Bruised and battered, USC heads to Washington in continued search to ‘find that identity’

LOS ANGELES — At the beginning of this season, as Miller Moss explained with smeared eye black after another heartbreaker in Maryland, USC’s program made a proclamation.

They’d commit to each other no matter what. No matter the circumstance. No matter the result.

That was easier when confetti rained in Vegas a week in, before a string of cross-country trips to new Big Ten stadiums that only brought pain. And still, as hope dwindled with that loss to Maryland in late September, the Trojans quarterback stood with toes down on USC’s Howard Jones Practice Field and reiterated the doctrine he’s preached for weeks.

“You face difficult times, you really got two choices, and they’re both painful,” Moss said, then. “You either go back to work, and kinda navigate that pain of what it takes to get yourself back up, or you quit. And that’s painful, too.”

Pain persists. Seven of USC’s defensive starters are either out for the season or banged up with injury, as the Trojans fly north to Seattle this weekend. Left guard Emmanuel Pregnon hobbled his way through starting snaps last Friday against Rutgers. Defensive tackle Gavin Meyer remains active through a banged-up elbow and a banged-up knee and a taped-up hand.

But this program, in a blowout last week over Rutgers, got itself back up. A host of youngsters on the defense continued to seize increased snaps. Pregnon dominated. Meyer led USC’s defense in quarterback pressures from the interior.

“I was here two years ago – obviously, we had an attitude about us,” veteran receiver Kyle Ford said last Friday night, referring to USC’s 11-3 season in 2022. “And I think that, we got a young group. And we’re starting to find that, and find that identity.”

These Trojans have found it too late, maybe, for the loftiest of expectations. But two key rivalry games remain on the schedule in UCLA and Notre Dame, and how USC continues to cultivate that identity will completely shape momentum heading into a prove-it 2025 slate.

The first chance at a run comes in familiar territory against Washington, a program that looks entirely different from the Kalen DeBoer-led attack that decimated USC last season but still boasts plenty of talent under new head coach Jedd Fisch. Here’s what to watch this weekend in Montlake:

Another tough Big Ten unit

Washington marks the third opponent USC’s faced this season, along with Penn State and Minnesota, currently ranked in the top-10 in the FBS in total defense, with another soon to come in Notre Dame. It’s tested Moss after his breakout in last year’s Holiday Bowl, as the quarterback said a couple years ago he’s seen a “ton of loose drop zone,” limiting USC’s ability to throw deep.

After dicing Rutgers’ defense to pieces last Friday, he’ll have a tougher task against Washington, which currently boasts the top-ranked pass defense in the country. Its three top corners by snaps – Thaddeus Dixon, Ephesians Prysock and Jordan Shaw – have combined for a collective sub-50% catch rate. But Moss, who’s still young by virtue of sheer game experience in collegiate football, was adamant Tuesday he’s starting to better understand how to attack defenses geared against big plays.

“I think each week, I’m seeing things that I wasn’t necessarily seeing before,” Moss said Tuesday.

Can Makai Lemon continue his ascent?

Blink, and all of a sudden, sophomore receiver Lemon has emerged as USC’s top pass-catcher, a physical route runner who’s established himself as much more than a gadget piece in Riley’s system.

Nobody in USC’s program is surprised.

“I think that’s just who he is as a player,” Moss said Tuesday, “and who he’s going to continue to be.”

Lemon has increased his yardage total for four straight weeks, culminating in a 256 all-purpose-yard performance against Rutgers in which he took over kickoffs for the struggling Zachariah Branch. USC needs more yards-after-catch playmaking from Lemon against a tough Huskies secondary.

Will the kids be all right?

A whopping nine underclassmen played more than 10 snaps against Rutgers. Both by necessity – as a whopping 92 snaps were available, and aforementioned injuries continue to mount – and by design, with Riley and defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn trying to evaluate what they have heading into 2025.