Los Angeles, CA – USC trailed by 11 and committed 3 turnovers in the first half before scoring 28 unanswered points and coming back to defeat Wisconsin 38-21 Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Miller Moss threw three touchdown passes and Ja’Kobi Lane caught two touchdowns to help the Trojans get their first Big Ten victory. Moss finished with 308 yards and also scored a touchdown on the ground.
“Super proud of the second-half resilience of this team,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said. “We didn’t play a very good first half in any phase. And you know, it’s kind of the second week in a row that we’ve been in the locker room and it’s like, ‘Alright, are we gonna step up and go play the way that we know we’re capable of?’ And then we did that.”
On USC’s opening drive, Lane made a sensational 32-yard touchdown catch that Moss threw between two defenders. USC took a 7-0 lead. Wisconsin answered on the next drive when quarterback Braedyn Locke hit Vinny Anthony down the sideline for a 63-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
USC wide receiver Zachariah Branch muffed a punt at the beginning of the second quarter and the Badgers capitalized on the turnover with Tawee Walker’s 18-yard touchdown run to take a 14-7 lead.
Trojans’ kicker Miachael Lantz added a 41-yard field goal to cut the lead 14-10. Wisconsin went on a 7-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by a Walker 4-yard touchdown run. The Badgers took a 21-10 lead into halftime.
The USC comeback started in the third quarter with Moss connecting with Lane for a 6-yard touchdown. After the Trojans forced a turnover on downs, Moss hit Duce Robinson for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:28 left in the third quarter.
“At halftime, we said we like everything we have. It’s just about us going and executing,” Moss said. “And I think the good thing about that is we had autonomy and going out in the second half and controlling what we control, and going and putting up points. It wasn’t like they were doing something that was world beating, and we couldn’t execute.”
Moss gave USC a 31-21 lead with an 8-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. USC linebacker Mason Cobb sealed the victory when he returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown. It was Cobb’s second career interception and his first-ever pick-6. It was also his first interception as a Trojan.
Up next for the Trojans is a road game against Minnesota on Saturday, Oct. 5.
