How quickly things can change in the world of modern college football.
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things → change → football
Just a few weeks ago, the USC Trojans were seemingly riding a wave of positive momentum.
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Trojans → rid → momentum
In the Lincoln Riley era, SC has struggled to win on the road, particularly against traditionally big programs.
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SC → struggle → programs
In 2025, for example, the Trojans went 9-3 in the regular season, with all three losses coming at Illinois, at Oregon and at Notre Dame.
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losses → go → Dame
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page → contain → partners
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News → sign → wager
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that → create → newsroom
But things were supposed to be different in 2026.
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things → suppose → 2026
SC brought in the number one recruiting class in the country.
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SC → bring → country
They brought back starting quarterback Jayden Maiava, entering his third year in the program and second full season as the starter.
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They → bring → starter
New defensive coordinator Gary Patterson brought a wealth of experience and a history of getting elite performance out of TCU level talent.
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Patterson → bring → talent
While the schedule looked daunting, thanks to games against Oregon, Penn State, Ohio State and Indiana, 2026 was widely viewed as a turning point for the program.
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2026 → look → program
Chaos throughout the SEC opened the door for more available at-large spots.
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Chaos → open → spots
Despite an ugly home loss to a diminished Oregon team, SC was 5-1 heading into a big road game against Penn State.
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SC → head → State
And finally, a Riley-coached SC team looked prepared.
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team → coach → ?
Even with the "White Out" home crowd, a motivated PSU team, the lengthy road trip to the Eastern Time Zone, and a long litany of injuries, SC won 31-23 ahead of their bye week.
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SC → win → week
In the interim, Ohio State lost their starting quarterback Julian Sayin, likely for the remainder of the regular season, making their matchup on Halloween look a lot more winnable.
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matchup → lose → Halloween
SC just had to get through another road game at Wisconsin to set up the biggest home game in years.
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SC → have → years
And boy oh boy did they not get through it.
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they → get → it
Almost immediately, the Trojans looked the way they so frequently have under Riley: poorly coached, undisciplined, and unable to overcome when things start going against them.
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things → look → them
Their offensive line, which was supposed to be a strength, was confused and overwhelmed by a Wisconsin defense that allowed 41 points to Notre Dame.
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that → suppose → Dame
Maiava played one of his worst games as a Trojan, throwing two interceptions, though one was on a deflected pass, and taking multiple awful intentional grounding penalties.
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one → play → penalties
One of which set up a much longer field goal attempt, which was promptly blocked.
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which → set → attempt
Perhaps most emblematic was the sequence that played out late in the second quarter.
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that → play → quarter
Wisconsin had a nearly eight-minute touchdown drive, kicking the ball back to SC with the Badgers up 10-7, 1:51 remaining and the Trojans still with all three timeouts.
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1:51 → have → timeouts
Boobie Feaster muffed the kickoff at the goal line, however, and SC started their drive at their own 7-yard-line.
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SC → muff → line
After five plays and a first down, they ended the half at the ... 8-yard line.
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they → end → line
Then in the second half, Riley made a series of indefensible mistakes.
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Riley → make → mistakes
The Badgers started the third quarter by driving down to the USC 16-yard line, but the Trojans' defense held, setting up a fourth-and-2.
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defense → start → fourth
Wisconsin came out in an unusual formation, with four wide receivers bunched toward the sideline.
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receivers → come → sideline
Riley decided against calling a timeout, even though his defense wasn't aligned properly, with just two defensive backs on four receivers, and multiple players covering no one in the middle of the field.
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defense → decide → field
Predictably, the play resulted in a Wisconsin touchdown, extending their lead to 17-7.
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play → result → 17
SC's drive to start the fourth quarter was equally bad.
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drive → start → quarter
The Trojans moved the ball down to the Wisconsin 33-yard line, before Maiava took a sack on second down to make it third-and-20.
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Maiava → move → it
SC picked up eight to set up a lengthy, 53-yard field goal attempt.
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SC → pick → attempt
A substitution-based delay of game penalty made it fourth-and-17 from the 41-yard-line, and instead of punting, or even just throwing a screen pass to pick up yardage with a slight chance of a first down, Riley chose to attempt a 59-yard field goal.
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Riley → base → goal
Predictably, it came up about 10 yards short.
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it → come → ?
The Badgers drove down the field immediately afterward for the back-breaking, game-ending touchdown that not only gave SC their second loss, but seemingly put a bow on Riley's time in Los Angeles.
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Badgers → drive → Angeles
Not all the blame for the loss goes on Riley; Maiava was awful, looking hurried, flustered and frequently making poor decisions.
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Maiava → go → decisions
The offensive line was atrocious, giving up pressure after pressure and flailing helplessly in the run game too.
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line → give → game
…and 23 more, not listed.
The Aporia
