Jayden Maiava’s big play saves Trojans 

Los Angeles, CA (News 4 Us Online) – King Miller rushed for nearly 100 yards in the first half for the USC Trojans against Northwestern. The Trojans accumulated 21 first downs against the Wildcats in the first two periods. 

And yet, if not for a wild play that included an interception by a Northwestern defensive player that wound up turning into a touchback, thanks to the heads up play of quarterback Jayden Maiava, USC would have gone into intermission behind a score. 

Northwestern head coach David Braun admitted that Najee Story’s potential pick-six interception change to a touchback just before the half was indeed a game-changing play. 

“We can’t let it affect us, though ultimately, we can feel the emotion,” Braun said. “We just got to take a breath and play the next play just like it never happened. Ultimately, first and 10, minus 20, minus 25, still play them all and fit up some run game. We can’t let those emotional scenes happen. Those are going to happen in the Big 10. Simply, a long four quarters, there’s going to be back and forth with good football teams.”

Maiava’s heads up play to knock the ball out of the defender’s hands just before he broke the plane of the end zone turned out to be the play of the game. As it was, the Trojans got the ball back. Miller then took a handoff from Maiava and ran down the field for a large gain. 

Miller then punched in a 12-yard touchdown run to give USC a 21-14 lead at the half. The Trojans didn’t look back. 

“I knew right away that it was out before, and it didn’t surprise me,” USC head coach Lincoln Riley said about Maiava’s big play. “I mean, there’s part of me like, man, if he’s gonna score, don’t hit him. That dude was pretty big, but knowing him, he was gonna go – and he did – and he just never gives up; he continues to fight. And when your quarterback is like that, it permeates throughout the entire team. It just always does. We had a lot of guys make tough, physical plays tonight. That was one of them, and obviously a key moment.”

Maiava shared his thoughts on the momentum-changing play. 

“We got the look we wanted first to play,” Maiava said. “So I thought getting back to Lem (Makai Lemon) was the right read, so I made the throw, and I don’t even know where he (DL Najee Story) came from, honestly. I just saw him running with the ball. Seeing him down the sideline, I thought I should just go out there and sacrifice my body for my brothers and to potentially get the ball back.”

Miller finished the game with 131 yards rushing on 15 carries and wide receiver Makai Lemon wound up with a big day of his own, hauling in 11 catches for 161 yards and a touchdown to pace the Trojans to an easy 38-17 win. 

Lemon actually produced two scores, one being a four-yard touchdown run to add to his nightly totals for the game. The win means that the Trojans are still in contention for the Big Ten title, although games against Iowa, Oregon and UCLA will finalize those aspirations. 

Miller and Lemon weren’t the only ones having fun. Maiava had a relatively easy outing against the Wildcats, throwing for 299 yards and two touchdowns. Maiava’s steadiness kept the Trojans’ offense flowing throughout the game.  

For the first half against USC, the Northwestern football team played the Trojans virtually toe-to-toe.

Except for a weird turnabout play that flipped on the Wildcats, the Big Ten matchup at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the first two quarters felt like the game could go either way. 

USC eventually went into the half with a lead over Northwestern, but the contest felt like it could go the distance based on the performances by both the Trojans’ defense and the offensive play of the offensive unit of the Wildcats. 

Northwestern had already dropped two conference games before they played the Trojans, so a loss would put the Wildcats in a much deeper hole in conference play and virtually eliminate them from contending for the league title. 

A 13-yard run by Miller early in the fourth quarter sent over the 100-yard mark for the game. While USC used Miller as the primary offensive focus in the first half, Maiava went to the passing game more in the second half.