Tag: USC football

LOS ANGELES — No. 17 USC overcame an 11-point first-half deficit and its defense pitched a shutout in the second half to complete a 26-21 comeback win over Iowa on a rainy Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and stay in contention for its first bid to the College Football Playoff.

Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava went 23 of 32 for 254 yards and a touchdown and King Miller was USC’s leading rusher with 83 yards on 19 carries. Running back Bryan Jackson scored two short-yardage touchdowns. Makai Lemon had a game-high 153 receiving yards and a touchdown off 10 receptions.

The Trojans, who gave up 212 yards in the first half, limited the Hawkeyes to 108 yards in the second half, with only 25 yards coming through the air.

Iowa, known for a rushing attack that slowly wears down opposing defenses, leaned into its passing game to score 21 points with only one punt in the opening half.

Hawkeyes quarterback Mark Gronowski had a passing, rushing and receiving touchdown all in the first half. He finished 12 of 19 for 132 yards. Kamari Moulton led Iowa with 90 rushing yards on 15 carries.

Gronowski completed a 14-yard pass to tight end DJ Vonnahme on the first play of the game to start a 69-yard touchdown drive. Iowa capped it by lining up at the 2-yard line, with Gronowski dropping back for a quick scoring pass to Dayton Howard with 11:26 remaining in the first quarter.

Gronowski put Iowa up by two touchdowns with his second score of the game on a 1-yard run 48 seconds into the second quarter. USC cornerback DeCarlos Nicholson appeared to have broken up a pass to stall the drive at the 28-yard line, but a defensive pass interference call kept the Hawkeyes chugging along.

USC got on the scoreboard with 9:15 remaining in the first quarter when Jackson took a direct snap and ran up the middle for a 2-yard touchdown to trim Iowa’s lead to 14-7.

Even though USC pulled off one of the most talked-about trick plays of the season last week against Northwestern, it was Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz who dug deep into his playbook first Saturday.

Late in the secondd quarter, Gronowski handed the ball off to receiver Kaden Wetjen, who then pitched it to receiver Reece Vander Zee. The touchdown play was fully executed when Vander Zee, who played quarterback in high school, hit Gronowski with a 5-yard pass 3:24 before halftime.

USC’s Ryon Sayeri made a 40-yard field goal with 39 seconds left for a 21-10 halftime deficit. Two miscues prevented USC from potentially turning that drive into a trip to the end zone. Maiava connected on third down with Ja’Kobi Lane for a 14-yard gain, but center Kilian O’Connor’s movement downfield nullified the play. Miller dropped Maiava’s next pass and USC settled for a field goal.

Maiava came out firing on the other side of halftime. After Sayeri made a 29-yard field goal, the quarterback hit Lane with a 12-yard pass on the Trojans’ second drive of the half and followed up with another 12-yard pass – this one to Lemon in double coverage for Maiava’s first passing touchdown of the day. The 2-point conversion attempt failed, but the touchdown cut Iowa’s lead to 21-19.

USC’s defense was depleted by the second half, especially in the secondary. Defensive tackle Keeshawn Silver, safeties Kamari Ramsey and Bishop Fitzgerald and cornerback Marcellus Williams all left the game with apparent injuries.

True freshman defensive tackle Jakeem Stewart stepped up in their place, grabbing a deflected pass for the USC’s first interception of the day.

The Trojans were able to capitalize on the pick and went 40 yards in six plays for a touchdown. Jackson took the ball up the middle into the end zone from one yard out for USC’s first lead of the day at 26-21 with 13:37 remaining.

Iowa had one last chance to reclaim the lead. The Hawkeyes returned to the rushing attack and were able to drive down to the Trojans’ 29-yard line. But on 4th-and-6, USC safety Kennedy Urlacher leaped for a pass breakup that all but ended Iowa’s comeback with 1:59 to play.

LOS ANGELES — USC quarterback Jayden Maiava is not comfortable, despite the Trojans getting out to a 3-0 start to the season. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s uncomfortable.

“I don’t think I’m comfortable at all right now,” Maiava told reporters after practice on Tuesday. “There’s a lot to learn from. You don’t want to get complacent. When you get a little success, you don’t want to fall back. You just want to work harder, and sharpen that edge.”

The efforts to become a smarter – and better-rested – quarterback are culminating in a forceful start to the season.

Maiava has emerged as the top quarterback in the Big Ten Conference when it comes to passing yards per game (329.7) and he’s averaging 14.1 yards per attempt.

Training fixtures like the Trojan Period continue to breed the competitive mindset that Maiava seeks, and they are also helping the team close out games strong. The first-team offense goes against the first-team defense with less elaborate play calls and more hard-nosed competition.

“It’s more about physicality and technique and finishing, and we move it around day to day, so they don’t know exactly when it’s actually going to show up in the practice and how it’s going to play out,” Riley said.

“It’s become really competitive and just a period that I think the guys always look forward to. A period that as a program we hang our hat on.”

Maiava has yet to throw an interception and is playing behind an offensive line that has only allowed two sacks. The only statistic where he has dropped off from last season is rushing yards.

“We’ve got better guys to run the ball,” Maiava told reporters. “Like Waymond Jordan and Eli Sanders. Being able to get them the rock is huge for me and in terms of me running the ball, it’s just whatever the defense gives me.”

USC’s expanded options in the passing game complement Maiava’s enhanced skill set, especially when it comes to decision-making. Tanook Hines is making a name for himself alongside Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane in the receiving corps, and a built-up tight ends room allows the coaching staff to experiment more with 12 personnel.

“Since the day I got here, we have been like, all right, we have to build there,” Riley said of the tight ends. “That room was a ways off when we got here in terms of the depth and talent and skill sets that we want to have. It’s certainly gotten closer to where we wanted to be, and it’s cool to see those guys being able to affect our team in some positive ways.”

The tight ends didn’t contribute a single touchdown last season, but this year have already chipped in three between Lake McRee, Walker Lyons and Carson Tabaracci.

INJURY REPORT

Cornerback Chasen Johnson will be out for the remainder of the season due to a knee injury, Riley told reporters on Tuesday. He had played in only the Sept. 6 game against Georgia Southern this season and recorded one tackle.

The UCF transfer started four games for the Knights in 2024 and finished that season with 18 tackles and two pass breakups.

Receiver Zacharyus Williams is also expected to miss time due to an undisclosed injury sustained against Georgia Southern.

“We’ll see how it is,” Riley said. “It’s probably gonna be a few weeks, so we won’t have him for sure for the next couple weeks.”

Williams had three receptions in the first two games, including a season-long catch of 61 yards against Georgia Southern.

LOS ANGELES — The USC football program is embracing change this season, and not just when it comes to a shift in developmental focus. One of the most noticeable differences has been in how the Trojans arrived at the Coliseum on Saturday for their game against Missouri State.

All players wore matching all-black warmups – a striking contrast to the highly individualized gameday outfits that players were able to choose for themselves last season.

“There’s been a lot of changes in our program, particularly in the last couple of months,” head coach Lincoln Riley told reporters after the game. “And if you ask these guys, we don’t show up to a meeting, we don’t really do anything unless it’s all together.”

The change represents a unification within the team, according to the Trojans, and a willingness to trust in the Leadership Council.

The council is comprised of players and coaches who have been selected by Riley or recommended by teammates. They’re consulted throughout the season for feedback on decisions that will affect the entire team.

“This is one of the bigger ones that we’ve had,” Riley told reporters on Tuesday. “It’s important and we rely on those conversations and that feedback when we make some of the decisions for the team.

“It’s a good, healthy group right now. It’s a good mix of staff and players, and so far, the group has been taking it really personal. That’s how you want them to take it.”

Offensive lineman Tobias Raymond – who started at left guard on Saturday – told reporters that the council is ego-less and has opportunities to make an immediate impact in addition to participating in more long-term decision-making.

Players and coaches keep each other in check, making sure that no hats are worn during meetings, drills are done correctly during individual periods and the energy is always high.

“When we’re in practice and energy is low, it’s on us to come try and bring it back up together,” Raymond said. “That’s obviously something that we’re all still learning, but I think that’s kind of the main goal of the leadership council is to come together and figure out like, OK, what are we going to do at this time?”

The collective decision to have a unified gameday look is a permanent one, at least for this season. Some variation in accessories appears to be allowed – some players had heavy jewelry draped around their neck and others had swaths of tropical flowers or leaves.

Others, like running back Eli Sanders, kept the look simple.

“The tracksuit’s cool,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “Being a team, being professional. I didn’t have any accessories on. I had some headphones with wires on – I know it’s kind of outdated, but that’s what I rocked with.”

This team decision is a noticeable and public one, but some leadership council conversations stay behind closed doors.

Riley, quarterback Jayden Maiava and safety Bishop Fitzgerald sat at the podium together during Saturday’s postgame press conference and when a reporter asked about the matching warmups, Fitzgerald and Riley immediately looked toward a smiling Maiava.

“That’s stuff that we just discuss as a team,” Maiava said when asked about the smile. “‘Unify’ is a huge one for us, and we’re all just trying to move as one, and move together.”