LOS ANGELES (AP) — Woody Marks ran for three touchdowns, Miller Moss had two scoring passes and a touchdown run, and Southern California snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Rutgers 42-20 on Friday night.
The Trojans (4-4, 2-4 Big Ten) scored on all four offensive possessions in the first half, while their injury-depleted defense — missing four starters in the secondary — came up with some timely stops.
Moss was 20-of-28 passing for 308 yards, and Marks had 142 yards from scrimmage. Makai Lemon had 134 yards receiving on four grabs with a touchdown, plus an 80-yard kick return in the first quarter that set up Marks’ second TD run.
Athan Kaliakmanis threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Christian Dremel and Antwan Raymond ran for a touchdown, but the Scarlet Knights (4-4, 1-4) dropped their fourth straight game.
Showing a consistency in moving the ball that looked more like the previous two seasons in the Pac-12 with Caleb Williams at quarterback, USC went up and down the field in the first half. The passing game accounted for 172 of the offense’s 244 total yards through two quarters, with Moss hitting on 14 of 16 attempts and finding Kyle Ford for an 11-yard touchdown.
Rutgers cut it to 28-20 early in the third quarter when Kaliakmanis covered 70 yards in consecutive plays with throws to Dymere Miller and Dremel, followed by a 2-point pass to the quarterback from Chris Long on a trick play.
But Lemon ripped off a 70-yard catch-and-run on the first play of the ensuing drive, and Moss strolled into the end zone on a 7-yard keeper to put USC back up by two possessions.
Kaliakmanis ended up with 313 yards passing, and Kyle Monangai had 86 yards on 18 carries.
The takeaway
Rutgers: The defense has fallen apart over the past three games, giving up 119 points to Wisconsin, UCLA and USC. The Trojans gashed them for 8.7 yards per play, while the Scarlet Knights did not record a sack and had one tackle for loss.
USC: The offense has been searching for a lead receiver, and Lemon might be that difference maker. His smooth 40-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown late in the third quarter to put the game away was the kind of explosive play that the Trojans were noticeably lacking during their recent skid.
Up next
Rutgers: Hosts Minnesota on Nov. 9.
USC: Visits Washington on Nov. 2.
___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
