After enjoying a week off to heal and to figure out a game plan for replacing injured starting quarterback Julian Sayin, Ohio State travels out west to Los Angeles for a road game against Big Ten foe USC.
It's a collision between two teams that still have some pretty big goals on the table, and despite the Buckeyes facing breaking in a new quarterback away from home, Vegas has the Buckeyes as a marginal favorite. With any big game, we like to scour the internet for some predictions, but we also like to tap into ESPN's "matchup predictor" to see what it says about the potential winner of the game, and there's no reason to stop now.
ESPN uses analytics to determine the percentage chance of each team winning, and in this case, it has Ohio State with
a whopping 82.8% chance of leaving the Coliseum still undefeated in the Big Ten. But that's why they play the games, right?
ESPN updates Ohio State game predictions ahead of new starting QB
— Buckeyes Wire (@BuckeyesWire) October 25, 2026
📸 Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co https://t.co/yYo4HgwE84 pic.twitter.com/kNM4ER7DTI
Since these analytics are updated by game results only, there's no chance of this percentage changing, but the Buckeyes will still need to execute at a high level and take their defense on the road.
The game is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC, and we'll have more on the game leading up to Saturday, and be around during and after as well for extensive coverage.
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: ESPN predicts winner of Ohio State football vs. USC Saturday night
