Joel Klatt, in the latest edition of his weekly college football show, said USC should terrify the rest of the country.

“USC is damn good,” Klatt said. “Did anybody watch that Saturday night?”

The Trojans were in the late-night window and perhaps folks on the East Coast had already turned out the lights on the day by the time the ball was kicked off. But Klatt contends USC’s 56-10 win over Stanford was even more impressive than the score would indicate.

And the score was already historic to begin with.

“This team is a lot better than last year’s team,” Klatt said. “I don’t know if the offensive line is better, but that’s the only area I would question. That’s the only area.”

Caleb Williams has been at the controls for just 24 drives through three games; USC has found the endzone on 18 of those drives. Williams went 19-for-22 throwing the football on Saturday to produce 281 yards and bring his season total for passing touchdowns to 12.

He doesn’t have an interception. USC has only punted five times when Williams has led the offense.

“Caleb is better than last year,” Klatt said. “He will stay in the pocket longer, which makes his ability to scramble even more dangerous. I shouldn’t say scramble. Throw on the run. As soon as he breaks contain, as soon as he’s running around, you know a big play is going to happen.”

Klatt showed some love to freshman receiver Zachariah Branch. The FOX Sports analyst said Branch is in the same light as Reggie Bush, Percy Harvin, and Christian McCaffrey when it comes to players who can make an audience just hold its breath once they touch the football.

But he also showed love to the USC defense — a group he was consistently critical of a year ago.

“Bottom line, USC’s defense is better than last year,” Klatt said. “If USC just plays OK on defense, they’re an elite team and can probably win their conference and go to the College Football Playoff. Guess what? They’re playing better than OK on defense. I would venture into the good territory.

“They’re more physical up front. They cause more disruption up front. … They’re winning up there, one-on-one battles, just because they’re better. And they’re not completely reliant on turnovers like they were a year ago in order to get extra possessions.”

And Klatt says that’s the last piece of the puzzle for Lincoln Riley.

“USC is better than they were a year ago. They are better. They’re ahead,” Klatt said. “That’s scary for the rest of the Pac-12. That should be scary for the rest of the country. We’ve said this for how many years? Basically a decade. If Lincoln Riley’s teams ever actually got a good defense, watch out. The sky’s the limit.”