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Watch: Lincoln Riley receives the ceremonial eggnog shower
After USC’s win over Louisville, Lincoln Riley was surrounded by his players while receiving the Holiday Bowl ceremonial eggnog shower.
Louisville turns the ball over and USC closes out the bowl win
USC 42, No. 16 Louisville 28, end of fourth quarter
Louisville started its final possession at its 13-yard line.
Jack Plummer fumbled on the opening play of Louisville’s drive and USC’s Mason Cobb recovered.
USC took over at the Louisville 21.
Miller Moss took a knee twice and ran out the clock on the bowl win.
Moss closed the game with six touchdowns during his first start and led the Trojans to the victory after Caleb Williams sat out the game.
USC punts while holding two-touchdown lead
USC 42, No. 16 Louisville 28, 1:32 left in the fourth quarter
USC started on its 12-yard line and Austin Jones rushed for one yard. Jones then broke free for a 35-yard gain.
Jones then rushed for no gain and then for a loss of one yard. On third-and-11 at the USC 47, Jones rushed for nine yards.
On fourth-and-two, Eddie Czaplicki punted 31 yards to the Louisville 13.
USC defense bends but picks up key stop on fourth down
USC 42, No. 16 Louisville 28, 4:48 left in the fourth quarter
Louisville returned USC’s kickoff to its 31-yard line.
Jack Plummer passed to Isaac Guerendo for a seven-yard gain. Guerendo rushed for eight yards before Plummer passed to him for another nine-yard gain.
Maurice Turner rushed for 10 yards, quickly moving the ball to USC’s 35-yard line. Turner rushed for two yards before Plummer passed to Chris Bell for a 12-yard gain.
Plummer then passed to Turner for a five-yard gain. Turner rushed for two more yards and Plummer passed to Guerendo for a one-yard gain to the USC 16.
Louisville went for it on fourth-and-six. Plummer passed to Jadon Thompson for four-yard gain, setting up the turnover on downs.
Miller Moss brushes off pressure, tosses his sixth TD pass
USC 35, No. 16 Louisville 28, 10:00 left in fourth quarter
USC started its drive on its 25.
Austin Jones ran for a one-yard gain followed by a six-yard gain. Miller Moss then completed a pass to Kyron Hudson for a seven-yard gain and big third-down conversion.
Moss’ next two passes were incomplete, bringing up third-and-10 at the USC 39. Moss then delivered a clutch 17-yard pass to Tahj WAshington.
Moss then passed to Duce Robinson for a 44-yard touchdown. Denis Lynch hit the extra point.
That’s six touchdown passes by Moss, the most by a USC quarterback making his first start.
Louisville opens fourth quarter with a touchdown
USC 35, No. 16 Louisville 28, 12:51 left in fourth quarter
Louisville faced fourth-and-one at the USC 11 to open the fourth quarter.
Evan Conley ran for four yards, Jack Plummer passed for two yards and Louisville called timeout.
Jack Plummer tossed an incomplete pass, but USC was called for a holding penalty.
Isaac Guerendo ran for a two-yard touchdown and the Cardinals hit the extra point to trim USC’s lead.
Louisville driving as third quarter ends
USC 35, No. 16 Louisville 21, end of third quarter
Louisville started on its 28.
Isaac Guerendo rushed eight yards, was stopped for no gain and then broke open a 27-yard gain.
Jack Plummer was dropped for a five-yard loss, putting the ball at the USC 32.
Guerendo then rushed for seven yards and USC was called for a face mask penalty.
Plummer passed to Chris Bell for six yards. Guerendo rushed for two yards and Plummer passed to Nate Kurisky for a one-yard gain as time expired in the third quarter.
Louisville will face fourth-and-one at the USC 11 to open the fourth quarter.
Miller Moss tosses his fifth touchdown pass
USC 28, No. 16 Louisville 21, 4:45 left in third quarter
Louisville was called for a block in the back during USC’s return, helping the Trojans start at their 47.
Miller Moss’ first pass was incomplete. Quinten Joyner then rushed for a loss of two yards. Moss then passed to Ja’Kobi Lane for a 17-yard gain. Moss then connected with Tahj Washington for two yards. Moss’ next pass to Zachariah Branch was incomplete.
USC called timeout.
On third-and-8 at the Louisville 36, Moss passed to Austin Jones for 14-yard gain. Moss then found Washington for a six-yard gain and Jones for a three-yard gain.
On third-and-1 at the Louisville 13, Jones ran for no gain.
USC went for it and Jake Jensen rushed for one yards to the Cardinals’ 12. Moss then passed to Lane for a 12-yard touchdown.
Denis Lynch hit the extra point to extend USC’s lead.
Moss has now thrown five touchdown passes, the most ever by a USC quarterback in his first start.
Louisville scores shortly after Miller Moss tosses an interception
USC 28, No. 16 Louisville 21, 9:43 left in third quarter
USC started at the Louisville 42.
Austin Jones rushed for two yards before Miller Moss completed a 32-yard pass.
It seemed USC was on track for another score, but Moss’ pass at the Louisville 8 was intercepted by Josh Minkins.
Louisville took over at the USC 39.
Isaac Guerendo rushed for 19 yards, then another three yards. Jack Plummer passed to Guerendo for a 20-yard gain. Guerendo then closed the quick drive with a one-yard touchdown.
USC defense forces Louisville to punt
USC 28, No. 16 Louisville 14, 13:39 left in the third quarter
Louisville received the kickoff in the third quarter and started its drive on its 21.
Jack Plummer passed to Chris Bell for three yards, tosed an incomplete pass and then rushed fo three yards.
The Cardinals punted and Zachariah Branch returned it 23 yards to the Louisville 42.
Louisville quarterback sacked to end first half
USC 28, No. 16 Louisville 14, halftime
USC’s defense completed a strong second quarter by sacking Louisville quarterback Jack Plummer as time expired.
The Trojans have gotten a big boost from quarterback Miller Moss’ strong play and a swarming defense that has forced a fumble and blocked a punt.
USC quickly counters Louisville’s touchdown
USC 28, No. 16 Louisville 14, 19 seconds left in second quarter
USC opened on its 25-yard line.
Miller Moss passed to Zachariah Branch for a 12-yard gain. Moss then found Austin Jones for a 6-yard gain. Moss then passed to Tahj Washington for a 24-yard gain.
On first down at the Louisville 33, Moss ran for two yards. Moss then passed to Ja’Kobi Lane for a 31-yard touchdown.
Denis Lynch hit the extra point.
Louisville responds to USC scoring surge
USC 21, No. 16 Louisville 14, 1:56 left in second quarter
Louisville started on its 27.
Isaac Guerendo rushed for 32 yards. Jack Plummer passed for eight yards before Guerendo ran for another two.
Plummer passed for seven yards to the USC 24 and Guerendo ran for another four.
On first down at the USC 20, Guerendo rushed for seven yards before carrying the ball two more times for two yards apiece.
Evan Conley rushed for a nine-yard touchdown. The Cardinals hit the extra point to trim the Trojans’ lead.
USC turns blocked punt into another touchdown
USC 21, No. 16 Louisville 7, 6:30 left in second quarter
Jamil Muhammad blocked Louisville’s punt and USC started its next drive on the Cardinals’ 18.
Miller Moss’ pass to Zachariah Branch was incomplete. His next pass was incomplete, but Louisville was called for holding. Moss then passed to Kyron Hudson for a nine-yard touchdown. Denis Lynch then hit the extra point to extend the Trojans’ lead.
USC forces quick punt
USC 14, No. 16 Louisville 7, 7:09 left in the second quarter
USC’s defense built on the offense’s quick touchdown drive.
Louisville started at its 26.
Jack Plummer passed for a five-yard gain. He then tossed two incomplete passes and the Cardinals punted.
Miller Moss leads quick USC scoring drive
USC 14, No. 16 Louisville 7, 8:07 left in the second quarter
USC started at its 20 after the Louisville punt.
Miller Moss passed to Makai Lemon for a 35-yard gain. Quinten Joyner rushed for three yards.
Moss’ tossed an incomplete pass before passing to Dorian Singer for 13 yards
On first down at the Louisville 29, Moss passed to Tahj Washington for a 29-yard touchdown. Denis Lynch hit the extra point to extend USC’s lead.
USC forces Louisville punt to open second quarter
USC 7, No. 16 Louisville 7, 10:20 left in the second quarter
Louisville started the second quarter with the ball on the 50-yard line.
Jack Plummer passed to Kevin Coleman Jr. for three yards. Maurice Turner rushed for six yards and then another three yards to extend the drive.
On first down at the USC 37, Plummer passed to Jadon Thompson, but the Cardinals were called for holding.
On first-and-20 at the USC 47, Plummer passed to Isaac Guerendo for five yards to the USC 42. USC then called timeout.
Ahmari Huggins-Bruce ran for two yards and Brock Domann passed for a four-yard gain.
Louisville then punted to close the drive.
Louisville driving as first quarter ends
USC 7, No. 16 Louisville 7, end of first quarter
Louisville started on its 13.
Maurice Turner run fro two yards and USC was called for a face mask penalty.
Jack Plummer passed to Maurice Turner four yards. Turner rushed for two yards and then trhee yards. Kevin Coleman Jr. rushed for five yards before Turner rushed twice for two yards, including a fourth-down conversion.
USC was at the 50-yard line as time expired in the first quarter.
USC forces turnover, scores
USC 7, No. 16 Louisville 7, 4:25 left in the first quarter
Louisville started the next drive on its 21 and the USC defense immediately delivered a big play.
Max Williams sacked Jack Plummer, who fumbled, and Solomon Byrd recovered the ball.
USC took over at the Louisville 19.
Austin Jones ran for one yard and Miller Moss passed to Jones for another yard. Moss then passed to Tahj Washington for a 17-yard touchdown. Denis Lynch hit the extra point.
USC misses field goal
No. 16 Louisville 7, USC 0, 6:05 left in the first quarter
USC couldn’t answer Louisville’s quick score.
Miller Moss rushed for 11 yards on first down at the USC 25.
He then tossed an incomplete pass intended for Makai Lemon followed by a 40-yard pass to Lemon.
Austin Jones ran for six yards, Zachariah Branch ran for three and Moss’ pass to Duce Robinson was incomplete.
Denis Lynch then lined up a missed a 38-yard field goal.
Louisville rolls through USC’s defense, scores
No. 16 Louisville 7, USC 0, 8:37 left in the first quarter
USC’s defense is off to a rough start.
Louisville started on its 29.
Jack Plummer tossed an incomplete pass, Isaac Guerendo rushed for seven yards and Plummer passed to Kevin Coleman Jr. for a 13-yard gain.
Guerendo continued gashing USC’s defense for gains of seven and two yards before Plummer ran for a 14 yard gain to the USC 28.
Plummer passed to Coleman for a 10-yard gain.
On first-and-goal at the USC 4, Guerendo rushed for three yards and then punched the ball into the end zone. Louisville hit the extra point to take the lead.
And we’re off ...
USC 0, No. 16 Louisville 0, 13:47 left in the first quarter
USC received the opening kickoff and promptly went three-and-out.
Zachariah Branch rushed for no gain, Miller Moss passed to Tahj Washington for four yards and Moss’ next pass incomplete, setting up the punt. Louisville will start on its 29-yard line.
D’Anton Lynn says USC ‘is not that far away’ from fielding a great defense
Ten months before USC made him one of the highest paid defensive coordinators in college football, D’Anton Lynn didn’t have a lick of experience coaching college kids. His track record as a defensive assistant was entirely reserved for the professional ranks. His resume, at 34, was just a few lines long — three seasons as an NFL position coach, a few more as an assistant. His last recruiting experience came as a four-star corner in Penn State’s 2007 class.
So when Chip Kelly offered him a chance to take the reins of UCLA’s reeling defense last February, Lynn was surprised.
“It came out of the blue,” he said. The prospect of such a major move admittedly made him uncomfortable. But Lynn, whose father, Anthony, also coaches at the NFL level, took the leap anyway.
“I just felt like I was ready to take that step, and I needed to get uncomfortable,” Lynn told The Times in August. “No matter what’s going to happen after this, I’m only going to grow.”
Lynn probably didn’t expect another leap so soon after that one. But after transforming a middling Bruins defense into one of college football’s best, another opportunity came knocking. This time, from the coach across town at USC. And with a much larger salary attached.
Lincoln Riley praises recruiting class featuring ‘large human beings’ to bolster USC
After a mad-dash few weeks spent selling his refurbished plans for USC from living room to living room, state to state, it was a mostly quiet signing day morning for Trojans coach Lincoln Riley. No five-stars had flipped dramatically. Nor were there any heartbreaking, hat-related fakeouts. Eighteen letters of intent rolled in early, all according to plan, forming the beginnings of a class that ranked a solid albeit unspectacular 18th in the nation by day’s end.
Among those signed — eventually 19 total on Wednesday — none wavered in their commitments to USC. For Riley, that fact was nearly as critical as the combined heft the Trojans had added along their offensive and defensive lines. In the age of name, image and likeness and the transfer portal, commitments had come to mean only so much. Twice in three days, as formerly high-profile five-stars fled from USC in droves, the coach made clear he preferred players who kept their commitments.
“So many of these guys never blinked,” Riley said. “You can’t stress the importance of that enough.”
It had to be disconcerting then, by mid-afternoon, as Riley watched Ryan Pellum, his four-star wideout commit, stand at a podium to announce he was backing out of his pledge to USC and flipping to Oregon, the school that so often has served as the proverbial thorn in Riley’s side. The Long Beach Millikan High gym sat, for a moment, in a stunned quiet. At the table next to Pellum, a teammate’s jaw literally dropped.
USC football to finish disappointing season in Holiday Bowl with eye toward future
SAN DIEGO — USC hasn’t played a game in nearly six weeks, but the time has been far from restful.
Since losing to UCLA in a demoralizing regular-season finale on Nov. 18, the Trojans have overhauled the defensive coaching staff, lost 17 players to transfers with more to sit out because of NFL draft preparations, and added the next wave of players during a busy early signing period. Transfers are already starting to trickle in for next season.
For a program working to put a disappointing season in the rear-view mirror, Wednesday’s Holiday Bowl at 5 p.m. in Petco Park against No. 15 Louisville feels more like an inconvenient chore than an opportunity for a silver lining.
“It’s unique now,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said last week, “because part of you feels like, it’s almost like you’re halfway into this year and halfway into next year.”
The Trojans (7-5) are already passing the torch at quarterback, where Caleb Williams’ USC career is unceremoniously over as he will not play in the game. While the Heisman Trophy winner has not formally announced his intention to pursue an NFL career, he said last month it would be unlikely that he would skip the bowl game while returning to college. In Williams’ place, Miller Moss will get his first start as just one of the players hoping to finish this season with a strong audition for next year.
Max Williams ready to ‘move on to bigger things’ as USC’s new secondary takes shape
This was Max Williams’ dream. Now the redshirt senior is ready to chase a new one.
USC’s stalwart safety announced his intention to declare for the NFL draft Friday as the Trojans continued preparation for the Holiday Bowl on Wednesday. Because of injuries and the pandemic, Williams had eligibility for a sixth season, but he never thought he would be a 24-year-old in college.
So “I gotta move on to bigger things,” Williams said Friday.
“I felt like I’ve gave my all to this university for the five years I’ve been here,” he added. “I’ve overcame a lot, I’ve played through a lot. It was always a dream coming to USC, being a Trojan.”
USC players excited Miller Moss will finally get a start at QB: ‘Miller’s a baller’
Ja’Kobi Lane knows what time it is.
“Miller time!” the freshman receiver shouted on his way off USC’s Howard Jones Field on Friday.
Quarterback Miller Moss, meeting with reporters for the first time during USC’s bowl preparations, just chuckled.
After three years of waiting, Moss is getting his time in the spotlight. The redshirt sophomore is slated for his first career start at USC as the Trojans finish their season without star quarterback Caleb Williams in the Holiday Bowl against No. 15 Louisville on Dec. 27 in San Diego’s Petco Park. With his long-awaited starting opportunity finally approaching, Moss is showing the same even-keeled nature that won teammates over during his USC career spent mostly in the shadows.
“I’ve worked my whole life for this,” Moss said Friday. “Whatever comes after that, I’ll work my whole life for that. So I’m just excited. I’m excited to step into this role and very confident in our team.”