Just before halftime Saturday afternoon, things were looking dire for No. 16 USC football.

Down 21-7, the Trojans (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten) had been caught off guard by the unexpectedly pass-heavy Iowa (6-4, 4-3) offense that is known for its run game and possession control, forcing USC to make a two-score comeback against the then-No. 21 Hawkeyes’ potent defense in the uncharacteristic Los Angeles downpour or else face playoff elimination.

With about three minutes left in the half, redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava led USC down the field and hit junior wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane for a leaping sideline grab to bring the Trojans to Iowa’s 4-yard line. Except, the play was called back after an ineligible man downfield penalty from redshirt junior center Kilian O’Connor, stalling the drive and forcing a USC field goal.

Though USC was still down two scores, the field goal represented a shift in the game, as the Trojans would go into halftime with momentum before shutting the Hawkeyes out in the significantly drier second half en route to a 26-21 come-from-behind win. Saturday’s game was also the third straight contest in which the USC defense surrendered 3 or fewer second-half points, helping them overcome early deficits in each.

Just before the win was official, the L.A. sun peeked out as both the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum’s torch and USC’s College Football Playoff hopes stayed lit. Had the Trojans lost, they would have fallen to three losses and been all but eliminated from contention before they even got to face No. 6 Oregon (9-1, 6-1) this upcoming Saturday.

“Ain’t no going home,” redshirt senior linebacker Eric Gentry said of the team’s mindset in a postgame news conference. “We gotta win.”

By the time the comeback had been realized, the Homecoming fans at the Coliseum cheered loudly. A group of well over 100 shirtless fans occupied their own section, waving their shirts in the air despite the rain, and Head Coach Lincoln Riley jumped up and down as he roared down the sideline. 

“If there ever was one, that was a culture win,” Riley said in a postgame news conference. “We didn’t play very good football in the first half … But we just keep coming, we have all year.”

Lemon is a ‘fearless player’

Though Maiava started off slow, throwing less than 60 yards before the late second-quarter field goal drive, he finished with yet another impressive performance, one of his most efficient of the season. 

Maiava connected with superstar junior wide receivers Makai Lemon and Lane a total of 17 times for a combined 218 yards — a majority of his 254-yard, one-touchdown performance, where he completed 23-of-32 passes and did not throw an interception. 

It was the first time in almost two months that Maiava did not throw an interception after he threw six in USC’s last five games. It was also the first time since their rainy week three game against Purdue (2-9, 0-8) that the Trojans had no turnovers at all, despite the rainy weather.

“Knowing the wet conditions, we want[ed] to be smart with the ball,” Maiava said in a postgame news conference. “We did wet ball drills all week.”

While Lane put up an impressive seven-catch, 65-yard performance, it was Lemon who really took control of the game late, hauling in a ridiculous 10 catches for 153 yards — highlighted by a 12-yard leaping touchdown grab with two defenders surrounding him that closed the Iowa lead to 2 points late in the third quarter. Lemon has gone for more than 150 yards in four separate games and leads the Big Ten in yards with 1090 and catches with 71.

“He’s a fearless player, always has been,” Riley said of Lemon. “When anybody else is in the area, we feel like that’s an advantage for us with him.”

Stewart, Jackson step up late

While both Lemon and Lane made various leaping, acrobatic catches for big gains, it was a catch from a slightly less agile receiver who might have made the biggest impact.

After Lemon’s third-quarter touchdown brought the Trojans within reach, they missed the two-point try to maintain a Hawkeye lead and give the ball right back to graduate quarterback Mark Gronowski and sophomore running back Kamari Moulton, both of whom had performed well to that point. 

In the first half, Gronowski scored a rushing, receiving and passing touchdown after mounting multiple quick and dominant scoring drives that redshirt senior cornerback DeCarlos Nicholson called “a little shocking.” Gronowski has thrown less frequently than an average Big Ten quarterback this season and has 13 rushing touchdowns to just six passing. 

Throughout the game, Gronowski had been extremely efficient, and a short pass to graduate wide receiver Jacob Gill looked to be the same until redshirt freshman cornerback Marcelles Williams got his hands on it, launching the ball right toward freshman defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart, who hauled in his first collegiate interception to set USC up for the go-ahead score.

“That’s a play you don’t think you’ll be able to make. It’s a hustle play,” Stewart said in a postgame news conference. “I wanted to go score it, but I ain’t Jamaal Jarrett.”

Starting redshirt freshman running back King Miller had another solid 83-yard performance on 19 carries, a 4.4-yard average. On Saturday, however, it was sophomore running back Bryan Jackson who finished off Stewart’s pick with the go-ahead score. 

After missing four games due to an injury early in the season, Jackson has had to fight for playing time and had only scored once since his return against No. 18 Michigan (8-2, 6-1). However, Jackson has consistently earned goal-line looks due to his bigger size than Miller and converted both of his touchdowns on Saturday on 1-yard runs.

“That’s everything for a player,” Jackson said when asked how it felt to have the coaches’ confidence in goal-line situations. “Especially coming from a play caller like coach Riley.”

Defense, O-line overcome injuries

In USC’s first loss of the season — a heartbreaking, last-minute 34-32 defeat at the hands of Illinois (7-3, 4-3) — a major storyline was how much redshirt junior safety Kamari Ramsey being out with food poisoning impacted the Trojan defense, which gave up multiple late Fighting Illini scores.

However, after Ramsey left the game with an injury in the first quarter Saturday, and even after redshirt senior safety Bishop Fitzgerald was also sidelined by injury late in the first half, the Trojan defense still clamped down to hold off the Hawkeye offense. Fitzgerald leads the Trojans with five interceptions.

“Those are two of our leaders, obviously, two of our most experienced players there in the back end,” Riley said. “I thought we really picked up the pace in our front seven. We were really, really active, starting to close down some of those lanes and play the game much more on our terms.” 

With O’Connor back in the starting lineup Saturday, USC’s week one starting offensive line was intact for one of the first times all season; however, another injury to redshirt sophomore left tackle Elijah Paige, who had just come back from injury to play against Northwestern (5-5, 3-4) the week before, was yet another hit to the unit. In his stead, redshirt sophomore Tobias Raymond shifted to left tackle, while redshirt freshman Kaylon Miller slid in at left guard.

“The whole team was ready to lay it on the line today,” Riley said. “If you have one or two players doing it, that’s alright. That’s really good for those one or two players. When you got a whole team doing it, you got something pretty cool.”

Junior starting running back Waymond Jordan, who has been out for the last three games since he got hurt against Michigan, was listed as questionable on the Big Ten’s Availability Report before the game, meaning he may be back in time to face the Ducks on Saturday. The Trojans will travel to Eugene, Oregon, to play at Autzen Stadium at 12:30 p.m. Saturday with a chance to all but clinch a CFP berth — or come back to L.A. empty-handed.