USC’s defense didn’t just leave the Coliseum last week with a loss to Wisconsin. It left with a mess to sort through.
The Trojans were in the middle of arguments, honest conversations and a hard look in the mirror after the 24-7 defeat, and the emotional fallout has carried into this week’s preparation for No. 2 Ohio State. Defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart said the locker room was far from calm.
“Nobody was happy in the locker room,” Stewart said. “We had a lot of arguments.
But as a team, it’s what’s needed. We’ve got to just keep pushing forward, slowly get better each day, each practice and have a great game come this game.”
Now unranked, USC enters Saturday’s matchup at 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten. Ohio State is 6-1 and 4-0, and the Buckeyes are favored by 7½ points even though starting quarterback Julian Sayin is out indefinitely with a throwing-arm injury.
For USC, the bigger issue is what happened against Wisconsin. The Trojans’ defense held the Badgers to 200 total yards, but when Wisconsin needed yards most, its running game still found the end zone. Seven games into the season, USC still appears to be working through the basics of playing together on that side of the ball under defensive coordinator Gary Patterson.
Safety Prophet Brown said the breakdown wasn’t limited to one phase.
“It’s a three-phase game: special teams, defense, offense,” Brown said. “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 all the time.”
Brown said the focus this week has been on fundamentals, especially eye discipline and technique. That matters against Ohio State, which has produced 38 passing plays of 30 yards or more this season.
The urgency in practice has been obvious. Captains such as defensive tackles Alex VanSumeren and Jide Abasiri have been pushing teammates to meet the standard on every rep.
“Intensity, for sure. Physicality.
Running to the ball,” Abasiri said. “Executing all three sides of the ball.
Going back to the details and the basics of football, I feel like, is what’s going to really help us make that next jump.
“Everyone’s just encouraged to go out there and prove to everyone the team that we think we are and that we know we are.”
Saturday also brings USC back home for the first time since the Washington game on Oct. 3, and the Coliseum will be full. It’s the kind of setting that can tilt a game, especially in a college football season already full of surprises. Five unranked teams knocked off Top-25 opponents at home last week alone.
VanSumeren said the crowd matters, even if the mission stays the same.
“I mean, it doesn’t hurt,” VanSumeren said of home-field advantage. “It doesn’t matter where we play - the goal is the same.
I couldn’t care less other than the fact that he’s going to be great playing in front of our fans and this fan base. I know it’s going to be packed.”
The off-field noise around USC has grown louder too, with the Wisconsin loss fueling speculation about Lincoln Riley’s future. Riley addressed that on Tuesday, saying he isn’t going anywhere.
Meanwhile, freshman wide receiver Ethan “Boobie” Feaster is using his platform to raise money for breast cancer causes. He has launched limited edition “I Heart Boobie” merchandise in his online NIL store, with proceeds going to the Tigerlily Foundation and the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. The collection includes pink and white hoodies, crew necks, long-sleeved shirts and short-sleeved shirts, along with shirts that read “You wanna win, put Boobie in”.
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Jen Cohens arrival as athletic director has also given Riley another important layer of support as USC tries to steady itself through a punishing stretch on the schedule. The next run of games will tell a lot about how far the Trojans have come, because it is coming against ranked Big Ten opponents and will test both the roster and the coachs belief that the progress behind the scenes is starting to show up where it matters most. [Read more 🡒]