spartans

Makai Lemon came screaming across the center of the field, gliding past one Michigan State defender, then another, moving as if the world around him were in slow motion.

USC’s top receiver had presumably been a top-line focus of the Spartans’ game plan — and even more so after fellow wideout Ja’Kobi Lane was ruled out Saturday with an injury. But here was Lemon slicing his way through Michigan State’s secondary as if no one had bothered to tell him as much, sprinting free as a deep pass soared in his direction and hit him in perfect stride.

Most of Saturday night’s 45-31 win over Michigan State felt that seamless for USC, which moved the ball with ease on offense, racking up 517 yards in the process. But in a swirl of penalties and poor discipline from its defense, USC inexplicably found itself clinging to a one-score lead in the fourth quarter.

It was the sort of stumble that might’ve prompted flashbacks from the Trojans’ previous conference, when #Pac12AfterDark derailed more than a few seasons while the rest of America slept. Though, as late as Saturday’s game ran — with its conclusion coming just before 3 a.m. Eastern time — there would be no such comeback from Michigan State.

“We were dominating the football game,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said. “But our ability to separate back out, I thought, was just as impressive.”

USC mounted a 13-play drive with its back against the wall in the fourth quarter, at one point even converting a critical fourth down near midfield, before Lemon pushed the pedal to the floor. He went sprinting on a jet motion, took the handoff and flew into the end zone for a score the Spartans couldn’t counter.

“Any time the ball is in his hands, something big is about to happen,” USC quarterback Jayden Maiava said.

With Lane out, Lemon accounted for more than half of the Trojans’ passing output, as he finished with eight receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown, the vast majority of which came in the first half.

Maiava didn’t need to do much more through the air after halftime. He finished with a season-low 234 yards, but completed 20 of 26 passes and added three passing touchdowns, to go with another on the ground.

USC’s rushing attack ultimately made the difference, despite facing a defense that hadn’t allowed any of its opponents to rush for 100 yards.

USC running back Eli Sanders runs with the ball during a win over Michigan State on Saturday night.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Jordan bested that total himself, running for 157 yards on 18 carries, while Eli Sanders added 84 rushing yards of his own.

But once again, the Trojans paid a serious price for their propensity for penalties.

On one third-quarter drive, USC ran into Michigan State’s kicker on a punt, was flagged for an illegal substitution and then was called for pass interference, all within a four-play stretch. For a while, it seemed the sequence might turn the tide towards the Spartans.

“Obviously we haven’t done enough,” Riley said of coaches’ efforts to reduce USC’s penalties.

That message was reiterated after the game by linebacker Eric Gentry, who stood up in front of the team to belabor the severity of their penalty problems. The Trojans were called for 10 total penalties on Saturday for a loss of 88 yards, making it three consecutive games of at least eight penalties.

Fortunately for USC, its defensive front was also able to impact the game in other ways, namely by keeping Spartan quarterback Aidan Chiles uncomfortable in the pocket.

But where the pass rush continued to look improved, USC’s secondary didn’t exactly soothe concerns Saturday. Chiles only threw for 212 yards, but 169 of those yards — almost 80% — came on just four pass plays.

Through four games, USC now ranks worst in the Big Ten in plays allowed of 10 yards or further (17).

“We’ve had about one of them a game,” Riley said, “and we’ve got to put a lid on it.”

The road only gets harder from here for USC (4-0). The Trojans’ next three games (Illinois, Michigan and Notre Dame) come against ranked opponents, and two of those games (Illinois and Notre Dame) are on the road. And while the Irish are 1-2, and the Illini were just steamrolled by Indiana on Saturday, both should provide much tougher tests than the Trojans have faced thus far.

Whether USC will have one of its top receivers back for that stretch remains to be seen. Lane, who was listed as questionable on Saturday, came out with the team for early stretches. But when the team reemerged in full pads for warm-ups, the Trojans stud wideout was wearing sweatpants.

Riley said after the game that the severity of Lane’s injury is still “inconclusive,” but his absence could extend multiple games.

“I don’t think it’ll be super long,” Riley said. “But at the same time, I certainly can’t sit here today and say for sure he’s going to play next week or in the coming weeks.”

Without one of their top targets, USC tried to lean on its backs early. Twelve of the Trojans’ first 16 plays went to either Waymond Jordan or Eli Sanders. But it was Maiava who punched in USC’s first score after he faked a handoff and sprinted 15 yards to paydirt.

Michigan State (3-1), meanwhile, took to the air to challenge the Trojans’ struggling secondary. On the Spartans’ first possession, Chiles found Chrishon McCray wide open for a 42-yard touchdown, and Michigan State took an early lead.

Chiles completed each of his first seven passes. But with their run game completely grounded, the Spartans offense came to a halt. Their next three drives accumulated a combined 66 yards.

USC started humming in the meantime, gaining at least that many yards on four of its five first-half drives. The rushing attack found a rhythm, with seven rushes of 15-plus yards in the first half alone, while Maiava moved the ball with ease through the air.

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava scores a touchdown in the first quarter against Michigan State.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Still, despite being outgained by almost 200 yards before halftime, Michigan State was within a single score — and set to receive the second-half kick — as USC drove 88 yards down the field before half. With 37 seconds left, Maiava lofted a pass to the corner of the end zone for freshman Tanook Hines, who reeled in the well-timed, seven-yard score.

USC looked ready to speed past Michigan State in the second half as it took just four plays and less than two minutes to drive the field. Maiava hit tight end Walker Lyons for a touchdown, his second in two weeks, to make it 31-10.

But Michigan State mounted an 11-play drive, and USC’s defense chipped in with four back-breaking penalties to keep it moving. Eventually, Chiles punched in a touchdown himself, cutting the lead to two scores.

The momentum swung suddenly after that. On the first play of USC’s ensuing possession, wideout DJ Jordan lost a fumble deep in the Trojans’ territory. The turnover opened the door for Michigan State, which needed eight plays to reach paydirt and cut the lead to a single score.

But USC slammed that door shut on its next drive. And while Saturday night’s win wouldn’t go down as the most seamless of the Trojans’ season, it was still just as satisfying to Riley.

“If you’re learning lessons as you win, it’s hard not to be excited about what you see out of this football team,” Riley said. “And everything I see makes me believe that we’re going to continue to grow, learn from some of the mistakes, because there are so many positive things happening out there.”

After years of weathering the #AfterDark absurdity of the Pac-12 Conference, USC hoped moving to the Big Ten might help kick most of those bizarre midnight romps from its calendar.

Of course, geographic sense only matters so much in college football when there’s millions to be made from broadcast rights. Fox had the third choice this week among the networks and chose the best available game. That’s why USC and Michigan State will kick off at 8 p.m. Saturday. Which means, in East Lansing, Mich., the game should wrap somewhere around 2:30-3 a.m.

There were two such kickoffs in the Big Ten last season, and only one that included a team hopping three time zones to the west. USC won that 8 p.m. game against Rutgers in quarterback Jayden Maiava’s debut.

The Spartans arrived in L.A. on Thursday to give them plenty of time to acclimate. Jonathan Smith, who previously coached at Oregon State, understands what such a late kickoff requires. Still, you could understand why Michigan State might not be thrilled at the prospect of playing so late.

USC will have its own time-zone trouble to deal with next week, when it kicks off at 9 a.m. PDT in a road matchup with Illinois. This weekend, the bigger question for USC will be if the fans arrive well-rested — or at all.

“Both teams gotta deal with it,” coach Lincoln Riley said. “We gotta handle it well, our crowd needs to handle it well. At the end of the day, it’s a game, it’s being played, it’s being played in the Coliseum, and we expect to win and we expect to have a really good crowd behind us. We’re not going to make excuses about it.”

Here are four things to watch as USC takes on Michigan State:

Trojans take to the air

Few quarterbacks in college football have started the season at the breakneck pace that Jayden Maiava has managed through three weeks. Maiava is averaging more than 14 yards per attempt — the most of any quarterback in the nation by three full yards — while completing 68% of his passes, almost a 10% improvement from last season.

There’s no reason to think that trend won’t continue against Michigan State.

The Spartans rank 118th in the nation — and worst in the Big Ten — in pass defense, and that’s after playing teams like Youngstown State and Western Michigan. They haven’t seen anything yet like USC’s passing offense, and especially receiver Makai Lemon, who ranks behind only Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith in receiving yards (315-311) this season in the Big Ten.

Michigan State has been stingy this season against the run, so it could be tough to find much of a rhythm on the ground. That means a potential big game for Maiava.

Will USC’s pass rush keep rolling?

Through three games, USC’s rejuvenated pass rush actually leads the nation in sacks with 14. Michigan State, meanwhile, has allowed the second-most sacks of any Big Ten team this season.

That formula could mean a long afternoon for Spartan quarterback Aidan Chiles, who Riley said this week poses “the biggest challenge we’ve faced up to this point” at the position. The Long Beach native appears to be putting it all together as a passer, but it’s Chiles’ dual threat ability that could be especially dangerous against a front four that’s been aggressive early in the season..

He’s tied for the conference lead in rush attempts among quarterbacks at 10 per game.

“When you add in Chiles’ athleticism, that definitely adds an entirely new element,” Riley said. “So it’ll be a big focus point for us to be able to keep him in the pocket, to contain him in there.”

When under heavy pressure, Chiles has been much less effective. His completion percentage drops from 79% in a clean pocket to 48% in a pressured one.

Stud receiver status

Both teams could be without their most dynamic pass catcher on Saturday.

USC wideout Ja’Kobi Lane, last year’s Big Ten leader in touchdown receptions, is questionable after he sat out practice on Wednesday. Riley wouldn’t comment on whether he’d be available for the game.

Similarly, the status of Spartan receiver Nick Marsh was up in the air as of Friday. Marsh made the trip to L.A., in spite of dealing with a lower leg injury. He’s by far Michigan State’s most dynamic weapon on offense and his absence would be significant, if he’s unable to go.

Tanook Hines breakout game incoming?

With Lane hobbled, keep a close eye on freshman Tanook Hines, who pulled down a stunning acrobatic catch last Saturday at Purdue.

Riley raved about the freshman earlier this week.

“He goes after the ball with a unique mindset for a freshman,” Riley said. “You talk about a guy who really attacks the ball. He’s played physical. He’s a really good blocker. He’s done a good job of picking up our system. … He’s an all-ball guy. There’s no fluff to this guy. He’s an edgy, tough competitor.”