LOS ANGELES – So who wants to read a take about the Bear Alexander situation? Just kidding, just kidding. By going out and whupping Wisconsin 38-21 on Saturday, the Trojans put that, uh, non-story story to bed, yeah? By putting up 28 unanswered second-half points on the Badgers in the first Big Ten home opener in Trojans’ history, they’ve effectively advanced the narrative past Reggie Bush’s NIL lawsuit for the time being, right? Moved off a downer of a news cycle following last week’s Big Ten opening loss at Michigan? Saturday’s second-half surge to victory will help, for sure. Miller Moss’s magic, Ja’Kobi Lane’s career day, Kamari Ramsey’s monster hits all will help. But, on the whole, despite the final score, Saturday’s victory was hardly the perfect palette cleanser for a team that has the potential to make noise in the College Football Playoff – where, yes, they’ll have to just survive and advance. But before they get there, they’ll have to survive and impress. And Saturday’s first half was decidedly unimpressive. The Trojans (3-1, 1-1 in Big Ten play) went into halftime trailing the unranked Badgers – 15 1/2 -point underdogs – 21-10. And it was mostly because these Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Trojans put themselves in that hole. Dug it themselves, tripped over their own shoelaces, tumbled, fumbled right in. The discipline and attention to detail you associate with great teams in short supply in the first half, and again it looked as though we might have mistaken the mistake-prone Trojans for contenders. There was the explosive 63-yard touchdown reception on Wisconsin’s first drive, but the real problem was that the Trojans punched themselves in the face. The first half was littered with poor decision-making and penalties. With flat-footedness and no tackles for loss – as if this was not D’Anton’s Lynn’s dependable defense but the one that used to belong to Alex Grinch, who returned to L.A. as the Badgers’ safeties coach Saturday after being fired from his position as USC’s defensive coordinator late last season. And there were the Trojans’ three turnovers: A sack fumble, an interception, and a muffed punt – that grounder that went between Zachariah Branch’s legs (you’d score it E-6 if he were a shortstop) that shifted all momentum Wisconsin’s way. It was not a case of “starting out hot and ready,” as defensive tackle Nate Clifton said the Trojans intend to. Fortunately and unfortunately, Coach Lincoln Riley was able to remind his team that they had – as running back Woody Marks put it – “done been here before.” Just one week before, when the Trojans limped into halftime in their Big Ten debut at Michigan trailing 14-3, but then fought back to make it a game before eventually succumbing, 27-24. Fortunately for the Trojans, Wisconsin (2-2, 0-1) is not Michigan, and the Badgers eventually got worn down by a USC offense that dominated time of possession (40:07 vs. 19:53) and wound up converting 11 of 17 third downs vs. only two of 10. They got subdued by Moss. The junior quarterback completed 30 of 45 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed in with a gutsy, topsy-turvy fourth-quarter TD. By the sophomore wide receiver Lane, who caught 10 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns. By Ramsey, the sophomore safety who recorded two tackles for loss and led a Trojans defense that allowed only 82 second-half yards. There’s something to be said for a team that can regain composure, for a squad that can shoot itself in the foot and still will itself through the finish line – and impose its will on an opponent along the way. For a team with the heart required to take a hit and keep on ticking. “The fire in the locker room (at halftime) was just like, ‘Man, you know that’s not us out there,’” said Mason Cobb, the senior linebacker who recorded his first collegiate pick-six in the fourth quarter. “And for us, it’s just, ‘Keep swinging.’” So the Trojans went home victorious, and they sent their fans home happy. But they also gave themselves a lot to work on and their devotees plenty new to fret over and stress about, too. “It’s kind of ridiculous,” Moss said, to go into halftime with 264 yards of offense and only 10 points to show for it. “It’s unacceptable going forward. We’re gonna play teams where that’s really gonna hurt us – it did the week before. We’re gonna get that addressed.” This time, Riley was able to address it at halftime with what he joked was a “really, really good speech.” He’ll want to give it before the Trojans touch down in Minnesota to face the Golden Gophers next Saturday. 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