In their first matchup since 1990, No. 25 USC (4-0, 2-0) rolled past Michigan State (3-1, 0-1) 45-31 continuing its hot start to the season in a high-scoring conference matchup at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
67,614 packed the Coliseum to watch the Trojans and Spartans put up a combined 76 points in only their ninth meeting in program history. The last time the Spartans played at the Coliseum was in 1978.
“We’re excited about the win,” USC head coach Lincoln Riley said. “We’re not satisfied. We know we’ve got to get better.”
Early on, the Trojans made it an emphasis to feature their two explosive running backs – redshirt senior Eli Sanders and junior Waymond Jordan. Both Sanders and Jordan showed flashes of speed and explosiveness in the first half. By halftime, Sanders racked up 66 rushing yards on eight carries and Jordan totaled 81 rushing yards on eight carries.
“Credit to those guys, the way they ran the ball,” Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith said. That really was the big, big difference in their success. I knew they had the ability to be explosive in the pass game.”
After USC settled for a 25-yard field goal by redshirt freshman kicker Ryon Sayeri for the first points of the game, Michigan State junior quarterback Aidan Chiles wasted no time, responding with a 42-yard touchdown pass to a wide open redshirt junior receiver Chrishon McCray.
USC continued to lean on its running backs, gashing Michigan State’s defense play after play. The Trojans capped off their second drive with a perfectly executed 15-yard read-option run by redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava. Because USC was leaning on the run so heavily early on, the Spartans were lost on the read-option allowing Maiava to easily score.
Riley attributed much of the team’s offensive success to the offensive line.
“The O-line played really well and that’s where it all starts,” Riley said. “I think we’re seeing some of the fruits of our labor in terms of what we’ve developed O-line and D-line wise.”
A lack of pass rush from the Spartans allowed Maiava to thrive in the pocket. The second quarter was highlighted by two touchdown passes from Maiava. The first was a beautiful 40-yard touch pass to junior receiver Makai Lemon and the second was a 7-yard strike to freshman wideout Tanook Hines.
It was Hines’ first touchdown catch in his college career. He was expected to have a bigger role in this game due to the absence of junior starting receiver Ja’Kobi Lane.
Riley said that Lane’s status for next week’s game is “inconclusive” and while he doesn’t think that Lane’s absence will be for an extended period, he can’t guarantee that Lane will play at Illinois.
The Trojans’ defense – which led the nation in sacks coming into tonight’s game – stayed hungry all night, frustrating Michigan State. After struggling to get their run game going in the first half, the Spartans turned to their passing game at the start of the third.
USC made Chiles visibly uncomfortable in the pocket, forcing him to rush throws and throw the ball away. With Chiles under constant duress, the Spartans shifted to their rushing attack towards the end of the third.
“I feel like we did well as a group,” USC redshirt junior defensive tackle Devan Thompkins said. “We’re never satisfied with the results. We’ve just got to continue to improve.”
After three straight rushes of 6+ yards by Michigan State sophomore running back Makhi Frazier, Chiles punched in a 4-yard rushing touchdown to cut the deficit to 14.
While USC played relatively clean football, Lemon fumbled in the third, and it was recovered by Michigan State. The Spartans capitalized on the turnover with a 1-yard passing touchdown to senior tight end Jack Velling, cutting USC’s lead to seven.
The Trojans put the nail in the coffin behind a 4-yard rushing touchdown by Lemon on a jet sweep to put USC on top 45-24.
“I thought we were gonna win the whole game until the clock was zero,” Chiles said. “I don’t ever think we’re gonna lose a game. It’s tough being down 14 with 15 seconds left to go. It’s hard to think that you’re gonna win that game, but at the same time, you can’t go in there thinking ‘I’m gonna lose this game’.”
The Trojans will look to stay undefeated when they travel to Urbana-Champaign to take on No. 9 Illinois next Saturday at 9 a.m. PST in their third conference matchup of the season.