What to watch when desperate USC hosts Penn State

The chorus sounded frustratingly familiar. Again, after another disappointing loss, the same rosy message came from Lincoln Riley, who assured the public that USC was indeed just a few plays, a few stops and a few inches away from what its coach wanted.

It's all a question of perspective. But as close as USC may have come, as “battle-tested” as it may be now, the harsh reality is that Riley has lost seven of his last 12 games as coach of the Trojans. That matches the worst 12-game stretch of Clay Helton's tenure as USC coach.

With No. 4 Penn State in action at the Coliseum on Saturday, the Trojans are now playing for their lives in the College Football Playoff in mid-October and have no room for error.

“I promise you,” Riley said this week, “we're still a very confident team.” This is not a team that has two losses where we got our ass kicked. No, that is not the case. We know what we are capable of.”

Miller Moss had plenty of time to think about this topic on the long flight home from Minneapolis on October 5th.

“The most important thing for us right now,” the quarterback said, “is everything we stood for, everything we worked for, all the messages we told the team that expressed what we were about. When you're faced with adversity like that, that's what gets tested the most.”

The decisive moment comes this weekend against Penn State.

“We have two pretty clear options,” Moss continued. “Double down on who we are and come closer together as a team and take advantage of the great opportunity presented this weekend or let it influence and deter us from what we ultimately want to do.”

By Saturday night we should have a much better idea of ​​what path the Trojans have taken.