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LOS ANGELES — Jayden Maiava passed for 222 yards and a touchdown, King Miller and Waymond Jordan rushed for scores, and Southern California stunned No. 2 Ohio State 30-18 on Saturday night for the biggest win of head coach Lincoln Riley’s tenure.
Freshman sensation Trent Mosley made a 69-yard TD catch on the second play from scrimmage and finished with five receptions for 101 yards for the Trojans (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten), who scored more points than Ohio State’s vaunted defense had allowed since 2024.
The USC defense didn’t allow a touchdown in the first 57 minutes by an Ohio State offense led by freshman quarterback Luke Fahey, who passed for 260 yards in his first career start in place of injured Julian Sayin for the Buckeyes (6-2, 4-1).
Jeremiah Smith finally scored on a 1-yard catch with 2:12 remaining, but the Buckeyes’ 2-point conversion attempt failed, and USC recovered the onside kick before making its third field goal with 1:46 left.
With a light, steady rain falling throughout Halloween night, USC beat a top-12 team for the first time in Riley’s half-decade in charge.
USC students and fans stormed the field after the Trojans beat a top-five opponent at the Coliseum for the first time since 2015.
Bo Jackson rushed for 121 yards and Smith had 10 receptions for 83 yards for the Buckeyes, who couldn’t make it close despite racking up 464 total yards.
Ohio State hadn’t lost two games this early in a season since 2011, the year before Urban Meyer arrived in Columbus. The Buckeyes fell to 58-2 against unranked teams under coach Ryan Day, with this defeat joining their infamous home loss to Michigan in 2024.
Fahey got the start after Sayin injured his arm two weeks ago at Indiana. The freshman from nearby Orange County made several big throws, but went 21 for 38.
One week after the Trojans produced the fewest points ever from a Riley-led offense in an embarrassing 24-7 loss at Wisconsin, they shockingly surged to a 20-9 halftime lead while scoring the second-most points allowed by the Buckeyes’ sturdy defense this season in an entire game.
On USC’s second snap, Mosley caught a pass behind the line of scrimmage and sprinted through Ohio State’s secondary for the sixth touchdown of his stellar freshman season. The Buckeyes hadn’t allowed a play longer than 36 yards all season.
Later in the first, Mosley broke a 44-yard punt return and made an 18-yard reception to set up Jordan’s 9-yard TD run.
Ohio State produced 192 yards, but only three field goals from its first five drives — even when the Buckeyes reached the USC 1 shortly before halftime.
Isaiah West then fumbled in USC territory in the second half, and the Trojans went up 27-9 when Miller punched it in following a spectacular 70-yard reception by freshman tight end Mark Bowman, who hurdled a defender and broke multiple tackles.
Takeaways
Ohio State: Sayin’s absence clearly is a mitigating factor in this enormous setback, but the freshman QB played no role in the Buckeyes’ least effective defensive performance in a long time. Day’s detractors got ample fuel for their concerns on this rainy Saturday, yet the Buckeyes’ College Football Playoff hopes are not yet dead.
USC: Riley and his program appeared to be in big trouble last week in Madison, but this win provides a massive boost of energy and belief. The Trojans are almost certain to return to the AP Top 25. They’ve got a rough remaining schedule, but this gives them a chance to do something special this season — and the belief it might actually be possible.
Up next
Ohio State: Host Oregon on Saturday.
USC: Bye, then at Indiana on Nov. 14.
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