LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Coliseum crowd booed Southern California off the field at halftime Saturday after the Trojans committed three turnovers, struggled for defensive stops against Wisconsin, and generally played like a team that wasn’t ready for the Big Ten.
Although they couldn’t argue with their fans’ feelings, the Trojans are already very good at halftime adjustments — and they had plenty of time to rally for a landmark win.
Miller Moss threw two of his three touchdown passes to Ja’Kobi Lane, and No. 13 USC roared back from an 11-point halftime deficit for a 38-21 victory over Wisconsin in the Trojans’ first Big Ten home game.
One week after narrowly losing its Big Ten debut at Michigan despite erasing a double-digit deficit in the second half, USC (3-1, 1-1) again struggled early. The Trojans then outscored Wisconsin 28-0 in the second half of their school’s first Big Ten victory.
“We knew we could compete in this conference, but now you’ve got to win, and you’ve got to play well,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said. “After the way that last week finished … and have the first half go the way it did, (but) come back and play that well, it just says a lot about the character of the guys in this room. They’re going to battle. They’re not going anywhere. We don’t panic.”