Ever since a breakout performance against Michigan early last October that launched him to the forefront of a battered USC backfield, Miller has been one of the Trojans’ most consistent players.

Miller, USC’s starting running back, went for almost 1,000 yards on 6.2 yards per carry during his 2025 All-Big Ten Honorable Mention campaign, only dipping below 3 yards per carry during a tough 42-27 loss to Oregon last season.

Before Saturday’s loss to Wisconsin, Miller was averaging about 5.2 yards per carry this season for a total of nearly 600 yards. However, on 11 carries Saturday, Miller managed just eight yards — 0.8 yards per carry — with a long of four in what was statistically the weakest performance of his Trojan career.

“I mean, got a lot of stuff going on at once. But at the end of the day, I got to just capitalize on certain opportunities that I didn’t,” Miller said. “So, it’s on me.”

In 2025, Miller was known for breaking off big runs, including a 75-yard touchdown and multiple runs of 40 or more. Through eight games this year, though, Miller’s longest run is 35 yards, as he added about 15 pounds in the offseason and gained a more physical edge to his playstyle.

On Thursday, Riley said he wasn’t concerned about Miller’s ability to make explosive plays, noting that he had dealt with minor injuries over the last few weeks.

“I don’t see a ton of differences in his game. I certainly feel a difference in physicality,” Riley said of Miller. “I feel that he’s starting to come back around in terms of his ability to pop it.”

USC’s co-Week 1 starting running back Waymond Jordan, who missed much of the 2025 season with an injury after a hot start, didn’t see the field against Wisconsin despite being listed as active on the pregame availability report.

Riley on Tuesday said that Jordan, who has rushed for 287 yards and two touchdowns this season, is still recovering from the season-ending injury he suffered in 2025 despite being active last week. Jordan was listed as active Thursday on the Trojans’ updated Big Ten Availability Report.

“He has some weeks where it’s pretty good and has some weeks where it’s not,” Riley said.

Riley said that freshman running back Riley Wormley, who earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors in late September for a two-touchdown performance against Rutgers, was also active, though he also didn’t play against Wisconsin.

With Jordan and Wormley not playing, it was freshman Shahn Alston who led the team in rushing Saturday. He ran for 28 yards on seven carries.

“He’s one of the guys that studies his tail off, recovers his body,” Miller said of Alston. “I had no doubt he was going to do exactly what he was supposed to.”

Ahead of the Wisconsin game, USC got back two key offensive linemen from injury, left guard Hayden Treter and Paige.

However, the line still struggled against Wisconsin, allowing quarterback Jayden Maiava to get sacked five times and playing a factor in the Trojans’ limited run game.

Paige said the group needed to do “a little bit of everything” better in the run game. Raymond told reporters that factors like communication and physicality were among the causes of the line’s struggles.

“It wasn’t good enough,” Raymond said Wednesday.

Treter, who previously missed two games due to injury, was listed as out on Thursday’s availability report after exiting the loss to Wisconsin early.

Alston, freshman tight end Mark Bowman and defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart were among the notable USC players listed as questionable Thursday. Bowman, who racked up two touchdowns and more than 200 receiving yards in his first five collegiate games, hasn’t played since the Oregon loss in late September.

Stewart, who has been listed on the availability report and then played in each of the last four games, said he feels “great.”

“Just slowly getting better for the team,” Stewart said. “Can’t wait to go out there and perform.”

While the Trojans are dealing with some injuries, the highest-profile injury is on the other side as the Buckeyes will be without their star quarterback Julian Sayin, who was injured during Ohio State’s win over No. 4 Indiana on Oct. 17.

Sayin, who is expected to miss the rest of the season, had the second-most passing yards in the Big Ten (2,007), tied for the most passing touchdowns (19) and the highest passer rating (184.9).

Since Ohio State had a bye last week, coach Ryan Day hasn’t had to announce whether freshman Luke Fahey or sophomore Tavien St. Clair will get the start in Sayin’s stead. Riley and defensive tackle Jide Abasiri both told reporters that the team is preparing for both and will be ready to adjust during the game.

“There’s an expectation that there will probably be some sort of adjustment in some way, and we’ll have to do a good job handling that,” Riley said of planning for two quarterbacks. “I think that’ll be one of the keys, I’m sure, to this matchup.”

The Trojans and Buckeyes are set to kick off their high-stakes Halloween-Homecoming matchup at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.