After USC’s bye earlier this season, the Trojans flopped.
They lost 24-7 to unranked Wisconsin. Quarterback Jayden Maiava passed for 257 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. USC’s rushing game was held to minus-18 yards, while the offense averaged 3.2 yards per play.
The experience changed the way coach Lincoln Riley approached the team’s second bye week leading into No. 18 USC’s big game at No. 9 Indiana (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten) on Saturday. If the Trojans (7-2, 4-2) win, they keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive. A loss would eliminate USC from playoff contention.
“We were on the field more last week, certainly than we were the first time around,” Riley said of his team’s workouts during the bye. “We handled the weekend a bit differently, both with players and staff, and I think we came into this week with probably more good work under our belt and a little bit more prepared.”
USC coach Lincoln Riley watches his team warm up before beating Ohio State at the Coliseum on Oct. 31.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
“We’re quite a bit further ahead than we were at this point before playing Wisconsin,” he added.
This bye week comes after the Trojans beat No. 2 Ohio State 30-18. But that victory remains in the rearview mirror for Riley and Maiava. Just as the team needs to move past a loss, Maiava understands the importance of looking beyond arguably the team’s best win of the season and remaining focused on the present.
“Every single day requires our best. If we’re focused on yesterday’s victories, you lose out on opportunities for today’s victories,” Maiava said.
It’s a message Riley reiterated.
“The reality is you’re not gonna play your best every week. You want to get as close to it as you can, and then you want to get good enough that even when you’re not at your best, you still find ways to win ballgames,” he said. “… These are one-week seasons, and we got to be our very best here this week.”
With three games left in the season, USC’s fate remains in its own hands. A win at Indiana followed by a home game against Maryland at the Coliseum would set up a consequential matchup with No. 4 UCLA to close out the season.
Wide receiver Trent Mosley believes the team has prepared for that pressure during its two weeks of practice.
“We’re all pushing every day. We all know what’s in front of us, and we’re taking it week by week,” he said.
Saturday’s matchup will mark the fifth meeting between the two teams. Historically, the competition has been one-sided, with USC winning all four previous meetings.
Indiana enters Saturday’s game with the nation’s fourth-ranked scoring defense, allowing 12.4 points per game. The Hoosiers also have 32 team sacks, the fourth-most in the nation. Tight end Tucker Ashcraft trusts that USC’s offensive line will keep Indiana’s pass rush away from Maiava.
“[We need to] take advantage of all our opportunities, find the space in their zones and make big plays,” Ashcraft said.
Riley said he sees the opportunity to face reigning national champions as a benefit, helping the team make a late-season playoff push.
“Whether it’s [a] big end-of-season game, championship game, the more you’re in those scenarios, the more you’re used to being in that level of competition,” Riley said. “It’s a different type of feeling and a different type of strength that it takes to win and excel in those games.”
This will be the first time the teams meet during the Curt Cignetti era. The game will also mark the first meeting between Riley and Cignetti as opposing coaches.
“We sit next to each other in Big Ten meetings and make comments back and forth to each other the whole time,” Riley said. “He’s been a fun guy to interact with.”
As the Trojans head to Bloomington, they’ll face a significant change in weather, going from a high of 71 degrees in Los Angeles to a forecast high of 47 degrees in Indiana. For Hawaii native Maiava, playing November football in colder weather is a dream come true.
Regardless of the weather, USC is exactly where it wants to be at this point in the season, Riley said.
“We worked hard and it hasn’t been perfect, but there’s been a lot more good than bad, and that’s why we’re one of the few teams that sits here right now controlling our destiny in so many ways,” he said.
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