Some wins feel like a routine. This one didn’t.
There are turning points in every football game, but some moments hit harder than others. The rain and the sluggish atmosphere at the Coliseum didn’t help the Trojans (8-2, 6-1) to start the game, as they found themselves drowning early to the Hawkeyes (6-4, 4-3).
For a team whose passing offense is ranked near the bottom nationally, Iowa came out looking like an offensive unit. On the first drive alone, graduate quarterback Mark Gronowski threw for 61 yards — more than half of what he typically produces in an entire game — while cutting through USC’s defense to go up early. The Hawkeyes would then lead 21-10 heading into halftime.
By the time the Trojans jogged out of the locker room to start the second half, their playoff hopes were wobbling and their rhythm was shaken, the exact kind of energy that this Iowa team feeds on.
And then junior receiver Makai Lemon changed everything.
Like he has all season, Lemon became the answer to every question USC’s offense faced. Whenever the Trojans needed a spark, he became one. But no sequence meant more than in the third quarter, when Lemon scorched his way across the end zone and hauled in a tight-window touchdown that finally shifted the momentum.
Lemon finished with another impressive performance: 10 catches for 153 yards, grabbing everything he could see. It was the kind of afternoon that reminded everyone why he’s USC’s most indispensable weapon.
“We have to play our best. Go out there and put it all on the line, and that’s what we did tonight.” Lemon said.
USC’s defense handled the rest, delivering one of its most important and composed second halves of the season.
“It just felt like we were going to stop them every time and it felt like we were going to score every time.” Lincoln Riley said.
Only four plays after Lemon’s touchdown, Iowa tried to answer. Gronowski released a third-down throw he’d regret instantly. The ball was deflected at the line and drifted directly into the waiting arms of Thanos himself, the nickname of freshman defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart, who secured the interception like he was collecting another infinity stone. That play flipped the stadium’s energy on its head, causing students to start taking their shirts off en masse in the student section.
“Our students have brought it all year. There’s been constant energy over there all year, and our team feels it.” Riley said.
Six plays later, USC was right back in the end zone again to take its first lead of the game. With an early exit from redshirt junior safety Kamari Ramsey in the first quarter, sophomore Kennedy Urlacher stepped in without any hesitation, breaking up a crucial play on fourth down late in the fourth quarter.
Redshirt junior QB Jayden Maiava settled back in after shaking off an uneven first half to guide the offense with the composure USC needed. And while Lemon dominated the box score, the supporting cast delivered like the post office, with contested catches from junior wideout Ja’Kobi Lane and redzone runs from sophomore back Bryan Jackson.
USC outscored Iowa 16-0 in the second half. A game that once felt lost turned into one that felt earned.
And that’s what made Saturday special.
USC didn’t win because it outran Iowa. The Trojans won because their stars delivered when the season demanded it. They won because everyone kept fighting on to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Even on the darkest days, the sun waits just beyond the clouds. And at the Coliseum, that late spark showed exactly what was waiting at the end.
For the first time in weeks, it felt like the clouds above them had finally cleared.
USC is now 6-1 in the Big Ten with two games left in the season. The Trojans will prepare for No. 7 Oregon (9-1, 6-1) next Saturday as they push to keep their playoff dreams alive heading into Autzen Stadium.