Tag: Trojans

No. 17 USC rallies in second half, upends rival UCLA

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Jayden Maiava threw both of his touchdown passes in the second half to spearhead No. 17 Southern California’s 29-10 comeback win over visiting rival UCLA on Saturday in Los Angeles.

With two stalled drives ending in missed field goals, USC (9-3, 7-2 Big Ten Conference) went to halftime trailing 10-7 against its crosstown counterpart UCLA (3-9, 3-6).

After four straight possessions without scoring, following an initial possession in which King Miller carried for a 5-yard score, the Trojans finally broke through just before the end of the third quarter. Maiava found Makai Lemon for the only time in the contest, but on their 11th touchdown connection of the season, on a 32-yard bomb for a 14-10 USC lead.

USC, which has won four of its last five, struck again on its next possession when Maiava hit Lake McRee on a goal-line touchdown that pushed its lead to 21-10.

UCLA, which scored on a pair of lengthy time-consuming drives in the second quarter, saw its second-half possessions end in three consecutive punts and a turnover on downs before another turnover on downs effectively sealed the USC win.

The Bruins’ scoring drives went 7:50 in 13 plays and 79 yards, culminating in Nicol Iamaleava’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Kwazi Gilmer, and 60 yards in 13 plays over 5:24 before Mateen Baghani’s 38-yard field goal just before intermission.

UCLA had a pair of drives in the second half that ate up more than seven minutes of clock, including its last-gasp effort to rally after USC pulled ahead by two scores, but Braylan Shelby’s late sack of Iamaleava put the Bruins in a hole they could not escape.

Miller added the exclamation point on USC’s ensuing possession, breaking off a 41-yard scoring rush to cap his 17-carry, 124-yard game. Maiava finished the night 21-of-29 passing for 257 yards.

Iamaleava completed 27 of 38 passes for 200 yards, with Gilmer catching 11 targets for 94 yards. Jalen Berger rushed seven times for 57 yards in the loss, UCLA’s fifth straight. The Bruin bookended a three-game winning streak with a pair of long skids, including an 0-4 start.

–Field Level Media

No. 7 Oregon outguns No. 15 USC to stay on track for CFP spot

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No. 7 Oregon had enough offense to outlast No. 15 USC for a 42-27 Big Ten victory on Saturday afternoon in Eugene, Ore., as the Ducks overcame the most penalty yards against them in two years to stay on track for a College Football Playoff spot.

Oregon (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) got a pair of touchdown catches from tight end Kenyon Sadiq, intercepted USC quarterback Jayden Maiava twice and held Trojans star wide receiver Makai Lemon to 34 receiving yards — though Lemon had two touchdown catches.

The Ducks’ Dante Moore completed 22 of 30 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Maiava finished 25 of 43 for 306 yards with three touchdowns for the Trojans (8-3, 6-2).

Both teams scored touchdowns on trick plays. Lemon threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Tanook Hines in the second quarter to tie the game at 14. Ducks linebacker Bryce Boettcher responded with a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:52 to go until halftime to give Oregon a 28-14 lead at the break.

Boettcher, a Eugene native, defensive starter and a key player on Oregon’s baseball team, played in his final regular-season game at Autzen Stadium.

Points were plentiful as Oregon penalties helped USC sustain drives. Early in the fourth quarter, back-to-back pass interference calls against the Ducks helped USC’s touchdown drive. Maiava found Lake McRee for a nine-yard touchdown pass to make it 35-27 with 11:32 left to play.

But Oregon responded, as it did much of the afternoon after the Trojans tied the game or got within one score. Moore engineered an 11-play, 79-yard drive that ended in Noah Whittington’s nine-yard touchdown run with 5:30 to play.

Whittington carried 19 times for 104 yards as Oregon defeated USC for the sixth time in the past seven meetings. The Ducks ended the day with 11 penalties for 130 yards.

USC got the ball down 42-27 and converted a fourth-and-8 to stay alive as Maiava was chased out of the pocket and completed a deep ball to Ja’Kobi Lane for 32 yards. But when the Trojans faced another fourth down on the same drive, the Ducks got the stop they needed to seal victory when Maiava threw behind Lemon incomplete.

Hines had six catches for 141 yards for USC. The Trojans were held to 52 rushing yards as a team.

–Field Level Media

No. 17 Southern California completes comeback win over No. 21 Iowa

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Bryan Jackson ran for two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter as No. 17 Southern California rallied for a 26-21 victory over No. 21 Iowa on Saturday at Los Angeles.

Jayden Maiava passed for 254 yards and one touchdown. Makai Lemon caught 10 passes for 153 yards and a TD, and the Trojans (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten) stayed alive in the chase for a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game and the College Football Playoff.

King Miller had 83 rushing yards on 19 carries, and Jackson scored his two TDs on four carries as USC overcame an early 14-0 deficit.

Mark Gronowski passed for 132 yards and a touchdown with an interception, while also catching a TD pass for the Hawkeyes (6-4, 4-3), who lost their second consecutive game.

Kamari Moulton had 90 rushing yards for Iowa, while DJ Vonnahme caught four passes for 59 yards.

Trailing 21-10 at halftime, the Trojans owned the second half to extend their winning streak to three games.

Ryon Sayeri kicked a 28-yard field goal early in the second half before Lemon caught a 12-yard TD pass from Maiava late in the third to pull USC within 21-19. Maiava’s pass on a 2-point conversion try was incomplete.

USC went ahead for good with 13:36 remaining when Jackson finished off a six-play, 40-yard drive with a 1-yard TD run. The drive started after the Trojans’ Jahkeem Stewart intercepted a Gronowski pass.

Iowa was on a late drive with a chance to take the lead, but Gronowski’s pass to Kaden Wetjen was just out of bounds at the USC 8-yard line with 1:59 remaining.

Iowa led 7-0 through one quarter after Gronowski hit Dayton Howard on a 2-yard touchdown pass. It became 14-0 when Gronowski scored on a 1-yard run early in the second quarter.

USC got onto the scoreboard for the first time on a 1-yard TD run from Jackson with 9:15 remaining in the first half.

Iowa used a trick play to take a 21-7 lead with 3:24 left before halftime. Gronowski caught a 5-yard TD pass from wide receiver Reece Vander Zee after a reverse that started on a hand off to Wetjen.

The Trojans pulled within 21-10 at halftime on a 40-yard field goal from Sayeri.

–Field Level Media

No. 17 USC honing in on latest big opportunity vs. No. 21 Iowa

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No. 17 Southern California will be out to keep a narrow focus on No. 21 Iowa this Saturday in Los Angeles, knowing that a victory will continue to make the bigger picture come to life.

The Trojans (7-2, 5-1 Big Ten) will need some help to get into the Big Ten championship game, but by winning their last three games — against Iowa, Oregon and UCLA — a spot in the College Football Playoff might be there for the taking.

Overlooking the Hawkeyes, though, with a date against Oregon next, would ruin future plans.

Since falling 34-24 at Notre Dame on Oct. 18, USC got back into Big Ten play with victories over Nebraska on Nov. 1 and Northwestern at home Friday when the Trojans pulled away in the second half for a 38-17 victory.

Jayden Maiava completed 24 of 33 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns, while wide receiver Makai Lemon had 11 receptions for 161 yards and a touchdown, as well as a rushing TD. Walk-on running back King Miller gained 127 yards with a TD.

USC’s defense recovered a pair of fumbles and gave up just 28 rushing yards in the second half while allowing three points over the final two quarters.

“We know the more we win, the bigger these opportunities get,” USC head coach Lincoln Riley said. “We’ve got some big ones coming up that are big because we’ve made them big. And so I think for the team, just making sure they understand that, they understand how hard it is to get to this point in any year, where you have in front of us what we do.”

If Ohio State and Indiana win out, those teams will meet in the Big Ten title game. But if USC wins out and Ohio State falls to rival Michigan, the Trojans would board a flight for Indianapolis next month. That is just one outside scenario that would help USC down the stretch.

The Hawkeyes (6-3, 4-2) dropped an 18-16 heartbreaker at home to No. 9 Oregon on Saturday. All three of their losses this season have come to ranked teams, as they fell to Iowa State on Sept. 6 and lost to current CFP No. 2 Indiana 20-15 three weeks later.

Iowa took a 16-15 lead over Oregon with less than two minutes remaining after a 3-yard touchdown run from Mark Gronowski off a quarterback draw, but the Ducks got a 39-yard field goal from Atticus Sappington with three seconds left.

“We came up a little short, but proud of our team’s effort and the way we competed certainly,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “Tough loss. A lot of little things that we’re going to have to figure out, do a little bit better at, but the most important thing for our team is they understand there’s a lot to be proud of.”

For the Hawkeyes to have a chance in their second-ever conference visit to the L.A. area (they lost 20-17 at UCLA last season), they likely will have to lean into a defense that is third in the Big Ten with 13.7 points allowed per game. USC leads the conference with 503.2 yards gained on offense per game.

–Field Level Media

Nov 1, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) runs against Nebraska Cornhuskers defensive lineman Elijah Jeudy (16) during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

No. 23 Southern California scores last to avoid upset at Nebraska

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Behind King Miller’s 129 rushing yards and fourth-quarter touchdown, No. 23 Southern California overcame a sluggish offensive start to rally past Nebraska 21-17 on Saturday night in Lincoln, Neb.

USC (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten Conference), which came into Saturday’s matchup with the fifth-most prolific offense in FBS at 42.4 points per game, did not reach the end zone until late in the third quarter against Nebraska (6-3, 3-3).

Wearing special black uniforms, the Cornhuskers played a game reminiscent of the program’s famed Blackshirt defenses of yesteryear. Nebraska held USC quarterback Jayden Maiava to 9-of-23 passing for 135 yards without a touchdown.

Andrew Marshall came away with an interception of Maiava.

But while the Trojans’ quarterback struggled much of the way, he came through in a pivotal spot with a 43-yard completion to Jaden Richardson on a flea flicker in the fourth quarter. That big play set up the drive that culminated in Miller’s 6-yard touchdown carry, giving USC a 21-17 lead with 10:06 left in regulation.

Maiava also carried for a touchdown of 16 yards late in the third quarter. Miller tacked on a successful two-point conversion to erase what had been a 14-6 Nebraska lead.

The Cornhuskers scored touchdowns on a pair of 75-yard drives in the first half, capped on a 14-yard pass from Dylan Raiola to Dane Key and Emmett Johnson’s 10-yard rush.

The Trojans’ defense was otherwise as feisty as Nebraska’s, forcing the Cornhuskers into four punts and a missed field-goal attempt on the night.

Compounding Nebraska’s offensive woes was the third quarter departure of Raiola. Facing pressure from linebacker Eric Gentry, Raiola stepped out of the blitzing Trojan’s reach only to be taken down on the blind side by defensive end Anthony Lucas.

Raiola appeared to twist his leg and was taken out, with freshman TJ Lateef coming in. Lateef went 5-of-7 passing but finished with just 7 yards through the air.

The sophomore Raiola was 10-of-15 for 91 yards at the time of his injury.

Johnson rushed for 165 yards on 29 carries to buoy the Nebraska offense as much as possible, but on fourth-and-1 at the Cornhuskers’ 27 on the final drive, he slipped in the backfield and failed to convert.

–Field Level Media

Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (4) runs the ball into the end zone for a touchdown in the first half of a NCAA football game against Southern California at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in South Bend.

Jeremiyah Love’s career day helps No. 13 Notre Dame run past No. 20 USC

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Jeremiyah Love rushed 24 times for a career-high 228 yards and a touchdown, and No. 13 Notre Dame pulled away for a 34-24 win over No. 20 USC on a rain-soaked Saturday night in South Bend, Ind.

Jadarian Price returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and rushed for 87 yards and a score for Notre Dame (5-2). CJ Carr completed 16 of 26 passes for 136 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Jayden Maiava completed 22 of 42 passes for 328 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for USC (5-2). Ja’Kobi Lane caught six passes for 111 yards and a touchdown.

Price put Notre Dame on top for good with his 100-yard kickoff return. He fielded the ball in the end zone, bounced off a couple defenders and found a crease for the end-to-end score that gave the Fighting Irish a 27-24 lead with 4:17 to go in the third quarter.

Carr punched in a 1-yard touchdown on a quarterback keeper to boost Notre Dame’s lead to 34-24 with 7:16 remaining in the fourth quarter.

USC opened the scoring on its first possession. Maiava connected with Lake McRee for a 10-yard touchdown to cap a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive.

Notre Dame quickly evened the score at 7-all. Love ran for 63 yards on his first carry of the game, and he followed up two plays later with a 12-yard rushing touchdown.

Ryon Sayeri kicked a 42-yard field goal to give USC a 10-7 lead with 8:04 to go in the first quarter.

The Fighting Irish took their first lead with 14:36 left in the second quarter. Price scored on a 16-yard run.

Sayeri kicked a 24-yard field goal to pull USC within 14-13 with 1:42 remaining in the first half.

Notre Dame increased its lead to 21-13 with 8:04 to go in the third quarter. Carr found Will Pauling for a 6-yard touchdown.

USC answered with Sayeri’s third field goal, this time from 43 yards, with 6:19 left in the third quarter.

The Trojans regained a 24-21 lead less than two minutes later. Maiva lofted a pass down the right sideline for Lane, who caught it around the 25-yard line and sprinted the rest of the way for a 59-yard score.

-Field Level Media

Sep 20, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) drops back to pass against the Michigan State Spartans during the first half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

USC hosts No. 15 Michigan in first Coliseum meeting since 1957

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All six of Southern California’s Big Ten Conference losses since joining the league last season have been by one-score margins, a streak that began in 2024 against the Trojans’ visiting opponent on Saturday, No. 15 Michigan.

The Wolverines (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten) welcomed USC (4-1, 2-1) to the conference last September by scoring a 27-24 comeback win in Ann Arbor, Mich.

When Michigan visits Los Angeles for this season’s encounter, the Wolverines will see a Trojans team returning to action from a bye and one game removed from a 34-32 loss at Illinois on Sept. 27.

But although USC ran into a familiar scenario for its first loss of the season, the 2025 Trojans are not the 2024 Trojans that finished 6-6 in the regular season. The same is true for Michigan, as coach Sherrone Moore noted during his media availability.

“This is this year, not last year,” Moore said when asked of avoiding a slide similar to 2024. ” … This is a different team, I think, with a different mindset and a different focus.”

A season ago, the Wolverines’ win over the Trojans, decided on an 89-yard drive in the closing minutes, was part of a 4-1 start. Michigan went 3-4 the rest of the regular season.

Following its 24-10 win against Wisconsin last week, Michigan is again 4-1 and a winner of three straight since a 24-13 setback at Oklahoma in Week 2.

“They just adjust,” Moore said of the current Wolverines defense, which comes into Los Angeles allowing just 16.2 points per game. ” … You watch the film and they are physical. They are tenacious. They are fast. They want to hit you.”

That includes hitting opponents in the backfield, where Michigan has racked up 15 sacks — tied for 18th-most in the FBS. Jaishawn Barham, Derrick Moore and Cole Sullivan lead the way, each with multiple sacks on the season.

Generating pressure on opposing quarterbacks has turned into takeaway opportunities for the Wolverines, too, with Michigan having picked off seven passes through its first five games.

Conversely, USC quarterback Jayden Maiava went the first four contests without throwing an interception.

That streak ended at Illinois, but Maiava finished the game 30-of-43 passing for 364 yards with two touchdowns. Both scores, thrown to Makai Lemon, came during a fourth-quarter rally in which USC pulled ahead, 32-31, with 1:55 remaining.

“I’m fired up,” said Maiava of facing Michigan. Last season, Miller Moss started the game in Ann Arbor, making Saturday Maiava’s first opportunity to face the Wolverines in Michigan’s first visit to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum since 1957.

“Super good team we’re about to play. Can’t wait,” Maiava said.

Maiava is now 98 of 139 on the season for 1,587 yards — his 317.4 yards per game trailing only Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson at 343 — and he has thrown 11 touchdowns to the one interception.

Lemon’s 117.8 yards receiving per game, meanwhile, rank second nationally and he has hauled in five touchdown catches for a USC offense averaging 48.4 points per game, third nationally.

“There’s not too much we’ve got to adjust because of Michigan,” Lemon said following USC’s practice on Tuesday. “We’ve just got to keep doing our job, paying attention to detail, and we’ll be good.”

–Field Level Media

Sep 6, 2025; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith walks across the field following a double-overtime victory over Boston College at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Mullin-Imagn Images

Michigan State scheduled for 11 p.m. ET start at USC

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Michigan State football fans will need some coffee or energy drinks to watch their team’s Week 4 game at Southern California.

Fox scheduled the Spartans-Trojans game on Sept. 20 for an 11 p.m. ET kickoff, or 8 p.m. in Los Angeles.

“It’s gonna be a late one folks,” Michigan State football’s X account posted when the news broke Monday.

The scheduling decision was met with backlash from fans who felt it was an unfair consequence of the Big Ten Conference adding USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington to create a coast-to-coast league footprint.

Last year, Rutgers’ game at USC on Oct. 25 was also given an 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT television window, though that game took place on a Friday.

Both Michigan State and USC are 2-0 entering this week.

–Field Level Media

Sep 6, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans wide receiver Makai Lemon (6) runs down field for a touchdown on a pass play during the first half against the Georgia Southern Eaglesat Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Jayden Maiava’s 4 TD passes carry USC past Georgia Southern

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Jayden Maiava threw for 412 yards and four touchdowns to lead USC to a 59-20 win against visiting Georgia Southern on Saturday evening in Los Angeles.

Maiava completed 16-of-24 passes without a turnover. Makai Lemon caught four passes for 158 yards and two long touchdowns, doing most of his damage in the first quarter. Ja’Kobi Lane added three catches for 91 yards and a spectacular one-handed touchdown snare in the opening quarter.

Waymond Jordan rushed for 167 yards on 16 carries and scored a touchdown for the Trojans. Eli Sanders added 52 rushing yards and two scores.

USC (2-0) lost a fumble on its first drive and Georgia Southern capitalized when Weston Bryan tossed a 32-yard touchdown pass to Camden Brown, who made the grab despite drawing a pass-interference penalty.

The two-point attempt was no good, leaving the score at 6-0

The Trojans wasted no time moving downfield, taking a 7-6 lead on Lane’s 12-yard touchdown catch as he was getting his right arm held by a defender.

USC got the ball back and came up with the first of back-to-back big plays by Lemon.

He caught a short pass that he turned into a 62-yard touchdown by breaking tackles and weaving through defenders, stretching the lead to 14-6 with 6:53 left in the first quarter.

Maiava then found Lemon for a 74-yard touchdown with 2:14 left in the opening quarter, stretching the lead to 21-6.

Georgia Southern (0-2) didn’t initially fade away, answering back with a 24-yard touchdown pass from JC French IV to Brown to trim the lead to 21-13 with 11:32 left in the first half.

The Trojans tacked on a 26-yard field goal and then stopped the Eagles on downs, allowing them to expand their lead to 31-13 with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Maiava to tight end Walker Lyons.

Maiava threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns in the first half.

Jordan scored on a 36-yard touchdown run on USC’s first drive of the second half to make it 38-13, and Sanders scored on a 1-yard run to make it 45-13.

After the Eagles scored on a 13-yard touchdown pass from French to Dalen Cobb, the Trojans answered with a 5-yard touchdown run by Sanders for a 52-20 lead, and a 41-yard touchdown run by King Miller to make it 59-20.

–Field Level Media

Aug 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans running back Eli Sanders (1) is pursued by Missouri State Bears safety J.J. O'Neal (16) and safety Maguire Neal (0) on a 73-yard touchdown reception in the first half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

USC rings up 73 points to spoil Missouri State’s FBS debut

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After giving up the game’s first points on a field goal, Southern California rolled off 28 unanswered points in a little more than 10 minutes to run away from visiting Missouri State, 73-13, Saturday in Los Angeles.

The Trojans (1-0) spoiled the Football Bowl Subdivision debut of the Bears, newcomers to Conference USA, with an onslaught that began midway through the first quarter. Waymond Jordan was the first of five USC ball-carriers to rush for a touchdown on the day, his 5-yard run capping a seven-play, 75-yard drive.

USC then added a Bryan Jackson touchdown run of three yards just before the end of the first quarter, and quarterback Jayden Maivia found tight end Lake McCree on a short route that McCree turned into a 64-yard touchdown just minutes later.

A Bishop Fitzgerald 39-yard pick-six of Missouri State quarterback Jacob Clark just three snaps later pushed the score to 28-3 in a dizzying spell that left the Bears waylaid.

Missouri State (0-1) managed its first FBS touchdown when Clark hit a wide-open Tristian Gardner for a 33-yard score, but the Bears had no hope for mounting a comeback. The USC offense had its way both through the air and on the ground.

By the time Maiavia was pulled midway through the third quarter to give reserve Husan Longstreet reps, Maiavia was 15-of-18 for 295 yards with two touchdowns. His second scoring throw resembled his first, with Eli Sanders taking a short pass for a long gain of 73 yards to the house.

Maiavia tacked on a rushing touchdown just before halftime to punctuate his shortened work day. His backup, Longstreet, carried for touchdowns of 5 and 17 yards in the second half to bookend a 75-yard King Miller scoring run.

Longstreet added a passing touchdown to push USC to the 70-point milestone for the first time since a 2005 blowout of Arkansas, hooking up with Carson Tabaracci on a nine-yard connection.

Longstreet finished 9-for-9 in the air for 69 yards. He rushed for 54 yards, second only to Miller’s 80 among all Trojans on a 233-yard day. USC outgained Missouri State overall, 597-224, with the Bears rushing for only 65 yards.

Clark finished 16-of-24 for 147 yards with the touchdown and two interceptions before Cole Feuerbacher closed out the game at quarterback.

–Field Level Media