USC’s collapse at Wisconsin left one question hanging over Lincoln Riley’s program: who is setting the tone when things go sideways?
The Trojans came out of their bye and looked unready for Week 8, then followed up what had been their best road showing in the Big Ten - a win over a 3-4 Penn State team on Oct. 10 - with their worst road performance yet against the Badgers. The offense sputtered immediately, with quarterback Jayden Maiava throwing two interceptions on USC’s first three drives, and the problems never really stopped.
By halftime, the Trojans had only seven points and 241 yards of offense, both the fewest of the Lincoln Riley era. Their defense kept the game from getting away early, but that support disappeared after the break as Wisconsin leaned on USC with physical play and steadily pulled away to a 24-7 win.
Safety Prophet Brown put the issue plainly during his media availability on Wednesday.
“We just got to play better complementary football on all sides of the ball,” Brown said. “It's a three-phase game: special teams, defense, offense.
We all could have been better in our own right, and I feel like at times nobody necessarily picked each other up. We kind of just let it happen and didn't really step up for each other."
That point landed because USC has veterans all over the roster. Several starters have been in the program for three, four, five and in Brown’s case, six years, yet the leadership gap keeps showing up. The biggest concern is that it isn’t coming from the quarterback.
Maiava, according to the reporting, has not been the kind of presence USC needs when the game turns ugly. The article notes that he sulks in adversity and tends to keep his answers short after losses.
It also points to a moment after the Washington win on Oct. 3, when Maiava kneeled to end the game and immediately headed up the tunnel, not even stopping for the team’s director of communications, who was trying to speak with him. The broadcast caught it, and it was not a flattering look for a player who is supposed to lead a major program.
The broader criticism lands at Riley’s feet. The piece argues that the coach’s lack of accountability has filtered through the team, and that showed up in the fourth quarter at Wisconsin. USC didn’t just lose control late; the article says the Trojans flat out quit, with the film showing little resistance when Wisconsin drove down the field for the final blow while USC trailed by 10.
Now the pressure shifts to Saturday, Oct. 31, when USC hosts No. 2 Ohio State at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
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