No. 11 Women of Troy wear down Pilots pressure to win, 78-51

By

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November 18, 2025

JG6A6189 — Londynn drives to the lane. Photo by DeAngelo Scruggs / fi360 News

Los Angeles, CA – Tuesday night at the Galen Center, No. 11 ranked USC felt unease by Portland’s pressure in the first quarter and changed it by applying back their own defensive pressure to create high octane offense that continued thru the second half onto a lopsided victory, 78–51.

Led by Freshman Jazzy Davidson, whom played the entire first half and kept her team in the game early on, made a couple of key steals to ignite either her own offense or assist one of her teammates.

“We have multi-dimensional players, like I said, we’re trying to get the ball to Ken [Kennedy Smith] in the high post or get to Jazzy in the high post, coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “They can make the right play, they can reverse it and someone can knock down threes, or they can go to the rim, or maybe they’re dumping it.”

Davidson finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists despite having five turnovers. Kennedy Smith after a sluggish start and moments of frustration found her rhythm by the second period, adding 13 points, six boards and three assists along with tying her record for triples made, three out of six.

“Last year, my role was a little bit different with my shot selection,” Smith said. “Coming in and trying to be the best version of myself is something that I’m trying to do this year.”

USC went on a 24–9 run in the second quarter and dominated until the final buzzer. The Women of Troy bench outplayed the Pilots though both teams played all of their active roster. USC outscored in every point categories—bench points (34–19), second-chance points (23–13), fast-break points (18–7) and most notably, points off turnovers (33–8).

Four Women of Troy players posted double figures including Davidson and Smith. Transfer Londynn Jones found her rhythm and shot from deep,hitting a game-high four triples to finish with 12 points, tying her season high. Also, transfer Kara Dunn warmed up for 10 points and seven boards including a highlight after an official review timeout where Smith found Dunn for a hail Mary pass that converted into an And 1, pushing the momentum for USC to a point of no return for Portland.

“It’s really unique to be able to play all these amazing teams so early into my freshman season,” Davidson said. “I’m just learning from my teammates and my coaches who have been there before and just learning from every game.”

Now USC (3-1) will have to carry their momentum into the home of their third ranked opponent already in the season when they matchup against No. 24 Notre Dame in South Bend, IN for a Friday rematch of last season. Tipoff begins at 6 pm on ESPN, ET.

The Aztecs drop the Broncos in the rain

By

Jennifer Moore

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November 15, 2025

DDC00458 — Photo by Rashad Griffin / fi360 News

SAN DIEGO, CA — San Diego State used a pounding ground game and a swarming defense to capture sole possession of first place in the Mountain West with a 17-7 home win over Boise State on Saturday night.

The Aztecs (8–2, 5–1 MW) rushed for 277 yards — 150 from Lucky Sutton and 98 from Christian Washington — to overcome soggy conditions at Snapdragon Stadium and stifle Boise State (6–4, 4–2).

Quarterback Jayden Denegal scored two second-quarter rushing touchdowns, the first on a 1-yard plunge early in the frame, and the second from eight yards out just before halftime.

Boise State answered in between those scores when Dylan Riley capped a 14-play, 75-yard drive with a nine-yard TD run, but the Aztecs never relinquished the lead.

In the fourth quarter, Gabriel Plascencia added a 47-yard field goal to seal the win.

SDSU head coach Sean Lewis lauded his team’s discipline in the elements: “Great effort, great enthusiasm, great passion from the boys today … they played with emotion, but they did not get emotional. I’m really pleased with how all three phases played together.”

On the Boise State side, head coach Spencer Danielson expressed disappointment in missed opportunities: “We’ve got to be more efficient running the football … and we missed a couple of those opportunities. We’ve got to find a way to create more points.”

Defensively, San Diego State was punishing. Boise State managed just 104 passing yards, while the Aztecs zeroed in on shutting down their ground game when it mattered most.

The Broncos made one final push late, but a field goal attempt was missed and the Aztecs closed it out with sturdy ball control in the final minute.

With two games left in the regular season, SDSU has the inside track in the Mountain West title picture.

USC comes back to defeat Iowa in the rain

By

Gabriel Duarte

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November 15, 2025

IOWA_Vs_USC_11-15-25-13174 — Photo by Jordon Kelly / fi360 News

LOS ANGELES, CA – The USC Trojans earned a much-needed win to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive. Utilizing a second-half shutout, the Trojans overcame a 14-point deficit to down Iowa 26-21 in stunning fashion.

It’s a big win for the Trojans, who not only add another ranked win to their resume, but stay in control of their own destiny. USC will travel on the road to a top 25 program in Oregon next week for a potential CFP bid.

“I think the whole team was ready to lay it on the line today. We had guys laying it on the line, all over the place on all three sides of the ball and there’s great examples of that. When you have one or two players doing it, that’s really good for those one or two players. But when you have a whole team doing it, you have something pretty cool,” Riley said.

Makai Lemon had a nice day at the office despite the rain pouring down for a majority of the game. The junior wide receiver finished with 10 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown in the win.

“(Lemon) is as good as I’ve seen. And going back 20+ years, but he’s a really outstanding player. They’ve got a couple of other guys too, but he’s really good,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.

Battling tough weather conditions, the Trojans got stunned by Iowa right from kickoff. USC fell behind early in the first quarter and never led during the first half. At one point, the Trojans trailed 21-7 before a field goal late in the second quarter made the deficit 11 points at halftime.

Suddenly, it was as if a switch was flipped and the Trojans’ offense came alive. USC quarterback Jayden Maiava directed the team to three consecutive scoring drives to begin the second half.

After settling for a field goal on the opening possession of the half, Maiava found Lemon for the lone passing touchdown of the game with 3:33 left in the third quarter to trim Iowa’s lead to just two points.

On the ensuing drive, Jahkeem Stewart gave USC all the momentum when he intercepted Mark Gronowski inside Iowa territory. A few plays later, running back Bryan Jackson rumbled his way into the endzone for a one-yard touchdown.

Just like that, after trailing 21-10 coming out of the half, USC led 26-21 over the Hawkeyes with 13:36 left in the game and never looked back.

USC linebacker Eric Gentry said the win over a historic Big Ten program like Iowa shows that the Trojans belong in the conference.

“People try to say stuff about us coming to the Big Ten and wondering how we’re going to be. This team is fitting in and more importantly setting the standard of the Big Ten. So coming in we wanted to win big games because every week is a one week season for us,” Gentry said.

The Real SC didn’t imitate, No.2 dominated No. 8 USC to claim “SC” title, 69-52

By

Charle' Moore

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November 15, 2025

Los Angleles, CA- University of Southern California got called out by University of South Carolina fans as they declared game in the first “real SC” face off among women’s collegiate basketball as SC fans begin to call the first word of their surname in the final quarter at Crypto Arena to take home the title by overpowering a relative undersized, inexperienced USC team without their past leading scorer and superstar shooting guard, JuJu Watkins, whom presence might not have made a difference tonight when it came to being out rebounded by 24 to lose 69-52 on a rare rainy evening in Southern California.

“We want these kind of games,” USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said.

Amid the dreadful, rainy weather and the dreaded absence of your program’s best player missing, the Women of Troy still exuded fight to compete with a team ranked number 2 and could arguably be number 1 throughout three periods, keeping it competitive before the Gamecocks took it away in the final period.

“Credit South Carolina for doing what they do really well. Obviously they destroyed us on the board, coach Gottlieb said. “They’re good in transition and they’re good defensively.”

Once the Women of Troy loss the opening tip, within 30 seconds of the game, the Gamecock’s lone returning starter, point guard Raven Johnson drove to the lane to score and put South Carolina first on the scoreboard for the lead that they maintained most of the first half.

“I saw some things in our team I really liked I thought we had some fight,” coach Gottlieb said. “I’m excited about what’s next for us but disappointed with the fact that we couldn’t hold on and be a little more competitive down the stretch tonight.”

Women of Troy also showed how pose and prepared they are to expect a variety of contributors this season to make up their offense as shown tonight when freshmen star Jazzy Davidson picked up two early fouls putting a wrench in her team’s early offensive plans.

“I don’t think we tried to play slow,” coach Gottlieb said. ”I think this is a team that can run and create mismatches for people and I don’t think it was pace, I think it was the lack of ability to put the ball in the basket. So yeah we want to be faster…when our three starts dropping that’ll obviously help production as well.”

Both teams struggled in the first half to put the ball in the basket, with SC Women of Troy hitting one more basket than Gamecocks as Malia Samuels hit a running floater to cut down Gamecocks’ lead to two, 32-30 at halftime.

Neither teams improved much on their offensive efficiency but the Gamecocks took full advantage of grabbing almost anything coming off the glass with their dominating size.

“I’m going to give a lot of credit to Madina [Okot] Gamecocks Head Coach Dawn Staley said. “She was where she needed to be and just from a confidence standpoint, knowing that we need her and knowing that she can execute a game plan — she is part of us finding our identity.”

Four players for Gamecocks scored in double figures including two of them with double-doubles. Joyce Edwards led her team with 17 points and 10 rebounds. While Tessa Johnson and fellow backcourt mate Johnson scored 14 apiece with Raven collecting 11 rebounds to go with 4 dimes. Ta’Niya Latson heated up in the second half to finish the game with 12 points.

Sophomore Kennedy Smith led Women of Troy with 12 points, while senior-transfer Kara Dunn had 10. Junior Malia Samuels and Freshman Jazzy Davidson added eight and six points, respectively.

University of South Carolina (4-0) takes the first “Real SC” title and University of Southern California (2-1) will look to take this game as a thermometer to check early their team’s temperature for the rest of the season.

No. 8 Oregon Dominates Minnesota Under Friday Night Lights

By

Bryce Viglione

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November 14, 2025

_A126481 — Photo by Ben Ammon / fi360 News

EUGENE, OR — Under rare Friday night lights in Eugene, the No. 8 Oregon Ducks (9–1) handily defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers 42–13 as they continue their push for the College Football Playoff.

In the absence of star wide receivers Dakorien Moore and Gary Bryant Jr., and with the return of standout right tackle Alex Harkey, the Ducks relied on the run game to set the tone early. Oregon’s ground attack was led by senior running back Noah Whittington, who rushed 8 times for 72 yards and 1 touchdown. His most impressive moment came early in the second quarter, when he drove the pile five yards and broke free for a 40-yard touchdown, extending Oregon’s lead to 21–3.

Minnesota’s redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Lindsey has exceeded expectations this season as a pro-style passer with a strong arm. Oregon head coach Dan Lanning noted before the game that Lindsey has “the ability to make those throws. He gives his wideouts an opportunity to make a play down the field.”

Oregon’s secondary presented the toughest challenge of Lindsey’s young college career. He moved the Gophers downfield at times but struggled to capitalize in Oregon territory. Lindsey finished with a 59% completion rate, going 19/32 for 138 yards and 1 touchdown.

Dante Moore certainly benefited from the return of tight end Kenyon Sadiq, who hauled in 8 receptions for 96 yards and 1 touchdown. Even without two of his top receivers, Moore delivered one of the best performances of his career, finishing 27/30 for 306 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Speaking on Moore’s efficiency, Lanning made it a point to recognize the entire offense, stating, “There were some unbelievable catches that were made. That’s a great indicator of how the offense is operating, but it’s a team award. He can’t throw it and catch it.”

Oregon will stay home next week to host the No. 17 USC Trojans (7–2) in a matchup with major Big Ten implications.

Perry shines in first career start as UCLA downs West Georgia

By

Gabriel Duarte

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November 10, 2025

Westwood, CA –The UCLA Bruins overcame a slow first half start and exploded for 46 points in the second half in their 83-62 win over West Georgia on Monday night.

Making his first career start, Trent Perry filled in admirably for an injured Donovan Dent, who is expected to return for the Bruins’ upcoming showdown vs. No. 5 Arizona on Nov. 14.

“It felt good,” Perry said. “At the end of the day, my dad always told me just create an impact when you’re coming off the bench or starting. I had no other mindset, my mindset didn’t change.”

Perry had career-highs in points, assists, and minutes as he played an extended role in lieu of Dent’s absence. In 37 minutes, the sophomore guard had 17 points, nine assists, and five rebounds.

“I’m concerned with his defense and taking care of the ball. As he gets minutes, he’ll shoot it better…He took care of the ball with nine assists to two turnovers. He’s worked hard, he’s got stronger, he’s done a great job,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said.

UCLA’s backcourt didn’t have to do much with Tyler Bilodeau and Eric Dailey Jr. handling a bulk of the scoring. Bilodeau scored an early season-high of 21 points on 7-12 shooting from the field. Dailey contributed with 14 points and three rebounds.

West Georgia came out firing in the first half and stunned the Bruins’ defense. They shot the ball at a 69.2 percent clip from behind the arc.

“They hit some hard ones and we had some breakdowns. Obviously, they hit some hard ones that they haven’t shot all year. They didn’t shoot them last year,” Cronin said.

However, the Bruins’ perimeter defense settled down in the second half and held the Wolves to just a 33 percent clip.

In the first half, Dent’s absence was notable. UCLA shot the ball 25 percent from three and the offense wasn’t flowing early. But Skyy Clark and Perry eventually got the offense going, which led to the second-half outburst of 46 points to put West Georgia away.

The Bruins will have to quickly turn their attention to a top-15 battle against Arizona at the Intuit Dome on Friday. Arizona has already beaten a top-25 program in Florida this season. Although UCLA opened with three mid-major opponents, the Bruins have treated them as if they were top-25 teams as well.

“It’s always important no matter who we’re playing. Every day, we got to get better, whether it’s in practice or a game. We gotta look at it like it’s the last game of the year like we are playing in the tournament. Everything matters and that’s what coach has been emphasizing to us quite a bit, and what we are trying to do,” Bilodeau said.

Second-Quarter Surge Sends Ohio State Over Purdue at Ross-Ade

By

Davyn Wright

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November 8, 2025

Ohio State Buckeyes vs Purdue Boilermakers Football, Nov 08 — NOVEMBER 08: Ohio State Buckeyes vs Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. (Photo by Andre Hollis /fi360 News)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue faced a No. 1 opponent for the first time since 1990, but Ohio State turned a shaky opening into a commanding 34–10 win Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium, improving to 9–0 behind another record-setting moment and a punishing ground attack.

Purdue opened the game with one first down before punting, but found early rhythm on its second drive. Ryan Browne went 6-of-7, including a perfectly placed 30-yard strike to Rico Walker to energize Ross-Ade. That drive stalled inside Ohio State territory, yet a 40-yard field goal gave Purdue a 3–0 lead — and brief belief.

NOVEMBER 08: Ohio State Buckeyes vs Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. (Photo by Andre Hollis /fi360 News)

Ohio State answered immediately. CJ Donaldson powered in from short range to put the Buckeyes ahead 7–3, but the game’s major momentum swing came shortly after: Julian Sayin connected with Brandon Inniss on a strong chain-moving grab, sparking a drive that ended with Jeremiah Smith’s touchdown. The score made it 14-3 and also placed Smith in the Ohio State record book — reaching 25 career touchdowns in just 25 games, the fastest in program history.

Purdue’s defense hung early, aided by a Buckeye penalty and a called-back long run, but a costly interception under seven minutes before halftime flipped the script for good. Lincoln Kienholz soon punched in a score as Ohio State erupted for 24 second-quarter points, seizing control while holding Purdue under 37 rushing yards and fewer than 100 passing in the first half. Time of possession nearly doubled in OSU’s favor by halftime (20 minutes to 10).

The Buckeye run game wore the Boilers down, and Donaldson added his second touchdown in the second half to stretch the margin. Purdue struggled to mount answers — Browne finished 10-for-19 for 76 yards and a pick, adding 27 rushing yards as the Boilers totaled just 186 yards of offense.

Purdue finally broke through late when Malachi Singleton found freshman Jesse Watson in the end zone, but by then the outcome was long settled.

“The second quarter got away from us — the long drive, the takeaway — it’s hard to overcome against a team like this,” Purdue head coach Barry Odom said. “But I saw some things. I’m going to keep believing we’re going to get back to those winning ways.”

Ohio State moves to 9-0; Purdue falls to 2-8 (0-6 Big Ten).

D. Wright Take Away

Early spark, same story. Purdue showed promise on that second drive — Browne sharp, crowd fired up — but one miscue and long Buckeye drives flipped the game. Against a No. 1 team, those cracks turn into craters. Next up: a road trip to Washington with upset dreams before the in-state battle vs a hot Indiana squad.

Ohio State? Slow start meant nothing. The run game leaned on Purdue, Donaldson punched in two, and Jeremiah Smith keeps rewriting history. One score, one record, same conclusion: he’s different. Buckeyes head home to face UCLA with the No. 1 engine humming.

UCLA unfinished comeback upheld by Nebraska’s quarterback TJ Lateef unbelievable first start and win

By

Charle' Moore

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November 8, 2025

_RM55068 — Photo by Jevone Moore / fi360 News

Pasadena, CA - Nico Iamaleava had a 9-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Frias II with 4:54 remaining in the game as UCLA went on an unanswered 14-0 run before Nebraska upheld them from adding to that total with an uncomplicated offensive drive led by Freshman quarterback TJ Lateef, also a Compton local native, taking three consecutive knees to run out the clock, and win the game, 28-21 on a snappy Saturday night at the Rose Bowl stadium.  

Iamaleava passed for 191 yards and hit Frias and Woods for TDs along with accruing 15 carries for 86 yards to do all that he could to rally his team despite taking an unfortunate amount of hits.

“I think he [Iamaleava] likes to be in the contact,” UCLA interim head coach, Tim Skipper said. “He was a true dual-threat tonight…I thought he played four quarters of ball…We were starting to get some momentum but we didn’t get the stop at the end.”

The Bruins ran out of time in the end and took too much time at the start to stop Cornhuskers from leading this game through three quarters to figure out how to stop Lateef from completing plays, while he went 10 for 10, totaling up to 173 yards in his team first four possessions resulting to a 21-point deficit, 28-7.

Though both teams struggled in their run defenses, Nebraska was able to hit Iamaleava consistently, yet UCLA demonstrated other chinks in their armor needing to still address including multiple false starts, illegal formation or other unwarranted penalties.

“I’ve gotten hit a lot of times in many games,” Iamaleava said. “I don’t think it affected me…overall, we’ve just got to play better as a whole and finish games.”

While Iamaleava unattached from the Cornhuskers in the second half, Lateef unleashed on the Bruins’ defense the entire game with the help of his teammate and running back, Emmett Johnson, rushing and receiving over 100 yards with two TDs. UCLA did eventually slow the two down by the fourth period, forcing their team to punt.

“I just feel like we got aggressive, both on the line of scrimmage and the corners—everybody on defense,” UCLA linebacker Jalen Woods said. “I feel like we did a better job in the half of everybody running to the ball.” “We’ve got three more games left, so every game we’re playing like it’s our last,” Woods said. “Everyone’s giving 100% effort and no one’s quitting on the team.”

Bruins (3-6,3-3) trailed the entire game but never allowed the Cornhuskers (7-3, 4-3) to feel comfortable with their lead, as both teams possessed the ball for the same amount of time, 30 minutes.

UCLA will continue battling through this season woes on the road as they travel to Columbus, Ohio against the No. 1 Ohio State in hopes to keep their bowl games chance alive, beginning with an upset for another nationally televised game on Saturday, Nov. 15.

No. 19 USC remained in the College Football Playoff picture with a 38-17 win over Northwestern Friday night at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

By

Eric Ramos

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November 7, 2025

USC_vs_Northwestern_2025-14 — Photo by Torrin Reichers / fi360 News

Los Angeles, CA – Friday was the first meeting between the two teams since the 1996 Rose Bowl, a game USC won 41-32. The 1996 Rose Bowl MVP Keyshawn Johnson led USC out of the tunnel before Friday night’s contest.

“Awesome, awesome win. Privately, we were excited about the challenge that this became with flipping time zones,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said. “Obviously, it was a tough battle in Lincoln just a few days ago, and then having to turn over and play a really good football team coming off a bye week. I felt like the last few games would be a really important stretch for this season, and it’s cool to see our guys respond.”

USC got on the board first with a Jaydon Maiava 7-yard pass to Makai Lemon for a 7-0 lead. Northewestern answered with a Preston Stone 4-yard touchdown pass to Griffin Wilde with 45 seconds left in the first quarter.

Lemon had a career-high 161 receiving yards and matched his career-high receptions with 11. It was his fourth 100 plus yard receiving game of the season, surpassing his previous career high of 158 yards against Georgia Southern (Sept. 6).

The Trojans came right back with a 9-play, 58-yard drive that was capped by a Maiava 6-yard touchdown run to give USC a 14-7 lead in the second quarter. The Wildcats stormed back to tie it 14-14 with a Caleb Komolafe 2-yard touchdown run.

Northwestern missed an opportunity to take the lead before halftime when Maiava was intercepted by Najee Story at the Trojans 25. He returned it and was headed towards the end zone when Maiava laid a hit on him that jarred the ball loose at the 1-yard line. The ball went out of bounce resulting in a touchback.

“We got the look we wanted first to play. So I thought getting back to Lem (Makai Lemon, WR) was the right read, so I made the throw, and I don’t even know where he (DL Najee Story) came from, honestly,” Maiava said. “I just saw him running with the ball. Seeing him down the sideline, I thought I should just go out there and sacrifice my body for my brothers and to potentially get the ball back.”

On the next play, King MIller got looose for a 55-yard run. Miller scored on the ensuing play with a 12-yard run to give USC a 21-14 lead before halftime. Miller finished with 127 rushing yards.

USC’s defense forced a punt at the beginning of the third quarter and the Trojans scored on the following drive with another sensational 10-yard reception by Ja’kobi Lane in the end zone.

The USC defense held Northwestern to just three points in the second half, marking the second straight game the Trojans have held an opponent to three points in the second half after doing the same against Nebraska last week.

Northwestern added a field goal before Lemon scored on a 4-yard run to give USC a 35-17 lead in the fourth quarter.

Up next for USC is a home game against Iowa on Saturday, Nov.15.

UCLA Dominates UC Santa Barbara 87–50 at Pauley Pavilion

By

Jevone Moore

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November 6, 2025

LOS ANGELES , CA — The No. 3 UCLA women’s basketball team opened its season at home in dominant fashion on Thursday night, cruising past UC Santa Barbara 87–50 at Pauley Pavilion.

The Bruins wasted no time asserting control, racing to a double-digit lead midway through the first quarter behind their trademark defensive intensity and fast-paced offense. UCLA forced 17 turnovers and turned them into 24 points, that helped build a 51–26 advantage at the break.

“A lot of people were scared to play us,” said UCLA coach Cori Close, “this was the hardest year to schedule opponents.”

Senior guard Kiki Rice led the charge with 20 points and 8 assists, while Lauren Betts, in her final season in Westwood, added 12 points and 7 rebounds under multiple double and triple team. Senior guard Gabriela Jaquez impressed contributing 31 points and 6 boards in 30 minutes.

UCLA’s depth proved overwhelming for the visiting Gauchos, who struggled to find rhythm against the Bruins length and athleticism. UC Santa Barbara was led by Olivia Bradley, who scored 11 points, but the Gauchos shot just 36% from the field and were out-rebounded 39-17.

The Bruins dominated the paint, outscoring UCSB 34-30 inside.

“We made some adjustments in the second half, we need to get better on the defensive today.” said Close.

With the win, UCLA improved to 2–0 on the season and extended its home winning streak to 7 games. The Bruins now turn their attention to a marquee nonconference matchup against Oklahoma on Monday November 10.