By Tim Peterson
(Los Angeles) – USC jumped out to a 42-10 halftime lead and rolled to a 73-13 rout of Missouri State Saturday at the LA Memorial Coliseum to open the 2025 season. The Trojans piled up nearly 600 total yards in an offensive explosion.
USC used two quarterbacks in the contest as Jaden Maiava and Husan Longstreet saw action. Maiava started and played the first half before being relieved by Longstreet in the second half. Both quarterbacks had big nights.
Missouri State actually got on the board first scoring in on its initial possession on a 44-yard field goal by Yousef Obeid. The Trojans then gave a sign of things to come as they responded with a 7-play, 65-yard drive capped by a five-yard touchdown run by Waymond Jordan for a 7-3 lead.
On the next series USC went 75 yards on 10 plays. This time it was Bryan Jackson with a three-yard scoring run up the gut for a 14-3 advantage with 28 seconds left in the first quarter.
USC needed only one play on the following series. Maiava hit Lake McRee over the middle and he did the rest, breaking a tackle and rumbling 64 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter.
A minute and 20 seconds later the defense joined the party as Bishop Fitzgerald intercepted Missouri State quarterback Jacob Clark and went 39 yards for a touchdown. The pick six made it 28-3.
But on the following series Clark found a wide-open Tristan Gardner for a 33-yard touchdown on what appeared to be a blown coverage. The Bears cut the lead to 28-10 with 7:58 left in the second quarter.
USC again answered with an 8-play, 76-yard march. Maiava did it himself with a three-yard touchdown run with 3:35 left in the first half.
After the Trojans forced another Bears punt, Eli Sanders took a screen pass, hit the seam and raced 73 yards for a touchdown with just 25 seconds left in the first half. USC took the 42-10 lead into the break.
Longstreet then took over and got his opportunity as he started the third quarter and led the Trojans on a 74-yard touchdown drive. He finished it with a five-yard run.
After recovering a Longstreet fumble Obeid booted a 46-yard field goal for Missouri State with 5:42 left in the third quarter.
On the next play from scrimmage King Miller (cool name) busted off a 75-yard touchdown run as the Trojans passed the 50 mark at 56-13. But wait, there was more.
Longstreet, running the show like a seasoned veteran, led the Trojans down into Missouri State territory and then got loose again for a 17-yard touchdown run with 13:30 left as USC surpassed 60 upping the advantage to 63-13.
After another Missouri State turnover Ryon Sayeri kicked a 32-yard field goal with 10:51 left.
Then the seventies showed up. With 4:46 left Longstreet threw a 9-yard bullet over the middle to Carson Tabaracci and bam! it was 73-13. It was the most points scored by USC in a single game since 1930.
Maiava finished 15 of 18 for 295 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for a score. Longstreet, the freshman from Corona Centennial, completed 9 of 9 passes for 69 yards and a score and also ran for 54 yards and 8 carries with a pair of touchdowns.
Miller ran for 80 yards and a touchdown on just four carries and Jordan, who had the first touchdown of the night, had 5 carries for 42 yards. Makai Lemon was the receiving leader with 7 catches for 90 yards.
For Missouri State it was a long night as the Bears could only muster 65 yards rushing. Clark threw for 147 yards and a touchdown but was hurt by two interceptions.
The Trojans will try to improve to 2-0 next week when they welcome former head coach Clay Helton and Georgia Southern to the Coliseum. Kickoff is set for 4:30 PM.
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@Anonymous . Point taken, but I’m talking more about the overall direction of the program , rather than this specific cupcake . There’s no Penn State or Ohio Stare on the schedule, Michigan is home game . Nobody has been scared of Nebraska for 20 years .
The other difference I see is that SEC teams are derided for these games ( typically scheduled right before rivalry game ) whereas the tone of the article here was laudatory .
If you’re happy , I’m happy . What is your over / under for wins on the year ?
I agree with Tim, the entire SEC has been scheduling cupcakes for decades, USC does it and it’s the end of the world. USC never said they didn’t want to play ND, USC made an offer to play to open the season yearly and Notre Dame prefers to have USC go into ND in mid October when it’s in the 40s. What’s favorable about the big10 schedule? Any schedule where you have to play Michigan, at Nebraska, at Oregon and then close out the season vs Notre Dame is not easy.
I’m not a Trojan fan , but many of my friends are . To those whom much is given , much is expected .
He wants to play Missouri State , but he waivers on playing Notre Dame . He has the best QB in the land , and lost a bowl game to Tulane . They have a favorable Big 10 schedule already ,
All this big wiin says is soft , more promotion/ recruiting less player development. More stat padding less scheming .
The high school equivalent is Nogales thumping Lake Mead Christian Academy .
Let’s see if it has any portent of future success , I just think Trojan fans were hoping for and expecting a different transformation.
I just think Trojan fans
From T. Peterson: Playing a “cupcake” is commonplace in college football. It happens literally every year. Ole Miss played Georgia State Saturday, Iowa State played South Dakota and Texas Tech lined up against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. You remember Appalachian State beating Michigan one year right? The teams like Missouri State actually like it because they get a nice payout. Last year was a little different as USC opened against LSU and won but most teams open with a lesser opponent. It’s business as usual in college football. Says nothing about the head coach.
@final score . This lopsided win vs nobody proves zero except all you need to know about Coach Riley
From T. Peterson: What about him?
73-13…a wipeout if ever there was one. Make no mistake, the Trojans are going to do very well this year, and it’s all because they decided to hire a football manager (Chad Bowden). This is the guy who lured the better talent on this year’s roster by way of delivering MONEY, as in the NIL thing. With this new money strategy in place, Troy is playing ball the way it has to be done these days.