LOS ANGELES -- In USC's 27-24 win against Colorado last week, the Trojans were again forced to reverse course after getting off to a slow start.

It's become a habit under interim coach Clay Helton and, on some level, he has to be concerned. Until it costs the Trojans a game, though, he would just prefer to take a positive view on the topic.

“Do we need to start fast?” Helton said. “Yes, of course we need to start fast, but I don’t look at things as breaking it down by quarters.”

Let’s do it anyway.

In the five games since Helton stepped into the role of head coach, USC has trailed at the end of the first quarter each game (by an average of 7.2 points). Yet, somehow, the Trojans are 4-1 in those games and undefeated in conference play. The three other Pac-12 teams with a negative first-quarter point margin during that span -- Arizona State, Colorado and Oregon State -- are a combined 2-12.

Take USC’s five games under Helton out of the equation and FBS teams which have trailed through the first quarter this year have won just 23.6 percent of the time (116-376). Since 2004, FBS teams have won just 26 percent of the time after being outscored in the first quarter.

Oregon, which USC plays this week, has been an ever tougher team to come back on. In their last 89 games in which they led through the first quarter, the Ducks are 80-9. This year, they’re the conference’s highest-scoring first-quarter team (9.6 points).

“I would much rather have a team that finishes,” Helton said. “I want a complete game, that’s great, but I think you want a team that finishes and I think that’s what we’ve been able to do.

“The name of the game at the end of the day is to outscore your opponents.”

Obviously, USC has been able to bounce back and, most of the time, it’s happened quickly.

In the five games under Helton, the Trojans have outscored their opponents by 42 points in the second quarter -- 7.8 points per game -- with Colorado, as Helton pointed out, being the only team the Trojans have trailed at the half.

Quarterback Cody Kessler credited Helton’s ability to make in-game adjustments as the catalyst for the team’s ability to overcome its slow starts.

The Trojans were outscored in the second half of their final three games under Steve Sarkisian, but just once under Helton -- his first game, at Notre Dame.

“Coach Helton does a great job of that. He comes in at halftime and sits down with the coaches, obviously, and they go over what they want to do in the second half,” Kessler said. “And then they’ll talk to each position guy. Coach Helton will come to me.

“He makes adjustments and even if completely changes our game plan.”

It's not the ideal way to go about winning games, but, for now, it's working.