LOS ANGELES — Makai Lemon had a touchdown catch and a scoring run while making 11 receptions for a career-high 161 yards, as No. 19 USC stayed in the College Football Playoff race with a 38-17 victory over Northwestern on Friday night.
Quarterback Jayden Maiava passed for 299 yards and connected with Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane for touchdowns, helping the Trojans (7-2, 5-1 Pac-12) remain unbeaten at the Coliseum this season. USC’s persistent offensive performance featured 482 total yards — the most allowed all season by the stingy Northwestern defense, which also hadn’t allowed a 200-yard passer until now.
King Miller contributed with 127 rushing yards and a touchdown, while Maiava also scored on the ground. Lemon sealed the win with a 4-yard jet sweep touchdown run with 11:31 remaining, keeping the Trojans very much in the national title conversation this mid-November — a notable achievement for coach Lincoln Riley in just his second season.
For Northwestern (5-4, 3-3 Big Ten), Preston Stone passed for 150 yards and Caleb Komolafe rushed for 118 yards and a score. The Wildcats suffered their second loss in six games. Early on, Griffin Wilde caught a touchdown pass, but Northwestern’s hopes were dashed as they have never beaten USC in six meetings, including the 1996 Rose Bowl.
USC’s impressive receiver duo shined once again. While the prolific Lemon posted 165 total yards, Lane had seven catches for 74 yards and gave the Trojans a 28-14 lead midway through the third quarter with a spectacular one-handed touchdown catch under tight coverage from defender Fred Davis.
After struggling to generate meaningful drives against Nebraska last week, USC opened Friday’s home game — their first in nearly a month — with a 16-play drive culminating in Lemon’s seventh touchdown catch of the season. Maiava completed nine passes on that drive, matching the number of completions he managed in the entire previous game at Lincoln.
Northwestern responded with a 13-play drive ending in Wilde’s short touchdown catch. USC then extended their drive with a clever fake punt involving a pass thrown by third-string quarterback Sam Huard, who had changed his uniform number to No. 80, matching punter Sam Johnson’s number. Shortly after, Maiava scored on a 6-yard touchdown run.
Komolafe’s touchdown run tied the game again, and Northwestern appeared poised to take the lead when defensive lineman Najee Story intercepted a pass and rumbled 25 yards toward the end zone. However, Maiava stripped the ball from Story at the goal line, resulting in a touchback and denying the Wildcats a scoring opportunity. Miller’s 12-yard touchdown run shortly before halftime put USC ahead for good.
Takeaways
Northwestern
The Wildcats’ vaunted pass defense could not contain the Big Ten’s best passing offense. Despite that, they performed fairly well on the big stage. To ensure bowl eligibility for the second time in coach David Braun’s three seasons, Northwestern needs to secure at least one more win among upcoming games against Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois.
USC
The Trojans rose to the occasion on a short week and took care of business — something Lincoln Riley’s teams struggled with over the past three seasons. USC will likely rise in both the AP Top 25 and College Football Playoff rankings. However, to make Riley’s first CFP appearance at USC, the Trojans will need to win out the remainder of their schedule.
Up Next
[Insert upcoming game details here]
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/08/northwestern-usc-big-ten-football/