USC is back at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday night with a lot more than a marquee opponent staring it down. No.
2 Ohio State comes in for a 4:30 p.m. PT kickoff on NBC, and the Trojans will be playing in that NBC window for the fifth straight game.
The matchup carries the kind of history college football loves to dress up in big-game language. USC and Ohio State have met in plenty of headline moments over the years, especially in Rose Bowls with national title stakes attached.
This one adds a new wrinkle: it’s the first time the schools will meet as Big Ten opponents on Halloween night. Southern Cal leads the series 13-10-1 and has won eight of the last 10 meetings.
For USC, though, the bigger story is the pressure sitting on top of the game. The Trojans are coming off an upset loss to Wisconsin in Week 8, and with their College Football Playoff hopes hanging in the balance, the margin for error is gone. The future of coach Lincoln Riley could also be shaped by what happens Saturday.
The last five years under Riley have been labeled a failure, with no College Football Playoff appearances and no signature wins. This is the kind of stage USC was supposed to handle, and instead it has spent the season trying to prove it can rise to the moment. Saturday offers that chance again.
Jayden Maiava enters after his roughest outing of the season. He was intercepted twice in the first three drives last week, and the offense never recovered behind a struggling line.
Maiava was sacked five times, and once sack yardage was factored in, USC finished with minus-17 rushing yards. King Miller carried 11 times for just eight yards.
That matters even more with rain expected. USC is going to need some kind of run game to ease the burden on Maiava and keep the offense from becoming one-dimensional.
The Trojans’ defense showed a flash of what it can be in the first half against Wisconsin, turning in its best half against a Power Four opponent this season. But that level didn’t last, and the second-half drop-off followed the same pattern the team has battled before.
Saturday is supposed to be about four quarters of complementary football, the phrase the players kept repeating in media availability this week. Whether that was just talk or something real in practice will show up under the lights.
Ohio State arrives with its own quarterback issue after Julian Sayin suffered a season-ending injury in a 19-15 win over Indiana on Oct. 17.
The Buckeyes will now turn to true freshman Luke Fahey, a Mission Viejo, Calif., product from Orange County. Fahey has completed 9 of 13 passes for 203 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions this season.
Even with the quarterback change, Ohio State still has Jeremiah Smith, the receiver described as the best player in the country and the Heisman favorite. That puts a major decision in front of USC defensive coordinator Gary Patterson: how to handle the Buckeyes’ quarterback situation while also trying to slow down one of the most dangerous receivers in the sport.
The Buckeyes also have Bo Jackson leading the rushing attack, and with the weather and quarterback situation both in play, that ground game could matter. Defensively, Ohio State brings a tough unit under longtime NFL coach and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. The Buckeyes have allowed more than 20 points only once this season, in the Sept. 12 game against Texas.
Wisconsin pushed USC around a week ago and was the more physical team. Ohio State has the ability to create the same kind of problems, only on a bigger scale.
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Arizona Just Got A Painful Reality Check In The Rankings
Ohio States trip to the Coliseum turned into one of the more jarring results of the college football weekend, and it came with an added layer of intrigue because true freshman Luke Fahey was forced into the start at quarterback with Julian Sayin sidelined by injury. Even with the Buckeyes out-gaining USC, the game kept tilting toward the Trojans as Ohio State piled up missed tackles, penalties and special teams mistakes, the kind of self-inflicted problems that can turn a ranked heavyweight into a vulnerable road team in a hurry.
The ripple effects were felt well beyond Los Angeles, with Georgia steadying itself after a loss by beating Florida, though the Bulldogs still left questions about their passing game. Floridas offensive issues only deepened in another defeat, putting the Gators in line to tumble out of the rankings after a third loss, while Texas Techs win over Arizona gave the Red Raiders a much-needed boost in their College Football Playoff push. For USC, though, the headline is simpler: a statement win over a national power that should keep the Trojans very much in the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Heads To USC With A Huge Pregame Injury Twist
USC is getting ready for one of the biggest home dates of its Big Ten era, with No. 2 Ohio State coming to town for the first matchup between the programs as league opponents. The buildup already has a different feel because the Buckeyes are dealing with a major quarterback change, with Julian Sayin sidelined and Luke Fahey expected to take over under center.
For the Trojans, the injury picture is still shifting as kickoff approaches. Tight end Mark Bowman is a game-time decision because of a hamstring issue, while running back Shahn Alston and guard Hayden Treter are among the USC players listed as questionable or out, leaving the staff to juggle both the offense and the line play against a top-tier opponent. [Read more 🡒]
USC Faces A Jeremiah Smith Test That Could Define Gary Patterson's Defense
Jeremiah Smith is the kind of receiver who can force a defense to reshape its entire plan, and USC already knows the October 31 matchup with Ohio State will demand that kind of attention. Smith is viewed as one of the top prospects for the 2027 NFL Draft, which only adds to the intrigue around a game that could become a measuring stick for Gary Pattersons defense and the Trojans ability to handle elite perimeter talent.
USCs answer will likely come from a group that includes Jontez Williams, Urlacher and Prophet Brown, with the staff looking at ways to borrow from the defensive approach Indiana used against Ohio State. The challenge is obvious: limit Smiths impact without letting the rest of the Buckeyes open things up elsewhere, and do it in a game where one matchup could tilt the night in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]