The Spartans sent a blitz, rushing five defenders to get after the quarterback and apply pressure — pressure that gave them a chance to take down Maiava as he was surrounded. But he made a play, escaping the pocket and bouncing to the outside, where he found a whole lot of green up the sideline for a gain of 13 and a first down.

It put an issue the MSU defense experienced all game on full display: the inability to get USC’s offense off the field on third down. Ultimately, it led to a hard-fought 45-31 loss at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the first conference matchup between the two teams.

"These college football games are long, you win the thing in the fourth quarter," MSU head coach Jonathan Smith said. "We got ourselves set for a fourth quarter battle and we didn't have enough."

A loss that will sting, as the Spartans were just a few key plays away from a ranked road win, but still a loss far different from what they experienced last year. In ranked matchups a year ago, like Ohio State and Indiana, they gave themselves a chance early and fell apart in the second quarter. For a moment, it looked as if this season would be the same. But the ability to fight back and make it a one-score game in the fourth quarter speaks volumes about the improvements this team has made since last season.

Even though the improvements were clear, the biggest difference-maker in the game was MSU’s defense and its failure to get stops on third down.

USC converted an astounding 8 of 11 third downs and added one fourth down conversion for good measure. Helping the Trojans secure 27 first downs, eight more than the Spartans.

The Maiava scramble on third and his later completion to junior wide receiver Makai Lemon on fourth-and-3 both on USC’s opening drive of the fourth quarter were the two biggest conversions of the game. Two chances where, if MSU stepped up, its offense would have received the ball with the chance to go down and tie the game at 31.

The lack of options at linebacker clearly did not help the defense’s chances whenever it needed a stop. Junior linebacker Jordan Hall exited the game with 11:50 left in the second quarter after being charged with a targeting call, forcing the Spartans to lose the pillar of their defense.

Injuries also played a role, as redshirt freshman linebacker Brady Pretzlaff did not travel with the team, and redshirt senior linebacker Wayne Matthews III exited with 42 seconds left in the first half in a scary injury where he had to be stretchered off. Thankfully, Matthews still traveled home with the team and has shown signs of his motor skills being intact.

Ultimately, the Spartans find themselves in a game of what-ifs. If just one conversion had failed for USC, the game could have gone from 38-24 with 8:20 left to only down seven with more than 10 minutes to go — and a fired-up offense coming off back-to-back scoring drives.

It is never ideal to take a loss heading into a bye week, but this game offered plenty to take forward. Junior quarterback Aidan Chiles and the MSU offense continued to shine, holding its ground against one of the best offenses in the country. Chiles threw for 212 yards, completing 12 of 21 passes with three touchdowns, no interceptions and added a rushing score.

"Ain't no sitting around," Chiles said regarding the upcoming bye week. "There's a chip on our shoulder, we just lost a football game. We gotta figure that out."

The Spartans have things to build on before their next matchup in two weeks, on Oct. 4, when they travel to Nebraska to take on the Cornhuskers.