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The USC football program has had a middling start to the 2024 season. USC was above the .500 mark going their Big 10 matchup against the Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday, but the Trojans fell to 3-3 after their 33-30 overtime loss. Head coach Lincoln Riley would have loved to get the win, and the time that passed between when his players went into the locker room and the postgame press conference is telling.
Lincoln Riley joined media members approximately 17 minutes after the USC football squad entered the locker room, per Shotgun Spratling of 247 Sports. The elapsed time is the longest Stratling claims he remembers waiting. Perhaps Riley and the Trojans had an intense conversation before they came out.
USC was close to getting the win at home, but their struggles were understandable, considering Penn State entered the game ranked the No. 4 team in the country. Drew Allar led the undefeated Nittany Lions with 391 passing yards and two touchdowns, but he threw two interceptions.
Meanwhile, opposing quarterback Miller Moss amassed 220 yards, two TDs, and one interception. Lincoln Riley hurt for his team, but Moss felt the defeat deeply as well. Moss gave an “excruciating” take after the game.
“This [loss] was excruciating just in the manner it happened,” Miller said, via Shotgun Spratling.
The reason the loss hurts is USC had a manageable 14-point lead over Penn State. However, the Nittany Lions stormed back, and the Trojans could not respond.
Things may be tough for USC at the moment, but there is plenty of football left to play. On the bright side, the Trojans held Penn State to 118 rushing yards compared to their 189. Their three picks on Drew Allar have to be encouraging as well.
The Trojans will take on their next challenging Big 10 matchup on the road against the Maryland Terrapins on Oct. 19.
