We saw it coming. An emotionally hungover USC Trojans bunch looking slightly sloppy, out of sync, and uneven in the first half against Wisconsin. Despite winning time of possession, total yards, and number of plays in the first 30-minute stanza, USC was behind 21-10. And then the second-half calling cards of resilience and intelligence emerged as the Men of Troy cleaned up the miscues and tightened up the execution to 28 consecutive points amidst USC’s largest single-game turnaround in 25 years.
Here are three things we’ve learned about this feisty-fighting USC bunch.
Miller Time on Critical Downs
It’s not just Miller’s statistics, accuracy, or grit…it’s the timeliness of when they emerge. Great players aren’t always great, they’re just great when they have to be…and Moss is certainly epitomizing that adage. Perhaps the game’s biggest play came with a little over 10 minutes left in the third quarter and the Trojans were still down 21-10 facing third down and 15 from the Wisconsin 23-yard line. Moss’s beautiful and composed toss to Ja’Kobi Lane for a first down is what cracked the floodgates. Three plays later, again on third down, this time on a goal to go, Moss once again high-pointed a gorgeous fade to Lane – touchdown and game on.
The following drive saw Moss again on third down and seven from the Badger 8-yard line facing an all-out blitz – like an elite NBA scoring wing, he faded away to his right and pin-pointed a dime to a posting up Duce Robinson. Not to be outdone, in the deciding moment to make things a two-score contest, Moss’ double-pirouetting keeper on fourth and one from the Badger 7-yard line essentially iced the game, and while he didn’t quite stick the landing, personified a fearlessness that has made him this 2024 team’s unquestioned engine.
Moss seems to consistently rise in a game’s most pivotal downs.
The USC Trojans Newest WR1 Has Arrived
We were waiting for it. Who would take over as the go-to receiver on this team after losing Tahj Washington and Brenden Rice. As discussed back in the spring on LAFB’s Salute to Troy podcast…the answer seems to be emphatically Ja’Kobi Lane. His 10 catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns, including a spectacular 32-yard snag on the game’s opening drive where Lane was wearing Badger defenders like a cheap suit yet found a way to secure a military precise ball from Moss while having the body control to stay in-bounds over the pile on, was as dramatic a coming out party at the Coliseum one could possibly have since Mike Williams in 2002.
The only thing more entertaining than Lane’s stat line was his end zone and postgame dance moves, worthy of the world’s best pop stars. At 6’4 and 194 pounds wearing #8, the second coming of Dwayne Jarrett has arrived to the peristyle as this team’s alpha outside weapon.
The “Jumpman” Hasn’t Made the Jump
Lane’s ascendance coincides with Zachariah Branch’s relative mediocrity over four games. The 18 receptions for 217 yards aren’t bad, both good for second on the team to Lane. But after an offseason where he signed an NIL deal with Nike, was one of the highest rated players in EA Sports’ College Football ‘25 video game and was quietly thought of as having the electricity of Reggie Bush, the regular season’s first third has been a bust to those lofty standards.
Branch will play the ultimate gadget role on this offense, but we have to remember, he’s yet to have a 100-yard receiving game in his career and hasn’t scored a touchdown in 15 consecutive games, so it’s not so much that Branch isn’t living up to expectations, it’s more that the expectations have been set way too high at this stage of his career. Part of that is the nature of the college football hype cycle, some associated with USC’s overzealous marketing department, and a little due to his livewire playing style…but the Branch train hasn’t quite left the station yet.
But with Moss as the engine, Lane is the go-to-guy, Robinson as the red zone specialist, and Branch as the gamebreaker, the pieces are starting to be solidified and slotted for the Trojans to make a deep run the rest of the way starting with October 12th against Penn State.
