USC upsets No. 2 Ohio State 30-18, keeping Riley's Trojans in the playoff race
USC led wire to wire and beat No. 2 Ohio State 30-18 at the Coliseum, a week after its worst offensive showing under Lincoln Riley.
A week after the worst offensive night of Lincoln Riley's tenure, USC pulled off his biggest win. The Trojans never trailed on a rainy Halloween night at the Coliseum and beat No. 2 Ohio State 30-18. The result keeps their College Football Playoff hopes alive at 7-2 and 4-2 in the Big Ten. According to ESPN, it was USC's first win over a top-12 opponent in Riley's five seasons. It was also the program's first home win over a top-five team since 2015, and students stormed the field afterward.
The swing from the week before was sharp. USC lost 24-7 at Wisconsin, and The Sporting Tribune reported that the loss brought Riley a wave of questions about his job security. After this one he stayed focused on the present. "Every game is its own season," Riley told the outlet.
Freshman receiver Trent Mosley gave USC the lead on the second snap. He took a screen pass from Jayden Maiava 69 yards for a touchdown, and later added a 44-yard punt return that set up Waymond Jordan's 9-yard scoring run. Mosley finished with five catches for 101 yards. Maiava completed 15 of 22 passes for 222 yards. USC led 20-9 at halftime, and the game turned for good in the third quarter. After Isaiah West fumbled, freshman tight end Mark Bowman hurdled a defender on a 70-yard catch-and-run, and King Miller ran in from a yard out to make it 27-9.
Ohio State outgained USC with 464 yards but scored only field goals until late. The Sporting News noted that the Buckeyes settled for a field goal even after reaching first-and-goal at the USC 1. Freshman Luke Fahey made his first start in place of the injured Julian Sayin and went 21 of 38 for 260 yards. Jeremiah Smith caught 10 passes for 83 yards. His 1-yard touchdown with 2:12 left was his 40th career Big Ten receiving touchdown, which ties Braylon Edwards for the conference record. The two-point try failed, Tanook Hines recovered the onside kick for USC, and Caden Chittenden's 32-yard field goal put the game away. ESPN reported that Ohio State had not lost twice this early in a season since 2011.
What comes next
USC has its second bye before a trip to No. 4 Indiana on November 14. The Trojans are 3-1 away from home this season, with wins at Penn State and Rutgers and the loss at Wisconsin. Their only other defeat was a 41-27 home loss to Oregon.
Ohio State is now 6-2. Both losses came on the road, by a point at Texas and now by 12 at USC. The Buckeyes host Oregon on November 7 on CBS, and that game will show whether Fahey can steady the offense.
The board for that game has Ohio State clearly favored across six venues despite the loss. On the moneyline, Novig has the Buckeyes at -426, while the best price anywhere is -375 at FanDuel. On Oregon, Novig is at +308 and bet365 has the best number at +390. The venues are 82 points apart on the underdog side, the widest gap on the board. On the spread, FanDuel has the best Ohio State price at -10.5, and bet365's best Oregon number is +12.5, so the line varies by two points depending on the venue. The total sits between 44.5 and 45.5. Sportsbook hold runs from 4.2% to 6.6% on the moneyline.
