Week 8 delivered a pile of Big Ten surprises, and USC ended up on the wrong side of one of the ugliest results of the weekend. While some contenders survived close calls - Indiana among them - the Trojans and Oregon both took hits that shook up the conference picture.
The weekend began with Northwestern putting together a clean offensive showing in a 42-14 win over Rutgers. Aidan Chiles was all over the stat sheet, piling up 5 touchdowns and 300 total yards, while Caleb Komolafe also had a strong day. The Wildcats look like an offense that is finding its stride at exactly the right time.
Indiana’s 13-6 win over Michigan was much tighter and far less flashy. It was a defensive grind from start to finish, and the difference came down to which side could cash in the most field goals.
Michigan’s defense was outstanding, but the game also adds another layer of scrutiny to Josh Hoover’s play. If that level of production continues, Indiana is staring at a quick College Football Playoff exit.
Illinois turned in one of the weekend’s biggest shocks with a 21-10 win over Oregon. True freshman quarterback Michael Clayton earned the upset in his first start, and the Fighting Illini effectively ended the Ducks’ College Football Playoff hopes. Given how uneven Oregon has looked, this result felt surprising but not entirely out of nowhere.
Minnesota’s 13-10 win over Iowa fit the same rugged Big Ten script. The Gophers leaned on defense to survive a game that turned into a field-position battle, and they forced Iowa to use both quarterbacks.
The Hawkeyes never got the run game going, either. In the end, a blocked punt and a dominant defensive effort carried Minnesota to the Floyd of Rosedale trophy.
UCLA kept its recent formula rolling in a 28-10 win over Michigan State. The Bruins won with defense and the run game again, and that combination has been working consistently.
Then came the roughest loss of the bunch: Wisconsin’s 24-7 win over USC. The Badgers made the Trojans look overmatched from start to finish, and Jayden Maiava was a major letdown.
It was the kind of performance that raises real questions about Lincoln Riley’s credibility. For a team with this much talent, a game like this is hard to explain away when it keeps showing up during the season.
In Other News...
Former Trojan Helped Expose A USC Problem Fans Will Hate
USCs trip to Wisconsin turned into the kind of night that can linger with a fan base, especially when a familiar face was part of the damage. Former Trojan Bryan Jackson, now with the Badgers, scored a first-half touchdown against his old team as Wisconsin rolled past No. 16 Southern California 24-7, while Colton Joseph added a touchdown pass and the defense kept piling on with takeaways and a blocked field goal attempt.
The performance exposed an issue USC supporters have seen before and probably did not want to revisit on the road: a running game that never got going and a passing attack that helped dig the Trojans into a hole with two first-half interceptions. Against a Wisconsin team that controlled the game on both sides, USC never found enough answers to keep pace, and the loss left more questions than comfort for a program trying to steady itself in a tough conference race. [Read more 🡒]
USC's Wisconsin Loss Brought Back Familiar Problems Fans Feared
The bye week was supposed to help USC reset, but the trip to Wisconsin instead brought back the same frustrations that have lingered through too many uneven stretches this season. For a half, the defense gave the Trojans a chance, mixing in sacks and tackles for loss while holding down the Badgers on the ground, and it looked like USC might be able to turn a rugged road game into the kind of grind-out win it has often struggled to find.
Instead, the offense never offered enough support. Turnovers and an ineffective running game kept USC from building momentum, and once the defense started to wear down in the second half, Wisconsin took control and pulled away to a 24-7 win. It was the sort of loss that leaves the Trojans not just disappointed with the result, but uneasy about how familiar the script felt once the game started to slip away. [Read more 🡒]
Lincoln Riley Just Put USC In A Brutal New Conversation
USCs latest setback in Madison only sharpened the questions already hanging over the program. The Trojans were handled 24-7 at Wisconsin in a game defined by an offense that never found its rhythm, and with two losses already on the season, the margin for error is disappearing fast as the schedule turns toward a brutal stretch against ranked opponents.
Lincoln Riley brought a playoff reputation to USC, but the conversation around his tenure has shifted in an uncomfortable direction. His 5-15 record against top-25 teams is becoming a talking point again, and if the Trojans cannot climb back into College Football Playoff contention, the speculation about his job security figures to get louder rather than fade. [Read more 🡒]