Ohio State vs USC: Clash of college football blue bloods could shape season

For years, the Rose Bowl pitted the best team in the Pac-12 against the best team in the Big Ten. For over a century now, two of the most successful college football programs in those conferences (before realignment messed with everything) were USC and Ohio State.

They are two “blue bloods” of the sport, with instantly recognizable uniforms and alumni who are legends of college football. The Ohio State/USC matchup was the 2nd-most-common Rose Bowl pairing, played 7 times over 100 years.

On Saturday night, they meet for the first time as conference foes, with USC now in the Big Ten, and they will meet in Los Angeles, but not in the Rose Bowl, as USC plays its home games in the LA Coliseum. Both programs arrive at a crossroads, and no matter the winner, college football will feel a ripple effect from this clash of titans.

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Ohio State faces major questions without Julian Sayin

For Ohio State, every season begins with National Championship aspirations. But a blown 4th-quarter lead in a 24-23 loss to Texas has tempered those expectations a little bit. The good news for the Buckeyes in this regard is that one loss does not disqualify a team from the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Especially considering that, with all of the chaos in the sport, the Buckeyes have rebounded all the way to 2nd in the AP poll. But they come in with a major question mark. In the Buckeyes’ win at Indiana, quarterback Julian Sayin left with an injury to his throwing shoulder and is out indefinitely. The Buckeyes must now turn to either former 2025 5-star recruit Tavien St. Clair or true freshman Luke Fahey at quarterback.

It was Fahey, who’s from Los Angeles, who took the snaps at the end of the Indiana game, but both quarterbacks have reportedly taken first-team reps in practice this week. The responsibility now falls on these quarterbacks to keep the train on the tracks – one loss is likely not going to eliminate the Buckeyes from CFP contention, but two almost certainly would.

With a grueling schedule the rest of the way, this game is going to be one that the Buckeyes may need to keep their National Championship dreams afloat.

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USC and Lincoln Riley face a crossroads

USC comes into this game from another direction – not just geographically, but with the trajectory of their season. The Trojans enter at 6-2, with losses to Oregon and Wisconsin, two teams that are certainly beneath the Buckeyes in overall quality. Head Coach Lincoln Riley enters on the hot seat.

He began his tenure at USC with much hype, and coached Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams to an 11-3 record in his first season. But the problem is that, in the Riley era, USC has never been good on defense. They ranked outside the top-100 in total defense in his first two seasons, and have not finished a season in the top-40. He’s tried to fix it, with now 4 total defensive coordinators in his tenure, but none have solved the problem.

It’s beginning to appear as if Riley is never going to lead the Trojans to the promised land, and a loss to Ohio State would all but eliminate USC from CFP contention, and winning out would only net a 9-3 record (which would be a difficult task). With Riley having ties to the state of Texas, and the Baylor job already open (and potentially Texas Tech), USC firing him and/or Riley leaving for a different job is on the table if this season goes haywire.

Two historic programs enter traveling in opposite directions. One is trying to keep its season on track. The other trying to save it. This matchup in the Coliseum is going to have effects that are felt all over college football.

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