trojans

It was a potential nightmare scenario. Starting left tackle, Elijah Paige, had been scratched in pregame warm-ups at Penn State. And in his place stepped a true freshman in his first start at USC, forced to find his way in a White Out, surrounded by a hostile crowd of 114,000 strong.

But when Vlad Dyakonov learned he was stepping in, a couple of hours ahead of kickoff, his coaches were surprised by how little it seemed to faze him.

“Some of us [coaches] were like, ‘Does he realize what he’s getting himself into?’” coach Lincoln Riley said, with a grin. “He didn’t flinch, man.”

You could say the same, generally, about USC’s entire front through the first half of this season. After years of shallow depth, unfortunate injuries, and transfer misfires at the position, USC’s offensive line has been the stabilizing force propelling its high-powered attack to a 6-1 record.

USC running back King Miller carries the ball as the offensive line blocks during a win at Penn State on Oct. 10.

(Isaiah Vazquez / Getty Images)

That’s a testament primarily to offensive line coach Zach Hanson, who, in his fifth season, has now fully rebuilt the room in his image.

“He’s a very steady guy,” Riley said of Hanson. “He’s not a guy who fluctuates a lot day to day, so our players kind of feed off of that. There’s a steadiness to our group.”

USC is also entering the brutal back half of its schedule with that group as healthy as it has been all season. As the Trojans take to the road Saturday looking to build momentum off the big win over Penn State and subsequent bye week, they’ll have all five starters available along the offensive line against Wisconsin. Paige is set to return, as is left guard Hayden Treter, who missed the last two games.

It comes at an ideal time, considering the pass rusher they’ll have to contend with Saturday. The Badgers have just eight sacks as a defense this season, but boast one of the best pass rushers in the Big Ten, senior Sebastian Cheeks. Cheeks leads the conference with 28 quarterback pressures.

Few teams, though, have been better than USC through seven games at protecting the quarterback. The Trojans’ starting offensive line has only given up one more combined pressure (29) than Cheeks has accumulated himself this season, while only allowing seven sacks in seven games.

“We’re a unit,” center Tobias Raymond said. “So everyone is feeding off each other.”

USC offensive lineman Elijah Paige blocks during a game against Oregon at the Coliseum on Sept. 26.

(Ben Liebenberg / Getty Images)

With Cheeks and a handful of other fearsome pass rushers approaching on USC’s upcoming Big Ten slate, right tackle Justin Tauanuu said the Trojans used the bye week to get back to the basics up front.

“Going against great players like that, you have to go back to fundamentals,” Tauanuu said. “Fundamentals will triumph over everything else.”

USC hasn’t looked like a line in need of much instruction this season. Jayden Maiava has faced pressure on just over 20% over his dropbacks, which ranks 10th among all quarterbacks nationally. It’s also a considerably lower rate of pressure than any USC quarterback has faced in recent years. The previous low, under Riley, was 30.5% with Miller Moss at quarterback in 2024.

Part of that success is Maiava’s penchant for getting rid of the ball quickly. But his protection has certainly been a critical aspect of his success this season. Because when pressure has managed to reach him, the USC senior has been much less effective as a passer. According to Pro Football Focus, Maiava has a completion rate of just 39% under pressure versus 79% when he has a clean pocket.

Blitzes also haven’t bothered USC’s passing attack much, either. Another product of the line’s impressive performance to date. Maiava has essentially had the same amount of time to throw when blitzed (2.7 seconds) versus when not blitzed (2.78 seconds).

Creating room in the run game has been a different story. USC has been considerably less effective on the ground this season than in recent years — a fact that Riley said was front of mind during the bye. The Trojans rank ninth in the Big Ten in rush yards per attempt (4.33) and 10th in rush plays of 20-plus yards (5).

“We definitely can run the ball better,” Riley said. “We’re gonna need to run the ball better. Good is not good enough for us.”

As a whole, though, it’s hard to imagine USC being in a better place up front this season. Especially considering where the position stood at the start of Riley’s tenure. The coach tried, at first, to build the room through the transfer portal and saw mixed results. After that, injuries ravaged an otherwise thin room.

But now the depth Hanson has built over the past few years is paying off. USC has already weathered injuries, including a season-ending injury to last year’s starting center, Kilian O’Connor. Meanwhile, several highly touted linemen are still currently buried on the depth chart, among them five-star freshman Keenyi Pepe, whose progression Riley said has been impressive.

“If you just kind of look at the makeup of it, we don’t have transfers,” Riley said. “We have a lot of guys who were kind of homegrown in this program. We have a good healthy young group. Zach has obviously had a big role in putting that whole group together.”

Asked what the return of star freshman wide receiver Trent Mosley brought to the USC offense, Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava kept his answer simple.

“Score touchdowns,” Maiava said with a smile after practice Tuesday.

In a massive 31-23 road win over Penn State on Saturday, Mosley did just that and more, catching nine passes for 111 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown catch to end USC’s first drive and give his team an early lead.

Mosley was a game-time decision Saturday after he missed the Trojans’ last three games with an injury, including USC’s crushing loss to Oregon in late September.

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava looks to throw a pass during a win over Penn State Saturday in State College, Penn.

(Barry Reeger / Associated Press)

For his performance against Penn State, Mosley earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors, becoming the fourth Trojan to win the award this season. It was far from his first strong performance for USC.

Mosley caught 13 passes for four touchdown and 255 yards in his first three college games and returned a punt for a touchdown. The only game Mosley has played for USC during which he didn’t earn at least 100 receiving was the Trojans’ win over Louisiana, during which he was injured.

“I’m just trying to do my part,” Mosley said Tuesday.

The freshman, who came to USC in the spring out of Santa Margarita High, rejoined the Trojans ahead of the Penn State game while the team faced a variety of injuries to other key players on both sides of the ball. Fellow freshman standout tight end Mark Bowman and left tackle Elijah Paige were among the Trojans to miss Saturday’s game with injuries, while defensive tackle Jide Abasiri was significantly limited.

“He’s one of our best players,” Trojans coach Lincoln Riley said of Mosley. “Getting him back has added a huge boost for us. He’s a tremendous playmaker. He’s tough to tackle after the catch. We trust him a lot.”

Now, the Trojans are in a bye week before they play at Wisconsin on Oct. 24. During the bye, the first of two for USC this season, Riley said he hopes to see his team get healthier.

Riley did not address the status of any individual players Tuesday besides saying that Bowman is “getting better,” Riley said he would not rule anyone out for the Wisconsin game. USC’s next Big Ten availability report will be released on Oct. 21.

“I’m hopeful, going into Wisconsin, that just from a whole we’ll be as healthy as we’ve been the whole year,” Riley said. “We haven’t been able to see this team quite at full strength yet from a health perspective. So, I’m kind of excited and interested to see what that would look like.”

Vlad Dyakonov bolsters Trojans

With various starters injured, younger players have filled the gaps for the Trojans.

On Saturday, freshman Vlad Dyakonov took center stage filling in for the injured Paige.

Riley on Tuesday praised Dyakonov’s performance and said the lineman didn’t know he was going to start his first college game until pregame warmups. Paige was moved to a game-time decision on USC’s final availability report two hours before the Penn State game after being listed as available the entire week beforehand.

“There’s some young people across the country that if you told them that and they were in that position in that atmosphere and environment, [they] … would be a little wide-eyed,” Riley said of Dyakonov’s debut in front of more than 114,000 fans during Penn State’s annual White Out Game. “Vlad wasn’t. Vlad was like jacked. He was ready to go.”

USC’s King Miller carries the ball during a win over Penn State Saturday in in State College, Penn.

(Isaiah Vazquez / Getty Images)

In an appearance on Trojans Live on Monday, Riley recalled Dyakonov boldly calling out 6-foot-5, 295-pound star defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart in a one-on-one drill during practice and holding his own.

“I think we all knew, look, he’s not going to play perfect, but I think we all knew like he’s going to go compete his you-know-what off,” Riley said Tuesday. “Nobody doubted that because that’s what he does every day. He’s built a lot of trust in here.”

Maiava echoed Riley’s sentiment when asked about Dyakonov, praising his ability to fill in for Paige on short notice.

“What an unbelievable player,” Maiava said. “He never flinched when he went out there, and we didn’t either.”

Though Dyakonov has become known for his intensity, Trojans running back King Miller, who rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries Saturday behind an offensive line that included Dyakonov, said he also has a sense of humor. Asked what Dyakonov was like off the field, Miller’s first description was “hilarious.”

“It’s great to have a guy like him in this room,” Miller said.

USC coach Lincoln Riley kept his offense on the field on fourth and four at the USC 13.

The decision was so confounding, Penn State coach Matt Campbell burned the Nittany Lions’ final timeout with 4:15 remaining. Riley grinned with his team protecting a 31-23 lead in front of a rowdy crowd of more than 106,000 fans decked in all white at Beaver Stadium Saturday night.

USC punted after the timeout and Riley watched his maligned defense recover Penn State receiver Brett Eskildsen’s fumble on the Nittany Lions’ first snap of the ensuing drive.

With no timeouts remaining, Penn State had no room for error while trying to stop USC. The Trojans burned as much clock as they could and were again prepared to snap the ball on fourth down when the Penn State defense jumped offside, effectively sealing the Trojans’ win.

Riley has long been scrutinized for clock management and late-game decision making, but in one of the most hostile environments in the country, he helped the No. 19 Trojans work their way to a 31-23 win.

USC (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) had the better record and national ranking, but Penn State (3-3, 0-3) was favored to win by 1½ points in a sign of the plunging confidence in Riley and his Trojans.

“We came in here against the odds,” Riley said during his postgame on-field interview with NBC. “Everybody in the country counted us out and said we weren’t going to win a tough road game.

“Trojans came [to] play. Great environment here. Tonight the white-out game went cardinal and gold.”

Quarterback Jayden Maiava, who had struggled at times the past few weeks, completed 21 of 33 passes for 301 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked once.

Trent Mosley, who returned after missing the past two games with an injury, and Tanook Hines delivered a series of highlight catches to support Maiava. Mosley hauled in nine passes for 111 yards and a touchdown, while Hines added four catches for 82 yards and another touchdown.

King Miller ran for 102 yards in 19 carries and scored off a Maiava option pitch.

USC wide receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt catches a touchdown pass ahead of Penn State linebacker Tony Rojas during the second half of the Trojans’ 31-23 win Saturday.

(Barry Reeger / Associated Press)

The teams traded touchdowns and field goals early, entering halftime tied 17-17.

Riley made the curious decision to open the third quarter with an onside kick, but his defense limited Penn State to a field goal.

Miller ran for a 13-yard touchdown on USC’s next drive.

Penn State mounted a long drive that the Trojans’ defense again limited to a field goal, giving USC a 24-23 lead with 14:52 left in the fourth quarter.

Maiava then led a 10-play, 71-yard scoring drive. On the final snap of the drive, Maiava had time to sit in the pocket, scan the field and connect with Kayden Dixon-Wyatt for a 10-yard touchdown. USC hit the extra point and led 31-23 with 11:11 left in the fourth quarter.

USC’s defense forced a Penn State punt and Riley worked the clock to protect the win.

Desman Stephens II returned from his one-game suspension for his hit on Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and led the Trojans with nine tackles.

Freshman Luke Wafle delivered five tackles and one massively important sack of Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht for a loss of 10 yards with six minutes left in regulation.

It was raining in State College late in the fourth quarter. The Trojans’ defense danced on the sideline as the song “Umbrella” played in the stadium and the Trojans lingered on the field to soak up a big road victory.

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava has been playing above-average football, but the signal-caller’s deep throws have not been as sharp lately and he has shied away from some contact after taking a big hit to his shoulder during a 39-0 shutout of Fresno State on Sept. 4.

When asked about his quarterback on Tuesday, Trojans coach Lincoln Riley quickly replied that Maiava is not injured.

“Jayden has been pretty healthy,” Riley said. “They’ve kept him upright all season long.”

Maiava has adapted to shifting receiving options, calling it a learning experience as he connects with new pass catchers. USC freshman Trent Mosley was an early breakout star, but Maiava has had to look to others with Mosley out the past two games because of injury.

“I’ve been trusting myself, trusting the plan and trusting those guys on the perimeter,” Maiava said

He credits co-offensive coordinator Dennis Simmons for having his receivers ready whenever their names are called.

“It’s the next-man up mentality and we are all going to do the same thing,“ Maiava said.

A key building block

USC coach Lincoln Riley watches from the sideline during the fourth quarter of a win over Washington at the Coliseum on Oct. 3.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

As USC chases the program’s first win over Penn State in Happy Valley, Riley said he expects the Trojans to draw on the resilience they showed against Washington.

He called the rally for a victory over the Huskies a potential turning point for a program that can’t afford another loss if it hopes to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time during Riley’s tenure.

“It wouldn’t shock me if six to eight weeks down the road you’re going to look back at us and see that’s the game that was critical in the season,” Riley said of the Washington win. “Those are important. It helps develop the personality of your team. Most importantly, the biggest thing it shows is the brotherhood within our locker room right now.”

Supporting the defense

USC cornerbacks Chasen Johnson and Prophet Brown break up a pass intended for Washington receiver Dezmen Roebuck in the end zone to secure the Trojans’ win at the Coliseum on Oct. 3.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

Hiring College Football Hall of Fame coach Gary Patterson was supposed to turn the Trojans into a potent Big Ten defensive team.

Through six games, the Trojans have allowed an average of 25.5 points per game, ranking 89th in the country, and have given up 348.8 yards.

“[Patterson] is one of the best coaches of our generation. One of the best defensive minds in college football history,” Riley said, backing up his coordinator when asked about his progress.

Riley, however, did not defend poor tackling on Washington’s final touchdown drive that put the Trojans on the brink of a loss.

When asked whether the mistakes were addressed with the players, Riley responded, “Oh yeah. … It was a bad play. Not near our standard.”

He later added, “I bet we don’t see it again.”

While the Huskies’ scoring drive exposed some problems, the defense held its ground late in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

The Trojans’ secondary got a boost from Ta’Mere Robinson, who played well in place of suspended defensive back Desman Stephens II.

Stephens served a one-game suspension for a late hit to the head on Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and his behavior celebrating as Moore was being treated by medical staff before leaving the Coliseum in an ambulance.

USC released an apology from Stephens a day after the game. Riley was asked Tuesday whether Stephens would get his starting job back after Robinson’s strong play. While he didn’t specifically address the starting role, Riley did suggest Robinson earned more snaps.

“It was an opportunity for some other guys to step up and they did. … When you see guys that are there for that opportunity and rise to the occasion, it’s going to create more opportunities for some of those guys, there’s no question about it,” he said. “But Des is a good player and an important part of this football team. We view this a lot like just we’re coming back off any normal football game, like nothing else happened. … I think what we learned this week is we have a handful of guys who can go out there and play really, really well. … We look at it as a positive.”

The knives were already out. The boos were already ringing.

At the end of an already brutal week at USC, during which the nation was ready to dance on the graves of the Trojans and their coach, it seemed for much of Saturday that any last shreds of faith in coach Lincoln Riley might melt away in the beating Southern California sun. Not only had the aftermath of their Oregon loss gone as poorly as possible, but now the Trojans were tripping over themselves again, trailing Washington, a middling Big Ten team down to its fourth-string running back, and a chant began to rise above the fray, from the USC student section.

“FIRE LINCOLN!” they roared.

That refrain had only been heard in hushed tones until this past week. But Saturday, before the No. 18 Trojans pulled away with a 25-21 victory, it felt as if their embattled coach stood at the edge of a certain Rubicon, one he may not return from with one wrong step.

That tension still hung thick over the Coliseum until late in the third quarter, when linebacker Elijah Newby came roaring around the edge toward Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. He swatted the ball out of his right hand, and defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart scooped it up. He sprinted 48 yards on a sore foot for a go-ahead score — and joked afterward that he hit 22 mph on his scoring scamper.

Just two minutes earlier, the Trojans had been down 21-10, and it wasn’t hard to envision how their season could continue spiraling from there. One mistake, one missed opportunity, one penalty after another brought them to this point, despite the fact that the Huskies actually struggled to move the ball on USC’s defense throughout.

It looked, for most of Saturday, like that unit took a step forward after the past two weeks, when both Rutgers and Oregon marched on them. Through one half, USC held Washington to just 44 passing yards. Through three quarters, Washington was averaging fewer than six yards per play.

“The bounce back was huge for us,” freshman defensive end Luke Wafle said.

Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr., left, tries to fend off USC linebacker Elijah Newby during the second quarter Saturday at the Coliseum.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

USC’s defense nearly came apart in the fourth quarter, though, at the worst possible time. Washington hadn’t converted a single third down until its final drive, when Williams converted a third-and-11 pass, then hit a fourth-and-two bomb for 43 yards. The Huskies got as close as the USC 12-yard line, before the Trojans finally shut the door.

“We had to dig deep for this one,” Riley said. “Especially as sloppy as we played.”

USC (5-1, 2-1) did try something a little different on defense, with defensive coordinator Gary Patterson calling the game from the press box instead of the sideline. Riley said the decision was akin to “trying to just move the chess pieces to get everyone in the right position.” He also added that Patterson’s former staff at Texas Christian had a lot more familiarity with Patterson’s scheme, and thus he handled things differently with that staff.

But the communication issues of past weeks appeared less of a problem on defense. The real concerns Saturday actually came on offense, where the Trojans uncharacteristically sputtered. Jayden Maiava was 21 of 34 for 245 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.

Still, judging by the box score alone, you’d be hard-pressed to understand how USC could have nearly squandered a game in which they piled up far more yards (360 to 319) and had the ball for far longer (34:58 to 25:02) and dominated on third down.

“We’re gonna fix it,” Stewart said. “No team comes out perfect. It takes time.”

After a disappointing few weeks on the defensive end, USC actually opened the game by forcing Washington (3-2, 0-2) into back-to-back three and outs.

But the Trojans managed a measly three points from those stops. Their first drive, stalled in the red zone. The next one backed up USC to the one-yard line after wideout Terrell Anderson muffed a punt.

Washington took advantage of the field position on its next drive. Faced with a fourth and seven in USC territory, Williams slipped past pressure and scampered to a first down. It was the first sign of life from the Huskies’ offense, which found its way into the end zone four plays later.

Then, USC gave the ball right back. On the run, Maiava launched a pass off his back foot under heavy pressure. It fell well short of its target and was picked off.

USC’s defense held strong, forcing a third three and out in the Huskies’ first four drives. And its offense finally held up its end of the bargain, with Waymond Jordan punching in an eight-yard touchdown.

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava scrambles during the first half against Washington at the Coliseum on Saturday.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

Washington continued to struggle moving the ball, but mistakes from USC helped its cause. An illegal formation penalty wiped away a deep Trojan touchdown pass to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. Then on the ensuing possession, Wafle grabbed Williams’ face mask as he pulled him down for a sack.

USC had more penalty yards (50) than Washington had passing yards (44) in the first half. And those penalties gave the Huskies life at the end of the half, as they drove the length of the field and scored again.

“We felt like we were outplaying them,” Riley said. “We just couldn’t get out of our own way a little bit. That’s probably going to be a defining thing for this team going forward, how much we can do that.”

With a chance to regroup, the Trojans tripped over themselves out of the half too. An unsportsmanlike penalty killed their opening drive. Then, Washington tight end Decker DeGraaf caught a pass and took off down the sideline, running through two feeble-arm tackles on the way to an inexplicable 42-yard touchdown.

After that, the Riley chants rang out from the student section. But the Trojans’ offense mounted a 13-play scoring drive in response. Tanook Hines tore the ball away from a Washington defender in the end zone.

USC coach Lincoln Riley walks back to the sideline after speaking with his players during a timeout in the first half Saturday.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

Less than two minutes later, Stewart scooped up the fumble and took off. His 48-yard return completed a 12-point swing for the Trojans.

“To overcome all that and still win shows me some of the guts and toughness and culture in this room right here,” Riley said. “We could’ve folded.”

Still, USC couldn’t put Washington away. Down to their last drive, the Huskies converted a third and 11 and two fourth downs to drive deep into Trojan territory late.

But Kameryn Crawford pulled Williams down for a sack — the Trojans’ fifth of the game — and the defense held. And USC, at the end of a long, brutal week, breathed a sigh of relief.

When Lincoln Riley hired Gary Patterson to be his third defensive coordinator in five seasons, the USC head coach naturally pointed to Patterson’s impressive track record.

His reputation, after all, was as one of the great defensive minds in the modern history of college football, a coach who, at Texas Christian, knew how to get more out of lesser talent. It stood to reason that he could do the same at USC, where they’d just signed the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class. And through the spring and summer, that appeared to be the case, as coaches and players alike raved about their new coordinator, who earlier this year was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.

But as the Trojans approach the midway point of an increasingly tense campaign, Patterson and his defense have fallen drastically short of those expectations.

As USC welcomes Washington to the Coliseum with its season on the brink, its defense is currently allowing more than 6.14 yards per play, good for 115th nationally. The secondary, which has struggled with consistent miscommunication, is allowing 8.4 yards per pass play — more than either of former coordinator Alex Grinch’s defenses allowed at USC. And big plays are becoming a big problem. Only three defenses the country have allowed more explosive plays of 20-plus yards than USC (23), which is also in line with Grinch’s defenses.

USC coach Lincoln Riley and defensive coordinator Gary Patterson talk after a loss to Oregon at the Coliseum on Saturday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

And all this despite the fact four of the Trojans’ first five games were against opponents who were expected to struggle against USC’s far superior talent.

Patterson has yet to answer questions about those early results. That’s because unlike Riley’s first two defensive coordinators at USC, who spoke at least weekly, Patterson has not spoken to reporters since the preseason.

Without any explanation from him for USC’s early issues, the numbers don’t exactly paint a promising portrait of Patterson’s season. But while Riley acknowledged that the defense has “had some breakdowns at all levels” and must “play tighter in all areas,” the coach insisted Thursday that the Trojans were close to reaching their potential on defense, again reassuring that there was “a lot of good on tape” on that side of the ball.

“We don’t necessarily need any level of the defense to make this massive jump,” Riley said. “We just need each level to play a little bit better and each level to play a little bit better together.”

Outside of USC’s Week 1 shutout of Fresno State, though, the Trojans haven’t looked particularly good at any level of the defense. The pass rush has been lacking, with only three sacks across USC’s four other games. And on the back end, the Trojans continue to be caught flat-footed, with defensive backs out of position.

One former USC defensive back, Max Williams, posited on social media that the Trojans’ secondary appeared to be getting the defensive calls too close to the snap of the ball. In another social media breakdown by a former Trojan player, former quarterback Max Browne suggested that USC’s defensive backs were often out of position before the play began, putting them behind.

Those problems have seemingly been exacerbated the past two weeks in Big Ten play, as Rutgers and Oregon combined to pile up 964 yards on USC’s defense. And the Ducks did it with a backup quarterback at the helm in Dylan Raiola, who converted all seven of his third- and fourth-down pass attempts.

Patterson’s defense will have another tough test this week in Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who’s just as much a threat with his legs as his arm. The Trojans already had trouble with a dual-threat quarterback earlier this season, allowing Louisiana’s Lunch Winfield to rush for 94 yards during a Week 2 Trojans win.

Any further struggles from here for USC’s defense could spiral in a hurry. The Trojans travel to Penn State next weekend and still have No. 5 Indiana and No. 6 Ohio State on the schedule. They’ll have to win two of those three, plus all their other games, if they still hope to contend for the College Football Playoff.

Those hopes hinge largely on Patterson, who Riley bet before the season would finally bring him salvation on the defensive end.

Riley still has faith that bet will pay off. Mostly because “there’s very few that have been through as much as he has.”

“Trust me, nobody takes it more personal than him or takes more responsibility than he does,” Riley said of Patterson. “He’s done this for a long time. He’s done it at a high level. And there’s nobody, you know, more committed to getting it fixed.”

It was nearly a half decade ago now that Lincoln Riley, dressed in a slick blue suit and glossy cardinal tie, stood atop the Coliseum’s rooftop deck, grinning as he gazed out across the field below. He’d just been introduced as USC’s new head coach, and in that moment, anything felt possible for the future of Trojan football. Riley, at the time, was one of the most renowned young coaches in college football. And as he surveyed the scene, he painted the picture of a day when the Trojans were back on top and the Coliseum was hallowed ground once again.

“This place,” Riley said that day, “is going to be the mecca of college football.”

But less than five years later, as final seconds ticked away on a 41-27 loss to Oregon on Saturday, fans trudged towards the exits, and that very same stadium sat in hushed disbelief. The Trojans’ season wasn’t over by any means — not after a single loss to No. 20 Oregon — but in that moment, the future that Riley had envisioned felt as far away as ever.

There would still be chances for Riley and his Trojans to make their statement this season. But the stakes on Saturday had arguably never been higher for USC’s coach, who spent all off-season explaining how this season would be different. There were no more excuses, no more explanations for why USC was still falling short — even he seemed to agree to that. Everything he’d been pointing towards in the distance was now here, culminating all at once.

With a gauntlet of a Big Ten schedule ahead, there was no better time for Riley to prove he had USC moving in the right direction and no better matchup to help catapult the Trojans into College Football Playoff conversation than Oregon, its newest — and still maybe most bitter — rival. The whole college football world was watching, waiting to see if USC’s coach could deliver in the most critical of moments.

Instead, the Trojans found themselves in an all-too-familiar, all-too-painful position, one they’d experienced many times before during Riley’s tenure. Mistakes piled up. Ill-timed penalties, too. And worst of all, USC’s defense still couldn’t get a stop. It gave up 505 yards to Oregon, the third-most it had allowed over the past three seasons.

The Ducks would score on six of their last seven drives, almost all of which featured their backup quarterback at the helm. That was after Oregon star quarterback Dante Moore was knocked out of the game early in the second quarter following a brutal hit by USC linebacker Desman Stephens. The hit started a shoving match between players from both teams.

Stephens, who was seen celebrating after the play, was kicked out of the game, but remained on the sideline in the second half.

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore is taken off the field on a stretcher before being transported to the hospital after taking a hit from USC linebacker Desman Stephens in the second quarter. Stephens was ejected from the game.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

The play would cast a pall over the whole game, but Raiola managed to throw for 289 yards and two touchdowns against USC’s defense. Jayden Maiava, meanwhile, had 326 yards and two touchdowns, but completed just 23 of 42 passes.

The rushing attack wasn’t much better, as the Trojans averaged a mere 3.6 yards per rush.

The afternoon began on a bitter note for USC. After marching down the field on a 13-play opening drive, a third-down sack forced the Trojans to settle for a field-goal attempt. But Caden Chittenden missed an easy kick wide right. It was just the latest in a string of recent special teams slip-ups for the Trojans.

The defense, however, would hold early. Even after Oregon running back Jordon Davison burst out of the backfield for a 45-yard run on the Ducks’ first play. Oregon finished that drive with a field goal, the only points either high-scoring offense managed in the first quarter.

Unable to get anything going on the ground, the Trojans turned to their stud freshman receiver to pace the offense. Five of Maiava’s first seven completions went to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, one of which came on a 31-yard strike down the seam to the freshman, who reeled in a touchdown in spite of tight coverage.

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava passes during the first quarter against Oregon on Saturday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Oregon was mounting a response when Moore took off on a quarterback scramble. But as he slid, Stephens decked Moore with a direct hit to his helmet, even after he already gave himself up. Moore spent several minutes on the field before being loaded onto a cart and taken to Los Angeles General Medical Center by ambulance.

Raiola, the backup, would take the reins of Oregon’s offense in Moore’s place, leading the Ducks to the doorstep of the goal line. But once again USC’s defense stood tall in the red zone, holding Oregon to a field goal.

It wouldn’t have as much luck in the second half, as Raiola found a rhythm. He led the Ducks on two consecutive touchdown drives in just 11 total plays.

But USC responded with three straight scoring drives of its own, and even added a stop from its defense in between. The third — an 11-yard strike to Tanook Hines — tied the score 27-27 with less than 13 minutes remaining.

USC looked to have Oregon stopped in its tracks on the ensuing possession. Then, on a third-and-long incompletion, defensive tackle Jide Abasiri was flagged for rushing the passer. The penalty gave Oregon just the opening it needed. The Ducks scored five plays later, as Raiola lofted a prayer to the corner of the end zone that was answered by one of his wideouts, Dakorien Moore.

A failed fourth-down attempt for USC would all but end it, as Maiava’s desperation pass was swatted away, along with the Trojans’ hopes.

The pass looked doomed the moment it left Jayden Maiava’s hands.

It was third-and-long, midway through the second quarter last November in Eugene, Ore. USC was down just a score, and Maiava, the Trojans’ big-armed quarterback, was trying to make something happen. But the receiver he’d locked in on was unavailable and an Oregon edge rusher was charging at him unchecked. So Maiava let one fly down the middle of the field, and the pass sailed into a crowd of Duck defensive backs.

That regrettable interception, one of two for Maiava that day, ended up being one of the turning points in that game — and in a 2025 season that fell one win short of the College Football Playoff. The loss to Oregon last season served as a rude awakening for USC and Maiava, a reminder of how far both still had to go before reaching their potential.

A year later, as the two Big Ten powers meet again on Saturday, Maiava and the No. 12 Trojans (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) find themselves at another critical mile marker. A win over No. 20 Oregon (2-1, 0-0) would put USC firmly in the conversation for the College Football Playoff. A loss would have folks taking serious stock of where the Trojans stand in their fifth season under coach Lincoln Riley. And at the center of it all is a quarterback who so far seems entirely unfazed by that outside pressure.

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava looks down field to pass against San José State on Aug. 29 at the Coliseum.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

“He’s playing with great confidence,” running back Waymond Jordan said of Maiava. “We’re going to keep seeing him getting better and better and better.”

Ask anyone at USC about Maiava at the moment, and they will invariably say something similar.

“It’s the most confident Jayden I’ve seen in the three years I’ve been around him,” left tackle Elijah Paige said.

Through four games, the numbers certainly suggest he’s on the cusp of a big season. Maiava leads all of college football with 12 touchdown passes and ranks seventh in completion percentage (75.7%). His name is already being floated in early Heisman Trophy conversations.

But Maiava also hasn’t been tested much through four games this season. His protection has been near-perfect, with just a single sack allowed. According to Pro Football Focus, Maiava has been under pressure on a mere 16 dropbacks — or 13% of the time — and, more often than not, that’s because he held the ball too long. Maiava’s average time to throw while under pressure so far this season is nearly four seconds, which, by Big Ten standards, is an eternity.

All of that’s likely to change this week against Oregon. The Ducks are loaded with talent along the defensive line and in the defensive backfield. While they’ve tallied just five sacks through three games, they’ve forced five interceptions, most of any team in the Big Ten. That’s after finishing second in the conference in that category a year ago.

Maiava hasn’t been quite as sharp the last two games after a dynamite start in which he had as many touchdowns (6) as incomplete passes through two weeks. But he knows Oregon will make him pay for any mistakes he makes Saturday, just as it did last season.

“Definitely a lot to learn from that game coming into the next one,” Maiava said. “Definitely turning the ball over, clean that up. Being stingy with the ball, being able to get the ball in playmakers’ hands and just continue to stay on the same page and move as one.”

He’ll almost certainly be without two of his top playmakers against Oregon, with freshman Trent Mosley unlikely to play and sophomore big-play threat Corey Simms already ruled out. Though, so far this season, Maiava has had no problem overcoming the absence of his two top receivers from a year ago, Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane.

USC still has standout freshmen Kayden Dixon-Wyatt and tight end Mark Bowman to pace the passing attack. The offense has also barely made use of two receivers who were expected to be at the top of the depth chart, Tanook Hines and Terrell Anderson, both of whom should play more of a part Saturday.

USC coach Lincoln Riley talks with quarterback Jayden Maiava on the sideline during a game against San José State on Aug. 29 at the Coliseum.

(Kevin Terrell / Getty Images)

“He’s done a really nice job with all the new faces around him, which is hard to do at this position,” Riley said of Maiava.

That’s a testament to his development since 2024, when Maiava arrived at USC with a howitzer arm but little polish to his game as a passer. He’d never gotten any individual training as a quarterback. His mechanics and footwork were especially raw.

After taking over at the end of that 2024 season, though, Maiava has continued to get progressively better. Now Riley views him as “one of the best quarterbacks in the country.”

“Of all the guys I’ve been fortunate enough to coach, I don’t know that I’ve had any that have improved from Day One to this point as much as Jayden has,” said Riley, who has coached three Heisman-winning quarterbacks. “It’s been fun to see him grow as a player and leader, starting to embrace what it means to be the starting quarterback at USC. I think a guy that’s just going to get better and better in his prime to play his best football.”

USC will need him at his best Saturday if it hopes to knock off Oregon, which has its own star quarterback in need of a big moment. Dante Moore could have been one of the top picks in the NFL draft a year ago, but returned to the Ducks, only for them to suffer a stunning loss to Oklahoma State.

Oklahoma State’s coach later acknowledged that Moore was tipping whether Oregon was running or passing on a given play by his pre-snap stance.

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava looks to throw a pass against Rutgers on Sept. 19 in Piscataway, N.J.

(Adam Hunger/Associated Press)

“That was a game and that was a moment that helped mold us,” Moore has said since. “I learned from that, and I’m glad it happened.”

Moore will have the benefit Saturday of facing a struggling USC secondary. The Trojans have yielded 10 yards per pass attempt this season and now could be without starter Alex Graham, who’s listed as questionable. It has been especially difficult for USC to get off the field on third and fourth down, which Riley said has been a central focus this week.

“As a secondary, we’ve got to be a little bit tighter in those situations,” Riley said. “We’ve got to make those competitive plays. We have a good defensive line. We have a group that can rush the passer. We’ve got to make guys hold onto that ball, make our pass rush work, and make those plays when we get to the point of attack.”

Not to mention the Trojans have got a great quarterback, one that Riley expects to lean on his experience as USC faces its biggest test of the season.

“He’s just mentally in a really, really good place to go do that,” Riley said of Maiava. “He’s the guy I want taking us into this game, for sure.”

In No. 12 USC football’s first three dominant wins of the season, its opponents combined to convert about one-third of third-down attempts and made one fourth-down conversion in three attempts.

On Saturday, in a rocky 42-35 win over Rutgers (0-3, 0-1 Big Ten) that saw the Trojans give up 292 passing yards, nearly get outgained overall and suffer multiple injuries in the secondary, the Scarlet Knights converted 6-of-11 third downs and made 3-of-4 fourth-down tries.

Against one of the worst teams in the Big Ten, USC’s high-powered offense and a clutch pick-6 from cornerback Prophet Brown were enough to survive the defense’s late-down struggles for a fourth consecutive win. However, with No. 20 Oregon (2-1) coming to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday with a star veteran quarterback in Dante Moore, that might not be possible.

“As a secondary, we’ve got to be a little bit tighter in those situations. We’ve got to make those competitive plays,” Trojans coach Lincoln Riley said Tuesday of third- and fourth-down situations. “We have a good defensive line. We have a group that can rush the passer. We’ve got to make guys hold onto that ball, make our pass rush work and make those plays when we get to the point of attack.”

USC hasn’t beaten Oregon in two matchups under Riley, including a 42-27 loss that all but eliminated the Trojans from College Football Playoff contention late last season, and has only won two of the teams’ last 10 meetings. A second loss this season for the Ducks or a loss this early in USC’s loaded conference schedule could make either team’s CFP path more difficult moving forward.

Though Brown echoed a common team sentiment that Saturday’s game is just like any other despite the potential CFP stakes, he said third- and fourth-down defense could be a deciding factor.

“Great defenses find a way to get off the field on third and fourth down,” Brown said. “Going into this game, it’s definitely going to be a big indicator on how it’s going to go, how we do on third and fourth down.”

Secondary, wide receiver groups dealing with injuries

During the Rutgers game, both cornerback Jontez Williams and safety Alex Graham appeared to be dealing with injuries, which Riley acknowledged Monday on Trojans Live. Riley said on the show that he was hoping to get both back “right away.”

Williams did not appear on USC’s initial availability report released Wednesday evening after telling reporters Tuesday that he was “ready to go.”

Graham, however, was listed as questionable on the report, which is updated daily from Wednesday through Saturday during a typical game week.

Standout freshman wide receiver Trent Mosley, who racked up 13 catches, 255 yards, four receiving touchdowns and a punt-return touchdown in his first three games with USC, was listed as doubtful. Mosley missed the Rutgers game after appearing to favor his right knee after a third-quarter touchdown the week prior against Louisiana.

On Tuesday, Riley deferred a question about Mosley’s return timetable to the availability report. Last week, Riley said he didn’t expect Mosley to be out “extremely long term,” but did not offer specifics.

Another of USC’s top receiving options, Corey Simms, was listed as out. Simms had at least two receptions in each of the Trojans’ first four games for nearly 200 yards and caught a touchdown against Rutgers.

Standout sophomore defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart was also listed as questionable after missing the first four games of the season with a foot injury. Stewart dressed for the game against Louisiana on Sept. 12, but Riley said the team “made the decision to pull him back a little bit” after seeing him warm up for that game.

“He’s definitely getting better and better each week,” Riley said Tuesday.

Special teams an emphasis in practice

Hours before their playoff hopes were dashed, the 2025 Trojans had the ball and were as in it as they could be.

More specifically, the then-No. 15 Trojans were tied with then-No. 7 Oregon 14-14 early in the second quarter and playing well on the road. Should they have won the game, USC would have had a reasonable argument to the CFP selection committee to make the 12-team field.

The Trojan offense stalled and was set to punt. Oregon’s Malik Benson took a line-drive punt 85 yards to the end zone to give the Ducks a lead. The Trojans compounded mistakes and fell convincingly afterward.

“It was a huge, huge play in the game,” Riley said after the game. “You definitely don’t want to give them something like that.”

Last week, the play that kept Rutgers in the game near the end of the first half also came from a punt formation, but with the roles reversed.

The Scarlet Knights ran a fake punt to convert a fourth-and-21 for a 44-yard gain that sparked a touchdown drive to close the gap to 3 points.

“The special teams play last year (against Oregon) really turned the game. The one the other day did too,” Riley said. “In these big games, when you’ve got two really good teams going at it, it always feels like there’s a couple of just really, really impactful special teams plays.”

With last year and last week in mind, how much emphasis did Riley and company place on special teams with a critical matchup with Oregon upcoming?

“A ton,” Riley said.