It was less than four months ago, at the beginning of his third and most momentous season as USCThe coach, who lincoln riley He walked off this very field at Allegiant Stadium, brimming with faith. Their new quarterback had come through. Their rebuilt defense had paid off. The statement he had been looking for finally seemed to come in a season-opening victory over Louisiana State.
“We know what we’ve been building,” Riley said that night. “I know we’re making progress.”
By late December, any sign of that progress disappeared, and any confidence in Riley faded along with it, lost during a frustrating season that ended Friday night right where it began. But after a season filled with painful fourth-quarter collapses, the Trojans were able to return, at least for one night, to the form they found that September night, beating Texas A&M. 35-31 at the Las Vegas Bowl.
After the year they had had, with five fourth-quarter leads blown during six losses, the fact that they were able to fight back on Friday to finish 7-6 was enough progress for Riley. Even if his record this season was considered the worst in his career as a head coach.
“There is a toughness that is developing within this program,” Riley said. “We don’t flinch. We’re a pretty battle-tested group. We’ve been through a lot this year. “We’ve been in a lot of big games.”
The Las Vegas Bowl would bear a striking resemblance to its September finale, until the stunning finale, when USC once again battled back from a fourth-quarter deficit to claim a statement-making victory. Although this statement did not sound the same as it did in September.
“I think the mentality has been there all year,” Riley said, “and it was important to finish that way.”
The ending, Riley noted, felt especially “poetic,” considering the journey USC took to get there. It required timely stops by a defense that had a reputation for allowing big plays last season. It would take a heroic showing from a receiver whose playing time was cut in the last month, and a final touchdown from a swan song receiver who spoke openly about his frustration this season.
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But first, it took the USC quarterback to dig himself out of a deep hole first.
While Miller Moss put on a show during the season opener, his replacement, Jayden Maiava, struggled to move USC’s offense early in an error-filled finale. The Trojans’ first three drives advanced just 16 yards total, while Maiava completed just three of his first nine passes.
Worse yet, he threw three stunning interceptions, each of which threatened to derail a Trojan offense that seemed to be hanging by a thread. After the second of those picks, a disheartened Maiava returned to the sideline and apologized to his catchers. They assured him they would ignore it.
“He’s very hard on himself,” Ford said. “That’s why it’s so cool. But sometimes you need a pick-me-up here and there.”
Help came just before questions could be raised about the USC quarterback’s future, when Maiava regained his confidence late in the third quarter, moving the Trojans down the field on a scoring drive…then another… then another. He hit Makai Lemon for two big plays downfield, then found Ja’Kobi Lane for his second and third touchdowns of the night. In quick succession, USC erased a three-point lead behind its quarterback’s right cannon.
Maiava ultimately completed 22 of 39 passes for 295 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions.
“He didn’t play his best there for a while, he missed some things that he normally doesn’t miss,” Riley said of Maiava, “but he held his own. That’s what you have to do. keep fighting.”
The Trojans’ top two receivers also did their part, as Lane caught seven passes for 127 yards and three touchdowns, while Lemon had six receptions for 99 yards. But Ford achieved the biggest moment of all.
Texas A&M had just regained the lead when quarterback Marcel Reed broke through the USC defense and made his way into the end zone on a 19-yard touchdown with less than two minutes left on the clock.
On the next drive, only 27 seconds remained when Maiava backed up on third-and-13 near midfield with USC’s bowl fate on the line. He spotted Lane and fired a dart downfield, finding his best receiver for a 33-yard gain. He then hit Lane again, leaving only 12 ticks on the clock.
Ford knew, as he took his place for the next play, that the next pass was going to come to him.
“I thought, ‘Jayden better throw this damn ball,’” Ford said with a smile.
As he took an inward sloping route, Ford could feel it coming. But as he posted the winning score, all the emotions from his ups and downs as a Trojan came to the surface. Injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament. Frustration with your role. His transfer to UCLA and then his return home to USC. As the crowd roared, Ford fell to his knees, overwhelmed by the moment.
“My journey hasn’t exactly been easy,” he said. “This is just a testament to how hard I worked and persevered. “Everything hit me at once.”
For USC, it was a fitting image to end a season marked by frustration, a high note from which hope for the future could well grow.
“You feel it right now in the locker room,” Riley said. “A confidence that we will be in every fight, that we will not disappear.”
This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.