USC is staring at a difficult Saturday night test, and Lincoln Riley isn’t pretending otherwise.
After a road loss to Wisconsin, the Trojans return home for a matchup with No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Riley spoke about the challenge waiting for USC, from the Buckeyes’ uncertainty at quarterback to the size of the task in slowing down Jeremiah Smith.
Ohio State’s quarterback picture is still murky after starter Julian Sayin was ruled out indefinitely. Backup Luke Fahey came in after Sayin was injured in the Buckeyes’ win over No.
4 Indiana, but Ryan Day has not said whether Fahey or fellow backup Tavien St. Clair will start against USC.
Riley pointed to that uncertainty, but he made clear the opponent still looks dangerous across the board.
"Good team, no doubt. Explosive offensively and they've done some really good things since the Texas loss.
They've done a nice job of rebounding from that. . . Got a lot of playmakers there.
We'll see how the QB situation plays out Obviously, that's going to be a big factor."
The other side of the ball is just as intimidating. USC’s rushing attack sputtered badly against Wisconsin, finishing with -17 rushing yards, and Riley knows Ohio State’s front can make life miserable.
"They've played well defensively. They've also been able to stockpile on talent for years and years and you see that stack and stack onto each other.
Definitely one of the biggest fronts we've seen. It'll take a complete game to beat them."
Ohio State’s defensive line is led by Kenyatta Jackson, and the Buckeyes have gotten contributions all over the front with Jaylen McClain, Jason Moore, Qua Russaw, Eddrick Houston, and others helping give them depth throughout 2026.
Still, the spotlight will inevitably land on Jeremiah Smith. The Buckeyes receiver is viewed as one of the top players in college football at any position and leads Ohio State with 52 catches for 984 yards and 12 touchdowns. Devin McCuin is next among Buckeyes wideouts with 19 receptions for 268 yards and two scores.
Riley knows there is no clean way to erase a player like that.
"I mean, a guy like that, you're not ever going to completely shut down somebody like that. But you've got to try to limit the damage as much as you can and not give him the 'gimmies' because you're putting so much attention on him."
He also stressed that Smith is only part of the problem.
"But the thing that makes Ohio State so tough is they're more than just him. They've got other weapons with the ability to run the ball and other weapons they can use in the throwing game.
But obviously he's the feature player and is a tremendous player. We've got to throw different looks at him."
How USC’s secondary handles Smith will be one of the main questions of the night, especially with Ohio State having had an extra week to get ready for defensive coordinator Gary Patterson’s group. The Buckeyes are favored by 6.5 points, according to DraftKings Sportsbook, and the oddsmakers there project Ohio State to score 29.5 points.
Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. PT on Saturday, and NBC will carry the game nationally.
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