The No. 18 USC Trojans are heading into their second bye week of the season with a huge result already in the rearview mirror, but the schedule isn’t giving them much time to breathe.
After knocking off then-No. 2 Ohio State, USC now turns toward a Nov. 14 road matchup with No.
6 Indiana, and the kickoff details are in.
USC and Indiana will play at 12:30 p.m. PT, with CBS carrying the game.
That setup keeps the Trojans out of an evening road kickoff, and it also means USC won’t be on NBC for this one after appearing on the network in six of its first nine games.
The betting market hasn’t caught up yet, at least not on the major books. DraftKings and FanDuel have not released updated odds for the matchup, though ESPN analytics gives Indiana a 79 percent chance to beat USC at home.
The Hoosiers will also be coming off a bye, which makes this a rare stretch where USC has to deal with back-to-back opponents that had an extra week to prepare. Ohio State came in rested before the Trojans beat the Buckeyes on a rainy Halloween night, and Indiana will have the same advantage in week 11.
That win over Ohio State changed the conversation around Lincoln Riley’s team. It was Riley’s first top-five win at USC, and it pushed the Trojans firmly back into the College Football Playoff picture.
USC handled the moment by doing what it needed to do on both sides of the ball. The Trojans held Ohio State to 18 points, jumped out to a 14-3 lead, and never gave it back. Jayden Maiava threw for 222 yards and a touchdown, while USC’s running game added 116 yards and two scores.
The numbers weren’t all in USC’s favor, though. Ohio State moved the ball better overall, finishing with more yards through the air and on the ground and stacking up 25 first downs to USC’s 15.
But the Trojans tightened up when it mattered most, especially in the red zone, where the Buckeyes kept settling for field goals. Ohio State also hurt itself with 11 penalties for 71 yards.
Indiana has been much cleaner in that area. The Hoosiers rank No. 5 nationally in penalty yards per game at 34.8, a sign of a disciplined team that doesn’t give away much for free.
Both teams will have two weeks to get ready, and there’s a question of which staff benefits more from the extra time. USC didn’t exactly make the most of its first bye week, coming out flat in a 7-point loss at Wisconsin.
Indiana, meanwhile, has not had a bye yet this season. That could matter if quarterback Josh Hoover needs the extra recovery time after coach Curt Cignetti said he pulled Hoover from the Minnesota game after the Indiana quarterback got hit.
The Hoosiers still managed to beat Minnesota 23-16 in overtime. Backup Grant Wilson stepped in and finished with 156 passing yards and a touchdown, while also rushing four times for 26 yards. With Ohio State also dealing with quarterback uncertainty after the injury to Julian Sayin, USC may need to prepare for two quarterbacks again before it faces Indiana.
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USCs recent play has made the matchup feel less like a routine Big Ten test and more like a game with real postseason consequences on both sides. McElroy also pointed to the Trojans path forward as one that could still lead to a playoff spot, which only adds to the stakes for Indiana as it tries to protect its own position and avoid a result that could put its CFP hopes in jeopardy. [Read more 🡒]
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The early stretch also comes with a couple of games that should tell Indiana plenty about where it stands against high-end competition. Arkansas and Kentucky loom as the most demanding nonconference tests, with Arkansas bringing in a talented freshman class and Kentucky offering the kind of interior size that will challenge the Hoosiers right away. If Indiana is going to make the kind of push it wants, those matchups may end up shaping the conversation before Big Ten play really settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Still Has One Costly Problem To Fix During The Bye
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The issues were not limited to special teams, either. Indiana also left points on the field by converting only two of four red-zone chances, a reminder that the Hoosiers still have some costly details to sort through before the next stretch of the season. The bye week now looks less like a breather and more like a chance to tighten up the kind of mistakes that can swing a game in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]