USC faces another mystery at quarterback heading into showdown with Indiana
Lincoln Riley watches his players warm up before beating OHIO ST at the Coliseum on Oct. 31. (Gina Ferazzi / LAT)
No. 18 USC has spent much of the season preparing for uncertain quarterback situations, and No. 9 Indiana is forcing Lincoln Riley to prep for multiple QBs.
The defending national champions still have formidable weapons, including NFL-bound receiver Charlie Becker, giving the Trojans a major road test in Bloomington.
The stakes are enormous: A loss could end USC’s playoff hopes, while a win would put the Trojans firmly in the conversation.
Ryan Kartje (LA Times) — Lincoln Riley can’t tell you who for sure will be at quarterback for Indiana when USC meets the defending national champions this weekend. And Indiana coach Curt Cignetti has kept things pretty close to the vest over whether it’ll be Josh Hoover, the usual starter, or Grant Wilson, the seventh-year backup.
“We could spend our time speculating back and forth who it’s going to be,” Riley said. “I doubt we’re going to see some radically different offense based on who the quarterback is.”
His calm comes from the fact that under-center uncertainty is nothing new at this point for No. 18 USC. Riley has spent pretty much the entire season preparing for opponents racked by quarterback questions.
It wasn’t clear, back in Week 1, who would be under center for Fresno State. Nor was it obvious two weeks later if Rutgers was sticking with its original starting quarterback.
Oregon got only three drives out of its top passer, Dante Moore, against USC before his injury thrust No. 2 Dylan Raiola into action. And a month after that, an injury to Ohio State star Julian Sayin left USC to face his backup, Luke Fahey, whom the Trojans terrorized.
It’s still up in the air if Hoover, who came to Indiana as a top transfer, will be healthy enough coming out of Indiana’s bye. Banged up for most of the past month, Hoover was replaced by Wilson in the Hoosiers’ last game before the bye. And Wilson proceeded to bring Indiana back from the brink in an overtime win over Minnesota.
Hoover wasn’t listed with any injury designation on the Big Ten’s availability reports this week. But over his last four games, Hoover has completed only 48% of his passes; clearly, he was affected by injury.
“We’ll see how the week plays out, and we’ll see who we trot out there,” Cignetti said Monday.
IU back-up QB Grant Wilson escapes a tackle in their 55-0 win over the Howard Bisons in Sept. (Doug McSchooler / AP)
Whoever plays quarterback for No. 9 Indiana will have an array of weapons at their disposal, including star wideout Charlie Becker, who’s tracking to be a top-15 pick in the 2027 NFL draft. Though, that part should be nothing new, either, given USC’s recent work against Ohio State and the presumptive No. 1 pick Jeremiah Smith.
“Real physical guy, has some great speed, a really experienced receiver,” cornerback Chasen Johnson said. “That’s going to be a great matchup.”
How well Indiana is able to move the ball could decide not just the Big Ten race but both teams’ College Football Playoff fates. With a loss in Bloomington, USC would be knocked out of contention, reigniting questions about Riley’s future. With a win, USC would be propelled into the playoff conversation.
That would leave only No. 4 UCLA — and another backup quarterback, Ty Dieffenbach — standing in the Trojans’ way.
Meanwhile, USC quarterback Jayden Maiava remains the most consistent — and healthy — passer in the conference. Even if he hasn’t seemed all that consistent — or healthy — by his standards.
“He’s in a great place mentally,” Riley said. “He’s in a great place physically right now. He’s had some bumps and bruises along the year, but right now he’s as healthy as he’s been in terms of his body feeling good. He’s ready to roll, and I think he’s gearing up to play extremely well in this last stretch.”
TrojanDailyBlog members — We always encourage you to add factual information, insight, divergent opinions, or new topics to the TDBthat don’t necessarily pertain to any particular moderator post or member comment.
SUBSCRIBE HERE TO RECEIVE NOTICE OF NEW COMMENTS OR REPLIES.
Departed Ahead of the Stoppage. The team departed Los Angeles on a United charter flight roughly an hour and a half before the 3:54 p.m. ET (12:54 p.m. PT) FAA order halted departures nationwide.
Landed Without Delay. Indiana University officials and beat reporters covering the team confirmed late Friday afternoon that the plane landed on schedule in Indianapolis. The team is staying in Indianapolis overnight before making the roughly one-hour bus trip south to Bloomington.
UCLA close to signing Bob Chesney to new deal to remain with Bruins Ira Gorawara and Bruce Feldman (The Athletic) — UCLA coach Bob Chesney is close to signing a contract extension to stay put in Westwood, Calif., a program source told The Athletic, as the Bruins move to retain the architect of an unbeaten season that has carried them from a three-win finish to the brink of the College Football Playoff. In his first season, Chesney has led UCLA to a 9-0 record and No. 4 in the CFP committee’s most recent rankings — the highest position the Bruins… Read more »
The effect of that BIG conference membership is becoming obvious with all the west coast teams……given Washington and Oregon have to wait a bit more to really get the big dough…….its takes money to make money…..unfortunately USC threw a large portion of ours in the creek signing the grand whisperer.
Lincoln Riley’s worst nightmare was USC joining the Big Ten. His second worst nightmare was Bob Chesney taking over at UCLA. His third worst nightmare might just be coming up this weekend if he doesn’t beat Curt Cignetti.
I seriously wonder if Riley believes all the money was worth it? Had he stayed at auto-pilot OU, where he seemed to fit perfectly, he still might be considered a top five CFB coach.
USC’s charter plane had not landed before the FAA ground stop began, though the team did take off before the order went into effect and remained airborne toward Indiana. The Athletic — USC was among several CFBs—alongside Texas Tech, Wake Forest, Missouri, and South Carolina—that successfully departed prior to Friday afternoon’s nationwide flight halt. Current Flight & Airspace Status Departure Timing. USC’s charter flight departed from Los Angeles earlier Friday afternoon before the Federal Aviation Administration issued its nationwide ground stop at 3:54 p.m. ET (12:54 p.m. PT). In-Air Directive. Per USA TODAY, the FAA order halted all departing flights… Read more »
What a mess……hopefully it sounds like a glitch in software and not a ground to air missile somewhere that the Iranians got into the States. They have not grounded the in flight stuff. USC will probably play on time. If this is lifted in a couple hours some of those traveling teams are going to be awfully groggy.
Good question. I guess I’d just to thankful to the Lord for being a HC making nearly 20 million per year with lifetime security. Personally I hate heat with high humidity worst than cold. I can put on a coat…..96 degrees in Florida, Texas or Bama feels to me far worse than 45 degrees in Wisconsin. Particularly running with a uniform on. It would be nice if the BIG mandated having all fields install underground heat pipes to keep the turf soft and raise the temp a bit. Luckily so far games are not played in December or January up… Read more »
What is the difference of Chesney, who took over a winning program from Cignetti and Riley who took over a winning program from Stoops? Will we see a difference next season if Chesney continues winning where Riley didn’t his follow up season here?
I would say Chesney was just clearly way better prepared to rebuild a program, especially programs where resources were scarce (great training) and he had to scramble to overcome problems at several schools nobody has even heard of that a big brand school can more easily overcome. This is Chesney’s fifth HC job. Prior to his HCing roles, Chesney also worked as an asst at Norwich, Delaware Valley, King’s College and Johns Hopkins from 2000 to 2009. As Riley has often mentioned publicly, he’s only been at two blue bloods as a HC. It sure shows. Yet he seems to… Read more »
Indiana could have 4 starters out this week against SC….2 on offense and 2 on defense. USC should have a chance to win although I’m not picking them…..I’m not sure which team will show up. They’re too unpredictable. But Indiana saw how Wisconsin was blitzing on every other play so I would hope our offensive line is ready because I think they will be sending 5 or 6 on every other play.
All we can hope for is the coaching staff, after countless trials & errors, has prepared the team to mentally as much as physically be ready to play hard aggressive but not penalty laden tomorrow. What everyone is saying has Lincoln Riley learned how to prepare for Big Ten away games to give the players the chance to stay in the game? Experts predict whoever wins the LOS on both sides will win the game. You can’t argue that point. Keep Maiava on his feet at least on offense and make yardage on the rushing game keeping the hoosiers honest… Read more »
My goodness the USC vs IU line has changed almost daily. There must be some incredible inside info on personnel, etc being considered.
USC Flight and Game Status
UCLA close to signing Bob Chesney to new deal to remain with Bruins Ira Gorawara and Bruce Feldman (The Athletic) — UCLA coach Bob Chesney is close to signing a contract extension to stay put in Westwood, Calif., a program source told The Athletic, as the Bruins move to retain the architect of an unbeaten season that has carried them from a three-win finish to the brink of the College Football Playoff. In his first season, Chesney has led UCLA to a 9-0 record and No. 4 in the CFP committee’s most recent rankings — the highest position the Bruins… Read more »
If we decide to get rid of LR, I would take a good long look at Jamey Chadwell from Liberty.
The effect of that BIG conference membership is becoming obvious with all the west coast teams……given Washington and Oregon have to wait a bit more to really get the big dough…….its takes money to make money…..unfortunately USC threw a large portion of ours in the creek signing the grand whisperer.
Lincoln Riley’s worst nightmare was USC joining the Big Ten. His second worst nightmare was Bob Chesney taking over at UCLA. His third worst nightmare might just be coming up this weekend if he doesn’t beat Curt Cignetti.
I seriously wonder if Riley believes all the money was worth it? Had he stayed at auto-pilot OU, where he seemed to fit perfectly, he still might be considered a top five CFB coach.
Hopefully the team has arrived. All air travel in the US has been shut down.
USC’s charter plane had not landed before the FAA ground stop began, though the team did take off before the order went into effect and remained airborne toward Indiana. The Athletic — USC was among several CFBs—alongside Texas Tech, Wake Forest, Missouri, and South Carolina—that successfully departed prior to Friday afternoon’s nationwide flight halt. Current Flight & Airspace Status Departure Timing. USC’s charter flight departed from Los Angeles earlier Friday afternoon before the Federal Aviation Administration issued its nationwide ground stop at 3:54 p.m. ET (12:54 p.m. PT). In-Air Directive. Per USA TODAY, the FAA order halted all departing flights… Read more »
What a mess……hopefully it sounds like a glitch in software and not a ground to air missile somewhere that the Iranians got into the States. They have not grounded the in flight stuff. USC will probably play on time. If this is lifted in a couple hours some of those traveling teams are going to be awfully groggy.
Oky is now SEC……good luck Riley…..no place to hide……maybe mountain west ?????? Can you fake it there?
If you were HC of USC football, would you rather be playing in the SEC or the Big Ten? 🙄 Weather would be easier in SEC.
Good question. I guess I’d just to thankful to the Lord for being a HC making nearly 20 million per year with lifetime security. Personally I hate heat with high humidity worst than cold. I can put on a coat…..96 degrees in Florida, Texas or Bama feels to me far worse than 45 degrees in Wisconsin. Particularly running with a uniform on. It would be nice if the BIG mandated having all fields install underground heat pipes to keep the turf soft and raise the temp a bit. Luckily so far games are not played in December or January up… Read more »
What is the difference of Chesney, who took over a winning program from Cignetti and Riley who took over a winning program from Stoops? Will we see a difference next season if Chesney continues winning where Riley didn’t his follow up season here?
I would say Chesney was just clearly way better prepared to rebuild a program, especially programs where resources were scarce (great training) and he had to scramble to overcome problems at several schools nobody has even heard of that a big brand school can more easily overcome. This is Chesney’s fifth HC job. Prior to his HCing roles, Chesney also worked as an asst at Norwich, Delaware Valley, King’s College and Johns Hopkins from 2000 to 2009. As Riley has often mentioned publicly, he’s only been at two blue bloods as a HC. It sure shows. Yet he seems to… Read more »
Indiana could have 4 starters out this week against SC….2 on offense and 2 on defense. USC should have a chance to win although I’m not picking them…..I’m not sure which team will show up. They’re too unpredictable. But Indiana saw how Wisconsin was blitzing on every other play so I would hope our offensive line is ready because I think they will be sending 5 or 6 on every other play.
All we can hope for is the coaching staff, after countless trials & errors, has prepared the team to mentally as much as physically be ready to play hard aggressive but not penalty laden tomorrow. What everyone is saying has Lincoln Riley learned how to prepare for Big Ten away games to give the players the chance to stay in the game? Experts predict whoever wins the LOS on both sides will win the game. You can’t argue that point. Keep Maiava on his feet at least on offense and make yardage on the rushing game keeping the hoosiers honest… Read more »