USC Trojans Defensive Struggles Come to Light, Fall 34-32 to Illinois Fighting Illini

David Olano's 41-yard field goal at the buzzer gave the No. 23 Illinois Fighting Illini a 34-32 win over the No. 21 USC Trojans in a top-25 showdown.

The Trojans struggled all afternoon on defense, both against the run and the pass, particulary with star safety Kamari Ramsey out of the lineup because of an illness. Quarterback Jayden Maiava threw his first interception of the season, as part of a two turnover day for USC.

Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley talks with players during the first half against Illinois Fighting — Sep 27, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley talks with players during the first half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium. | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Final: Illinois 34, USC 32

Fourth Quarter

0:00 - David Olano's 41-yard field goal gives Illinois the 34-32 win over USC.

0:50 - Luke Altmyer runs for 13 yards and moves into USC territory.

1:55 - TOUCHDOWN USC. Jayden Maiava to Makai Lemon for the touchdown. USC leads 32-31.

WHEN IN DOUBT, THROW IT TO MAKAI LEMON pic.twitter.com/2zrFJkvPpk
— Kendell Hollowell (@KHollowell_) September 27, 2025

6:28 - FUMBLE. Eric Gentry forces the fumble and Christian Pierce recovers in the end zone.

🗣️ HOLY CHICAGO‼️@uscfb forces the fumble and recovers it in the Illinois end zone.

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/zvK1s1jryA
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 27, 2025

7:05 - Luke Altmyer to Collin Dixon for 61 yards, Christian Pierce saved a touchdown.

9:54 - TOUCHDOWN USC. Jayden Maiava connects with Makai Lemon for the touchdown. USC trails 31-25 after the 2-point conversion.

MAKAI LEMON IS UNREAL 🍋🔥@uscfb is right back in it! ✌️ pic.twitter.com/8nrFaYvLP0
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 27, 2025

11:45 - Jayden Maiava to Makai Lemon for 12 yards. Moves into Illinois territory.

14:34 - TOUCHDOWN Illinois. Luke Altmyer to Justin Bowick for a 29-yard touchdown to cap off a 4-play, 75-yard drive. Illinois leads 31-17.

Third Quarter

1:46 - TOUCHDOWN USC. Waymond Jordan punches it in for a 2-yard touchdown to cap off a 10-play, 81-yard drive. USC trails 24-17.

.@All_Americann28 finds the end zone for the second time today ✌️

📺 @CFBONFOX pic.twitter.com/hjLeYdKLKm
— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) September 27, 2025

2:27 - Husan Longstreet takes it himself for 16 yards down to the Illinois 2-yard line.

5:11 - Jayden Maiava to Makai Lemon for 30 yards on 3rd and 16. Moves into Illinois territory.

6:59 - Luke Altmyer to Kaeden Feagin for a 65-yard catch-and-run for the touchdown to cap off a 2-play, 66-yard drive. Illinois leads 24-10.

7:54 - USC punts after going 3 and out. Illinois will take over on their own 34-yard line.

9:44 - INTERCEPTION. Jayden Maiava is picked off by Dylan Rosiek. Maiava's first turnover of the season.

11:34 - FIELD GOAL. Davis Olano's 45-yard field goal is GOOD. Illinois leads 17-10.

12:50 - SACK. DeCarlos Nicholson gets home for the sack.

SHARK ATTACK 🦈@decarlosstraps | @CFBONFOX pic.twitter.com/JPmEbXj6Gk
— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) September 27, 2025

13:10 - Luke Altmyer to Collin Dixon for 17 yards and moves the ball into USC territory.

Second Quarter

0:02 - Field goal. Ryan Sayeri's 21-yard field goal is GOOD. USC trails 14-10

0:30 - Jayden Maiava to Lake McRee for 24 yards.

0:49 - Illinois turnover. Kaden Feagin fumbles around the goal line and the ball is recovered by USC's Jahkeem Stewart.

After review, the call on the field is upheld, and it's USC ball!

Do you agree with the call? pic.twitter.com/thNt2IilAt
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 27, 2025

1:01 - Timeout Illinois. They will have a 1st and goal on the 2.

1:49 - Luke Altmyer to Hank Beatty for 16 yards on 3rd and 14. First down.

This 3rd-down catch 😲

After review, @IlliniFootball's Hank Beatty does move the chains.

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/iEGzq2fm3H
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 27, 2025

2:00 - Two-minute timeout. Illinois will face a 3rd and 4 on the USC 37.

4:37 - Jayden Maiava's pass on 4th down is broken up. Turnover on downs.

6:25 - Jayden Maiava on the QB sneak on 4th and 1 and picks up the first down.

7:11 - Injury timeout. A couple of Illinois players are down on the field. USC will face a 3rd and 5.

8:22 - Jayden Maiava connects with Walker Lyons for 18 yards on 3rd and 16. First down.

10:32 - Injury timeout. Center Kilian O'Connor is down on the field.

10:49 - TOUCHDOWN Illinois. Hank Beatty on a WR pass hits Luke Altmyer for a 3-yard touchdown to cap off an 11-play, 90-yard drive. Illinois leads 14-7.

12:13 - Illinois timeout. They will face a 2nd and goal from the USC 6.

14:19 - Luke Altmyer to Hank Beatty for 18 yards. Moves into USC territory.

First Quarter

1:22 - TOUCHDOWN USC. Waymond Jordan punches it for a 1-yard touchdown to cap off a 7-play, 75-yard drive. Game tied 7-7.

Waymo hits pay dirt ✌️

📺 @CFBONFOX pic.twitter.com/n0MMVlYIo7
— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) September 27, 2025

2:19 - Injury timeout. An Illinois player is down on the field. USC will have a 1st and 10 on the Illinois 11-yard line.

2:55 - Jayden Maiava to Tanook Hines on 3rd down for a 30-yard gain. Moves to Illinois 21-yard line.

USC caught them all looking 👀@uscfb pic.twitter.com/d7ZOlLRhTJ
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 27, 2025

5:49 - TOUCHDOWN Illinois. Luke Altmyer takes it himself for a 12-yard touchdown run to cap off a 10-play, 70-yard drive. Illinois leads 10-0.

8:14 - Luke Altmyer to Kaden Feagin for 3 yards moves the chains for Illinois on fourth down. Moves into USC territory.

10:49 - FUMBLE. Waymond Jordan fumbles and the ball is recovered by Illinois' Jaheim Clarke.

12:15 - Waymond Jordan takes the direct snap for a gain of four yards on 4th-and-1. Moves into Illinois territory.

15:00 - Illinois wins the toss and defers. USC will receive the kickoff.

Preview

LIVE Score Updates USC Trojans Illinois Matchup Lincoln Riley Big Ten Luke Altmyer College Football Touchdown Jayden Maiava — Sep 13, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) talks with Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley before the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

All eyes will be on the Trojans with FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff set to take place at Illinois. This comes a week after USC defeated Michigan State 45-31 at home in an 8:00 p.m. kickoff to improve to 4-0.

Quarterback Jayden Maiava has been superb this season. The Trojans signal-caller is the only Division I player, FBS or FCS, in the last 30 years to record at least 1,200 passing yards, four rushing touchdowns, a 70.0 completion percentage and zero interceptions through four games.

His top target, receiver Makai Lemon, leads the conference in receiving yards, is tied for first in receptions and tied for second in touchdowns and yards per catch. Freshman Tanook Hines has shown a progression in every game and caught his first career touchdown last week.

MORE: USC’s Jahkeem Stewart Turns Heads With National Recognition

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Tight ends Lake McRee and Walker Lyons have become a big part of the offense, with 15 receptions for 257 yards and three touchdowns between the two of them.

The offensive line has kept Maiava upright, only allowing one sack this season. They have paved the way for running backs Waymond Jordan and Eli Sanders, establishing a well-balanced attack on offense. USC ranks first in the country in yards per play and have totaled more than 500 yards of offense in three games this season.

Defensively, the Trojans can get after the quarterback, they lead the country in sacks. And most of the time they are doing it with just a four man rush.

Defensive end Braylan Shelby leads the way with 3.5, followed by linebacker Eric Gentry with three and defensive end Kameryn Crawford with 2.5.

Safety Bishop Fitzgerald bad recorded three interceptions, but the key for the secondary will be eliminating the big play caused by communication issues and letting a receiver run wide-open down the field. Penalties have also been an issue and allowed teams to keep drives alive and remain the game.

Illinois Fighting Illini

The Fighting Illini are coming off an ugly 63-10 loss to Indiana, which dropped them from No. 9 to No. 23 in the latest AP Poll.

But that was last week, Saturday is a whole new ball game and they will be in front of their home crowd this week.

But they have had their struggles. Through four games, Illinois has given up 16 sacks and will face their toughest test with the Trojans in town.

Quarterback Luke Altmyer is one of the top quarterbacks in the Big Ten, but they will need more out of their running game this week to take some of the pressure off. Last week, the Fighting Illini only had two rushing yards, versus 312 from Indiana.

Road Test

Up until their week 3 victory at Purdue, the Trojans had been winless in the Central and Eastern Time Zone since 2012.

This week will be a great opportunity to see if the program has taken a turn and is ready to make some noise in the Big Ten.