For Lincoln Riley, USC's loss to Penn State is just the latest disappointment in a series: “It always weighs on me”

LOS ANGELES — The joyous roar from the adjacent Penn State locker room boomed through the thin walls of the LA Coliseum Saturday night as a crowd of reporters waited for USC coach Lincoln Riley to address another painful loss.

“We own LA!” shouted one of the victorious Nittany Lions.

“LA is our City!” a Penn State teammate howled in response.

When Riley took the podium a few minutes later, he made little effort to hide his frustration at what he called a “really tough loss.” USC fell 33-30 in overtime to the fourth-ranked team in the country despite building a two-touchdown lead at halftime, building a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter and pushing into Penn State territory in the final minutes of the game and had the chance to win the game regulation.

The recent second-half collapse hurt even more for USC because it was the Trojans' third one-point loss this season. They previously suffered two agonizing road setbacks in the Big Ten: missing a last-minute touchdown at Michigan on Sept. 21 and blowing a late seven-point lead at Minnesota two weeks later.

“The reality is we played the toughest schedule in the country through the first six games and were able to win every single game,” Riley said. “That's hard to do. Putting yourself in a position to win these games is damn hard.

“I understand that the outside world will not see anything good at the moment because they will be focused on our record and the fact that we lost three games in the last game. I understand it. That's part of it. We all knew that when we signed up for big boy football. We have to do a better job at the end of games. I have to do a better job, our coaches, our players. Because we do too many good things to put ourselves in situations where we can have the lead and win.”

There's no denying that USC is just a few passes or timely stops away from its goal, but that doesn't change the harsh reality the Trojans face. At 3-3 overall, they are no longer a realistic contender for the College Football Playoff. They could win and most likely not even get close to the 12-man field.

Worse, there's little reason to believe USC can achieve such success in the second half. This is a program that has lost all of the momentum it had when Riley came on board. USC lost eight of its last 13 games last calendar year. That matches the worst 13-game stretch Clay Helton has ever had.

Those struggles have sapped much of the enthusiasm that accompanied Riley's arrival three years ago. Saturday's 75,250 spectators reacted cautiously every time the Coliseum's in-house DJ shouted, “Come on, you gotta get loud!” There were so many Penn State blues and whites in the crowd that the Nittany Lions' bench called for more noise several times.

When asked how much responsibility he took for the state of the program, Riley responded angrily.

“It’s always up to me,” he said. When have I ever shied away from responsibility? I always take it. I am the head coach. It's all my job. Believe me, there is no one who takes more responsibility than me, so I don’t know where this question comes from.”

Since Pete Carrol left for the NFL in 2010 amid an NCAA investigation, USC has searched in vain for a capable replacement. Lane Kiffin was fired after a poor start to his fourth season on the LAX tarmac. Due to personal problems, Steve Sarkisian didn't even last two years. Interim coach Ed Orgeron thrilled USC players and alumni but received no vote of confidence from the administration. Then, with USC strapped for cash and desperate for stability, Clay Helton kept the job for seven largely forgettable years.

When he fired Helton two games into a humiliating eight-loss 2021 season, then-USC athletic director Mike Bohn promised to find a successor capable of “winning national championships and returning USC football to glory.” “. Enter Riley, seemingly the antidote to USC's long, incestuous history of hiring head coaches who only had ties to Trojans.

Riley grew up in Muleshoe, Texas, a tiny hamlet just 22 miles from the New Mexico border. He succeeded 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 late November night in 2022, Riley appeared to have USC on its way to reclaiming its glittering past. The Trojans outclassed Notre Dame and improved to 11-1 in Riley's debut season. Caleb Williams stunned the sellout, star-studded Coliseum crowd with every downfield dart he delivered and every sure sack he escaped. USC needed just one more win to secure its first College Football Playoff berth.

Then came Utah 47, USC 24.

And Tulane 46, USC 45.

And months of scrutiny over Riley's unwillingness to leave embattled defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.

It's never easy to fire a close friend, but Riley's stubborn loyalty to the Grinch caused him to lose the trust of many USC fans. He parted ways with Grinch just last November, after USC fell to 119th in yards allowed and 121st in points allowed among the 130 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

This year's defense has been respectable under new defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn, but Riley's offense has faded in the absence of former Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams. Backup Miller Moss has thrown five interceptions in his last four games. His performance was hampered by USC's inability to block opposing edge rushers.

Riley showed why he is known as an offensive mastermind in the first half against Penn State on Saturday, as he produced play after play, taking advantage of USC's superior skill speed without exposing his pass protection issues. Most memorable was a clever fake reverse in the first quarter that fooled half of Penn State's defense and allowed freshman Quinten Joyner to travel 75 yards virtually unscathed.

Penn State rallied in the second half behind Tyler Warren's school-record 17 catches and 224 yards on the night. Penn State repeatedly moved Warren back and forth, positioning him in the backfield, at tight end or on the outside. Time and time again, USC’s secondary lost track of him. Early in the third quarter, Warren even grabbed the ball, ran downfield almost undetected and caught a 32-yard touchdown pass.

“We knew he was going to be a challenge,” Riley said. “We had a few busts in coverage and I think that's what we'll look back on. When you play a really good player like that, you just want him to earn it.”

What Riley will also look back on were two fourth-and-longs in the fourth quarter that Penn State was able to convert. Those “crazy plays,” as Riley called them, set up a game-winning 14-yard touchdown pass from Drew Allar to running back Nicholas Singleton.

USC pushed into Penn State territory on its final play of regulation, with Riley setting up a third-and-6 from the 45-yard line with 14 seconds left. Riley said he felt good about his kicker's leg if USC had converted. Instead, Moss prevented an early interception.

Overtime roulette ensued, and once again luck was not on USC's side. Penn State fans behind the end zone celebrated as Michael Lantz kicked a 45-yard field goal to left. Then it was the Nittany Lions bench that spilled onto the field with joy after their kicker Ryan Barker hit the game-winner from 36 yards.

Moss called the loss “excruciating,” but also struck a hopeful tone when noting how close it was.

“This is the No. 4 team in the country,” he said. “What does this matter to us?”

When Riley was asked after the game if there was a single moment from Penn State's comeback that he would remember, he offered some insight into how much he has taken on USC's recent struggles . He said he didn't see his children for four nights this week because he was working so long hours 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 and think about it. So I'll think about everything.

“It’s just a really tough loss. There’s really no way to sugarcoat it.”