The walk-on took his place next to USC’s quarterback, the last man standing in a battered backfield. In the midst of a bruising Big Ten battle with Michigan, where brawn and ball control were at a premium, both of the Trojans’ top two running backs had already been carted up the Coliseum tunnel. Two of their top linemen, meanwhile, started Saturday in street clothes. The circumstances were anything but ideal for a team whose season hung in the balance.
King Miller, though, was already familiar with beating long odds. Not long ago, the redshirt freshman was buried on the depth chart, a preferred walk-on from Calabasas High without any obvious path to playing time at USC.
But that was before Saturday, before Miller saw a crease in the Michigan defense, before he took off on a breakaway, game-changing run that broke open the game and eventually lifted USC to a statement-making, 31-13 win over No. 15 Michigan.
It was a resounding victory for the Trojans, given how poorly they’d played in their loss to Illinois two weeks earlier, and for Lincoln Riley, who was just 3-11 against ranked teams prior to Saturday.
That the win came behind a back who pays his own way at USC only made it all the more impressive.
Miller had just two carries for 10 yards to his name, when Waymond Jordan, the Trojans’ leading rusher, hopped off the field in the second quarter, unable to put any weight on his foot. His next 16 carries, though, would go for 148 yards.
His outburst began with that breakaway early in the third quarter, as Miller slipped through a hole and took off, stutter-stepping his way past one Michigan defender and into the open field. Miller ultimately was tackled, only to punch in a touchdown two plays later.
The score gave USC a 21-7 lead that it would never relinquish. But Miller wasn’t done with his breakout performance. He sprinted away for a similar, 47-yard gain on the very next drive.
The most encouraging developments came on defense, where USC bounced back from a disastrous defeat at Illinois to dominate Michigan and its standout freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood. After weeks of their secondary being picked apart, the Trojans held Underwood to just 207 yards on 15-of-24 passing. It was similarly stifling against the run, holding Michigan’s top rushing attack to a meager 3.5 yards per carry.
There were other positive signs Saturday too. For one, USC committed just three penalties, a season low.
Its offense, outside of Miller, has seen better days. Quarterback Jayden Maiava threw a bad interception in the red zone, when USC could have put the game away in the third quarter. Still, he finished with 265 yards and two touchdowns.
But this was the star walk-on’s night, begging the question: How long will it take USC to offer him a scholarship?
Before Miller burst onto the scene, it wasn’t clear how USC would look coming off the Illinois loss. But USC wasted no time asserting itself.
The Trojans marched down the field with ease on their opening possession. Jordan touched the ball six times, and Maiava completed all five of his passes, capping a seamless 11-play drive by hitting a wide open Ja’Kobi Lane in the end zone on a two-yard slant.
USC kept rolling on its next drive, until disaster struck and the momentum suddenly shifted. Just as the Trojans crossed into the red zone, threatening to bust the game open, tight end Lake McRee caught a pass over the middle and was popped by Michigan defensive back Jyaire Hill, who jarred the ball loose. The Wolverines recovered.
USC managed to withstand Michigan’s initial response, stopping an 11-play drive with a well-timed safety blitz on third down that pushed the Wolverines out of field-goal range. But a 14-play followup proved too much for the Trojans’ defense, which couldn’t stop Michigan’s ground game and gave up a tying touchdown to receiver Donaven McCulley.
With three minutes remaining in the half — and Michigan set to receive the third-quarter kick — USC finally kicked into high gear. It faced just one third down as it marched the length of the field. But with precious seconds ticking away, Maiava looked to the end zone where he found Makai Lemon, who leaped skyward to snag the pass between two defenders, then held on as he landed on his back for the go-ahead score.
USC, however, paid a price for that final scoring drive before the half. Jordan, the Trojans’ leading rusher, hopped off the field after a single carry, unable to put weight on his foot. He was eventually carted off the field, joining Eli Sanders, the Trojans’ other top back, who left the game in the first quarter.
But Miller seamlessly stepped into that void in the second half. He ripped off one big run, then another, sprinting his way into Trojan infamy in the midst of a statement victory.
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