1 Winner and 3 losers in USC's frustrating 24-7 road loss to Wisconsin

There's not much to say about USC's 24-7 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday night. The Trojans drop to 6-2, and it feels so much worse because every time it seems like USC is ready to take a step forward, it goes backward.

We expected Wisconsin to be tough at home and the Badgers lived up to their reputation. There wasn't much room for USC's offense to do anything, especially with the run game. Add in a couple of early turnovers and USC's fate was sealed long before the clock ran out.

And without further delay, here are the winners and losers from USC's 24-7 loss to Wisconsin:

Winners: The defense did what it could

I thought the defense played well enough to win and that's without the offense offering much support. Right out of the gate, USC turned the ball over twice and the defense held strong and gave the offense a chance to regroup. That didn't happen and eventually, Wisconsin cashed in on a few long drives and that was all the Badgers needed. When you look at individual efforts like Luke Wafle and Kameryn Crawford, it was a solid effort. 

Losers: The offense wasn't good at all

The minus-17 yards rushing is a little exaggerated because of the 57 yards lost on five sacks, but if you take that away, USC had just 40 yards on 20 carries. This was a night where the running game had to travel and it just didn't. The turnovers took Jayden Maivia out of his game and USC didn't execute in the red zone. Overall, the Trojans didn't look prepared on offense and with an extra week of practice and rest, that's very disappointing.

Losers: Lincoln Riley's future with USC

I'm not of the opinion that every time Riley loses he needs to get fired. No one thought the Trojans were going 12-0 this season, not with that schedule. Saturday, however, felt like a must-win game with Ohio State, Indiana and UCLA coming up on the slate. Riley isn't getting fired this week and unless the Trojans go completely in the tank, he'll be back next season. But if the next few weeks don't go as planned, everything is on the table.

Losers: Where were the explosive plays?

The Trojans' longest play from scrimmage was 15 yards on a pass from Maivia to Shahn Alston. The longest rush was seven yards. Maiava couldn't get anything big to Trent Mosley or Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. Mark Bowman's absence was noteworthy in a game where the Trojans could've used another playmaker that could also help block in the run game.

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