Wisconsin delivered an incredible win over the No. 16 USC Trojans in a game that the Badgers simply outworked USC. The Badgers were the more physical, hungrier, and outright better team in the win. It wasn't always pretty, but that seems to be the identity of this football team. Going to beat you in the trenches and be the most physical team out there.
The game was so wild that there are three stats that truly bend your mind a little. Make you think: that can't be true, can it be? And you are digging up history and looking at the box score.
1. Lincoln Riley has never coached a team that scored this little
Lincoln Riley isn't having the best go-around at USC, but he's an accomplished coach and was very successful at Oklahoma. He's been around for a bit too, and yet this was the lowest output a team coached by him has ever had. Riley has never been under the headset and seen seven or fewer points.
It's also the least amount of yards one of his teams has ever put up. 241 total yards for the USC offense. The Wisconsin Badger defense absolutely shut the Trojans and Lincoln Riley down.
Related: 4 thoughts on Wisconsin's much needed impressive win over No. 16 USC
2. Wisconsin held USC to the second fewest rushing yards in school history
The Trojans had -17 rushing yards. That's a MINUS 17. They attempted to run the ball 25 times and yet rushed for -17 yards. You'd think that would be a school record for the lowest ever against Wisconsin, but it's actually the second-lowest. Iowa rushed for -18 in 1951 against the Badgers.
In the win, @BadgerFootball held USC to -17 yards rushing, which ranks as the second-best mark in school history. pic.twitter.com/npiuUyYef8
— UW Stats & Info (@UWStatsInfo) October 25, 2026
Where did those negative rushing yards come from? Entirely one player: Jayden Maiva. The running backs for USC only managed 40 total yards, but at least they were in the positive. Maiva had NEGATIVE 57 yards rushing. Feels like it's made up, but go ahead and check that box score. The Badgers absolutely didn't let Maiva do anything from the pocket or on the run- nothing.
Related: Luke Fickell couldn't hide his emotions after a signature Wisconsin win over USC
3. The Wisconsin Badgers had their highest attendance of the season
There was a lot of talk about how Camp Randall may lose some of the environment and that attendance could suffer due to the Brewers playing about an hour away in the World Series. The games were being played simultaneously, and the fan bases have a ton of crossover. Yet, Camp Randall saw its best crowd of the season, and the atmosphere was rocking and rolling all night.
Camp Randall showed the Brewers games at points, and there were plenty of boos every time they took the game off the screen, so the interest was clearly there. Yet, the Badgers have a product worth watching, and the whole stadium could sense blood in the water and was eager to see Luke Fickell's team take down Lincoln Riley's.
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