USC vs San José State

USC's fourth-down goal-line stand in the second quarter preserved a two-score lead and kept San José State off the board entirely in the first half. Five-star freshman defensive end Luke Wafle nearly produced a safety on the next series when he blew past the Spartans' right tackle, cementing the defensive tone that gave USC a 28-0 advantage at the break.

Jayden Maiava (USC, QB): 25/29 passing, 286 yards, 2 TD pass, 1 TD rush. Completed 86% of his attempts in an efficient, conservative game script.

Trent Mosley (USC, WR): 7 catches, 118 yards, 1 TD. The true freshman became the first Power Four freshman receiver with at least seven catches and 100 yards in a debut since Purdue's Rondale Moore in 2018, per the Los Angeles Times. He also returned a punt 41 yards.

Luke Weaver (SJSU, QB): 21/32, 234 yards, 3 total touchdowns. Led the Spartans' fourth-quarter fight-back with 23 points after the game had been decided.

King Miller (USC, RB): 15 carries, 63 yards, 1 TD. Anchored a ground attack that churned out 164 total yards and four rushing touchdowns.

Player of the match: Jayden Maiava.

USC outgained San José State 505–336 in total yards and held a 37:15–22:45 edge in time of possession. The Trojans averaged 6.6 yards per play (505 yards on 76 plays) against 6.0 for the Spartans. The key split: USC's 341 passing yards at 9.5 yards per attempt versus San José State's 234 at 7.3. The Trojans committed the only turnover of the game. Defensively, USC held the Spartans to 102 total yards in the first half but allowed 8.4 yards per play after halftime with reserves on the field.

USC (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) begins its 2026 campaign with a win, but the fourth-quarter defensive collapse — three touchdowns conceded against second- and third-stringers — offered Lincoln Riley and new defensive coordinator Gary Patterson a clear area for improvement. The Trojans host Fresno State on 4 September. San José State (0-1) travel to Eastern Michigan on 4 September.

USC did exactly what a top-15 team should do to a Mountain West opponent for three quarters. The youth movement is real: Mosley, Dixon-Wyatt, Wafle and quarterback-of-the-future Jonas Williams all flashed. But the fourth-quarter letdown against backups will raise the same questions about defensive depth that have dogged Riley's tenure.

"I take it for what it is," Riley said. "You don't hide behind the fact that the fourth quarter wasn't good enough. But I'm also not going to pretend we didn't dominate that game through three quarters."