College Football: Lincoln Riley, USC Trojans Drop Heartbreaker to Penn State in OT
October 13, 2024
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The USC Trojans fell just short of taking down the No. 4 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday. In a game that the Trojans led most of the way, USC dropped a heartbreaker in overtime.
The final score was 33-30 in favor of Penn State.
Penn State tied the game with a few minutes left in the fourth quarter before the game was sent to overtime. USC almost pulled off one of the bigger upsets from the college football schedule, but in the end, their execution wasn’t enough.
It’s been an up-and-down year for the Trojans but they showed exactly what their ceiling could be against the Nittany Lions. But much like other games this season, USC couldn’t put the finishing touches on the game.
Just a week ago, the Trojans dropped a big game to the Minnesota Golden Gophers and now will look to turn things around.
Before the game, former USC star quarterback, now Minnesota Viking, Sam Darnold led the team out onto the field. It seemed to hype the crowd up and the Trojans followed with a valiant effort in the game.
After their season-opening win over the LSU Tigers, USC looked like they could be a sleeper in college football this season. But a shaky performance against the Michigan Wolverines showed that the Trojans may not be ready.
They then took down the Wisconsin Badgers impressively, only to fall to Minnesota last week. But this contest against Penn State shows that USC can compete in the Big Ten.
There were questions entering the season about if USC could handle the physicality of the new conference but even with the losses, the Trojans are at least competitive. But at USC, being competitive isn’t enough.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 12: Quinten Joyner #0 of the USC Trojans catches a pass for a touchdown during the second quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at United Airlines Field at the… LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 12: Quinten Joyner #0 of the USC Trojans catches a pass for a touchdown during the second quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 12, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. The Trojans pulled off an incredible upset.
Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
This loss does bring into question whether head coach Lincoln Riley is ready for the pressure of being the USC coach. The Trojans have underperformed under Riley’s tenure and it seems that they are in danger of doing it once again this year.
The Trojans will head to Maryland to take on the Terrapins next week before returning home to face Rutgers. They then travel to Washington to face the Huskies, a team that just took down the same Michigan team that beat USC.
They wrap up their schedule against the UCLA Bruins, Nebraska Cornhuskers, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. If the Trojans can’t turn things around, Riley’s job could be on the line.
For more NCAA news, make sure to head over to Newsweek Sports.
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