USC wasted little time putting its stamp on the season opener, leaning on the run game early and rolling past San José State 42-26 at the Coliseum.
The Trojans came out pounding the ball, and the first-half numbers told the story. USC logged 25 rushing attempts before halftime, the most in an opening half under Lincoln Riley, and turned that into 111 yards while building a 28-0 lead. The Spartans never got close to slowing the pace before the break.
Jayden Maiava set the tone at quarterback, finishing 25 for 29 for 286 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also opened USC’s scoring with a quarterback keeper on the first drive of the season.
USC found answers all over the field. King Miller carried 15 times for 63 yards, while Waymond Jordan added 48 yards on eight rushes. Riley Wormley also got in on the ground game, punching in a 5-yard touchdown early in the second quarter out of a two-back look, with Jordan helping seal the left side.
The Trojans spread the ball around and gave five running backs touches, including two true freshmen. The freshmen made noise elsewhere too.
Trent Mosley handled punt return duties and broke off a 42-yard return midway through the first quarter, then finished as USC’s top receiver with seven catches for 118 yards. Kayden Dixon-Wyatt added four receptions for 36 yards and made his biggest impact in the end zone, hauling in a 35-yard gain from Maiava and later catching a touchdown on a pass that slipped just left of a defender with 5:35 left in the second quarter.
USC kept leaning on the ground to close the half. Maiava handed the ball to Miller three straight times, and Miller finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run that pushed the Trojans ahead 28-0.
There was also a big stop that kept the Spartans from ever finding first-half traction. Playing their first game under defensive coordinator Gary Patterson, USC stuffed San José State on fourth-and-1 after the Spartans had driven 68 yards to the 7. Jabari Bates and Luke Weaver had helped move the ball, but Cajon High product Ethan Powell made the tackle on a scrambling Maiava just short of the goal line to force the turnover on downs.
Mosley added another highlight in the third quarter, catching the first touchdown pass of his college career. Maiava fired a quick strike as Mosley crossed in front, and the freshman turned it into a 7-yard score after a run and tumble into the end zone.
San José State finally got on the board with a 27-yard field goal at the 7:13 mark of the third quarter, then followed with its best offensive sequence of the night. Weaver launched a deep ball to Jerry McClure on a post route, and McClure secured the 28-yard touchdown. The Spartans then ran a 2-point conversion with Weaver pitching to tight end Kamaehu Kopa-Kaawalauole, cutting the margin to 42-11.
USC turned to true freshman Jonas Williams at quarterback after getting the ball back. Shahn Alston added a 1-yard touchdown with about five minutes remaining, and San José State finished the game with two late scores. Weaver hit Jordan Anderson for a 3-yard touchdown with 4:31 left, then kept it himself for a 7-yard score with 39 seconds remaining before connecting with Cooper Hoch on the 2-point conversion.
In Other News...
USC Just Got Another Reminder It No Longer Looks Like An Elite Program
USCs place in the national conversation has become a little easier to measure by who is missing from the preseason spotlight. The Trojans did not place a single player on the USA TODAY Sports preseason All-America college football team, a list that leaned heavily toward the sports familiar heavyweights from Oregon, Ohio State, Indiana, Georgia and Texas. For a program that still carries a blueblood name, it is another sign that the market no longer treats USC like one of the sports defining powers.
The bigger concern is how often this sort of reminder keeps arriving for a team that has not reached the College Football Playoff in 12 seasons and now heads into a pivotal 2026 campaign under Lincoln Riley. USC is still being measured against the standard set by programs such as Ohio State and Oregon, but the preseason rankings suggest it has work to do before it can claim that tier again. For a fan base used to thinking in championships, the gap between reputation and reality is becoming harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
USC May Have Found A New Weapon Sooner Than Expected
USCs 42-26 win over San Jos State offered an early glimpse of a player who may have arrived sooner than expected. True freshman Trent Mosley caught seven passes for 118 yards in his college debut, becoming the first USC freshman since 2014 to clear 100 receiving yards in a first game and giving the Trojans another dynamic option to watch as the season unfolds.
The performance came on a day when USC was also sorting out its leadership structure, naming Tobias Raymond, Kilian OConnor, Alex VanSumeren and Jayden Maiava as permanent captains for the season. OConnor is currently sidelined by injury but remains part of that leadership group, while the program also unveiled the Progressive Insurance logo on the field as part of a multiyear sponsorship agreement, another sign of how much is changing around the team even as Mosleys emergence grabs the attention. [Read more 🡒]
USC Freshman TE Is Drawing A Comparison Trojans Fans Will Notice
Mark Bowman has barely gotten his USC career underway, but the freshman tight end is already generating the kind of buzz that tends to follow special talent. After a quiet debut in which he had limited production, Bowman still left enough of an impression for college football analyst David Pollack to point to his potential, which is exactly the sort of early conversation Trojans fans like to hear about a young pass-catcher in their system.
The comparison gaining traction is one USC supporters will recognize quickly: Brock Bowers. The former Georgia star piled up a rare college rsum, winning two national championships and the Mackey Award twice before heading to the Las Vegas Raiders, and an SEC coach reportedly sees some of that same upside in Bowman. For a freshman just beginning to carve out his role, being mentioned in the same breath as Bowers says plenty about the ceiling USC thinks it may be working with. [Read more 🡒]