On Saturday night, the USC football team upset No. 2 Ohio State 30-18. With the victory, the Trojans improved to 7-2 on the season and 4-2 in Big Ten play.
What went well for USC, and what went poorly? Here are some positives and negatives from the game:
Positive: Lincoln Riley
For as much criticism as Lincoln Riley has drawn over the past week, he deserves a ton of credit for this performance. This was by far Riley’s biggest victory as the head coach at USC.
Positive: Mark Bowman
I am not sure there are words that can properly describe this play. USC’s true freshman tight end is simply not human.
Positive: Trent Mosley
Speaking of true freshmen, Mosley set the tone for the upset with his 69-yard touchdown on the second play of the game.
Positive: Red zone defense
Ohio State got inside the USC 30 yard line six times, but only scored one touchdown.
That is a massive victory for the Trojans.
Negative: Run defense
That said, the Buckeyes were able to move the ball prior to entering the red zone. Ohio State racked up 204 rushing yards in the game.
Positive: Meaningful football in November
Had the Trojans lost this game, they would have been eliminated from playoff contention before the start of November for the third time in four years. Instead, USC still has a ton to play for entering the final month of the regular season.
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Positives and negatives from USC’s 30-18 upset of Ohio State
