No. 19 Trojans clip Northwestern Wildcats for 7th win of season

LOS ANGELES -- Since their defeat in South Bend, the USC Trojans have looked like a different team on both sides of the ball, and they displayed that dominant play once more as they defeated yet another Big Ten opponent in the Northwestern Wildcats by a final of 38-17.

"Privately, we were excited about the challenge that this became, flipping time zones, and obviously, with the tough battle in Lincoln just a few days ago and then having to turn over to play a good football team coming off a bye week, I just felt like these last two games would be an important stretch for this season," Head Coach Lincoln Riley stated on the importance of this win against Northwestern in his opening statement to the media in the postgame. 

There is only one word to describe the first half of this game: weird. 

The Trojans scored the first points of the game after a great first drive, capped off by a Jayden Maiava 7-yard connection to Makai Lemon. But with that great first drive, the Wildcats were able to capitalize on their first drive of the game, tying the game at 7 to end the first quarter. 

To start the second quarter, Maiava would showcase his legs and run game once more, as he would complete a 6-yard scramble rushing drive to put the Trojans ahead 14-7. In the same fashion, Wildcats running back Caleb Komolafe would tie the game once more with a 2-yard rushing touchdown. 

This is where the weirdness would appear. 

After that scoring drive by the Wildcats, the Trojans would have the ball on the 22-yard line, and in the blink of an eye, Maiava threw a pick to defensive linemen Najee Story. It looked as though Story was going to take the ball all the way back to where it came from, but Maiava turned on the jets and knocked the ball out of Story's hands before he could cross the goal line. 

With the ball fumbling down the endzone, no Wildcat player was able to recover the ball until it fell out of bounds. Once the smoke of the scuffle had settled, the referees concluded that the play would result in a USC touchback. 

"I just saw him down the sideline and I thought I should go out there and sacrifice my body for my brothers and for a chance to get the ball back," Maiava said when he was asked to break down the play to tackle Story. 

That is definitely not something you see every day, especially from a quarterback, but hey, this is Big Ten football, so could you really rule it out? 

That drive would play in the Trojans' favor as they would score on the backbones of a King Miller 12-yard rushing touchdown that concluded the half. Miller would yet again be a staple on this Trojan's offensive line as he finished the night rushing for 131 yards on 15 rushing attempts and one touchdown. 

When it comes to confidence, King Miller has that, and he has not shunned away from the bright lights of the Coliseum ot his position as the starting running back for USC, especially being put in a position unexpectedly where his team desperately needs him at running back.

The second half began with a bang as the Trojans moved down the field and capped off their first scoring drive of the second half with a crazy one-handed catch by Ja'Kobi Lane to extend the Trojans' lead 28-14.

The Trojans' second-half defense was another big story in this one, as the defensive line has only allowed six points in total in their past two second halves played. That is utter dominance and a half. 

"Great to make some halftime adjustments," safety Kamari Ramsey said. "We gave up two open touchdowns in the first two drives, so we had to bounce back and just lean on our training, discipline, and lean on our foundation." 

With the defense cutting any spark of offense the Wildcats were trying to produce and the Trojans adding another 10 points of offense, the Trojans returned home with a statement win. USC, now in an exciting position to make things happen further beyond their season schedule, still has some tough games ahead as the season winds down. But with how the Trojans have been executing on both sides of the ball, the ceiling is expanding for Lincoln Riley and his squad.