No. 13 USC football (3-1, 1-1 Big Ten) triumphed against the Wisconsin Badgers (2-2, 0-1) in its first Big Ten game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday. The Trojans entered the matchup looking to recover from a tight 27-24 loss at No. 12 Michigan last week, whereas the Badgers came off of a 42-10 loss to Alabama on September 14. With the win Saturday, USC moved to 7-1 against Wisconsin in program history.
USC received the first half kickoff and quickly got to work, marching down the field behind stout running from redshirt senior back Woody Marks. Redshirt junior quarterback Miller Moss looked comfortable early, launching a 32-yard completion to sophomore wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane to finish off a six-play touchdown drive within the first 2:37 of play.
Wisconsin came into the game relying on a run-heavy offensive scheme after losing its starting QB Tyler Van Dyke to an ACL injury in the Badgers’ matchup against the Crimson Tide. Redshirt sophomore signal caller Braedyn Locke stood in for Van Dyke against the Trojans and appeared to be settling in well in the first. After USC’s first touchdown, the Badgers bit back immediately, putting together a four-play scoring drive capped by Locke’s 63-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Vinny Anthony II.
After exchanging punts with the Badgers, the Trojans started their next drive on the 1-yard line thanks to a stellar punt from Wisconsin sophomore Atticus Bertrams, and initially struggled to make it out of the endzone. They got out of trouble thanks to some nifty running from Marks and redshirt freshman Quinten Joyner, and again moved the chains on a first down connection from Moss to redshirt junior receiver Kyron Hudson. In a third-and-1 situation, Moss kept the ball himself, rushing right for nine yards and another first.
However, USC started looking shakier as the half continued on. In the same drive, Moss threw an interception to redshirt senior safety Preston Zachman with 0:37 left in the first. Though Wisconsin went three-and-out to end the quarter, sophomore receiver Zachariah Branch fumbled the resulting punt, and the Badgers recovered on the Trojans’ 18-yard line. Senior running back Tawee Walker carried the ball in, giving Wisconsin a 14-7 lead. The next USC drive was stopped short by a false start call, and redshirt senior kicker Michael Lantz booted a 41-yard field goal to bring it to 14-10 in favor of Wisconsin.
The Badgers stormed back downfield in their next set, ignited by a 35-yard sideline pass from Locke to senior receiver Bryson Green. Locke hit redshirt junior receiver Will Pauling up the middle for 13 yards and a first before slinging the ball to redshirt senior tight end Riley Nowakowski for another nine yards. From there, it was easy money for Walker, who carried the ball four yards for his second touchdown on the day.
Down 21-10, the Trojans needed an electric drive to get back in the game. Moss came out hot, relying on his trusted receiving core of Hudson, Lane and freshman tight end Walker Lyons. For a moment, it seemed as if USC could cut the deficit before the half.
But Moss had been feeling the pressure all afternoon. Wisconsin junior safety Austin Brown got loose and forced a Moss fumble, which the Badgers recovered at their own 24-yard line. And though Wisconsin was forced to punt with 1:11 left in half, USC was unable to get the ball into Badger territory and ended the half down 21-10.
A muffed punt early on in the third quarter from Wisconsin gave the Trojans a chance to tighten the gap.
USC entered the redzone on yet another Moss-Lane connection, but was frustrated by a third down illegal formation call. That could not stop Lane, the proverbial man of the hour, though. He caught a 15-yard sideline bullet from Moss before the two connected once again for a 6-yard touchdown, bringing the Trojans back within four.
Asked what he was thinking during that pass sequence, Lane simply said, “I saw the ball in the air. Caught it. Touchdown.”
From then on, the tide began to turn in the Coliseum. Trojan fans, who had been relatively quiet since the second quarter, started to get loud again. They screamed and booed when Green moved the chains for Wisconsin. They roared with indignation on what they thought was a missed offensive pass interference call on Pauling. Even when the Badgers marched into Trojan territory without much trouble, the atmosphere was taut, electric, teeming with energy.
“The excitement in there in the Coliseum in the second half was really cool,” Riley said. “Great day, awesome to get our first Big Ten win.”
The Badgers got downfield fairly easily at first. Then, when a Wisconsin first down was reviewed and overturned, USC’s gassed defense gave the fans what they deserved: a fourth-down stand on their own 33-yard line to take over on downs.
“They play a really tough brand of football,” Moss said of the defense. “I think they really embody what we want to be about. It’s a luxury as an offense to have a good group on the other side.”
Galvanized by the defense, Moss led the Trojans downfield, hitting sophomore receiver Duce Robinson for a 32-yard gain that put USC in the redzone. Three plays later, it was Robinson that caught Moss’ 8-yard touchdown pass after the QB beat the blitz to put the Trojans up 24-21.
USC’s defense, in turn, looked better-rested during the next Wisconsin drive, forcing another Badger three-and-out to end the third quarter. When the Trojan offense retook the field, everything looked automatic. Moss threw three straight quick first down receptions to Marks, Joyner and Hudson. Moving into Wisconsin territory and facing a fourth-and-1, Moss got tricky on the keeper, spinning past defenders for his first rushing touchdown of the day. The Trojan lead was 31-21.
“No, I’ve never seen that. That little jump in the endzone was crazy,” redshirt senior linebacker Mason Cobb said postgame, stifling a laugh. “Hey, the spin was nice though. He must’ve gotten that from somebody.”
After a three-and-out from both teams, the Badgers got the ball and the cracks in their passing game began to show. Locke lobbed an interception to Cobb, who took it back 55 yards to the house to make it a 38-21 game.
Down 17 deep in the fourth quarter, the Badgers still had some fight left in them. Anthony II attempted to spark the Wisconsin offense with a 74-yard punt return all the way to USC’s 18-yard line. But despite their electric start to the drive, the Badgers turned the ball over on downs at the USC 12-yard line. The Trojans ran the clock down and took a knee to win the game 38-21.
It was certainly a well-rounded effort from the Trojan team. Moss finished the game 30-for-45 for 308 yards and two turnovers. Lane led USC in receiving yards with 105 — a game record for the young Trojan — on 10 catches with two touchdowns. Marks once again led USC’s rush offense with 63 yards on 19 carries. Plus, the Trojan defense allowed only 105 rushing yards after giving up 290 on the ground to Michigan last weekend.
USC came into the game ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten in passing offense, and Riley seems confident about his team’s ability to keep that momentum going.
“They’re gonna battle,” he said. “We’re not going anywhere. We don’t panic.”
USC travels to Minnesota for its next Big Ten matchup October 5 at 4:30 p.m.