No. 2 Buckeyes Fall at USC

Saturday, October 31

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:30 PM

Ohio State

6-2 , 4-1

USC

7-2 , 4-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Ohio State	3	6	0	9	18
USC	14	6	7	3	30

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Ohio State Football vs. USC Trojans on Saturday, October 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET, at Los Angeles Memorial Stadium in Los Angeles, California.

11/1/2026 12:16:00 AM | Football

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The Buckeyes return home to host Oregon on Saturday, Nov. 7, in the first of three November home games.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The No. 2 Ohio State football team (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten) fell to USC (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten), 30-18, on Saturday night at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Junior wide receiver Jeremiah Smith caught his 40th career touchdown pass, setting a Big Ten record.

The Buckeyes totaled 464 yards of offense, including 260 through the air. Making his first career start, freshman quarterback Luke Fahey completed 21 of 38 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown. Running backs Bo Jackson and Isaiah West combined for 193 rushing yards on 34 carries, while Smith led all receivers with 10 catches for 83 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Ohio State recorded nine tackles for loss. Junior Payton Pierce led the Buckeyes with six tackles, followed by junior Jaylen McClain, sophomore Riley Pettijohn and fifth-year Earl Little Jr. with five apiece. Senior Jermaine Matthews had a team-high two tackles for loss, totaling 10 yards.

The Buckeyes return home to host Oregon on Saturday, Nov. 7, in the first of three November home games. The matchup marks the 13th meeting between the programs, with both teams ranked in the top 12 in each of their previous five meetings. Ohio State leads the all-time series, 10-2, including a 5-1 record at home.

Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET.

HOW IT HAPPENED

USC opened the scoring with a touchdown pass on the game's first drive to take a 7-0 lead.
Ohio State responded with an 11-play, 54-yard drive capped by a 39-yard field goal, cutting the deficit to 7-3.
Following a 44-yard punt return, the Trojans extended their lead to 14-3 on a nine-yard touchdown run.
The Buckeyes capped their first possession of the second quarter with a 34-yard field goal to make it 14-6.
USC answered with a 54-yard field goal on its next drive, pushing the lead to 17-6.
On the Trojans' following possession, fifth-year defensive back Earl Little Jr. forced and recovered a fumble, setting up a 23-yard field goal by junior kicker Connor Hawkins.
USC took over with 1:46 remaining in the first half and drove 56 yards for a 36-yard field goal, taking a 20-9 lead into halftime.
The Trojans forced and recovered a fumble to open the second half, then capitalized with a one-yard touchdown run to extend their lead to 27-9.
Ohio State remained scoreless in the third quarter before opening the fourth-quarter scoring with a 47-yard field goal, trimming the deficit to 27-12.
With 2:12 remaining, freshman quarterback Luke Fahey connected with junior wide receiver Jeremiah Smith for a touchdown. The ensuing two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the Buckeyes trailing 27-18.
Ohio State attempted an onside kick, but USC recovered and returned it to the Buckeyes' 21-yard line. The Trojans added a 32-yard field goal to seal the 30-18 victory.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Junior wide receiver Jeremiah Smith entered Saturday as Ohio State's career leader in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches. He added the Big Ten career receiving touchdowns record with his 40th touchdown catch at USC.
Smith finished Saturday's game with 10 receptions for 83 yards and one touchdown.
Smith ranks eighth in Big Ten history with 225 career receptions, behind Minnesota's Eric Decker (227) and Purdue's David Bell (232).
- Purdue's Taylor Stubblefield holds the conference record with 325 career receptions.
Smith ranks third in Big Ten history with 3,625 career receiving yards.
- He trails second-place Taylor Stubblefield (3,629) by four yards and record-holder John Standeford (3,788) by 163 yards.
Smith's touchdown catch at USC on Oct. 31 gave him 40 for his career, breaking Braylon Edwards' Big Ten record of 39.

STAGGERING STATISTIC

Junior kicker Connor Hawkins kicked four field goals to surpass his career high (three) and led the team in points with 12 points.

FROM COACH DAY

"It's truly frustrating just too many penalties. We found ourselves down in those redzone situations; we just weren't able to execute very well, play clean and then the penalties were not good. Then, we get the one drive going, and then we fumble on offense and then turn the ball over. For Luke, he competed. It wasn't perfect, but we had some drops and we weren't able to help him out there. He competed his tail off in there. We'll look at the film and recognize things that we got to improve on in terms of what we can do to put him in a better situation. We ran the ball well, 200 yards rushing, but there's just too many mistakes overall. You can't afford to do that, and that's, to me, the tale of today."

UP NEXT
The Buckeyes return home to host Oregon on Saturday, Nov. 7, in the first of three November home games. The matchup marks the 13th meeting between the programs, with both teams ranked in the top 12 in each of their previous five meetings. Ohio State leads the all-time series, 10-2, including a 5-1 record at home.

Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET. This will be Scarlet the Shoe with all fans encouraged to wear scarlet for the game.