After a promising 4-0 start, USC has been booted from the AP college football rankings following its Week 5 loss to Illinois. The Trojans remain in a strong position early in their second season in the Big Ten, but with two tough matchups looming, the last-second loss was a truly heartbreaking result.
With wins over Michigan State and Purdue, USC is one of just two teams with multiple Big Ten victories entering Week 6. Beginning the year with a 2-1 conference record is a step up from where the team was in 2024, even if the two wins came against the bottom feeders of the league.
At first glance, USC's two-point loss on the road is nothing to scoff at. Illinois entered the game ranked No. 23, but was just at No. 9 the previous week before tumbling after a crushing defeat to Indiana. The Trojans were still favored to leave Urbana-Champaign with the victory, but keeping pace with a preseason top-15 team on the road is somewhat of a moral victory for a team that was just 1-4 in Big Ten road games in 2024.
Even with the teams' inverse momentum, USC faced Illinois with all other factors against it. Lincoln Riley was particularly peeved by the Trojans' schedule, which had them kicking off against Michigan State at 11 p.m. ET in Week 4 before playing the Fighting Illini at noon ET in Week 5.
Regardless of the intangibles, USC was in the game until the very end. Although they seemed to be getting dominated throughout, the frustrating result fell short of expectations.
USC now has two weeks to prepare for another tough matchup against Michigan in Week 7. Until then, the loss will continue to sting and cause the Trojans to wonder what went wrong.
DC D'Anton Lynn let Jayden Maiava down
USC's defense is a serious problem — again.
The Trojans' offense is not perfect, but it is quickly proving to be arguably the most underrated in the country. Yet, in a tale as old as time, Lincoln Riley's team simply cannot seem to defend anything.
Given what the offense did, USC should have left Illinois with a victory. Jayden Maiava ended the game with 364 passing yards, most of which contributed to star wideout Makai Lemon's career day. The Trojans got it done on the ground too, with Waymond Jordan posting 94 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
But instead of ending Week 5 with what could have been a football program-changing victory, USC suffered another loss that can almost entirely be attributed to its defense. The Trojans could not stop anything all night. They gave up over 500 yards of total offense, forcing just one punt on Illinois' 10 drives.
Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer enjoyed a nice rebound week, ending with a season-high 328 passing yards. He would also score three total touchdowns while refraining from turning the ball over.
However, the Trojans' biggest issue was their inability to stop the run; USC allowed nearly five yards per carry on the Illini's 35 rushing attempts. Those numbers account for the college football rule set that credits a sack as a negative run.
Blame can be assessed all around, but defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn falls at the center of it. The Trojans are now allowing 27.3 points through their first three Big Ten games and 359.4 total yards per game on the year, the fifth-most in the league. There is no way to consistently win football games at the highest level with those numbers, regardless of how good USC's offense has been.
USC D-Line got dominated all game
One of the biggest factors entering the game was the internal battle between Illinois' offensive line and USC's defensive front. Considering the Illini were coming off a game in which they allowed seven sacks against Indiana, the advantage seemed to be with the Trojans.
However, it was evident that that was not the case from Illinois' first offensive snap. Illini coach Bret Bielema insisted that his offensive line would be better in Week 5, and they delivered on that promise. USC only got to Luke Altmyer once after Indiana sacked him seven times in Week 4.
Bielema and his offensive coordinator, Barry Lunney Jr., certainly deserve the bulk of the credit. They recognized a weakness in their offensive front and subsequently constructed a game plan that relied heavily on quick throws, keeping Altmyer's back off the turf.
Give Bielema the credit, but USC's front-seven also failed to show up. This was a Trojan team that entered Week 5 with 16 sacks in its first four games, but could not so much as sniff Altmyer for the majority.
Illinois was also able to relieve pressure off of Altmyer by repeatedly pounding the football into the heart of the USC defense. Lynn's defense could not stop the run all game, ceding 171 rushing yards on 4.9 yards per carry.
The issue was so bad that Illinois felt comfortable running the ball on its final possession of the game. Down by a point with two minutes remaining, Altmyer attempted just one pass in the Illini's game-winning two-minute drill.
Illinois has a solid run game, but this was a concerning defensive effort from USC. Things better change quickly before they face Michigan and Notre Dame, who will pound the rock for all 60 minutes if the Trojans let them.
USC WR Makai Lemon had no help
USC's offense was dominant in the second half, but it was a three-man show. Jayden Maiava, Waymond Jordan and Makai Lemon all shone, while nobody else showed up for work.
The limited offense was most evident in the passing game, where Maiava essentially worked with just one competent receiver. Illinois could not stop Lemon, but none of USC's other pass-catchers were there to support him.
Under normal circumstances, Ja'Kobi Lane would have been Maiava's No. 2 target. Lane was questionable to play all week and would take the field in a limited fashion. He played just 33 of the 81 offensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
Without a healthy Lane, blocking tight end Lake McRee was second on the team with 59 receiving yards. McRee did more than he was asked to do, but he is not the type of player to consistently threaten teams downfield. USC brought in players like Jay Fair, Prince Strachan, Jaden Richardson and Tanook Hines to fill that role, but none have been even remotely effective thus far.
Strachan did not play in Week 5, but apparently, neither did any of USC's receivers other than Lemon. Hines and Richardson combined for just four catches for 48 receiving yards in a game that Maiava attempted 43 passes. Hines, who played 51 of the 81 offensive snaps, was particularly disappointing.
Backup running back Eli Sanders was just as ineffective, taking his nine touches for 24 yards. After racking up 107 scrimmage yards in Week 4, he was easily one of the Trojans' biggest disappointments of the week.
USC's lack of another receiver has been an issue all year, and it reared its ugly head in Week 5. Lemon and Lane have been solid, but the Trojans have nobody reliable behind them. Once either of their star receivers goes down, it becomes nearly impossible to beat good teams in the Big Ten with just one competent pass-catcher.
