Michigan State football trampled by USC, 45-31, in Big Ten opener

LOS ANGELES — In its first matchup with Southern Cal as a Big Ten member, Michigan State football hung with the Trojans for a while.

But USC’s high-powered offense – which entered Saturday, Sept. 20, at No. 2 in the nation in points per game (and No. 1 in yards per game) – was rarely slowed by MSU in a 45-31 loss at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

MSU (3-1) scored the first touchdown – a 42-yard bomb from California native Aiden Chiles to a wide-open Chrishon McCray – to take a 7-3 lead in the first quarter, and the last one, a 75-yarder to Omari Kelly late in the fourth. But in between, the Spartans struggled to contain the attack led by QB Jayden Maiava, who went 14-for-20 for 191 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.

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The SoCal homecoming for Chiles – and coach Jonathan Smith, who grew up in nearby Pasadena – started well, with the Long Beach native going 5-for-5 for 78 yards passing in the first quarter. But MSU struggled to keep up with USC (4-0) in the second, with 81 yards on 16 plays. The Trojans, meanwhile, racked up 210 yards on 21 second-quarter plays, including 88 yards rushing on just eight carries. The Spartans went into the half trailing 24-10.

A depleted MSU linebacking corps

MSU’s defense wasn’t helped by a growing lack of linebackers. Starter Jordan Hall, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week two weeks ago and the Spartans’ “green dot” linebacker in charge of calling plays radioed in from the sideline, was ejected for targeting a little over three minutes into the second quarter. On the next play, Maiava connected with Makai Lemon in the middle of the field for a 40-yard touchdown.

Because the ejection occurred in the first half, Hall will be eligible to play the entirety of MSU’s next game, at Nebraska on Oct. 4.

In the final minute before halftime, Hall’s replacement as green dot LB, Wayne Matthews III, was carted off with an unknown injury after getting hurt attempting to bring down running back Waymond Jordan in the red zone. After a lengthy delay while Matthews was carried off the field, Maiava was back at it, hitting Tanook Hines for a 7-yard TD with 37 seconds left in the half.

In addition to the losses of Hall and Matthews, the Spartans also lost Quindarius Dunnigan and Nikai Martinez for the game, after they collided on the play before Matthews was injured.

Matthews was taken to LA General Hospital, a Level 1 trauma facility near the Coliseum, the Fox broadcast reported after halftime. His motor skills were intact, per MSU.

Starting left tackle Stanton Ramil was also injured in the first half and knocked out of the game.

Trojan horsepower and Spartan answers

After the Spartans went three-and-out to open the second half, USC continued its attack, covering 57 yards in just four plays, capped by a 10-yard pass from Maiava to tight end Walker Lyons.

Michigan State came back with an extended drive – helped by multiple penalties from USC – moving 87 yards on 11 plays covering 5:24 of game time. Chiles capped the drive with a 4-yard score on the ground, following his offensive line to the left before spinning back to his right and rumbling into the end zone to make it a 31-17 score after the extra point.

 On first play of the ensuing possession, Armorion Smith forced a fumble from Lemon following a 7-yard catch to give MSU the ball at USC’s 32. This time, MSU mostly stayed grounded, picking up 17 yards with six rushes in eight total plays, in addition to a 14-yard pass from Chiles to Omari Kelly. Tight end Jack Velling ended the drive, though, with a TD pass from a rolling-out Chiles on third-and-1 to make it a one-score game again, 31-24.

Next up: Cornhuskers

The Spartans will have a week to heal up, with the first of two bye weeks coming up in Week 5. Then, MSU heads to Lincoln, Nebraska, to face the Cornhuskers (3-1) on Oct. 4 (time, TV TBA). It’s MSU’s first visit to Nebraska since Nov. 17, 2018 – a 9-6 loss in which the Spartans gave up three field goals in the final 11:07. MSU has beaten Nebraska twice since, with three-point wins at Spartan Stadium in 2021 and 2023.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football trampled by USC, 45-31, in Big Ten opener