What USC Trojans' Lincoln Riley Said After Defeating Texas A&M in Las Vegas Bowl: 'Poetic Ending'

The USC Trojans rallied from a three-score deficit in the second half to defeat the Texas A&M Aggies 35-31 in the Las Vegas Bowl. Kyle Ford's seven-yard touchdown catch with eight seconds remaining gave the Trojans a thrilling victory.

Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley holds the championship trophy after the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

USC Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava threw four touchdown passes, three to receiver Ja'Kobi Lane and one to receiver Kyle Ford with eight seconds remaining to give USC a dramatic 35-31 win over Texas A&M in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Maiava finished the night 22 of 39 for 295 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. Lane caught seven passes for a career-high 127 yards, and he was awarded the MVP trophy for his performance. It was the second game in a row where Lane caught three touchdowns. Receiver Makai Lemon reeled in six passes for 99 yards of his own.

Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley holds the championship trophy after the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"Kind of a poetic ending to the season," said USC coach Lincoln Riley. "Just incredibly proud of this group, the resiliency they showed, I told them there's a toughness and hardness developing within this program right now. I think you could look at a lot of different points throughout this season and certainly tonight and you see that, and there's a lot of excitement about that."

The Trojans fell behind 24-7 in the second half and preceded to score 21 unanswered points to regain the lead. Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed's 19-yard dash gave the Aggies the lead with under two minutes remaining in regulation.

Just like they did against the LSU Tigers in the season opener, USC orchestrated a game-winning drive, this time led by Maiava, that left the Texas A&M fans in attendance at Allegiant Stadium stunned.

"The mentality has been on display all year, and it was important to finish that way," Riley said. "You feel it in the locker room right now a confidence they're going to go away, that we're going to keep getting better."

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Texas A&M matriculated the ball down the field on its opening possession, converting on third down three times and once on fourth down. Reed connected with receiver Noah Thomas, who ran an excellent route around the goal line for a 7-yard touchdown on the 16th play of the drive to take an early lead.

USC struggled to get anything going offensively in the first quarter. Redshirt freshman offensive tackle Elijah Paige was carted off with an ankle injury on the Trojans second possession of the game. USC came into the contest very thin on the offensive line, with a Third Team All-Big Ten center Jonah Monheim opting out as he prepares for the NFL draft and few linemen entering the portal, including starting offensive tackle Mason Murphy.

The Trojans picked off Reed twice in the first half, one by safety Kamari Ramsey and the second by safety Akili Arnold, who was playing in his final collegiate game. Arnold's interception in the end zone early in the second quarter kept the Aggies from making it a two-score game and led to a Ja'Kobi Lane 30-yard catch-and-run for the touchdown.

Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; iSouthern California Trojans wide receiver Kyle Ford (81) celebrates after scoring on a 7-yard touchdown reception against the Texas A&M Aggies at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

A promising drive by the Trojans halfway through the second quarter ended abruptly when Maiava was picked off in USC territory.

Some poor clock management from Riley and a Michael Lantz 39-yard field goal that fell wide left with 13 seconds left in the first half kept the game tied at 7 at the break.

Texas A&M got rolling again coming out of the locker room. They opened the second half the same way they did in the first half, with a methodical drive right down the field that was capped off by a Noah Thomas 7-yard touchdown to regain the lead. A costly interception by Maiava midway through the third quarter set up a Jabre Barber 5-yard receiving touchdown that gave the Aggies a 24-7 lead.

Down three scores, with a little more than a quarter to play, Maiava began to settle in. He led a scoring drive that was capped off with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Lane. The sophomore receiver celebrated in the end zone and the Trojans had hope again. USC began the fourth quarter with a Bryan Jackson 1-yard score for the first touchdown of his career to make it a three-point game.

All of the momentum was shifting towards USC until Maiava was intercepted on a pass that floated in the air into the waiting arms of Texas A&M defensive back Dalton Brooks. It was Maiava's sixth turnover in his fourth start as USC's signal-caller. Turnovers have been an issue all season for the Trojans quarterbacks this season. Miller Moss threw nine interceptions in his 9 starts.

A missed field goal on the Aggies' ensuing possession gave USC the ball back. Maiava gathered himself and marched them right down and connected with Lane for third time to give the Trojans a 28-24 lead with under five minutes of regulation. Reese's rushing touchdown gave Texas A&M the lead back until Ford's touchdown with eight seconds remaining gave USC a thrilling victory. Ford, a sixth-year senior was playing in his final game as a Trojan.

"That was awesome," Riley said. "For his career to play out the way it did, to come back to us this year. It was kind of fitting that the senior gets to make that play, and what an awesome play it was."

The Trojans end the 2024 season with a 7-6 record and have now won consecutive bowl games under Riley. It was certainly not the season the fan base was expecting in year three under Riley, but USC heads into the offseason carrying positive momentum after watching a number of players returning in 2025 make big plays throughout the game.

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