people seen it, but I just didn't feel like myself, maybe hesitating a little bit. But that's just me knocking off the rust," he said Tuesday. "Even in practice today, I felt a little different today, so just kind of taking it step by step trying to keep my head down and keep working."

It seems likely that there will be no substantial changes to the plan at linebacker Saturday -- aside from maybe finding some snaps for Davis and Lee in a limited role -- and maybe there shouldn't be.

Cobb was brought in to be a difference-maker in the middle of the defense, the only newcomer voted a team captain, chosen to represent the Trojans at Pac-12 Media Day alongside Riley and Williams, had 96 tackles and 13 tackles for loss last season at Oklahoma State and he's only played in two games with a month-long layoff in between.

Maybe allow for a larger sample size before levying any verdicts just yet, especially for those not privy to how players perform all week during practice.

That said, Davis and Lee both had their moments in helping to fill in during Cobb's absence and this is simply a deeper unit with tougher decisions to make than was the case last year.

"I mean, listen, Raesjon, Shane, guys like that are still a big part of what we do. This thing is going to go on and on. There’s different things that are going to happen," Riley said. "We’re going to need all five of those guys to play at a high level. Four games in, you look back on it, all five had some really good, bright moments for us."

Linebacker wasn't the only position last Saturday that generated some questions about personnel decisions.

Defensive tackle Kyon Barrs played only 9 snaps after playing 29-26-19 in the first three games.

"We're going to play the guys that practice and perform there the best, just like at every other position, and that's going to be a weekly evaluation just like every other position as well," Riley said. "So, Kyon's had some really strong moments for us early, but we have had some other guys that have as well. ... But Kyon is in the mix with a lot of other guys. There's a ton of reps there to go after, but guys have got to go really be great in games, they've got to be great in practice."

That last point is one to underscore.

Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has previously acknowledged the frustration last year that the Trojans' depth was so thin the coaches couldn't truly make personnel decisions hinge of practice performance because ultimately the dropoff at some positions from the starters to the next option was too significant. That is no longer the case.

"You've got to give us every reason in the world to put you on the field and eliminate any reason that we wouldn't," Riley continued. "And if not, it goes back to if it's 50-50, sometimes it's going to go your way and sometimes it's not."

In the case of Barrs, the veteran Arizona transfer, it's worth noting that the coaches challenged him in fall camp, feeling he wasn't consistently playing to his peak potential.

"Kyon's done some good things, but he's got to continue to push and be ultra productive in games and be elite in practice where we can't stand the thought of him standing next to us on the sideline on any play," Riley said Thursday. "But he's had a great attitude about it. There's other guys on this team that have kind of been in and out a little bit in terms of their reps, and on a good football team that's what it's like. So I think if Kyon continues to strain and push himself to get better, I still certainly envision him having a big role in our defensive line."

One last matter in regard to personnel decisions regards Mario Williams' continued struggles with dropping passes.

PFF only marked him down for 1 official drop, but that seems generous. Going strictly by PFF's stats, though, Williams has hauled in 12 of his 19 targets this season, which is the lowest percentage (63.2) on the team while every other wide receiver with double-digit targets so far has caught at least 80 percent of passes their way.

Williams' catch rate is almost identical to the 62.5-percent mark he finished at last season.

Given that wide receiver is USC's deepest position group, it was fair to wonder if Williams' drops might lead to more opportunities for others, but Riley downplayed any concerns about the third-year receiver.

"He's an experienced player. I mean, he took his eye off the first one trying to go score a touchdown. I think was just pressing a little bit on the second one. Mario's played a lot of ball," Riley said. "If he were a young guy that's very early on, I think you'd be a little more concerned, but guys go through this. It's like, Jonah [Monheim] misses a block or Caleb misses a throw, it's part of it, it's going to happen. The thing is, Mario's a confident human being, he's a hard worker. He came back and made an enormous play, which was probably the toughest catch he had all night, which is just the bang-bang play down there on the two-point conversion that was huge. So, obviously our confidence didn't wane and his didn't either."