Game Breakdown: USC comes alive in second half to take down Wisconsin

You would have thought USC was well in control of the game had you looked at several stats early in the Trojans' matchup against Wisconsin on Saturday.

USC held the ball for nearly 13 minutes more than the Badgers at one point late in second quarter and had outgained Wisconsin in that same stretch, but the Coliseum scoreboard reflected a different story.

Error after error piled up leaving the Trojans down 21-10 at halftime, and it looked like it was bound to be a long afternoon for the home team.

Miscues and mishaps marred the first half for Lincoln Riley's squad, but the Trojans completely turned things around over the final two quarters en route to a 38-21 victory over the visiting Badgers.

"After the way that last week finished and to come back, we had a lot of new guys in new positions all over the place," Riley said. "A lot of guys really stepped up on this football team. To have the first half go the way it did, and then to come back and play that well just says a lot about the character of the guys in this room.

"They're gonna battle, and they're not going anywhere. We don't panic, and that's a good quality to have because when you have the schedule that we play, you're gonna have some ups and downs. You've gotta be incredibly resilient, and so far we have been that."

The turn in the game followed a fourth-down stop for the Trojans' defense, which didn't allow Wisconsin to score in the second half. Kamari Ramsey stopped a rushing attempt for Badgers running back Tawee Walker on fourth-and-short (after an official review ruled that Wisconsin didn't reach the marker on the previous play) sparking another momentum swing for the Trojans.

"It's fourth-and-short, so it's gonna be physical ball," Ramsey said of the play. "We gotta nut up and make the play. It was fourth-and-1, so you gotta come and be physical."

*** Click here to find all the postgame reaction after USC's 38-21 win ***

With the Trojans down 21-17, the ensuing drive featured plenty of Duce Robinson. The sophomore wide receiver pulled in a 32-yard pass on a brilliant play on third-and-7 setting up USC at the 11-yard line. After a 3-yard rush for Woody Marks followed by an incompletion, quarterback Miller Moss found Robinson in the end zone on a contested play for an 8-yard score to give USC the lead with 1:28 to play in the third quarter.

The Trojans (3-1, 1-1 Big Ten) would never relinquish the advantage the rest of the day.

"Just a really, really good speech," Riley joked about what changed at halftime for the Trojans. "... I think we came in knowing that we just simply beat ourselves in a lot of ways. Wisconsin made some good plays, I'm not saying that, but we gave up explosive plays, we didn't stop the run in the first half.

"We moved the ball pretty well offensively, but obviously had the two turnovers in plus territory then we had the big special teams play that got them momentum. So, we just really didn't do anything very well, but I think we felt like a lot of it was under our control."

After the touchdown for Robinson, the Trojans tacked on two more scores to close out the contest. The first came on a dazzling running play from Moss, who juked out a Wisconsin defender on his way to the end zone to complete the 7-yard rushing score. A 21-yard strike to Kyron Hudson and a 13-yard pass to Woody Marks highlighted the drive for USC that helped push the lead to 31-21.

"On that play, it felt like they were crashing pretty hard in those situations," Moss said. "Sometimes guys are more aggressive than they are in regular playing situations, so I felt the guy crash and thought I could get one and it ended up being a little bit more."

D'Anton Lynn's defense shined for most of the day Saturday, and the dominant performance was capped by a pick-6 for linebacker Mason Cobb in the fourth quarter. The USC linebacker hauled in a pass that went off the hands of Wisconsin receiver Trech Kekahuna and was deflected by Trojans' cornerback Jacobe Covington.

Cobb then returned the interception 55 yards in a highlight moment for the USC defense with 5:10 to play.

USC began its climb back into the game on its second drive of the third quarter thanks to a botched punt return by Wisconsin defensive back Preston Zachman.

The mishap allowed the Trojans to have a fresh set of downs from the Badgers' 30-yard line, and USC took full advantage of the short field.

A 15-yard gain on a pass from Moss to Ja'Kobi Lane on third-and-15 put the Trojans in position to score, and they cut into the deficit on a 6-yard touchdown to Lane with 9:18 to go in the third quarter.

The first half was anything but pretty for the Trojans.

The first key moment came early in the second quarter when explosive and often reliable USC return man Zachariah Branch muffed a punt that allowed the Badgers (2-2, 0-1) to continue their drive at the Trojans' 18-yard line.

Walker ran it in from 18 yards out one play later to put Wisconsin ahead 14-7 putting the crowd at the Coliseum on edge.

In all, the Trojans finished with a pair of turnovers that came as part of a sloppy performance for USC in its home Big Ten opener.

Moss was responsible for both of them in the first half beginning with an interception late in the first quarter on a pass down the sideline as he looked for Branch. Zachman made a play on the ball and hauled in the pass eventually leading to the drive that allowed Wisconsin to take its first-half lead.

The second giveaway for the Trojans didn't lead to points for Wisconsin, but it did impact a scoring opportunity for USC. On second-and-8 at the Badgers' 22-yard line, Wisconsin blitzed safety Austin Brown and he reached Moss nearly untouched forcing a strip sack of the USC quarterback to give his offense the ball back.

About the only thing that went right for USC early was the play of Lane. The sophomore started off hot with a 32-yard touchdown catch on a brilliant play in the corner of the end zone to put the Trojans on top 7-0 after the opening drive.

Lane led the way for the USC offense with 105 yards receiving on 10 catches to go with his two touchdowns. Moss accounted for four total touchdowns including three through the air in addition to his rushing score.

The Trojans' quarterback passed for 308 yards after connecting on 30 of his 45 pass attempts as he bounced back in the second half following his interception and fumble.

USC closed out the win with 469 total yards.

Defensively, the Trojans were dominant and only allowed Wisconsin to gain 285 yards on the day. Lynn's group forced the Badgers to punt six times, including three three-and-outs, in Saturday's contest plus an interception and two turnovers on downs.

"I think it's a luxury offensively," Moss said. "We have to do everything we can, offensively, to make it easier on them, and we certainly put them in some tough spots. We gotta be better, but I have every faith in coach Lynn, Kamari and those guys. They play a really tough brand of football, and I think they really embody what we want to be about."

Ramsey, who had the fourth-down stop that ultimately swung momentum fully back to USC, finished with 4 tackles and 2 tackles for loss.

Passing

Miller Moss – 30/45, 308 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception

Rushing

Woody Marks – 19 rushes, 63 yards

Quinten Joyner – 6 rushes, 49 yards

Miller Moss – 5 rushes, 17 yards, 1 touchdown

Zachariah Branch – 1 rush, 15 yards

Bryan Jackson – 4 rushes, 12 yards

Jayden Maiava – 1 rush, 7 yards

Receiving

Ja'Kobi Lane – 10 catches, 105 yards, 2 touchdowns

Zachariah Branch – 4 catches, 44 yards

Kyron Hudson – 4 catches, 42 yards

Duce Robinson – 2 catches, 40 yards, 1 touchdown

Kyle Ford – 2 catches, 24 yards

Walker Lyons – 2 catches, 12 yards

Quinten Joyner – 1 catch, 10 yards

Kade Eldridge – 1 catch, 2 yards