Following a disappointing road loss in their Big Ten debut against the one-dimensional Michigan Wolverines, the USC Trojans still had good reason to believe that a conference title was still in the cards. Assuming USC could run the table the rest of the way, an 11-1 record with wins over Penn State, Notre Dame and LSU — who the Trojans beat in Week 1 — would be plenty good enough to make the College Football Playoff, with or without a Big Ten Title.

Then last Saturday, the Trojans season hit some unexpected turbulence in Minneapolis. USC took a 17-10 lead into the 4th quarter, but gave up two touchdowns to Minnesota in a seven minute span, giving the Gophers their first win over a top 15 ranked team since 2019. Suddenly, USC head coach Lincoln Riley found himself in the crosshairs of every analyst who has long believed that for as brilliant of an offensive mind as he's proven to be, he lacks something that's needed to build a complete program.

But even in the face of adversity, Lincoln Riley continues to insist that this season won't be derailed by one result. He's still focused on building the USC football program back to what it was in its glory days.

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“We're building a program here,” Riley said on Thursday afternoon, per Shotgun Spratling. “I don't get caught up in what happened the week before or the week after. We've got our head down and just continuing to build.”

The Trojans can't afford to get stuck on last weekend's loss to Minnesota, or their loss to Michigan earlier this season. With 4th-ranked Penn State making the long trip from Harrisburg to Los Angeles, USC can still find a way to salvage this season if they can knock off the undefeated Nittany Lions on Saturday afternoon. But if Penn State comes into the Coliseum and easily takes care of USC, there will be questions about this program that Lincoln Riley can't ignore.