EUGENE, Ore. — The last time he made it here, to the doorstep of the College Football Playoff, Lincoln Riley could only watch as USC’s hopes slipped away with a single hamstring tweak. Without its Heisman-winning quarterback healthy, USC fell painfully short, left to wonder over frustrating seasons that followed what might have been.
It would take Riley nearly three years — and plenty of ups and downs in between — to return to that same place with USC, only to have the door slammed shut once again, this time in a 42-27 loss to No. 7 Oregon.
With its playoff hopes dashed by a third defeat, barring an unlikely sequence of events, USC (9-3) appears to be heading to a second-tier bowl game, while the Ducks are one of three Big Ten teams likely to host a home playoff matchup. That’s an especially bitter pill to swallow, considering the progress Riley has trumpeted this season, four years into his tenure at USC.
“This is USC — the standard here is incredibly high,” Riley said. “We’ve won a bunch of games this year. The ones we haven’t won, we’re right there.”
It was a familiar refrain from Riley, who has lost all five of his games against top-10 teams as USC’s coach. But the Trojans’ losses this season each left little doubt about how and why they’d fallen short. At Illinois, it was penalties and costly mistakes. At Notre Dame, a bone-headed play call and ill-timed turnovers did them in.
Against Oregon (10-1), it was more of the same lapses in discipline. Except this time, the back-breaking mistakes came largely on special teams. The most glaring of which Riley would look back on as the turning point Saturday.
It was just a few minutes into the second quarter. Tied 14-14, USC had sputtered short of midfield. So the Trojans punted away to Oregon’s Malik Benson.
The punt flew on a line drive to Benson, who found the edge and flew past USC’s last line of defense, 85 yards untouched into the end zone. The return’s impact would only reverberate from there.
“Obviously, it was a huge, huge play in the game,” Riley said. “You definitely don’t want to give them something like that.”
You certainly wouldn’t want to let those missteps snowball either. But that’s precisely what happened as quarterback Jayden Maiava faced heavy pressure on a third down on USC’s ensuing possession and threw a prayer into traffic. Oregon intercepted the pass.
USC’s defense would hold initially, and Oregon sent a field-goal attempt off the goalpost. Had the Trojans taken over from there, what followed could have altered the path of USC’s season — and the college football season writ large.
But in trying to block the field goal, linebacker Desman Stephens leaped over the Ducks’ line and was flagged for a 15-yard penalty. Riley said that Stephens “just kind of panicked a little bit.” Three plays later, Oregon punched in a touchdown to take a lead it would never relinquish.
“We’re playing good enough right now that we’re a sequence like that [away] from beating anybody,” Riley said. “That’s just how it feels.”
USC wide receiver Makai Lemon attempts to hurdle Oregon defensive backs Dillon Thieneman (31) and Jadon Canady, right, during the first half Saturday.
(Lydia Ely / Associated Press)
The series of special teams mistakes ultimately sunk USC, yet it was hardly the only error the Trojans made in that aspect of the game. USC also missed a field goal, kicked a kickoff out of bounds and was called for catch interference.
Other mistakes made matters worse. The Trojans were called for eight penalties for 103 yards, the fourth time this season they’ve been penalized that much.
The Trojans’ defense certainly didn’t help matters, in spite of assurances that it had ironed out its issues over three standout, second-half performances. Against Oregon, though, that progress was tough to spot, as USC gave up 436 yards, just shy of a season-worst mark.
The loss wasn’t for a lack of effort from its passing attack. After a questionable performance on the road in each of USC’s first four trips, quarterback Jayden Maiava hit big throws to keep the Trojans alive. Seven of his 25 completions went for 15 yards or more. He finished with 306 yards and three touchdowns, while freshman Tanook Hines (141) and fellow wideout Ja’Kobi Lane (108) turned in standout performances.
With its rushing attack unable to move the ball, the passing game was all that really worked for USC.
USC quarterback Jayden Maiava looks toward the scoreboard in the second half of a 42-27 loss to Oregon on Saturday.
(Lydia Ely / Associated Press)
King Miller had been stellar in the five weeks since being thrust into the lead role in USC’s backfield. But the Trojan walk-on was totally neutralized by Oregon’s stout defensive front. He rushed for just 30 yards, the longest of his 15 carries going for just five yards. The Trojans managed just 52 yards on the ground total, their fewest since a November 2023 loss to UCLA.
“We didn’t run the ball nearly as well as we have or nearly as well as we expected to,” Riley said.
After USC coaches reiterated all week the importance of starting fast, USC did make an immediate statement. On its first drive, USC marched down the field, and Maiava found Makai Lemon on an eight-yard swing pass that he took into the end zone.
But while USC’s running game struggled, Oregon faced little resistance, racking up 179 rushing yards and three scores.
At the start of the second quarter, Maiava found Lemon again on a swing pass in the backfield, only for Lemon to throw the ball on a double pass. Waiting for the pass was Hines, who leaped for an acrobatic 24-yard touchdown in traffic.
The fireworks didn’t stop there. But the special teams gaffes would change the tenor of the game, as Oregon opened up a 28-14 lead by halftime.
Just before the half, USC drove to the 10-yard line with seconds remaining, only for kicker Ryon Sayeri to clank a 27-yard field goal attempt off the goalpost.
A third-quarter interception from Kennedy Urlacher, one of two USC reserves starting at safety, gave the Trojans some life. But there would be no stalwart second-half stand from USC’s defense, like it managed the last three weeks. Nor could its electric offense climb back in time.
As the final seconds ticked away, there was only the realization that, once again, its hopes of a special season had been dashed right on the doorstep.