USC won. That is the good news. Everything else about the No. 14 Trojans’ 42-26 season opener against San Jose State on August 29 at the LA Coliseum should have Lincoln Riley reaching for the aspirin.
Leading 35-3 heading into the fourth quarter, USC did what USC has done far too often over the last two seasons. They went to sleep. San Jose State outscored them 23-7 the rest of the way, and what should have been a statement win became a survival.
The First Three Quarters Were The Real USC
For most of the night, USC looked exactly like a top-15 team should look. Quarterback Jayden Maiava was surgical, finishing 25-of-29 through the air. That is a completion percentage that would make Peyton Manning nod in approval.
Running back King Miller punched in a touchdown, and the Trojans built a 28-0 halftime lead that had the Coliseum crowd feeling comfortable. Too comfortable, as it turned out.
Fourth Quarter Meltdown
San Jose State quarterback Luke Weaver, the Hawaii transfer, spent three quarters getting swallowed up by the USC defense. Then Riley started emptying his bench, and Weaver went to work. He finished with 234 passing yards and threw fourth-quarter touchdowns to Jerry McClure and Jordan Anderson. He also ran one in himself.
Yes, most of the damage came against backups. Fine. But the score does not have an asterisk, and neither does the film. If USC wants to be taken seriously as a Big Ten contender, letting a Mountain West team score 23 points in a single quarter is not the way to do it.
Injury Report Complicates Things
USC played without defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart and wide receivers Tanook Hines and Terrell Anderson. Those absences matter, especially up front on defense where Stewart was expected to be a load. Whether he plays next week will be the story of the week in LA.
The passing game did not suffer much without Hines and Anderson, mostly because Maiava was that dialed in early. Depth at receiver is going to be tested as the schedule ramps up, though. USC needs those guys back and healthy.
What This Actually Means
Season openers are messy. Everyone knows this. Ohio State labored last year, Georgia looked human in Week 1 before running the table for a while. So the 42-26 final does not automatically doom USC’s season.
But the pattern is what worries you. USC has repeatedly struggled to finish games with any sense of urgency, and Lincoln Riley’s teams have gotten a reputation for coasting when the score gets comfortable. When you play Michigan, Oregon, and Notre Dame, that coasting turns into losing.
Maiava’s tape is the silver lining. If he plays at that level for 12 games, USC will beat most of what is on the schedule. The question is whether the defense can hold up when the competition stops being San Jose State and starts being Ohio State’s receivers.
Bottom Line
A win is a win, and 1-0 is 1-0. But if you were a USC fan hoping the opener would announce a new era, you probably left the Coliseum with more questions than answers. That fourth quarter was a warning shot. Lincoln Riley better make sure his team hears it.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
