When USC star junior wide receivers Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane are hot, the No. 17 Trojans are very likely to win. But in Saturday’s rivalry bout with UCLA, neither saw the field until the second quarter — reportedly due to disciplinary reasons — nor got hot until late in the third quarter. However, with the perception of USC and Head Coach Lincoln Riley’s season on the line, their performances were enough to escape with a win.

Lemon’s first catch of the game didn’t come until 30 seconds remained in the third quarter, but the 32-yard touchdown grab with a defender in the vicinity was a big one. The score put USC (9-3, 7-2 Big Ten) up 14-10 after a gritty first half that saw the Trojans — who had been favored to win by roughly three touchdowns —  down against unranked UCLA (3-9, 3-6). 

After the Bruin three-and-out that followed, Lemon broke off an explosive 35-yard punt return, and Lane evaded defenders for a 27-yard gain to set up redshirt senior tight end Lake McRee for what would be the game-winning touchdown that improved USC’s lead to 21-10. Redshirt freshman running back King Miller’s garbage time touchdown — his second of the game — extended the lead to 29-10, securing a come-from-behind win over the Trojans’ crosstown rivals.

Lemon, one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award, which is given to the best receiver in college football, only added a single catch despite leading the Big Ten in receptions with 78 and yards with 1,124 heading into the game. Lane led USC with 52 yards on three catches, joining Lemon, Miller, McRee and freshman wide receiver Tanook Hines as the five Trojan receivers to go for over 30 yards Saturday.

Despite playing without his top two options for part of the game, redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava performed well, completing 21-of-29 passes for 257 yards, including completions to nine different targets, all of whom caught passes of 10 yards or more. He capped off his first full regular season as the starter at USC with another strong performance, adding to his Big Ten-best 3,431 passing yards and solid 23-touchdown total.

Though neither team threw an interception or lost a fumble, the special teams game determined much of the momentum, especially early on. 

Redshirt freshman kicker Ryon Sayeri, who had only missed two field goals heading into Saturday’s contest, missed both of his attempts against UCLA, which were both under 40 yards. His misses, on top of a 38-yarder from Bruin junior kicker Mateen Bhaghani, allowed the Bruins to hold a lead at halftime despite the Trojans not punting in the first half.

To help flip the momentum late in the third quarter, sophomore defensive tackle Jide Abasiri brought down redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava on third down to force a punt on what was shaping up to be a UCLA scoring drive right before Lemon’s touchdown. 

Though USC did not have a sack until midway through the second half, it had three more — thanks to the combined efforts of Abasiri, freshman defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart, redshirt freshman linebacker Jadyn Walker and junior defensive end Braylan Shelby — that stalled UCLA’s fourth-quarter comeback hopes.

Despite coming into the game with a lingering injury and being listed as questionable on the Big Ten’s Availability Report, Iamaleava still performed well, completing 27-of-38 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown to help the Bruins put up a fight.

Due to injuries that kept three starting offensive linemen — sophomore left tackle Elijah Paige, redshirt junior center Kilian O’Connor and junior right guard Alani Noa — out of the game, the Trojan front fought against the Bruin defense but had its struggles, giving up two sacks, multiple pressures, three quarterback hits and three tackles for loss. 

The Trojan rush, led by Miller, who ran for 124 yards on 17 attempts on top of 42 receiving yards, was stalled for much of the game after Miller scored on USC’s first drive of the game. But his late-game heroics were key to securing the victory.

Though the Trojans escaped rivalry weekend with a win to cap off a strong second season in the Big Ten, their slow start left a lot to be desired as they will wait for a bowl game draw after being eliminated from College Football Playoff contention with last Saturday’s loss to No. 6 Oregon (11-1, 8-1).