USC Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava threw four touchdown passes, three to receiver Ja’Kobi Lane and one to receiver Kyle Ford, with eight seconds left to give USC a dramatic 35-31 victory over Texas A&M in the Las Vegas Bowl .

Maiava finished the night with 22 of 39 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. Lane caught seven passes for a career-high 127 yards and was awarded the MVP trophy for his performance. It was the second straight game in which Lane scored three touchdowns. Receiver Makai Lemon completed six passes for 99 yards.

“Kind of a poetic way to end the season,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said. “I’m just incredibly proud of this group and the resilience they’ve shown. I told them that there is a toughness and toughness that is developing in this program. I think you could look at a lot of different points this season and certainly tonight and you can see that and there’s a lot of excitement about it.

The Trojans fell behind 24-7 in the second half and scored 21 unanswered points to regain the lead. Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed’s 19-yard dash gave the Aggies the lead with less than two minutes left in regulation.

Just like in the season opener against the LSU Tigers, USC engineered a game-winning drive, this time led by Maiava, that stunned the Texas A&M fans in attendance at Allegiant Stadium.

“The mentality was evident all year and it was important to finish like that,” Riley said. “You can feel the confidence right now in the locker room that they’re going to go away, that we’re going to keep getting better.”

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Texas A&M moved the ball down the field on its first possession and converted three times on third down and once on fourth down. Reed found receiver Noah Thomas, who ran an excellent route around the goal line for a 7-yard touchdown on the 16th play of the drive to take an early lead.

USC struggled to get anything going offensively in the first quarter. Redshirt freshman Elijah Paige was forced off the field on the Trojans’ second possession with an ankle injury. USC entered the contest thin on offense, with Third Team All-Big Ten center Jonah Monheim opting out as he prepares for the NFL Draft, and only a few linemen entered the portal, including the starting offensive tackle Mason Murphy.

The Trojans picked off Reed twice in the first half, once by safety Kamari Ramsey and the second by safety Akili Arnold, who was playing his final collegiate game. Arnold’s interception in the end zone early in the second quarter prevented the Aggies from making a two-score game and led to a 30-yard catch-and-run by Ja’Kobi Lane for the touchdown.

A promising Trojans push midway through the second quarter ended abruptly when Maiava was shot down in USC territory.

Due to poor time management by Riley and a 39-yard field goal by Michael Lantz that missed the left net with 13 seconds left in the first half, the game was tied at halftime.

Texas A&M got things going again coming out of the locker room. They opened the second half in the same manner as the first half, with a methodical push right down the field capped by a 7-yard touchdown from Noah Thomas to regain the lead. A costly interception by Maiava midway through the third quarter led to a 5-yard receiver touchdown by Jabre Barber, giving the Aggies a 24-7 lead.

Trailing by three points with just over a quarter to play, Maiava was starting to settle in. He led a scoring drive that was capped with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Lane. The second-year receiver celebrated in the end zone and the Trojans had hope again. USC began the fourth quarter with a 1-yard score by Bryan Jackson for the first touchdown of his career, making it a three-point game.

All the momentum shifted toward USC until Maiava was intercepted on a pass that floated in the air into the waiting arms of Texas A&M defender Dalton Brooks. It was Maiava’s sixth turnover in his fourth start as USC’s signal caller. Turnovers have been a problem for the Trojans’ quarterbacks all season this season. Miller Moss threw nine interceptions in his nine starts.

A missed field goal on the Aggies’ ensuing possession gave USC the ball back. Maiava rallied, pushed straight down and found Lane for the third time to give the Trojans a 28-24 lead with less than five minutes left in regulation. Reese’s rushing touchdown gave Texas A&M the lead back until Ford’s touchdown with eight seconds left gave USC a thrilling victory. Ford, a sixth-grader, played his final game as a Trojan.

“That was great,” Riley said. “That his career is going the way it was, that he is returning to us this year. It was kind of fitting that the senior got to make that play, and what a great play it was.”

The Trojans finish the 2024 season with a record of 7-6 and have now won consecutive bowl games under Riley. It certainly wasn’t the season the fan base expected in year three under Riley, but USC enters the offseason with positive momentum after watching a number of players returning in 2025 make big plays throughout the game .