Jayden Maiava leads USC to win over Michigan State

Makai Lemon came screaming across the center of the field, gliding past one Michigan State defender, then another, moving as if the world around him were in slow motion.

USC’s top receiver had presumably been a top-line focus of the Spartans’ game plan — and even more so after fellow wideout Ja’Kobi Lane was ruled out Saturday with an injury. But here was Lemon slicing his way through Michigan State’s secondary as if no one had bothered to tell him as much, sprinting free as a deep pass soared in his direction and hit him in perfect stride.

Most of Saturday night’s 45-31 win over Michigan State felt that seamless for USC, which moved the ball with ease on offense, racking up 517 yards in the process. But in a swirl of penalties and poor discipline from its defense, USC inexplicably found itself clinging to a one-score lead in the fourth quarter.

It was the sort of stumble that might’ve prompted flashbacks from the Trojans’ previous conference, when #Pac12AfterDark derailed more than a few seasons while the rest of America slept. Though, as late as Saturday’s game ran — with its conclusion coming just before 3 a.m. Eastern time — there would be no such comeback from Michigan State.

USC 45, Michigan State 31, end of game

USC used its timeouts and a few runs before punting with 15 seconds left. Michigan State carried the ball once and time expired.

USC 45, Michigan State 31, 2:39 left in fourth quarter

Aiden Chiles passed for a 75-yard touchdown pass and the Trojans were called for a facemask penalty on the play. The penalties remain a big concern for USC even with the win nearly secured.

USC 45, Michigan State 24, 2:57 left in the fourth quarter

USC’s defense picked up another key stop and the Trojans’ offense went to work burning clock. Jayden Maiava eventually punched in a one-yard touchdown and USC hit the extra point.

USC 38, Michigan State 24, 8:20 left in fourth quarter

Jayden Maiava opened the quarter by evading a collapsing pocket for a 13-yard gain and first down. Makai Lemon closed it with a key four-yard touchdown run. USC hit the extra point.

USC 31, Michigan State 24, end of third quarter

USC started on its 25 after the touchback.

Waymond Jordan ran for no gain. Makai Lemon ran for seven yards as time expired in the third quarter.

USC 31, Michigan State 24, 40 seconds left in the third quarter

USC started on its 25.

Jayden Maiava passed to Makai Lemon for seven yards, but he fumbled and Michigan State recovered at the USC 32.

Makhi Frazier ran for one yard. Aiden Chiles passed to Omari Kelly for 14 yards. Frazier ran for one yard. USC was called offsides, setting up first-and-five at the USC 12.

Elijah Tolliver ran for three yards. Frazier ran for two yards. On third-and-one at the USC 8, Chiles kept it for a two-yard run. Frazier ran for four yards. Frazier ran for one yard. On third-and-goal from the one-yard line, Michigan State faked the push and Chiles passed to Jack Velling. The play was reviewed to see whether the ball crossed into the end zone. The touchdown call on the field was upheld and Michigan State hit the extra point.

USC 31, Michigan State 17, 5:58 left in the third quarter

Michigan State started on its 12 after it got an unsportsmanlike penalty call on the kickoff return.

Aiden Chiles ran for 12 yards. Chiles tossed an incomplete pass. Makhi Frazier ran for three yards. Chiles tossed an incomplete pass that was broken up by Kamari Ramsey.

On fourth-and-seven at the Michigan State 28, USC was called for roughing the punter. On fourth-and-two at the Michigan State 33, Chiles tossed an incomplete pass, but USC was called for illegal substitution and Michigan State was awarded a first down.

Chiles tossed two incomplete passes, but USC was called for pass interference on the second one. Frazier ran for seven yards, six yards, 11 yards, 12 yards and two yards to move the ball to the USC 9.

Chiles tossed an incomplete pass, but USC was called for illegal hands to the face, moving the ball to the Trojans’ 4.

USC called timeout.

Chiles spun out of a tackle and ran for a four-yard touchdown. Michigan State hit the extra point.

The Trojans had four penalties that extended the drive.

USC 31, Michigan State 10, 11:22 left in the third quarter

USC started on its 43 after the punt return.

Waymond Jordan ran for 40 yards. Jordan then ran for four yards. Eli Sanders ran for three yards. Jayden passed to Walker Lyons for a 10-yard touchdown. Ryon Sayeri hit the extra point.

USC 24, Michigan State 10, start of third quarter

Michigan State started on its 25 after the touchback.

Aiden Chiles passed to Omari Kelly for a two-yard loss. Chiles ran for no gain. And Chiles tossed an incomplete pass after narrowly evading a sack.

Michigan State punted and Makai Lemon returned it 23 yards to the USC 43.

USC 24, Michigan State 10, start of third quarter

Michigan State started on its 25 after the touchback.

USC 24, Michigan State 10, end of second quarter

Michigan State started on its 25 after the touchback.

Aidan Chiles ran for four yards. Michigan State called timeout.

Chiles tossed an incomplete pass. On third-and-six, Chiles passed to Omari Kelly for 33 yards. Chiles was under heavy pressure when he heaved the ball out of bounds. On second down at the USC 38, USC called timeout before the Spartans attempted a 56-yard field goal attempt. Martin Connington’s field-goal attempt was wide left as time expired.

USC 24, Michigan State 10, 37 seconds left in second quarter

USC started on its 12 after Corey Simms was called for unsportsmanlike conduct on the kickoff return.

Eli Sanders ran for no gain. Jayden Maiava’s pass to Lake McRee was broken up. Maiava passed to Jaden Richardson for 11 yards. Maiava passed to Waymond Jordan for five yards. Maiava ran for two yards. On third-and-three at the USC 30, the two-minute warning timeout was triggered.

Maiava faked a handoff and passed to Lemon for 17 yards. Jordan ran for nine yards. Jordan then ran for 20 yards and Michigan State’s Malik Spencer was called for targeting. After a review, officials determined there was no targeting.

Sanders ran for 15 yards. Michigan State’s Nikai Martinez and Quindarius Dunnigan collided helmet to helmet during the play and were treated on the field before walking to the sideline.

Jordan ran for two yards to the Michigan State 7 with 42 seconds left in the quarter. The Spartans called timeout and Michigan State’s linebacker Wayne Matthews III was down on the field getting treated during the break. Players on both teams either took a knee or gathered together to with arms linked as medical staff put Matthews on a stretcher.

Matthews had his jersey and pads cut off on the field. As Matthews’ stretcher was wheeled into an ambulance, he flashed a thumbs up to his teammates. The Coliseum crowd applauded and Michigan State then knelt for a team prayer.

On second-and-goal at the Michigan State 7, Maiava faked a handoff and passed to Tanook Hines in the back right back corner of the end zone. Ryon Sayeri hit the extra point.

USC 17, Michigan State 10, 4:26 left in second quarter

Michigan State started on its 45 after stuffing USC on fourth down.

Aiden Chiles ran for eight yards. Makhi Frazier ran for 15 yards. Omari Kelly passed for 12 yards to the USC 20. Chiles passed to Kelly for 11 yards. Michigan State attempted a reverse to set up a Kelly pass, but bounced the ball off the field incomplete. Frazier ran for a loss of three yards. On third-and-11, Chiles’ pass to the end zone under heavy pressure from USC’s Anthony Lucas was short and incomplete.

Martin Connington hit a 29-yard field goal to trim USC’s lead.

USC 17, Michigan State 7, 8:05 left in second quarter

USC started on its 11 after the Michigan State punt.

Waymond Jordan ran for 35 yards. Jayden Maiava took a shot deep, but it was incomplete. Maiava passed to Makai Lemon for six yards. On third-and-4, Lemon’s pass was broken up as the pocket was collapsing. On fourth-and-four at Michigan State 48, Lemon caught a pass and was only able to gain three yards. USC turned the ball over at the Michigan State 45.

USC 17, Michigan State 7, 9:22 left in second quarter

Michigan State started on its 25 after the touchback.

Aidan Chiles passed for two yards, Makhi Frazier ran for a three yard loss and Chiles ran for eight yards. On fourth-and-three, Michigan State tried to draw USC offsides before calling timeout.

The Spartans the punted to the USC 11.

USC 17, Michigan State 7, 11:36 left in second quarter

USC started on its 7 after the Michigan State punt.

Jayden Maiava passed to Makai Lemon for 27 yards.

Waymond Jordan ran for five yards. Maiava tossed an incomplete pass that was tipped. Maiava passed to Lake McRee for six yards and a first down. Jordan Hall was called for targeting on the tackle and was ejected. Maiava then tossed a 40-yard touchdown pass to Lemon. Ryon Sayeri hit the extra point.

USC 10, Michigan State 7, 13:36 left in second quarter

Michigan State opened the quarter facing second-and-eight on its 45.

Brandon Tullis ran for a one-yard loss and Aidan Chiles was sacked fora loss of six yards.

Michigan State punted to the USC 7.

USC 10, Michigan State 7, end of first quarter

Michigan State started on its 23 after a 20-yard return.

Eric Gentry tackled Brandon Tullis for a one-yard loss. Tullis then ran for eight yards. Elijah Tau-Tolliver ran for three yards. Aidan Chiles tossed an incomplete pass, but USC was called for holding on the play. Chiles tossed a two-yard pass to Omari Kelly as time expired in the first quarter.

USC 10, Michigan State 7, 2:38 left in first quarter

USC started on its 28 after the Makai Lemon 24-yard kickoff return.

Eli Sanders ran for 12 yards and then another 16 yards.

Jayden Maiava passed to Lemon for 20 yards. Sanders ran for three yards. Maiava passed to Sanders for six yards. On third-and-one, Maiava faked a handoff and ran for a 15-yard touchdown. Ryon Sayeri hit the extra point.

Michigan State 7, USC 3, 5:27 left in first quarter

Michigan State started on its 25 after the touchback.

Brandon Tullis ran for two yards, Aidan Chiles passed for six yards, Makhi Frazier ran for two yards and Michigan State was called for false start. Chiles passed for nine yards and then 19 yards before connecting with Chrishon McCray for a 42-yard touchdown. Michigan State hit the extra point to take a quick lead.

USC 3, Michigan State 0, 9:03 left in first quarter

USC started on its 19 after the Makai Lemon kicoff return.

Waymond Jordan ran for two yards. Jordan ran for seven yards and Eli Sanders ran for two yards to get a first down.

Jayden Maiava passed to Jaden Richardson for 11 yards. Sanders ran for no gain and then for 18 yards. Maiava tossed the ball away under pressure from the Michigan State defense. Maiava passed to Jordan for a 20-yard gain. Michigan State was called for a penalty, moving the ball to the Sparans’ 9.

USC was called for delay of game, moving back five yards. Maiava passed to Sanders for 11 yards. Jordan ran for one yard. USC was called for false start. On third-and-eight at Michigan State 8, Maiava tossed an incomplete pass to the end zone.

Ryon Sayeri hit a 25-yard field goal to close out the drive.

USC 0, Michigan State 0, start of first quarter

USC won the coin toss and elected to receive.

Bishop Fitzgerald stood inside the 5-yard line at Ross-Ade Stadium, watching the eyes of Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne, waiting for the right moment to pounce. It was a critical third down Saturday, midway through the fourth quarter, during a Big Ten road game.

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Fortunately, Fitzgerald knew exactly where the play was headed. The USC senior safety recognized it from film clips he studied of Purdue’s red zone offense. He knew not to bite on the play-action fake and that the receiver would, in a matter of seconds, cut across the center of the field on his route.

He also knew to be patient, to lure the quarterback into a false sense of security. So when Browne finally did fire his pass over the middle, Fitzgerald was there at just the right moment to snag his second interception of the game.

Since DeShaun Foster was fired earlier this week, D’Anton Lynn has been near the top of most prospective lists of head coaching candidates for UCLA.

But USC’s rising star defensive coordinator said on Wednesday that he has not been contacted about the open job across town and reiterated that his attention was trained on the Trojans’ upcoming matchup with Michigan State on Saturday night.

“We’ve got a lot of stuff on defense that we’ve got to clean up and improve on,” Lynn said. “So that’s where all my focus is right now.”

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Three long hours after his team evacuated the field for a lightning delay, coach Lincoln Riley finally emerged from the tunnel at Ross-Ade Stadium, knowing any hope of a seamless start to USC’s road slate had likely washed away with the rain.

Nothing about USC’s first tour through Big Ten country last season had gone smoothly, as the Trojans bafflingly blew fourth-quarter leads in all four of their conference road tilts. So before their second foray into the conference, Riley and his staff had set out to make the season’s slate of trips as seamless as possible.

But Mother Nature had brushed aside those plans before USC’s first road game even began. Instead, rain came down in sheets and lightning loomed in the area, leaving the Trojans lying around the tiny visiting locker room at Ross-Ade Stadium for hours before kickoff, doing whatever they could to stay loose and stay fed.

After years of weathering the #AfterDark absurdity of the Pac-12 Conference, USC hoped moving to the Big Ten might help kick most of those bizarre midnight romps from its calendar.

Of course, geographic sense only matters so much in college football when there’s millions to be made from broadcast rights. Fox had the third choice this week among the networks and chose the best available game. That’s why USC and Michigan State will kick off at 8 p.m. Saturday. Which means, in East Lansing, Mich., the game should wrap somewhere around 2:30-3 a.m.

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USC football’s four things to watch for against Michigan State

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There were two such kickoffs in the Big Ten last season, and only one that included a team hopping three time zones to the west. USC won that 8 p.m. game against Rutgers in quarterback Jayden Maiava’s debut.

The Spartans (3-0) arrived in L.A. on Thursday to give them plenty of time to acclimate. Jonathan Smith, who previously coached at Oregon State, understands what such a late kickoff requires. Still, you could understand why Michigan State might not be thrilled at the prospect of playing so late.

USC will have its own time-zone trouble to deal with next week, when it kicks off at 9 a.m. PDT in a road matchup with Illinois. This weekend, the bigger question for USC will be if the fans arrive well-rested — or at all.

“Both teams gotta deal with it,” coach Lincoln Riley said. “We gotta handle it well, our crowd needs to handle it well. At the end of the day, it’s a game, it’s being played, it’s being played in the Coliseum, and we expect to win and we expect to have a really good crowd behind us. We’re not going to make excuses about it.”