Ohio State left Saturday night with a 30-18 loss to USC, and Ryan Day didn’t spend much time dressing it up.
The Buckeyes’ head coach pointed straight to the mistakes that piled up against the Trojans, who moved to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten play with the upset win.
“Well, it’s extremely frustrating coming into a game like this with a young quarterback and not play[ing] cleaner,” Day said. “Just too many penalties.
I think we found ourselves down in those red zone situations. We just weren’t able to execute very well and play clean, and then the penalties were not good.
Then when we get the one drive going, we fumble on offense and turn the ball over. I think for Luke [Fahey], he competed, and he wasn’t perfect, but we had some huge drops, and we weren’t able to help him down there.
I thought he competed his tail off in there.
“We’ll look at the film and recognize the things that we have to improve on in terms of what we can do to put him in a better situation. But I thought there were times we ran the ball well. We had over 200 yards rushing, but it was just too many mistakes overall, and in a game like you said, you can’t afford to do that, and to me that’s the tale of the tape.”
Day’s summary was blunt: Ohio State had enough production on the ground, but the penalties, the turnover, and the missed chances in the red zone kept the Buckeyes from turning that into a cleaner night.
USC gets a week off before heading to Indiana on November 14 for its final Midwest road trip of the season. Ohio State returns home next Saturday to face Oregon.
In Other News...
Ohio State Just Got A New Recruiting Concern After USC Upset
USCs upset of Ohio State did more than shake up the scoreboard at the Coliseum. It also gave the Trojans a jolt on the recruiting trail, with fans and 2028 running back prospect Malaki Davis joining the field rush after the game and leaving with a vivid first impression of the programs energy and atmosphere.
Davis, who spent time around the celebration and interacted with USC legend Marcus Allen, came away clearly enthused about the Trojans. The moment also arrived as Lincoln Riley tried to quiet outside noise about his future, issuing a handwritten statement to reinforce his commitment to USC, adding another layer to a night that could resonate well beyond one win. [Read more 🡒]
USC Just Got National Validation For Its Biggest Win Yet
The win over No. 2 Ohio State is still resonating well beyond Los Angeles, and now it has brought USC another round of national recognition. The Football Writers Association of America named the Trojans the Pop-Tarts Bowl Crazy Good Team of the Week after the 30-18 upset on Oct. 31, a result that pushed USC to 7-2 and back into the AP Top 25 at No. 18.
It is a notable honor for a program that has been waiting a long time for this kind of weekly spotlight. This is USCs fifth selection for the award, and its first since 2013, which says plenty about how rare this sort of validation has been even in seasons when the Trojans have had big moments. After beating one of the sports premier teams, they have at least earned a fresh national platform, with the bigger question now being how much staying power that performance will have. [Read more 🡒]
USC Just Made Its Biggest November Question A Lot More Interesting
USCs win over No. 2 Ohio State did more than add another marquee result to the rsum. It pushed the Trojans to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in conference play, with Lincoln Riley getting a performance that looked as complete as anything USC has put together this season. Freshman tight end Mark Bowman was part of the story, and Trent Mosleys 69-yard touchdown early in the game helped set the tone for a night that felt bigger than a single upset.
Ohio State still moved the ball on the ground, finishing with 204 rushing yards, but USCs defense tightened when it mattered most and held the Buckeyes to just one red-zone touchdown. For a team trying to sort out its November ceiling, that kind of response is what makes the conversation around the Trojans suddenly a lot more interesting. [Read more 🡒]