USC beat No. 2 Ohio State 30-18 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday night. CBS Sports' Brad Crawford called it the biggest win of Lincoln Riley's USC tenure. Yahoo Sports framed it as a turnaround for a coach it said "looked finished" before the Trojans stunned the Buckeyes and revived their CFP hopes. The Trojans are 7-2, 4-2 in the Big Ten and fourth in the conference. Ohio State is 6-2, 4-1 and third.
Ohio State played without Julian Sayin, who per Yahoo's Nick Bromberg was hurt in his shoulder against Indiana. Freshman Luke Fahey made his first career start and threw for 260 yards, one of the outlets noted. He completed 21 of 38 with no interceptions, and Yahoo reported USC did not allow a touchdown until the final three minutes. Our box score shows that touchdown was a Jeremiah Smith catch. Smith finished with 10 catches for 83 yards. Fahey's 2026 total is now 463 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. The game ended with Fahey's fourth-down pass to Devin McCuin falling incomplete with 44 seconds left.
The reporting differs on how lopsided the game was. Yahoo's game recap said Ohio State was "thoroughly beaten from top to bottom," and another Yahoo piece said it looked unprepared. The box score is more mixed. Ohio State outgained USC 464 yards to 338, had 25 first downs to 15 and held the ball for 39:28. Bo Jackson ran for 121 yards on 21 carries. The Buckeyes lost the game in other places. Connor Hawkins kicked four field goals, so they scored one touchdown on all those yards. They were penalized 11 times for 71 yards, and Isaiah West lost a fumble. USC scored 14 points in the first quarter and led throughout.
USC's big plays came through the air. Jayden Maiava completed 15 of 22 for 222 yards and a touchdown, an average of 10.1 yards per attempt, and Yahoo credited him and freshman Trent Mosley for the win. Mosley caught five passes for 101 yards and a touchdown, including a 69-yarder. Mark Bowman added three catches for 79 yards, with a 70-yard long. USC ran for only 116 yards, led by King Miller's 78, and the Trojans had one turnover to Ohio State's one.
The result moves both teams in the polls. Ohio State was No. 2 in both polls as of Oct. 25. USC was 25th in the Coaches Poll that week and unranked in the AP Top 25. Yahoo's CFP piece says the second loss removes the Buckeyes' margin for error. The Trojans had lost 24-7 at Wisconsin on Oct. 24 and beaten Penn State 31-23 on Oct. 10. Riley's USC teams went 8-5 in 2023 and 7-6 in 2024, and last season they went 9-3.
Ohio State's next game is at home against Oregon on Saturday, Nov. 7, and the reporting has not said whether Sayin will return. USC's next game is at Indiana on Nov. 14. Indiana is the team Ohio State beat 19-15 on Oct. 17, the game in which Sayin was hurt, per Yahoo.
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