Freshman quarterback Luke Fahey (13) waits for the call on Ohio State’s final drive of the game against USC. The Buckeyes fell 30-18 to the Trojans on Oct. 31, 2026. Credit: Liam Ahern | Managing Photo Editor
LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles is home to all sorts of entertainment genres.
Saturday, for Ohio State, it was a comedy of errors.?
Despite outgaining the Trojans by 126 yards and possessing the ball for nearly 19 more minutes, the Buckeyes committed 11 penalties in a game that they never led and surrendered to USC 30-18.?
The loss was one of Ohio State’s ugliest and first to an unranked opponent since Michigan beat the Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium 13-10 on Nov. 30, 2024.
“It’s extremely frustrating coming into a game like this with a young quarterback and not [to] play cleaner than we did,” head coach Ryan Day said. “Just too many penalties.”
The Buckeyes trailed by as much as 18 points Saturday, their largest deficit since Nov. 26, 2022, in a 45-23 loss to Michigan. The offense entered USC territory on eight possessions, but failed to reach the endzone until there was less than three minutes left in the fourth quarter–and the game was out of reach.
Before kickoff, questions swirled around freshman quarterback Luke Fahey, who made his first start Saturday after Julian Sayin’s season was lost to a shoulder injury suffered against Indiana.
Fahey threw for 260 yards and a touchdown without committing any turnovers, but the Buckeyes failed to rally around their new signal-caller.?
“As a team, we weren’t able to, to me, play well enough to support a young freshman quarterback who’s had his first start on the road like this,” Day said.?
The game’s failures did not belong to the offense alone. The defense struggled to deliver from the second play of the game when USC quarterback Jayden Maiava threw a screen pass to wide receiver Trent Mosley, who ran through the Buckeyes’ defense for a 69-yard touchdown 39 seconds into the game.
“I feel like they made a good play, and it was just a little bit of lack of effort on our end, and they scored and at the end of the day can’t let that happen,” safety Jaylen McClain said.
After a 39-yard field goal by Ohio State kicker Connor Hawkins, the Trojans extended their lead to 14-3 with a 9-yard rushing touchdown by Waymond Jordan, set up by a 44-yard punt return by Mosley and a 15-yard Buckeye personal-foul penalty.
Trailing 17-6 midway through the second quarter, Ohio State seemed to get a break when defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr. forced a fumble, recovered by safety Earl Little Jr.?
The Ohio State offense marched down the field, and Fahey appeared to have rushed for a 3-yard touchdown, but it was overturned after his knee was ruled down. The Buckeyes had the ball on USC’s one-yard line with a fresh set of downs, but a false start penalty backed them up enough that they could secure only a field goal.
Ohio State’s seven-game streak of scoring a touchdown in the final 30 seconds of the first half snapped as USC extended its lead to 20-9 with a 36-yard field goal by kicker Caden Chittenden.
The Trojans’ 20-point first half was the most allowed by an Ohio State defense since Oct. 12, 2024, against Oregon, when the Buckeyes allowed 22 points.?
And their second-half mistakes kept them from being in contention.
Buckeye running back Isaiah West fumbled in USC territory, leading to a 70-yard reception by tight end Mark Bowman. King Miller then scored to give the Trojans an 18-point lead.?
“The turnover was huge,” Day said. “There [were] a couple special teams plays that flipped the field, and then the explosive plays that they had on offense. That’s really the story.”
Ohio State drained six minutes off the clock on a 12-play drive before Conner Hawkins made his fourth field goal of the night from 47 yards, cutting USC’s lead to 27-12 in the fourth quarter with 14:56 remaining. Jeremiah Smith next broke the Big Ten touchdown reception record with an end-zone catch with 2:12 remaining, cutting the deficit to 27-18.
Following Smith’s touchdown, the Buckeyes failed on a two-point conversion, making it more than nine years since their last successful two-point conversion–a 49-21 win over Indiana on Aug. 31, 2017.?
USC tacked on another field goal to end the game and extend its lead to 30-18.
“[We’ve] gotta watch the film, flush it, and just learn from it and just move on,” McClain said.
Ohio State was 11-0 during Day’s tenure coming off a bye week entering Saturday, but that streak was snapped, even though the coach said he thought the team practiced well leading up to the game.
“I’m always concerned, but the attitude was good, the effort was good, the guys were fighting all the way to the end, they were into it,” Day said. “But there’s just way too many mistakes.”
Ohio State, which entered the game ranked No. 2 in the country, will surely fall in the standings, and its once-clear playoff picture is now clouded with questions.?
How the team responds in its remaining home games against Oregon, Northwestern and Michigan, as well as a road trip to Nebraska, will determine that future.??
“Our backs are against the wall; we have two losses, and that’s something that we’re gonna have to fight back against,” tight end Mason Williams said. “We have a big stretch coming down the road, and [we] just [have] to go out there and battle every day.”
