Is it Miller time at USC?
With all the buzz surrounding who will quarterback USC’s offense next season, redshirt sophomore Miller Moss may have silenced the noise surrounding that conversation. His historic six-touchdown performance led the Trojans as they claimed a 42-28 Holiday Bowl victory over Louisville Wednesday night at Petco Park in San Diego.
It was Moss’ first career start in college football in his third year at USC. It may go down as one of the best debuts in college football history.
“These six weeks weren’t about any individual, they were about us and the people that wanted to be here and wanted to play this game and wanted to come together,” Moss said of the team’s break between its final regular season game to the bowl matchup. “I’m sure I’ll watch the film and there will be a ton of stuff I need to clean up. Personally, it’s a good step in the right direction, but definitely a lot to improve on, a lot to accomplish.”
Along with his six touchdowns, Moss completed 23 of 33 passes for 372 yards. It was a record-breaking performance from the alumnus of Bishop Alemany in Mission Hills. He broke the record for passing touchdowns in the Holiday Bowl and the record for most touchdowns in a USC debut.
The start of the game couldn’t have been worse for USC. The Trojans went three-and-out on their first drive; Louisville scored on its first possession. Moss started to settle on on the Trojans’ second drive, but a missed field goal kept USC off the scoreboard.
USC played with a different ferocity on defense compared to how it has played this season by attacking players in open space and limited the Cardinals’ passing success. The momentum completely shifted towards USC after redshirt senior safety Max Williams punched the ball out of quarterback Jack Plummer’s hands, forcing a turnover on Louisville’s 19-yard line in the first quarter.
The Trojans capitalized on great field position, as Moss threw short to redshirt senior wideout Tahj Washington, who put two defenders on skates on his way to the endzone to even the score at 7-7.
As the game progressed, so did Moss’ ability to hit his wide receivers in stride deep down the field and spread the ball around. He hit freshman receiver Makai Lemon for 35 yards, then Washington for a 29-yard touchdown with 8:07 left in the second quarter.
Washington’s seven receptions and 99 yards secured his first ever 1,000-yard season, joining recent Trojans Drake London, Amon-Ra St. Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster in doing so.
USC’s offense received great field position again on its next drive after redshirt sophomore wide receiver Kyron Hudson blocked a punt. Just three plays later, Moss found Hudson on a quick slant for a nine-yard touchdown to make it 21-7.
“That whole week, I was getting blocked on that play. Like (redshirt senior center) Justin (Dedich) said, you have to be ready on every play. On that play I was open and I was able to get my hand up and block it.”
Louisville kept fighting back thanks to their ground game. Led by senior running back Isaac Guerendo, the Cardinals rushed for 220 yards. Guerendo accounted for 161 of them and totaled three touchdowns.
Moss completed a 31-yard touchdown to freshman receiver Ja’Kobi Lane to make it four touchdowns in the first half, tying the Holiday Bowl record and giving USC a 28-14 lead.
Louisville came out of the second half looking to turn the tide. USC marched down the field, but cornerback Quincy Riley intercepted Moss at the goal line and returned it for 61 yards. Guerendo was able to punch it in to bring the game back within a score.
After the interception, Moss remained ambitious on the following drive with his passes, continuing to push the envelope. He lofted a ball over the top to Lane for a 12-yard touchdown for Moss’ fifth and Lane’s second touchdown of the day. Lane’s two scores were his first trips to the endzone of the season and his career.
To put the icing on the cake of a historical performance, Moss showcased his arm strength one more time by finding freshman Duce Robinson in stride for a 44-yard touchdown on his last pass of the day, cementing the Holiday Bowl trophy and the new tradition of an eggnog shower for the winning coach, Lincoln Riley.
“We’re really proud of this group, proud of the leadership,” Riley said. “This is significant for the guys that have been here in the beginning of this journey, and there’ve been a lot of great moments in the first two years. Now, they’re going to get a lot better and it’s going to get a lot more fun as we go, but it had to start somewhere, and a lot of the guys in the locker room were a part of that.”