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.
