Lincoln Riley still thinks USC can be ‘a really good team’ despite loss to Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS —  An unseasonably warm breeze blew through Huntington Bank Stadium. It was the rare sort of October night when USC, a team in unfamiliar and typically frosty Big Ten territory, could feel right at home.

But nothing about Saturday night’s 24-17 loss to Minnesota would leave USC feeling comfortable with its new place in its new conference. Not its quarterback, who struggled to find a rhythm. Not the offensive line, which struggled once again to protect him. Not the defense, which had so often clamped down after halftime. Not even the coach, who continued insisting afterward that everything was fine, despite the reality that a second straight conference road loss leaves USC with only a limited path to the College Football Playoff.

“We’ve got the makings of a really good team,” said Lincoln Riley, who has lost seven of his last 12 as the Trojans coach.

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Promises of unrealized potential just weren’t enough Saturday. Not as USC squandered one chance after another, wasting four trips into plus territory, three of which resulted in turnovers.

Even still, early in the fourth quarter, USC had an opportunity to put away Minnesota. The Gophers had been stifled out of the half, punting twice in the third quarter, while the Trojans had just mounted a 12-play, 91-yard touchdown drive, their best of the game by far. Now a defensive stand put the ball back in the hands of Miller Moss, whose poise as the Trojans quarterback had previously been USC’s most bankable asset on offense.

USC drove as far as the Minnesota 35-yard line. But Moss proved no match for a screaming Minnesota pass rush that slipped past right tackle Mason Murphy, hitting the quarterback as he threw. The ball tumbled helplessly through the air, into the arms of an unsuspecting Minnesota linebacker.

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The missed block was merely the latest glaring mistake for an offensive line that’s had many since opening Big Ten play. Riley failed to acknowledge any of those issues when asked about them multiple times Saturday.

“I thought our guys played a really good game up front,” Riley said. “We gave up a couple pressures in untimely moments, but we took some steps.”

USC did manage to run the ball well behind its line, as Riley was sure to note, with Woody Marks racking up 134 yards in 20 carries and Quinten Joyner tallying 44 before losing a crucial fumble.

But that particularly untimely pressure — and the subsequent interception — turned the game on its head. Minnesota needed just six plays to score, turning what might’ve been a two-score lead into a tie game.

Minnesota defensive back Ethan Robinson, left, forces USC running back Quinten Joyner to fumble during the first half Saturday.

(Ellen Schmidt / Associated Press)

“Those are the big moments,” Riley said. “We’ve got to make those competitive plays in those big moments, and we’ve had opportunities on all three sides to close things out.”

There was still plenty of time to mount a go-ahead drive, with more than half the fourth quarter remaining. But an intentional grounding call on Moss, amid more heavy pressure, set USC back, and on third and four, the Trojans took an inexplicable shot down the field, only for it to fall incomplete.

It was another head-scratching sequence for USC, which had stumbled its way into similar, late three-and-outs against Louisiana State and Michigan. Still, when asked if he’d change any of his decisions, Riley said there was “nothing off the top of my head.”

There weren’t many answers either for how USC’s defense unraveled on that last Minnesota drive, as the Gophers marched down the field, bleeding away precious second after precious second with 12 plays.

“We just have to be more locked in,” defensive end Jamil Muhammad said.

And yet, after all the breakdowns and back-breaking missteps, there was still a sliver of hope with USC wedged against the goal line, its Big Ten hopes hanging on for dear life. USC stopped Minnesota once, then again, then a third time at the goal line.

A fourth attempt was called short once again, but a review revealed Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer had managed to break the plane of the goal line. The call was overturned, giving Minnesota the lead.

“Came down to just inches, right there at the end,” Riley said. “We’re two plays away from probably being 5-0.

They’re also now one loss away from probably being eliminated from playoff contention, with Penn State, a top-10 team with a fearsome defensive front, on tap next week.

Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck speaks to a reporter as fans swarm him on the field after the Golden Gophers’ win Saturday.

(Ellen Schmidt / Associated Press)

As of Saturday night, the Trojans couldn’t have felt further away from being the contender Riley sees them to be.

That was certainly the case as USC squandered its final chance Saturday, with seconds to spare, as Moss led the offense into plus territory again, only to throw a desperation end-zone pass into traffic.

It was picked off, ending an otherwise forgettable night for Moss — and probably closing the book on USC’s hopes of winning the Big Ten.