USC football's season has gone awry the past couple weeks. At one point, USC was the No. 5 team in the AP Top 25 poll and considered a contender for the College Football Playoffs. Now, the Trojans have lost two straight and dropped to 6-2.

After surprising losses to Notre Dame and Utah, the Trojans have dropped to No. 24 in the AP Top 25 Poll. Their defense has now given up an average of 30 points per game, and even Caleb Williams' play at quarterback cannot save USC from their defensive woes.

Now, the Trojans have the opportunity to rebound against the 3-4 Cal Golden Bears. Ahead of the game Saturday, coach Lincoln Riley reflected on what's gone wrong for USC lately.

“We let some of the appreciation and fun out of winning get away there in the middle,” Riley told Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the Los Angeles Times. “I’ve seen that happen before, especially this year, especially susceptible to it, and high-level programs like this.”

“We haven’t played to the way we think we can play,” Lincoln Riley said. “And you persevere through it and you overcome it, the energy and the excitement and the camaraderie that comes from that is so powerful. And that’s the opportunity we got right now.”

After the Golden Bears, USC has two back-to-back games versus AP Top 10 teams in Washington and Oregon before facing their crosstown rival, UCLA. If Riley can't get his guys back on track, the Trojans have a long end to their season ahead.