USC runs for minus-17 yards in a 24-7 loss at Wisconsin

No. 16 USC ran the ball 25 times at Wisconsin on Saturday night and finished with minus-17 rushing yards. The Badgers won 24-7 at Camp Randall, and USC's only touchdown came in the second quarter.

Minus-17 means USC couldn't move the line of scrimmage against a Wisconsin defense that held it to 92 yards in the first half, according to the Associated Press. King Miller had 8 yards on 11 carries.

The run game wasn't the only thing that went sideways. Jayden Maiava, who came into the game with three interceptions on 224 throws all season, threw two before halftime, to Cairo Skanes and Bryce West. Caden Chittenden missed both of his field goal tries, and Wisconsin's Junior Poyser blocked one of them, a 44-yarder late in the third quarter with USC down 17-7.

And the touchdown that put Wisconsin ahead for good came from Bryan Jackson II, who spent the last two seasons at USC. His 5-yard run with 1:51 left in the half made it 10-7. It was his first touchdown as a Badger.

Wisconsin didn't throw it much and didn't have to. Colton Joseph completed 12 of 14 passes for 58 yards, one of them a 16-yard touchdown to Chris Brooks Jr. on fourth-and-2. The Badgers ran for 142 yards and never turned it over. USC finished with more total yards, 241 to 200, but every one of them came through the air and the drives kept dying.

Wisconsin is 5-2 with its second win over a ranked team. USC hosts No. 3 Ohio State next Saturday, and if the run game looks anything like this, the Trojans are in for a long afternoon.