USC Trojans Featured in College Football's Top-100 Most Exciting Games of 2024 Season

The USC Trojans played in many exciting games during the 2024 season. From an early season loss, to an exciting bowl victory, the Trojans saw it all. ESPN ranked the top 100 games of the 2024 season, and USC was featured plenty.

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

In five out of the six losses that the USC Trojans sustained during the 2024 season, the Trojans only lost by a touchdown or less. Safe to say, USC coach Lincoln Riley had the team playing in plenty of must-see TV moments.

ESPN recently revealed their picks for the top 100 games of the 2024 season. USC saw four of their games listed inside the top half of the list.

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

The first game USC game that came up on the list at No. 48 was Maryland's 29-28 upset win over the Trojans on Oct. 19. Coming off back-to-back losses, including being a week removed from a 33-30 overtime loss at the LA Coliseum to Penn State, the Trojans remained -6.5 favorites by the time kickoff rolled around.

USC dominated in the first half as they found success passing and running the ball on the offensive end. They went into halftime with a 21-7 lead, but squandered it in the second half. The Trojans lost all their offensive juice and the offense only put together one scoring drive.

Maryland outscored USC 22-7 as they wound up coming back and sealing the win after the Terrapins scored with 53 seconds left in the game. Riley and the Trojans were unable to piece together a game-winning drive and ended up dropping the game, extending the losing streak to three games.

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Bill Connelly of ESPN said all that was needed to be said about the coast-to-coast Big Ten conference game.

"Did it make sense that Maryland and USC were playing in mid-October? Absolutely not. Was it a dynamite game anyway? Absolutely," Connelly wrote.

A pair of USC games were ranked consecutively with the Trojans' early season loss to Michigan sitting at No. 29 and the overtime loss to Penn State at No. 28.

USC's loss to the Wolverines was the first of the season for the Trojans and an impactful one. It showed glimpses of what was to come for the USC offense in the second half as they struggled their way to a 27-24 loss on Sept. 21. The Trojans had a chance to get their season back on track following a devastating loss to Minnesota on the road. USC had the Nittany Lions on the ropes heading into the second, but another meltdown from the Trojans resulted in the overtime loss at home on Oct. 12.

Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Helmets at the line fo scrimmage as DUPLICATE***Southern California Trojans long snapper Hank Pepper (31) snaps the ball against the Texas A&M Aggies at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

One of the most exciting games of all of bowl season, the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl featuring the Trojans and Texas A&M saw two premier programs match up. Both teams were facing heavy casualties due to opt-outs and transfer portal entries.

USC struggled mightily with turnovers in the first half, but still managed to find themselves tied at the half. Texas A&M broke the game open with a 17-point third quarter and had a 24-7 lead with 4:40 left in the quarter. USC quarterback Jayden Maiava engineered one of the most exciting comebacks in recent bowl memory as Maiava led the unit to a 21-point forth quarter.

The Trojans sealed the deal with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Maiava to Kyle Ford with eight seconds left in the game to come out on top with a bowl win after a lackluster 6-6 season.

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