Lincoln Riley takes the blame for USC’s ‘gut punch’ of a loss to No. 4 Penn State

The chances had been there all afternoon for USC as it tried to put No. 4 Penn State away. But one opportunity had slipped out of reach, then another, then another, until Lincoln Riley’s Trojans tiptoed along the brink, playing fast and loose with their College Football Playoff hopes hanging in the balance, driving late in search of one last opportunity after a painstaking succession of squandered ones.
So often have the Trojans found themselves in this position, within a few inches of redemption, within a few plays of a key win. Riley himself had been sure to remind of it regularly over the past tumultuous month, so much so that it seemed unfathomable the Trojans would find themselves backed into the same corner again Saturday.
But here they were, with precious seconds ticking away late in the fourth quarter with the score tied, and Miller Moss just one completion from a kick that could erase all that came before it.
That was how Riley had envisioned it, at least, as he let the clock drain, clutching his three unused timeouts tight. One pass downfield would do it. One kick would end it from there. That’s what USC’s coaches had decided. But Moss’ pass sailed and was picked off. A go-ahead kick, in overtime, went wide left. And with them, any hope of USC slipping into the playoff slipped away for good in a 33-30 overtime defeat to Penn State.
“It’s a gut punch,” Riley said, “no doubt about it.”
It was particularly painful, considering how completely USC had controlled the better part of the Saturday’s defeat. The run game was rolling at one point, with Woody Marks and Quinten Joyner combining for 193 yards — the most allowed by Penn State’s defense this season. The defensive front, too, had stood strong in slowing Penn State’s own rushing attack, which ranked among the best in the Big Ten. It held the Nittany Lions and their own pair of talented backs to just 118 yards, their second-lowest total of 2024.
That progress might have made the difference against Minnesota or Michigan, two teams that ground USC into dust in their respective wins. For Penn State, however, that calculus would only offer USC so much cushion.
Drew Allar, the Nittany Lions quarterback, would make up the difference, as he piled up 391 yards, more than all but one other passer who faced USC over the past two seasons. And yet still, Allar gave USC more than enough chances.
Twice he threw into traffic, only for USC’s defense to come away with an interception. The first, snapped up in the second quarter by freshman Desman Stephens, was returned 45 yards to the Penn State 26. The second, a tipped ball corralled by Easton Mascarenas-Arnold in the third, left USC on Penn State’s 24-yard line.
But the two picks, deep in Penn State territory, yielded only two field goals. And six points just weren’t enough.
Not with Penn State throwing everything but the kitchen sink at USC’s defense, cycling through strange formations and funky play designs all afternoon. At one point, Penn State even snapped the ball with its tight end, who ran downfield and caught a double pass for a 32-yard touchdown.
That tight end, Tyler Warren, would account for a ridiculous 43% of Penn State’s total offense on Saturday, torturing USC’s defense in a way that might have induced flashbacks of a 2022 trip to Utah, when current Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid piled up 16 catches for 234 yards in a single night.
Warren’s afternoon, with 17 catches and 224 yards, proved equally as mystifying.
“We had a good game plan,” safety Kamari Ramsey said. “We should’ve made plays to stop him.”
Those plans seemed to fall apart somewhere right after the half, right when USC had so often been at its best this season. The Trojans’ first three drives stalled, and Penn State came flying back, scoring 14 in the third quarter.
Led by Marks, who touched the ball six times, USC marched down the field with a critical, nine-play drive, retaking the lead with six minutes left.
One stop after that might have been enough. But faced with two fourth and longs, Allar twice managed to convert, making USC pay once again for missed opportunities.
“We’ve all had our chances,” Riley said. “We all own in it.”
The most pressing questions Saturday, though, were reserved for USC’s coach, who’s lost eight of his last 13 while on the job, a worse stretch than his predecessor, Clay Helton, could ever claim.
All three of those losses this year have come down to the final possession, and Riley was sure to point out that USC has faced “the toughest schedule in the country” through six weeks. But after weeks of emphasizing those thin margins — and with USC’s playoff hopes now likely beyond repair — Riley acknowledged the blame for USC’s backslide to 3-3 lies with him.
“It always falls to me,” Riley said. “Believe me, there ain’t nobody taking more responsibility than I am.”
But after a third loss in four weeks, it didn’t matter much anymore where the blame was placed or how close USC had come along the way. The damage was done. The playoff was no longer in reach. And no matter how much Riley spun USC’s season thus far, even he knows there’s no escaping that.
“We’ve got to be able to finish, and it all falls on my shoulders at the end,” Riley said. “That’s why they call me head coach.”