Stewart back in the rotation
The biggest number out of Tuesday’s practice won’t show up on any stat sheet. Jahkeem Stewart was back.
The defensive tackle had been slowed by a foot problem, and he could play his first game of the season Saturday against Louisiana. Lincoln Riley kept expectations low. “We’ll see how the week of practice goes, but he is back at practice and he is taking part,” the Trojans coach said, while leaving the door open to seeing him on the field.
Stewart closed his freshman season in 2025 with 18 tackles, 1.5 sacks and an interception. He rejoins a unit that hardly needs the help.
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A defense playing at 2008 levels
USC (2-0) blanked Fresno State 39-0 last Friday. The Bulldogs finished with 116 total yards. To find a Trojans opponent held quieter you have to go back to November 2008, when Notre Dame managed 91. Eighteen seasons.
Safety Kennedy Urlacher posted two sacks, one of them for a safety. Cornerback Alex Graham forced a safety of his own.
The offense is keeping pace at 528.5 yards per game, 317.5 of them through the air. Jayden Maiava has completed 48 of 54 passes, 88.9 percent, with five touchdowns and no picks. In 2025 he waited nearly a month before throwing his first interception. Waymond Jordan and King Miller are splitting the carries almost evenly, 49 rushes for 223 yards and a touchdown apiece. Freshman Trent Mosley leads the receivers with 11 catches for 222 yards and three scores.
Louisiana are not arriving empty-handed
The two programs have never met. The Ragin’ Cajuns (1-0) beat Lamar 38-7 and held them to 56 rushing yards. Lamar’s only touchdown came on an interception return in the fourth quarter.
Michael Desormeaux liked how the pieces fit together. “What I was really proud of was that we played complementary football. Last year, it really wasn’t until the middle of the season that we started to feed off the defense’s stops on offense.” His team scored on four of its first six possessions, two of them starting in opposition territory.
The plan for Saturday is no secret. “You’ve got to make them as one-dimensional as possible. It always starts with stopping the run.”
Louisiana built Week 1 on the ground themselves: 243 rushing yards, four different runners in the end zone. Quarterback Lunch Winfield ran for 84, matching Darrell Smith, who scored twice. Winfield also went 16 of 22 for 189 yards through the air, with two interceptions. That last number could decide Saturday night.
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