Grant Wilson Throws Two TDs and Indiana Picks Off Jayden Maiava Three Times as No. 6 Indiana Beats No. 15 USC 27-13

USC moved the ball on Indiana all afternoon. It just kept handing it back. Jayden Maiava threw for 311 yards and three interceptions, the last two inside the final seven minutes, and No. 6 Indiana turned a tense, tied game into a 27-13 win over No. 15 USC on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.

Grant Wilson got the start at quarterback over Josh Hoover, ending a week of Curt Cignetti refusing to name a starter, and the seventh-year veteran completed 17 of 27 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. His 42-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Becker with 3:30 left was the knockout. Khobie Martin ran 12 times for 82 yards and a score, and the Indiana defense held USC to one touchdown in five trips inside the red zone, according to The Daily Hoosier.

The win lifts Indiana to 9-1 and 6-1 in the Big Ten. USC falls to 7-3 and 4-3. The full numbers are in the ESPN box score (opens in a new tab).

A fast start, then a slog

USC took the opening kickoff and pushed into Indiana territory with tempo, but the drive stalled and Ryon Sayeri's 51-yard field goal try hit the left upright, according to the Indiana Daily Student. Indiana made the Trojans pay right away. On third-and-6, Wilson found Shazz Preston for 47 yards, then hit tight end Brock Schott for a 13-yard touchdown. The six-play, 65-yard drive put Indiana up 7-0 at 8:18 of the first quarter.

USC answered with a long, patient march. Maiava completed three passes to get the Trojans past midfield, and they moved 63 yards in 12 plays and 6:16 before Indiana stiffened. Caden Chittenden hit a 29-yarder at 2:02, and Indiana led 7-3.

From there, both offenses went quiet. Each team punted twice in a row across the end of the first quarter and the start of the second. Then Wilson broke it open, or seemed to. On third-and-9, Nick Marsh ran under a deep ball for a 65-yard gain, and Wilson followed with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Becker. A penalty wiped it off the board, and Nico Radicic missed the 44-yard field goal that followed.

Takeaways and a tie at the half

Indiana's defense bailed the offense out. Preston Zachman intercepted Maiava at 5:33 of the second quarter, giving Indiana the ball at the USC 32. The Hoosiers could not punch it in, and Radicic made a 21-yard field goal at 1:45 for a 10-3 lead.

That should have been the halftime score. Instead, Wilson threw a pass that was tipped and caught by Deven Bryant in the final minute, and USC needed only three plays and 16 seconds to cash it in. Maiava found freshman Kayden Dixon-Wyatt for 51 yards, then hit Zacharyus Williams for a 7-yard touchdown with 21 seconds left. It was 10-10 at the break.

Field goals, then Martin

Wilson spread the ball to four different receivers on Indiana's first drive of the third quarter, moving the Hoosiers 66 yards in 11 plays. USC held at its own 6, and Radicic kicked a 24-yarder at 10:02 for a 13-10 lead.

USC matched it. Chunk plays through the air and on the ground got the Trojans inside the Indiana 10, and once again the Hoosiers held in the red zone. Chittenden's 25-yarder at 4:27 capped an 11-play, 67-yard drive and tied it at 13.

Indiana's response was the best drive of the day. Martin broke a 37-yard run to the USC 1, and after an initial touchdown was called off, Martin scored from 1 yard out on the next play at 2:39. The five-play, 75-yard drive took 1:48 and gave Indiana a 20-13 lead it never gave back.

The turning point: Isaiah Jones at the 7

USC had every chance to tie it. A defensive pass interference penalty helped the Trojans past midfield late in the third quarter, but Chittenden missed a 27-yard field goal to open the fourth. Indiana's next drive went nowhere, and after the punt Maiava went back to work, completing four passes to drive USC to the Indiana 6.

Linebacker Isaiah Jones intercepted a quick slant, and Indiana took over at its own 7 with 6:35 to play, according to the Indiana Daily Student and Inside the Hall. It was the play of the game. A touchdown there likely ties it. Instead, USC came away empty for the second time in the second half.

Indiana then went the length of the field. The Hoosiers covered 93 yards in seven plays and 3:05, and Wilson finished it by hitting Becker for a 42-yard touchdown with 3:30 left. That made it 27-13. On USC's next possession, Jamari Sharpe intercepted Maiava with 2:24 remaining and returned it 34 yards, and the Hoosiers ran out the clock.

Stats that matter

The box score looks closer than the final. Indiana outgained USC 451 to 409, but the Trojans had more first downs (21 to 18) and threw for 311 yards to Indiana's 305. The game turned on three numbers.

The first is turnovers. USC gave it away three times; Indiana once. The second is third down. Indiana converted 7 of 13, while USC managed just 2 of 11 and failed on its only fourth-down try. The third is the red zone, where USC's one touchdown in five trips cost the Trojans dearly. Penalties hurt both sides, with USC flagged eight times for 87 yards and Indiana eight times for 60.

Maiava finished 26 of 42 for 311 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. Trent Mosley was USC's top target, catching nine passes for 130 yards. USC ran for 98 yards on 25 carries and sacked Wilson twice.

For Indiana, Marsh finished with four catches for 80 yards, Becker had three for 75 and a touchdown, and Preston had three for 71. Lee Beebe Jr. added 71 rushing yards on 16 carries, per Inside the Hall. Jacob Savage led the defense with 13 tackles, Zachman had 10 tackles to go with his interception, and Jones and Sharpe had the late picks that decided it.

The crowd of 54,336 got a game worth the wait: Inside the Hall put the attendance at that number, and it was the first meeting between the teams in Bloomington since 1981, according to CBS Sports.

What it means

For Indiana, this was a needed response. The Hoosiers were coming off back-to-back overtime wins, and Yahoo Sports noted they had not scored more than 23 points in any of their previous four games. They also entered the week having dropped to No. 9 in the second College Football Playoff rankings. Beating a ranked opponent with a backup quarterback, and getting 451 yards of offense in the process, is the kind of win that travels well in a committee room.

The Big Ten race is still UCLA's to lose. The Bruins are 10-0 and 7-0 in league play after beating Illinois 22-14 on Friday night, and Indiana sits one loss back in the conference standings.

The quarterback question will follow Indiana into next week. Cignetti told CBS that Hoover was healthy, according to Yahoo Sports. Wilson's line on Saturday makes it hard to argue the offense suffered.

For USC, the loss is a third defeat and a fourth-quarter collapse that will sting. Yahoo Sports framed the result as the end of USC's chances of reaching the College Football Playoff. The Trojans moved the ball for long stretches and still lost by two scores.

Indiana travels to Seattle to face Washington at Husky Stadium on Nov. 21. USC hosts Maryland at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum the same day, its Senior Day game.

The takeaway

This one was not pretty. The Hoosiers missed a field goal, lost a touchdown to a penalty, and threw a pick that let USC tie it before half. But when the game was there to be taken, Indiana's defense took the ball three times and its offense answered with a 93-yard drive. USC had its chances. Indiana made the plays that counted.

Sources: ESPN, Indiana Daily Student, Inside the Hall, The Daily Hoosier, Yahoo Sports, WISH-TV, CBS Sports, USC Athletics.

Photo: Peter Davis/Indiana Athletics (file photo from Oct. 31, 2026, vs. Minnesota).