ESPN’s Bill Connelly has USC winning a laugher in its 2023 season opener.

Connelly’s predictive model, SP+, has the Trojans beating San Jose State 46-12 on Saturday. The model gives USC a 98% chance to win.

Head coach Lincoln Riley is 6-0 in openers as a head coach. Each of those games have been at home, and against teams from outside the Power Five. The Trojans beat Rice last year 66-14 to open Riley’s debut season in Los Angeles.

In those previous six openers, Riley-coached teams have won by an average of 37 points. The only game that was within two scores was OU’s 2021 opener against Tulane when the Sooners won 40-35.

The Trojans open the 2023 season at No. 6 in the AP Top 25. Saturday’s game against San Jose State is set to kick off at 5 p.m. PT on the Pac-12 Network.