The walk-on took his place next to USC’s quarterback, the last man standing in a battered backfield. In the midst of a bruising Big Ten battle with Michigan, where brawn and ball control were at a premium, both of the Trojans’ top two running backs had already been carted up the Coliseum tunnel. Two of their top linemen, meanwhile, started Saturday in street clothes. The circumstances were anything but ideal for a team whose season hung in the balance.
King Miller, though, was already familiar with beating long odds. Not long ago, the redshirt freshman was buried on the depth chart, a preferred walk-on from Calabasas High without any obvious path to playing time at USC. He’d chosen the Trojans over other opportunities, knowing he might not ever get his shot.
But that was before Saturday, before Miller saw a crease in the Michigan defense, before he took off on a breakaway, game-changing run that broke open the game and eventually lifted USC to a statement-making, 31-13 win over No. 15 Michigan.
“It was all honestly just a dream come true, man,” Miller said. “I’m just honestly so grateful.”
Certainly no one was more thankful than Lincoln Riley, who entered Saturday with a measly four victories in 15 tries over ranked teams during his tenure as the Trojans coach. Considering how poorly USC had played in its last outing — a ranked loss to Illinois in late September — this was perhaps the Trojans’ most resounding win among those few.
“Really just an awesome performance,” Riley said. “A gritty, tough performance. Just felt like they were not gonna come out here with anything less than a win.”
They also emerged with a conceivable path into the College Football Playoff conversation, one that would open up even further with a win in South Bend next Saturday.
But the fact that this particular victory came behind a back who had to pay his own tuition to be a Trojan only made it all the more memorable. Just twice in the past 50 years had a walk-on ever even scored a recorded touchdown at USC — the most recent being Miller himself, earlier this season.
Miller had just two carries for 10 yards to his name, when Waymond Jordan, the Trojans’ leading rusher, hopped off the field in the second quarter, unable to put any weight on his foot.
As Jordan left, running backs coach Anthony Jones went to Miller. He reiterated his confidence in him. Just do what you do, he told him.
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