USC football ended its three-game slide as the Trojans knocked off the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 42-20, getting back to .500 on the year.
“We just played better, you know, we took care of the ball,” said head coach Lincoln Riley. “It wasn’t our best third down game. I haven’t seen the final stats, but we did a great job of limiting their points.”
The Trojans came into this game heavily depleted in the secondary, losing four starting defensive backs for the week to add to the already growing list of injuries on the defensive side of the ball — after redshirt senior defensive tackle Nate Clifton left the field in the first quarter, USC was down seven defensive starters.
Regardless of defensive injuries in typical USC fashion, the Trojans elected to receive the ball to start the game. Commanded by redshirt junior quarterback Miller Moss, the Trojans easily marched down the field. Moss found four different receivers for 47 yards on his way to the goal line, where redshirt senior running back Woody Marks punched in the touchdown to put USC up 7-0 early.
On the Trojan’s first defensive drive, the Scarlet Knights pittered and pattered their way down the field for seven plays, before senior running back Kyle Monangai broke off a 27-yard run that ended with a face mask penalty on USC to put Rutgers in the red zone.
However, when the going got tough deep in their own territory, the Trojan defense stood tall, holding the Scarlet Knights to a field goal, letting USC keep the lead with just over four minutes left in the first quarter.
USC’s next drive was juiced immediately after sophomore wide receiver Makai Lemon was shot out of a cannon on the kickoff, taking it 80 yards down to the Rutgers 20-yard line. Four plays later, Marks punched in his second touchdown of the game, putting the Trojans up 14-3 with two minutes to play in the first quarter.
The cheers for Marks’ touchdown were quickly upended by an even greater roar. The crowd watched L.A. Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam to win game one of the World Series.
After a moment of pure bliss and “Let’s Go Dodgers” chants from the team’s many fans in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the fans directed their attention back to the football at hand, where the USC defense forced a turnover on downs by the Scarlet Knights after an arrant throw by senior quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis missed a would-be touchdown.
The Trojan offense once again came out energized, redshirt senior wide receiver Kyle Ford barging through and bounding over defenders to pick up his first touchdown on the season, putting USC up 21-3 with 10:26 to play in the half.
The next ten minutes ended with the two sides trading rushing touchdowns, with the Scarlet Knights exposing the weaker USC secondary, then knocking home a short but powerful run to the endzone and ending the half with a field goal.
The Trojans marched down the field behind Marks’ rushing and receiving ability, who broke off a 22-yard rush to the end zone for his third touchdown of the game. As the half came to a close, USC led 28-12.
“As a physical front, we continue to get better. It seems like each game we just continue to play a little bit better,” said Riley on Marks’ three touchdowns. “I thought being able to mix the run game and the throw game there in the first half was a big key.”
The second half did not match the first’s fast start, with both teams punting on their opening drives. Rutgers, however, found some momentum on their second drive with Kaliakmanis hitting a 45-yard pass and then a 25-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver Christian Dremel.
Kaliakmanis then scored on a two-point conversion where he caught a pass in the endzone to make it a one-score game, trailing 28-20 with eight minutes to play in the third.
On the Trojan’s next drive, it was apparent Lemon still had plenty of juice leftover from his kick return, as he took a quick slant from Moss 70 yards. Three plays and two penalties later, Moss kept the ball on a read option, sprinted to the pylon and housed his second rushing touchdown of the year, putting USC up 35-20 with 6:32 to play in the third quarter.
After a few uneventful drives, Lemon’s stellar game continued as he found a soft spot in the defense and took a 40-yard pass all the way to the house to extend the USC lead to the eventual final score: 42-20.
“I don’t know if he’s great at anything yet, but he’s really good at a lot of things,” Riley said of Lemon. “There’s not a ton of things that you can look at and say, ‘well, he just can’t do that.’ You know, he’s a very versatile receiver.”
The fourth quarter did not provide much offensively, with the two defenses slugging it out to see who would fold first. Neither did.
“I thought today was just a good representation of the true identity of our defense,” said redshirt senior linebacker Easton Macarenas-Arnold. “Playing physical for four straight quarters, not really taking our foot off the gas, regardless of how games are going.”
After a few big stops from the Trojan defense, redshirt sophomore quarterback Jayden Maiava saw his second game under center for USC, immediately busting out a 13-yard rush, nabbing a first down and effectively ending the game.
“[It’s an) affirmation of who we are and what we believe in,” Moss said about the state of the locker room after the win. “Give a ton of credit to the guys in that locker room, the staff with a whole program on how we continue to come together and continue to fight through adversity.”
Next on the schedule for USC, the Trojans head up to the Pacific Northwest to take on Washington on November 2.