Makai Lemon, Southern California Football News: Draft Scout Player News

Draft Scout College Football Player News

11/15/25 - WR Makai Lemon, Jr/2027, Southern California, (DS#2 WR)

Makai Lemon made 10 catches for 153 yards and a second-half touchdown, and No. 17 Southern California scored 19 unanswered points to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive with a 26-21 victory over Iowa on Saturday. Jayden Maiava passed for 254 yards and Bryan Jackson rushed for two touchdowns for the Trojans (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten, No. 17 CFP), who faced their largest deficit of the season when they trailed 21-7 late in the second quarter at a rain-soaked Coliseum. USC mounted five consecutive scoring drives, capped by Jackson's go-ahead TD run with 13:36 to play. Mark Gronowski threw a touchdown pass, made a TD run and caught a scoring pass during the first half, but his Hawkeyes (6-4, 4-3, No. 21 CFP) got shut out in the second half of another heartbreaking loss to a ranked team. Iowa finally mounted a decent drive in the closing minutes, but turned it over on downs at the USC 29 with 1:59 to play. The Trojans were able to run out the clock after an Iowa assistant coach was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct with 1:25 left.

Steady rain had been falling on Los Angeles for more than 24 hours before kickoff, and it didn't stop during the wettest USC home game in recent memory. The Hawkeyes appeared to handle it better early on, with receiver Reece Vander Zee's 5-yard TD pass to Gronowski on a picture-perfect version of the Philly Special highlighting a strong first half. USC persevered and won thanks to another phenomenal game from star receivers Lemon and Ja'Kobi Lane, who had seven catches for 65 yards. Shrugging off the rain, run-first Iowa surprisingly threw the ball five times on its opening drive, capped by Dayton Howard's 2-yard TD catch from a scrambling Gronowski on fourth down. After USC failed to score in the first quarter at home for the first time all season, Gronowski rushed for a score early in the second. Jackson's 1-yard TD on a direct snap got USC on the board. Iowa then made another strong drive capped by the TD catch by Gronowski. He has caught a pass in all five seasons of his college football career, which began at South Dakota State. After Lemon's 12-yard TD catch, USC's Jahkeem Stewart intercepted a deflected pass in Iowa territory, leading to Jackson's second score. - USC/AP College Football

(DS#2 WR) Jr/2027