USC's win over Ohio State reshapes the playoff race

USC beat No. 2 Ohio State 30-18 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday. Read more: USC's win over Ohio State reshapes playoff race

It was the biggest result of a Week 9 slate that also saw two other ranked contenders hold their ground.

Miami escaped North Carolina 38-35 to stay unbeaten at 8-0.

Georgia also beat Florida 27-8 to stay in the SEC race.

However, neither result moved the sport's bigger picture.

The Ohio State-USC final did.

It was also the biggest win of Lincoln Riley's tenure at USC, played in a light, steady rain that fell on the Coliseum all night.

'That's two of the best teams in the country on the field right there,' he said afterward.

'It's going to come down to who plays the situations best, and we did it tonight.'

Ohio State started true freshman Luke Fahey at quarterback, his first career start, in place of injured starter Julian Sayin.

The Trojans made the rookie pay early.

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How USC seized control

USC scored on its first touchdown drive.

Trent Mosley hauled in a 69-yard touchdown pass from Jayden Maiava before Ohio State's defense had settled in.

Then Waymond Jordan added a 9-yard touchdown run, and the Trojans led 14-3 after one quarter.

In the third quarter, Mark Bowman caught a 70-yard pass that set up King Miller's 1-yard touchdown run.

That made it 27-9.

Finally, Jeremiah Smith's 1-yard touchdown catch from Fahey, with 2:12 left, cut the margin to 27-18.

But Caden Chittenden's 32-yard field goal closed it out at 30-18.

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Ohio State won the box score

Still, Ohio State actually outplayed USC on paper.

The Buckeyes finished with 464 total yards to USC's 338, and led in first downs 25-15.

They also held the ball for 39:28 against USC's 20:32 of possession.

In fact, none of it showed up on the scoreboard.

Ohio State's own mistakes erased the advantage, including a second-half fumble by Isaiah West in USC territory.

The Ohio State-USC final leaves one team's path clearer than the other's.

Ohio State is 6-2 and 4-1 in the Big Ten.

That record still fits inside the playoff picture, but it leaves almost no room to lose again.

So USC, at 7-2 and 4-2, is in position to return to the rankings this week.

'At the end of the day, as a team, we weren't able to play well enough to support a young freshman quarterback who has his first start on the road like this,' Day said.

For Ohio State, on Halloween night in the Coliseum, that was the whole game.