I am sure there are many Buckeye fans who, once they processed the new reality of this football season after Julian Sayin's injury, were extremely nervous for this upcoming game against USC. Then last Saturday night happened.
The Trojans went on the road to Wisconsin and lost that game 24-7. It was a lifeless performance from a USC offense that is supposed to be their strength. I'm sure many of the nervous Buckeye fans are now feeling much more confident going into the game. I think we all need to have our emotions brought back to neutral, and a look at USC's home/road splits might do just that.
Since the Big Ten expanded to the West Coast in 2024, the four teams from out there have had mixed results. Before this season, Oregon was right up there with Indiana and Ohio State as true national title contenders, winning the conference title in their first season and losing just one regular season game in two years.
Also before this season, UCLA has really struggled, but they were a down program in general before the hiring of Bob Chesney. USC and Washington have been a bit of a mixed bag. Those two programs have particularly struggled with the longer travel. Since it's more topical for the Buckeyes this week, we're just going to focus on the Trojans.
Ohio State has numbers on its side against USC
Let's paint the picture with some numbers. Since USC joined the Big Ten in 2024, they are 15-3 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and 5-8 on the road. At home, their offense averages 39.1 points per game and their defense allows 21.4 points per game. On the road, they score 25.1 per game and allow 26.5. Their point differential is +318 at home and -19 on the road.
USC is a different team at home than they are on the road. They're in the comfort of their own home, in front of their own fans, and probably a good amount of Buckeye fans too, and they're desperate to keep their playoff hopes alive. Ohio State has done a pretty good job at handling their West Coast trips over the last two seasons.
They lost by one point at Oregon in 2024, which is a reasonable result that probably wasn't because of travel, and they shut down a good Washington offense in Seattle last year. They will need to be on their A-game on Saturday night to support Luke Fahey and get out of Los Angeles with a win.
Ohio State has a lot of things to prove to the rest of the country this weekend. Right now, they are ranked second in the polls. Another win this weekend would help them solidify that ranking. It wouldn't be shocking to see them move into the top spot if they win and look impressive doing so.
That would require Miami to lose, but that could happen with how crazy things have been in college football this year.
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