Just three games remain on the No. 17 USC football team’s schedule. Three more opportunities to prove it belongs in the College Football Playoff.
It would be the first time the Trojans made the cut for the CFP. Finishing strong in the second half and in the red zone has gotten them to a 7-2 record – and now they have the opportunity to show they can finish the season strong.
“It’s super fun,” defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn told reporters. “I mean, it’s like the NFL at this point. It’s like every single game is either gonna keep you in it or knock you out. You work all offseason so at this time of the year every single game is meaningful.”
USC will host Iowa on what’s expected to be a rainy Saturday afternoon. Even though the Hawkeyes are virtually eliminated from playoff contention, they’ll bring a tried-and-true run game and defense that will force the Trojans to finish when it counts.
“(Finishing) was something we knew we had to do a better job of just as a program,” head coach Lincoln Riley told reporters on a Friday Zoom call. “Not really even any one side of the ball, but just as a program. And I think our guys have embraced that.”
USC has given up just three points in the second half in each of its two most recent games: Nebraska scored a fourth-quarter field goal and Northwestern hit a field goal in the third quarter.
Meanwhile in those second halves, the Trojans’ offense put up 15 points against the Cornhuskers and 17 points against Northwestern.
The red-zone offense has also been efficient all season, scoring in 42 out of 45 red-zone situations. Kicker Ryon Sayeri’s ability to make field goals (14 of 15) has helped with that. And USC continues to be aggressive on fourth downs as well, having converted on 12 out of 17 attempts.
The Trojans will put that offensive ability to the test against an Iowa defense that is allowing just 250.2 yards per game.
USC’s success in finishing can be attributed partly to the depth that’s been created on the team, especially on the offensive line under position coach Zach Hanson. Riley also said he has a deep belief in how strength and conditioning coach Trumain Carroll is training the team for the long haul.
“It’s a thing where you do it a few times, you start to gain some confidence,” Riley said.
“And confidence that maybe even if you don’t play a perfect or even good first half or any part of the game that we’re always in it and that we always have an opportunity to make a run and that we’re capable. That we are going to do it in those moments. And I think this team has that confidence right now.”
When Iowa has the ball
The Hawkeyes run a pro-style offense, and offensive coordinator Tim Lester took it to another level when he implemented the Shanahan offenses that are used in the NFL. It’s still a relatively simple offense at its core, and it prioritizes the run game.
And so far, it’s working. Iowa has the sixth-best rushing offense in the Big Ten and is running for 175.9 yards per game. Its 349 rushing attempts are the third highest in the conference and quarterback Mark Gronowski has rushed for 12 touchdowns, which ranks fourth among FBS quarterbacks.
“An offense like this, they’re OK with going first, second, and third down all the way down the field,” Lynn told reporters. “It’s going to keep our offense off the field, and it’s gonna wear us down. So, from our standpoint, you’ve got to get TFLs, and you need to do something to get them behind the chains. You can’t just live in the third-and-short range all game.”
Four USC defensive players have six tackles for loss or more, and Kameryn Crawford leads the group with eight for a loss of 27 yards. Twelve players have at least one sack this season.
The Trojans’ run defense has been inconsistent this season and one of the weakest parts of the team overall. It ranks 60th in the FBS after allowing 1,275 rushing yards (141.7 avg.) in nine games.
When USC has the ball
USC has shown an explosive offense throughout the season, using the improved decision-making abilities of quarterback Jayden Maiava and the athleticism of receivers Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane.
Saturday’s game will be a chance for the Trojans to show the full spectrum of their offense against an Iowa defense that has allowed only four passing touchdowns all season.
Running back King Miller is a semifinalist for the Burlsworth Trophy, which honors college football’s best walk-on, after collecting a team-leading 644 yards on the ground. Bryan Jackson has provided support in the run game, and Maiava can be expected to advance the run game with designed RPOs and bootlegs.
The amount of rain that falls on Los Angeles on Saturday could also affect how much the ball is thrown. Iowa is set to play in its second straight rain game and USC played a wet game at Notre Dame on Oct. 18.
The coaching staff simulates wet conditions and players decide whether they want to use gloves. But Riley says only a significant drenching would influence the play-calling.
“The second half of the Notre Dame game was pretty significant to where it really started to affect even what we were calling,” Riley told reporters. “It’s got to get pretty bad to be that way. The majority of these offensive guys again, unless it’s just a complete downpour, we feel like we can function very close to normally.”
Iowa (6-3 overall, 4-2 Big Ten) at No. 17 USC (7-2, 5-1)
When: 12:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
TV/radio: Big Ten Network/ESPN LA 710