It was a major statement for Riley, who’d spent the week defending himself and responding to doubts about his future at USC. There was no better, more convincing way to answer those questions than by beating down one of the Big Ten’s best teams while your back is against the wall.

Riley could’ve left it at that and let the moment speak for itself. He even pointed out, midway through a mostly subdued postgame news conference, that “it’s not about me. It’s about these guys.”

But Riley ended up having more to say. After 10 minutes of answering questions, he pulled out a piece of paper, with a statement he’d already prepared. “I wanted to make sure to articulate my thoughts,” he said.

(I can’t tell you exactly why Riley waited until the end of his news conference to make this statement. He had plenty of opportunities before that moment to get his message across. Nor could I tell you when he wrote this statement. Was it before the game? Because he couldn’t have had more than 20 minutes available after.)

“This program is … built on internal joy, not external applause,” Riley read. “This win is for all the staff members, the players, the leaders, admin, all the people within the walls. I said before this game that I’m the right person for this job, and as long as people know that, that’s all I care about. I appreciate being part of this university and all it does. I appreciate our kids and our staff, and I’m gonna continue to fight on, ‘cause that’s what being a Trojan is all about.”

And then he punctuated the strange scene with an “Adios.”

Needless to say, as innocuous as the message might’ve been, this was not exactly normal behavior in the aftermath of such a joyous breakthrough moment. When Riley stood up and left, nearly every reporter in that news conference began exchanging raised eyebrows and puzzled glances.

In retrospect, it wasn’t all that out-of-character for USC’s coach. From basically the day he arrived in L.A., Riley has hammered home the message that nothing outside of his own building matters. That sentiment, in some sense, has colored how the whole operation has run under Riley these past five seasons. Every aspect of the program has been more insular and closed off.

Ultimately, it’s Riley’s prerogative how he wants to run his program. But the irony is that he has proven, time and again, just how much the narrative outside does matter to him.

Take that news conference, for example. Nothing shows the world that the outside noise doesn’t bother you quite like preparing a statement ahead of time about how much the outside noise doesn’t bother you.

Of course, it’s not the first time Riley has come off defensive or passive aggressive. Earlier this season, he apparently took issue with a social media exchange about USC players being discouraged from showing their personality. So, at the very end of that week’s news conference (again), just as defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart made a joke about wanting gumbo after the game, Riley took a jab, apparently at the media: “Yeah … no personality, huh??”

Then he walked out of the room.

Saturday night should’ve been one of the happier moments of his tenure with the Trojans. Instead, as he left the field, he cursed at Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork during a brief verbal altercation. One social media post suggested Buckeyes staff members may have cursed at Riley’s wife and children, triggering the coach’s reaction directed toward Bjork. Then after appearing mostly unmoved during the news conference, he read that statement.

Riley deserves a ton of credit for leading the Trojans to victory over Ohio State. And he’s right to say the outside world doubted them. Because they did. I know I did.

But on the biggest night of USC’s season to date, Riley managed to make himself look small. And afterward, even some inside the walls of USC couldn’t help but cringe about it.

Extra points

Fantastic Trojan TE Mark Bowman hurdles OHIO ST S Jaylen McClain on his way to spectacular 70-yd run Saturday. (Gina Ferazzi / LAT)

—Gary Patterson deserves credit for keeping the Heisman front-runner in check. Over Ohio State’s first seven games this season, wideout Jeremiah Smith averaged upwards of 20 yards per reception. Against USC? Just 8.3. And while some of that downturn is because of Ohio State starting a backup quarterback, I thought Patterson’s plan to limit Smith was stellar. USC bracketed Smith and kept him from getting behind the defense. He still finished with 10 catches, but only two of them came beyond 10 yards. It seems like Patterson is finally finding his stride coaching his secondary.

—Mark Bowman only played 23 snaps and ran 12 routes in his return from injury. The freshman tight end’s presence as a big-play threat was still felt. His 70-yard, hurdle-and-run is a serious candidate for play of the year so far. But beyond that, Bowman added a big-play dimension to the Trojans’ offense that it has sorely been missing the past month. His ceiling is absolutely sky high.

—Waymond Jordan returned to the backfield rotation … and looked much more like himself. Jordan sat out against Wisconsin, and Riley was honest about the fact that he still wasn’t looking like his usual, shifty self after a pair of ankle surgeries. Well, a week later, I thought Jordan looked much more confident against Ohio State than he has all season. He still hasn’t broken a big play this season, but this was an encouraging performance, as he finished with 65 total yards in 14 touches.

—Another freshman started on the offensive line and impressed in a tough matchup. With Hayden Treter out because of injury and backup Kaylon Miller coming off a tough week, freshman Kannon Smith stepped in at left guard. Against one of the most talented fronts in college football, he didn’t allow a single pressure in the pass game. And in the process, he made a real case to keep the job. “He battled his [butt] off,” Riley said. “He’s a tough sucker.”