Leon Goretzka (Aston Villa): Although it was 4-4 in the end at Man Utd, Goretzka was a beast. He was calm under pressure and moved the ball really well as well. He obviously got a goal but his passing, movement and the ability to just be calm and handle every situation presented to him was really, really good.
Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool): How this guy has not got a new deal I don’t know. He keeps coming up big, high energy and he is vitally important to the way Liverpool play. When he is fit and available and firing on all cylinders it feels like they have a chance in this title race.
Enzo Le Fee (Sunderland): Where would Sunderland be without this guy? He has been good, he has been scoring, chipping in with big moments. Also his ability to take the ball when under pressure, take his side up the pitch and also have that little bit of innovative play and free thinking. He is exceptional.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Everton): Bossed the game for Everton against Coventry. Unbelievable goal but he absolutely bossed it. There was nothing more he could have done. Never gave the ball away, defensively he was solid. Attacking wise – goals and assists.
Longtime Republican Senator Susan Collins had held the seat for nearly three decades, but was swept away in the blue wave.
Published On 4 Nov 20264 Nov 2026
Democrat Troy Jackson, a former Maine Senate president and labour organiser who entered the race in July, has won the Senate race in Maine, flipping a seat held by the Republicans for 30 years.
Longtime Republican Senator Susan Collins conceded the race to Jackson early on Wednesday, ending nearly three decades as Senator for Maine.
list of 3 itemsend of list
Maine’s race was one of the most closely watched in the country. Republican groups spent heavily on the race, donating $76m compared with $40m by Democrats. Jackson’s campaign raised $26.9m, slightly more than the $25.2m for Collins through mid-October.
Located in the far northeastern United States bordering Canada, Maine’s economy has been affected by Trump’s tariff wars with its northern neighbour and key trading partner.
Collins, who has served as senator since 1997, has framed herself as sharing voters’ moderate politics and serving the state’s 1.4 million residents as chair of the Senate’s powerful Appropriations Committee.
Polls released shortly before the election suggested Jackson edging out Collins in a tight race shaped by negative campaigning.
Collins distanced herself from Trump during the campaign but drew criticism for voting in favour of Trump’s legislation and judicial nominees after the Supreme Court ended abortion rights.
Jackson, who campaigned on strengthening the economy and government accountability, framed Collins as a Trump ally and accused her of corruption, which she has denied.
Collins focused on her independence – she was one of the few Republicans who voted to remove Trump from office after the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol – and attacked Jackson for his federal inexperience and his voting record in the state legislature.
Scott Eisen/Getty Images News
Democrat Troy Jackson defeated five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, flipping a Republican-held seat and adding to Democratic gains in the 2026 midterms.
Jackson, 58, a former Maine Senate president and fifth-generation logger, secured the Democratic nomination in July after Graham Platner
Archie Gray (Tottenham): I’m going with a fully north London back four. Gray scored and defended really well. He was under a lot of pressure when Tottenham were in bad form and got a lot of stick, but now Spurs are starting to pick up I’m going to give him a bit of credit.
Ezri Konsa (Arsenal): He was a beast. Head it, kick it, throw your body in front of the ball. He defended and fought for the team, getting the job done.
Jan Paul van Hecke (Tottenham): Van Hecke got a goal and he’s really growing into his role at Spurs. I still think he was a little bit overpriced, but all in all he’s had a solid start, coming up with a few goals. Micky van de Ven next to him gives him confidence that he can go and be really aggressive, because Van der Ven will cover him with his pace.
Jurrien Timber (Arsenal): Timber got away with a shirt pull on Alexander Isak and I’m really surprised the ref and video assistant referee (VAR) didn’t look at it. But again I thought he recovered and defended really well at full-back.
Come to find out, as we approach the season of plump turkey legs and similar Santa Clauses, all is not well at ESPN. Turns out Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are having a hissy fit.
Will sports broadcasting ever be the same? As the late Chick Hearn would say, “Oh me, oh my.”
Buck and Aikman have broadcast various pro football games together for 25 years. They are Abbott and Costello, but not anywhere near as funny. You tune in just to wait for Joe to say, “I’m Joe Buck and this is Hall of Famer Troy Aikman.”
Kind of gives you goose bumps.
Fox Sports play-by-play announcer Joe Buck, left, and analyst Troy Aikman, right, work in the broadcast booth.
(Associated Press)
According to various reports, Joe went out and negotiated a new contract without telling Troy. Divorce lawyers are now circling the wagons.
The reports have Joe getting $108 million for six years. That’s around $17.5 million a year, so that Joe can tell us that one of the teams on the field needs to establish a run game. Golly.
Troy didn’t know about his buddy’s new deal, wasn’t happy not to know and reportedly doesn’t quite get that much, so there is little joy in Mudville’s press box. (OK, that’s baseball, but you get the point.)
If that kind of money ruffles your feathers a bit, at a time when you need to carry a blood pressure machine with you to the gas pump and grocery store, being paid around $17 million a year and having a hissy fit about it would seem to be a little tone deaf. Remember, these guys aren’t getting hit, they describing how others are.
Troy cut his broadcasting teeth by starring at quarterback at UCLA and the Dallas Cowboys. He knew what was going on when Peyton Manning yelled “Omaha.” Joe probably knew, too, when Troy told him. Joe cut his teeth by working his way up the ranks; also maybe by hanging around a lot when dad Jack Buck broadcast for years from most of the sacred citadels of sports.
Again, these guys don’t play, they talk.
Anyway, who ever said there were attempts to introduce perspective to sports via a broadcast team? No need. Take the stats the network intern kids are handing you and create drama with the tone of your voice, even though the picture from the field covers that better.
Of course there is homework to be done.
“We talked to wide receiver Jim Lightning-Fast yesterday and he said this team is ready for a big game.”
“Coach Harold Headset told us that this is the best week of practice this team has had all year.”
Then they can throw it down to a sideline reporter:
— “Coach, how do you feel about that flat first half by your team?” (The real answer: lousy).
— “Coach, what does it mean to you winning tonight’s game?” (Real answer: It means I won’t get fired this week).
Those stick-a-microphone-in-your-face interviews always bring to mind the way the great Gregg Popovich of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs handled them. He was once asked how his team’s winning play happened. “We practiced it,” he said.
The Joe-Troy hissy fit takes on additional import because they are set to call the Feb. 14 Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium. ESPN has three and a half months to fix this, but there is speculation that even if the hissy fit isn’t settled, the game will go on.
How about this: Hire Peyton Manning to do the color commentary. He certainly knows football and he has that elusive thing that most of those in sports speaking into microphones lack. A sense of humor.
Pair him with the legendary Al Michaels, who is 81, also has a sense of humor and still brings it on Prime Ticket’s Thursday night game. Michaels knows more about baseball and football and yes, even hockey, than most of his younger peers.
But obviously, for that Manning-Michaels matchup to happen, we’d have to believe in miracles.
Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where it’s beginning to feel like we’ve reached the point of no return for Lincoln Riley. USC’s 24-7 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday was objectively one of the worst of Riley’s tenure as a head coach.
That it came after a bye week only made it a more damning indictment of Riley and the culture he’s built at USC.
The reality is, another loss over USC’s next four games would eliminate the Trojans from College Football Playoff contention for the fifth straight season under Riley. And with three top-10 teams still on the schedule, it feels all but inevitable that USC will fall short of expectations once again this season, a half decade into Riley’s tenure as the Trojans coach.
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USC fans, safe to say, are fed up. Many of them, it seems, want Riley fired right now. But the Trojans are technically still in the race, even if they’re just barely limping along, and aside from the brief hit of dopamine and schadenfreude that such a swift firing might provide, cutting ties with a coach before the end of the season is almost always a dangerous idea. It makes even less sense, in this case, for USC — a school that should know by now how sideways a midseason move can go.
Each of the last three Trojan football coaches preceding Riley were fired midseason. And the ripple effects of those firings, you could argue, ended up setting USC back even further.
When USC fired Lane Kiffin in the middle of the night at LAX after a 3-2 start to the season, then-athletic director Pat Haden not only turned the Trojans into a national punchline, but also painted himself into a corner. Interim coach Ed Orgeron ended up turning the season around and earning the endorsement of USC’s entire locker room. (Which you can hear more about on this week’s new episode of House of Troy.) But Haden had no intention of hiring Orgeron, and the decision to move on ended up being a disaster, on multiple levels.
With Steve Sarkisian, Haden had no choice but to cut ties. But this time, he actually did end up hiring the interim coach, Clay Helton, after seeing how Helton had shepherded the program through a difficult season. And of course, that hire ended up being a huge failure.
I’ll never forget the chaos of USC’s 2021 season, after Helton was fired. Interim coach Donte Williams had no idea how to usher a team through a season. The locker room was in disarray. It all felt unfair to the players. The subsequent search did end up yielding Riley — a move that, at the time, looked like a major coup — but because USC was in such a desperate position, it had to offer Riley a huge deal that he couldn’t possibly refuse.
Firing Riley now would leave athletic director Jen Cohen in a similarly tough position, with months of speculation surrounding a high-pressure search. The players, as far as we know, are still behind Riley. Meanwhile, many of the coaches Cohen would probably consider in his stead will have their teams in the playoff hunt through December and even January. One need only look at what’s happened to Penn State to see how that could go awry.
There’s also the matter of Riley’s contract. If USC does fire him, it will be on the hook for his estimated $70-million buyout, plus whatever millions it would owe to the rest of his staff. But there is one way that the school could soften the blow of what would otherwise be a serious expenditure.
If Cohen makes a move, she could wait until the end of the season, when a full picture of the open coaching jobs has come into focus and Riley’s agent has had a chance to take a lay of the land. Maybe then a job would emerge that both Riley and the school agree would be a better fit.
In that case, USC could significantly offset the cost of Riley’s buyout, according to a person familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak on the matter. That would make the move much more palatable to the people already shelling out millions for a state-of-the-art facility, as well as a $40-million NIL budget.
The dots are easy to connect. The Baylor job already opened Sunday, and the school, according to On3, is looking for a coach with Texas roots. It’s possible, too, that the Texas Christian job opens up by the end of the year if Sonny Dykes, who has ties to Riley, can’t turn things around. Other jobs will surely open up that we’re not even anticipating.
Until a donor waving around a $70-million check starts making demands, it makes more sense to weather the next month with Riley, whatever it may hold. Maybe it won’t be as bad as you’re thinking.
But for the moment, it’s the rational thing to do.
JuJu Watkins, pictured earlier this year, was back on court for USC on Sunday.
(Luke Hales / Getty Images)
—USC rushed for negative-17 yards against Wisconsin. Seriously. On the Trojans’ first carry Saturday, King Miller ran straight into a brick wall of the Badger defensive front. And it never really got better from there. Jayden Maiava lost 57 yards on five sacks, which made the rushing numbers look much worse. But it’s not like USC’s other rushers found any room. Miller had eight yards in 11 carries. Freshman Shahn Alston was the leading rusher with 28 yards. And Waymond Jordan, who had been USC’s No. 2, was conspicuously absent. We’ll find out more about that ahead of Saturday. But right now, USC’s rushing attack looks completely out of sorts.
—What was Lincoln Riley thinking on that 58-yard field goal attempt? Riley was asked about that fourth-quarter sequence, which began with a delay of game penalty that moved the Trojans out of field goal range. Riley said that USC was strangely called for the delay because it ran in a player later, then snapped the ball before the referee had given the OK, not after the clock had run out, like a usual delay. Nonetheless, after that, Riley should’ve punted on fourth and 17. Instead, he decided to send out kicker Caden Chittenden to attempt a career long … in the rain. “We knew points were at a premium at that point,” Riley explained. “We just felt like — obviously, a 58-yarder is never going to be crazy high percentages, but we needed points, and to punt it down there didn’t feel like it was the right choice at the time.” Well, they ended up making the wrong choice. Wisconsin scored on the ensuing drive and put the game away.
—USC’s offensive line might’ve been the game’s biggest disappointment. USC boasted some of the best pass protection in college football through the season’s first half, then completely collapsed against Wisconsin. Quarterback Maiava was affected throughout by the Badgers’ pressure. There was barely any room for the run game, either, as Wisconsin simply overpowered USC at the point of attack. Needless to say, not a great week to have written about how great the offensive line was looking!
—USC’s defense held Wisconsin to 58 passing yards. That’s the fewest the Trojans have given up in a game since holding Michigan to 32 in their Big Ten debut, and in an alternate timeline, it might’ve been seen as a big moment for USC’s secondary. But Badger quarterback Colton Joseph didn’t have an incompletion in the second half, completing his final 10 passes. The most critical of which came on fourth down, when Wisconsin went five wide, with four receivers bunched on one side. The subsequent screen went for a 16-yard touchdown, which was Joseph’s only pass of more than 10 yards all game. Turns out, it’s all he needed.
—Defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart is still limited by an injured foot. The injury continues to linger, and Stewart continues to fight through it. At one point Saturday, he went to the locker room before returning to the game. There’s no questioning Stewart’s toughness, and clearly he’s capable of gutting it out through games. But it doesn’t appear that he’ll be fully healthy again this season without some serious time away from the field.
—USC’s women’s hoops gave a first glimpse of a potential title-winning team on Sunday. The Women of Troy took on Cal in an exhibition matchup that marked JuJu Watkins’ return in front of fans at Galen Center, and Watkins wasted no time making her presence felt, as she went to the hoop 14 seconds into the exhibition. The trio of Watkins, Jazzy Davidson and top freshman Saniyah Hall shot a combined 22 of 45 for 59 of USC’s 78 points. Still, USC barely snuck past Cal.
“Gritty ain’t pretty. We played the harder football game, brought it to them, and they can’t really do nothing with us. It’s just two different types of football.”
—Former USC running back Bryan Jackson, who scored Saturday’s first touchdown for Wisconsin
USC men’s water polo ripped off nine straight wins to start the season, then went 4-3 after that, with two losses to Stanford and one to UCLA, both of which sit just ahead of the Trojans in the national rankings.
The Trojans looked back on track in their final match of the season at home, rolling past Air Force, 21-8. And they still have road matchups against UCLA, Stanford and California that should tell us whether the Trojans are true contenders for a national title.
Olivia Wilde, from left, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton in “The Invite.”
(A24 via Associated Press)
Some of the smartest movies are also the simplest. I kept thinking about that while watching “The Invite” recently. Directed by Olivia Wilde, the story takes place entirely in one couple’s apartment, during one evening spent with their upstairs neighbors.
It ended up being one of my favorite films of 2026 to date, with stellar performances from all the actors involved: Wilde, Seth Rogen, Ed Norton and, especially, Penélope Cruz. Maybe not the best flick to watch if you’re fighting with your significant other. But “The Invite” made me feel all sorts of feelings, which is generally what I’m looking for in a movie.
Listen now: Podcast ‘House of Troy’ features inside look at highs, lows of USC Athletics
‘I’m disappointed.’ Lincoln Riley laments USC’s struggles in loss to Wisconsin
USC offensive line transforms into one of 6-1 Trojans’ biggest assets
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email Ryan at ryan.kartje@latimes.com, and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where I am thrilled to be writing to you today after a harrowing couple of weeks at the Kartje household. But after a bout with stomach ulcers — don’t recommend it! — and a brief hospital stay, I’m now back and ready for the home stretch of USC’s football season, which has gotten a lot more intriguing since we last spoke.
Not only did Lincoln Riley secure a critical road win at Penn State, but the rest of college football’s top tier also collapsed in the week since. The teams ranked Nos. 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 all lost on Saturday. At 3-1 in the Big Ten, USC is now tied for second place, while the three other teams at the top of the conference — UCLA, Indiana and Ohio State — are all still on the Trojans’ schedule. Two of those teams will face USC with a backup quarterback.
The Playoff picture certainly looks brighter for USC than it did before that trip to State College. But it’s still up to Riley to prove his team can actually deliver on that promise for more than one night.
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That starts Saturday, in Madison, Wis., for my money, one of the best college towns in America. But since we’re roughly at the midway point of the football season, let’s look back at the first half for USC, with an eye on where the team could be headed in the second.
Quarterbacks: B
Jayden Maiava is coming off one of his better games as USC’s starting quarterback, having guided the Trojans to victory in State College. And maybe that performance was what Maiava needed to snap out of whatever funk he seemed to be in. Because for a few weeks, his timing and mechanics were a bit out of whack.
He’s still been putting up numbers — seventh in passing yards per game, in spite of my nitpicking. But if he is back to slinging it like he was against Penn State for the rest of the season, USC can keep up with anyone, including Indiana and Ohio State. But through the first half, I would say Maiava was good, not great.
Running backs: B-
King Miller has been a workhorse for USC this season.
(Adam Hunger / Associated Press)
I had high hopes for Waymond Jordan this season, but since his ankle surgeries, he simply hasn’t been the same player through the first half that he was a year ago. Fortunately for USC, that hasn’t been a huge problem. King Miller’s added muscle has given him some added durability, and in turn, USC has used him like a workhorse, with more carries per game so far than basically any other back in the Riley era. But he hasn’t been quite as explosive as he was last season, and that absence of explosion has been noticeable in USC’s offense. The Trojans have just five runs of 20-plus yards in seven games.
Wide receivers/tight ends: A
It’s pretty rare that a team entrusts its entire passing attack to a fleet of freshmen right from the jump. And it’s even more extraordinary to see that trust pay immediate dividends. But that’s been the case for USC so far this season. Trent Mosley has been the most dynamic freshman pass-catcher in the country when healthy. Kayden Dixon-Wyatt leads all Power Four freshmen wideouts in receiving yards (400). And Mark Bowman’s absence has been felt since he’s been out of the lineup. I’ve been blown away by what we’ve seen out of this group, given all it had lost. The last two weeks, we’ve also seen Tanook Hines return to the level on which he left off last year.
Offensive line: A
It’s a credit to what offensive line coach Zach Hanson has been able to accomplish with his group’s development that true freshman Vlad Dyakonov could step in to start at left tackle in the most brutal of circumstances at Penn State and more than hold his own. USC has been able to navigate injuries up front with ease so far this season, after actually losing its starting center before the season even started. The unit has only given up seven sacks in seven games, and their run blocking has been mostly strong as well.
Defensive line: B
USC’s defense looks entirely different when it can effectively pressure opposing quarterbacks. Over the last two weeks, it has managed to rack up seven sacks, one fewer than USC had over its previous five games. That’s a major step forward, and it starts with Luke Wafle and Kameryn Crawford getting more pressure off the edges. If Jide Abasiri and Jahkeem Stewart can use the bye week to get healthier, then suddenly this group looks very dangerous ahead of the second half.
Linebackers: C
I like what I saw out of Ta’Mere Robinson and Elijah Newby in recent weeks, and it’s certainly possible that the linebacker room looks decidedly different coming out of the bye week, with either stepping into a bigger role. It feels like a fork-in-the-road moment for Desman Stephens, given what happened with Oregon and how he’s played outside of that one bad decision. It’s Year 3, and he’s not always in the right place. There’s a lot to work out here still.
Secondary: D+
Through seven games, USC ranks 128th in the nation in pass yards allowed per attempt. Which means I’m probably being kind giving this group the benefit of the doubt inherent to a D-plus. In some sense, this group is what it is. The personnel at safety has not appeared to fit whatever Gary Patterson wants at the position. But the healthy return of Alex Graham at slot corner has helped matters, and Jontez Williams has been solid, albeit unspectacular. Otherwise, well … yeesh. Best-case scenario is Patterson figures out something in the bye week to get the best out of this group.
We already knew that 7-footer Eric Reibe will miss at least all of USC’s non-conference slate after foot surgery. But according to a person familiar with USC’s roster situation but not authorized to speak publicly told The Times that the Trojans may also be without five-star freshman Christian Collins when they open the season on Nov. 2 against Milwaukee. Collins has been out for several weeks of the preseason with an undisclosed injury, but he’s expected to return sometime in early November. Assuming he continues to progress, he won’t miss much more time.
The earliest Reibe could return, I’m told, is the first week of January, when USC opens conference play. But even that would be an optimistic outlook, considering when Reibe had his surgery. He’d sat out for almost two months, hoping to let the foot heal on its own, before opting for the operation.
Given my recent health situation, we’ll be taking a one-week break from “House of Troy.” But we’ll be back the following Tuesday, Oct. 27, when Chapter 5 will ready for you wherever you get your podcasts!
“We have one loss. We just had a terrific win on the road at Penn State. And we’re gonna continue to get things done for the rest of the season. Then, we’ll see what happens.”
—USC president Beong-Soo Kim, when asked about the potential of moving on from Lincoln Riley
It’s been a tough season for USC women’s soccer. Entering the weekend, the Trojans had just one win in 14 matches this season … and that lone win came in late August.
But that changed at Northwestern, as USC scored in the first minute of the game and never looked back, delivering a 3-0 win over the Wildcats.
The win won’t change what’s frankly been an unacceptable campaign for a program that was 18-1-4 just two seasons ago. USC is now 2-8-5, with three matches remaining. The time to save this subpar season is already past.
Samantha Sloyan and Summer H. Howell in “Carrie.”
(Liane Hentscher / Prime)
While I was doubled over on the couch for the better part of two weeks, I did happen to stumble onto one of my favorite shows of the year to date. I have a deep respect and love for Stephen King, so I was wary of Amazon’s new adaptation of “Carrie.” But it honestly shattered my expectations.
Adapted by writer and director Mike Flanagan, this modernized version of the classic King story is born out of social media and an Instagram account, “CarrieRed,” which starts terrorizing other students and teachers alike. Meanwhile, Carrie White, the titular character, is thrust into this brutal world of modern high school having spent her life to that point shut in with her strict mother and father. It could’ve been a caricature of high school today, but I thought it was really well done. And it kept me guessing throughout.
Listen now: Podcast ‘House of Troy’ features inside look at highs, lows of USC Athletics
USC and UCLA could benefit as College Football Playoff nears 24-team expansion
New USC president Beong-Soo Kim faces high stakes: Trust, Trump and Trojan football
After getting breakout star Trent Mosley back, USC hopes bye week helps others return
Mark Sanchez reaches settlement in civil lawsuit filed by truck driver he allegedly assaulted
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email Ryan at ryan.kartje@latimes.com, and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Ferdi Kadioglu (Brighton): He makes a massive block in the second half, which would have made it 1-1, and if the floodgates open it would be a problem. He is not known for his defensive skills, but he was great.
Jefferson Lerma (Crystal Palace): A centre-midfielder playing at centre-back. He scored a goal, made some big tackles, and was also was able to play out from the back, being the catalyst for Palace, so he goes in as well.
James Justin (Leeds): I know he loves playing against Arsenal, but the transformation he has had from when he was at Leicester to Leeds – the ability to play right wing-back, right centre-back. Everything that he gives you in that situation, he’s just a joke of a centre-back. I don’t believe he gets anywhere near enough credit. An unbelievable goal and he could have had more on the day.
Ethan Pinnock (Coventry): When he moved to Coventry from Brentford, I thought, that’s a dodgy one for Coventry. He is decent, but he doesn’t move the needle. How wrong was I? He has been excellent. A big physical presence, but also has that calming influence to talk others through games, and you can see since he’s been in the team, Coventry have got better week-on-week.
Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal): He’s probably Arsenal‘s best forward at the moment. Getting in really good positions, defensively solid, but also offers you a lot from assists and goals.
Times of Troy writer Ryan Kartje is out sick this week, but we didn’t want USC fans to miss extended coverage of the Trojans’ win at Penn State. Times sports editor Iliana Limón Romero is filling until Kartje returns.
USC coach Lincoln Riley lingered at Beaver Stadium on Saturday night, soaking up a hard-fought moment of vindication.
Riley celebrated out-coaching Penn State’s Matt Campbell like he won a national championship, offered gleeful remarks to NBC and reporters at his postgame news conference and shook the hands of USC fans who ventured to Happy Valley to catch the Trojans’ first road win over Penn State.
“It’s one of my favorite wins as a head coach no question, for so many reasons,” Riley said after the Trojans’ 31-23 victory. “Obviously phenomenal atmosphere, as good as it gets there in college football, so give credit to Penn State, their fans, but really proud of our team, man.”
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And even Riley’s harshest critics had trouble arguing this wasn’t a meaningful win. A serious test his team passed. The kind of beast Riley and the Trojans have struggled to slay.
Yes, the Nittany Lions now sit 3-3 overall and 0-3 in Big Ten play, but White Out games are their super power. When an announced crowd of 114,419 fans commits to wearing white and roaring in unison, it’s hard for any visiting team to pull off a victory. USC had never won in State College, Pa., and Riley noted seemingly no one outside of his team believed the streak would end Saturday.
How did USC do it?
The Trojans figured out how to overachieve in every area that was considered a weakness entering the matchup.
USC quarterback Jayden Maiava delivers an option pitch under pressure from Penn State’s Caleb Bacon on a play that scored a touchdown Saturday at Beaver Stadium.
(Isaiah Vazquez / Getty Images)
Last week’s Times of Troy highlighted in great detail the dropoff USC quarterback Jayden Maiava experienced since a shutout of Fresno State on Sept. 4.
Riley was asked this past week whether Maiava was playing through an injury and the head coach insisted no.
It now seems the real injury problem was the one that sidelined freshman receiver Trent Mosley for two games.
With big-play threats Mosley and Tanook Hines on the field, Maiava looked like an elite Big Ten quarterback dealing the ball in locations only his two ace receivers could catch.
Maiava completed 21 of 33 passes for 301 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers.
Mosley had nine catches for 111 yards and one touchdown. Hines had four catches for 82 yards and another score. The passing attack opened up enough space for King Miller to earn 102 yards and a touchdown in 19 carries.
Of course fans have come to expect big highlight plays from a Riley offense, but Maiava was unquestionably tentative the past few weeks and the offense wasn’t clicking. It hit top gear at Penn State.
USC’s Christian Pierce punches the ball out of the hands of Penn State’s Brett Eskildsen, forcing a fumble in the fourth quarter at Beaver Stadium on Saturday.
(Isaiah Vazquez / Getty Images)
While Riley has caught considerable heat this season, the USC defense directed by Gary Patterson wasn’t far behind.
The Trojans have shown marked improvement with Patterson shifting from the sideline to the press box the last two games.
Patterson had always worked from the sideline, but he also was always surrounded by staff members who knew his system well. Riley said the goal of the move was to speed up communication.
Desman Stephens II returned from his one-game suspension and led USC in tackles with nine. Luke Wafle and Kennedy Urlacher earned sacks. Jahkeem Stewart played after being listed as a game-time decision on the injury report and recorded a quarterback hurry.
Jontez Williams, Prophet Brown and Elijah Newby were credited with breaking up one pass apiece.
USc coach Lincoln Riley talks with quarterback Jayden Maiava during the Trojans’ win over Penn State Saturday at Beaver Stadium.
(Barry Reeger / Ap Photo/barry Reeger)
During an NBC interview minutes after the game ended and during his postgame news conference, Riley made it clear he heard those chants calling for him to be fired.
And he was well aware few expected USC to win at Penn State, with betting odds favoring a rebuilding Nittany Lions squad by 1 1/2 points.
Riley’s clock management and use of timeouts, along with his play-calling, unquestionably got the best of Penn State’s Campbell and helped seal the USC win.
Opening the second half with an onside kick set the tone that everything was on the table for USC.
When Riley kept his offense on the field on fourth and four at the USC 13 late in the fourth quarter. Campbell said he called timeout with 4:15 remaining to be sure he put his team position to go get the ball.
Riley was delighted Campbell burned his final timeout and sent on his punt team.
After his defense forced a turnover, Riley’s offense burned time off the clock and lined up for fourth down when Penn State jumped offside.
For once, the Trojans didn’t flinch when it mattered most. USC finished with three penalties for a loss of 25 yards, a remarkable improvement for a team that has racked up a lot of ill-timed penalties during Riley’s tenure.
USC was awarded the first down and took a knee to run out the clock on a victory.
USC’s Kameryn Crawford and Luke Wafle celebrate with fans after their win over Penn State Saturday at Beaver Stadium.
(Barry Reeger / Associated Press)
The Trojans celebrated in the rain before starting a bye week.
“I was not surprised at all that we played well,” Riley said. “I felt like we really had one of the best weeks of prep that we’ve had since I’ve been here. I thought team had a great mindset coming in.
”… I’ve only been a head coach at two schools. They’ve both been blue bloods. … Blue bloods are unbelievable. The advantages far, far outweigh the disadvantages, but the disadvantages at blue bloods are the outside noise is always going to be way over the top, no matter what’s happening. And your ability to deal with that as a coach and then your team is critical if you want to have success in these jobs.
“And I thought our team blocked out everything. Our team knows how good of a team we have in that locker room and didn’t flinch.”
Lane Kiffin was stunned when he was fired on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport at about 3 a.m. on Sept. 29, 2013.
He called his wife, who was equally surprised by the abrupt end to his tenure leading the Trojans.
“And I remember saying, I do not want to wake up tomorrow,” Kiffin recounts in the latest episode. “My life’s over.”
Kiffin helps provide an inside look back at the highs and lows of his USC era during Episode 4 of “House of Troy” available Tuesday morning at latimes.com/sports and everywhere you get your podcasts.
The USC women’s volleyball team has been through some big changes, with coach Brad Keller missing matches Oct. 2 and Oct 4 because of an illness. USC announced on Oct. 5 Keller is taking personal leave and assistant Megan Moenoa is the Trojans’ interim head coach.
The Trojans (8-8, 2-4 Big Ten) earned a 26-24, 25-19, 25-22 road win over No. 15 Indiana (10-5, 3-3) in Bloomington on Sunday. It was Moenoa’s first win since stepping in for Keller.
Sophomore Abigail Mullen led USC with 11 kills, four blocks and nine digs. Freshman Milly McGee earned 31 assists, six digs and one kill.
Please note the following poll included voting before USC’s win over Penn State. The results do help illustrate the stress level Riley faced entering the game.
We asked “Will Lincoln Riley be USC’s coach in 2027?”
After 1,976 votes:
Yes, 42.9%
No, 57.1%
Listen now: Podcast ‘House of Troy’ features inside look at highs, lows of USC Athletics
Lincoln Riley tunes out the criticism, makes bold calls in USC’s win over Penn State
No. 19 USC runs out clock on road win over Penn State
Trojans aim to prove they can stay poised amid constant pressure at packed Penn State
USC, UCLA push to extend West Coast dominance of Big Ten women’s basketball
USC coach Lincoln Riley says Jayden Maiava isn’t hurt despite dip in performance
Times of Troy: What’s going on with USC QB Jayden Maiava?
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