Woody Marks rushed for three touchdowns, Miller Moss passed for two scores and rushed for a third, and Southern California snapped a Big Ten Conference losing streak while outscoring Rutgers 42-20 on Friday night in Los Angeles.
USC (4-4, 2-4 Big Ten) pounced on the visiting Scarlet Knights early, building a 21-3 lead less than 20 minutes into the contest. Marks started the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown plunge to cap the Trojans’ opening drive of 77 yards.
It was the first of four consecutive USC drives that ended in touchdowns.
After Rutgers (4-4, 1-4) scored on a 26-yard field goal by Jai Patel, Makai Lemon returned the kickoff 80 yards to set up the USC offense at the Scarlet Knights’ 20-yard line. Four plays later, Marks punched in his second score, also from 1 yard out.
The kickoff return was part of a standout night for Lemon, who caught four passes for 134 yards. Forty of those yards came on a touchdown connection with Moss just before the end of the third quarter, as USC shut the door on Rutgers’ comeback attempt.
The Scarlet Knights, who lost their fourth straight game, cut their initial deficit down to a single possession earlier in the third period when Athan Kaliakmanis capped a seven-play, 86-yard drive with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Christian Dremel. A successful two-point conversion pass play brought the score to 28-20, but Rutgers’ next four possessions ended in two punts and two turnovers on downs.
In the meantime, USC scored on Moss’ 7-yard touchdown run and then his 40-yard pass to Lemon. Moss threw an 11-yard TD completion to Kyle Ford in the second quarter.
Moss finished 20 of 28 passing for 308 yards. Marks rushed for 94 yards on 15 carries, punctuating his three-touchdown night with a 22-yard scoring run late in the second quarter.
Kaliakmanis went 27 of 47 for 313 yards. Kyle Monangai ran 18 times for 86 yards, while Antwan Raymond carried 15 times for 36 yards. Raymond scored on a 3-yard run in the second quarter.
Dymere Miller led Rutgers with 11 receptions for 131 yards.
–Field Level Media
