They have been battered, they have been bruised, they have been soaking moist and coated in stereotypes.
They’re not powerful sufficient. They’re not resilient sufficient. They’re not Massive Ten-enough.
Late within the second quarter Saturday afternoon on the Coliseum, a USC soccer workforce preventing for a playoff berth was being smothered by the worst of its nationwide perceptions.
It was wilting below the climate and the burden of a workforce from Iowa.
Then, with large swings from the kind of deep resistance that few thought a Lincoln Riley workforce possessed, every little thing modified.
It’s raining wins, hallelujah.
Trailing 21-7, the Trojans obtained muddy and mad and simply plain Midwestern, profitable the road of scrimmage, profitable the battle of talent, and finally profitable the sport 26-21.
Yeah, afterward, that was Riley dancing in a downpour.
“A tradition win proper there, man,” mentioned Riley afterward. “If there ever was one, that was a tradition win. Our workforce’s resilience, their response at halftime … we simply hold coming, we’ve got all 12 months.”
And, sure, USC remains to be within the nationwide championship hunt, needing wins in its closing two video games at Oregon and in opposition to UCLA to qualify for the Faculty Soccer Playoff.
“It’s win or go dwelling … ain’t no go dwelling,” mentioned linebacker Eric Gentry. “The entire workforce understands what the tradition is … battle until the final second.”
Few will consider they will beat seventh-ranked and one-loss Oregon in Eugene. However then once more, few believed they’d survive Iowa after the Hawkeyes took that large second-quarter lead.
Over the last 10 years, Iowa had an 83-5 file when main by eight factors or extra. Translated, this can be a program that is aware of how one can defend a lead, and the Trojans have been seemingly cooked.
However Riley mentioned he noticed one thing of their eyes. And after halftime, Iowa noticed the identical factor.
“We simply obtained on a run there … felt like we have been going to cease them each time … felt like we have been going to attain each time,” Riley mentioned.
USC coach Lincoln Riley celebrates with huge receiver Prince Strachan through the second half of a 26-21 comeback win over Iowa on the Coliseum on Saturday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Instances)
In overcoming their largest deficit of the season, that’s darn close to what occurred.
They scored 19 unanswered factors. They scored on 5 consecutive drives.
“Everybody simply believing in ourselves,” Gentry mentioned.
Makai Lemon made 153 yards price of spectacular catches, King Miller ran for 83 bruising clock-killing yards, Jahkeem Stewart made a game-changing interception, Jayden Maiava held it along with a landing move and no turnovers, and the sport primarily appropriately ended with USC simply displaying extra muscle.
On a fourth-down move within the closing minute, Kennedy Urlacher shoved Kaden Wetjen out of bounds as he was making a seize deep in Trojan territory.
No catch, sport over, and ultimately, the Trojans have been as hearty as that part of followers that weathered the storm shirtless.
“Our college students have introduced all of it 12 months, there’s been fixed power over there all 12 months, our workforce feels it, they do,” Riley mentioned.
The Trojans can be determined underdogs subsequent weekend, however wager on Oregon at your personal peril. This can be a USC workforce that has the nation’s finest receivers, an rising quarterback, and for the third consecutive week they’ve held their opponents to 3 factors or fewer within the second half.
“Folks simply attempt to say stuff about us coming to the Massive Ten and questioning how we’re going to be,” Gentry mentioned. “This workforce is … setting the usual for the Massive Ten … coming in and profitable large video games each week.”
USC defensive deal with Jide Abasiri holds up the ball whereas celebrating with cornerback Decarlos Nicholson through the second half of the Trojans’ win Saturday over Iowa.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Instances)
The afternoon began with groundskeepers drying the sphere with leaf blowers and followers carrying umbrella hats, the primary wet sport on the Coliseum in 9 years.
However for USC below Riley, it started like several variety of his previous workforce’s late-autumn failures.
Blew 5 fourth-quarter leads final season. Blew 4 of their final 5 video games two seasons in the past. Blew the Pac-12 championship sport and a shot on the playoffs three seasons in the past.
Frankly, it appeared like they have been going to blow it once more.
Iowa took the opening kickoff and drove 69 yards in seven performs in a bruising drive punctuated by a fourth-down, two-yard landing move to Mark Gronowski to Dayton Howard at the back of the tip zone.
Sure, the FBS’s 133rd-ranked passing offense — out of 136 groups — had simply scored on a move play.
And Iowa was simply getting began, finally taking a 21-7 lead late within the second quarter. However, it seems, that was the final time the Hawkeyes have been in a position to breathe.
After a few Ryon Sayeri area objectives closed the hole, the USC comeback went into full swing when one other leaping seize by Lemon — this one for 35 yards — arrange a 12-yard landing move between three defenders to Lemon. Maiava overthrew Lemon on the two-point conversion try, however the Trojans weren’t performed but.
On Iowa’s subsequent possession, with 1:52 left within the third interval, Stewart grabbed a deflected move for an interception to provide the Trojans the ball on the Iowa 40-yard line.
From there, Maiava drove them 40 yards in six performs on a drive that was assisted by a move interference penalty and gave them an eventual 26-21 lead after Bryan Jackson’s one-yard landing run.
“The entire workforce was prepared to put it on the road at this time,” Riley mentioned. “We had guys laying it on the road far and wide … if you’ve obtained an entire workforce doing it, you’ve obtained one thing fairly cool.”
Fairly moist, fairly nasty and, certainly, fairly cool.
