USC and Miller Moss make amends in win over Rutgers

The eyes of Los Angeles were elsewhere, the city's focus five miles up the 110 Freeway. Meanwhile, the rest of the country was probably asleep and not thrilled about nighttime football between two Big Ten teams in the bottom half.

But after spending three weeks unraveling itself in front of the world, USC returned to a sparsely filled Coliseum Friday night with its confidence and bruised egos after a three-game slump, only to lose some of its best performances during a year of the season with a 42-20 win over Rutgers.

Whether anyone actually watched USC stop the bleeding after its brutal month crisscrossing the country was of little consequence. Because for the first time since USC beat Wisconsin here a month ago, the Trojans appeared to be part of a team capable of competing in the Big Ten.

That ship has almost certainly sailed for the season after USC's nightmare in October, leaving the Trojans with few postseason options other than a secondary bowl game. But the Trojans' version, which emerged well after midnight Eastern Time on Friday, offered a taste of what so many expected from USC before the season.

The offense was electric, averaging more than 9.2 yards per play. Miller Moss made several big plays in the passing game, including six completions of 18 yards or more. Woody Marks scored three touchdowns on the ground in the first half. It even appeared to be a No. 1 receiver, as Makai Lemon continued his recent rise by posting the best night of his career with 134 yards and a touchdown.

The USC defense even went hard at a critical moment, slamming the door on Rutgers in the second half. It still gave up more than 400 yards for the third straight week, allowing the Scarlet Knights to stay in contention heading into the third quarter.

But the Trojans proved too strong in the second half. With Rutgers still leading by one point, Moss hit Lemon down the field for a 70-yard gain. The quarterback ran it himself for a touchdown two plays later.

The pair made it up soon after when Moss caught Lemon sprinting in the open field and hit him for a 40-yard touchdown.

USC's offense was humming from the start. Four straight plays resulted in first downs on the Trojans' first drive before Marks capped it off with a one-yard touchdown run.

Rutgers got its own rushing attack going early behind Kyle Monangai, the Big Ten's second-leading rusher. He carried the ball on seven of Rutgers' first eight plays and managed 50 yards on the Scarlet Knights' first drive alone.

But despite Monangai's best efforts, the Scarlet Knights only managed a field goal on their first drive. And that wasn't enough to keep up with USC.

The Trojans didn't wait long to make that clear. Lemon intercepted the ensuing kickoff at the goal line, then suddenly charged up and rattled two Rutgers defenders. With only green grass in front of him, Lemon ran 80 meters before he was caught. Marks scored again shortly after, his second touchdown of the first quarter.

USC defensive end Sam Greene sacked Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis at the Coliseum on Friday.

(Kyusung Gong/Associated Press)

Rutgers continued to move the ball against the USC defense, running significantly more plays (45 to 27) and owning the ball most of the half. But when the Trojans had the ball, they had no problems flying down the field.

Moss tore apart Rutgers' defense in the first half, completing 14 of his first 16 passes, including a touchdown to Kyle Ford, while Marks ran free on the ground and scored three touchdowns. All four of USC's first-half drives ended in touchdowns, as Rutgers only managed to force the Trojans to third downs twice before halftime.

Still, USC's defense had difficulty getting off the field, giving Rutgers a chance to get back into the game just before halftime. Two USC pass interference penalties pushed Rutgers to the threshold and had a chance to cut the Trojans' commanding lead to just 12.

But USC cornerback Prophet Brown dove to break up the first-down pass. Pressure from linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold forced an incompletion in the second. And in the third, DeCarlos Nicholson, another USC backup corner, broke a fade.

Rutgers ultimately settled for another field goal. And with USC desperately needing a good night, that just wasn't enough to slow its momentum.