Los Angeles, CA – USC ended a three-game losing streak with a 42-20 win over Rutgers on Friday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Running back Woody Marks ran for theee touchdowns and quarterback Miller Moss accounted for three scores to lead the Trojans to victory.
“We didn’t make some of the same mistakes that have plagued us,” Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley said. “I know it kind of sounds simple, but we did, we just played better.”
USC opened the game with a 10-play, 77-yard drive that was capped by a 1-yard touchdown run from Marks. After a field goal from Rutgers, Marks scored his second touchdown of the first half from a yard out to give USC a 14-3 lead in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Moss gave USC a 21-3 lead with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Ford. Rutgers added two field goals before Marks scored his third touchdown of the game to give USC a 28-9 lead.
“I give a ton of credit to the guys in that locker room, the staff, really the whole program on how they seem to come together and fight through adversity, Moss said. “And, yeah, it’s great to close one out, and hopefully we get on a run here in the back half of the season.”
Marks is the first running back to score three touchdowns in the first half since 2004. Rutgers added a field goal to cut the USC lead 28-12 before halftime.
Rutgers scored their first touchdown of the game on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Athan Kaliakmanis to Christian Dremel in the third quarter. USC answered with a Moss 7-yard touchdown run and the Trojans took a 35-20 lead with 6:32 left in the third quarter.
USC put the game away when Moss hit Makai Lemon for a 40-yard touchdown. Lemon finished with four receptions for 134 yards and a score. He also returned a kickoff 80 yards to set up Marks’ second touchdown.
Up next for USC is a road game against Washington on Saturday, Nov. 2.