No. 17 USC Football Defeats Iowa 26-21: Postgame Notes & Quotes

USC Postgame Notes

With the 26-21 win, No. 17 USC moves to 8-2 overall and 6-1 in Big Ten play. No. 21 Iowa falls to 6-4, 4-3.
USC improves to 8-3 all-time against Iowa. This is the first time Head Coach Lincoln Riley has ever faced the Hawkeyes.
The last time USC played in the rain at the Coliseum was on Nov. 26, 2016 against Notre Dame (USC won 45-27).
USC has a 25-25-2 record in games with significant rain. USC's last rain game was at Notre Dame earlier this season (USC lost, 34-24).
USC trailed 21-10 at halftime. Previously, the largest halftime deficit this season was eight points at Nebraska (USC won, 21-17). USC is now 2-2 when trailing at the half (losses at Illinois, Notre Dame).
USC's last double-digit halftime comeback win prior to tonight was vs. UCLA on Dec. 12, 2020 (USC trailed 21-10, then scored 33 in the second half to win 43-38).
WR Makai Lemon eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards for the season on a 24-yard catch with 13:47 in the third quarter. He finished with 153 yards and a TD (now 1,090 yards in 2025), his fifth 100-yard game and fourth 150+ yard game this year.
Lemon added a late TD at 3:33 in the third quarter to pull USC within two (21-19). He now has 8 TDs this season.
RB King Miller recorded a season-high 19 rushing attempts (previously 18 at Notre Dame, at Nebraska, vs. Michigan) and finished with 83 rushing yards.
RB Bryan Jackson scored USC's first-half TD on a 1-yard run with 9:15 in the second quarter—his first TD since Oct. 11 vs. Michigan. He also scored the go-ahead TD at 13:36 in the fourth quarter for USC's first lead; it marked the first 2-TD game of his career.
DT Jahkeem Stewart tallied the first interception of his Trojan career in the third quarter.
USC held Iowa scoreless after halftime—the third straight game USC has allowed 3 or fewer points in the second half, and the first scoreless half allowed by USC this season.
USC previously held opponents to 3 points or fewer in the second half in three straight games in 2013 (at Notre Dame, vs. Utah, at Oregon State).
After being outgained 212-156 in the first half, USC outgained Iowa 204-108 in the second half.
Iowa managed just 5 first downs after halftime (12 in the first half).
USC's first TD came at 9:19 of the second quarter; only at Nebraska did it take longer this year (first TD in the third quarter).

USC Postgame Quotes

HEAD COACH LINCOLN RILEY

Opening statement:
"First of all, thank you to all the people that have served in the military. Military Appreciation Day is very near to this place, and it's an honor to go out and play this game for them. Just a big thank you from our entire football program. That's a culture win, right there. If there ever was one, that was a culture win. We didn't play very good football in the first half. Our team's resilience and response at halftime was impressive. We brought the guys up right away when we came in at the half, which we don't typically do. You could tell from the look in their eye that they knew we didn't play our best, and they knew we could go out and really make a run at this thing. This team's resilience, whether it's a tough stretch of plays, whether it's losing some players here and there throughout the year and obviously happened some in this game. We just keep coming, and we have all year. That was a big, big time team win. All three sides were really, really good there in the second half, and to comeback and get that done was a really cool feeling. Just a great moment out there in the Coliseum for our whole program."

On the slow starts:
"The thing about stressing things is that if you overdo it, and then you come out and you don't start fast, then you don't want their heads to go anywhere. We're playing pretty good football and we're winning a lot of games. Obviously, we're going to continue to work on it and try to do a better job. We're also going to try to keep winning games, which we've been pretty good at up to this point for most of this game."

On how the safeties performed:
"I thought we responded well. I thought we did. Those are two of our leaders, two of our most experienced players there in the back end. But CP [Christian Pierce] and Kennedy Urlacher and some of those guys came in and gave us some really quality reps. I thought we really picked up the pace in our front seven. We were really, really active, starting to close down some of those lanes, and playing the game much more on our terms. So we got a lot of confidence in those guys that came in and We felt like we built a pretty good safety room, and it showed up tonight."

On potential going forward in the secondary:
"It's great. We're still relatively young there. And I think each one of these battles we learn more, and we just keep growing. It's fun to see some of these young guys really contributing and feeling their impact and our depth is starting to really matter, which this is the time of year that shows up. So they were huge today."

On where his postgame emotions came from:
"From my team."

On a moment in the game that provided confidence:
"I think getting points on that first drive was big, even though we didn't score a touchdown. Then we just kind of got on a run from there. It just felt like we were going to stop them every time and it felt like we were going to score every time. So I think not more than just the guys approach at halftime, and just the look in their eyes. With the energy in that room at halftime, I felt very strongly we were to come back out and make a run."

On his confidence in the run game:
"We had some opportunities early that we missed, but that's just part of the game, certainly part of the conditions. We believe in running the football here, we just do. You just have to do it to win games. You have to do it when you play in different styles of games, or in different types of elements and all of that. So we're not gonna give up on it. We've been one of the best teams in the country running the football. So that's not gonna stop."

On the energy from the student section:
"Our students have brought it all year. There's been constant energy over there all year, and our team feels it. They do. So I will say thank you to our students, and they're a part of these cool moments that are happening. We said it from day one when we got here. It's gonna take everybody. It's not just everybody in the program; it's everybody, and to be able to share that moment with them, for our whole team, was pretty cool."

On preparing for Oregon next week:
"We're not, we just won this game. The guys are going to get some rest and the coaches will start it a little bit here tonight, and then get on to it tomorrow. That field goal doesn't go in last week, this is probably a top 10 team coming in here. Let's be real, it's a good football team that we just beat."

On how the offense has responded this season:
"I think the whole team was ready to lay it on the line today. That's what you have to have to win in these big games. We had guys laying it on the line, all over the place on all three sides of the ball and there's great examples of that. When you have one or two players doing it, that's really good for those one or two players. But when you have a whole team doing it, you have something pretty cool."

On how important WR Makai Lemon is:
"He's a fearless player, always has been ever since I've met him when he was a sophomore in high school. He's always had just that fearless quality to him, and that continues to show up to this day. He's worked hard at his craft, and obviously we all have a lot of confidence in him and our other weapons. You have to step up against a good defense like that, and have to go make some of those types of competitive plays. And obviously when anybody else is in the area, we feel like that's an advantage for us with him every time we step on the field."

MAKAI LEMON, WR

On high fiving the student section postgame:
"I feel like we can't do it without them. So we just got to thank them. I'm glad we won, and everybody's happy."

On the message among the players at halftime:
"We have to play our best. Go out there and put all on the line, and that's what we did tonight."

ERIC GENTRY, LB

On the difference in the defense in the second half:
"I think people were just more focused. I think it's like a boxing match. Not everybody is gonna know how it's going in the first half. But just understanding and honing in and trusting the coaches. But more importantly, trusting ourselves, I think the aggressiveness went up, and more importantly, everybody just believed in ourselves. I was telling Coach Lincoln we were really just more focused on doing it than saying it."

On defining the culture of USC:
"Very tough. People try to say stuff about us coming to the Big Ten and wondering how we're going to be. This team is fitting in and more importantly setting the standard of the Big Ten. So coming in we wanted to win big games because every week is a one week season for us. So just focusing, not only on the game, but we really focus on Sunday. We come in every day for Sunday. Coach Lincoln really tells us that game day doesn't start on Saturday, it starts on Sunday."

On what was behind the defense's confidence in the second half:
"Practice. We give a lot of reps to our twos and the guys behind our ones, and really make sure you know our ones are pushing the twos even harder than anybody. So a lot of the time guys are just prepared for it more than anything. So when the time comes, they're more excited to play than nervous. We have a lot of reps during the week of just focusing more than anything. It's not about the quantity of the reps, it's the quality, being able to focus on every rep and not have any mistakes. I can't really over emphasize practice too much because that's really what it is. But really having guys take a lot of reps during practice so everybody feels comfortable during game day."

On when the team felt like USC was in control:
"I would say going into halftime because we had a little momentum going into it. Like I said, it's a one week season, so it's win or go home right now. And we're not going home so we have to win. Like Coach Lincoln said, when your captains can do it, it's one thing, but when you have walk-ons and the whole team it makes a big difference. So I think the whole team understands what the culture is, and that is to fight to the last second. We're not in denial or feeling like something bad is gonna happen. Coach Lincoln said it. Don't hope for nothing, make it happen. Don't hope for nothing good to happen, make the good happen."

Iowa Postgame Quotes

HEAD COACH KIRK FERENTZ

Opening statement:
"Obviously a tough loss for our football team. Our guys were focused, prepared coming in here, and certainly we played complete team football in that first half. Went about as well as we could've hoped. We got off to a really good start there. Certainly in the second half just there was a flip on that. It wasn't a matter of anybody's effort. USC just did a good job coming back and maximizing their opportunities in that second half. The halves both look very different. I was just really proud of their effort, and obviously we're all really disappointed. So it's a tough loss. Certainly want to give credit to our opponent. They did the things they had to do to take control of the game in the second half, but even right down to the wire, we had a chance there on the last play to catch the ball and advance it down in there and just keep playing it out. Tough loss, but we'll try to get back under our feet tomorrow and go from there and finish this out."

On missing starters:
"Anytime you lose anybody that's a starter it's not going to help the cause, that's for sure, and it's just one of those things. So I thought the guys stepped in, did a really good job leading us in there more than anybody. And it seemed like we just kept playing. So that's positive. The other guys jumped in there too, and were executing from the start. So it's just part of football. As far as their conditions, I won't know much for another couple days."

On implementing a new play:
"We've practiced that probably all season including camp. I thought Tim called it at a perfect time too. It's just really well executed. And that's the first thing to get it to the field. It's got to be done in practice pretty well, which everybody involved has done. I think the timing was absolutely perfect, so it was a positive thing. Obviously Mark's done a really good job"

On the face mask penalty called on RB Kamari Moulton:
"I thought I saw a couple things that maybe could have gone the other way. But apparently nobody thought it was flag worthy. So you have to play through those things and it doesn't always work the way you want. Even the last replay seemed close, but you got to go with what gets called and what doesn't get called. It's just kind of how it works out. Can't do much about it."

On keeping focus after losing close games:
"It's hard. Losing is hard, first of all, for everybody involved, but nobody harder than the players. It's a short window for them. They're the ones investing. They're the ones who are playing when they're sore and doing all the hard stuff you have to do. But it's also part of the game. And like I said last week, somehow you got to get off the ground, off the map, and go back at it. Our guys did a good job of that this past week. Hopefully for our members coming in this game, this is a really explosive football team. They're a ranked team for a reason. They're a good football team. One loss in the Big Ten right now. I thought the guys did a great job getting ready to compete. Anytime you lose it it's going to be a challenge. We got another challenge, looks like two injuries to deal with as well. But we'll figure that out in the next 48 hours and hopefully Monday we'll be ready to roll."

On the penalty against the team:
"To me, one of our assistants got on the field. Apparently, you know, literally stepped on the line."

On whether the team has any serious injuries:
"I hope not, but I don't know. I'd be speculating right now with any injury at this point."

On whether there's been a season with consecutive close losses similar to this one:
"I don't know if they were ranked, but we've had four really tough losses. And it's one of my favorite years of my career. Maybe I'm a sick person, but the thing I was proud of with that football team was the way they showed up every week and competed. And I think this team's done the same thing. We've had a ton of opportunities. These guys have prepared each and every week, and they've come out and played their a**es off, quite frankly, and they did that today. It's a good football team. The road trip and all those things you can use as a crutch. Our guys showed up and competed. It just wasn't good enough today. And a part of that team we just played, #6 is as good as I've seen. And going back 20+ years, but he's a really outstanding player. They've got a couple of other guys too, but he's really good."

On what he saw from USC's defense in the second half:
"Games have ebbs and flows. That's just the nature of sports. They have a lot of good players everywhere, in every position. So that's probably the reason they're ranked, and probably the reason they've had one loss. They're a good football team. They look good, they play well. I mentioned number six (WR Makai Lemon), number eight (WR Ja'Kobi Lane), you know, still feel very like he's an outstanding player too for them. He did a great job. It takes a lot of parties involved. So they're a good team, but things just didn't quite go our way there and had a chance at the end all that being said, and couldn't quite get it done."

LOGAN JONES, C

On overall thoughts post-game:
"It's tough. It's hard anytime you get a game and you're going into that second half up in the scores, and you come up short in that second half, I just don't think we executed just as well as we did in the first half. Like you said, it's a game of inches, and we were right there on so many little things. And the finer details is what dictates wins and losses, and they got us."

On whether the starters being out disrupted the team's play:
"We always talk about next man in, and, when our second or backup guys come in, there shouldn't be a change in play. Credit to them. I thought they did a great job out there, ready to go compete in an intense moment. You can't emulate that in practice. They stepped out there, stepped up, and did a great job of that. I'm proud of them. I thought our O-line did some really good things today, and we're going to continue to build, but our backups are playing like starters."

On reasoning for not being able to score in the second half:
"Our job offensively is to score points, and we always talk about being the reason, and we just came short on so many little things. Up front, we could have done things a lot better. I think you look around everywhere, there's just like these little inches or little details. That's what it comes down to, right? Just those little details, and that's what separates a game, whether it's win or loss."

On any observed adjustments on USC's side:
"From our standpoint, no, I'm not sure if they did anything on their offense, if they did anything. But defensively, they just did the same things in the second half."

On the end of his last season:
"It's tough. You play to win football games, and that's what any competitor does. When you have a game like that so close, it hurts. I feel like every loss this season has just been one that hurts a lot, and it's tough. We got two more games, two more opportunities, one more game for me, it's tough. It's hard. Just playing with these guys, they're a special group. They really are, and this has been the most fun I've had, you know, despite the losses. This is the most together group I've been a part of, honestly. I'm going to cherish these last two games, especially this one. It's tough, and getting to play for coach, I can't explain it and put it into words. He's the best in the world, and so are our guys. I'm gonna miss it, but gonna take advantage of these next opportunities."

XAVIER NWANKPA, DB

On what USC's offense did well:
"They were executing and they were making plays. They had some tremendous players, especially six (WR Makai Lemon) and eight (WR Ja'Kobi Lane), two really good players that will play past college football. They're out there making plays. We had chances, but at the end of the day we just didn't get it done. So we just got to keep going out there, keep going to practice and executing and trying to play the best kind of football we can."

On what he saw with USC's offensive comeback:
"Just their execution. At the beginning of the game, they weren't really executing at as high a level as they normally do, but they came out, especially in that second half. Basically a really high level. We can say we had chances to make plays, but at the end of the day, it didn't swing our way. We got to get our hands with some more balls, either create more turnovers, help our offense out, keep them from scoring points. They were explosive, especially the second half. So we have to get to work in the lab and try to correct those."

On stopping the USC receivers:
"I feel like at the end of day, those two receivers (WR's Ja'Kobi Lane and Makai Lemon) are going to play in the NFL. They're just making plays. We have guys on our team that are going to play the next level, too. So we have to go out there and execute. We're going to keep working and keep grinding."

On the coverage of USC receivers:
"That's where it hurts the most. I thought we had really good covers on some plays, and they just came out with the ball. So like I said, they're executing at a really high level. We just gotta find a way to stop that going forward."

On his hamstring:
"My hammy just tightened up a little bit at the end of the third quarter. I tried to finish the game, do it for my brothers and try to pull off a win. Now we have to recover so we can get out the next weekend and keep trying to win games."

On what they did well defensively:
"I feel like defensively, we're flying around, making plays, batting balls down, making tackles that we need to make. We're just excellent at a high level. You have to keep doing that, keep that momentum, especially in the first half and the second half. Just keep playing mental, keep playing fast and keep on coasting."

REECE VANDER ZEE, WR

On the Trojan defense in the second half:
"I know it wasn't really anything special. We didn't execute. These guys push the needle for it, and that aspect makes you a little bit better. They are a bunch of competitors, so credit to them."

On his touchdown pass:
"Yes we planned it a few weeks ago. It took me back to my quarterback days a little bit."

On execution of his pass:
"Every time we would run it, it would work, so it gave us confidence to go out there and do it."

On his mindset when the trick play was called:
"I was definitely excited at a chance to make a play for my team."

On USC's performance:
"They are excellent players and it was a good game by them."

On how USC's defense slowed them down:
"It wasn't anything special, we got our shot and we just have to execute better. Our fight was there."

On keeping focus after close losses:
"Competitors move on, competitors get up off the mat, competitors fight every day. So I think this team is going to continue to do that without any questions. Definitely hard work for sure in the moment sometimes, but we move on and we move up."

KAMARI MOULTON, RB

On his feelings towards the second half:
"We just really executed. There were some plays that were there that we just didn't execute. So I feel like that's a key contribution. And just to continue to fight. You know that's gonna happen. We know that's gonna happen at the end of the day, but just trying to continue to fight and trying to make ends meet."

On what was working well for the team:
"We really just came out with that mindset that we just wanted to attack. That mind frame of attacking and don't give up anything. So really, just having that mindset and knowing what we can do."

On mindset after losing close games:
"Just being a competitor. You know, losing sucks, so you don't want to lose again. So coming in, coming into next week, we still have the same mentality. We're going to put in the work, day by day, and hopefully come out with the win next time."

On effects of the rain:
"No, I wouldn't say it affected us too much, because we played in the rain last week, so just knowing that it's a different field and grass, just being prepared for that, and keying in on smaller details so we don't have mishaps."

On feelings about his face mask being pulled:
"Yeah, I do remember. But, it's up to the refs. I can't do anything about it. So whatever the refs call, that's what they call. You can't dwell on that. You just have to continue to play and just try to get it the next time."

On the trick play:
"It's great seeing all the hard work and effort that we put into being able to do it on the field and to have that excitement. It was a really good feeling, knowing that we could do stuff like that."

On mood in the locker room after the loss:
"We're still a good team, we're not a bad team. Sometimes the dominoes are not going to fall in your hand. But, we just have to keep fighting. And we have two more games to prove that we still can still fight."

MARK GRONOWSKI, QB

On the second half defense:
"I felt like in the second half, especially in that third quarter, there's a lot of little things we weren't executing very well on offense. Whether that's just throwing the ball short, missing a block attempt, or coming out of a route differently. Those things, we just got to continue to clean up. And we just can't have those things the second half, it ended up stalling us on a couple drives. We just needed to get that thing going. We needed to execute a little bit better."

On catching a touchdown pass:
"We've been working on that play for a while. It was cool. Reece (Vander Zee, WR) played quarterback in high school, so we tried to give him an opportunity to throw the ball for a little bit, and ended up being pretty cool."

On the interception:
"I think if I would have thrown it a step sooner, maybe it would have been an incomplete, or would have been a completion. I was kind of reading more the front side of that play, a little too long on that one, but again, tried throwing it away from the defender on that one. Ended up hitting Gill's (Jacob Gill, WR) knee popping up. It's just super unfortunate in that situation, and in that time of the game for that to happen. But, that's a little execution thing, I could've thrown that ball maybe 0.2 seconds earlier, and it might have been a different outcome."

On first half success:
"We brought our own energy to start the game off. I'm really proud of the guys. In that sense, we were ready to compete right out the gate. We were executing at that point in time. We were taking some shots. We started off with a big play to Gill (Jacob Gill, WR) that was a really good motivator, good confidence builder to start off the game. And you know, the defense was playing great to start off the game. We got a good, short field position on our second touchdown drive. And you know, when you start fast, like that, it really puts your team in a good momentum. Obviously it didn't end up rolling into the second half, but it was a good way to start out this game."

On the close incompletion at the end of the game:
"I mean, that's football, that's all sports. It's all a game of inches. And it really sucks to see the game end like that. And you know, if he was a size 10 size instead of a size 12 or 11 or whatever, maybe it would've been a bit different. But, you've got to take chances in those opportunities. When there's a fourth down, give one of our best players on our team an opportunity to catch the ball, go make a play. That's what I did on that assault, one on one coverage, gave him a shot and obviously just a couple inches out."

On the loss of three OLs:
"I'm still happy for those guys that came in. They did a great job. There's a couple plays in there that they ended up bringing some different pressures, trying to confuse those guys up front a little bit. But those guys have worked hard all season. They've got a lot of reps under them, just in practice in general. And obviously it always hurts to lose guys like Dunker (Genning Dunker, RT), Beau Stephens (LG), Kade Peiper (RG), but I'm proud of the way that those other guys stepped up, and were ready for the challenge when they got it."

On repetitive close losses:
"There's a lot of plays throughout that second half that I wish we could have back, that could have changed the outcome of that game. And you never know what plays it's going to be. There's opportunities before that drive that maybe we didn't even have to have that drive. We could have been the reason earlier in that game, and really kind of put it out of reach. But again, the game flowed that way. We had an opportunity at the end there. I wish we could have completed that last play, but obviously the ball was just a little too wide, a little too couple steps out. We're trying to always try to be the reason, but we just didn't end up being the reason this second half."

On keeping focus after so many close losses:
"Again, kind of what I said last week, it's always tough. It's devastating to lose like this, and for it to be again, a one possession game. Again, it really sucks. But again, we got to go back to the film room and learn from it. Learn those little different things that we didn't execute correctly, and kind of bring it into those last two games and hopefully a bowl game after that. But again, just got to go back and learn from it, practice on those things and execute a little bit better."