{"id":448687,"date":"2026-08-31T08:10:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T08:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/448687\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T08:10:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T08:10:08","slug":"freshmen-show-out-as-usc-football-takes-down-san-jose-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/448687\/","title":{"rendered":"Freshmen show out as USC football takes down San Jose State"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before Saturday\u2019s season opener against San Jose State University, USC football faced some bad news: Two of its top wide receivers \u2014 sophomore Tanook Hines<\/a> and transfer junior Terrell Anderson \u2014 would miss the game due to injuries.<\/p>\n

Without their star wideouts, the Trojans would need to rely on a group of freshman receivers making their collegiate debuts to fill the noticeable void. Even with the veteran presence of redshirt senior quarterback Jayden Maiava, the lack of on-field experience could have spelled disaster for what was supposed to be an easy win to start the season.<\/p>\n

Instead, USC\u2019s offense didn\u2019t miss a beat.<\/p>\n

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Headlined by a stunning debut from wide receiver Trent Mosley, the Trojan freshmen dominated Saturday\u2019s affair, propelling No. 14 USC (1-0) to a 42-26 victory over the San Jose State Spartans (0-1). Though the Trojans wavered down the stretch, allowing 23 points in the final quarter, a powerful all-around first half was more than enough to secure the season-opening win.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey came out here, and they let it rip,\u201d Head Coach Lincoln Riley said of USC\u2019s freshmen in a postgame news conference. \u201cIt certainly wasn\u2019t flawless, but it was pretty damn good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mosley spearheads impressive offensive showing<\/p>\n

Mosley certainly put his name on the map in his first collegiate game, racking up 118 yards and a touchdown on seven receptions. The true freshman made six catches of double-digit yards, including a 17-yard pass in the second quarter that he took another 16 yards on the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just does what he does in practice. I mean, I don\u2019t think anybody here is very surprised,\u201d Riley said of Mosley\u2019s performance. \u201cHe\u2019s a consistent player, an explosive player \u2026 he came in and attacked it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mosley was far from the only newcomer to shine, though: Freshman wide receivers Tron Baker and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt combined for 81 yards on four catches apiece, with Dixon-Wyatt adding a touchdown in the second quarter. In total, five freshmen made their first receptions Saturday, a group rounded out by tight end Mark Bowman and wide receiver Boobie Feaster.<\/p>\n

Though he wasn\u2019t passing to Makai Lemon<\/a> or Ja\u2019Kobi Lane \u2014 both of whom left for the NFL Draft<\/a> after last season \u2014 Maiava looked as confident as ever against the Spartans, putting up the most efficient performance of his career so far. The Trojan quarterback converted 25-of-29 pass attempts for a total of 286 yards, while throwing for two touchdowns and running in one of his own to open the scoring in the first quarter.<\/p>\n

For the final 15 minutes, Riley opted to bring in freshman quarterback Jonas Williams, who projects as USC\u2019s quarterback of the future after this season. Williams looked sharp for most of the fourth quarter, including two long passes of 18 and 20 yards, but he threw the only interception of the game to end USC\u2019s penultimate drive.<\/p>\n

Miller, Jordan build on 2025 success<\/p>\n

While the freshmen took over in the receiver room, the run game was dominated by two familiar faces: redshirt senior running back Waymond Jordan and redshirt sophomore running back King Miller<\/a>. A former walk-on, Miller took over starting duties last year after Jordan suffered a season-ending ankle injury. The two appear to be sharing the role to start the season.<\/p>\n

The duo controlled the ground all day, rushing for a combined 111 yards on 23 attempts \u2014 most of which came in the first quarter, when Riley still seemed hesitant to rely on his young receivers. Though Miller saw more carries, Jordan was the more efficient of the two, averaging 6 yards per carry compared to Miller\u2019s 4.2.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re always competing with each other,\u201d Miller said in a postgame news conference. \u201cWhether he\u2019s getting the ball [or] I\u2019m getting the ball, we\u2019re just trying to make the best for this team and go out there and get wins.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet another true freshman, running back Shahn Alston, made his presence known after Jordan and Miller were taken out late in the game. Alston recorded 30 yards on seven attempts, all in the fourth quarter, including the first touchdown of his career to score USC\u2019s final points of the day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Patterson\u2019s defense shines early, falters late<\/p>\n

Aside from the plethora of new players, another newcomer was under the spotlight: Defensive Coordinator Gary Patterson.<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s matchup marked the first test of whether Patterson would live up to his lofty expectations \u2014 and for most of the game, he seemed to pass with flying colors.<\/p>\n

USC\u2019s defense was impenetrable through the first 45 minutes, holding San Jose State scoreless in the first half and allowing only a field goal in the third quarter. Junior defensive tackle Jide Abasiri starred with 2.5 tackles for loss, including a massive stop on fourth-and-1 to stifle a dangerous Spartan drive in the second quarter.<\/p>\n

However, the Trojans brought in several reserves to play the fourth quarter, opening the door for San Jose State to narrow the gap. The Spartans scored touchdowns on three consecutive drives, bulldozing through USC\u2019s once-stalwart defense and cutting the lead from 32 points to 16.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know [Patterson\u2019s] pissed right now about the fourth quarter, as you can imagine,\u201d Riley said. \u201cThe guy\u2019s standards are so high; that\u2019s how it is for our defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the early-game version of the defense was very promising, forcing several three-and-out drives and holding San Jose State\u2019s run game all but silent. If the Trojans can maintain that level of defense against tougher opponents, their chances of earning their first College Football Playoff bid become much more realistic.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, USC faces a short week before a rare Friday matchup against Fresno State University. The Trojans will take on the Bulldogs at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Before Saturday\u2019s season opener against San Jose State University, USC football faced some bad news: Two of its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448688,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[177637,163816,949,177375,88,90,89,127],"class_list":["post-448687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-bennett-christofferson","tag-fall-2026","tag-football","tag-matthew-diederich","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}