USC is bringing its own soundtrack into Wisconsin week.
After using crowd noise to get ready for Penn State’s “White Out” a couple of weeks ago, the Trojans have shifted the focus of their speakers to House of Pain’s “Jump Around,” the anthem that fuels Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium. Jayden Maiava said the song has even been playing during meetings as No.
16 USC prepares for Saturday’s 4:30 p.m. PT matchup with the Badgers.
Safety Alex Graham didn’t hide his enjoyment of it.
“I actually like the song, so it turns me up,” Graham said. “I really be jumping on the sideline when I’m in the game.
Jump around, literally. But I enjoy it.
It’s gonna be a fun one this week.”
Wisconsin’s tradition dates back nearly 30 years, to the Badgers’ homecoming game against Purdue on Oct. 10, 1998. The song was played during a fourth-quarter scoring drought, and Wisconsin fans still point to that moment as the spark that changed the game and threw off Purdue and quarterback Drew Brees.
For USC, the trip comes with a lot of first-timers. Head coach Lincoln Riley has never coached at Camp Randall, and several Trojans will be seeing the place for the first time. Tucker Ashcraft is the exception, having spent three seasons at Wisconsin before transferring to USC.
Defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren said the group feels better prepared for what awaits them after already dealing with a loud road setting at Penn State.
“I think it was helpful that we’re able to play in an environment like we did a couple of weeks ago, with all the crowd noise (at Penn State),” VanSumeren said. “We’ve done a great job preparing for that in practice with the crowd noise.
“I talked to Tucker Ashcraft about the environment, everything. He’s looking forward to it. We’re going to be prepared for it.”
USC has already knocked out its two longest road trips of the season, going to Rutgers to open Big Ten play on Sept. 19 and to Penn State on Oct. 10. Both games stayed close, with Rutgers losing by a touchdown and Penn State by eight points.
The Trojans have already matched last season’s road win total, when they went 2-3 away from home. That also marks a jump from the 1-4 road record in the 2024 season.
“We’re capable of doing it,” safety Prophet Brown said. “We’ve had some tough road fights in us.
Obviously, we want games to be blowouts, but they’re not always going to be that, especially at this level. And so for us to have that will and finish off games, I think it’s giving us confidence heading into this next stretch.”
USC’s initial availability report, released Wednesday evening, listed 11 players.
Receiver Terrell Anderson was among those marked “out,” which means he will miss a second straight game because of injury. Tight end Mark Bowman, receiver Luc Weaver and defensive tackle Jide Abasiri were listed as “questionable,” while defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart and linebacker Jadyn Walker were labeled “probable.”
The bye week also gave USC a chance to heal up. VanSumeren was a game-time decision on Oct. 3 against Washington before ultimately playing, and he said the extra time off helped.
He called it a “Benny Hinn” week, borrowing a joke from one of his former coaches about players seeming to recover almost miraculously during a bye.
“Went and saw Benny Hinn, got right,” VanSumeren said with a laugh. “It was good to have that time, but I’m itching to get back out there.
Not playing for a week, it fires you up. You want to get back out there.”
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