USC Trojans Coach Lincoln Riley Reveals What Went Wrong In Loss To Penn State

USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley made his weekly appearance on the USC Athletics podcast TrojansLive on Monday. Riley discusses what went wrong for his squad during the team's tough loss to the Nittany Lions as well as what position group has impressed the USC coaching staff.

Oct 12, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans players run on to United Airlines Field for the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans had a 14 point lead going to the half vs. the No. 4 team in the country, Penn State. The Nittany Lions would outscore the Trojans 27-10 in the second half and overtime period to win the game 33-30 and escape Los Angeles with the win.

After losing three of their last four games, USC coach Lincoln Riley thinks his team is a few plays away from being 6-0.

"We all know what we're three plays away from right now, but we're not that right now," Riley said.

Riley said that in each of the three losses that the Trojans have sustained, they had crucial mistakes that ended up costing them the win each time.

"We've done the hard work to put ourselves in position to win all these games," Riley said. "You get down to the end though, you gotta be able to focus in and eliminate some of the mistakes that have plagued us to be able to close these games out. It's always tough when your teams lays it on the line, like we did . . . and when you do that and don't get the result, it's a kick in the gut,"

Oct 5, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley looks on during the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Despite the Trojans sitting in less-than-ideal conditions at a 3-3 record with slim to no chance at making the College Football Playoff, Riley said his team hasn't lost their edge.

"We're in the situation that we're in and we gotta fight and dig ourselves out of it. We got to keep putting ourselves in position to win, but most importantly we gotta play better at the end and take advantage of the all the hard work and things we are doing," Riley said.

Oct 5, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; USC Trojans wide receiver Kyron Hudson (10) catches a pass during the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

USC faced one of, if not the best front seven in the Big Ten when they played Penn State. Players like defensive end Abdul Carter and linebacker Tony Rojas will definitely be playing on Sundays, and the Trojans' offensive line held their own in what was one of their best games of the season.

"It's as good a challenge as (they'll) face all year. I thought our guys rose to the challenge and i've been saying, we're getting better there. Guys are getting snaps under their belt and the group is getting more cohesive. . . . We got a good leader in the middle in Jonah (Monheim)," Riley mentioned.

Riley also talked about how he feels like the position room has finally broken out after a rough patch over the past few games.

"(We) are certainly excited about that group going forward, because it feels like we are starting to come together and hit our stride at a very important position," Riley finished with.

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