USC football pounces on San José State in season opener

LOS ANGELES — USC asserted its dominance on the ground early and ran through San José State 42-26 in its season opener at the Coliseum. The Trojan first-string players shined, but depth proved to be a concern against their Mountain West opponent down the stretch.

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“The fourth quarter was not up to our standards,” head coach Lincoln Riley told reporters. “We played a bunch of different guys … We had several that did not play the way we anticipated and there’ll be a lot to learn and grow from.

“We’re going to need the depth of this roster, and we challenged that in the fourth quarter and obviously didn’t respond the way we wanted.”

The Trojans’ 25 first-half rushing attempts were the most in an opening half under Riley. They had accumulated 111 yards and were shutting out the Spartans 28-0 by halftime.

Quarterback Jayden Maiava went 25 for 29 for 286 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Running back King Miller finished with 63 yards on 15 carries and Waymond Jordan added 48 yards on eight attempts.

“We’ve been grinding since the end of the season last year, developing a relationship and a bond,” Miller said of himself and Jordan. “So going out there to show it on tape, show it to the world has been great.”

USC (1-0) scored on all of its first-half drives except for one, when San José State forced a turnover on downs. Cajon High product Ethan Powell tackled a scrambling Maiava just short of the end zone to prevent USC from scoring.

Maiava had scored the Trojans’ first touchdown of the season on a quarterback keeper in an opening drive.

Riley Wormley punched the ball in at the beginning of the second quarter for a 5-yard touchdown on a play that featured a two-back set, with Jordan assisting in blocking on the left side.

Five Trojan running backs touched the ball, and two of them were true freshmen.

“They showed us since day one that they’ve been here,” Miller said of the freshmen. “They came into this offense, developed very well and we trusted them. They showed all ya’ll today that they can do it.”

Other standout freshmen included receivers Trent Mosley and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. Mosley was the primary punt returner and had a 41-yard return midway through the first quarter and was the leading receiver with seven receptions for 118 yards.

Dixon-Wyatt finished with four catches for 36 yards. Maiava threw a high pass to the Mater Dei High product for a 35-yard gain and threaded a pass just left of a defender to land in Dixon-Wyatt’s hands to score USC’s third touchdown of the game with 5:35 remaining in the second quarter.

The Trojans returned to their run game to finish the first half. Maiava handed Miller the ball three straight times, capping a drive with a 4-yard touchdown run for a 28-0 lead.

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The Trojans, playing their first game under defensive coordinator Gary Patterson, came up with a momentum-shifting fourth-down stop in the first quarter.

The Spartans had marched 68 yards to the 7-yard line through a combination of Jabari Bates runs and smart decision-making by quarterback Luke Weaver. USC stuffed a run on a fourth-and-1 to force a turnover on downs.

Defensive end Jide Abasiri was a key part of the play, bottling up Bates’ forward-rushing energy.

“When you have Jide on the field with you, it just makes the game a whole lot easier,” linebacker Desman Stephens said. “Jide was back there in .03 seconds.”

Mosley caught the first touchdown pass of his college career with 2:28 remaining in the third quarter. Maiava hit him with a quick strike as he crossed in front, then Mosley scampered and tumbled into the end zone to complete the 7-yard play.

San José State (0-1) connected on a 27-yard field goal at the 7:13 mark of the third quarter, then scored a touchdown on its next possession. Weaver dropped back and launched a deep pass to Jerry McClure, who was nearing the end zone on a post route.

McClure hauled in the pass for a 28-yard touchdown. Weaver pitched the ball to tight end Kamaehu Kopa-Kaawalauole after that to execute a 2-point conversion and bring the score to 42-11.

USC’s defense struggled to keep San Jose State’s offense contained for the remainder of the game, and the Spartans’ 232 yards of second-half offense outpaced the Trojans’ 193 yards.

True freshman Jonas Williams came in at quarterback when USC got the ball back. Shahn Alston added a 1-yard touchdown with roughly five minutes left on the clock, before the Spartans tacked on two more touchdowns.

Weaver sent a 3-yard pass to Jordan Anderson with 4:31 to go, then scored on a 7-yard keeper with 39 seconds left, connecting with Cooper Hoch to complete a 2-point conversion.

“When you start scoring a lot of points and start letting up a bit, that’s when things can go south,” Abasiri said. “I think that’s where we let our foot off the gas, and that’s something we’ve got to get better with next week.”

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