LOS ANGELES --- The USC Trojans head into Camp Randall Stadium this Saturday, having learned the same lesson in their past two contests: close games get decided by fundamentals and playmaking, not emotion. After escaping Washington at home and outlasting Penn State's White Out, the Trojans used their bye week to recover physically. They also made sure that lesson would stick before facing a Wisconsin defense built in a similar image.
Head coach Lincoln Riley made clear that returning from the week of isn't only about riding the momentum from Happy Valley.
"Our deal is very process and standard oriented," Riley said. "The reality is we've won every game but one this year, and in those games we found things we did well and things that we didn't do well...our process stays very consistent."
That process showed up specifically on the offensive line in the form of true freshman Vlad Dyakonov, who was thrust into his first career start at Penn State on short notice. Fellow offensive lineman Justin Tauanuu said the moment didn't rattle him at all.
"The most impressive part about him is just him being calm, not having much nervousness going in...especially going into a big atmosphere such as Penn State," Tauanuu said. "I'm really impressed with how he played."
Tauanuu credited that composure to a next-man-up culture the room has leaned on to navigate injuries this season. He said the group's focus this week is strictly fundamental against a Wisconsin defensive front that he expects to serve as a strong test.
"Really just focusing on our fundamentals...going against great players like that, you always have to go back to the fundamentals, and the fundamentals will triumph everything else."
Badgers' outside linebacker Sebastian Cheeks poses to be one of those players that will give the Trojans trouble, with his two and a half sacks and two forced fumbles leading the team. Wisconsin, despite suffering a loss, was just the second team this season to hold No. 9 UCLA to 17 points in a game.
Quarterback Jayden Maiava identified Wisconsin's linebacker core as critical to their success.
"They're kind of the heart of their defense," he said. "As you see it on film, [they] kind of get the guys rolling on D, and we're just excited to go out there against those guys."
Maiava also took time to talk about one of his wide receivers, sophomore Tanook Hines. He pointed Hines out as someone whose growth and leadership have gone a long way for the receiver room as a whole.
"Those guys are getting really close every single day," Maiava said. "You can see it out there. I can feel it at the quarterback position as well as everybody else in there."
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Hines, who is self-admittedly a quieter person, said this season has forced him to step up and take on a more vocal role for the younger pass catchers.
"Definitely naturally quiet," he said of himself. "I'd just say that's what the receiver room needed. So now I have to step up and show my leadership skills."
Freshman Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, who has used Hines' mentorship as part of a season in which he leads USC in receiving yards, believes that the team isn't interested in carrying the emotion of the Penn State win into Madison. Instead, they'd like to focus on keeping the version of play itself that showed up.
"I feel like we're just focused on this week's opponent and taking it week-by-week."
It's the same message that Riley opened the week with. The standard doesn't move just because the record improves. Whether it's a first-time starter on the offensive line or a receiver room with a new leadership voice, USC's offense is chasing the process over the moment. Wisconsin's defense will be the next to test whether that's actually true.