COLUMBUS — Every Friday we’ll bring you a quick-hit look at the game ahead for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
No. 2 Ohio State (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten) at USC (6-2, 3-2)
Kickoff: 7:30 PM
Network: NBC
Announcers: Noah Eagle, Todd Blackledge, Kathryn Tappen
History: USC leads the all-time series 13-10-1. Seven of those matchups were in Rose Bowls, where the Trojans hold a 4-3 edge. The last matchup was in the 2017 Cotton Bowl, won by the Buckeyes 24-7. In road games at USC, the Buckeyes are 2-5-1, with their last win in 1946.
Info: Ohio State game notes & USC game notes
Game trailer
Buckeye I’ll be watching Saturday
WR Chris Henry Jr.: Henry's two big catches against Indiana felt to me like the start of a coming-out party. I'm assuming Henry has more reps banked with Luke Fahey than he did with Julian Sayin. I could see Fahey looking Henry's way more than Sayin did. Jeremiah Smith is still the engine of the offense, and Fahey will go his way plenty, but I'm interested if anything changes with the target share now that OSU has a new quarterback, and if Henry is a player who will see a slight uptick in touches. — Bill
C Carson Hinzman: When Julian Sayin made his first career start against Texas last season, Hinzman said the Buckeyes had to push him to say something in the huddle. Luke Fahey is in that boat now, and Hinzman, who will be making his 43rd career start Saturday (more than any current Buckeye) is going to have to guide him. Encouraging the freshman, identifying the defense, setting protections, make sure the snap gets into the hands of a first-time starting QB, blocking USC defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart — the functionality of the offense in many ways rests on Hinzman now. — Doug
One thing I want Ohio State to do Saturday
Be aggressive on defense from the jump. Matt Patricia's post-Texas plan of getting more creative with his pressure packages has been a welcome change. However, I thought he was too slow to get to them against Indiana. USC quarterback Jayden Maiava has not played well under duress this year, so I would come out trying to make him uncomfortable from the start, rather than feel things out and perhaps wait until the second half before turning up the heat. — Bill
Get the ball to Jeremiah Smith on short easy throws on the move. Yards after the catch was the main thing Smith wanted to improve on this season and he has. He averaged 4.3 yards after the catch last season and is averaging 6.3 yards this season. He has also been targeted on deep throws more this season — 22 passes of 20 yards or more have been throw his way this season compared to 19 all of last year. I’m not sure Ohio State will be taking those deep shots with Luke Fahey, at least for now. So emphasize the short stuff on the move to Smith even more. Short crossers, screens, all the throws where Fahey doesn’t have to do much but Smith can still do damage. — Doug
Another game to watch with Ohio State in mind
Northwestern at Oregon, 3:30 PM, Peacock: Apologies for pointing you in the direction of a streaming game, but both sides of this matter to the Buckeyes. Based on all of the info we have from games this year, you could reasonably say that Northwestern is the team among Ohio State's remaining opponents that is playing the best. Can that continue in Eugene? The Wildcats had an early bye and will be playing their sixth game in as many weeks on Saturday. Are there signs of wear and tear that tell us something about how Northwestern might fare when it comes to Columbus on Nov. 14 for what will then be its eighth game in as many weeks? And does Oregon have a pulse? The Ducks are out of playoff contention, they've fired their offensive coordinator and their quarterback is done for the year. They're talented, but they have nothing left to play for other than pride. I'm fascinated to see what they show in this one. — Bill
Stat to know
It’s the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, which USC signed with the Class of 2026.
Among power conference teams, USC receivers Kayden Dixon-Wyatt and Trent Mosley are third and fourth in true freshmen in receiving yards, tight end Mark Bowman is second in receiving yards among true freshmen tight ends, and defensive end Luke Wafle is tied for first in pass rush pressures among true freshmen.
Throw in cornerback and Ohio native Elbert Hill IV, who made his first start last week against Wisconsin, and the Trojans are leaning hard on first-year guys. Jay Timmons has been a star for the Buckeyes as a true freshman, but everyone else has been eased in, including Chris Henry Jr., Brock Boyd and Khary Wilder. As true freshman Luke Fahey starts at QB for Ohio State, think about how those guys from the No. 1 class for USC are impacting the game, and whether you would want Ohio State to lean that much on first-year players. — Doug
Uniform Look
Lines
Ohio State -6.5
Over-under 51.5
Picks
Bill: Ohio State 24-20
Doug: USC 24-20
On the season
Bill: 6-1 straight up, 4-3 spread, 4-3 over-under
Doug: 7-0 straight up, 3-4 spread, 4-3 over-under
Your vote
USC will win: 4 percent
Ohio State will win by 6 points or fewer: 38 percent
Ohio State will win by 7 points or more: 56 percent
Combined score of 52 points or more: 11 percent
Combined score of 51 points or fewer: 89 percent
Tracking network and kickoff times for the season
Network
Fox: 3
BTN: 2
ABC: 1
CBS: 1
NBC: 1
Announcers
Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt: 3
Jeff Levering, Jake Butt: 1
Mark Followill, Jake Butt: 1
Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit: 1
Brad Nessler, Charles Davis: 1
Noah Eagle, Todd Blackledge: 1
Kickoff time
Noon: 3
12:30: 1
3:30: 1
4:15: 1
7:30: 2
Also
• USC was credited with -18 rushing yards against Wisconsin last week. That included five sacks of Jayden Maiava. But just counting USC running backs, the Trojans had 20 carries for 39 yards. Still terrible. For the season, USC’s average of 3.87 yards per carry ranks 103rd out of 138 FBS teams.
• Ohio State’s Joe McGuire averages 43.8 yards per punt. USC’s Lachlan Carrigan averages 49.5 yards per punt.
• Coming into the season, Ohio State had the most returning offensive line experience among Power 4 teams. USC was fourth.
• The USC game notes are pretty fun. Lots of leaning into the Halloween theme. This was the craziest note, if you can follow it.
USC Director of Football Communications Katie Ryan’s cousin and fellow Trojan, Bron Heussenstamm, is married to the sister of Ohio State offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.