Swanson: USC football finally gets its signature Big Ten-era win

LOS ANGELES — This was the one USC was missing. The one that kept getting away.

The win to write home about. To pound chest pads about. The one that USC coach Lincoln Riley could put his John Hancock on – a signature win in the Big Ten era, finally, officially.

USC, unranked at game time, dominated a fellow blue blood, beating Michigan for the first time since the 2007 Rose Bowl, 31-13, before a full and mighty Coliseum crowd on a fine Saturday night in L.A.

So crucial was this victory to the Trojans’ hopes and dreams four seasons into Riley’s oft-turbulent USC tenure, even he had to admit it: “Our players, our future players, L.A., just everyone liked to see that,” he said. “And it was an important step. I’ll definitely concede that.”

It’s not just that they got the victory, it’s how the Trojans got it.

Adversity, handled.

Defense, redeemed.

Momentum, lost but found again.

A highly regarded opponent, humbled, running away.

The Coliseum, crowded and crowing, 75,500 people turning up the volume louder than it’s been in a good minute at the historic venue. “An epic atmosphere,” Riley called it.

All the ingredients needed for a big win by a team that, at 5-1, wants to contend for a say in the forthcoming College Football Playoff.

That fashions itself as a relevant program nationally.

That couldn’t possibly abide by UCLA across town toting around one of those hard-to-get Big Ten signature wins – last seek’s surprise upset of then No. 7 Penn State – without USC having one itself.

Mission, accomplished.

So much went right for the Trojans on Saturday; everything that went wrong didn’t matter much.

USC was missing two starting offensive linemen – and still out Big Ten’d the Wolverines (4-2) with 224 rushing yards, never mind the nation’s No. 7-ranked run defense trying to stop them.

The Trojans lost their star running backs, Waymond Jordan and Eli Sanders for at least the game in the first half and didn’t skip a beat, with King Miller, a freshman walk-on from Calabasas, sprinting for 158 yards and a touchdown and backup tailback Bryan Jackson, ruled out before kickoff, suiting up after because USC got permission from the Big Ten office to activate him … so that he could come on and dart in for a dagger-plunging 29-yard score with 4:21 left.

USC let Michigan wrestle momentum from them when the Wolverines tied the game 7-7 with 3:09 to play in the first half – but then the Trojans immediately yanked it back before halftime on junior Makai Lemon’s latest magic trick, a 12-yard TD catch with a defensive back lying up on his chest, scratching and clawing like a cat.

And the Trojans’ defense that came in licking its wounds after allowing 502 yards in a last-gasp loss at Illinois two weeks ago? Those guys stymied the Wolverines, limiting them to only 316 total yards and only two third-down completions in nine attempts. Senior safety Bishop Fitzgerald’s two interceptions helped hold Michigan at bay – USC was playing chess Saturday, using its King and Bishop to checkmate an outmatched Michigan squad, and make a serious statement in the process.

This USC team is actually capable of slamming the door on a high-caliber opponent. A squad that will will itself to withstand bad breaks. That can find a way to not shoot itself in the proverbial foot (only three penalties for 31 yards Saturday!).

“Awesome, awesome win,” Riley said. “Tough, tough response by our football team. Really, we were looking forward to this game. I thought we attacked it, dominated the football game on all sides. It was just really an awesome performance, a gritty, tough performance.

“They were not going to come out here with anything less than a win… we’re a tough [as heck] physical program.”

It’s a good thing to learn about your team halfway through the season, with No. 16 Notre Dame waiting to host next. It’s a win to build on, a must-have if the Trojans are going to earn must-win opportunities later in the season.