Miller Moss Starts Breaking Records Immediately

Miller Moss seizes his moment as USC upsets Louisville in the Holiday Bowl

After years of waiting for his shot, Moss sets a Trojans bowl game record with six touchdown passes to lead a 42-28 victory in his first career start

Luca Evans (OC Register)  —  SAN DIEGO — Miller Moss just did not care for your narratives.

He did not care about the notion of seizing the baton from Caleb Williams, who stood watching him on the sidelines of the Holiday Bowl on Wednesday night like a proud father. He did not care about the notion of seizing the chance to start a game, a chance he has waited for either for three years or 21, depending on your view of cosmic fate and his mother Emily Kovner Moss teaching at USC’s School of Architecture while pregnant with him. And he most certainly did not care about the notion of staking his claim to USC’s post-Williams quarterback job.

This was nothing more, he expressed last week, than what it was. He had a job to do, against Louisville. And that was that.

“My biggest focus isn’t (being) worried about, like, who’s saying what on Twitter or whatever it is,” Moss said last week. “My biggest focus is, handling my business within these walls, leading my team and going to get a win.”

It’s the attitude – completely unfazed and loyal to USC after three years sitting behind other quarterbacks – that has fostered a burning faith in Moss around USC’s war room. A guy who linemen “love to block for,” as center Justin Dedich said.

And Moss rose, gloriously, from the ashes of USC’s disappointing 2023 season in the Holiday Bowl on a cool Wednesday night in San Diego, a stoic phoenix thoroughly unconcerned with the larger implications of the show he put forth at Petco Park. He played without a hint of fear in his eyes, without a flinch in his right arm, bombing throws into narrow windows without hesitation in a 42-28 victory over Louisville (10-4).

Lincoln Riley’s plans at quarterback, for 2024, are unknown. Maybe USC (8-5) brings in Kansas State’s Will Howard. Maybe they pull some other magic from the portal. But Moss made it clear last week that he intends to compete for the job during spring practice, regardless – and as he slapped Riley’s chest after a fifth touchdown toss to Lane in the third quarter, it sure felt like USC had found its successor to Williams to lead the program into the Big Ten.

“He’s learned our offense as good as any player on our roster, and I think he really earned the respect of the team,” Riley said on Tuesday.

Riley’s offense turns quarterbacks into kings. It’s true. But the sheer guts in some of Moss’ decision-making couldn’t be ignored. He hit freshman Makai Lemon for two big gains in tight, deep windows over the middle of the field in the first half. He lasered a short slant to Hudson for a touchdown that whizzed over the outstretched arms of about three Louisville players. And with time ticking away in the first half, he escaped the pocket, rolled right, and with a pass-rusher diving at his feet lobbed up a go-get-it toss to freshman Lane for a 29-yard score.

“He knows who he is, and he knows what his strengths are,” said quarterback trainer Steve Clarkson, who worked with Moss for several years in his youth. “He’s not going to try to be something he’s not.”

He was helped out by a breakout performance from Lane, a lanky 6-foot-4 target whom Moss called a “freak,” snaring a pair of touchdowns. Senior Tahj Washington, in his final game at USC, crossed the 1,000-yard threshold with a triumphant second-quarter grab, a cornerstone of USC’s program delivering for one final night with seven catches for 99 yards and two touchdowns on a night – like Brenden Rice, Williams or MarShawn Lloyd – he easily could have skipped.

After a season of frustrating inconsistency, a season when Riley repeatedly lamented it rarely felt like USC’s offense and defense played well together at the same time, everything magically coalesced in a first half when it would have been easy for the Trojans to fall limp. Their roster was razor-thin, a straggler’s crew of defensive veterans and untested youngsters after weeks of staff changes and transfer turmoil.

But as Moss shined in the first half, USC’s pass coverage was sublime, cornerbacks Prophet Brown and Jacobe Covington making individual cases for a role in D’Anton Lynn’s 2024 secondary with some beautiful technique on pass breakups and tackles. Safety Jaylin Smith (12 tackles) was named the game’s Defensive MVP.

But this was Moss’ night. The moment was in his hands, finally, after three years of waiting. And after hanging in against pressure to deliver a third-down strike to Washington to extend USC’s subsequent drive, he pulled back a fake handoff and unleashed a 44-yard bomb to freshman Duce Robinson for his sixth touchdown pass of the game.

Sixth. A USC bowl game record. From a kid in his first start.

He tugged off his chinstraps in celebration, backpedaling slowly for a moment. Then he turned to Louisville’s sideline, as the game broadcast showed, and waved goodbye.

Goodbye, too, maybe, to his days of riding the pine.

“The way we view it,” mother Kovner Moss said of her son’s first start, “it’s the first of many.”

ocregister.com

_______

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TrojanRJJ
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December 29, 2023 11:32 am

I cannot recall a more important minor Bowl game for SC football. It was like SC got to have two spring practices. We got a solid preview of the 2024 team. More than that. We got to confirm that LR is a quality HC. This was virtually a new team and he got it ready to play. We saw huge improvement in all three phases of the game. Candidly, IMO, Moss played the best QB of the year. Best special teams performance of the year. Best D performance of the year. This was a totally different team than that which… Read more »

parcelman007
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December 29, 2023 10:57 am

With 2 years under LR’s QB coaching and 2 more years to come I would say, barring an injury, Miller will be one of the candidates for the Heisman at the 2025 ceremony

TrojanRJJ
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December 29, 2023 11:11 am
Reply to  parcelman007

Not certain about that. But Moss is a solid talent; I am really looking forward to seeing what he can do next year. I am convinced that SC in 2024 will be definitely improved over SC in 2023 in all phases of the game. Given the level of competition, IMO Moss played the best QB in the Holiday played all year by SC. Objectively, Caleb only outperformed him against Stanford and Stanford has no where near the level of D Louisville does.

parcelman007
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December 28, 2023 6:22 pm

I think one of the reasons why the O-Line had problems this year is because of Caleb. He waste the play clock trying to change the play at the LOS. That’s a lot of time that those O-Linemen have to be crouched down in the 3 point stance. Then they hike the ball and he drops back about 10 yards off of the LOS just looking down field because he wants to throw a 75 yard TD pass on every play. That wears out the O-Linemen trying to to protect him that long on every play. By halftime the O-Linemen… Read more »

volunteerTrojan
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December 28, 2023 6:21 pm

Off topic, but this cfb bowl junkie would love to see AZ smack the Okies this evening.

parcelman007
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December 28, 2023 11:39 pm

Looks like you got your wish. Santa talks about naughty or nice…….you must have been nice this year

volunteerTrojan
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December 29, 2023 5:50 am
Reply to  parcelman007

Ha, I’d like to think so, or at least have my wife think so.

TrojanRJJ
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December 29, 2023 11:06 am
Reply to  Allen Wallace

I remember about 3-4 years ago, Colin Cowherd was calling for Helton’s termination and recommending Fisch as the SC HC. Fisch has done a remarkable job at AZ. I think that Fisch, LR, DeBoer and Lanning are probably four of the best young HC in the game. How the PAC could disintegrate given all that talent in the coaching ranks is beyond my comprehension. Just amazing.

parcelman007
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December 30, 2023 12:33 am
Reply to  TrojanRJJ

I know the thing that disintegrated the Pac-12. That thing has a name…..LARRY SCOTT

parcelman007
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December 28, 2023 10:50 am

I used to think that maybe we need another O-Line coach. After doing some research, I’ve definitely changed my mind on that. Henson has tons of experience as a O-Line coach(15 years) and he’s only 48 years old. In his first 13 years(minus the 2 USC years) his running backs have averaged 4.63 per carry. That’s pretty good over a 13 year period at 3 different schools. In his 2 years at USC, the running backs averaged 5.1 and 4.8. In his 15 year career, he’s had 3 years where the running backs only averaged 3.7, 3.7 and 3.5. That… Read more »

Fighton74
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December 28, 2023 11:36 am
Reply to  parcelman007

I think that Henson is good, but we still need a lot of work on the development of our lineman. We lost major components on our line last year and that was not replaced. Regardless of the kind of player Caleb is and changing of plays he was still running for his life this year many times compared to last year. We are moving into the Big 10. Controlling the line of scrimmage and the trenches becomes that much more important as well as running the football more.

parcelman007
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December 28, 2023 1:34 pm
Reply to  Fighton74

We definitely need an improved running game

USC1988
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December 28, 2023 1:58 pm
Reply to  parcelman007

Why wasn’t Paige playing all year … he was terrific last night

TrojanRJJ
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December 28, 2023 2:40 pm
Reply to  USC1988

I think Tarquin was a large part of the problem. Paige is simply better, but then Paige had to develop. Once Paige was ready to go, Tarquin was let go (and entered the Portal again). I think things will get a lot better next year as I doubt we will bring in any transfers this year.

Jamaica
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December 29, 2023 3:38 pm
Reply to  Fighton74

Absolutely right. But in most cases, whoever wins the LOS battle usually controls the clock & the game. Quick fixing the O-line using too much Portal replacements each year just seems counter in developing players & depth. You want backups that are able to substitute during a game to keep everyone fresh playing all 4-quarters if at all possible. And backups to the backups when injuries happen. rotating players in games is so important giving all the players the feeling they are participating and getting experience playing in the games. If LR is guilty of playing favorites, he will continue… Read more »

ATL D.D.S.
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December 28, 2023 4:57 pm
Reply to  parcelman007

Take away Austin Jones long run in the 4th quarter and the run game didn’t do squat. The lineman are so used to backing up to pass block, they don’t know how to fire off the line on a running play. Maybe the 3-point stance should be explored again?

parcelman007
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December 28, 2023 10:15 am

Miller runs the play LR called unless it must be changed at the LOS. He gets rid of the ball fast. Caleb would waste the play clock changing the play and sometimes they would have to call a time out to not get penalized. Then he wanted to throw a 75 yard TD on every play and he would hang on to the ball back there. That’s hard on the O-Linemen, They can’t block those guys forever. That’s why Caleb has been sacked 83 times in his 2 1/2 year college career and Miller has only been sacked once in… Read more »

illinoisusc
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December 28, 2023 1:38 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

The difference between a guy who knows X’s and O’s and a coach.
I hope he learned something this year…..my issue is for 10 million we should not be having a coach in learning mode.

USC1988
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December 28, 2023 2:00 pm
Reply to  illinoisusc

Ugh … that pick on 1st and goal from the 12, up 28-14 was another dud call by LR. He needs to learn to milk some clock and not take dumb chances like there.

Steveg
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December 28, 2023 4:16 pm
Reply to  USC1988

Watch that play again and tell me if the receiver ran a decent route. Did he make any move to the middle before going out. He created zero separation and that is how the db had such good position. JMHO.

USC1988
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December 28, 2023 4:44 pm
Reply to  Steveg

Run the ball there … try that play on 2nd down
Better yet lob it up to Duce or Jacobi Lane !!!

Chris
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December 28, 2023 4:52 pm
Reply to  USC1988

Moss made a bad read and throw. It happens. If moss throws it up and away nobody is talking about the call. Riley is as good a play caller as there is. Last night is just more proof.

volunteerTrojan
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December 28, 2023 5:21 pm
Reply to  USC1988

My dud play of the night was one that hasn’t been talked about because the result was a TD, but before it was a touchdown, it was a broken play and LR let about 35 seconds bleed off the clock just before the half when he had at least 1 timeout to burn. It was gross clock mismanagement that would have been scrutinized had it resulted in no points before the half. LR’s clock mismanagement was once again cloaked by an act by Superman. Furthermore, it followed a silly QB run around the end that went nowhere around mid-field when… Read more »

volunteerTrojan
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December 28, 2023 6:20 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

Agree. We are dangerously thin at QB. Not too many B1G QBs play every snap of the season. Some quality depth is critical.

Really wish Nelson hadn’t checked out, but if he doesn’t want to be a Trojan, fine, we’ll find our QBs elsewhere.

USC1988
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December 28, 2023 8:44 pm

That rule needs to be changed … D is allowed to waddle out there as the game and play clock melt down

parcelman007
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December 28, 2023 6:31 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

LR didn’t seem to want to deal with Caleb probably because he is a Heisman winner. Caleb had too much power. This is not the offense LR ran at Oklahoma where he ran the ball 55% of the time. Last year they threw the ball 57% of the time and ran it 43% of the time.. I think that was because Caleb would rather throw it than hand it off and maybe also because of KK who doesn’t like to run the ball. That offense has a chance to be really good next year with Moss at the helm.

parcelman007
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December 28, 2023 9:32 am

One thing we learned last night is that Moss won’t fold under the pressure. When the big games come up and the whole country is watching on TV, Miller will perform like a champion. The pressure will not get to him. How do we know that? Because last night was a big game….for him. It might have not been a big game for a lot of those other players. For them, that game couldn’t decide the league championship or whether we go to the playoffs.But for him, the pressure was on. If he does well, he will most probably be… Read more »

Chris
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December 28, 2023 8:12 am

LR needs some credit. He was taking an absolute pounding for this year, as he should, he is the head coach. With that, he rallied the team in a big way. We were prepared, played hard, and made no excuses.

also, the guy is a great offensive coach. Not just a good play caller, a great play caller. Lots of people taking shots at that part of his coaching of late.

USC1988
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December 28, 2023 2:01 pm
Reply to  Chris

Agree … didn’t see such a strong effort coming. Best part was watching the team and LR celebrating afterwards.

Jamaica
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December 28, 2023 7:50 am

The offense with Moss QB’ing looked inspired and determined to control this game as Miller played solid in charge football. The defense gave up no cheap scores. Yes they couldn’t stop a lot of the cardinal runs up the middle, but Lynn and his rebuilt coaching staff will put a stop to that weakness. Miller’s passing was spot on where it had to be. He has an arm no doubt about it. What I really liked about this game, the defense didn’t run out of energy in the 4th quarter allowing Louisville to get back into it. Riley & staff… Read more »

USC1988
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December 28, 2023 2:02 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

One of my all-time favorite Trojans … since 1972!

TrojanRon
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December 28, 2023 5:29 am

I couldn’t be happier for Miller Moss. He’s put in his time at USC and then didn’t miss on his time to shine. I love it when a local guy does well for SC. I’m very optimistic about next season with Moss at the controls. He will get tested early with the first game vs LSU. I also liked how the young receivers like Lemon and Robinson stepped up in this game. Tahj Washington was brilliant as usual. Moss surprised me with his ability to throw outside of the pocket and on the run. I want to wish everyone here… Read more »

USC1988
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December 28, 2023 4:45 pm
Reply to  UtahTrojan

Thank U Coach Lynn !

UtahTrojan
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December 27, 2023 11:15 pm

I could not be happier for Moss, more than anyone he deserved this.
not will to say great days lay ahead for next year. But this certainly makes me feel better

USC1988
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December 28, 2023 2:05 pm
Reply to  UtahTrojan

Tom Brady would be challenged with next year)s schedule … but feel much better now with a smart gamer like MM. Once he settled down (those early 100 mph fastballs to Duke and ZB) he was fantastic.

Rock2112
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December 27, 2023 10:59 pm

Now we know why Malachi Nelson jumped into the portal! Starting to doubt that Will Howard was the reason.

Jamaica
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December 28, 2023 7:58 am
Reply to  Rock2112

You could be very right on that Rock. Riley and his new staff has to be competent judges on player attitudes as well as their talent possibilities. Work with Jen Cohen on how to deal with NIL that has taken control recruiting elite athletes and build depth.

RialtoTrojan
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December 27, 2023 10:55 pm

Being doused with Gatorade has been replaced by bowl traditions. Being doused with eggnog cannot be as awful as having mayonnaise being dumped over your head. Which begs the question; what if the coach is Vegan?

Fighton74
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December 27, 2023 10:48 pm

So I talked about this a couple of weeks ago. We are a QB factory. Now what he doesn’t deserve to start!?!?! As I said before what is the purpose of investing more in a
tranfer portal QB when we already have the talent and we are not competing for a National Championship at the moment and regardless of who we already got in the transfer portal defensively and on the offensive line do we or do we not have issues in those areas? 6 TD’s !!!! But wait I need a better QB he’s not good enough.

John Weld
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December 27, 2023 10:24 pm

I do not recall a single offensive line penalty in the Holiday Bowl. Another product of a qb staying in the pocket and getting rid of the ball quickly?

Jamaica
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December 28, 2023 8:05 am
Reply to  John Weld

John it has to be easier for receivers to run their routes and keep their eyes on where the QB is throwing their passes, if he’s not scrambling around so much as CW did. Miller has good pocket awareness.

illinoisusc
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December 28, 2023 9:43 am
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Excellent comments

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December 27, 2023 10:18 pm

College Bowl Contest Update:
Scoochnew still leads with 4 points and there are 5 people with 3 points.

Click on the link to see the results: https://trojandailyblog.com/tdb-college-football-bowl-contest-2023/

Steveg
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December 27, 2023 9:30 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

No way, especially because Caleb has not declared to nfl either.

RialtoTrojan
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December 27, 2023 10:59 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

Seeing what the next up means in quarterback at SC, I wouldn’t be surprised to see our portal ex recruit return. But I wouldn’t jump ship hoping I could steal the heart of the team from Moss.

Fighton74
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December 27, 2023 11:31 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

This is exactly what I keep saying Allen. We are a QB factory. No matter what you are paying for a QB in the portal there was just an article a month ago about it and the cost of it. So no matter what why invest in it when you already have the talent from recruiting especially when you can be using those proceeds to build more depth to your defense and offensive line. Not only that we’re not competing for a National Championship.

Fighton74
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December 27, 2023 11:51 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

I agree, but I also think we don’t take enough consideration into the talent of our recruits at that position, and that those talents are overlooked. And I think the talent proved itself tonight.

Jamaica
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December 28, 2023 8:13 am
Reply to  Allen Wallace

Hard question to answer now. But Riley has to have a solid back up QB going into a physically dominating conference where QBs will get hit and hit hard. You just can’t put a freshman QB into game where the starter got injured being tackled. You’ll be looking at fumbles & picks for sure.

Chris
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December 28, 2023 8:28 am
Reply to  Jamaica

I think that is slightly over rated. Washington smashed Mich St, The Cougs handled Wisconsin, Colorado smashed Nebraska. The Big10 just has really bad QB play and offenses, so they default to the run. Only Ohio St, Mich, and Penn state are good teams. The rest are average. Washington and Oregon are significantly better than the rest.

USC1988
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December 28, 2023 2:10 pm
Reply to  Chris

The Pac always had dangerous qbs … the Big 10 has garbage qbs most the time. The new teams will be fine. They will not be losing to F ing Iowa 12-10.

Chris
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December 28, 2023 9:06 am
Reply to  Jamaica

That’s going to be a tough sell for Riley. Come be the backup here and then compete with Juju the following year. If anything, he can point to Moss as how he develops the QB’s no matter the playing time.

Fighton74
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December 28, 2023 10:32 am
Reply to  Jamaica

I agree, but I do not see Miller, or Howard as a backup.