USC’s offense is starting to sharpen in all the right places, and the biggest reason is simple: the Trojans have found playmakers who are forcing their way into bigger roles. As Big Ten play approaches and Oregon looms this week, King Miller and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt look like the clearest answers on offense. At the same time, Waymond Jordan’s grip on his spot is starting to loosen.
King Miller has been the most obvious riser. He’s taken his game up a notch this season, pairing physicality with burst in a way that makes him a headache for defenses. The numbers back it up, too: he’s stacked back-to-back 100-yard rushing games and is moving in the right direction at exactly the right time.
Riley Wormley also made a strong case for more work against Rutgers. He didn’t need many chances to make an impact, ripping off 52 yards on just three carries. That kind of explosiveness is exactly what Lincoln Riley wants, and while it’s too soon to say he should simply take over Jordan’s job, he’s earned a steady role every week from here on out.
Dixon-Wyatt has become the Trojans’ most dependable target, especially with Trent Mosley hurt. He’s been Jayden Maiava’s most trusted option and is no longer just one of the top freshmen around. He’s starting to look like one of the better receivers in the Big Ten.
Corey Simms deserves a mention, too. Even with limited opportunities, he keeps finding ways to make something happen.
Against Rutgers, he had 4 catches for 7 yards and a touchdown, and that score was one of the game’s biggest moments. With Mosley out, USC needs that kind of production to keep coming, and Simms should be seeing more targets in these bigger matchups.
On the other side of the ledger, Maiava’s play has dipped. He opened the season with perfect-looking football, piling up touchdowns while barely throwing incompletions.
He’s not playing poorly now, but the sharp edge has come off his game. Rutgers did not bring out his best, and there were stretches where he was clearly struggling.
The shoulder injury is part of the story, but this is a rough time for him to be trending the wrong way.
Jordan’s role has also been shrinking by the week. Wormley’s emergence only adds to the pressure, and Jordan managed just 8 carries for 26 yards against Rutgers. He still offers value, but with Miller surging, it’s getting harder for Jordan to leave the same kind of mark.
The run defense is another concern. USC has flashed against the run at times this season, but the inconsistency has been a major problem.
Antwan Raymond had his way on Saturday, and the Trojans never really solved him. Jide Abasiri’s injury against Rutgers mattered, but this issue goes beyond one player.
The linebackers need to tighten up, the defensive tackles need to do more, and freshman Luke Wafle cannot keep being the best answer against the run. If USC can’t fix that, the road ahead in the Big Ten gets a lot steeper.
The secondary is in even rougher shape. Against Rutgers, it turned in its worst performance yet, and the cracks have been there before.
Jontez Williams has looked like the best player in the group, but he can’t carry the whole unit alone. Louisiana and Rutgers both moved the ball on the Trojans, and USC made KJ Duff look even better than his reputation suggests.
Heading into Oregon, this is not a confident group.
In Other News...
Oregon Now Has One More USC Threat To Worry About
As USC builds toward its matchup with Oregon on Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, one of the quieter storylines around the Trojans is the possible return of defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart. Lincoln Riley offered an update on Stewarts status this week, and the early-read is encouraging for a player USC has not had available this season because of a foot injury.
Stewart is still working his way back, but the fact that he is progressing adds another layer to a game that already carries real weight for the Trojans. If USC can get him back in the mix soon, it would give the front a welcome boost at a time when Oregon already has enough to sort through in a high-profile Big Ten showdown. [Read more 🡒]
USCs Fast Start Faces Its First Real Test Against Oregon
Southern California has spent the early part of the season looking every bit like a team that can make noise in its new conference home, and now it gets a measuring-stick game with No. 20 Oregon coming to town for a Big Ten matchup. Jayden Maiava has been the engine for the Trojans, leading the conference in passing yards and touchdowns, while the rest of the roster has helped USC build the kind of balance that usually travels well into big games.
Oregon brings its own challenge, and then some. Dan Lannings team has already shown it can handle the road in Big Ten play, and the Ducks arrive with enough offensive punch and defensive structure to make this USCs most demanding test yet. For the Trojans, the larger question is not whether they have started fast, but whether that start can hold up when the opponent is ranked, disciplined and comfortable in the kind of game that tends to expose soft spots. [Read more 🡒]
USCs Secondary Faces A Real Oregon Test At The Worst Time
Oregon is heading into its matchup with USC already short-handed at receiver, with Jeremiah McClellan sidelined by a broken foot and a reshuffled pass-catching group now asked to shoulder more of the load. For the Trojans, that puts an extra spotlight on a secondary that has been one of the better units on the roster, with Prophet Brown helping anchor a defense that will need to hold up against a Ducks offense still featuring names like Messiah Hampton, Dakorien Moore, Evan Stewart and transfer Iverson Hooks.
It is the kind of test USC could have used in cleaner health, because the Trojans are also managing their own injury concerns in the defensive backfield with Jontez Williams and Alex Graham. Even so, this is the sort of late-season matchup that can reveal whether a secondary is as sturdy as it looks on paper, and Oregon's depth at receiver offers enough talent to make the Trojans work for every completion. [Read more 🡒]