Maiava dazzles in historic 73-13 rout of Missouri State
The Trojans’ 73 points were their most scored in a game since 1930.
By SEAN CAMPBELL
While Saturday night’s season opener wasn’t much of a test for USC football, it certainly was for redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava. There’s no question that he delivered.
In his four starts last season after taking over for Miller Moss, Maiava showed streaks of brilliance, throwing for over 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns, but also made costly mistakes, including two pick-sixes that stifled momentum in USC’s only loss with Maiava under center thus far.
On Saturday, though, Maiava was anything but inconsistent.
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All five drives led by Maiava resulted in touchdowns as the game got out of hand quickly for Football Bowl Subdivision newcomer Missouri State (0-1), who eventually fell to the Trojans (1-0) by a dominant score of 73-13 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The 73-point effort was the most in a game for USC since 1930.
While the Trojan bench got involved in the second half due to the lopsided score, including five-star true freshman quarterback Husan Longstreet, Maiava finished his night with 295 yards and two touchdowns on 15-of-18 passing to go alongside a three-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter.
“It’s a good start. It’s nothing more than that. It’s nothing less than that,” said Head Coach Lincoln Riley in a postgame news conference. “Jayden laid the blueprint with how well he played in the first half.”
After the game, Maiava said there was “no doubt” Saturday’s game was the most comfortable he had felt as a collegiate quarterback.
Backfield depth key to victory
USC’s offense fired on all cylinders from start to finish, only failing to score a touchdown on two drives, one of which ended in a field goal — the first of redshirt freshman kicker Ryon Sayeri’s career.
Nine different players, including four running backs, were a part of the 10-touchdown barrage from the Trojans. The only player to walk into the end zone twice was Longstreet, whose run game was on full display in his team-high eight attempts that went for 54 yards, even overshadowing his perfect 9-for-9 passing performance.
“I’m fired up,” Maiava said about Longstreet in a postgame news conference. “I can’t wait to see what he[‘s] got planned for the future.”
Freshman quarterback Husan Longstreet was the only player to walk into the end zone twice after rushing for two touchdowns on a team-high eight rushes that went for 54 yards. He also had a perfect 9-for-9 passing performance. (Braden Dawson / Daily Trojan)
On Saturday, USC’s backfield showed why its depth is one of the most exciting parts of the squad. Riley opted for a balanced approach, giving all of redshirt freshman King Miller, redshirt senior Eli Sanders, junior Waymond Jordan and sophomore Bryan Jackson between four and five rushes — a strategy that paid off.
All four of USC’s main running backs scored, including an explosive 75-yard rushing touchdown by Miller that saw him weave through the Bears’ defense and a screen-pass-turned-73-yard touchdown for Sanders near the end of the first half.
“Anytime you have those explosive plays, that means people at all levels of the offense are executing,” Riley said. “We did a pretty good job, I thought, from an O-line standpoint. I thought perimeter blocking from the wide outs was pretty good.”
Playing for USC a ‘dream’ for Jordan
Jordan, who was named the starter by Riley on Tuesday, made good use of his five carries, averaging 8.4 yards, including a 26-yard run that set up his five-yard touchdown on the very next play. After coming to USC in the offseason as the top junior college back per ESPN, Jordan said the energy in the Coliseum was “electric.”
When asked whether this was the biggest crowd he had ever played for, Jordan responded with, “Of course.”
“I knew the moment wasn’t gonna be too big for me,” Jordan said in a postgame news conference. “You dream of playing somewhere like here, as a kid, so actually being able to play here, it was just amazing.”
Junior running back Waymond Jordan, who was named the starter by Head Coach Lincoln Riley on Tuesday, made good use of his five carries, averaging 8.4 yards, including a 26-yard run that set up his five-yard touchdown on the very next play. (Joy Wang / Daily Trojan)
After no tight ends scored receiving touchdowns last season, it was redshirt senior Lake McRee who broke the mini-curse by running 46 yards after the catch for a 66-yard touchdown reception early in the second quarter. In garbage time, redshirt junior Carson Tabaracci caught the second tight-end touchdown of the game for USC.
“Winning is the most important thing … but [having a tight end score] is definitely something you want to do, so it was cool to have two tight ends score today,” McRee said in a postgame news conference.
While the Bear defense kept junior wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane quiet with just three receptions for 33 yards, USC’s other top receiver, junior Makai Lemon, showed out, catching seven passes for 90 yards, though neither was able to join the scoring fray.
Defense has near-flawless second half
Defensive Coordinator D’Anton Lynn’s crew locked the Bears down throughout the game, especially in the second half, where they only allowed a field goal after Longstreet fumbled in USC territory midway through the third quarter.
Missouri State’s only touchdown came on a dotted 33-yard pass from senior quarterback Jacob Clark in a fourth-and-mid situation partially through the second quarter. Outside of that, the Trojan defense largely held Clark in check, limiting him to 147 yards and one touchdown while sacking him five times and picking him off twice.
The defensive line, led by junior defensive end Braylan Shelby, who sacked Clark twice and added another tackle for loss, consistently applied pressure to the Bears’ quarterback. Both sophomore defensive end Kameryn Fountain and redshirt freshman safety Marquis Gallegos also added two solo tackles for loss apiece.
“We did a good job. [Clark]’s a good quarterback. That kid is a really good player,” Riley said of his defense. “We studied him a lot, so that was important to shut down the run game.”
Both redshirt senior safety Bishop Fitzgerald and redshirt junior defensive end Garrett Pomerantz intercepted Clark and turned the ball around for at least 37-yard runs afterward. Fitzgerald took his all the way to the house in the second quarter to put the Trojans up 28-3.
“It was just a fun night,” Fitzgerald said. “I’ve seen a lot of familiar looks, so it was just kind of like second nature for me to go out there and do what I’ve been doing in practice this week.”
Next up for the Trojans is another non-league bout at the Coliseum, this time against former Head Coach Clay Helton and his Georgia Southern (0-1) squad. The game will begin Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
