Ohio State football vs. USC predictions from Buckeyes Wire staff

It's another game day for the Ohio State football team, and this time it'll be a prime-time affair when the Buckeyes travel to Los Angeles to do battle with the USCTrojans. The Buckeyes are favored by about a touchdown by Vegas, but how the offense operates is a bit of an unknown, with true freshman Luke Fahey expected to take over for the injured Julian Sayin as the starter.Ohio State is also dealing with a few other injuries as it looks to put its undefeated Big Ten record on the line, but it might ultimately come down to how well the offense can execute on some important keys to the game.Before every OSU football game, we ask some of our writers to predict the outcome, and we are doing the same for this one. Here's how Phil, Mark, and Alec see this one playing out in SoCal on Halloween.Ohio State vs. USC prediction, according to Phil Harrison, Lead Writer/Editor𝕿𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝕳𝖆𝖑𝖑𝖔𝖜𝖊𝖊𝖓 𝕹𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙 🎃 pic.twitter.com/lcMAzUDlLM— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 31, 2026The Ohio State offense will show a little rust, and USC will gain a little bit of a lift from the home crowd, keeping this one close throughout. The Buckeye defense will force enough stops, and the offense will move the chains just enough and make a few more plays than USC does to pull out a closer victory out in L.A.Score Prediction: Ohio State 24, USC 17Ohio State vs. USC prediction, according to Mark Russell, Featured WriterGAMEDAY IN SoCal 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ClEa5K9aRv— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 31, 2026The Buckeyes will be breaking in a new quarterback, on the road, against a fairly decent pass rush. That isn't an ideal scenario, but the good news is that Ohio State still has a really good defense; the Trojans have already been beaten at home by a backup quarterback (Oregon and Dylan Raiola); and the last time we checked, Jeremiah Smith is still wearing Scarlet and Gray. Ryan Day and Arthur Smith will keep it simple for whoever the new quarterback is and will find creative ways to get Smith the ball as the Buckeyes find a way to win.Score Prediction: Ohio State 24, USC 17Ohio State vs. USC, according to Alec Lasley, Featured WriterBest Fridays in 🏈 Week 8️⃣ pic.twitter.com/giIJZkKAy4— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 30, 2026The Buckeyes head out to USC looking for a critical road win after their bye week. The big question is how the offense will flow without Julian Sayin, and what the game plan is at QB. Either way, the x-factor will be this offensive line, which seems to be healthy for one of the first times all year, and how that can impact the run game. Regardless of who is under center, there should be an expectation to find early success on the ground against a USC run defense that has struggled against physical opponents. Despite being top-3 in the nation, Ohio State has way more to prove and has some major questions to answer. I think both get done this weekend.Score Prediction: Ohio State 17, USC 10Ohio State vs. USC prediction summaryWheels up to LA ✈️ pic.twitter.com/Ee4OOCJJjx— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 29, 2026Phil Harrison | Ohio State 24, USC 17Mark Russell | Ohio State 24, USC 17Alec Lasley | Ohio State 17, USC 10Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion.This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State football vs. USC predictions from Buckeyes Wire staff