Georgia Southern vs. USC 2025: Keys to the Game and Predictions

The Georgia Southern Eagles have stayed on the West Coast all week, preparing for their 2025 Week 2 matchup versus Coach Clay Helton’s former team, the USC Trojans.

Georgia Southern Eagles vs. USC Trojans: Week 2 Preview

The USC Trojans opened up as 28-point favorites after the Eagles’ ugly 28-point loss to Fresno State in Week 1.

The Trojans won their home opener last week, beating the Missouri State Bears 73-13, and covering the 36.5-point spread. It was total domination, but can the Eagles play the Trojans closer?

This is an interesting spread considering that the Eagles were just beaten by 28 at the hands of Fresno State. The casual fan may assume a team that just put up 73 points would be giving up more than 28 points. This may suggest that Vegas thinks Georgia Southern will be more competitive with USC than the Bears were last week. And, that bodes well for the Eagles.

Georgia Southern vs. USC 2025: Keys to the Game and Predictions

Key Players for USC

The Trojans have serious talent. Quarterback Jayden Maiava was fantastic against Missouri State, throwing 15-of-18 for 295 yards and a pair of passing touchdowns. Maiava also had a couple of carries for nine yards and a score. The quarterback showed his ability to use his legs in short yardage situations. However, his arm strength and accuracy were what garnered attention.

Maiava’s favorite weapon was wide receiver Makai Lemon, who led the team with 90 receiving yards. Lemon may not have found the endzone, but had seven receptions, indicating that Maiava has already built a strong connection with the former four-star recruit.

Another weapon for Maiava will be running back Eli Sanders. Sanders only had 33 yards on the ground against the Bears, but had a 73-yard receiving touchdown on a screen. Sanders will be a dynamic weapon both in the backfield and in the flats.

However, the Trojans’ top rushing back is King Miller. Miller had 80 yards on the ground and one touchdown against Missouri State. Fresno State found success against the Eagles by using multiple backs, and you can expect Lincoln Riley to try some of the same.

Meanwhile, at tight end, Lake McRee stands at 6-foot-4 and nearly 250 pounds, but has serious speed. McRee had only two grabs against the Bears but a total of 72 receiving yards. That included a monster 64-yard touchdown catch, with 56 yards after the catch. The Eagles will have to focus on bringing the big boy down quickly if they want to limit his impact.

The last Trojan to talk about is their safety, Bishop Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald terrorized the Bears by seemingly being everywhere with four tackles, and a pass breakup. The biggest play the NC State transfer made was his 39-yard pick-six, where Fitzgerald showed off his speed and how well he can read QB eyes. JC French will have to be cautious of No. 19 every time he drops back to throw.

Key Players for Georgia Southern

The best weapon the Eagles have on offense is Auburn transfer wide receiver Camden Brown. Brown had a stellar Southern debut in Week 1, too. In the first half against Fresno State, Brown was quickly identified as a player the Bulldogs needed to take away. And that is exactly what Fresno State head coach Entz had Al’zillion Hamilton do.

Expect the Trojans to try and mimic Coach Entz’s gameplan. However, fans should also expect Brown to be ready for the heavy coverage. Brown had 55 yards on four catches, one for a touchdown, in the first half.

Camden Brown gets @GSAthletics_FB on the board! 🎯 pic.twitter.com/xJKtl8Cc1U

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 31, 2025

Josh Dallas will also continue to be a dependable weapon for the Eagles and was used in a unique way on Saturday. The Eagles opted to use Dallas as a ball carrier, having the tall wideout line up in the backfield and take a direct snap.

Although Dallas was only able to get five yards between his two carries, the Eagles and Coach Helton will continue to implement Dallas into this offense in any way they can.

Yet none of this matters if quarterback JC French can’t play at a high level. Last week, French played fantastic against Fresno State, with his only interception from a tipped ball rather than a bad decision.

The entire offense struggled to get things going once they had fallen behind in the second half. However, French was seeing the defense well and had a nice touch on his throws. Expect this week to be a good test for French, but don’t count him out.

How Georgia Southern Wins in Week 2

If Georgia Southern can get their offense moving and mitigate the Trojan run game, there should be no reason the Eagles cannot cover the spread. The Eagles have the offensive weapons to keep up with this electrifying USC team and a defense that can limit big-yardage throws.

However, if the Eagles cannot stop the Trojan run, expect USC and Coach Riley to lean on the power of Miller and the speed of Sanders. If Georgia Southern can’t stop that, it’ll be a long night in Southern California.