On the heels of their injury-riddled 19-15 victory over Indiana on Oct. 17, Ohio State had the week off to prepare for their upcoming trip to Los Angeles.
The extra Saturday could not have come at a better time. With Julian Sayin out indefinitely, the Buckeyes needed the break to sort out their quarterback situation and study up on what to expect against USC.
Their opponents are having an identity crisis of their own.
Last Saturday night in Madison, USC looked nothing like a team that Ohio State should fear, even in a Halloween matchup. The then-No.16 Trojans managed just one touchdown against an unranked Wisconsin team, threw two first-half interceptions, and were plagued by sacks and missed field goals, falling 24-7.
Whether the Buckeyes will face the version of USC that was once ranked as high as No. 12 in the nation or the one that crumbled against the Badgers last weekend remains to be seen. The Buckeyes will, thankfully, have plenty of game film to study either way.
But one messy performance from the Trojans doesn’t mean Ohio State can get complacent. Last weekend doesn’t erase what USC is capable of, nor does it guarantee the Buckeyes will have an easy night in Los Angeles, especially with an inexperienced quarterback.
If anything, the Buckeyes need to be prepared for a USC that’s angry, motivated, and ready to prove itself.
Still, whether USC got caught looking ahead toward the game against the Buckeyes or merely just had an off-day, Wisconsin exposed several vulnerabilities that Ohio State can theoretically use to its advantage.
The Trojans entered their matchup with Wisconsin averaging 36.4 points per game. Against the Badgers, however, despite outgaining their opponents on offense, the Trojans struggled to convert opportunities into points, finishing with the fewest number of points in Lincoln Riley’s tenure with the program.
Wisconsin was dominant at the line of scrimmage, logging five sacks and nine tackles for loss against the Trojans, who finished the game with minus-17 net rushing yards. This bodes well for the Buckeye defense, which held the Hoosiers to just 73 rushing yards on 29 carries, an average of just 2.5 yards per carry.
If Ohio State can maintain a consistent level of defensive pressure and study how Wisconsin created problems for USC, they might be able to find cracks they can exploit as well.
One area where this becomes particularly important is at the line of scrimmage. If OSU can shut down USC’s run game the way Wisconsin did—and the way they did the Hoosiers’—it could increase the pressure on USC quarterback Jayden Maiava by forcing him into obvious passing situations.
This creates the opportunity for mistakes and could help to alleviate some of the pressure on the Buckeyes’ backup quarterback, whether Luke Fahey or Tavien St. Clair ultimately earns the job by keeping the Trojans off the board.
Even with all of that said, the Trojans still found ways to move the ball through the air—Maiava finished the game with 258 passing yards, which is more than Julian Sayin and Luke Fahey combined for against the Hoosiers. While he did have those two interceptions in the first half, the Buckeyes can’t rely on luck or assume he’ll do the same at home in Los Angeles.
If Ohio State wants to dominate defensively, they’re going to have to make Maiava uncomfortable, forcing him into positions where he has to make difficult decisions quickly and repeatedly.
Disguising coverage could be one way to accomplish that. Ohio State can present one look before the snap and rotate into another after the ball is snapped, forcing Maiava to process what he sees rather than simply taking the answer he anticipated.
Pressure can help, too. A quarterback who has to rush through his progressions is more likely to miss an open receiver, misjudge a window, or throw into coverage.
If the Buckeyes can then also shut down the passing game without constantly sending extra rushers, it could challenge USC’s protection on Maiava while keeping enough defenders in coverage to prevent him from exploiting them downfield. The end goal isn’t another two-interception night (though it would be spectacular!).
Instead, the Buckeyes need to make Maiava and the Trojan offense work for every yard and every point, leaning into the fact that against Wisconsin, USC’s largest challenge was getting out of their own way and converting opportunities into points.
The Trojans’ loss to the Badgers should also serve as a cautionary tale: Their defense was not the problem. The defense held Wisconsin to just 200 total offensive yards and fewer than 60 passing yards. With a backup quarterback on the field, Ohio State must—and I do mean must—stop giving away yardage on sloppy penalties, protect the football, and capitalize on any momentum they can muster.
Additionally, the Buckeyes need to turn any mistakes USC might make into opportunities, whether that means getting their offense off the field faster or ensuring that turnovers are converted into points.
Wisconsin didn’t do a great job of this, turning Maiava’s interceptions into just three points, but they forced enough mistakes to keep USC from gaining momentum. Given the stakes against a team like Ohio State, the Buckeyes need to do both: Force the mistakes first, then use them to their advantage.
At the end of the day, with the Trojans coming off a brutal loss that all but dashed their playoff hopes and with Ohio State coming off the brutal, indefinite loss of their starting quarterback, this game is going to come down to which team has the better response to adversity.
If the Buckeyes can hit the field ready to test the Trojans’ protection breakdowns, capitalize on mistakes, and stay patient against this Trojan defense, their bye week preparation just might pay off.