Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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32 OCT. 18, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: SOUTHERN CAL BY JACK SOBLE T wice, Southern Cal redshirt ju- nior quarterback Jayden Maiava saw junior wide receiver Makai Lemon with one-on-one cover- age in the end zone. And twice, he didn't hesitate. Lemon isn't your prototypical red- zone threat, standing 5-foot-11, 195 pounds. If 6-foot-4 teammate Ja'Kobi Lane is Drake London, Lemon is Amon- Ra St. Brown. All four of those Southern Cal wideouts have gashed Notre Dame in the past, even in games the Irish won. When Maiava first said, "Screw it, Lemon is out there somewhere," in Southern Cal's Week 5 matchup at Il- linois, the Trojans trailed 31-17 in the fourth quarter. But both attempts, as well as a two-point conversion after the first one, were successful. Lemon used his physicality, leverage and superior body control to haul in back-to-back touchdowns and give Southern Cal a fighting chance. The Trojans would lose, falling to 4-1. However, the Maiava-to-Lemon con- nection finished with 11 completions for 151 yards and 2 touchdowns. And that's not including a 75-yard touchdown re- ception that a needless ineligible man downfield penalty wiped off the board. Lemon has been college football's best wide receiver in the first half of the 2025 season, leading the Power Four with 589 yards. Maiava has argu- ably been its best quarterback, lead- ing the FBS with 11.4 yards per passing attempt. But Southern Cal's challenge throughout the Lincoln Riley era — and indeed, the 16 years since the Pete Car- roll era — has been parlaying its high- flying passing game into wins. The Trojans hope to change that when they visit Notre Dame, a place they have not escaped with a win since 2011, at 7:30 p.m. ET Oct. 18. 'THE ADVANTAGE IS GOING TO BE OURS' Southern Cal was close to acquiring Will Howard, who signed with Ohio State and led the Buckeyes to the na- tional title, as its quarterback last sea- son. But Miller Moss, backup to even- tual No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams, impressed in a Holiday Bowl win over Louisville enough for Riley to hold off on acquiring an experienced transfer quarterback. Still, Riley hedged his bet by taking a flier on a younger signal-caller, one who was raw but brimmed with elite upside. That was Maiava, the reigning Moun- tain West Player of the Year at UNLV. Two years later, Riley is glad he did. Maiava had completed 70.5 percent of his pass attempts for 1,587 yards with 11 touchdowns and, crucially, just 1 in- terception through five contests. That had been an issue in the past for Maiava, whose turnover-worthy play percent- age has dropped from 5.9 as a redshirt freshman with UNLV to 4.3 in his first season at Southern Cal to 2.6 in 2025. The Palolo, Hawai'i, native showed his increased maturity against Illinois. He threw an interception and missed Lemon twice on consecutive throws, but he responded to finish the game by connecting on 15 of 17 throws with those 2 touchdowns to his top target. AIR TROJANS Led by college football's best quarterback- wide receiver duo, Southern Cal's passing game gives it a shot at the upset Junior Makai Lemon has been college football's best wide receiver in the first half of the 2025 season, leading the Power Four with 589 receiving yards (on 35 receptions) through Week 6. PHOTO COURTESY SOUTHERN CAL ATHLETICS