The Times of Troy: The big-play receiver USC needed was there all along: Makai Lemon

Hi, everyone! I’m Ryan Kartje, the USC beat writer around these parts at the L.A. Times. Welcome back to another week of the Times of Troy newsletter, where we’re still cursing the Big Ten for keeping us in the Coliseum press box until 2 a.m. on Friday night. But hopefully the brave souls on the East Coast who stayed up until the final whistle, a few ticks before 3 a.m. EDT, have gotten a nap by now. At least you got a win out of it.

That 42-20 victory over a collapsing Rutgers team doesn’t erase what happened at USC over the previous five weeks, of course. The hopes USC once had for this season — a Big Ten title, the College Football Playoff — are well out of reach by now. But it was a good reminder that there’s still plenty to prove and plenty that matters down the stretch of this season.

Makai Lemon certainly proved something Friday. In a talented quartet of sophomore receivers, Lemon opened the season with perhaps the least effusive expectations. Each of the other three brought a marquee skill to the table that had translated right away at USC.

Zachariah Branch had the dynamic speed and electrifying big-play ability. Duce Robinson, at 6 foot 6, had the size. And Ja’Kobi Lane could catch anything thrown his way. Lemon, meanwhile, was moonlighting as a cornerback during one stretch as a freshman.

“He’s kind of one of those guys where I don’t know that he’s great at anything yet,” Lincoln Riley said of Lemon, “but he’s really good at a lot of things.”

Which meant he got lost a bit in the shuffle early at USC. Then, Lemon was hurt on a big hit early against Michigan and missed the next week against Wisconsin.

But on Friday, Lemon stole the spotlight and made the most convincing claim yet to be USC’s No. 1 receiver from here on out.

His star turn started in the first quarter, as Lemon caught a kickoff at the goal line, cut up field and blew the game open. Kickoff returns had been Branch’s responsibility to that point, but after a tentative few weeks for the former freshman All-American, here was Lemon in his stead, setting up a wall of blockers to his right, only to cut back left, juking two Rutgers defenders out of their shoes as he rushed for 80 yards down the field.

Once a constant stream of big plays, USC’s offense had struggled most of this season to conjure that same electricity. But Lemon was the spark it needed Friday. In the third quarter, with Rutgers having just pulled within a score, Lemon burst across the middle of the field on a crossing route and shook loose of one defender, only to cut back across field, gaining 70 yards before he was caught.

On the very next drive, he flew open again on a cross route, this time finding his way into the end zone for a 40-yard touchdown.

These were the sort of dynamic plays we expected to see from Branch as he took a step forward this season. But it was Lemon who seems to have made the bigger leap. He had 256 all-purpose yards Friday and now has more yards after catch than Branch (263 to 246) despite having played 102 fewer snaps.

Riley was asked last week how important he felt it was to have a go-to receiver in his offense.

It was, the coach said, something you couldn’t just force. But if one emerged, he hasn’t been afraid to feed a clear-cut top target.

Well .. two days later, one did emerge, blazing wide open across the Coliseum field again and again. And while, as Riley reminds, there’s plenty of room still for Lemon to grow, there’s no reason he shouldn’t be the center of USC’s passing attack going forward.

—When Anthony Lucas was ruled out for the season, USC’s already-thin defensive line found itself in a pretty perilous position, left to cross its fingers and hope its young linemen were ready for bigger roles. Well, they looked the part on Friday. Freshman Kameryn Fountain and redshirt freshman Sam Greene notched sacks in the second half, while playing 30 or more snaps at defensive end. At defensive tackle, sophomore Elijah Hughes (42 snaps) and freshman Jide Abasiri (16) both played well in their most substantial roles yet. Considering that starting defensive tackle Nate Clifton left the game with a walking boot on his right foot, we may see more of them soon enough.

—The pass rush finally got going. So how does D’Anton Lynn sustain it? USC tallied four sacks, with 24 pressures, easily its best pass-rush performance of the season. Most of that production came from USC’s young edge rushers, as Fountain and Greene combined for five pressures and two sacks. Which begs the question: Is it time to turn the defense over to USC’s young talent? Senior Jamil Muhammad is a leader and a steadying presence on the line, but his production as a pass rusher just hasn’t been the same this season. I expect we’ll see a true rotation emerge, one that may actually even help Muhammad be more efficient with fewer snaps.

—USC was down four of its five starters in the secondary on Friday, a tall order for any defense. But it was still a bit worrisome how easily Rutgers, which has one of the least efficient passing attacks in college football, moved the ball through the air. Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis had only once in his college career passed for over 300 yards, but he finished with 313 Friday, six short of a career high, as USC’s corners played especially conservative in coverage. USC’s defense still managed to get stops when it needed to, including two key pass break-ups at the goal line by backup corners Prophet Brown and DeCarlos Nicholson. But those two still combined to allow 12 catches for 175 yards, according to Pro Football Focus.

—I have great respect for the candor of Kyle Ford, who spoke to reporters after the Rutgers win and was refreshingly honest about struggling with a lesser role. Ford left USC for UCLA after 2022 in search of a bigger role only to return in 2024 with the same hope here. That hadn’t materialized at all until Friday, when Ford caught four passes for 45 yards and a touchdown. The former five-star receiver has spent his career staying patient through injuries, waiting for his moment. Maybe that moment is still to come this season.

USC men’s hoops opens on a high note

With a rebuilt team and a new staff, I didn’t have any idea what to expect from USC when it took on No. 6 Gonzaga in an exhibition over the weekend. And while there’s only so much we can glean from a preseason game, beating Gonzaga this early on is, at the very least, critical proof of concept for the players themselves.

Most notably, I’ve been impressed with Desmond Claude’s command of the offense. He’s going to be the engine that makes this team go all season. And from what we’ve seen so far, they could go further than expected.

Big Ten Best Bet, Week 10

Indiana (-7) at Michigan State

I don’t mean to keep harping on the undefeated Hoosiers, but this line is ludicrous to me. Michigan State just lost by this same amount to Michigan, a lesser team than Indiana. The Spartans lost by 21 to Oregon and 31 to Ohio State, and I don’t think Indiana is that far behind either of those Big Ten powers. We haven’t lost yet picking Indiana — and are 4-1 overall on the year — and we don’t plan to start now.

Big Ten travel tip: Seattle

Not a new city to USC fans, but one of my favorites, nonetheless. So I’ll hit you with two recommendations. First, for your fine dining needs, Toulouse Petit, near Lake Union, serves delicious creole and French food that feels straight out of New Orleans.

If you’re looking for a brewery in town, do not miss Fremont Brewing. Their Sky Kraken, a hazy pale on the lighter side, is a good place to start.

In case you missed it

USC beats UCLA to claim first outright conference championship in women’s soccer

USC and Miller Moss score redemption during blowout win over Rutgers

Dave Roberts, Aaron Boone played in UCLA-USC rivalry 30 years ago. Now they’re managing in Dodgers-Yankees World Series

Despite criticism, USC is sticking with Miller Moss as its starting quarterback

Beyond Varsity Blues: In pursuit of donations, USC admitted affluent kids as walk-on athletes

What I’m Watching This Week

It’s officially spooky season at the Kartje household. My wife is not a fan of scary movies — at all — but every year on Halloween, she agrees to watch one of my choosing. I only get one shot at this! So I’d love to hear your horror movie recs, if you have one.

Right now, the leader in the clubhouse is “Salem’s Lot,” the remade Stephen King classic on Max about vampires in a small town in Maine. I’m a sucker for anything Stephen King. But please, email me your favorites to ryan.kartje@latimes.com — and if you do, for my wife’s sake, let me know where your rec falls on the scary spectrum.