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LOS ANGELES -- Although Clay Helton is beginning his first full season as Southern Californias head coach, this transplanted Southerner has been around the West Coasts most glamorous college football program long enough to know its already time to start winning again.At USC, the bar is set high, Helton said. Its about championships. And if you dont like that bar, dont take the job.After six years as a steadying influence on the perpetually troubled Trojans during the tenures of fired coaches Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian, Helton is finally in charge of a program that hasnt won a Pac-12 title since 2008.Thats the longest drought since the leagues genesis as an eight-team circuit in 1968, and the Trojans thirsty fans arent eager to wait through another rebuilding season. Neither is new athletic director Lynn Swann -- who took over after Helton had been given the permanent job by departing Pat Haden.Luckily for them, USC already has plenty of pieces in place for a resurgent season, including its usual stockpile of blue-chip talent. The Pac-12 Souths lack of a clear-cut favorite leaves the Trojans with ample reason to believe they can reach the Pac-12 title game -- where Stanford routed them last year.Helton doesnt have much of a rebuilding job to do. His offense is stocked with a veteran offensive line, JuJu Smith-Schusters fleet of receivers, and tremendous tailbacks Justin Davis and Ronald Jones II.Returning defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast also has plenty of five-star pieces, but Pete Carroll was the last coach to turn all that talent into a powerhouse when it really mattered. Helton realizes hell be compared to those dynastic teams of the past decade until he creates his own identity for the Trojans.The clock is already ticking.Heres what to know about USC:PICK A PASSER: Helton should make his choice on a starting quarterback by next weekend -- about two weeks before the season opener. Max Browne is in his fourth season on campus, finally out of Cody Kesslers shadow. Redshirt freshman Sam Darnold has made Heltons choice tougher than expected. No matter who is chosen to go first, the other quarterback will be ready to step in.CAMS BACK: One breakout star on last seasons defense was playmaking linebacker Cameron Smith, but the freshman missed the last four games with a knee injury. He returns to provide steady play on a unit that must replace several major parts, including a defensive line missing six of its top seven players from last year.SHARING IS CARING: The Trojans will share the Coliseum for at least the next three years with the Los Angeles Rams, who only have four home games before the Trojans regular season ends Nov. 26. Theyll play back-to-back home games twice -- but since the Trojans play on Saturdays, they wont get the worst of any chewed-up turf. The Coliseum groundskeepers also appear to have stepped up their game, so the arrangement could be no problem.SEASON OPENER: After losing his final two games last season as the Trojans permanent coach, Helton will continue his tenure on Sept. 3 with a trip to Arlington, Texas, to play defending national champion Alabama at the Dallas Cowboys palatial stadium. It sounds like a foolproof recipe for a third straight defeat, but Helton only sees it as an opportunity for the memorable moments expected by any player with college footballs elite programs.KEY GAMES: Even after Alabama, USCs schedule is rough on a first-year coach. September alone includes visits to Stanford and Utah, and the Trojans have back-to-back road games at Washington and UCLA in November before returning for the annual intersectional rivalry game with Notre Dame. Sounds tough -- and sounds great to Helton. Play Alabama, play Notre Dame, play the Pac-12 schedule, he said. Its what dreams are made of.PREDICTION: After the ridiculous tumult of the past six seasons, USC could benefit from a calm, sensible fall of steady growth, even if it doesnt culminate in a Pac-12 championship. Helton knows all about the Trojans lofty expectations, and he realizes Swann will be looking closely at a coach he didnt hire. 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With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Cheap Authentic Jerseys . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. VILLANOVA, Pa. -- Kris Jenkins hit a 3-pointer without much hoopla.He wasnt mobbed by his Villanova teammates and confetti didnt rain from the rafters. No streamers, no hysterical fans. Jenkins simply hustled back for a routine defensive assignment.His first 3 of the game simply helped the Wildcats open the season the same way they ended the last one -- with a win.Jalen Brunson scored 17 points, Jenkins had 16 and No. 4 Villanova opened defense of its national championship with an 88-48 victory over Lafayette on Friday night.Playing a game is probably the best thing we can do to get past last season, coach Jay Wright said.Jenkins hit a buzzer-beating 3 in the title game to lift the Wildcats to a 77-74 win over North Carolina. With a national championship banner hanging in the rafters, Jenkins naturally scored Villanovas 3-pointer of the season. Jenkins scored his first basket of the season off a turnover he forced at midcourt, hit his first 3 to make it 10-2 and helped the Wildcats storm to a 49-17 lead.Wright had said he wanted the Wildcats to put the White House visit, a parade, numerous awards shows and banquets, and other honors behind them as they opened the season. Villanova looked every bit like a team that could become the first repeat national champ since Florida in 2006 and 2007.Jenkins, who flirted with leaving for the NBA, said the Wildcats had moved forward.Its pretty easy to do because we have a team thats hungry, he said.The Wildcats, the three-time defending Big East champs, also have a team thats deep and versatile. Josh Hart, a preseason All-America, scored 13 points for the Wildcats. Reserve Mikal Bridges had 16 points and eight rebounds.Thats what a top team has, Lafayette coach Fran OHanlon said. It has a number of guys fighting for a lot of playing time and getting a lot of playing time.Brunson and Jenkins each hit foour of Villanovas 15 3-pointers.ddddddddddddNick Lindner led the Leopards with 10 points. LafayetteBIG PICTURELafayette: The Leopards continue to play Villanova, even with just one win in 10 career matchups. The Leopards missed 12 of 13 3-point attempts in the first half and scored only two points on their first 20 possessions. The Leopards, out of the Patriot League, wont play another team in the regular season close to a program such as Villanova. Lafayette does return to Philadelphia on Dec. 22 to play at Saint Josephs.Villanova: The Wildcats could use an easy one before they play at No. 15 Purdue on Monday. The Wildcats won their 40th straight game at the Pavilion and sold out the gym for the 170th straight time. Villanova is a whopping 98-13 there since the start of the 2013-14 season.THANKS FOR NOTHINGOHanlon played point guard for three seasons (1967-70) for the Wildcats. He had just one small problem opening the season at VillanovaJay didnt say he was going to win the national title, OHanlon said with a laugh.The Wildcats make a return trip next season and play Lafayette at the PPL Center in Allentown. OHanlon said the original pitch to his program was that the game in Allentown would be this season. When that fell through, the Wildcats offered Lafayette to come to campus this season.Yeah, thats some favor, Jay, OHanlon said. Im going to play the national champs twice. They may be twice (two-time champs) by that time.POLL IMPLICATIONSVillanova will remain ranked inside the top five.UP NEXTLafayette plays Monday night at Saint Peters.Villanova tries for a 3-0 career mark against the Boilermakers on Monday. Villanova won games in 1995 and 2012.---More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '