USC football upsets No. 15 Michigan in King Miller’s crowning performance

LOS ANGELES — Saturday night marked a turning point in the Trojans’ season.

Fans waved yellow towels with “win the era” written in red as walk-on running back King Miller paved the way for the Trojans to earn their most important win of the year. USC beat No. 15 Michigan 31-13, adding to the latest chapter of history between the two storied programs.

Running backs Waymond Jordan and Eli Sanders were both carted off the field at halftime due to apparent injuries, leaving Miller — a walk-on who prepped at Calabasas High School — to take over on the ground.

Miller rushed for 158 yards on 18 carries and stretched the field horizontally as he sprinted around the left side for a 15-yard touchdown with 10:45 to go in the third quarter.

Bryan Jackson, who was originally listed as “out” on the pre-game availability report, entered the game in the fourth quarter and scored a 29-yard touchdown in his first appearance since the Aug. 30 home opener against Missouri State.

Michigan’s offense suffered a major blow when starting running back Justice Haynes, who was the leading rusher in the Big Ten, left the game in the second quarter due to an apparent injury. Jordan Marshall was responsible for rushing duties from that point on.

The Trojans’ defense had a bounce-back game after allowing season-highs in both through the air and on the ground in Illinois. Michigan collected just 316 yards of total offense in the game.

Bishop Fitzgerald was the star of the defense with a sack and two interceptions. He drifted and blitzed to wrap up freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood and was there to cradle the ball when Underwood overthrew a pass late in the third quarter.

His final pick of the game all but closed out the game with 20 seconds remaining.

Ryon Sayeri hit a 54-yard field goal to pull USC ahead 24-7 with 10 minutes remaining in the game. It was his longest field goal of the season and second-longest of his career and in USC history after a 57-yarder in last season’s Las Vegas Bowl.

USC scored a touchdown early in the first quarter and was consistent enough to go into the locker room with a 14-7 halftime lead.

Quarterback Jayden Maiava (25-for-32, 265 yards, two TDs, one INT) guided the offense and reignited chemistry with Ja’Kobi Lane, who had 35 yards on five catches after playing only half the game in Illinois due to an undisclosed injury.

Lane, who was lined up next to leading receiver Makai Lemon, broke free from a defender to grab a 2-yard pass from Maiava in the back of the end zone six minutes into the game and on USC’s first possession.

Lemon had his own touchdown grab with 14 seconds until halftime, beating out Michigan’s Jayden Sanders in a one-on-one battle for a 12-yard catch. It was Lemon’s sixth touchdown reception of the season.

Michigan relied on Haynes’ downhill running style to gain yardage on offense and, on the other side of the ball, was tough in the trenches to slow the Trojans’ efforts to set up blocks.

The hard-running, tempo offense proved effective enough to earn the Wolverines their first touchdown of the game with 3:09 left in the second quarter. Haynes and fellow running back Jordan Marshall worked to shove the ball down the throat of USC’s defensive front until Michigan reached the 7-yard line.

Underwood finished the job by completing an 8-yard pass to Donoven McCulley, who took off on a crossing route and created enough space to haul in the pass.

Underwood’s longest pass of the game was a 69-yard touchdown strike to Andrew Marsh at the 9:17 mark of the fourth quarter.