Cole VanWiechen Wed, October 28, 2026 at 7:31 PM UTC · 5 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A week ago, I ranked Ohio State's trip to USC as the hardest game left on the schedule .
A true freshman quarterback making his first career start, across the country, at night on Halloween in the Coliseum against one of the best offenses in the Big Ten. It looked like the kind of game where Ohio State might need to score 30+ to keep up.
Then USC went to Madison and scored seven points.
Wisconsin beat the Trojans 24-7 on Saturday night. It was the fewest points a Lincoln Riley team has ever scored. USC dropped out of the AP top 25, and they now enter Saturday at 6-2 with their playoff hopes hanging on by a thread.
For Ohio State, it changes the entire framing of this game.
ARLINGTON, TX - DECEMBER 29: J.T. Barrett #16 of the Ohio State Buckeyes scores a touchdown against Josh Fatu #98 of the USC Trojans and Cameron Smith #35 of the USC Trojans in the first half during the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium on December 29, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) | Getty Images How bad was it? Pretty bad. USC came into Madison averaging 36.4 points and 462.4 yards per game, and leading the country in first downs. Jayden Maiava led the Big Ten at 292.1 passing yards per game and had thrown just three interceptions on 224 attempts. USC's offensive line was even on the Joe Moore Award midseason watch list.
Against Wisconsin, almost none of that showed up. USC finished with 241 total yards, their fewest under Riley. They had zero plays of 20 yards or more. They went one for three in the red zone, and four drives ended in Wisconsin territory without any points.
Maiava completed 31 of 50 passes for 258 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, and one of those picks set up Wisconsin's first points from the USC 18. He was also sacked five times and called for intentional grounding twice.
The run game was the worst part. USC finished with -17 rushing yards on 25 carries. Even taking out the 57 yards lost on sacks, the Trojans' running backs got nowhere. Riley didn't sugarcoat it afterward, "We flat out didn't play good enough on any of the three sides of the ball."
To put it in perspective, Wisconsin quarterback Colton Joseph threw for only 58 yards, and the Badgers still won by 17.
I don't think USC's offense is suddenly bad. You don't average 36 points through seven games by accident, and Maiava is still one of the best quarterbacks in the conference.
Riley has been coaching elite offenses for more than a decade, and USC will be desperate at home with their season on the line. I fully expect a better performance on Saturday.
But I also don't think it was a complete fluke. Wisconsin gave everyone a blueprint for beating this offense. Stop the run, make USC one dimensional and get after Maiava in obvious passing situations. Once USC fell behind schedule, the offense stalled.
That blueprint plays right into Ohio State's strengths. Over their last three games, Ohio State held Iowa to 39 rushing yards, Maryland to 82 and Indiana to 73. Indiana came into that game averaging 221 rushing yards a game.
If Ohio State's front shuts down USC's run game the way Wisconsin did, Maiava will be facing the same third and long situations that led to those five sacks.
The one piece Ohio State still has to prove is the pass rush. The Buckeyes have struggled to consistently get home this season, and Wisconsin showed how much pressure rattles Maiava.
Ryan Day expects to have most of his injured defenders back, likely including Kenyatta Jackson Jr. If he and the rest of the edge rushers can win a few one-on-one matchups on third downs, Ohio State has a real chance to dominate this game defensively.
Before last weekend, the worry was that a freshman quarterback might have to win a shootout in Los Angeles. Now this looks more like the Indiana game, a physical, low scoring game where Ohio State's defense carries the load and the offense just has to avoid giving the game away.
That's a much better scenario for Luke Fahey, or whoever starts. USC's defense has allowed 25 points per game, so there should be chances to move the ball. If Ohio State runs the ball with Bo Jackson and Isaiah West, gets the ball to Jeremiah Smith on quick throws and protects the football, they don't need to put up 35.
The danger is the emotional side of this game. USC is coming home on a Saturday night in the Coliseum, ranked outside the top 25 and needing a win to keep its playoff hopes alive. That's a dangerous combination for a young quarterback making his first start.
The Trojans will throw everything they have at him early, and the crowd will be loud.
I still think this is Ohio State's hardest game left because of everything surrounding it. The freshman quarterback, the travel, the night kickoff and a desperate opponent. But Wisconsin just showed the Buckeyes how to beat this team, and Ohio State has the defense to do it even better.
If the Buckeyes' defense plays the way it did in Bloomington, Halloween might not be so scary after all.
Source: Sports
