USC Football Stunner: Trojans’ Last-Minute Heroics Ignite Playoff Buzz and Break the Internet

LOS ANGELES – USC football kicks off its highly anticipated 2025 campaign this Saturday, August 30, when Lincoln Riley’s Trojans host the Missouri State Bears at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. The 4:30 p.m. PT matchup airs nationally on Big Ten Network and doubles as Missouri State’s first game at the FBS level, adding an extra layer of intrigue to the opener. Why this opener matters • First look at new starting quarterback Jayden Maiava, the UNLV transfer tasked with replacing Heisman winner Caleb Williams. • Debut of defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn’s revamped unit, which now features transfer portal standouts Nic Scourton (edge) and Ethan Nation (corner). • A tune-up before USC plunges into its inaugural Big Ten gauntlet featuring road trips to Penn State, Michigan and Ohio State later this fall. Key storylines to watch 1. Offensive firepower: Riley retained play-caller duties and added five-star freshman receiver Malik Booth to a receiver corps led by Zachariah Branch and Tahj Washington. Missouri State allowed 34.5 points per game last year in FCS play, setting the stage for a possible Coliseum track meet. 2. The pass-rush question: USC finished 113th nationally in sacks in 2024. Lynn’s pressure-heavy 4-2-5 scheme aims to change that immediately. Scourton arrives after an 11-sack season at Purdue, while interior lineman Bear Alexander slimmed down to 305 pounds to boost quickness. 3. Special-teams edge: All-American punter Aadyn Sleep-Dalton returned for his super-senior season, and Branch already owns three career return TDs. Flipping the field could decide tighter Big Ten contests down the line. Playoff path The 12-team College Football Playoff expands this season, and most national pundits list USC as a fringe top-10 squad. USA TODAY’s preseason projections slot the Trojans into the Cotton Bowl as an at-large selection, provided they reach double-digit wins. Surviving October—when USC faces Michigan, Washington and Penn State in consecutive weeks—will likely make or break those aspirations. Recruiting and NIL momentum Over the summer, USC finalized “Student Athlete LA,” an NIL collective that helped retain guard Alani Noa and land transfer safety Jacoby Mathews. Meanwhile, the 2026 recruiting class already holds six blue-chip commits, signaling administrative alignment after criticisms that the program lagged behind SEC peers in the NIL race. What’s at stake Saturday For Riley, a convincing win over Missouri State is about more than padding the win column. It’s a chance to showcase defensive improvement, establish Maiava’s command of the offense and re-energize a Coliseum fan base hungry for its first conference title since 2017. Slip-ups against Group of 5 opponents have torpedoed Pac-12 contenders in the past; USC cannot afford a similar stumble with brutal road tests looming. Bottom line USC football enters 2025 with the pieces to contend immediately in its new conference home. A statement performance in Week 0 would bolster playoff optics, calm skeptics of the defense and, perhaps most importantly, remind the Big Ten that the Trojans plan to bring Hollywood fireworks wherever they travel this fall.