Ohio State is bringing a heavy offensive load to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Oct. 31, and USC is going to get a real test when the Buckeyes arrive for a matchup that carries extra weight as the first between the two as Big Ten opponents.
If you’re trying to size up the toughest offensive triplets USC will see in 2026, Ohio State belongs right at the top of the conversation. The debate with Oregon is a tight one. The Ducks have the edge at quarterback with Dante Moore, but the Buckeyes own the advantage at running back and wide receiver.
At quarterback, Julian Sayin is the name that jumps off the page. He’s the only returning Heisman finalist in college football, and the Southern California native looked sharp in his first season as the starter in Columbus.
Sayin threw for 3,610 yards and 32 touchdowns last season, and his calling card is precision. When he settles in, the redshirt sophomore is surgical.
His 77.0 completion percentage set a Big Ten record, and he enters this season high on NFL Draft boards while still carrying something to prove after a disappointing two-game stretch to end last year.
Ohio State’s backfield has its own star in Bo Jackson. He established himself early last season as the Buckeyes’ best running back, taking over as the starter in September and becoming one of three true freshmen to go over 1,000 rushing yards in 2025. The sophomore tailback also brings value as a pass-catcher out of the backfield, and the sense is he’s only beginning to show what he can become.
Then there’s Jeremiah Smith, who already looks like a problem USC would rather not have to solve. After a sensational freshman season, he would have been a top 10 pick two years later.
That’s saying something at a school that has turned out Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Garrett Wilson in recent memory. Smith tops them all in an Ohio State uniform.
The 6-foot-3, 223-pound receiver is a two-time first team All-American and, in the simplest terms, an alien at the position. He has his sights set on the Biletnikoff Award, the same trophy USC’s Makai Lemon won last year, and he’s also chasing a bigger goal: helping the Buckeyes get back to the national championship.
Ohio State’s coaching moves have been just as notable as the talent on the field. The Buckeyes brought in former NFL head coach Matt Patricia as defensive coordinator and ended up with the No. 1 defense in the country. This offseason, they went back to the NFL well again and hired former head coach Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator.
USC made its own headline-grabbing move by hiring Gary Patterson as defensive coordinator. The longtime TCU head coach built elite defenses for two decades in Fort Worth and is headed to the College Football Hall of Fame for it.
Now he’s trying to recreate that success in Los Angeles, with more talent and resources than he’s ever had at his disposal. The big question is whether he can make it work in year one and build a defense that gives opponents trouble.
The Trojans won’t have to wait long to start finding out. Rutgers receiver KJ Duff, at 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, will challenge USC’s secondary in week 3.
Oregon follows the next week with its full offensive package. Washington and Penn State in early October will also put the new-look defense under pressure before Ohio State comes to town in late October.
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Ohio States 2027 recruiting class already has a star-heavy look, and the Buckeyes are expecting all three of their committed five-stars to get on the field early. Marcus Fakatou, DJ Jacobs and Jamier Brown each bring a different kind of upside, but the conversation around immediate help on defense naturally starts with the players who can fill the most urgent needs.
Jacobs, an edge defender with the kind of frame and burst that make him an obvious pass-rush candidate, appears best positioned to matter first. He and Fakatou both line up at spots where depth is thinner, which gives them a clearer path to meaningful snaps once they arrive, and it is easy to see why Ohio State would want that kind of athleticism ready sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]
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Jeremiah Smith has spent just two seasons making Ohio States wide receiver hierarchy look a little less settled than it used to. Entering his junior year in 2026, he already owns first-team All-American honors in each of his first two seasons, and his production has pushed him into the Buckeyes career top 10 in receptions, yards and touchdowns while putting several school marks squarely in view.
Smiths rise has been fast enough to force an uncomfortable conversation around the programs greatest pass catchers, the kind of discussion usually reserved for names like Cris Carter, David Boston, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr. With 163 catches, 2,558 yards and 27 touchdowns already on the books, he is not just part of that debate anymore. He is starting to define where it goes next. [Read more 🡒]