Through the first seven games of the season, 16th-ranked Southern California has beaten the teams it was expected to and lost to the one team it wasn’t, Oregon.
To get to where they want to go — the Big Ten Conference championship game — the Trojans have to prove they can beat some teams they don’t figure to defeat.
That starts Saturday night when the Trojans visit Wisconsin to begin a difficult finishing stretch. USC then hosts No. 3 Ohio State, visits No. 6 Indiana, hosts Maryland and concludes the regular season at No. 9 UCLA.
USC (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) is coming off a 31-23 road win over Penn State on Oct. 10 and enjoyed a bye last week. If coach Lincoln Riley’s thoughts after his team’s first practice following the open date are accurate, the Trojans appear to be ready.
“Our Sunday night practice was phenomenal, probably the best one we’ve had all year,” he said during his weekly coach’s show on Monday. “Guys have recharged and their bodies are feeling really good after a couple of days off.
“We’re obviously going to play a good Wisconsin team and going up there to play is always a challenge. We should be a pretty fresh team and healthier than we’ve been at some points in the season, which is good going into Week 8.”
Like most Riley-coached teams, USC revolves around the quarterback. Jayden Maiava has improved in nearly every category from last year, throwing for 2,045 yards and 18 touchdowns with just three interceptions. Maiava is completing a career-high 67.9% of his passes.
The Trojans rank seventh in the nation in passing yards per game at 310.1 and 13th in third-down efficiency at 51.2%. Less encouraging is a defense that is allowing 25.1 points per game and is permitting 30 ppg in conference games.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin (4-2, 2-1) will look to bounce back from its first conference loss, a 17-7 decision at UCLA last week. The Badgers had a chance to win despite being outplayed across the board.
They were outgained 384-214, allowing the Bruins to convert 13 of 20 third downs, and also hurt themselves with 10 penalties for 108 yards. Ty Dieffenbach finished 22 of 33 for 264 yards to lead UCLA.
It’s easy to see why Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell might be concerned about his team’s pass defense against Maiava after watching UCLA’s No. 2 quarterback continually pick the Badgers apart.
“We’ve gotta get better at it, we’ve gotta be aware of the things that people are attacking us with,” Fickell said.
Particularly daunting for the Badgers is that Maiava ranks second in the country with 2,045 passing yards, trailing only the 2,604 of Oregon State’s Braden Atkinson. And Maiava spreads his passes out: Seven USC receivers have amassed at least 100 yards.
As for Wisconsin, its offense simply hasn’t displayed the same proficiency in the air. Old Dominion transfer Colton Joseph has hit on just 54.7% of his passes, although he does lead the team in rushing with 333 yards and four touchdowns.
The Badgers probably will rely on their defense, which allows only 16.7 ppg, to keep this one close and hope their attack can take advantage of USC’s inconsistency on defense to tap into their considerable home-field advantage.