Junior wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane had a highlight reel-worthy one-handed touchdown catch to go with his 91 yards on three receptions. (Braden Dawson / Daily Trojan)
With its opponents coming off a game in which they allowed 351 rushing yards, USC football's game plan early on seemed clear: feed junior running back Waymond Jordan.
But on the third play of the game, the usually reliable Jordan lost a fumble, setting Georgia Southern University up for an easy six points and a lead less than a minute later.
Luckily, both for the Trojans and Jordan himself, the fumble wasn't a sign of things to come.
Jordan finished the game with 167 yards -- the most for any USC back in Head Coach Lincoln Riley's tenure -- and a touchdown. The Trojans (2-0) hammered the Eagles (0-2), led by former Head Coach Clay Helton, finishing 59-20 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. USC's 755 yards of offense were its most in a game since at least 1972.
"Teams that win explosive play battles typically win games. We're making some big plays on all sides, which is great; it doesn't mean it'll always be like that one. That's where we're looking to also play clean and very efficiently as well," Riley said in a postgame news conference. "[There are] a lot of good things and a lot to correct."
After winning last week's Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week award despite only playing the first half, redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava showed what he could do with a little more time, though he was still pulled midway through the fourth quarter thanks to a massive Trojan lead.
Maiava threw for four touchdowns and a career-high 412 yards on 16-of-24 passing, including two touchdowns of more than 60 yards to junior wide receiver Makai Lemon, in his second near-perfect performance to kick off his first full season as USC's starting quarterback.
"[Maiava] is doing a great job," Lemon said in a postgame news conference. "He has a job back there. He has to read the defense and read progressions, and he is doing a great job at that and giving us the ball. We are just blessed with the opportunity to catch the ball."
Lemon ran more than 50 yards after the catch on both of his touchdowns, ending the night with 158 yards -- all from the first quarter. Maiava's other top option, junior wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane, also showed out, reeling in an electric one-handed touchdown grab and a 53-yard catch despite defensive pass interference calls on both plays.
"It was nasty, man, oh my gosh," said junior defensive end Braylan Shelby, who watched Lane's one-handed snag from the sidelines.
While neither Lemon nor Lane reached the end zone in USC's season-opening rout against Missouri State University (1-1), the two have now combined for 372 yards and three touchdowns, and they have the looks of one of the best receiving duos in college football.
"Being able to go out there and look to my left and right and see Ja'Kobi and Makai out there ... it's super electric," Maiava said in a postgame news conference.