The Ohio State Buckeyes travel to Southern California for a huge Big Ten matchup with the USC Trojans in Week 9 of the college football season. Ohio State is coming off its bye week, and most of the attention will fall on the quarterback position. The Buckeyes are rolling without Julian Sayin as their guy for likely the rest of this season. 

All signs point to Ohio State turning to true freshman Luke Fahey under center against USC. That is a lot to put on a first-year player in any road environment. Still, the Buckeyes have had an extra week to prepare him for the moment, and that matters here. 

USC enters Week 9 with its back against the wall

On the flip side, the stakes might be even higher for the Trojans. USC is coming off a blowout loss to Wisconsin that never should have happened. The result knocked the Trojans out of the rankings, and they now sit at 6-2.

Another loss would knock USC out of College Football Playoff contention. The Trojans believed they could be in that conversation in 2026. Now they are fighting just to keep that door open.

The Wisconsin loss also put a spotlight on the man running the program. Every week from here on out matters for USC, and none more than Saturday against Ohio State.

Paul Finebaum isn’t sugarcoating what is on the line for Lincoln Riley

Going into this matchup, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum made it clear how much this game means for USC coach Lincoln Riley and what could happen coming out of it.

“It is not hyperbolic to say it is the biggest game of Lincoln Riley’s career,” Finebaum said. “A loss to Ohio State and a backup quarterback will finish him. I know what the buyout is, I’ve been reminded by it by every obnoxious Trojan fan every time we have a conversation about Lincoln Riley. But there’s no getting around it, they’re on life support. They still have UCLA at the end of the season, but this is the game that’s going to determine the future.”

Riley’s track record at USC supports the urgency. He has lost at least three games in every season as the Trojans’ head coach. He arguably peaked in his first year with USC in 2022, when he won 11 games. He hasn’t won more than nine games in a season since then.

The Trojans are trending toward another year with at least three losses and another season missing the College Football Playoff. For a coach who never lost more than two games in a season at Oklahoma, that is a big deal for Riley and his future at USC.

USC would have to pay a buyout of around $70 million to fire Riley. That number is massive, but it might be a move the Trojans make if they fall short of their goals this season. With the roster USC has in place, the expectations were higher than where the program sits right now.

Ohio State and USC both have pressure on them to win this game on Saturday, just for different reasons. The Buckeyes have a young quarterback to break in and want to show the offense can keep humming without Sayin. A road win in a tough environment would go a long way for Fahey’s confidence.

USC has its season and possibly its coach’s job hanging on the outcome. That makes the Trojans a dangerous opponent. Teams with their backs against the wall tend to play with an edge, and the Buckeyes are going to have to be ready for USC’s best shot.

It’s a huge Big Ten game in Week 9 with major implications on both sidelines. Now, we wait to see it play out.