Indiana Beat USC 27-13 to Keep College Football Playoff Hopes Alive

The Indiana Hoosiers beat the USC Trojans 27-13 in a college football game in Bloomington, Indiana, on Saturday. The win kept alive Indiana's hopes of reaching the College Football Playoff and defending their national title.

Going into Saturday's game, USC and Indiana had played each other only five times. This meeting was effectively a must-win game for both teams, since each needed a victory to keep its playoff chances alive.

Indiana took a hit before the game even began, when running back Turbo Richard was ruled out, weakening the Hoosiers' ground game.

Both defenses were clicking in the first half, which put points at a premium. Indiana struck first when quarterback Grant Wilson hit tight end Brock Schott for a touchdown.

Somewhat strangely, both teams missed field goals in the first half, but each of them made up for it with another. That made it a 10-7 game with under a minute until halftime.

That is when the game turned. USC's Deven Bryant picked off Wilson, putting the ball back in quarterback Jayden Maiava's hands. After a 51-yard pass to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Maiava hit wide receiver Zacharyus Williams for a 7-yard touchdown to tie the game.

Each team added a field goal early in the second half, and then Indiana pulled ahead thanks to a five-play, 75-yard drive, capped off by a Khobie Martin touchdown.

USC followed with a lengthy drive that ended early in the fourth quarter with a field goal attempt that would have cut the Indiana lead to four. However, kicker Caden Chittenden missed the kick. Chittenden had come in after Ryon Sayeri missed a field goal on the first drive of the game, and he missed one of his own, costing the Trojans some much-needed points.

Later in the quarter, the Trojans found themselves deep in Hoosier territory, but once again they left points on the board when Maiava threw an interception in the red zone. The Hoosiers then took the ball 93 yards, most of it thanks to a 42-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Becker.

The final USC miscue came on fourth-and-13 at their own end of the field. Maiava, running out of options to keep his team in the game, threw a long pass downfield, only for it to be picked off by defensive back Jamari Sharpe, which settled the result.

A third loss on the year means it is pretty much curtains for USC's playoff hopes, while Indiana moves to 9-1 on the year and 6-1 in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers will head out to Washington next week to take on the Huskies, while USC will look to bounce back against the Maryland Terrapins.