The No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes are set to head to the West Coast to take on the USC Trojans in the nightcap of a jam-packed college football weekend. The Buckeyes are expected to start true freshman Luke Fahey at quarterback, with Julian Sayin out "indefinitely" after injuring his arm against Indiana on Oct. 17.
With Fahey set to make his first career start on the road, the Trojans need to answer the call, especially for head coach Lincoln Riley's sake. His seat is heating up, and people are questioning whether he's the right fit in Los Angeles after a flop of a loss at Wisconsin last weekend.
USC needs a win to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive. And if the CFP is no longer a possibility, Riley might not be long for this job.
Lincoln Riley has a golden opportunity to silence USC doubters against Ohio State
Ever since taking over as USC's head coach, Riley has struggled against ranked teams. Going into this bout, he's gone 5-14 against the top 25 and a whopping 36-6 against unranked schools.
The beauty of college football is that you get a brand new opportunity every week, and Riley's Trojans have a huge chance in front of them on Saturday night. Last week, they fell to Wisconsin 24-7, dropping them to 6-2. In order to have a chance to make the College Football Playoff, USC can't afford to drop any other games.
And when you look at their schedule, there's a pathway to climbing the rankings, as they have Ohio State, No. 4 Indiana and No. 7 UCLA still on their schedule. Things haven't been perfect for the Trojans in 2026, yet they still have a shot at making noise. But it starts in Week 9.
Lincoln Riley could save his USC tenure with a statement against Ohio State
Under Riley, the Trojans haven't lived up to expectations. The team has still yet to find the physicality required of true title contenders. Not only that, but Riley hasn't done enough to put his team in a position to win, based on their game plans, energy level and flat-out results.
If the Trojans want to get out of the Coliseum with a win over the highly talented Buckeyes, they need to bring their A-game on both sides of the ball. Dating back to 2022, USC has allowed 30-plus points in 13 losses to ranked opponents. That has forced the offense to play nearly flawless football, and while they've been able to move the ball at times, they couldn't get over the hump.
Fahey was a three-star recruit, and even though he beat out fellow five-star recruit Tavien St. Clair for the starting job in Sayin's absence, making your first start on the road isn't an easy task. He does have superstar receiver Jeremiah Smith to throw the ball to, but still, the Trojans should have the upper hand here — and if they don't, it says something about the state of one of the sport's most storied programs in Riley's fifth year on the job.
The Buckeyes will look to run the ball and put Fahey and the offense in advantageous situations. USC will need to sell out to stop the run and put the ball into Fahey's hands.
Not only that, but Riley needs to call a fantastic offensive script on offense. It needs to be a full-team effort to keep their playoff chances alive, but also to save Riley's job. If the Trojans lose again, Riley may not make it through the rest of the season. Yet, if they win, the convos could turn to whether they can make a run at the playoffs.
Add us as a preferred source on Google