SAN ANTONIO — The USC football team fell short of a 10-win season, losing to TCU, 30-27, in the Alamo Bowl on Tuesday night at the Alamodome.
Ryon Sayeri kicked a 22-yard field goal in overtime, but it wasn’t enough to seal the win for the Trojans (9-4), who saw their defense fade down the stretch. TCU quarterback Ken Seals threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Payne, who did most of the work with his tightrope sprint down the sideline to secure the win.
“Give the guy credit from TCU,” USC head coach Lincoln Riley told reporters after the game. “He made a hell of a run, but it was one of the many times this year that we missed multiple tackles on a play. It just happened at the worst possible time. We really had a great call and forced them to check down. We did everything right defensively to put him in that position, and we just didn’t finish the play.”
USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn did not coach in the game due to his reported new position with Penn State. Co-defensive coordinator Eric Henderson called the plays on defense, and the Trojans gave up 258 passing yards and 117 rushing yards while missing their share of tackles.
Riley declined to comment in the postgame press conference on why Lynn did not coach.
“‘Henny’ did a great job and the staff rallied around him,” Riley said. “It was a lot of energy with the guys.”
Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava completed 18 of 30 passes for 280 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. Tanook Hines had a season-high 163 receiving yards on six catches and King Miller rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown.
Seals, who was named the Offensive Player of the Game, finished 29-of-40 passing for 258 yards and a touchdown with one interception for the Horned Frogs (9-4).
USC grabbed the lead in style with 49 seconds left in the third quarter when Jaden Richardson reached for a one-handed touchdown grab while keeping his left foot in bounds to secure the go-ahead score.
It was Richardson’s first career touchdown at USC.
“J. Rich is just one of those guys you can’t have enough of,” Rileys said. “He’s all about the team, all about the Trojans, all about what he can do to help. And I think for him to make that big a play in a critical moment was an awesome moment for him and a good message to everybody on our roster to keep plugging away.”
Maiava held his hands in disbelief at the catch that he saw, then lined up to release a quick pass to tight end Taniela Tupou for a 2-point conversion and a 21-14 lead.
The Trojans extended their lead to 10 points on a 41-yard field goal by Ryon Sayeri with 9:37 left in the fourth, but they couldn’t protect the lead. Sayeri’s third field goal of the game and 20th of the season set a program record for single-season field goals.
TCU pulled within 24-21 on an 8-yard touchdown run by Payne with 4:24 left, then forced overtime with a 27-yard field goal by Kyle Lemmerman as time expired in regulation.
Sayeri got USC on the board with a 40-yard field goal at the 7:06 mark for the only points of the first quarter. TCU stalled the offense even more when safety Jamel Johnson picked off Jayden Maiava near the end of the frame, which marked the otherwise-efficient quarterback’s fifth interception of the season.
“I’m proud of the progress that he’s made, but we know in that room what the standards are both for us as a staff and at this school,” Riley said. “We’re going to continue to strive to get there with all the guys in the room.”
Trojan running back Waymond Jordan was listed as “questionable” on the pregame availability report but did not play, leaving King Miller to again shoulder the load in the running game.
Miller broke a tackle at the 1-yard line to score USC’s first touchdown of the game early in the second quarter.
The Horned Frogs tapped into their own running game to score on their next possession. Major Everhart gained 11 yards on a jet sweep from the 12-yard line, and Seals scored from 1 yard out on a quarterback keeper up the middle for a 14-10 lead.
Seals was starting in his first game for TCU and is completing his final year of college football eligibility. Former Horned Frogs quarterback Josh Hoover is entering the transfer portal, which created an opportunity for Seals.
USC still used 12 personnel despite losing Walker Lyons to the transfer portal and Lake McRee to the NFL draft. Carson Tabaracci and Taniela Tupou each played in the game at tight end.
Maiava appeared to be feeling the absence of star receivers Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane, both of whom declared for the draft and opted out of the bowl game. Both players were on the USC sideline, however, to support their teammates.
The contested catches that they were able to make all season were notably missing for the Trojans, resulting in multiple long passes that fell incomplete. Maiava tried to connect with Richardson from roughly 15 yards out late in the first half, but the senior receiver was unable to finish the job.
USC settled for a 28-yard field goal by Sayeri to close out the first half trailing 14-13.
With the season coming to an end, the Trojans will now focus on finding a new defensive coordinator and pulling talent from the transfer portal, which opens on Friday.
“There’s a real sense of purpose in that locker room right now,” Riley said. “And we’ll be excited to get back to work.”