LOS ANGELES — The pattern began to manifest itself again.

So many USC games have followed the same script: the offense stalls a bit in the third quarter, the defense gives up a score and suddenly the opponent has some life. On Friday night, USC’s offense went four-and-out on the first series of the third quarter. Then the defense surrendered a touchdown and two-point conversion to Rutgers.

USC had a 19-point lead in the first half. At 8:11 in the third quarter, the lead was down to eight. Thoughts of another collapse were certainly on the minds of many Trojans fans.

But on the first play of USC’s next possession, Miller Moss threw a pass just out of reach of a Rutgers defender and into the hands of sophomore receiver Makai Lemon. Lemon turned onto the field and was eventually pushed out of bounds at the 5-yard line.

It was a 70-yard gain that set up a touchdown four plays later and allowed USC to separate from Rutgers — something it has had tremendous trouble with this season — and cruise to a 42-20 victory.

USC (4-4, 2-4 Big Ten) is now two-thirds of the way through the regular season. It has nothing to play for but pride as it heads into the home stretch with games remaining against Washington (road), Nebraska (home), UCLA (home) and Notre Dame (home).

How the Trojans respond to their current situation and the tough setbacks – both on the field and with injuries – will say a lot about this program. Lemon’s emergence will be one of the things we monitor over the final four games.

Here you can read more about this and other developments that you can follow in the last month of the regular season.

Lemon’s Escape Game

USC’s receiver group is led by four sophomores: Lemon, Zachariah Branch, Ja’Kobi Lane and Duce Robinson. That quartet has a lot of potential. None have developed into a true No. 1 receiver yet.

Lemon might be on his way. It wasn’t hard to imagine this scenario during training camp.

“In camp he was playing ball every day,” said redshirt senior Kyle Ford, who caught four passes for 45 yards and a score Friday night. “Honestly, in my eyes, he was the MVP of Camp. He played great ball. It’s cool to see that translate.”

Lemon had some opportunities early in the season – he caught four passes in the first two games – but was forced out of the lineup after taking a hit to the head against Michigan.

Since his return, he has gradually developed into Moss’s most reliable target. It started slowly with three catches for 37 yards against Minnesota. He followed with six catches for 73 yards against Penn State and eight for 89 against Maryland. Then on Friday night, he caught four passes for 134 yards and one touchdown in a breakout performance against the Scarlet Knights.

It was the best game by any USC receiver this season.

‘I don’t know yet if he’s good at anything. He’s very good at a lot of things,” coach Lincoln Riley said after the game. “Route running, all those things – he has a lot of room to grow as a player. His skills, there’s not a lot of things where you look at, ‘Well, he just can’t do that.’ He is a very versatile receiver. He still has a few yards left after the catch. He is strong and he will only get better and better.”

Branch, Robinson, and Lane may have unique abilities that are more impressive than anything Lemon does. But when it comes to being a pure receiver, he’s probably the best of the bunch.

He has steady hands. He is a smooth route runner. He simply knows how to find holes in the defense and that is why Moss often looks his way. On Friday he impressed with his vision and austerity skills.

He also had a new role against Rutgers, replacing Branch as the primary kickoff returner. Riley said the staff wanted Branch to focus solely on returning punts.

The move paid off. Lemon returned a punt 80 yards to set up USC’s second touchdown of the first quarter.

Once again he showed that ability to cut corners.

Makai Lemon just kept going. 😤 pic.twitter.com/rkwmjXq1IX

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 26, 2024

Lemon finished with 256 all-purpose yards and became the first USC player with an 80-yard return and a 70-yard reception in the same game since Marqise Lee did it against Oregon in 2012.

Lemon is still young, so his game needs time to mature. But if he can fulfill the potential he’s shown thus far, he could be the top target the Trojans are looking for.

The defense has its back against the wall

It wasn’t the prettiest or cleanest effort by USC’s defense. Rutgers racked up 434 yards, its highest total against a Power 4 opponent this season.

However, the Trojans limited the Scarlet Knights when necessary and did enough to win. Rutgers only scored 20 points.

But it will be a tough road for USC’s defense. This was never a unit that had elite talent or great depth. At its best, it is a defense that accentuates the skills of its best players, plays hard on every down and is fundamentally sound.

That has been seriously tested recently due to injuries. Linebacker Eric Gentry was USC’s best defensive player through the first month of the season. He is out for a year due to multiple concussions. Anthony Lucas was the most disruptive defensive lineman. He is out for the season due to a leg injury.

Kamari Ramsey is USC’s best defensive back and best tackler. Jaylin Smith is the best corner. Both missed Saturday’s game due to injury, as did two other starters in the secondary (corner Jacobe Covington and Nick Greedy Vance).

Then, defensive lineman Nate Clifton was forced off with an injury during the game and was seen in walking boots after the game.

That’s seven starters who were recently injured. As a result, USC is placing players in expanded roles who likely aren’t ready for that kind of opportunity.

Some will do well. For example, true freshman defensive lineman Kameryn Fountain recorded his first career sack on Friday night. There will be growing pains in other areas. Like in the depleted secondary, which surrendered 313 yards to a below-average Rutgers passing game.

“I thought today was just a good representation of the true identity of our defense,” linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold said. “Play physical for four quarters in a row. We don’t really take our foot off the accelerator. … Not everything was perfect tonight, but I think we just played physical, played fast and hard and (it showed).”

Despite all these issues, the Trojans defense has played with solid effort all season.

They are allowing 21.8 points per game, a huge jump from the 34.4 they gave up last season. And that is with a group that is not extremely talented and lacks depth.

The offensive line is playing better

USC didn’t give up a sack against Rutgers. Moss had plenty of time to throw the ball and find open receivers. As a result, he completed 20 of 28 passes for 308 yards and two scores. He also hasn’t committed the untimely turnovers that have plagued him in recent weeks.

The offensive line has received a lot of criticism this season, and rightly so. But only two sacks have been allowed over the last three games. It appears the coaching staff is solving the pass protection issues.

The run blocking has also improved week by week. The rushing attack has been the most consistent part of the offense for weeks. Running back Woody Marks ran for 94 yards and three touchdowns against Rutgers.

Offensive line coach Josh Henson has been a major target of frustration for the fanbase. Again, it’s understandable. But this young, inexperienced offensive line seems to be hitting its stride, and Henson has been coming off some good wins on the recruiting trail lately.

We’ll see if that remains the case over the next month and what it means for Henson’s future.

The ability to close

USC’s response when Rutgers cut the deficit to eight was powerful. Especially after so many of those situations have gone the other way for the Trojans this season.

“There hasn’t really been any panic from this group in any of these games,” Riley said after his team snapped a three-game losing skid, with three losses by a total of 11 points. “That wasn’t there tonight and I thought we had a great mentality and finished it off very well.”

Rutgers is an average football team, as its 4-4 record suggests. Any team that remains on USC’s schedule will likely present a greater challenge. So how will the Trojans respond if they find themselves in these make-or-break situations again?

It’s very clear that this team is still learning how to win. There simply aren’t many players on the roster who have won at a high level in college. And Riley admittedly didn’t coach those situations well.

Championships are now out of the picture. So if you’re a fan, you want to see growth the rest of the time. Developing winning habits and getting better at situational football will be key if the Trojans want to salvage their season.

(Photo by Makai Lemon: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)