Go beyond the scoreboard
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SAN DIEGO — The star quarterback stood all night on the sideline, wearing his cardinal and gold No. 13 jersey like a scarf. His top receiver lingered nearby, not far from USC’s No. 1 cornerback and its all-conference safety, each of whom were only here at Petco Park to usher in the end of the college season before the NFL came calling.
And that didn’t even account for the 17 players who’d already entered the transfer portal or the several others who were injured, leaving only a skeleton crew to carry the limping Trojans to the finish line.
Nothing about the circumstances facing USC ahead of the Holiday Bowl suggested the Trojans had any hope of ending a disappointing season on a high note.
But Miller Moss was never about the narratives. Not after what he’d seen the past month from this team. Not after he’d waited the past three seasons for his turn, finally taking over at a time when no one expected much from him or USC. Moss had shrugged away every such assumption through bowl season, and on Wednesday night, in his first start, the Trojans did the same, following their new quarterback’s lead through a stunning six-touchdown night and a 42-28 win over Louisville that no one saw coming — except, apparently, USC’s locker room.
Miller Moss set a record for most touchdown passes by a rookie USC starting quarterback, steering the Trojans past Louisville during the Holiday Bowl.
“We could have come into this game not caring about it,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said. “This team could have gone a lot of different ways with it.”
Instead, in the six long weeks USC spent away, it unlocked something it hadn’t since early September, when the Trojans walloped Stanford and still had every hope of finishing this season with much higher stakes than the Holiday Bowl.
It would have to settle for a stunning showcase for its quarterback and a sticky, post-bowl bath of eggnog for its head coach. But after a 1-5 finish, a fired coordinator, and a season spent with a dark cloud lingering low overhead, there was only jubilation to be found on the field afterward, as Moss floated through the chaos with a crowd following him, welcoming every joyous hug that came his way.
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Miller’s time?
USC quarterback Miller Moss holds the offensive player of the game trophy after the team’s win over Louisville in the Holiday Bowl.
(Denis Poroy / Associated Press)
The longest of those embraces came from Caleb Williams, the star quarterback who’d stepped over Moss on the depth chart on his way to a Heisman Trophy. For two years, Moss had been relegated to the role of Williams’ understudy, biding his time as a backup until his chance would finally arrive.
But all bowl season, as Moss quietly took reps with the first-team offense, the discourse over who might replace the potential No. 1 pick seemed to skip over him entirely. What about Cam Ward, from Washington State? Or Will Howard, from Kansas State? Someone. Anyone else. Even Moss’ own coach had made clear that he intended to look around for other options in the portal. As of last week, Riley had suggested USC might actually bring in two transfer quarterbacks.
That was the assumption, at least, until Wednesday, when Moss took a blowtorch to those plans, scorching Louisville for 372 yards and six scores that shattered both USC and Holiday Bowl touchdown records.
Caleb Williams says he’s now focusing on the little things as much as he can even as big-picture questions loom about his NFL future.
By the time Williams found Moss in the aftermath, pulling him in close and holding him tight, the moment felt more like a proverbial passing of the torch than it had at any point over the past month.
Asked if he’d proved as much to Riley, the coach smiled: “Shoot,” he said, “he may have scared off anybody that would want to come here anyway.”
Riley wouldn’t share much beyond that, other than to say he was excited for Moss’ future at USC. But Kyron Hudson, who caught a touchdown from Moss on Wednesday, didn’t hesitate to offer his endorsement.
“He waited his time, and he’s ready for it,” Hudson said. “He’s the guy that we need.”
Whether he can be the same guy next fall, when USC ventures into the unknown of the Big Ten, remains to be seen. We don’t know how Riley really feels about Moss’ long-term potential at the position.
But there’s no denying the confidence Moss displayed in his first start, as he fearlessly fired one deep shot after another. It was hard to imagine a more convincing audition.
“When you get your opportunity, you gotta shine,” senior center Justin Dedich said. “And Miller’s the definition of that.”
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Time to appreciate Tahj
(Denis Poroy / Associated Press)
Tahj Washington had every reason to be elsewhere. The redshirt senior receiver had already declared for the NFL. After leading the team in receptions this season, there was little left to prove at the end of his third season at USC. He could have sat out and no one would have batted an eye.
Still, Washington managed to cement one thing that will endure, even as he leaves for the NFL: There may not be a more underappreciated receiver in recent memory at USC.
Washington won’t finish near the top of any of the school’s all-time receiving lists. But when USC needed a play from its pass-catchers, it was Washington who emerged as the cornerstone of its receiving corps, flying free on third down, throwing key blocks, and working his way open in a way other receivers often hadn’t this season.
Naturally then, it was the redshirt senior that first put USC on the board Wednesday, as he caught a first-quarter pass from Moss, pumped the brakes to dodge one defender, then sped into turbo to dart past another on his way into the end zone. Less than a quarter later, Washington was at it again, leaping into the air to pull down a 29-yard touchdown that gave USC a lead it never relinquished.
The second score gave him his first 1,000-yard season, just the second time a Trojans receiver has reached that mark in the last four years. He finished with arguably his best game at USC: seven catches, 99 yards and two touchdowns.
“He could have had a great case for not playing this game,” Riley said, “but anybody that knows Tahj knew there was a zero percent chance that he was going to sit out of this game, and that’s why he’s going to be a great pro.”
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In good hands
Ja’Kobi Lane had reeled in just four passes as a freshman before Wednesday. Makai Lemon added just four of his own, too, before briefly being switched to cornerback late in the season.
Neither had flashed much of their top-100 pedigree to this point. But as the depth USC once enjoyed at receiver disappeared over the course of December, leaving a fleet of unproven talent in its wake, the two freshman wideouts found themselves atop USC’s depth chart, thrust into the opportunities they’d been waiting all season to seize. They didn’t disappoint.
Lemon’s moment came first, as he reeled in a 40-yard catch in traffic in the first quarter. He followed it up with another big play — this time for 35 yards — in the second.
Mario Williams, Brenden Rice and Tahj Washington will not return to USC next season. Who will spearhead the USC receiving corps next season?
Lane came on strong after that, securing three catches for 60 yards from there. Two of those receptions went for touchdowns, the latter of which required the 6-4 Lane to leap between Louisville defenders in the back of the end zone.
“When his opportunity came, he capitalized with two touchdowns,” Hudson said. “This is like a foreshadow for next season.”
If this is a sign of things to come, USC has little to worry about at the receiver position. Lane and Lemon are just two of four talented freshmen, along with Duce Robinson and Zachariah Branch, who look primed for a breakout next season.
Robinson had been especially quiet Wednesday, held without a catch, until the fourth quarter. That’s when he burst past the back row of Louisville defenders, reeled in a deep ball from Moss and coasted in for a 44-yard touchdown that put the Holiday Bowl on ice.
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A stunning secondary
Louisville wide receiver Kevin Coleman is tackled by USC safety Bryson Shaw (27) and linebacker Mason Cobb (13) during the Holiday Bowl.
(Denis Poroy / Associated Press)
After all the opt-outs and portal entrants and late-season injuries, only seven were left standing. Just barely enough defensive backs to field a full secondary.
Their cornerbacks coach, Donte Williams, was long gone for Georgia. Their safeties coach — and coordinator, Alex Grinch — had been fired weeks before. In their place was an interim assistant, Taylor Mays, who’d only just been elevated to a full-time staff spot.
Yet, somehow some way, USC’s secondary managed one of its strongest performances of the season, behind a brilliant game plan from its coach and renewed motivation from its defense. A unit that often seemed lost this season held Louisville to just 141 yards passing. It was the second-lowest total the Trojans had held a team to all season.
Safety Max Williams says the Holiday Bowl will be his final game for USC as Lincoln Riley and D’Anton Lynn work on overhauling their defense for 2024.
And it came with a secondary that had to be reshuffled in recent weeks to account for all the absences. Jaylin Smith had started all season at nickel corner, only to be thrust into starting at safety. He responded with a team-high 12 tackles and was named defensive player of the game.
He was hardly the only standout among an otherwise decimated group. Max Williams, playing in his last game at USC, came flying in for a first-quarter sack-fumble. Fellow safety Bryson Shaw added a sack of his own. And at corner, Prophet Brown and Jacobe Covington made the most of their first starts with sure tackling and tight coverage.
It was certainly a positive sign for a pass defense that had been 119th in the nation coming into Wednesday.
“To see some of our young defensive players step up, some guys that hadn’t played very many snaps for us all year,” Riley said, “our guys didn’t flinch.”
