Good morning! College football came back Saturday and every market we cover was on the schedule. Jayden Maiava completed 86 percent of his throws at the Coliseum. Dan Mullen’s second season at UNLV opened with a home loss. And Hawai’i came up short at Stanford after a late push. Elsewhere: the Dodgers won 2-1 in Detroit for the second night in a row, the Angels lost in extras again, San Diego FC handled the Galaxy, and the Padres blew a three-run lead and lost Luis Rengifo. NFL rosters cut to 53 today. Let’s get into it.
🚨 HEADLINES
🏈 Trojans roll. Maiava went 25-of-29 and USC opened 42-26 — Brady Charette at the Coliseum.
🏈 Old problems in Vegas. UNLV’s opener exposed as much as it solved — Derek Hegna at Allegiant Stadium.
🏈 Hawai’i falls short. A late comeback died at Stanford — Paul Brecht at Stanford Stadium.
⚽ Not enough. Lozano’s homecoming goal couldn’t cover a Galaxy defensive collapse in San Diego — David Martinez at Snapdragon Stadium.
⚾ Another one lost late. Christopher Sanchez shut down the Angels in a 4-2 extra-inning defeat — Jack Haslett at Angel Stadium.
⚾ Three-run lead, gone. And San Diego lost Luis Rengifo to injury in Tampa — Eric Evelhoch at Tropicana Field.
🏀 Filling the void. The Aces made a significant pickup to replace NaLyssa Smith — Derek Hegna in Las Vegas.
See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.
📋 SCOREBOARD — SATURDAY
🏈 College: USC 42, San Jose State 26 · Memphis 27, UNLV 21 · Stanford 37, Hawai’i 27
⚾ MLB: Dodgers 2, Tigers 1 · Phillies 4, Angels 2 (10) · Rays 7, Padres 6
⚽ MLS: San Diego FC 3, Galaxy 1
🏈 TWENTY-EIGHT BY HALFTIME
USC was the only ranked team playing in Week 0, and for two quarters it looked like it. The Trojans led 28-0 at the half with 312 yards to San Jose State’s 102, a 19-6 edge in first downs, and better than twenty minutes of possession. They converted nine of 13 third downs.
Jayden Maiava was surgical: 25-of-29 for 286 yards, two touchdown passes and a rushing score, with completions to ten different receivers. He led the country in QBR last season and opened this one by walking a quarterback sneak into the end zone.
“We put in the work all offseason,” Maiava said. “We put it on display today.”
The freshmen were the story underneath it. Four of USC’s six touchdowns came from first-year players — Trent Mosley and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt through the air, Riley Wormley and Shaun Alston on the ground. Mosley caught seven for 118 in his debut, which Holdenn Graff wrote about separately.
“He’s a consistent, explosive player,” Lincoln Riley said. “He attacked and didn’t play hesitant.”
Gary Patterson’s defense allowed three points through three quarters. Then the starters came off, San Jose State scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns with two-point conversions, and a rout became a two-possession game.
“He’s pissed about the fourth quarter,” Riley said of his new coordinator. “His standards are high.”
Defensive tackle Jide Abasiri, who had 2.5 tackles for loss including a fourth-down stuff at the USC 7, didn’t dress it up either: “We let our foot off the gas.”
Riley is now 10-0 in season openers as a head coach. Fresno State comes to the Coliseum Friday night.
GO DEEPER
› Brady Charette: Trojans kick off 2026 campaign with 42-26 win over Spartans (The Sporting Tribune)
› Holdenn Graff: Trent Mosley announces himself in USC’s Week 0 win (The Sporting Tribune)
🏈 ALLEGIANT AND PALO ALTO
Dan Mullen’s second season started the way plenty of second seasons do — with evidence for both arguments. Derek Hegna’s read from Allegiant is that UNLV showed new solutions and old problems in the same three hours of a 27-21 loss to Memphis. Steve Carp’s column is blunter: the Rebels under-delivered.
Both were in the building. Both are worth reading before you decide which UNLV you saw.
Up at Stanford, Hawai’i got close enough to make the last ten minutes matter and didn’t finish it. Paul Brecht filed for us from Stanford Stadium, with photography from the Hawai’i Sports Radio Network — the kind of coverage almost nobody outside the islands bothers to staff.
GO DEEPER
› Derek Hegna: New solutions and old problems emerge for UNLV in season opener loss (The Sporting Tribune)
› Steve Carp: Rebels under-delivered in loss to Memphis (The Sporting Tribune)
› Paul Brecht: Ford’s big day helps Stanford deny late Hawai’i comeback (The Sporting Tribune)
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⚽ A HOMECOMING THAT DIDN’T HOLD
Hirving Lozano scored against his old side at Snapdragon Stadium, and David Martinez writes that it will not be the part anyone in Carson remembers. San Diego FC beat the Galaxy 3-1 in front of a home crowd, and the goal difference came from a defensive collapse rather than anything Lozano could fix on his own.
San Diego keeps climbing. The Galaxy have now gone four straight matches without a win.
GO DEEPER
› David Martinez: Lozano’s homecoming goal won’t erase defensive collapse as LA Galaxy fall to San Diego (The Sporting Tribune)
🍔 THE DEALS BOARD
Active today across Southern California — brought to you by Ike’s Sandwiches, home of the world famous Arash Markazi sandwich, which has fried chicken, purple slaw, wasabi mayo, honey mustard, and cheddar on a Dutch Crunch roll. Just ask for the 500 at any Ike’s location.
🍔 Jack in the Box — free Jumbo Jack with a large drink. Dodgers pitchers struck out 11 in Detroit for the second straight night. Code GODODGERS26, app or in-store.
🥤 Mountain Dew — free 20-oz Baja Blast. Nine home runs cleared 420 feet Saturday, the longest being Jonathan Aranda’s 453-footer in the Padres-Rays game. Wallet pass at OTC Network stores.
⭐ Carl’s Jr. — free Western Bacon Cheeseburger with a large drink. San Diego FC won at home last night, which is the trigger. The code typically posts on SDFC’s Instagram and X accounts around 10 a.m. Worth checking. Works in the Carl’s Jr. app in LA County too.
Still dark: everything requiring a Dodgers home game — Panda Express, ampm, Sunright, Habit Burger — until Tuesday against St. Louis. The McDonald’s Angels deal needed a win. And the Rams’ Carl’s Jr. code RAMS7146 expires today.
⚾ TWO-ONE, AGAIN
The Dodgers beat Detroit 2-1 on Saturday, which is exactly what they did Friday, and their pitchers struck out 11 for the second night running. Two wins, four total runs. This is the version of this team that exists right now: elite arms, an offense that produces just enough, and almost every night decided by a single run.
In Anaheim, Christopher Sanchez shut the Angels down and Philadelphia won it 4-2 in extra innings — the fifth straight loss, and another one they were in late.
And in Tampa, the Padres blew a three-run lead and lost Luis Rengifo to injury on the same night, with Manny Machado and Ty France driving in runs that didn’t hold up. San Diego’s grip on the final National League wild card was already down to a game.
GO DEEPER
› Jack Haslett: Christopher Sanchez shuts down the Angels in extra-inning loss (The Sporting Tribune)
› Eric Evelhoch: Padres lose see-saw affair to Rays, as well as Luis Rengifo to injury (The Sporting Tribune)
🏀 ROSTER DAY IN THE WNBA, TOO
The Aces moved to replace NaLyssa Smith, whose season ended this week — Derek Hegna calls the pickup a significant one. In Los Angeles, the Sparks claimed Aaliyah Nye off waivers and released Kaitlyn Martin and Alissa Pili.
And Dakayla Hawkins has a piece worth your time on Nneka Ogwumike, who announced her retirement and then kept leading anyway.
GO DEEPER
› Derek Hegna: Aces make huge pickup to fill NaLyssa Smith-sized void (The Sporting Tribune)
› Dakayla Hawkins: For Nneka Ogwumike, leadership on the court does not stop following retirement announcement (The Sporting Tribune)
› Rey Moralde: Sparks claim Nye off waivers; let go of Martin, Pili (The Sporting Tribune)
📺 WATCHLIST — SUNDAY, AUGUST 30
⚾ MLB: Padres at Rays — 10:40 a.m. — Padres TV
⚾ MLB: Dodgers at Tigers — Comerica Park — 10:40 a.m. — SNLA
⚾ MLB: Phillies at Angels — Angel Stadium — 1:07 p.m. — ABTV
🏀 WNBA: Sparks at Storm — 2:00 p.m. — Spectrum
Coming up: NFL rosters cut to 53 today and The Sporting Tribune Today premieres tomorrow on SportsGrid, weekdays at 7 and 11 a.m. ET.
🎟️ GOING TO A GAME?
Get-in prices across Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii — brought to you by TickPick, the no-hidden-fee ticket marketplace.
⚾ Phillies at Angels — Angel Stadium — $3
🏈 Fresno State at USC — Coliseum (Friday) — $19
⚾ Cardinals at Dodgers — Dodger Stadium (Tuesday) — $42
🌴 TST TRIVIA
Saturday’s win over San Jose State kept a perfect streak alive for Lincoln Riley. What is his career record in season openers as a head coach, going back to Oklahoma?
Answer at the bottom.
🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY
Today’s episode: the first Saturday of college football across all three of our markets, USC’s 28-0 half and the freshmen who produced it, a UNLV opener that raised more questions than it answered, Hawai’i’s near-miss at Stanford, and a Dodgers team winning 2-1 every night. Hear it on the radio across Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawai’i via Westwood One Sports, The Bet Las Vegas, Hawaii Sports Radio Network and KIRN in Los Angeles — and starting tomorrow, on television nationally via SportsGrid.
› Listen to the latest episode
Trivia answer: 10-0.
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