USC’s younger players out to prove they’re starter-worthy in Las Vegas Bowl

USC running back Bryan Jackson carries the ball against Utah State on Sept. 7. But Marks opted out of the bowl game, and Joyner entered the transfer portal, and suddenly, the keys to USC’s backfield for Friday’s Las Vegas Bowl against Texas A&M were in the hands of one of the youngest players on USC’s roster, a freshman with barely 20 carries to his name. “There’s a part of this that feels like the last game of this year and in some ways feels like the first game of next year,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said. “He never expected anything other than for us to coach him hard and develop him,” Riley said of his quarterback, “and he was ready when his opportunity came.” That’s the attitude Jackson has tried to carry into bowl season, preparing as if this were his moment to seize control of USC’s backfield for 2025. Riley called it “a tremendous opportunity for to show that they can do the things that great backs in our offense have to do.” It’s been a while since Riley has run with a true power back like Jackson, but the freshman has spent the bowl season trying to convince the coach that he’s ready, with plenty of cuts and bruises to prove it.