Facing a third-and-4 with only a two-point lead Saturday, Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski rolled right and fired a pass to wide receiver Jacob Gill late in the third quarter inside a rain-soaked Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

As it arrived, USC cornerback Marcelles Williams stuck a hand in, and the ball deflected into the arms of 6-foot-5, 290-pound Jahkeem Stewart.

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The freshman, nicknamed “Thanos,” returned the pick to the Iowa 40, and the Trojans marched on a six-play, go-ahead touchdown drive, USC’s fifth straight series to end in points. Running back Bryan Jackson burrowed into the end zone from a yard out early in the fourth quarter for his second score of the day.

Iowa staged what had the makings of a game-winning drive, only receiver Kaden Wetjen couldn’t get his right toe in bounds on a fourth-and-6 deep shot in USC territory.

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The No. 17 Trojans held on for a 26-21 win, which doubled as No. 21 Iowa’s first loss when leading by 14-plus points since Halloween 2020, as USC (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten) kept its College Football Playoff hopes alive with a road trip to No. 8 Oregon on the horizon.

The Hawkeyes (6-4, 4-3) left L.A. with their second straight agonizing defeat. After losing last week to the Ducks on a last-second field goal, they let a 21-7 lead slip in the wet conditions at USC.

Iowa was shut out in the second half. In the first half, it collected three touchdowns. Gronowski was responsible for all of them, throwing for one, then rushing for one and then catching another. The graduate transfer from South Dakota State shined without the Southern California sun.

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He capped the Hawkeyes’ game-opening drive by finding wideout Dayton Howard in the end zone on fourth-and-1 from the USC 2-yard line.

Then, in the second quarter’s infancy, he took a big push from tight end Hayden Large and plowed past the goal line for a touchdown to put Iowa up 14-0.

Following the first of Jackson’s two scoring plunges for the Trojans, the Hawkeyes responded with their own methodical, 75-yard scoring drive. It culminated with some Hollywood pizzaz.

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Wetjen motioned into the backfield pre-snap and joined Gronowski at his right hip. He got the handoff after Gronowski received the snap. Wetjen ran left before flipping a reverse to fellow receiver Reece Vander Zee, who threw to Gronowski while moving right.

Gronowski made the catch and scored.

But USC started to chip away at its two-touchdown deficit with a 40-yard field goal before halftime. Ryon Sayeri drilled another kick to start the third quarter, that one a 28-yarder, to make it 21-13.

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Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava went 23 of 32 on the day with 254 passing yards and one touchdown through the air. He made some of his best throws midway through the third frame.

Maiava connected with star wideout Makai Lemon for a 35-yard gain. On third-and-7 from the Iowa 26, the redshirt junior signal-caller located Ja’Kobi Lane for a pickup of 14 yards.

Maiava put a bow on the drive with a 12-yard touchdown strike to Lemon, who made the catch with one Iowa defensive back right on him and another not far behind.

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Lemon clocked out with his fifth 100-yard receiving game of the season, thanks to his 10 receptions that went for a total of 153 yards. Maiava tried to go back to him for a two-point conversion, but his pass was a bit high.

Stewart’s interception kept the USC comeback chugging, and it ultimately made the difference in a game that had only one turnover despite the weather.

A win at Oregon next week would be quite the notch in USC head coach Lincoln Riley’s belt. Regardless, after coming close to a CFP appearance in his first year at the helm and not even sniffing one the past two seasons, he now has the Trojans back in the playoff conversation in mid-November.