USC handed first lack of Lincoln Riley period with defeat at Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — Caleb Williams was feeling the salt on prime of the wound. Because the sophomore quarterback answered questions following No. 7 USC’s first lack of the season — 43-42 to No. 20 Utah on Saturday evening — he may hear the followers inside what had been a sold-out Rice Eccles Stadium nonetheless cheering.

“I hate dropping,” mentioned Williams, who accounted for 438 complete yards of offense. After the sport, cameras confirmed him crying as he walked off the sphere. “I actually hate it, so I had a bit little bit of emotion.”

The primary lack of the Lincoln Riley period transpired in precisely the kind of sport the Trojans have anticipated to win given their high-powered offense: a shootout. However as errors and accidents piled up and Utah’s offense put up 562 yards, it grew to become an excessive amount of for USC to beat.

“We did not play as clear on all three sides as we wished to,” Riley mentioned. “It got here right down to they made yet another play, or we made yet another mistake. We have been one inch away on a number of events and, truthfully, a number of occasions very near operating away with it.”

After USC led 21-7 within the first half and appeared to have the sport in management, Utah unleashed a 36-21 scoring run that culminated in a landing and profitable two-point conversion by quarterback Cameron Rising that put the Utes up 43-42 with 48 seconds left. Riley mentioned postgame he felt like that was loads of time for USC to win the sport, however the offense did not cross midfield as time expired.

“Till the final second, I believed we must always have received the sport,” operating again Travis Dye mentioned. “It is a robust tablet to swallow.”

On an evening when USC’s offense nonetheless scored 42 factors, USC’s protection couldn’t sustain with the mixture of Rising and tight finish Dalton Kincaid (234 receiving yards), and the Trojans suffered self-inflicted errors on either side of the ball. These errors included loads of flags. The Trojans had 12 penalties for 93 yards on the evening, and although the officiating was a subject of a lot dialogue, Riley shied away from placing the loss completely on that.

“The officiating was actually poor tonight, however we nonetheless ought to have received the sport,” Riley mentioned. “You are going to have some nights the place the calls do not go your method, and so they definitely didn’t tonight. That is not an excuse; it was simply one other factor we needed to overcome.”

USC additionally misplaced two vital starters to damage Saturday evening. Each star extensive receiver Jordan Addison and linebacker Eric Gentry left the sport with obvious lower-body accidents. Each returned to the sideline with out pads on, and Addison was carrying crutches. Riley didn’t provide an replace on both.

“We’re purported to get it carried out it doesn’t matter what,” Dye mentioned. “It isn’t a single man this loss is on, it isn’t a single name.”

The matchup in opposition to Utah had been a lot anticipated, one which Williams mentioned he is had circled on his calendar since earlier than the season, one which Dye mentioned was private given he has by no means overwhelmed the Utes in Utah. It was purported to be a measuring stick for a Trojans staff that hadn’t been examined by a ranked staff but, and in a really perfect world for USC, it was purported to be proof that this staff might be was a official contender in a single day. As an alternative, the consequence left Riley & Co. seething and able to go well with up once more.

“I am pissed proper now as a result of we misplaced,” Riley mentioned. “S—, I am able to go observe proper now.”

Riley’s message postgame was one among leaning on expertise. As he identified, he and a few of his workers from Oklahoma have been on this place earlier than and really feel that this loss doesn’t decide what the remainder of the season may be.

When defensive lineman Nick Figueroa was requested how assured he was that USC may nonetheless accomplish all of its targets regardless of the loss, he did not hesitate.

“Extraordinarily assured,” he mentioned.

Riley expressed the identical sentiment. “If we deal with this like I believe we’ll,” he mentioned. “We obtained an actual shot.”

Riley and the Trojans now head right into a bye week nonetheless hoping for a Pac-12 convention title and extra — however with no margin for error.