Dominant USC DEs Kameryn Crawford (1), and Luke Wafle celebrate after sacking SJS QB Luke Weaver during the first quarter of the Trojans’ 42-26 win Saturday at the Coliseum. (Ronaldo Bolanos / LAT)-
USC quarterback Jayden Maiava passed for 286 yards and two touchdowns to spearhead No. 14 USC’s 42-26 victory over San José State at the Coliseum.
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USC’s King Miller rushed for 63 yards and a touchdown to lead a rushing effort that found the end zone four times.
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Although the Trojans dominated in the first half, Luke Weaver and the San José State offense outscored USC 23-7 in the fourth quarter.
Ryan Kartje (LA Times) — A quartet of true freshmen pass-catchers trotted onto the Coliseum field around noon Saturday, taking their places to either flank of USC’s far-older quarterback. None of the four — neither Trent Mosley, nor Kayden Dixon-Wyatt nor Tron Baker or Mark Bowman — had ever played in a college football game. But the significance of their presence, on the first play of an especially critical campaign for USC and its coach, Lincoln Riley, was no small thing.
This USC season, if only by sheer numbers, is sure to be defined by how fast its freshmen can grow up, which, after Saturday’s season-opening, 42-26 win over San José State, might not sound so bad after all.
First impressions, of course, can only say so much. With redshirts no longer a concern, Riley had promised to acclimate as many young players as possible. He stuck to a mostly conservative play script, leaning on the run and relying primarily on short passes through the air. Still, USC tallied more than 500 total yards in a mostly ho-hum debut, with star quarterback Jayden Maiava completing 25 of 29 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns, plus a one-yd rushing score.
However, there were also plenty of glimpses that suggest the kids will be all right.
The most memorable came from Mosley, who took off with his first-ever collegiate punt and ping-ponged his way down the field, refusing to go down until he gained 41 yards.
It was just the start for the former Santa Margarita High standout. In the second quarter, Mosley caught a pass over the middle and broke three tackles for 33 yards. In the third, he burst open in the red zone and reeled in a 14-yard touchdown. He finished with seven catches for 118 yards and a touchdown, becoming the first Power Four freshman receiver to meet those marks in a debut since Purdue’s Rondale Moore in 2018.
There were standout moments for other members of the Trojans’ 2026 class, too. Defensive end Luke Wafle looked unblockable at times off the edge. Dixon-Wyatt dusted his defender off the line to catch a red-zone slant for a score. And quarterback-of-the-future Jonas Williams led a seamless fourth-quarter scoring drive.
USC WR Trent Mosley breaks a tackle by SJS LB John Norwood during the first quarter Saturday. (Ronaldo Bolanos / LAT)
But arguably the most encouraging results for USC came on the defensive end, where, for one half at least, Gary Patterson’s unit stood strong in his debut as Trojans defensive coordinator.
USC didn’t allow the Spartans to score until midway through the third quarter, when they opted for a field goal, down four touchdowns, just to wipe the zero off the scoreboard. San José State would add another score after that, albeit long after USC’s starters had been replaced.
The defense held San José State to just 102 yards in the first half. It also gave up just 93 yards on the ground.
USC was at its best early, even with its fleet of freshmen needing time to find their footing. The Trojans immediately ripped off a 13-play touchdown drive to start the game. Fans were still filing in, braving 90-degree heat with novelty beer swords in hand, as Maiava moved USC methodically down the field, punching in a one-yard keeper for an early score.
A fourth-down stop at the goal line gave San José State a brief respite from USC piling on points. But Wafle, the five-star pass rusher, nearly added to the scoreboard anyway, when he slipped past the Spartans’ right tackle on third down, blew up the Spartan running back, and came up a split second short of a safety.
USC QB Jayden Maiava hands off the ball to RB Riley Wormley during the second quarter Saturday. (Ronaldo Bolanos / LAT)
Miller
How have the Trojans done? 1) First round WR pick Makai Lemon has looked exceptional with the Eagles in practice, but not so good in games. He should contribute early as a WR and on special teams, but there is concern he was picked too high. The pressure is on Lemon to improve. 2) Third round WR pick Ja’Kobi Lane made the Ravens’ reg season roster. Lane has arguably generated as much buzz as any rookie in Baltimore’s camp, turning heads with his spectacular catches and personality (even making headlines for rapping at a team dinner) 3) Fifth round S… Read more »
USC is favored by 22.5 points over FRESNO ST.
Sure would love to see the Trojans smack around the Bulldogs — and a strong finish would be nice, even if it means playing the best players, and giving them more time on the field together against athletes they don’t practice against every day.
Finishing strongly for some teams may not matter so much. But for many obvious reasons, it does for USC.
I witnessed the SJS receivers open in the middle most of the game, even against our 1st string.
Only play the 1st and 2nd string worthy on D and let the rest waive towels on the sidelines. Oh and what’s with the
“Juice Boxes”?!
And did anybody try to drink beer out of a beer sword? How much got all over your shirt?!
Looks like a lot of work for drink.
Good advice. The reserves have all season to improve. And they’ve got a long way to go from what I saw. Hopefully, they’ll get there. I think they will. But play the best for now, put ’em under as much pressure and in as many situations as possible, and unite them together as a team, to get them ready for the very talented, upper-hand Ducks. This team has to build for today, not tomorrow. We desperately need to finally learn how to finish teams off. Take no prisoners. Pretend that Notre Dame had beaten SJS 42-26 in South Bend. Just… Read more »
When do the other players get PT if you want to run the 1st string longer. I thought the whole concept of these first games was to get PT for as many as possible, especially the freshmen who it appears are quite good. It is especially important that Jonas gets as many minutes as he can get in case Maiava goes down. He sure seems capable.
I was buttressing Golden Trojan’s point about USC’s shaky defense featuring the reserves, and how only the best should play, which would obviously include probable frosh All-America Luke Wafle, or any other freshmen on defense who played very well on Saturday. We weren’t talking about the much further-advanced offense, which I thought was clear.
I’ve already said here yesterday that I’d like to see a lot more of Jonas Williams, who I think has already shown the potential to be better than Jayden Maiava, so you and I definitely agree on that.
That is way too many points. FSU is a decent team, certainly better than the Spartans. They will try to control the clock with their running game, and take the air out of the ball.
FWIW- It’s being reported that Jarmond has been kicked to the curb by fucla. I hope they don’t hire someone competent to do that job
Wow. Good call! Money, money, money, money! UCLA AD Martin Jarmond, who has led the Bruins’ athletic department since 2020, has been relieved of his duties. The UCLA athletic program has come under some severe scrutiny since Jarmond’s oversight, and the two have finally parted ways. The California Post reports that former Lakers executive Tim Harris will take over duties as the program’s athletic director on a pro bono basis effective immediately. The most scrutiny Jarmond faced was the difference between UCLA’s resources and the results of some of its most prominent programs. The football team cycled through three head… Read more »
This new sports AD Tim Harris is going to find out soon enough, purpose means nothing when it comes to winning and if that doesn’t happen soon enough in Westwood, the financial opportunities from outside business will dry up very shortly. Being UCLA cheap will put pressure where it belongs….. the administration!
“The goal isn’t to prove the defense is perfect against San Jose State. The goal is to identify the problems before Big Ten play.” Just what happened.
I haven’t seen or heard anyone put the USC defense and the word “perfect” in the same sentence. Congratulations. That’s hilarious.
Since the B1G isn’t even remotely similar to SJS, what USC did against SJS doesn’t really prepare USC for the B1G at all. All USC proved to itself was what it couldn’t do against little old weak SJS. Good luck with applying those defensive failures to ORE, OHIO ST, PSU, IU, RUT, WIS and UW.
Oh, and UCLA’s gonna be A LOT better. Bank on it.
I have some serious questions about Friday’s night game. First since it is a Friday night game will our Sunday morning quarterbacking be moved to Saturday? Next who okayed a short week when it’s obvious so much more tuning needs to happen? Does anyone besides me fear USC overlooking the bulldogs? They are a PAC 12 team and have used that in their recruiting. They might score in the first quarter. Finally I got to see the whole game on Peacock last night and realized the world isn’t ending. We really didn’t look as bad as I thought we did.… Read more »
ESPN updated FPI Top 25 after Week 0 action 1. Ohio State (28.7, Coliseum Oct. 31) 2. Texas Longhorns (26.9) 3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (25.9) 4. Oregon Ducks (25.3, Coliseum Sept. 26) 5. Georgia Bulldogs (24.8) 6. Indiana Hoosiers (23.1, Bloomington Nov. 14) 7. Miami Hurricanes (21.8) 8. Alabama Crimson Tide (20.1) 9. LSU Tigers (20.0) 10. Texas Tech Red Raiders (20.0) 11. Texas A&M Aggies (20.0) 12. Oklahoma Sooners (17.8) 13. Ole Miss Rebels (16.0) 14. Michigan Wolverines (15.9) 15. Tennessee Volunteers (15.1) 16. Penn State Nittany Lions (13.7, Beaver Stadium Oct. 10) 17. Florida Gators (13.6) 18.… Read more »
No change up or down for USC, the only top 25 to play.
Looks typical espn, over loaded with SEC teams.
I’m sure when and if USC ever does something worth crowing about, USC will start to see some respect from the CFB world. Until then, the SEC is the least of USC’s worries. It’s the uber-physical B1G that USC has to worry about.
And without question, USC could lose to every single SEC team which is ranked above the Trojans by ESPN. That’s obvious.
That may be very correct Allen, but espn still struggles to even mention USC.
Mark bowman will not only help our passing game but he will help our running game. This guy can block
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA8a5PMPQ14
I was totally shocked to see him handle people like he did. No wonder Lane Kiffin tried to steal him with big money on LOI Day.
under Nakias, Kiff would have won that recruiting battle.
Tengwall made several comments on how #48 for SJS got beat and pushed around. I’ll bet some B1G DL will not have the same amount of trouble.
Interesting……our old defensive coordinator at Penn State (Lynn) who presided over our leaky defense did a few things at Penn St as soon as he arrived. One thing he did was bring in from the portal 4 or 5 huge DL tackles. Most over 320 pounds. They are saying he might get beat but nobody is going to be running on Penn St this year……referring to what Ohio State, Michigan etc have been doing to Penn St under Franklin for years. One of the reasons Franklin was said to not be able to win the big games.
USC could easily lose the Oct.10 White Out game vs PSU, as we all know. Lynn might know some insightful things about the Trojans that could give them another small edge.
I would hope by the PSU game what Lynn knows won’t matter. Like, here is what we do, stop it if you can. Like I said, I hope.
Would LR knowing some insightful things gs about Lynn offset that?
So it’s a stand-off. I’ll take it. After watching SJS totally maul USC’s no-depth D in the 4th Q, that’s the best deal I’ve heard all day.
I sure hope USC doesn’t get many injuries to its defensive players. If a couple of big guys go out, it could get embarrassing to say the least.
Might apply that same logic to Matt Entz @ Fresno St.
2 FCS Championships under his belt.
Agreed. Very interesting match-up.
They need to find the right combination on the O-Line. The team averaged 5.1 YPC rushing for the whole season last year. Against a smaller SJS D-Line, they averaged 4.1. They are no wheres near where they should be. That’s surprising to me since this is not a new O-Line they are putting together. All the starters are back. They should have been up and running from day one.
Re-thinking what this USC team must get done right now Dan Weber (USCFootball.com) — This USC defense will not be able to beat anybody on its own – and we mean anybody with a pulse – without the offense doing all the heavy lifting. Unless the USC defense was sandbagging everybody in Saturday’s 42-26 win over what should have been an outmanned San Jose State team – even by the USC backups, then it’s simply not good enough for this program. And we’re not talking about the final score. Forget the talk that there were two games Saturday with… Read more »
Reflecting on the evolution of USC’s roster over the summer, Lincoln Riley often pointed out the stark contrast between the early “reloading” years and the current Trojans, stating that his program finally possesses the “superior physicality, depth, and overall completeness” required to compete at the highest level.
So much for coach-speak.
It’s bad enough when he doesn’t say anything worthwhile but don’t BS us! How about instead say something like, this is a very talented team but young and inexperienced we have to get guys up to speed asap. Just a little hint maybe that Riley is still Riley. With 2:33 to go in the game, 3rd and 8, on the USC 38, USC up 42 to 18, Riley has Williams throw it, a 3 yard pass intercepted taken to the 35. It’s hot as hell, the Coli is empty, just run it and punt, game over, we can all go… Read more »
It only took SJS three plays from the 35 to get in the end zone. Then they easily converted a second straight two-point conversion. Riley should have made sure his best players were in the game just to make a point that USC could stop SJS and prevent the Spartans from scoring a 3rd TD in the 4th Q. But LR has never been a defense-focused, tough-minded coach and as a result USC immediately caved and looked sloppy and bad at the end of another game. Bad habits are obviously hard to break. I sure wish LR and USC would… Read more »
OK……Fresno awaits. Apparently, they are sort of a cupcake with chocolate chips made of steel baked in. Might be a bit more entertaining. We should still have it under control by the second half but…..you never know. Hopefully Riley turns on a few jets and we win comfortably.
Fortunately, USC has a game under its belt. FRESNO ST will be better. But so will USC.
I would say Maiava doesn’t look like he’s ready to head to New York based on yesterday. It’s only one game of course.
But I’d really like to see more of Jonas Williams. Except for that horrible prayer pick throw, he looked like he could be really special, if first impressions are of any value.
I agree, Jonas looked great!……..hopefully he gets into the game in the late third and has some good game time. He lit things up in Illinois as the all time yardage leader in the state. Another brick for 2027.
Maiava is Maiava. His 5th year of college ball…..we probably know what he can give…….and that is ok. Most of the big games are at home where he usually plays well. If he can hold it together at Penn St and allows the team a chance to win it he should have a good year.
Forget Indiana…..it’s a bridge too far.
My takeaway from yesterday is utterly simple. Talented team with major inexperience and depth concerns. We’d better hit that middle stretch unusually healthy, or the expectations for this year are simply not going to be met.
Maiva was “Meh-ava.” Two TDs against SJS? Not a Heisman pace. Heisman guys get five or six against the cupcakes, because they’re not getting them against Ohio State or Oregon. The dude is already behind the sticks.
For those that like to watch OL play I found this analysis. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA8a5PMPQ14
Hopefully it works.
I thought I would put a separate post on Jonah Williams. I cannot recall any SC coach playing a second string true frosh QB for the entire 4Q in a home opener. And, remember, Williams was not working with the 1st team OL. He looked sensational on his opening drive and then looked like a true frosh in his 2nd drive and threw an interception that gifted SJS another 7 points. My guess is that second drive was done behind a back up OL. It was a really good opening debut I thought. He looked to me a lot better… Read more »
Wow, are you guys ever a tough crowd! I do not know how good this team is going to be, but I do know that it is best team LR has fielded at SC. It is also very young and very inexperienced. Have any of you seen a better true frosh WR in his debut better than Moseley? I have not and I have attended or watched about every SC FB game for the last 30 years. The kid is amazing. He was not only our best WR, he was probably the best player on the field. How about Wafle.… Read more »
Ya, we’re such a tough crowd! 😂 😂 Actually, many of us TDBers have been very generous in the praise of USC’s freshmen. That’s not to be unexpected when you sign a giant #1 class with huge numbers that got on campus early. So USC stinks it up again on defense in year five of Lincoln Riley, in the Coliseum no less, against a going-nowhere SJS team coming off a 3-9 year with nearly 50 new players that’s nearly a 40-point dog. Gee. What an accomplishment to win by 16. Not that beating the spreads always matter, because they don’t… Read more »
I know it was very hot yesterday but considering how the Colly looked…..if I were Jen……and this moron makes us look stupid against Oregon, Washington and Penn St…….I’d have Jedd Fisch’s telephone number on speed dial. His wife is living in Arizona, he likes to visit Mexico, knows LA, and can coach football……the right age…..and loves huge, dominant OL’s. He also probably has one of the best defensive asst coaches in college ball at Washington.
No….what is needed is a 35 year old, handsome Single Guy who played College Ball, with a successful Brain Transplant from Nick Saban !
LOL…….ok……l’ve got a buddy that is a surgeon…..maybe Riley would do?
WEEK 0 CONTEST RESULTS WITH INDIVIDUAL GAME ACCOUNTING:
See the orignial post for a full game by game accounting by clicking the link below
CLICK HERE
Well I woke up this morning without the usual koolaid hangover. I’ll wear my Cardinal and Gold shirt to church instead of my mourning black USC shirt. But that’s about it as far as what I’m going to do. I saw what I expected I saw the overhyped under skilled team that Riley produces every year. My expectations have lowered again. The TMB played the Hollywood Bowl Friday night, the football team will be lucky if they make the South of the border Bull Ring Bowl sponsored by Clancy’s tortilla chips. Not consuming massive amounts of koolaid has helped me… Read more »
What happened to that fierce defensive front? They got 1 sack against the demon Spartans. Last year they got 31 sacks in 13 games. That’s 3.4 per game. They got 5 TFL against SJS!!! Last year they got 5.4 TFL for the whole season including the the Big 10 and the bowl. SJS has underweight O and D lines. I agree it’s only the first game and a lot of young inexperienced players but the SJS game was nothing to scream about. I’m curious to see where they rank SC after that poor showing.
I wouldn’t move USC up, that’s for sure. But I wouldn’t penalize us too much either. Basically, I think USC is a top 15-20 team right now. That’s fair. However you slice it, based on what I saw at least, we have an average-at-best defense. At best! Our LBs and safeties need a lot of improvement too, and I just have my doubts about their top-end talent. Gary Patterson is a very good coach with a ton of experience. But’s he’s no miracle worker. Neither is Lincoln Riley, obviously, and he never has been.. We are what we are. A… Read more »
The mantra all summer has been this is the deepest most talented team Riley has had at USC. Doesn’t look it. Riley’s comment in the Swanson article, “we had several that did not play the way that we anticipated”, really, what have you been looking at and doing the last 3 months? Elite teams don’t drop off like this when the 2nd level is in. This looks like a 8-4 team at best, probably 7-5. Is it too early to start with “wait till next year”, with a new head coach?
Friday night I wrote it felt like Christmas eve the night before the start of the season. Wondering what presents Santa will leave. Turns out Virginia there is no Santa Claus, just Lincoln Riley and all I got was socks and tighty whities!
Everything you said makes sense. That’s just not what I’ve been hearing from all the football pundits. The Kool-aid has been flowing like a river.
With all the money that is bandied about in the College Football Galaxy, why would ANY UNIVERSITY tolerate a mediocre Head Football Coach for Four years…much less Five. Especially in a Super Conference ? Buyout contracts can always be negotiated There is no question USC has an abundance of Intelligent People in Sports Administration, but, are they blinded and deluded by this Grifter solely focused on his sinecure ? When will Universities finally wake up and demand Performance Clauses in Coaching Contracts ? Last nights scoreboard showed a win…was it, or merely an optical prism showing a replay of last… Read more »
Maybe the best team in the Mountain West conference? USC is not close to big 10 level on either side of ball.
I saw what all the other TDB’ers saw. It was obvious. Even the 1st string D-backfield was shaky let alone the fallout from the 2nd & 3rd stringers. I liked the play of the front 7 in the first half. And it seemed the linemen made penetration at the LOS. Just thought there would be More QB sacks. Everyone keeps saying SJS kept their 1st string against our 2nd & 3rd string as an excuse. Well SJs being a level below in top 4 league play, shouldn’t our 2nd stringer recruits hold up against that? It was a Trojan D-freefall… Read more »
Lincoln Riley’s latest defensive reboot at USC is nowhere close to playoff-ready Mirjam Swanson (LAT) — How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat your meat? How can you compete for championships if you don’t have a championship defense? Sorry folks, but rules are rules. USC just keeps trying to bend them. Trying to break them. As if universal laws don’t apply to the Trojans. In each of Lincoln Riley’s four seasons at the helm here, he’s trotted out impressive offenses and unimpressive defenses and — surprise, surprise — gotten the same result each time: something short of… Read more »
Not going to be critical. This game was for the coaches benefit. Everyone knew USC would win, there was no surprise in that. Maiava did okay, and it sure seems the freshmen can catch the ball. Yards after catch were pretty good. All this gloom and doom is kind of premature at this point in time. Lets see where they are by Rutgers game. Perhaps the starting lineups will change and the amount of PT for the young players will diminish. I am not upset at all, it is early and this was as they said, a teaching time. Nothing… Read more »
Well after game 1, is this a team that will go far in the playoffs? NO. Is this a team that will make the playoffs? NO. In the 1st half: There were missed assignments on O and D. Elite teams will kill them with those. Maiava had 2-3 miscues. Good stop on 4th down and a good 2 minute drive and score. Wafle and Mosley will be stars. The RBs look strong to break tackles. 2nd half: 3rd quarter went 7-3 USC. USC had to punt on first drive. In the 4th USC’s 2nd and 3rd tier team got beat… Read more »
Last year we tried to cool the jets after some big wins against such powers as Georgia Southern. This year……don’t take this relatively close win too seriously. It is important to note that this tremendous elite USC roster several have described does not exist. We are a good football team but still looking up at the elite. I don’t have time for a compete review……does USC have a WR, RB, OL or QB that would start at Oregon….nope. Our TE might be given some playing time. Does USC have a DL, LB, or DB that would start at Oregon…..nope. Of… Read more »
Does USC have a head coach that would be hired at Oregon…
No……he might have been hired but he would have been fired after three years. Expectations there are sky high now……a decade ago it might have been different.
Frankly Phil Knight is a shrewd judge of people and so…..I truly think he would never have been hired…..certainly not for the stupid contract we offered.
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That SJS offense gained 336 yards(pass/rush) in 56 plays. That’s 6 yards per play. That’s a first down every 2 plays. If they can do that, what will Oregon do?
You do realize that SJSU played their first team offense the entire game while SC put its backups in the 4th quarter right? The statistics are a little padded here.
The big thing is we got the W, played lots of our young players. came out healthy, and now have film on all of our players.
It is good that we played lots of players and came out healthy but I would have thought that our 2nd and 3rd string players were better than their starters. We have a lot of 2nd and 3rd stringers who wouldn’t even consider going to SJS. They are much higher than SJS’s talent level.
I’m highly underwhelmed. Looks like another season of early season kool-aide drinking. They had better get better fast because this team is not going to beat Oregon. That powerful running game gained 4.1 YPC against SJS’s 280 lb. D-Line. SJS ran for 4.3 YPC against our monsters of the midway D-Line. They scored 23 points against us in the 4th quarter. I thought our 2nd and 3rd stringers were better than their 1st stringers. This was a 3-9 team last year with nobody coming back. We were favored by 38.5 points and we won by 16.They have a lot of… Read more »
Well we didn’t beat the spread, but we did cover the overs/unders. I always expected more, but San Jose State was more of an unknown than USC in terms of media coverage. Also I didn’t see the whole game (yet) because I was playing with my band at a friend’s 95th birthday party, so, happy for the win but must wait for actual commentary until I see the whole thing.
(I do think Maiava threw his Heisman chances in the dirt on his first incompletion)
Maiva and the receivers were about the only things that looked good to me.
Finally saw part of the game. I’m responding to myself Well it’s going to be a long year. I asked earlier today who controls college football? My feeling is TV controls the game. But TV didn’t help me today. I kept my commitment and attended thee party because I knew “peacock replays the game on demand” beginning an hour after the end of the game. Unfortunately my peacock app wouldn’t open when I got home. Not the game the app itself just sat there. So YouTube controls the game today. I found a 36 minute recap. I saw some things… Read more »
Well Game #1 is in the books and we got a W.
First team offense and first team defense looked great and even their backups looked good. Outscored SJSU 35-3.
The third and fourth team got outscored 7-23. These guys will only play regular minutes in the event of major injuries. Also they were playing against the first team SJSU offense.
Coaches have film to start working with all the young players.
Came away with a W and no major injuries.
Fight On!
God help us if starters on defense go down. Our 2nd/3rd string defenders were just awful.
Our two deep performed well. The 4th quarter was all backups and now coaches have film to show them who messed up and how to fix it. This game was never in doubt and really was an exhibition game for the team.