USC's young playmakers face November test at Indiana

LOS ANGELES — For wide receiver Trent Mosley and USC's other young players, Saturday at Indiana will be a first. A November game in college football, on the road, with the playoff race on the line. It will also come against one of the most successful defenses in the Big Ten.

Head coach Lincoln Riley doesn't see the youth as a liability. He credits the schedule that the Trojans have already played.

"I think we've been in some pretty big moments as it is. When you play at this school, when you play the schedule that we play…that helps get you ready," Riley said. "We're a pretty battle-tested group right now."

The Hoosiers will be ready to test that claim. Riley called Indiana's front one of the deepest USC has faced and said the unit has been tough to run on. Head coach Curt Cignetti's defense currently leads the Big Ten with 32 sacks.

"It's an experienced group," Riley said. "You can tell they've played a lot of ball together, and certainly they're a group that makes you earn everything."

Riley also pointed to Indiana's national-title run last season as a model for winning when you aren't at your best. The Hoosiers have done something similar as of late, surviving a pair of overtime victories, with the most recent coming against Minnesota.

"A lot of really close games," he said. "Probably some games they would say they played really well and probably some games they felt like they didn't play pretty well, but they found a way to win it, and that's what really good teams do."

Tight end Tucker Ashcraft said that after nine games, USC's freshmen no longer look like freshmen.

"I would say they're veterans already," he said. "They're not freshmen, as you can see on the field. We got Trent [Mosley] making plays, we got Mark [Bowman] making plays…all of them. They can step up whenever their name is called."

Mosley said he's been leaning on his preparation and trying to stay level.

"I don't like to get too high on highs and low on lows…staying level and just keep getting better."

Indiana's pass rush shapes the plan for the receivers and the rest of the offense. Mosley said that for USC to establish the run, pass catchers have to do their part blocking on the perimeter.

"We need to establish the run," he said. "That for sure means we need to do better on perimeter blocking. We have to be available. We have to create separation to get the ball."

Running back Waymond Jordan, who compiled 48 yards and a touchdown against Ohio State, said the focus is being physical and sound in the run game. He said the group's competitiveness against its own defense helps on game day.

On Indiana's quarterback, cornerback Jontez Williams said USC isn't worried about who's under center. Cignetti has not yet indicated whether Josh Hoover or Grant Wilson will get the start for the Hoosiers on Saturday.

"It doesn't really matter who's on the other side of the ball," Williams said. "We just have to go out there and play football."

He emphasized that the Trojans had little patience for the idea of their bye week being considered a break. 

"If we put on a bye week, people just relax…they relax thinking we can chill this week. But put on the standard week, we know what we got to do. We have to uphold the standard each and every day."

Quarterback Jayden Maiava takes that same ideology with him each week. He said there's no time to dwell on previous results.

Darwin Walker – The Sporting Tribune

Jayden Maiava #14 of the USC Trojans runs the football during an NCAA football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday, October 31, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA.

"Every single day requires our best," Maiava said. "If we're focused on yesterday's victories, you lose out on opportunities for today's victories."

That leaves USC with the theme it picked for its season. Riley said the Trojans are where they hoped to be.

"It's where you want to be, right here in November, that stretch run with everything sitting in front of you. We're one of the few teams that sits here right now controlling our destiny in so many ways."

Jordan put it more simply, leaving behind one simple message ahead of a make-or-break battle in Bloomington.

"I feel like this is our time to surge," he said.