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Wisconsin taking down USC has the 'fire Lincoln Riley' takes stronger than ever

Wisconsin's upset home victory over USC has added a gallon of gasoline on the "fire Lincoln Riley" fire
ByOwen Jury
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Oct 24, 2026; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers students and fans rush the field at Camp Randall Stadium after the Badgers victory over the USC Trojans. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Wahl-Imagn Images
Oct 24, 2026; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers students and fans rush the field at Camp Randall Stadium after the Badgers victory over the USC Trojans. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Wahl-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Wisconsin Badgers are fresh off their biggest win of the Luke Fickell era, defending Camp Randall and defeating the USC Trojans 24-7. It wasn't the cleanest victory for the Badgers, passing for only 58 yards and averaging just 3.3 yards per carry. But an incredibly strong defensive outing kept the Trojans out of it.

In fact, Wisconsin’s defensive effort was so strong that just saying it was “incredibly strong” may be underselling it. The Badgers picked off USC quarterback Jayden Maiava two times, which is all the more impressive considering he entered the game with just three interceptions all year.

Wisconsin was also able to sack him a whopping five times, consistently getting pressure from a defensive front that has struggled to do so at times this year. On top of the pass defense, the Badgers allowed minus-17 rushing yards all game — negative 17.

Entering the hot seat

This defensive effort was so strong that USC head coach Lincoln Riley has seemingly earned himself a spot on the hot seat. It is likely a bit reactionary for USC fans to put a coach who has been as successful as he has been on the hot seat after just one terrible offensive outing, but as it stands, it seems more than justified.

Despite the Trojans holding a solid record of six wins and two losses, one could argue that their spot at No. 16 in the AP Poll was heavily influenced by a cupcake start to the year. In USC’s two real tests this year, against Oregon and now Wisconsin, the team has folded and looked ill-prepared, all of which falls back on the head coach.

Riley clearly brought a team into Madison that didn’t know what it was getting into, as evidenced by the early turnovers and the solid lead Wisconsin was able to build early on. Even after halftime, when they had a chance to adjust and regroup after what they had just seen, the Trojans continued to fall short, failing to get any points on the board through the final 30 minutes of play.

As mentioned earlier, a lot of that credit does belong to Fickell and his crew, as unlike USC, the Badgers came in ready to fight and kept their foot on the gas all the way until the final whistle. Whether or not they can continue that moving forward is a question in its own right, but for now, Wisconsin fans have a lot to celebrate.

As for the Trojans, things don’t get any easier moving forward. In the last four games of their 2026 campaign, USC will have to match up against three top-10 teams in the country, further adding fuel to the fire that if Riley can’t figure things out down the stretch, his time in SoCal may be coming to an end very shortly.

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