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Former USC Trojans' Quarterback Matt Leinart on Maryland Loss: 'We Can't Finish'

The USC Trojans blew another fourth-quarter lead against the Maryland Terrapins dropping to 3-4 on the season. Many former Trojans like Matt Leinart, LenDale White, and Matt Barkley took to social media to express their frustrations about the state of the program.

Kendell Hollowell

Dec 5, 2017; New York, NY, USA; Former University of Southern California quarterback Matt Leinart at the 60th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Press Conference at New York Hilton. Mandatory Credit: Catalina Fragoso-Imagn Images
Dec 5, 2017; New York, NY, USA; Former University of Southern California quarterback Matt Leinart at the 60th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Press Conference at New York Hilton. Mandatory Credit: Catalina Fragoso-Imagn Images / Catalina Fragoso-Imagn Images
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The USC Trojans have been one of the college football’s biggest brands for many decades. With a rich history of winning and collecting numerous accolades that sit in Heritage Hall on campus comes expectations every year. Former players in the program expressed their frustrations on social media after Saturdays loss to the Maryland Terrapins dropped the Trojans to 3-4 on the season.  

Former Heisman trophy and national champion winning quarterback Matt Leinart posted a reaction after the Trojans blew another fourth quarter lead. 

“I mean, am I really sitting here making a reaction video to losing to Maryland?” Leinart said. “A team that no disrespect to Maryland but their last win was against Villanova. I’m sitting on a plane right now, I mean this is unbelievable. Every game we’ve lost we’ve been up in the second half and we can’t figure it a way to win, we can’t finish. That is a mindset nothing else, it’s a mindset.”

“I mean frustrated, disappointed, embarrassed, you name it. I know every fan feels the same way. You try not to overthink and trust the process I get all of that, but it feels like we’re taking steps backwards. I don’t know what the solution is, I’m not the coach. But I think the fans, the alumni deserve better. This is just not what we expected first year in the Big Ten. By the way it doesn’t get any easier, take a look at the schedule, it doesn’t get any easier. This is bad, this is really bad," said Leinart.

One of his teammates from 2003-2005, running back LenDale White also chimed in on social media.

“It’s been 20 years of straight s**t and mediocrity and all y’all “motherf*****s wanna do is post some s**it on the Internet….all that chasing NIL ain’t gonna get you drafted!!! How y’all say it asking for all that money and not winning is crazy," White wrote.

White letting his feelings about USC coach Lincoln Riley be known, LenDale wrote, "They should probably do him like they did Lane Kiff."

Former USC coach Lane Kiffin was famously fired on the tarmac after the team arrived at LAX following the teams 62-41 loss to Arizona State in September 2013.

Former USC All-American linebacker Rey Maualuga who played for the Trojans from 2005-2008 expressed his frustrations about the effort on the field.

"No sense of urgency!!! If you don't want to play gtfo and put someone else in that wants to play!!! Holy s**t," Maualuga wrote.

Former USC quarterback Matt Barkley who played from 2009-2012 had a simple reaction. "Smh USC," he wrote.

Former USC safety/linebacker Su'a Cravens who played for from 2013-2015 and is a part of the "Trojans Tailgate Show" has been critical of the program in the past. He was on the ESPN Los Angeles "Trojans Wrap Up Show" Saturday night and held everyone in the program accountable.

"The identity of the team is top down, head coach to assistant coaches, to coordinators to GAs to the training staff, all the way through the players," Cravens said. "So when they win, we praise the head coach and his genius and everything he provides, and when they lose, we're gonna do the same thing and hold top down accountable. Lincoln Riley has not done a good job late in the game, three to four weeks in a row."

The Trojans have held a lead in the fourth quarter in every game this season but have four losses by a combined 14 points. A team that had so promise after their upset win over the LSU Tigers in the season opener are now fighting just to be bowl eligible.

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Kendell Hollowell
KENDELL HOLLOWELL

Kendell Hollowell, a Southern California native has been been covering collegiate athletics since 2020 via radio and digital journalism. His experience includes covering programs such as the USC Trojans, Vanderbilt Commodores and Alabama Crimson Tide. Kendell He also works in TV production for the NFL Network. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kendell was a collegiate athlete on the University of Wyoming and Adams State football team. He is committed to bringing in-depth insight and analysis for USC athletics.

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