Going into halftime Saturday, No. 17 USC football was down 21-10 to a notoriously stout No. 21 Iowa defense, a team that is also well-known for burning clock and inciting low-scoring affairs. While the rain hadn’t appeared to directly impact the game significantly, the crowd was dormant for a Homecoming affair and superstar redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava hadn’t gotten hot.

As the rain slowed down late in the second quarter and into the second half, the Trojan offense emerged and a new form of rain took over Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: big chunk throws from Maiava.

That exciting, high-powered offensive play lit up the crowd that was filled with hundreds of screaming fans in yellow ponchos and a group of well over 100 shirtless fans, who swarmed an empty section behind the end zone, waving their shirts around and screaming despite the intensifying rain hitting their bare backs.

Maiava connected with junior wide receivers Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane 17 times for a combined 218 yards that propelled multiple second-half drives in a massive comeback that was capped off by a 1-yard rushing touchdown for sophomore running back Bryan Jackson to give USC (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten) the 26-21 win over the Hawkeyes (6-4, 4-3). Had the Trojans lost the game, their hopes for an at-large College Football Playoff berth with two losses would have been shattered.

Despite a slow first half where he only threw for 96 yards, Maiava ended the day with 254 yards and a touchdown on 23-of-32 passing. It was also the first game since week four in which Maiava didn’t throw an interception.

Lemon had yet another season-defining performance, hauling in 10 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown, while Lane finished with 65 yards on seven catches. 

Though he never broke for any massive runs, redshirt freshman running back King Miller stayed consistent in the rushing game, averaging 4.4 yards per carry for a total of 83. However, it was Jackson that got the glory, scoring twice on runs that combined for two yards, including the go-ahead touchdown.

A third-quarter interception from freshman defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart, the first of his collegiate career, put USC in the position to score the go-ahead touchdown. Outside of the pick, which was deflected off a receiver and back toward Stewart, Iowa graduate quarterback Mark Gronowski had a strong performance that included a passing, rushing and receiving touchdown all in the first half.

Gronowski completed 12-of-19 passes for 132 yards, while sophomore running back Kamari Moulton dominated the Trojan front for most of the game, going for 90 yards on 15 carries, a 6-yard average.

While both teams were hurt by penalties, including an ineligible man downfield call on redshirt junior center Kilian O’Connor that all but took away a USC touchdown and replaced it with a field goal, it was multiple late defensive pass interference calls that put Iowa in a position to lose, and an unsportsmanlike conduct call on an Iowa assistant coach sealed the Trojan win by giving them a key first down with about a minute to go.