USC gets another chance to steady itself Saturday night when Ohio State comes to the Coliseum, with kickoff set for 4:30 p.m. Pacific time on NBC.
The Trojans are coming off an ugly loss at Wisconsin, and the timing hardly could be worse. After that setback, they head into this matchup needing a win to get the season pointed back in the right direction.
CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli took a close look at how the game could unfold, and his read starts with Ohio State trying to make life easier on USC’s first-time starting quarterback.
“It’s not hard to figure out how Ohio State's likely to approach this game,” Fornelli wrote. “They're going to want to make life as easy as possible on a first-time starting QB, and that means they'll try to run the ball. USC's defense will likely be helpful in that aspect, because the Trojans haven't been great at stopping the run.
“The bigger problem for the Trojans, though, might be the offense. Nobody ever expects Lincoln Riley's teams to play great defense, but this offense couldn't do a damn thing against Wisconsin.
“It also struggled mightily in a win against Washington, as well as in the loss to Oregon. When it's faced a good defense, it has had trouble putting points on the board. Ohio State does not have a great pass rush, but it's still a very good defense.”
That’s the crux of the matchup: Ohio State’s defense against a USC offense that has already shown trouble against quality units, while the Trojans try to keep the Buckeyes from controlling the game on the ground.
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