LOS ANGELES — Cheers of joy from the adjacent Penn State locker room rang through the thin walls of the LA Coliseum Saturday night as a crowd of reporters waited for USC coach Lincoln Riley to talk about another heartbreaking loss.
“We own Los Angeles!” shouted one of the victorious Nittany Lions.
– Los Angeles is our city!” the Penn State teammate howled in response.
When Riley stepped up to the podium a few minutes later, he made no effort to hide his frustration at what he called a “really tough loss.”S.” USC lost to the nation's fourth-ranked team 33-30 in overtime despite building a two-touchdown halftime lead, opening a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter and driving into Penn State territory with a chance to win the game in the final minutes of regulation.
The latest second-half loss hurt USC even more because it marked the Trojans' third one-point loss of the season. They had previously suffered two heartbreaking setbacks on Big Ten roads, surrendering in the last minute at Michigan on September 21 and squandering a seven-point lead at Minnesota two weeks later.
“The reality is that we played the toughest schedule in the country for the first six games and had a chance to win every game,” Riley said. “It's difficult. Putting yourself in a position to win these games is hard as hell.
“I understand that the outside world won't see anything good now because they will focus on our record and the fact that we lost three games in the last match. I understand that. That's part of it. We all knew this when we signed up for big boy football. We have to work better at the end of games. I have to do a better job, our coaches, our players. We are doing too many good things to be in situations where we have the lead and can win.
There's no denying that USC is a few clutch or well-timed stops away from where it wants to be, but that doesn't change the difficult reality the Trojans face. With an overall record of 3-3, they are no longer a realistic candidate to make the College Football Playoffs. They could have won and most likely didn't even get a whiff of the 12-team field.
Worse still, there's no reason to believe USC can be as successful in the second half. It's a program that has lost all the momentum it had when Riley came on board. USC lost eight of its last 13 games last calendar year. This is the worst 13-game stretch Clay Helton has ever played.
Those struggles have dampened the enthusiasm that greeted Riley's arrival three years ago. Saturday's crowd of 75,250 reacted coolly every time the Coliseum's in-house DJ demanded, “Come on, you gotta be loud!” There were so many blue and white Penn State jerseys in the crowd that the Nittany Lions bench repeatedly motioned for more noise.
Asked what responsibility he took for the state of the program, Riley bristled.
“It always falls on me,” he said. Have I ever shied away from responsibility? I always take it. I'm the head coach. It's all my job. Believe me, no one takes on more responsibility than me, so I don't know where these questions come from.
Since 2010, when Pete Carrol moved to the NFL as a result of an investigation conducted by the NCAA, USC authorities have been looking in vain for a suitable successor. Lane Kiffin was fired on the LAX tarmac after a slow start to season four. Steve Sarkisian didn't even last two years due to personal problems. Interim coach Ed Orgeron wowed USC players and alumni but did not receive a vote of confidence from the administration. Then, with USC strapped for cash and desperate for stability, Clay Helton kept the job for seven largely unforgettable years.
When he fired Helton for two games in a humiliating eight-loss 2021 season, then-USC athletic director Mike Bohn promised to find a successor who could “win a national championship and return USC football to glory.” Enter Riley, seemingly the antidote to USC's long, incestuous history of hiring head coaches with only ties to the Trojans.
Riley grew up in Muleshoe, Texas, a tiny little town just 20 miles from the New Mexico border. He replaced Bob Stoops at Oklahoma in 2017 and over the next five seasons posted a 55-10 record, four Big 12 championships, three College Football Playoff berths and two Heisman Trophy winners.
On a raucous night in late November 2022, Riley USC seemed to be well on its way to reclaiming its glittering past. The Trojans outclassed Notre Dame and improved to 11-1 in Riley's rookie season. Caleb Williams dazzled the sold-out, star-studded crowd at the Coliseum with every downfield shot he made and every breakaway he made. USC needed just one more win to clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff for the first time in history.
Then came Utah 47, USC 24.
I Tulane 46, USC 45.
And months of scrutiny surrounding Riley's reluctance to leave crisis-ridden defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.
Firing a close friend is never easy, but Riley's stubborn loyalty to the Grinch caused him to lose the trust of many USC fans. He only parted ways with Grinch last November, when USC fell to 119th of 130 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision in yards allowed and 121st in points.
This year's defense has been decent under new defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn, but Riley's offense has declined in the absence of former Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams. Heir apparent Miller Moss has thrown five interceptions in his last four games, and his performance was hampered by USC's inability to block edge rushers.
Riley showed why he was an offensive genius in the first half of Saturday's game against Penn State, as he put together play after play, taking advantage of USC's exceptional speed without revealing his pass protection issues. What I remember most was a clever false return in the first quarter that fooled half of Penn State's defense, allowing freshman Quinten Joyner to run 75 yards almost unscathed.
Penn State rallied in the second half, surpassing Tyler Warren's school-record 17 catches and 224 yards on the night. Time and time again, Penn State moved Warren around, putting him on the defensive line, both offensively and offensively. Time and time again, USC's secondary lost track of him. Early in the third quarter, Warren even intercepted the ball, ran down the field almost unnoticed, and caught a 32-yard pass.
“We knew him coming in would be a challenge,” Riley said. “We had a few mishaps in reporting and I think that's something we'll come back to. When you play against a really good player, you just want him to earn it.
Riley will also look back on a pair of quarters and long shots in the fourth quarter that Penn State was able to convert. Those “crazy plays,” as Riley called them, resulted in a 14-yard pass from Drew Allar to quarterback Nicholas Singleton.
USC entered Penn State territory during its final round of regulation. Riley ran out the clock and scored on third and six from the 45-yard line with 14 seconds left. Riley said he would feel good about his kicker leg if USC retired. Instead, Moss overturned the untimely interception.
The overtime roulette began and luck was once again not on USC's side. Penn State fans behind the end zone celebrated as Michael Lantz pushed a 45-yard field goal to the left. Then the Nittany Lions bench erupted in celebration when their kicker, Ryan Barker, hit the game-winner from 36 yards out.
Moss called the loss “excruciating” but set a hopeful tone when he noted how close the loss was.
“They are the No. 4 team in the country,” he said. “What does this make us?”
When Riley was asked after the game if there was a single moment he had since returning to the Penn State team, he gave insight into how hard he took USC's recent struggles. He said he didn't see his children for four nights this week because he worked so long to prepare for the Penn State game.
“I think about it every second,” he said. “When I go to sleep, I dream about it. And I wake up thinking about it. So I'll think about it all.
“It's a really difficult loss. You really can't sugarcoat it.”
