prominent

Another big game, another big stink.

Another loaded season, another lost season.

Four years after Lincoln Riley arrived at USC amid gaudy promises to return the football program to national prominence, well, two words.

Still waiting.

Needing a win at Oregon’s Autzen Stadium Saturday to have a chance at its first college football playoff berth, the Trojans once again fell short, fell deep and basically fell on their faces.

Still waiting.

In front of jubilant fans roaring like USC fans once roared, Oregon used an 85-yard punt return, a terrible Trojan penalty and awful Trojan play calls to roll to a 42-27 victory.

Still waiting.

With the win, the seventh-ranked Ducks almost certainly have earned a playoff spot.

With the loss, the 15th-ranked Trojans have definitely been eliminated for the fourth time in Riley’s four seasons while hanging an equally damning number on the embattled coach.

Under Riley’s leadership, the Trojans are 0-5 against top-10 teams.

Nearly as bad, in four years the Trojans have won just three road games against teams that finished the season with records better than .500. Before beating Nebraska earlier this year, Riley’s Trojans had not recorded a quality road win since his first season.

If USC beats UCLA next weekend as expected, the Trojans will finish with a 9-3 record and a nice vacation in some anonymous bowl game.

And that will not be enough. That cannot be enough.

One wonders how long the USC deep-pocketed people will endure such failed expectations, such fruitless autumns, such … mediocrity.

Heck, if UCLA can buy its way out of the Rose Bowl, one imagines that USC could buy its way out of a head football coach.

Just saying. Just saying, because at this point, there really isn’t anything more to say.

USC coach Lincoln Riley, center, walks on the sideline during a 42-27 loss to Oregon on Saturday.

(Lydia Ely / Associated Press)

USC began Saturday’s game with strength and style, forging a 14-all tie on the first play of the second quarter on a trick play that didn’t work against Notre Dame, receiver Makai Lemon throwing 24 yards to Tanook Hines to tie the game at 14-all.

If only the swaggering Trojans weren’t also so sloppy.

One possession later, a line-drive punt was returned 85 yards for a touchdown by Malik Benson to give Oregon a 21-14 lead.

Then at the end of the first half, everything fell apart for USC, just like everything always seems to fall apart in big games.

The breakdown began when USC seemed to regain momentum on a missed 44-yard field-goal attempt by the Ducks’ Atticus Sappington. But on the play, the Trojans’ Desman Stephens II leaped over the line for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Given new life, the Ducks quickly took advantage with a one-yard touchdown run by linebacker Bryce Boettcher to give the Ducks a 28-14 lead with 1:52 remaining in the half.

Then USC looked even worse on its ensuing drive when, on first and goal from the Oregon 8-yard line, Riley inexplicably called two running plays by Lemon that were both stuffed. The Trojans were eventually forced to attempt a field goal, but Ryon Sayeri bounced it off the right upright and the Trojans ended up with zilch.

At halftime, the 14-point Ducks lead seemed a lot larger and, it turns out, was insurmountable.

At the start of the second half, the Trojans held Oregon on fourth and one from around midfield, stole the Ducks’ next possession on an interception by Kennedy Urlacher, converted their own fourth down, and eventually scored on a four-yard pass from Jayden Maiava to Lemon to make it 28-21.

But then Oregon used several bruising runs to set up a 28-yard touchdown pass to Kenyon Sadiq to make it 35-21 late in the third quarter and that was that.

The Trojans made it a one-possession game again on a nine-yard touchdown pass to Lake McRee early in the fourth quarter, but Oregon drove down the field and scored on another bruising run by Noah Whittington to clinch it.

End of game. End of season.

Still waiting.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Vice President Kamala Harris and a slew of other national and California Democrats on Saturday rallied supporters to stay fired up in seeking passage of a ballot measure to redraw the state’s congressional districts ahead of the midterm elections.

While polling suggests Proposition 50 is likely to pass Tuesday, volunteers must continue knocking on doors, phone banking and motivating voters through Election Day, they said. Newsom told volunteers they ought to follow the model of sprinters, leaving it all on the field.

“We cannot afford to run the 90-yard dash. You Angelenos, you’ve got the Olympics coming in 2028. They do not run the 90-yard dash. They run the 110-yard dash. We have got to be at peak on Election Day,” Newsom told hundreds of supporters at the Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles. “We cannot take anything for granted.”

Hours earlier, Republican spoke out against the ballot measure at John Wayne Park in Newport Beach, before sending teams into neighborhoods to drum up votes for their side.

“What Proposition 50 will do is disenfranchise, meaning, disregard all Republicans in the state of California,” said state Assembly member Diane Dixon (R-Newport Beach). “Ninety percent of 6 million [Californian Republicans] will be disenfranchised.”

Proposition 50 would redraw California’s congressional districts in an attempt to boost the number of Democrats in Congress. The effort was proposed by Newsom and other California Democrats in hope of blunting President Trump’s push in Texas and other GOP-led states to increase the number of Republicans elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in next year’s midterm election. But even if voters approve the ballot measure that could flip five California districts currently represented by Republicans, it’s unclear whether that will be enough to shift control of the House unless there is a blue wave in the 2026 election.

The party that wins control of the House will shape Trump’s final two years in the White House — whether he is able to continue enacting his agenda or faces a spate of investigations and possibly another impeachment attempt.

The special election is among the costliest ballot measures in state history. More than $192 million has flowed into various campaign committees since state lawmakers voted in August to put the proposition on the ballot. Supporters of the redistricting effort have raised exponentially more money than opponents, and polling shows the proposition is likely to pass.

As of Friday, more than a quarter of the state’s 23 million registered voters had cast ballots, with Democrats outpacing Republicans.

Newsom was joined Saturday by Harris, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla of California and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, other Democrats and labor leaders.

Harris, in a surprise appearance at the gathering, argued that the Trump administration is implementing long-sought GOP goals such as voter suppression.

“This fight is not about sitting by and complaining, ‘Oh, they’re cheating,’” the former vice president said. “It’s about recognizing what they are up to. There is an agenda that we are witnessing which feels chaotic, I know, but in fact, we are witnessing a high velocity event that is about the swift implementation of a plan that has been decades in the making.”

Several of the speakers referred to the immigration raids that started in Los Angeles in June and deep cuts to federal safety nets, including the nutrition assistance program for low-income families and a health coverage for seniors and the disabled.

“We know there’s so much on the line this Tuesday. And a reminder, Tuesday is not Election Day — it’s the last day to vote,” Padilla said. “Don’t wait till Tuesday. Get your ballots in folks…. As good as the polls look, we need to run up the score on this because the eyes of the country are going to be on California on Tuesday. And we need to win and we need to win big.”

Padilla, a typically staid legislator, then offered a modified riff of a lyric by rapper Ice Cube, who grew up in South Los Angeles.

“Donald Trump — you better check yourself before you wreck America,” said Padilla, who is considering running for governor next year.

Nearly 50 miles southeast, about 50 Republican canvassers fueled up on coffee and donuts, united over the brisk weather and annoyance about Newsom’s attempt to redraw California’s congressional districts.

Will O’Neill, chairman of the Orange County Republican Party, equated this final push against Proposition 50 as the California GOP’s game 7 — a nod to tonight’s World Series battle between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays.

“Orange County right now is the only county in Southern California that has a shot of having more Republicans than Democrats voting,” said O’Neill. “We expect that over the next three days, around 70% of everyone who votes is gonna vote ‘no’ on 50. But we need them to vote.”

Ariana Assenmacher, of California Young Republicans, center, organizes during a gathering of Republican Party members pressing to vote no on Proposition 50 in the upcoming California Statewide Special Election at John Wayne Park in Newport Beach on Saturday, November 1, 2025.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

O’Neill labeled the measure a “hyper-partisan power grab.” If Proposition 50 passes, it will dilute Republican power in Orange County by splitting communities and roping some residents into districts represented by Los Angeles County politicians.

Dixon also rallied volunteers — which included a handful of college students from across the state: “Be polite. Just say thank you very much. Just like Charlie Kirk would. Don’t [stimulate] an argument. Just be friendly.”

“They’re squeezing out what very little representation Republicans have in the state,” said Kristen Nicole Valle, president of the Orange County Young Republicans.

“We will not be hearing from 40% of Californians if Prop. 50 passes.”

Randall Avila, executive director of the Orange County GOP, said the measure disenfranchises Latino GOP voters like himself.

Nationally, Trump managed to gain 48% of the Latino vote, a Pew Research study showed, which proved crucial to his second presidential victory.

“Obviously our community has kind of shown we’re willing to switch parties and go another direction if that elected official or that party isn’t serving us,” said Avila. “So it’s unfortunate that some of those voices are now gonna be silenced with a predetermined winner in their district.”

Not all hope is lost for Republicans if Proposition 50 is approved, Avila said. A handful of seats could be snagged by Republicans, including the districts held by Reps. Dave Min (D-Irvine) and Derek Tran (D-Orange).

“If the lines do change, that doesn’t mean we pack up and go home,” he said. “Just means we reorganize, we reconfigure things, and then we keep fighting.”