Life without Julian Sayin began with a thud for No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday as USC held the Buckeyes to one touchdown in a 30-18 victory in Los Angeles.
The Trojans' defense hounded backup quarterback Luke Fahey all night, sacking him twice and posting seven tackles for loss. While Ohio State successfully moved the ball at times, USC was able to force field-goal attempts instead of touchdowns and keep the score in its favor.
Mark Bowman supplied the biggest highlight of the night for the Trojans: a 70-yard catch-and-run that set up a touchdown to push the lead to 27-9.
MARK BOWMAN, WOW. 🤯 @uscfb X @USC_Athletics https://t.co/8Q82nYZalb
— Big Ten Conference (@bigten) November 1, 2026
That was more than enough to give Lincoln Riley his first top-five win with USC and hand the Buckeyes their second loss of the season, sowing further chaos near the top of the AP Poll.
The Trojans entered the week unranked after mustering seven points in a loss to Wisconsin. It was the worst offensive performance in Riley's career as a head coach, and plenty of people in Los Angeles were calling for him to be fired.
USC responded with arguably the best showing in Riley's time with the program. This marks the fourth straight week a top-two team in the AP Poll lost to an unranked opponent.
The win keeps USC firmly in the mix for a playoff spot and sends Ohio State into next week's matchup against Oregon with plenty of questions about the offense. Fahey didn't play poorly in his first collegiate start, finishing with 260 yards on 21 of 38 passing and a touchdown. However, he simply doesn't provide the same downfield threat that Sayin brought to the offense.
