Trojans use defense to blow by Badgers  

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The first half for USC against Wisconsin was not a good one for the Trojans. USC committed three turnovers and watched the Badgers climb to a double-digit lead at intermission. 

The Trojans then got some gifts that turned the game early in the third quarter. 

Those gifts united into a wave of good fortune for the Trojans. The Trojans recovered a fumble on a punt. USC’s defense then stuffed Wisconsin’s offense on a fourth down call deep in USC territory when the Badgers tried to build on their halftime lead. 

They were reeling at this point. And before they knew it, USC had scored 14 unanswered points to take the lead for good. The Trojans added another 14 points in the final quarter to win their Big Ten Conference matchup against Wisconsin, 38-21.

“Super proud of the second-half resilience of this team,” USC head coach Lincoln Riley said after the game. “We didn’t play a very good first half in any phase. And you know, it’s kind of the second week in a row that we’ve been in the locker room and it’s like, ‘Alright, are we gonna step up and go play the way that we know we’re capable of?’ And then we did that. We’ve done it two weeks in a row.”

About that slow start for the Trojans. USC got on the scoreboard first taking its opening drive to the house. But the real story of the game is USC’s defense. After surrendering 21 points in the first half, the Trojans blanketed the Badgers in the third and fourth quarters. 

USC safety Kamari Ramsey talked about the switch in the way the defensive unit played in the first and second halves.  

“Just the intensity,” Ramsey said. “After the couple of turnovers, we came out flat as a defense. But when we come on the field, we gotta come out with the energy no matter what. If it’s a turnover, a kick off or special teams, it doesn’t matter; we have to come out and have some energy and get a stop for the offense. So, it was just really the intensity that we came out with in the second half.”

Overall, the Trojans held the Badgers to just 13 first downs in the game. Wisconsin managed only 106 yards rushing the football and another 180 net yards passing. The Trojans, a week after seeing Michigan put 27 points on the scoreboard, rebounded from their poor start to put the clamps on Wisconsin’s offense. 

Riley credits USC’s defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn with coming up with great schemes and improving the unit’s play.    

“I think he’s got a really good feel for our system and the way that people are trying to attack us, and then, conversely, the way that we want to attack people,” Riley said. “I think especially when you’re playing kind of new opponents, it’s not like you’ve got a bunch of familiar coordinators that we’ve been going against in the same league forever and ever.”