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USC Trojans Collapse in the Second Half; Fall to Maryland Terrapins 29-28

The USC Trojans (3-3, 1-3 Big Ten) make the cross-country trip to College Park to take on the Maryland Terrapins (3-3, 0-3). It is the furthest road trip of the season for the Trojans. Saturdays matchup marks the first meeting between these two programs.

Kendell Hollowell

Oct 19, 2024; College Park, Maryland, USA; Southern California Trojans wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane (8) catches one handed pass for a touchdown as Maryland Terrapins defensive back Perry Fisher (20) defends during the first half at SECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
Oct 19, 2024; College Park, Maryland, USA; Southern California Trojans wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane (8) catches one handed pass for a touchdown as Maryland Terrapins defensive back Perry Fisher (20) defends during the first half at SECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
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The USC Trojans fall 29-28 on the road against the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday, Oct. 19. USC now drops to 3-4 on the season, with four losses are by a combined 14 points.

For the second consecutive week the Trojans held a 14-point lead at halftime. A blocked field goal with under two minutes remaining gave the football back Maryland trailing by six points. The Terrapins preceded to orchestrate a quick five-play, 47-yard drive that was capped off by a Billy Edwards Jr. three-yard touchdown run that proved to be the game-winner with 53 seconds remaining in regulation to give Maryland the one-point lead.

It is the fifth time Lincoln Riley has blown a 14-point lead in his three seasons at USC.

Miller Moss and Quinten Joyner
Oct 5, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; USC Trojans quarterback Miller Moss (7) and running back Quinten Joyner (0) take the field before the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Below are the score updates of the matchup between USC and Maryland.

Fourth Quarter

0:00 - Billy Edwards Jr. takes a knee. Maryland wins 29-28.

0:09 - Miller Moss pass to Woody Marks on fourth down is incomplete. Turnover on downs.

0:12 - Timeout USC. The Trojans call a timeout before facing a fourth-and-two.

0:18 - Timeout Maryland. The Terrapins use their second timeout of the half.

0:50 - Miller Moss pass completes to Ja'Kobi Lane for 13 yards.

0:53 - TOUCHDOWN Maryland. Billy Armstrong Jr. takes it in for a 3-yard touchdown. Maryland takes the lead 29-28.

1:49 - Blocked field goal. Michael Lantz 41-yard field goal attempt is BLOCKED. Maryland takes over on the USC 47-yard line.

2:00 - Two-minute timeout. Miller Moss completes to Makai Lemon for seven yards. USC is putting together a three-play drive.

2:56 - Maryland turnover on downs. Kamari Ramsey sacks Billy Edwards on fourth down. USC takes over on the Maryland 33-yard line.

6:47 - Miller Moss got drilled on a pass attempt to Kyron Hudson on third down and was injured on the play. USC would be forced to punt. Maryland takes over on their own three-yard line.

7:07 - Injury timeout. Offensive tackle Mason Murphy injured on the play.

8:28 - Miller Moss connects with Duce Robinson for 11 yards on third-and-10 to move the chains.

10:02 - Touchdown Maryland. Roman Hemby breaks a couple of tackles at the line of scrimmage and takes it for a 10-yard touchdown. Maryland would convert the 2-point conversion. USC leads 28-22.

10:26 - Injury timeout. Billy Edwards Jr. completes to Roman Hemby who breaks a tackle from Kamari Ramsey and picks up 14 yards to move the chains on fourth-and-five. Greedy Vance was injured on the play.

11:20 - Nolan Ray run for 10 yards on fourth-and-one to move the chains for Maryland.

13:31 - Miller Moss connects with Duce Robinson, who powers through three defenders for the 26-yard touchdown. Caps off a 10-play, 80-yard drive. USC leads 28-14.

Third Quarter

0:00 - Miller Moss pass completes to Makai Lemon for 8 yards to close out the third quarter. USC leads 21-14.

1:10 - Miler Moss finds Lake McRee over the middle for 12 yards on third-and-six to move the chains.

2:51 - Interception. Following the timeout, Maryland goes for it on fourth-and-three. Billy Edwards Jr's pass into the end zone is intercepted by Jaylin Smith.

2:57 - Timeout USC. The Trojans burn their first timeout of the second half before Maryland faces a fourth-and-three.

5:00 - Maryland running back Nolan Ray runs for 33 yards. Sets the Terrapins up in the red zone.

6:52 - After a false start penalty and a four-yard loss on second down, the Trojans fell behind the chains and went three-and-out. USC was forced to punt. Maryland will take over on their own 34-yard line.

8:32 - Touchdown Maryland - Billy Edwards Jr. connects with Tai Felton who gets some help from his offensive line to get into the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown. Caps off a 1-play 18-yard drive. USC leads 21-14.

8:39 - Interception. Miller Moss is intercepted by Lavain Scruggs, who returns it 51 yards. Maryland takes over on the USC 18-yard line.

11:47 - Maryland turnover on downs. After driving into USC territory, Maryland was stopped short on fourth-an-two. The Trojans will take over.

Second Quarter

0:01 - Timeout USC. The Trojans take a knee following the timeout. USC leads 21-7 at the half.

0:05 - FUMBLE. The snap goes over the head of Billy Edwards Jr. and USC defensive end Solomon Tuliaupupu recovers. USC takes over at their own 40-yard line.

0:21 - TOUCHDOWN USC. Woody Marks powers his way into the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown to cap off a 4-play, 41-yard drive. USC leads 21-7.

0:26 - Timeout. USC burns their second timeout of the half.

0:49 - Miller Moss connects with Makai Lemon for 24 yards.

1:09 - USC forces Maryland to go three-and-out. Zachariah Branch returns the punt 22 yards and an illegal hand to the face penalty on the Terrapins tacks on an additional 15 yards. USC takes over on the Maryland 39-yard line.

1:29 - Timeout. USC burns their first timeout of the half. Maryland is working on a 2-play drive before facing a third-and-12.

1:40 - Following a six-yard loss that put them behind the chains, USC was forced to punt. Maryland receiver Tai Felton returns the punt 17 yards, and the Terrapins will take over on their own 27-yard line.

2:00 - Timeout. Maryland burns their 3rd and final timeout of the half.

2:00 - Two-minute timeout. USC is working on a 3-play drive.

3:03 - Field goal attempt. Jack Howes 52-yard field goal is NO GOOD, falls wide right. USC will take over on their own 49-yard line.

3:09 - Timeout. Maryland burns their second timeout of the half before a fourth-and-11.

6:33 - Maryland converts on fourth-and-one with a Billy Edwards quarterback sneak.

6:43 - Timeout. Maryland burns their 1st timeout of the half before a fourth-and-one.

8:08 - TOUCHDOWN USC. Ja'Kobi Lanes makes an incredible one-handed catch for a 15-yard touchdown. Caps off a 7-play, 75-yard drive. USC leads 14-7.

10:58 - Miller Moss throws a beautiful pass to Zachariah Branch for a 23-yard completion.

11:07 - TOUCHDOWN Maryland. Billy Edwards Jr. connects with Octavian Smith for a 16-yard touchdown, caps off an 8-play, 75-yard drive. Game is tied 7-7.

14:47 - Injury Timeout. USC cornerback Greedy Vance is injured. Maryland is working on a 1-play drive.

First Quarter

0:00 - TOUCHDOWN USC. Miller Moss connects with Kyron Hudson for a 22-yard touchdown. Caps off an 8-play, 79-yard drive USC takes a 7-0 lead.

0:40 - Field goal attempt. Michael Lantz 52-yard field falls is wide left, but Maryland is called for an illegal substitution. They would go for it on fourth-and-two and convert.

2:41 - Miller Moss completes to Makai Lemon for 17 yards and Ja'Kobi Lane for 18 yards on back-to-back plays.

3:25 - Maryland will punt after picking up 11 yards in four plays. USC will take over on their own 21-yard line.

5:43 - USC will punt after picking up 22 yards in six plays. Miller Moss and Duce Robinson could not connect on third down. Maryland will take over on their own 17-yard line.

9:39 - Maryland will punt after picking up 23 yards in five plays. USC will take over on their own 11-yard line.

12:09 - USC will punt after picking up on 24 yards in seven plays. Maryland will take over on their own 7-yard line

14:23 - Injury timeout. Emmanuel Pregnon injured. The Trojans are working on a 2-play drive.

14:55 - Miller Moss connects with Lake McRee for 9 yards. McRee playing in his first game since going down with an injury against Michigan in week4.

15:00 - USC wins the coin toss and will take the opening kickoff.

Pregame

The USC Trojans (3-3, 1-3 Big Ten) make the cross-country trip over 2,600 miles to College Park to take on the Maryland Terrapins (3-3, 0-3). It is the furthest road trip of the season for the Trojans. Saturdays matchup also marks the first time these two programs have met.

USC announced its team captains as receiver Kyle Ford, offensive lineman Emmanuel Pregnon, cornerback Jaylin Smith and safety Bryson Shaw.


The Trojans look to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss to Penn State last Saturday. USC led the Nittany Lions 20-6 at halftime, but Penn State's 24-10 rally in the second half sent the game into overtime, where they won 33-30. This was the Trojans' third loss in the last minute of regulation or overtime of the season.

The Trojans are looking for their first road win in Big Ten conference play as well as their first win in the eastern time zone since 2012.

USC got some tough news on Tuesday when Riley announced that junior defensive end Anthony Lucas would be out for the season with a “lower extremity injury.” And then later that night senior linebacker Eric Gentry announced on his social media that he would be redshirting after sustaining a series of concussions during the first month of the season. This means the Trojans will rely on a handful of young players on the front seven with limited collegiate experience moving forward.

“One, we really don’t have a choice right now,” Riley said. “These guys have been developing behind the scenes, like they’re ready to contribute … there’s going to be so many positives that come out of this for these guys and for our program and that’s what we’re going to focus on.”

Maryland is still searching for its first conference win of the season, following a 37-10 loss to Northwestern last Friday night. The Terrapins have allowed a combined 79 points in each of their last two games, which bodes well for quarterback Miller Moss and company. 

The Trojans are 7.5-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. USC is 4-2 against the spread this season. Saturdays contest at SECU Stadium will kickoff at 1:00 p.m. PT and will be televised on FS1. 

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Kendell Hollowell
KENDELL HOLLOWELL

Kendell Hollowell, a Southern California native has been been covering collegiate athletics since 2020 via radio and digital journalism. His experience includes covering programs such as the USC Trojans, Vanderbilt Commodores and Alabama Crimson Tide. Kendell He also works in TV production for the NFL Network. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kendell was a collegiate athlete on the University of Wyoming and Adams State football team. He is committed to bringing in-depth insight and analysis for USC athletics.

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