USC vs Northwestern — as it happened
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Scoring plays
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Luis Ochea / Daily Trojan
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Bennett Christofferson & Nathan Elias from Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum; photos by Matthew Diederich & Luis Ochea
Offense comes alive for 38-17 win over Northwestern
After Friday night’s matchup between No. 20 USC and Northwestern began with four straight touchdown drives between the two teams, it looked like Trojan fans were set to witness a high-scoring, nail-biting affair at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
While USC’s (7-2, 5-1 Big Ten) offense delivered on that end, scoring another 24 points before the night was over, the defense held Northwestern (5-4, 3-3) to just a field goal in the second half, securing a 38-17 victory for the Trojans’ fifth win at home in as many games this season.
Redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava recovered from a rough performance against Nebraska (6-3, 3-3) last week, throwing for 299 yards and two touchdowns on 24-of-33 passing. Maiava also picked up his sixth rushing touchdown of the season early in the second quarter, outmaneuvering a horde of Wildcats on a scramble to give the Trojans a 14-7 lead.
We’re reporting live from Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Refresh to see new updates.
Further reading:
- USC looks to carry its momentum from a come-from-behind win at Nebraska last week as the Trojans remain in the hunt for a College Football Playoff bid.
- Northwestern’s potent offensive line poses a significant threat to a USC team that has dealt with a plethora of key injuries to its own line.
11:24 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
Offense comes alive for 38-17 win over Northwestern
After Friday night’s matchup between No. 20 USC and Northwestern began with four straight touchdown drives between the two teams, it looked like Trojan fans were set to witness a high-scoring, nail-biting affair at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
While USC’s (7-2, 5-1 Big Ten) offense delivered on that end, scoring another 24 points before the night was over, the defense held Northwestern (5-4, 3-3) to just a field goal in the second half, securing a 38-17 victory for the Trojans’ fifth win at home in as many games this season.
Redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava recovered from a rough performance against Nebraska (6-3, 3-3) last week, throwing for 299 yards and two touchdowns on 24-of-33 passing. Maiava also picked up his sixth rushing touchdown of the season early in the second quarter, outmaneuvering a horde of Wildcats on a scramble to give the Trojans a 14-7 lead.
9:18 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
After Stone was sacked for the second time this game, this time by redshirt sophomore linebacker Ta’Mere Robinson for a loss of 10 yards, USC nearly picked a deep pass for an interception but will gladly take a Northwestern punt. The Trojans will go back on offense as the clock approaches three minutes.
9:16 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
FIELD GOAL TROJANS.
Following yet another huge-gain rush from Miller, a face-mask penalty called on Northwestern put the Trojans at the 9-yard line, but they couldn’t get much else and elected to bring in Sayeri instead of going for it on fourth down. Sayeri’s first field goal attempt of the night was good for 22 yards, and USC has all but won this game with a 38-17 lead with less than five minutes to go.
9:03 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
A fourth-and-5 pass intended for Ahumaraeze was broken up by Nicholson, resulting in the first turnover on downs for either team today. USC will take over on its own 47-yard line with a chance to effectively seal the game with another score.
8:56 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
TOUCHDOWN TROJANS.
Three straight first downs, the last of which came on a 19-yard play by Lemon, put the Trojans in the end zone yet again; a pass interference call on a ball intended for Lane brought USC to the 4-yard line, and Lemon brought home his second touchdown of the game on a rare rush by the wide receiver.
Sayeri’s fifth extra point of the night gives the Trojans a 35-17 lead with just over 11 minutes to play.
8:41 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
USC looks to lock down win in fourth quarter with 28-17 lead
After a back-and-forth start to the game saw the Trojans and Wildcats tied at 14-14 midway through the second quarter, USC has separated itself slightly with two more touchdown drives, though Northwestern chipped a bit of that lead away with a field goal at the end of the third quarter. The Trojans look to close this one out in the final 15 minutes to improve to 7-2 on the season.
The junior running back duo of Lemon and Lane is showing out once again; USC’s lone third-quarter drive saw Lemon pick up a 52-yard play to set up a touchdown reception for Lane. The two have combined for nearly 200 yards thus far on 14 receptions.
8:41 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
Field goal Wildcats.
Sophomore defensive tackle Jide Abasiri brought down Stone for his second sack of the season, forcing Northwestern to settle for a field goal by graduate kicker Jack Olsen. The Wildcats inch a little closer, but USC still leads this one 28-17.
8:39 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
Facing another make-or-break situation on third down, Northwestern graduate quarterback Preston Stone connected with redshirt sophomore wide receiver Ricky Ahumaraeze for a 32-yard pass to put the Wildcats in a prime scoring position at USC’s 12-yard line.
8:30 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
Northwestern appeared to be headed for another three-and-out drive, but a pass interference call on USC redshirt freshman cornerback Braylon Conley — the Trojans’ fourth penalty of the game — gave the Wildcats a lifeline. A successful fourth-down conversion brings Northwestern into USC territory, with the Wildcats looking to claw back to a one-score game.
8:26 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
TOUCHDOWN TROJANS.
On a pass that could have easily been caught for a Northwestern interception, Lane battled through the hands of a Wildcat defender to secure the ball and fell just inside the end zone to grab his fourth touchdown of the season. Sayeri’s kick makes it 28-14, allowing the Trojans just a bit of breathing room with their first two-score lead of the game.
8:16 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
Lemon took a 29-yard pass from Maiava and ran with it, moving another 23 yards before finally coming down at the Wildcats’ 25-yard line. The 52-yard play is the largest total for a pass completion all day, and second overall behind Miller’s 55-yard rush.
8:13 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
With the roar of the crowd echoing throughout the Coliseum, Northwestern called its first timeout of the half after less than three minutes to avoid being called for a delay of game on a fourth-down attempt. The Wildcats switched gears after the timeout and decided to punt instead, giving USC the ball on its 9-yard line.
8:02 p.m.
Nathan Elias, Editor-in-Chief
Under dimmed lights, the Trojan Marching Band performed a show celebrating Los Angeles with mainstays like “This Is How We Do It” by Montell Jordan and “Hotel California” by the Eagles as a drone show lit up the sky above the Coliseum’s torch.
The crowd erupted in cheers as the band, illuminated with their own lights, formed themselves into an outline of the In-N-Out logo. Images from the drone show in the sky included the L.A. Dodgers logo — in honor of their recent World Series win — and a pair of hands forming the letters “L” and “A.”
7:43 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
Trojans lead 21-14 at halftime in back-and-forth battle
After USC and Northwestern each found the end zone on their respective first two drives of the game, the offenses stalled with back-to-back punts before the Trojans took the lead on a touchdown run from Miller. USC leads this one 21-14 entering halftime, but it’s still anybody’s game.
Maiava is showing off on both the pass and run games, throwing for 154 yards on 15-of-22 passing while picking up a rushing touchdown of his own early in the second quarter. Lemon and McRee each picked up more than 50 yards in the half, with Lemon adding a touchdown to open the game’s scoring.
Miller remains the Trojans’ primary option as several of their top running backs are out; the former walk-on ran for 90 yards on nine carries in the half, including a 55-yard explosion that preceded his 12-yard score.
7:36 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
USC did not, in fact, make any magic happen, and punted for the second time today after Maiava could only convert one of his three pass attempts. Northwestern will regain possession with just 18 seconds left in the half.
7:33 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
Northwestern couldn’t get anything going for the second straight drive, with a potential massive pass to Wilde on third down broken up by redshirt senior cornerback DeCarlos Nicholson. USC has a chance to go up by two scores before halftime if it can make some magic happen in the next 57 seconds.
7:24 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
TOUCHDOWN TROJANS.
A 13-yard catch from Lane to get the Trojans in the end zone was immediately followed by a 12-yard rush from Miller, who secured his fifth touchdown of the season to give the lead back to USC. Yet another good kick by Sayeri makes it 21-14 Trojans with under a minute and a half to play.
7:24 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
In a wild sequence of events, a pass intended for McRee was intercepted by Story, who proceeded to fumble the ball at USC’s 1-yard line for a touchback.
Miller followed up the chaos with a 55-yard rush to put the Trojans at Northwestern’s 25-yard line as the two-minute warning was called for the first half.
7:21 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
Komolafe’s 3-yard rush and subsequent 6-yard catch weren’t quite enough for Northwestern to avoid the three-and-out, forcing the Wildcats to punt after a drive of less than two minutes to give possession right back to USC.
7:15 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
Maiava gets brought down by graduate defensive lineman Najee Story at the 44-yard line, forcing USC to punt for the first time today. The Wildcats will take over on offense with the chance to take their first lead of the game.
7:12 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
Redshirt senior tight end Lake McRee caught his third pass of the game for a 42-yard gain, the largest gain on a single play for the Trojans tonight, to bring USC to Northwestern’s 33-yard line.
What appeared to be a 30-yard touchdown reception by freshman wide receiver Tanook Hines, who was listed as questionable on USC’s availability report, was nullified after redshirt freshman offensive lineman Justin Tauanuu was called for an ineligible receiver downfield on pass penalty. Northwestern took its first timeout of the game with just over six minutes left in the first half.
7:03 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
Touchdown Wildcats.
The Trojan defense simply has no answer for Komolafe, who broke for a 37-yard run to bring Northwestern to USC’s 2-yard line before running the ball in for a score on the very next play. An offside call on the Wildcats before the extra-point kick didn’t prevent them from converting to tie the game once again at 14-14.
6:54 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
TOUCHDOWN TROJANS.
Flooded by the Wildcat defense, Maiava scrambled to the right corner of the end zone and barely made it in, ending USC’s second drive with a touchdown in just over half the time of its first drive. Sayeri stayed perfect on the season with another extra point, and the Trojans once again have the lead, 14-7.
6:51 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
Maiava converted a deep pass to Lemon for a gain of 24 yards, quickly bringing USC into the red zone as they look to regain the lead.
6:46 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
USC tied 7-7 with Northwestern after first quarter
The Trojans and Wildcats started the game with two lengthy drives of more than seven minutes, both ending in touchdowns. Maiava is looking much sharper after a season-worst performance at Nebraska last week, having completed as many passes in the first quarter as he did all game against the Cornhuskers.
Miller is once again the go-to option on the run game, picking up 18 yards on the Trojans’ first drive. Lemon caught for 26 yards on three passes, the last of which resulted in a touchdown to nab USC’s first points.
6:43 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
Redshirt senior linebacker Ryan Quintanar returned the kickoff for 17 yards in his first appearance for USC this season. The Trojans will start the drive on their own 42-yard line.
6:38 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
Touchdown Wildcats.
After a dominant drive from redshirt sophomore running back Caleb Komolafe, in which he rushed for 22 yards and picked up another 27 on two catches, it was junior wide receiver Griffin Wilde who brought the Wildcats on the board with a 4-yard pass completion. A good kick for the extra point ties this game at 7-7.
6:21 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
TOUCHDOWN TROJANS.
After junior wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane made a successful catch on the Wildcats’ 8-yard line despite defensive pass interference, Lemon brought a catch of his own into the end zone to open the game’s scoring with a touchdown. Redshirt freshman kicker Ryon Sayeri converted his 35th extra point attempt in as many tries this season to put USC up 7-0.
6:10 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
After a brutal 9-for-23 passing performance against Nebraska, redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava isn’t straying away from what he knows best, starting the game with three straight passes on USC’s first drive. The final of those three passes on third-and-3 was caught by junior wide receiver Makai Lemon, who brought the ball a total of 19 yards for a first down.
6:05 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
Northwestern won the opening coin toss but deferred its choice to the second half. USC has elected to receive and will start the game with its offense on the field.
6:03 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
Keyshawn Johnson, a two-time All-American wide receiver with USC in 1994 and 1995, led the Trojans out of the tunnel before kickoff. Johnson led USC to a 41-32 victory over Northwestern in the 1996 Rose Bowl.
5:55 p.m.
Bennett Christofferson, Sports Editor
The sun has set at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with five minutes to go until the scheduled kickoff as USC prepares to take on Northwestern under the Friday night lights.
The Trojans hold a 5-0 record all-time against the Wildcats and look to extend that streak in their first of a stretch of three home games in four weeks.
