LOS ANGELES — The pattern started to emerge again.
So many USC games have followed the same script: The offense stalls a bit in the third quarter, the defense gives up a score and suddenly, the opponent has some life. On Friday night, USC’s offense went four-and-out on its first third-quarter series. Then, the defense surrendered a touchdown and two-point conversion to Rutgers.
USC held a 19-point lead in the first half. At the 8:11 mark of the third quarter, the lead was down to eight. Thoughts of another collapse were certainly on the minds of many Trojans fans.
But on the first play of USC’s next possession, Miller Moss threw a pass just out of a Rutgers defender’s reach and into the hands of sophomore receiver Makai Lemon. Lemon turned upfield and was eventually pushed out of bounds at the 5-yard line.
It was a 70-yard gain that set up a touchdown four plays later and allowed USC to separate from Rutgers — something it’s had tremendous trouble with this season — and cruise to a 42-20 victory.
USC (4-4, 2-4 Big Ten) is now two-thirds of the way through the regular season. It has nothing to play for but pride as it enters the home stretch with games against Washington (road), Nebraska (home), UCLA (road) and Notre Dame (home) remaining.
The way the Trojans respond to their current situation and the tough setbacks — both on the field and with injuries — will say a lot about this program. Lemon’s emergence will be one of the things to track over these final four games.
Here’s more on that and other developments to monitor over the final month of the regular season.
Lemon’s breakout game
USC’s receiver group is led by four sophomores — Lemon, Zachariah Branch, Ja’Kobi Lane and Duce Robinson. That quartet possesses a lot of potential. None has developed into a true No. 1 receiver yet.
Lemon may be on his way. It wasn’t difficult to envision this scenario during training camp.
“In camp, he was balling every day,” said redshirt senior Kyle Ford, who caught four passes for 45 yards and a score on Friday night. “Honestly, he was the MVP of camp in my eyes. He was playing great ball. It’s cool to see that translate.”
Lemon had some opportunities early in the season — he caught four passes in the first two games — but was forced out of the lineup after taking a hit to the head against Michigan.
Since his return, he’s gradually developed into Moss’ most dependable target. It started slowly with three catches for 37 yards against Minnesota. He followed up with six catches for 73 yards against Penn State and eight for 89 against Maryland. Then, on Friday night, he caught four passes for 134 yards and one touchdown in a breakout performance against the Scarlet Knights.
It was the best game by any USC receiver this season.
“I don’t know if he’s great at anything yet. He’s really good at a lot of things,” coach Lincoln Riley said after the game. “Route running, all of those things — he’s got a lot of room to grow as a player. His skill set, there’s not a ton of things you look at, ‘Well, he just can’t do that.’ He’s a very versatile receiver. He’s got some yards after the catch. He’s strong and he’s just going to continue to get better and better.”
Branch, Robinson and Lane may have singular skills that are more impressive than anything Lemon does. But when it comes to being a pure receiver, he’s probably the best of the bunch.
He has sure hands. He’s a smooth route runner. He just knows how to find holes in the defense, which is why Moss often looks his way. On Friday, he impressed with his vision and cutback ability.
He had a new role against Rutgers as well, replacing Branch as the primary kickoff returner. Riley said the staff wanted to allow Branch to focus strictly on punt returns.
The move paid dividends. Lemon returned a kick 80 yards to set up USC’s second touchdown of the first quarter.
Again, he showed that cutback ability.
Makai Lemon JUST KEPT GOING. 😤 pic.twitter.com/rkwmjXq1IX
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 26, 2024
Lemon finished with 256 all-purpose yards and became the first USC player with a return of 80 yards and a reception of 70 yards in the same game since Marqise Lee did it against Oregon in 2012.
Lemon is still young so his game needs time to mature. But if he can make good on the potential he’s displayed thus far, he could be the No. 1 target the Trojans have been searching for.
The defense has its back against the wall
It wasn’t the prettiest or cleanest effort from USC’s defense. Rutgers rolled up 434 yards, its highest total against a Power 4 opponent this season.
The Trojans, though, limited the Scarlet Knights when they had to and did enough to win. Rutgers scored only 20 points.
But it’s going to be a tough road ahead for USC’s defense. This was never a unit that possessed elite talent or great depth. At its best, it’s a defense that accentuates its best players’ skills, plays hard every down and is fundamentally sound.
That has been seriously tested by injury of late. Linebacker Eric Gentry was USC’s best defensive player in the first month of the season. He is out for the year after suffering multiple concussions. Anthony Lucas was its most disruptive defensive lineman. He’s out for the season with a leg injury.
Kamari Ramsey is USC’s best defensive back and best tackler. Jaylin Smith is its best corner. Both of them missed Saturday’s game with injury as did two other starters in the secondary (corner Jacobe Covington and nickel Greedy Vance).
Then, during the game, defensive lineman Nate Clifton was forced to leave with an injury and was seen in a walking boot after the game.
That’s seven starters who have been injured recently. As a result, USC is putting players in expanded roles who probably aren’t ready for those sorts of opportunities yet.
Some will do well. For example, true freshman defensive lineman Kameryn Fountain recorded his first career sack on Friday night. There will be growing pains in other areas. Like in the depleted secondary, which surrendered 313 yards to a below-average Rutgers passing game.
“I thought today was just a good representation of the true identity of our defense,” linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold said. “Play physical for four straight quarters. Not really taking our foot off the gas. … Not everything was perfect tonight but I think we just played physical, played fast and played hard and (it showed).”
Even with all of these issues, the Trojans defense has played with solid effort all season.
They’re allowing 21.8 points per game, a massive jump from the 34.4 they gave up last season. And that’s with a group that isn’t extremely talented and lacks depth.
The offensive line is playing better
USC didn’t surrender a sack against Rutgers. Moss had plenty of time to throw the ball and find open receivers. As a result, he completed 20 of 28 passes for 308 yards and two scores. He also didn’t commit the untimely turnovers that have plagued him in recent weeks.
The offensive line has received a lot of criticism this season and deservedly so. But it’s allowed just two sacks over the past three games. It seems like the coaching staff is working around the issues in pass protection.
The run blocking has improved by the week as well. The rushing attack has been the most consistent part of the offense for several weeks. Running back Woody Marks ran for 94 yards and three touchdowns against Rutgers.
Offensive line coach Josh Henson has been a major target of frustration for the fan base. Again, it’s understandable. But this young, inexperienced offensive line seems to be hitting its stride a bit, and Henson is scoring some good wins on the recruiting trail as of late.
We’ll see if that continues over the next month and what it means for Henson’s future.
The ability to close
USC’s response when Rutgers cut the deficit to eight was strong. Especially after so many of those situations have gone the other way for the Trojans this season.
“There really hasn’t been panic with this group in any of these games,” Riley said after his team snapped its three-game losing skid that featured three losses by a combined 11 points. “There wasn’t tonight and I thought we had a great mindset and we did a great job closing it out.”
Rutgers is an average football team as its 4-4 record suggests. Every team remaining on USC’s schedule will probably pose a stiffer challenge. So how will the Trojans respond when they are in those make-or-break situations again?
It’s abundantly clear this team is still learning how to win. There simply aren’t a ton of players on the roster who have won at a high level in college. And Riley has admittedly not coached those situations well.
Championships are out of the picture now. So if you’re a fan, you want to see growth the rest of the way. Developing winning habits and being better at situational football will be key as the Trojans aim to salvage their season.
(Photo of Makai Lemon: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
